Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

The final exploration lasted half a day, and Ais and her group took a long rest in this "cave" located in the corner of the 37th floor.

Since the adventurers are not planning to return in a day but rather to stay for an extended period of time, they not only take short breaks but also often camp in the labyrinth in order to recover their strength as much as possible.

When camping, safe floors are often chosen as the best resting areas, but making a special trip to a safe floor is often troublesome. Just like Ais and her group, teams that want to stay in the area they are exploring will ensure a safe zone within the floor before they dare to rest.

The "cave" where Ais and her group were resting had only one entrance and was not spacious. The surrounding walls were cracked from being hacked with weapons, and debris was scattered all over the floor.

Whenever walls or other terrain features are damaged, the dungeon prioritizes repairing the damaged areas. In other words, monsters will not spawn as long as the walls are damaged and not repaired. Furthermore, by taking turns guarding the single entrance and exit, monster surprise attacks can be prevented.

After packing camping gear such as magic stone lamps and sleeping bags into Lefia and her companions' backpacks, Ais and her group set off from the "cave" where they had rested.

"But I was quite surprised when I found the super-hard metal (steel) in that 'cave'—it just fell out as soon as I broke the wall, we were so lucky!"

"It seems like that piece of super-hard metal (hard steel) alone could fetch a lot of money."

"Hmm, that should help offset some of the cost of the Great Double Blades!"

Tiona was overjoyed when she accidentally unearthed a rare metal while breaking down a wall to rest. While she talked to Lefia, Ais, who remained silent, pondered to herself.

The name (word) "Arya".

And there was also the figure of that red-haired beast tamer.

The two thoughts swirled in my mind.

(She's very strong...)

Very strong, truly impressive.

Recalling the red-haired beast tamer's strength and her fierce, slashing figure, Ais kept muttering to herself.

If I could have defeated her back then, maybe I could have gotten some information out of her.

Perhaps this explains why she knows about "Arya".

(If only I were stronger...)

Too weak.

Still too weak.

How weak Ais Wallenstein was.

Like a curse, Ais kept giving herself this assessment. As long as she could be stronger than her, as long as these hands had greater power, as long as her mind and body weren't so fragile... countless eyes rose to the surface of the dark mud.

When did I lose my sharp teeth?

Have you ever had the thought of turning your only wish into a memory?

Ais unconsciously clenched her hands.

A long-forgotten rage deep within her quietly burned through her body.

"...Um, Miss Ais?"

Rafia called out to her tentatively from the side.

Ais's lips remained silent in response.

Numerous monsters appeared deep within the vast passage.

Ais drew the Sword of Despair and took a step forward with force.

Just as the team was about to take action to deal with the horde of monsters they encountered, she whistled against the wind and walked alone towards the monsters.

The furious roar vibrated through his skin, and he felt Lefia's gaze from behind.

Ais coldly brandished her sword, kicked off the ground, and dashed away.

*

The 37th floor is also known as the "White Palace".

The name comes from the muddy white walls and the enormous labyrinthine structure. This floor is vastly different in size from the floors above (so far); the passageways, rooms, and even the walls are all wide and expansive. While there are some exceptions, such as the small rooms where Ais and her companions rest, almost all the paths and "cave chambers" are easily over ten meters wide.

The entire circular complex resembles a castle, comprised of five layers of ring walls, with staircases leading to the next level located in the center. Adventurers wishing to reach the central area must traverse open passages between the ring walls, navigating numerous uneven surfaces. The area's size rivals that of a vast city, and despite having discovered the optimal route, getting lost means never escaping.

The space overhead was so high that even the eyesight of a high-level adventurer could not see the ceiling. The space was filled with dim darkness, making it particularly gloomy, with only the phosphorescent light that shone intermittently on the white walls illuminating the adventurers' profiles.

"I still think Ais's become a bit scary ever since what happened in town (Rivera). You could even say she's serious to the point of being frightening. Is that female animal trainer really that strong?"

"Hmm~, I don't know either, whatever!! I'm going to the front too!"

"Ah, wait a minute! Let's take down these guys around here first!"

The group was attacked by an army of more than twenty monsters. Tiona wielded her large twin blades to force her way through and rushed towards Ais's location. Tione was now forced to deal with even her sister's situation and shouted loudly at the retreating figures.

