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

"You abandoned the great god (Zeus) and now you've switched sides to become Uranus's lackey? Do you think I didn't notice that the old god was in cahoots with you?"

"You've misunderstood. I've always remained neutral."

"You're talking nonsense, I can't believe you."

Seeing Hermes shrug his shoulders, Dionysus spoke with a harsher tone than usual, his voice filled with disdain.

"The Monster Festival incident too... What exactly are Uranus and the others hiding? If you want to gain my trust, you'd better be honest with me first."

"I'm not hiding anything. If I were, I would be asking."

Hermes, still wearing a slight smile, remained nonchalant.

"I can't talk to you anymore." Dionysus's gaze was icy as he turned to leave.

"Wait, wait, Dionysus, please listen to me."

Hermes strode over and casually put his arm around Dionysus's shoulder, bringing their faces close together.

"I also lost my child on the 24th floor, just like you, a victim. Now, I want to know as much as possible what's about to happen in Orario."

"..."

"For the sake of our shared hometown in the Heavenly Realm, wouldn't it be alright to chat a bit?"

The orange-yellow eyes peered closely into the glass-colored eyes, narrowing slightly.

"Also, I actually prepared some rare wines."

Finally, Hermes told him in a murmur.

"As long as there's fine wine in front of me, and after a few rounds... I might accidentally let something slip if I get drunk?"

"...I'm very picky about wine, you know?"

Dionysus and Hermes both had their mouths turned up, their lips curving like a crescent moon.

"...Hahahahahahahahahahahaha."

"...Hehehehehehehehehehehe."

The two male gods exchanged sinister smiles.

With his arm around Hermes's shoulder, Dionysus disappeared into the depths of the back alley.

"That's incredibly insidious..."

—Above, two people were staring intently at the two male gods.

Lulu, a chienthrope girl crouching on the roof of a back alley, murmured wearily.

The dog's tail, which grew to her waist, drooped limply. Beside her stood a beautiful woman with aqua blue hair and silver-rimmed glasses.

Asphi Al Andromeda's pure white cloak fluttered in the wind.

She is Lulu's captain and also the most exhausted member of the Hermes Familia.

Watching the two formidable gods scheme against each other, she couldn't help but sigh.

"Those two gods are definitely full of darkness... Asphie, shall we go back?"

"...No, let's go."

She closed her eyes wearily, adjusted her glasses, and rejected Luluni's pleas.

Asphi and Lulune, who secretly guarded the chief god, silently pursued Dionysus and Hermes.

◆

"And then I'll tell you, that human...!?"

Bathed in the phosphorescent light of the maze, Lefia poured out her grievances to Philwis in a piercing voice.

The location is on the 5th floor of the dungeon. After saying goodbye to Dionysus, they came to the "upper level" of the labyrinth as planned to conduct "magic" training.

The two brushed past teams of novice adventurers several times. As they walked along the passage, Lefia confided her grievances about the boy (Bell) to a girl of her own race.

Phil Weiss understood what had happened and gave a wry smile to the pouting Lefia.

"This has happened in my clan as well. The members often argue over the older (big sister) members who are very caring..."

Phil Weiss faced forward and spoke with a touch of nostalgia.

Seeing her profile, lost in memories and a touch of sadness, Lefia fell silent.

The older female group member and her arguing companion... those are probably the past scenes she lost in the "27th floor nightmare" and can never get back.

Lefia kept quiet at first, but after a while, she spoke more loudly about Ais and the others, and then started picking on the boys, not giving her fellow girls any time to lament.

When Philweis saw Lefia like this, she narrowed her crimson eyes and smiled.

"Okay, so you said you wanted to do 'parallel chanting' training, right...?"

"Yes! Miss Ais and I have already practiced through simulated battles, but..."

At the very edge of the 5th floor, Lefia and Philvis arrived at the western training ground (cave) they had been frequenting these past few days, and faced each other in the center.

On the way, Phil Weiss had already heard a brief outline of the training. She lowered her delicate chin, as if she was thinking about something.

"Due to my job, I often use 'parallel chanting' and would really like to help you..."

For Philvis, a high balancer "magic swordsman", "parallel chanting" is her specialty.

In terms of the frequency of using "parallel chanting," she is probably even more frequent than Riveria. Although it was just a coincidence, it was extremely fortunate for Lefia to have her take Ais's place in training today.

Although Philweis was troubled, Lefia really wanted to ask her for advice.

"Um, even if it's just a small thing, I hope you can teach me something like a trick..."

"The trick is there, but don't you also have Lady Riveria as your mentor? Wouldn't offering advice based on my feelings just confuse you...?"

Philwis greatly respects Riveria, who is the strongest mage in the labyrinth city of Orario and is also a member of the royal family. She seems to be worried that the content of their instruction might differ.

After a while, she seemed to have made some decision and looked up.

"I've never taught anyone before, so I'm not confident in my mentoring abilities, but..."

As Philweis finished speaking, she stared intently at Lefia.

"From the perspective of a fellow mage, I must tell you, Veridis, abandon both offense and defense."

"what?"

"Mages are generally not used to melee combat. Last-minute attempts at offense and defense will lead to the failure of 'parallel chanting,' so it's better to focus on dodging from the beginning and concentrate all your attention on casting 'magic.'"

In combat, the "parallel chanting" requires four main actions: attack (defense), movement, dodge, and chanting. Among these, Philvis wants Lefia to abandon the offensive and defensive actions.

