Is It Wrong To Skitter In A Dungeon? Chapter 57: The Awesome Expedition (Patreon)

Chapter 57: The Awesome Expedition

“Is everyone ready?”

Taylor looked over her Familia, and smiled, proud, as she saw they were all indeed prepared for a trip into the Dungeon.

Their gear had been repaired, and some of them had gotten upgrades. Bell, for instance, was carrying a long sword now to use alongside the Hestia Knife. Gina and Primo had taken the parahuman’s advice and put on breastplates and vambraces made of Killer Ant chitin. And Oriana had decided to wear a frog mouth helmet to protect her head.

Lili’s new weapon was an impressive sight to behold as well. The Manticore was basically a shrunken down, portable scorpion, or a scaled-up arbalest. It was as tall as she was, fired arm-length bolts, and carried a repeater clip that held five bolts at once.

Welf, brilliant smith that he was, had also found a way to propel the projectiles faster and harder by using Wind Blade Cartridges to accelerate the bolts as they left the weapon, turning it into a sort of giant fantasy bowgun rather than a purely mechanical bolt thrower.

And for once, Welf’s naming sense fit the weapon. The Manticore was a deadly ranged weapon, one that turned Lili into a true terror against the monsters.

Of course, the name of the weapon made Taylor wonder if perhaps there were Manticores in the Dungeon. She made a mental note to ask about that later.

Even Aisha had decided to upgrade her outfit. To celebrate hitting Level 4, the Amazon had taken the Goliath’s tooth and had Welf forge the ivory into a pair of clawed gauntlets. The Kuseh Safed looked wicked, and had the ability to block swords and other attacks while inflicting painful wounds at the same time with the spikes and barbs covering it. Still no armor anywhere else, but Taylor would take what she could get.

“Seems like everyone is ready to go,” Hestia commented, standing beside the Familia’s captain as they inspected the troops. Wiene was standing next to the goddess, a look of child-like awe as she looked at the adventurers, mouthing “Cool!” to herself.

“In that case, I’m going to go over the plan one more time before we head out,” Taylor said. “The Level 1s will enter the Dungeon with us, but will not go further than the 12th Floor. Emma is in charge while the rest of us are gone. Train and hunt, but most importantly, stay safe.”

The Level 1s all nodded, though Karen looked a bit put-off at having to take orders from Emma. The pink-haired girl also seemed nervous at the responsibility, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, but Taylor had seen how she interacted with the others during training and she had the makings of a good team leader. Emma listened to advice from her companions but also had a quick mind, able to rapidly assess situations and make judgement calls when necessary.

“As for the rest of us, we will make our way to the 18th Floor, where we’ll meet up with the Loki Familia. After spending the night there, we shall head into the Lower Floors. The goal is to make it to Floor 36, but there is no shame in having to stick to the floors we’re more comfortable with. Our goal is to acquire materials, not prove a point.”

The adventurers all nodded at that. They knew the score. And as much as some of them might want to show off to impress the Loki Familia, survival came first.

Pleased by everyone’s understanding of the plan, Taylor looked down at the Xenos standing nearby. “Wiene, you’re in charge of taking care of the spiders and looking after Hestia while we’re gone.”

“Hey! Shouldn’t it be the other way around?!” Hestia cried.

“When you can wake yourself up without one of us having to literally drag you out of bed, then you can be the one to look after others,” Taylor drawled.

“Neh!” was Hestia’s mature response, the goddess sticking her tongue out at her captain. This earned some giggles from the Familia.

With that, they were ready, and the group exited the manor, the Tamed monsters falling into formation around the Familia. Debbie was acting as the pack mule, which combined with Lili’s inventory space, meant the expedition would be able to acquire a tremendous amount of loot and bring it back.

When they reached Babel, the other adventurers gave the Hestia Familia a wide berth. Rumors still abounded across the city about how Taylor had managed to fight Ais to a draw, which had only increased the parahuman’s fame – and infamy. Add in the monsters, and nobody was stupid enough to mess with them as they entered the Dungeon.