Because the 37th floor is exceptionally vast, the number of monsters is among the highest in areas above the 40th floor, and their production intervals are also very short. The only saving grace is that the monsters are evenly distributed throughout the floors; however, if you unfortunately encounter a sudden swarm of monsters, even a first-level adventurer will find it troublesome.

Facing the monsters swarming from the front through the vast passage, Tione, Finn, and Riveria protect their two supporters and fight back.

"Woohoo ...

"!"

Ais, single-handedly dealing with enemies in the distance ahead of the squad, dodged the natural weapon of the burly monster "Barbarian Warrior." As the enemy's clubs, which were equipped in both hands, hit the ground, Ais swung her saber and turned her opponent into dust.

This floor will be home to many so-called warrior-type monsters. There will be "Savage Warriors" with a physique comparable to the Minotaur, "Lizardman Elite"—a high-level breed of lizardmen that appears from the 19th floor, and "Obsidian Soldiers" with obsidian bodies... These medium-sized or larger monsters, which have the same structure as humans, roam freely in the white palace.

This floor, filled with melee experts, was a major challenge for mages. Before they could even cast their spells, enemies would close in and attack. There were even "Obsidian Soldiers," opponents whose magic was rendered ineffective—like protective gems—by diminishing its power. Lefia, a pure mage, could only watch in panic as Finn and Riveria fought their battle.

"Drink!"

"!"

The "Brutal Warrior" opened its massive jaws and shot out its long tongue.

Ais swung her sword to repel the tongue attack of the monster with curved horns, cutting it down with a mournful howl. Then, Ais rushed forward and cleaved the short, stout black rock "Obsidian Soldier" in two with a single strike.

At Ais's feet, the monster's corpses and dust gradually piled up into a small mountain. Whenever the saber slashed a silver diagonal line, a group of opponents would instantly vanish into thin air, their flesh and blood flying everywhere.

Her golden eyes, burning with a fierce will, relentlessly pursued her adversaries. With fierce brows and piercing gazes, she drew arcs with her feet like whirlwinds, wielding her sword horizontally, slicing away monsters from all directions in a single strike.

The monsters emitted a ring-shaped death scream.

"That's really scary... Riveria, didn't she say anything to you? It was just a setback, it shouldn't have turned out like that."

"There's nothing we can do. She keeps insisting that nothing's wrong and won't say anything."

Finn squinted his eyes in exasperation, while Riveria sighed deeply, as if to express how worried she was.

The enemies had all been looted, and before their helpless gazes, the blonde, golden-eyed girl and Tiona annihilated the remaining enemies in no time.

"Even if I scold her now, it probably won't do any good... This is really a headache."

"Um, Captain, Lady Rivera... Is Miss Ais alright?"

"She calms down whenever she gets hungry when she's in that state... If you see that she looks hungry, try tempting her with food. Maybe that will calm her down."

“Okay, okay!”

Lefia nodded, sweating, as if she knew Rivilia very well.

Seeing Ais's condition these past few days, Tiona, Tione, and Lefia all looked worried. However, Riveria and Finn said, "Let her be for now," and told everyone to wait and see. So they decided to believe what the two said. In terms of the amount of time they had spent together, Finn and Riveria had known Ais for much longer than Tiona and the others.

Lefia and her companions retrieved their loot and left the scene. The group ventured deeper into the building, crossing the innermost circular wall to explore the central area.

On the 37th floor, there is a large space called the Arena, from which monsters can be endlessly spawned, with a certain limit on the number of monsters. Ais originally wanted to go in alone, but everyone stopped her because they couldn't bear to watch, and the group then proceeded with a safer exploration.

Ais wouldn't let her companions (Lefia and the others) be in danger. Despite actively fighting monsters, she didn't forget her duties as a team member. After the battle, she would revert to her usual emotionless expression and clearly answer Tiona and the others' questions.

The only difference was the sharpness of his swordsmanship, which was different from before.

"I've defeated a lot of monsters, and I should have saved up quite a bit of money by now, right? I've been holed up in the dungeon for almost five days, after all."

"yes……"

"If we exchanged it for cash normally on the ground, it should be worth thirty million, right? Lefia, what's the total amount on the written documents we have now?"

"Please wait a moment, let me see... If we only consider the portion sold in 'Rivera Town,' it's less than ten million Faris."