Aside from chanting, pure defensive mages have very little connection to other disciplines. As a "magical swordsman" who has risked her life on the front lines of the battlefield, Philvis, based on her experience, knows that unfamiliar melee combat will not only cause chanting to fail, but may even lead to self-destruction.

Ultimately, she was advising Lefia to try to escape when faced with enemy attacks.

"It is generally said that front-line professions are more likely to learn 'parallel chanting,' while rear-line mages require artillery fire that can change the course of battle, so they can only focus on improving their magical skills."

She went on to say that, in addition, the scale of the "magic power" used is different from the power of "magic".

Vanguard adventurers need to be constantly on the move while engaging in intense sword fights, requiring excellent reaction speed and the ability to handle unexpected situations. They only need to practice chanting, and their foundation in "parallel chanting" is already quite strong. Not to mention, the output of their summoned "magic"—which must be the size of a bomb they carry—is much smaller.

While engaging in fierce offense and defense, they also unleashed "magic".

Philweis warned her that this kind of "parallel chanting" was generally perceived as the domain of avant-garde professions or "magic swordsmen" like herself, and should never be taken as the standard.

(I see……)

After hearing this explanation, Raphia suddenly understood.

Indeed, during training with Ais, Lefia often failed to cast her incantation when she tried to defend. It turned out that she had chosen the wrong movement from the very beginning.

While there are indeed some attacks that cannot be dodged, you still have to make focused movement and dodging a must, and keep it in mind.

"A mobile turret is the ideal form of a mage... but it's also the trouble of wanting too much."

Like Philvis, she fights alongside the vanguard to repel enemies while also unleashing powerful "magic".

The only ones capable of doing this are probably the city's strongest mage (Rivilia), and then a very few others.

The girl from the same clan explained that the priority for Lefia and other defensive mages was to cast spells.

"Alright, just explaining isn't enough, let's put it into practice."

"Please, please take care of me!?"

Philwiss drew her wooden wand from her waist, and Raphia also raised her wand.

Philwis replaces Ais and engages in a simulation battle with herself, with the goal of "parallel chanting".

"I told you to abandon defense, but you still need to learn the minimum level of self-defense; just deflect attacks."

“Okay, okay!”

Philweis did not use her sword, but instead wielded a short staff with low lethality, attempting to stop her chanting.

Faced with her sharp steps that occasionally close the distance between them, Lefia used the staff technique that Riveria had always taught her to deflect the thrusting short staff and change its trajectory.

"My kind of super short spells must unleash 'magic power' and weave incantations in one breath, but short spells and long spells should not be subject to this limitation."

"...!"

"You don't need to put all your strength into it at the beginning. Don't infuse the initial incantation with 'magic power'. You can refine it all at once in the second half and see."

"I see!"

Philweis's criticism as a mage was quite accurate.

She gave Lefia many valuable instructions, such as the timing and method of filling "magic" and the way to weave incantations, etc.

Not only that, but she was also much more skillful at adjusting the force of her attacks than Ais.

The wooden staff struck Lefia mercilessly for her failed attempt, but not too hard, urging her to take the next step immediately.

Phil Weiss was like a conductor leading the performance with a baton, pointing out the direction for her singing.

The elven maidens weave songs and dances.

The two were like forest spirits holding hands on the grassland, one guided and the other holding her hand as they danced gracefully.

In a corner of the phosphorescent underground city, a waltz played again and again.

(This time, we must succeed...!)

Lefia, who had failed to chant and had to start over, now had power gathered in her eyes.

With her feet moving and dodging in a dance-like motion, her lips continuously weaving incantations (singing), she felt a definite improvement. The best evidence was that the chanting time had solidly increased compared to when she first started.

To be honest, Philweis's attacks were no match for Ais's offensive.

Although it had only been a few days, Lefia had received rigorous training from that [Sword Maiden], and she could "see clearly" the short staff combo that was threatening her now.

Therefore, she had the resources to spare.

"Snipe, elven archer! Pierce through, arrow that never misses! — Spirit Bow Light Arrow!"

During the twentieth simulation battle, Lefia finally succeeded in "parallel chanting".

The single-shot spell "Spirit Arrow" is completed and fired from the tip of the wand.

After Philweis jumped aside to dodge, a beam of light flew past with a high-pitched sound, hitting the wall of the dungeon, cracking it, and then shattering.

"It...it was a success!?"

Lefia, panting, cheered as the "magic" was activated.

She held the wand to her chest, her face beaming with joy.

Of course, it was much less powerful than the "magic" that was originally cast while the user was still. In order to achieve "parallel chanting," she suppressed her "magic power," so the damage to the wall hit by the flash (spirit bow arrow) was at most the same as being cut by a sword.

Philvis held back during her attacks, which was also a major reason. She probably wouldn't have been able to chant so smoothly when fighting monsters, or even when battling in the "deep layers."

However, for Lefia, this achievement was a significant step forward.

Although it was only once, the fact that she had successfully performed "parallel chanting" in normal combat gave her confidence.

Thinking of Riveria's teachings to this day, and how the training she and Ais had done had not been in vain, Lefia's cheeks flushed with excitement and emotion.

"Your chanting just now was impeccable; don't forget that feeling."

"Yes, thank you!"

Phil Weiss also frankly praised Rafia for dancing and singing continuously.