They took off a fast clip. Without riding Debbie, they took a bit longer to descend, but it was good to avoid getting spoiled. A giant, rideable worm wasn’t always going to be around for them to use, after all.

They stopped on the 7th Floor for a bit to gather some Blue Papillion companions for Azure to supplement their healing, and then kept going. Upon reaching the 12th Floor, the Familia broke up, the Level 1s sticking around to hunt Orcs and other monsters for Exelia, while the rest continued to descend.

Nothing was capable of hurting them and they bulldozed through the denizens of the Dungeon all the way to the 17th Floor. Bell had a bit too much fun slaying the Minotaurs that crossed his path, but aside from that, everything went according to plan.

“Will you be alright around Ais?” Bell asked his sister as they entered the 18th Floor.

“So long as she stays away from my monsters,” Taylor replied. Bell nodded, accepting that response, before looking ahead.

The Loki Familia was encamped off to the side of the entrance to the 19th Floor, their tents neatly arranged in a square formation, and as the Hestia Familia approached, the other adventurers spotted them and came out to welcome their allies.

“Welcome. You made good time,” Finn said, giving a wave at the party as it arrived.

“Didn’t want to be late,” Taylor replied, and the pallum nodded back seriously.

“Feel free to set up your tents wherever you like,” he told them. “It’s late afternoon right now, so the plan is still the same: depart in the morning tomorrow in order to make it down through the Lower Floors.”

“Understood,” Taylor said, before turning to her Familia. “You heard the man. Set up camp, mingle… and don’t cause too much trouble.”

“Yes, captain!” they called out before breaking out the tents, taking them from the packs strapped to the Dungeon Worm.

“Come, join me,” Finn requested of Taylor, and she followed him into the big tent at the center of the Loki Familia’s camp. A shield was being used as an improvised table, and it had a couple of maps upon it showing the layout of the different floors.

“The goal is to hit the 28th Floor and set up in the safe zone by tomorrow evening. We will then use it as a base of operations for the Water City and the Dense Forest Ravine,” Finn informed the parahuman as she looked over the maps on the table. “We have enough supplies to last a week. We can scavenge for food on the 28th Floor, and of course there is potable water from the Great Fall. The main bottleneck will be healing. When the potions run out, we will have to make our way back up.”

“I see. So, a week, or until the medicine runs out. Whichever happens first,” Taylor mused, nodding in agreement with the assessment.

Ryuu, Leyfia, and the Blue Papillion would help with reducing the amount of potions they’d have to use, although they’d likely run out of Mind potions long before the healing ones.

“What about the Amphisbaena?” the parahuman asked.

The Monster Rex was the major obstacle for most Familias trying to descend, as it could traverse between the 25th and 27th Floors using the massive waterfall, and was classified as a Level 6 monster, at least when surrounded by water. Which it often was.

“It will likely respawn while we are down there, though it should happen after we reach the 28th Floor. In any case, if it does appear, we’ll take care of it,” Finn said. “Now, regarding resource allocation…”

The next few hours were spent haggling over the cut each Familia would get out of the expedition. Naturally, nobody wanted one group to get more than their fair share, and they had to decide on how to split things when the two Familias worked together to bring down a monster. It took a while, but the two captains finally hashed out an agreement.

“Very well, then. Both Familias will put forward ten percent of whatever they acquire at the end of each day, be it Magic Stones, Drop Items, or other Dungeon materials. These resources will be used to form a shared pool of goods, which will be sold to the Guild at the end of the expedition. Any money made from this sale will be split fifty-fifty between the two Familias. Anything else aside from that ten percent is the property of the respective adventurers and Familias that obtained it, to do with as they please,” Finn said, jotting his name down onto a piece of paper that had the details of the contract written down on it.

Taylor took the pen after he was done and signed her own name. Both then stamped their Familia insignias onto the paper, and with that, the deal was made.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Taylor said as she put the pen down.