Tiona deliberately tried to start a cheerful conversation with Ais. Ais and Tiona had originally come to the dungeon to repay the cost of the substitute sword (rapier) and the great double-edged sword. Ais only now remembered her original purpose, and inadvertently thought of apologizing to the White Rabbit (the boy), but she shook her head, banishing the thought from her mind. She told herself she didn't have time for those things now—at the same time, the thought of appearing before him now made her feel bound by the feeling of defiling the treasure, and for some reason, she felt a deep fear.

Ais lowered her eyes slightly, while Tione asked Lefia for confirmation.

Whenever their inventory is full of "magic stones" or "dropped items", the group will return to "Riviera Town" to dispose of them and exchange them for receipts at the purchasing station.

Since the underground purchase prices were very low, the group prioritized keeping only the more valuable loot and planned to exchange it for money on the surface. They planned to sell the rest in Rivera Town. Converting the loot they couldn't keep into IOUs was a more efficient way to make money.

"Ah, there are caves."

The group smoothly defeated monsters classified as LV·3 or LV·4 and advanced all the way, finally arriving at the largest "cave" they had ever seen.

(here it is……)

While battling numerous monsters in the hall, Ais observed the surroundings of the cave.

Because this place was not far from the center of the floor, its width and height were astonishing. In this vast room, so familiar within the white palace, she finally looked down at the floor, her golden eyes narrowing.

Just at this time……

There was a cracking sound.

"Huh, where's that sound coming from?"

"It's not the wall. It's the floor (below)."

Tiona, who swept away several "lizardman elites" with her large twin blades, asked a question, and Tione, who also dealt with enemies with a recurve blade, answered her in this way.

The cracking sound didn't come from the four walls, but from the ground beneath their feet. The cracks spread like spider silk, and then more than ten monsters emerged from the ground at once.

It has neither skin nor muscle, only bones.

Ribs and pelvis were exposed, and many parts of the skeleton were sharp and protruding like armor, giving them a rather skeletal appearance. These were skeletal monsters, each equipped with a bone sword, bone axe, and bone shield from the start.

"People born on the earth".

It appears on the 37th floor and belongs to the warrior class of monsters, just like the Savage Warrior.

"Finn, I'll go."

"Ah, Ais!?"

The "Earth-born" possess top-class combat abilities on this floor.

Unlike their completely skeletal appearance, they possess immense strength and incredible speed. Most notably, they are equipped with various skeletal weapons and fight with remarkable agility, almost as if they were facing highly skilled adventurers (fellow travelers).

Facing a formidable enemy equivalent to LV4, Ais dashed out from her squad. Leaving behind Tiona and the others who were still battling other monsters, she wielded the "Sword of Despair" and, disregarding her numerical disadvantage, engaged the "Earthlings" group in conflict.

"!"

"Gah!?"

She raised her silver saber high and slashed down at an individual who was gripping a protruding shield, ready to meet the attack.

The earth-born creature, its shield severed in two, collapsed to the ground, while Ais dodged a sharp spearman's attack from the side. She then evaded a subsequent axe strike, and a greatsword wielded by a particularly large monster, striking it from the side with her saber, delivering a flash of electricity to its body as they passed each other. Its severed upper body lay on the ground.

"Ooh ooh, ooh ooh!"

"————!!"

"...!"

Countless dark eye sockets without pupils were all turned toward Ais alone.

The monsters, their bones vibrating and emitting menacing roars, seemed to be calling to their companions, attempting to gang up on their prey.

With sharp eyes, Ais stared at the skeletal warriors who not only knew how to use their weapons effectively but also how to team up to attack from all directions, and then stepped into the fray.

*

She didn't allow herself to be careless in the slightest, using this to heighten her tension, and clashed with the monster group's swords for five minutes.

Ais raised the "Sword of Despair" and slashed downwards at the last remaining Earthling.

"Goo ...

The monster, cleaved in two by a straight line from its head to its crotch, let out a death scream before turning to dust, just like the destroyed "magic stone."

Aiss swung her silver sword with a "whoosh" as she annihilated all the earth-born people, the tip of the sword pointing towards the ground.

The bones, which had been smoothly severed, were scattered all over the ground, countless in number, while the magic stones still attached to the upper body emitted a blue-purple glow.

Amidst the carcasses of more than ten monsters, Ais stood silently, seemingly still immersed in the afterglow of the battle.

"In the end, one person solved it all..."

"It would be more endearing if it involved a bit of a tough fight..."