“Indeed. You drive a hard bargain, Miss Hebert,” Finn praised.

“Thank you. I learned from my father,” she replied.

“Yes, your father… is it true?” Finn asked, looking at the young woman. “Was Daniel Hebert really your father?”

“He was,” Taylor confirmed. “I take it you knew him?”

“I was the captain of the Loki Familia back when he was the Vice-Captain of the Zeus Familia. We would interact every so often. He ran his Familia almost single handedly. Though that was probably for the best. Maxim was a strong man, probably the strongest in Orario… but he couldn’t handle the paperwork,” Finn claimed. He squinted at Taylor. “Hm. I suppose you look a little like him… but it’s odd. You’re only just a bit younger than he was when… when he fought the Black Dragon.”

“Temporal shenanigans,” Taylor explained. “From what I understand, whatever it was that brought him to Orario also messed with his age. Somehow.”

Finn nodded slowly. “I see.” He then shook his head. “Well, now that we’re done, feel free to wander around the camp if you like. Remember…”

“Six a.m., I remember,” Taylor said with a nod. She then walked out of the tent and began to explore the area.

She had already done so with her swarm, diminished though it may have been, and knew where everything and everyone already was, but she wanted to see it with her own eyes. Partly to keep her mind off of thinking about her father again.

‘The tents have been set up, and the perimeter is secured,’ Taylor thought to herself.

The Hestia Familia had set up around Debbie, using the Dungeon Worm as a center of their camp. A few campfires had been started and dinner was getting prepared, and Welf was doing some last-minute maintenance of the party’s gear.

“Ais…”

“Bell…”

‘Oh? What’s this now?’ Taylor wondered, intrigued, as her swarm detected a scene straight out of a melodrama taking place nearby, on the border between the two Familias’ camps.

Bell and Ais were staring at each other. There was longing in their gazes, but also hesitation. Neither made a move to approach the other, and just stood there.

“I…” Ais started, but trailed off, looking down at her feet.

“Ais, are you happy?”

The Sword Princess jerked at that question, and eyes wide with a mix of emotions. Fear, resignation, and pain chief among them.

“I am not,” she finally admitted. “I have not been happy in a long time. Not since my mother and father were killed by the Black Dragon.”

Bell winced, and Taylor shook her head. That explained some things. Ais's family must have been killed when the Black Dragon destroyed the Jade Empire and created the Abandoned World.

“Even when we were together?” Bell asked pitifully, and Ais sucked in a breath through her teeth.

“Yes,” she admitted again. “I wanted… I wanted to be, though. When I’m with you… my heart feels lighter, like it’s about to break free of the darkness I’ve been wallowing in… but I can’t… I can’t shake it off. I cannot shed the hate I feel for anything related to the Dungeon.”

“I did not even know how lost I had been… not until Riveria brought me to Edas Village,” Ais continued.

“What did you find there that helped you come to terms with… all of this?” Bell asked.

“In the village, the people who live there worship a cast-off scale from the Black Dragon,” she revealed. Her tone of voice was disgusted and confused, still unable to come to terms with what she had seen.

“Worshipping a scale?” Bell asked, his confused tone mirroring Taylor’s own bewilderment.

“Just as the bones of the Leviathan repel monsters from Lolog Lake, so too do the parts of the other Calamities cause such utter dread in other living things that they will do all in their power to avoid them,” Ais revealed. “In this way, settlements with no other protectors can be kept safe from wild monsters or animal attacks. It makes it hard to raise cattle or other beasts, and it won’t protect from bandits… but it is better than nothing in this world.”

Taylor was intrigued. Objects with monster repelling effects were rare, so to hear there was something like that just lying around… ‘Perhaps I should see about getting something like that for Welf to experiment with…’

“Did seeing people pray to the scale make you… angry?” Bell asked nervously.

“Yes! It made me angry! But also… confused. How could anybody be willing to give thanks to something like that?” Ais demanded incredulously. She then shook her head. “Yet I also saw how safe the village was. It was small, but it was surviving. And I realized… my hate was killing me.”

She tilted her head. “Did you know? The first thought I had when I learned this was to try and destroy the scale? But if I did that… if I gave into my hate… I would be consigning innocent people to death. Without the scale… they would become prey for the monsters that lurk in the mountains. And their blood would be on my hands.”

“I still hate the Black Dragon! I hate the Dungeon and its monsters! But I don’t want to sink any further into the hatred that is consuming me!” Ais uttered, clenching her fists.

“Then I will save you from the darkness, Ais!” the white-haired teen declared. “I will slay the Black Dragon for you, and free your heart!”

“Bell,” Ais whispered, tears appearing in her eyes.

“Will you let me help you?” Bell asked her softly, tenderly taking her hands.

“Bell…”

“Ais…”

‘That is sickeningly sweet,’ the parahuman thought to herself as the two young adventurers stared into each other’s eyes while holding hands.

Taylor was shaken from her eavesdropping when a familiar pair of Amazon twins approached her.

“Taylor!” Tione said happily. “Hi!”

“Hello, Tione,” the parahuman replied in greeting. “Ready for the expedition?”

“Yup! It’s gonna be wild!” the shorter of the Amazon duo declared.

“Where did you get so many Deadly Hornets?” Tiona asked curiously.

“I found a Bloody Hive when I went to the 24th Floor a while ago,” Taylor replied, and the duo gaped at her.

“You did?!” Tione gasped. “And you brought it to the surface?! What if it spawns more?!”

“I can control it, and I gave it the order to not spawn any monsters while I’m down here,” Taylor assured her.

“You’re crazy,” Tiona said, but there was a glint of respect in her gaze.

“I have been called before, yes,” Taylor said dryly.

“Say, have you heard about this new story that’s been going around Orario recently?” Tione inquired, looking up at Taylor with curious eyes. “It’s about a boy who befriends a talking harpy…”

After a conversation with the Amazon about the book – and learning Tione was a bibliophile – Taylor eventually promised to share some more stories from her home.

Following that was a nice dinner that consisted of egg-fried rice, the egg part of the dish coming from the coops in Rivira, and then everyone went to sleep, getting ready for the next day.

As soon as the ‘sky’ of the 18th Floor began to light up, signaling the arrival of the morning, the two camps stirred, and in minutes everyone was up and ready to go. Within the hour, the Familias were on the move, descending into the Great Tree Labyrinth.

Taylor took the opportunity to grab as many Mad Beetles and Gun Libellula as possible as they descended, and proved her worth as a scout through her swarm. She would never say it out loud, but the stunned, wide-eyed looks from the Loki Familia were very good at boosting her ego.

They made it to the 24th Floor in record time, according to a Level 4 named Raul who was part of the scouting force. He’d just dispatched a Green Dragon, a monster that was Level 4 in strength, on his own, when his companion, a black-haired cat-girl (also Level 4), began inspecting the area.

“What are you looking for?” Lili asked as the cat-girl ran her hands over the bark of the ‘tree’ the Green Dragon had been guarding.

“Green Dragons almost always defend trees that possess a rare resource called Dungeon Amber,” Anakity explained. “It is an invaluable item for making high-quality magic staves. Worth a lot of money as a result.”

Lili perked up at the mention of ‘lots of money’ and began to help her scour the tree for any signs of amber. Taylor rolled her eyes fondly at the pallum, while Raul sighed a little at his friend’s antics.

“So…” he began, trying to find something to talk about. “Nice weather we’ve been having.”

“Yes, it’s been rather pleasant,” Taylor drawled, amused, and he coughed awkwardly, turning red.

“We’ll be getting rain soon,” he went on, already to far into the hole to stop digging now. “Rainy season starts late-autumn and goes until mid-spring.”

“Good to know,” Taylor thanked him, and Raul decided that he’d done enough, shutting up while he still had some dignity.

When Lili and Anakity returned, hands filled with large chunks of golden amber, the scouting force moved on, entering the 25th Floor.

There were no surprises in the Water City, the Monster Rex for the area not having respawned yet. And none of the monsters gave the expedition any trouble. No Xenos, either, which Taylor was relieved to see.

They made their way to the 28th Floor without issue, and the Loki Familia spread out to set up camp with a smooth efficiency borne of multiple attempts doing so.

Unlike the 18th Floor, which had Rivira as a permanent base of operations, there was nothing of the sort down there. It had some structures left behind by other parties who’d camped there in the past, but due to its depth nobody tried to live that deep.

Which was a shame, because the 28th Floor, nick-named ‘Under Garden’ by some veterans due to the fields of flowers that filled the area, as well as the vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms growing down there, would make for a very good place for a village. Not to mention the presence of fresh water, courtesy of the Great Fall a floor above trickling down in small streams, made it perfect for habitation.

“I could build a town here,” Taylor mused to herself as her swarm cleared out any monsters from the site they’d picked for a camp.

Some monsters had taken up residence in the abandoned structures and had to be expelled. Repairs would also be needed. But it was a solid location with natural defenses and resources in spades.

“Not a lot of light, though,” Welf commented as he helped get the campsite into some semblance of order.

“Yes, that would be a problem,” Taylor agreed. “No idea if the 18th Floor’s ceiling can provide Vitamin D like the sun does, but it’s a lot more illuminated than down here.”

The 28th Floor was dim, the ambient lighting almost constantly twilight with rare moments of brightness or darkness that didn't last long. It had glowing mushrooms and flowers to provide extra illumination, but that was it, and gave a gloomy, creepy atmosphere to the Safe Zone.

“Vitamin what-now?” Bell asked.

“Vitamin D. It comes from a couple different sources, like some mushrooms and cod liver oil, but the main source is the sun itself. Without it, humans get sick and die. Don’t know about other races. Dwarves might be fine, since they live underground for most of their lives.”

“Huh. Learn something new every day, I suppose,” her brother muttered. “Any other, uh, vitamins out there?”

“Lots,” Taylor said. “Though the most pertinent one right now would be Vitamin C. It’s most commonly found in citrus fruits like limes and lemons, and is the key to preventing scurvy.”

“Scurvy has a cure?!” someone in the Loki Familia exclaimed, while another uttered incredulously, “It can be cured with lemons?!”

“Alright, alright, calm down everyone,” Riveria called out, trying to get the groups back on track.

“Yeah, if you keep getting surprised by everything Weaver does or says you’ll run out of breath!” Gareth chortled.

“Hard not to get surprised, though,” somebody muttered as the group broke apart, leaving the Loki Familia executives with Taylor and Bell.

“So… scurvy, huh?” Tione said. “Bet Njord or Poseidon would pay a lot for this information.”

“Knowledge that saves lives should be freely spread,” Taylor declared. “I’ve seen what happens when people horde and charge for medical services.”

“We’re grateful for the information,” Finn said. “But let’s finish setting up camp before anymore world-shaking revelations, please?”

“Yes, captain!” Tiona shouted before running off to do just that. Everyone watched her leave with amused expressions before Taylor turned to Finn.

“Welf is currently making nails. The Mad Beetles are preparing some logs taken from the Great Tree Labyrinth, and we should have some crude planks ready to use in the repairs soon,” Taylor informed him. “I have my swarm gathering food as well. Do you want some as well?”

“Yes, that would be greatly appreciated,” the Loki Familia captain replied. “We made good time, but it’s still the late afternoon, and the Dense Forest Ravine gets dark at night, so it’s not safe to venture down there until tomorrow.”

“Understood. Will we be working together, or should we do our own, separate, things?” Taylor asked.

“I do not mind either option. If some of our Familias want to hunt together, I see no reason to deny them that choice,” Finn told her.

 “I wish to get some training in with the Fairy Force, and I’d like you to join us, Miss Hebert,” Riveria spoke up. “If you’re open for it, of course.”

“I’d be glad to join you and your team tomorrow,” Taylor replied.

The elf smiled at her, pleased by that, while Finn and Gareth shared a look with each other.

“Well… have fun you two,” the dwarf chuckled. “Anyways, I’m going to see what the situation is with the buildings. I don’t fancy sleeping in a tent again.”

He wandered off to commandeer one of the bungalows made by someone in the distant that was mostly intact, and Finn shook his head at his friend’s antics before walking away as well. Riveria and Taylor glanced at each other, amused.

“Boys,” Taylor sighed whimsically.

“Indeed,” Riveria agreed with a solemn nod. Bell looked affronted but had enough survival instincts not to speak up.

With that done, Taylor bid Riveria farewell, who nodded back and left to do whatever it was she did when setting up camp. That left the parahuman to finish repairing things with her swarm, and Bell to wander off and find Ais to do… something. As his sister, Taylor didn’t want to know what he got up to with his girl.

‘I wonder what Mikoto is making for dinner?’ Taylor wondered. She decided to go find out.

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The next day arrived without fanfare. The 28th Floor did not change light levels as time passed. It was always the same twilight-esque dimness. The only differences were what sections were lit up. At night, the mushrooms glowed, causing the ground to shine eerily. During the day, flowers would glow, making the fields sparkle with millions of miniature stars.

Throughout the floor, the camp stirred to life as the adventurers woke up and got ready for a session of monster killing. The Level 2s and some of the Level 3s would be hunting in the Water City, while everyone else would be venturing to lower floors.

Breakfast was eggs and porridge seasoned with Dungeon herbs and mushrooms, with water to wash it all down with. It didn’t do much to wake Taylor up, but it did fill her stomach, which was more important seeing as she’d be doing hard work soon.

“Good morning,” Taylor said, greeting Riveria. The elf was standing with her team, the Fairy Force, near the entrance to the 29th Floor.

“Morning,” the green-haired adventurer said politely. “Have you eaten? Are you ready?”

“Yes to both,” Taylor confirmed, before glancing at the other people she’d be hunting with that day.

She only recognized Leyfia, the brunette giving her suspicious glares, clearly not trusting her. The other members of the Fairy Force – who were all elven women at least Level 2 in strength – were less stand-offish, with some showing curiosity towards her presence. They were still elves, however, meaning there was a distinct hint of arrogance from all of them.

‘I am going to blow their minds,’ Taylor thought to herself, keeping her expression neutral as she followed the Fairy Force into the Dungeon.

The first thing she thought upon entering the 29th Floor was ‘It’s dark.’ Here, the floor was significantly larger than the safe zone. Because of this, the glowing flowers and fungi were spread out more, reducing the amount of space a single cluster could light up. Not to mention the trees blocked a lot of light from the ceiling, filtering it.

The second thought was that the monsters within the Dense Forest Ravine would cause most people from Earth Bet to squeal in childish delight. The reason was simple. In Taylor’s mind, she couldn’t help but call the 29th to 36th Floors ‘Dinosaur World,’ for there were many monsters that resembled those prehistoric creatures.

Bloodsaurus were a cross between a T-rex and a Carnosaur, were a blood red hue, and lurked on the 29th and 30th Floors. Tri-Horns were just bigger, angrier, and blue-colored triceratops whose horns could conduct electricity, and were found on the 31st and 32nd Floors. The Stego-Swords were stegosaurs, but with their fins and spikes replaced by sword-like protrusions, and were all over the 33rd and 34th Floors. Dire Raptors were just bigger, meaner, and smarter velociraptors, and they could be found everywhere from the 29th to the 36th Floors in large hunting packs up to a dozen strong. Armarosaurus roamed about as well on these floors, being three-headed Ankylosaurs with spiked-covered shells and tails.

And then there were the Terror Wings and the Laser Necks, which were yellow pterodactyls and green brontosaurs, respectively, that ruled the 35th and 36th Floors. Though the latter earned their names due to the fact they could shoot lasers from their mouths, and acted like mobile artillery towers, blasting apart adventurers from across the entire floor as their long-necked heads poked above the branches and between the densely packed tree trunks.

They were all Level 3 at a minimum, some as strong as a Level 4. Add in the Dragonewts that could use Landform weapons, and these floors were a hellish parade of danger.

And that didn’t even get into the way the surrounding flora, massive and almost scaly in appearance, radiated a sense of primeval energy. The Dense Forest Ravine was as if somebody had cut out a chunk of the past and recreated it, with trees dozens of feet thick around the trunk and hundreds of feet tall, dwarfing anything that existed on the surface.

Dinosaurs and prehistoric plants weren’t all there was to see. There were even some insectoid monsters she could control on these floors, such as the Arachne and Poison Vermis, but the biggest ones were the Razor-pedes, enormous centipede-like monsters that were as large as a Lambton, though sadly just as rare. They couldn’t burrow between floors freely like a Dungeon Worm or Lambton, though, which was a shame, but the titanic centipedes were the equivalent of a Level 4 and were very useful for taking down large monsters.

‘Shame that I’ve only found one so far,’ Taylor thought to herself, somewhat disappointed, but she amused herself by having it hunt down some monsters and gather up the loot.

Meanwhile, the Fairy Force were scouring the floor, moving cautiously through the trees as they advanced. The plan was to get to the 30th Floor today for hunting, but anything they came across was fair game.

To help out, the captain of the Hestia Familia was keeping her swarm up, the insects from the surface she’d brought with her being spread out through the trees and keeping track of everything within a thousand-yard radius of her. She could go further, but she didn’t have enough insects to cover much more than that, and the more she thinned her swarm, the easier it was for monsters to slip through the gaps.

‘Add in the fact that monsters can spawn from anywhere, and having a smaller and tighter cordon is better than a wider one,’ Taylor thought to herself.

A couple minutes of walking and killing later, and the first big monster popped up within range of her insects' senses. She raised her golden arm, signaling something was close to the rest of her companions.

“My swarm is detecting a Bloodsaurus 350 yards ahead,” Taylor announced as her swarm scouted the area.

“Anything else?” one of the Fairy Force inquired.

“Four Dragonewts seven-hundred yards away. Two have Landform weapons. And there’s an Arachne, but I’ve taken control of it.”

“Bloodsaurus first, then the Dragonewts,” Riveria decided after a moment to think it over.

“In that case, may I go first? I have a few things I want to try out,” Taylor said, stepping forward towards the Bloodsaurus.

“By all means,” Riveria said.

Taylor nodded gratefully, and sent a portion of her swarm forward, dozens of flies and gnats landing on its head in the shape of a magic circle.

“Hole!” Taylor chanted, and a massive circular wound appeared on the dinosaur-like monster’s head where the bugs had latched onto, blood spurting wildly from the new orifice Taylor had just created.

The pieces of her swarm she’d used to create the magic circle crumbled into dust after being overloaded with magic, and the Bloodsaurus roared in hate and pain, the attack not deep enough to destroy it’s brain, but it still caused a considerable amount of damage all the same.

“Hmm. It seems the spell’s effectiveness was fifty percent weaker without the entire incantation,” Taylor noted. “Perhaps if the target were a smaller monster the hole would have punched clean through, annihilating the brain, or if aimed properly, the Magic Stone. Further experiments necessary.”

She then charged forward, thrusting her palm forward. The attack struck the side of its head and shattered it’s already weakened skull, teeth flying from its mouth before it collapsed, dead. A moment later and a few teeth and some scales were left behind alongside the Magic Stone.

“That was incredible!” one of the Fairy Force exclaimed as Taylor returned to the group.

“How did you turn a spell as simple as Hole into something that could wound a Bloodsaurus?!” Leyfia asked incredulously. “Did you super-charge it?!”

“Yes,” Taylor replied with a nod of her head. “It was the regular spell, I just used about as much Mind as a Level 2 adventurer could bring to bear.”

“You have such an accurate grasp of your Mind?” Riveria asked, intrigued.

“That’s right. I have near total control over the magical energy in my body. It does nothing I do not wish it to,” the parahuman stated. “And I can tell exactly how much Mind is required to cast a spell, and I can determine how much Mind I put into every spell I cast.”

“How?!” Leyfia spluttered.

“Meditation and experimentation,” Taylor replied simply. She then cocked her head to the side. “Another Bloodsaurus just spawned and is approaching us from the left. 200 yards.”

“I’ll handle it!” Leyfia declared, striding forward. A magic circle formed beneath her, and power gathered around her staff, forming six smaller magic circles.

“…Strike my foes! Arcs Ray!” Leyfia called out, and six beams of magical energy shot forward, piercing through the Bloodsaurus. As it died, she turned to Taylor, flashing her a smug smile. “So? How was that?”

Instead of the awe she’d wanted to see, Taylor had a thoughtful expression. “Can you strike multiple targets with your Spell?”

“Huh?” Leyfia uttered, confused.

“Your rays. You created six of them. Could you have them change directions mid-flight and strike different targets? I also saw how they curved in the air to hit the monster. A homing effect, most likely,” Taylor noted, analyzing the elf’s magic with a single glance. “If you could have your beams strike wherever you wanted, you could take out multiple monsters at once for the price of a single spell.”

“An interesting idea,” Riveria spoke up while her apprentice’s mouth opened and closed but no words came out. “We will have to test this idea. But I see no reason it couldn’t happen.”

“Y-yes, ma’am,” Leyfia stammered out, finally finding her voice again.

Riveria then turned to two other members of the team. “Madessa, Yunis, take care of the Dragonewts.”

“Yes, ma’am!” they called out, stepping up to take out the monsters. Their staves began to glow as they formed magic circles together.

“…Grab and Bind! Nature’s Wrath!”

“…Pierce and Break! Madness Lightning!”

Taylor watched, intrigued, as one unleashed countless vines that grew out of the ground, wrapping and binding the Dragonewts. The other magic circle fired red lightning bolts that obliterated the quartet of scaly creatures.

The lightning spell was quite devastating but slow, and the monsters could have dodged if they hadn’t been restrained first. The two mages had worked well together to take them out quickly.

The vines could do more than just bind, though. In another instance, Taylor watched as they infiltrated the flesh of monsters and wriggled around inside, ripping the Magic Stones directly out of the bodies. Though, the vines were only able to get inside thanks to another spell that created massive bleeding wounds directly on the body via a curse of some sort.

As for the lightning bolts, they were still electricity despite being conjured magically, and so could be used in conjunction with another elf’s spell that created spikes of metal, using them as lightning rods to redirect or concentrate the lightning as necessary.

The Fairy Force was efficient with their casting and could fight in a group with the ease of a team who’d worked together often in the past. They knew each other, their tells and personalities, which lead to better coordination. Not to mention their ability to combine spells that on their own might not be enough to kill a stronger monster, but were able to bring them down when cast in unison.

And that was just the regular members. Riveria was a beast. Her ability to modify her own Spells granted her mastery over magic that let her fight as if her level was higher than it actually was. Add in an understanding of how spells and magic worked, and Riveria was able to coordinate her team on the fly, assigning combat roles instantly based on what combination of spells was needed at the moment.

But if the Loki Familia’s captain was a beast, then Leyfia was a monster. Her ability to copy other Spells gave her more utility than any other adventurer alive and she could unleash the right spell for the right situation, letting her cover her companions while they recovered. Combined with intense training to learn Concurrent Casting, the brunette was going to be a terror once she gained more confidence in herself.

The two elves were the lynchpin of the Fairy Force, and while the other mages were effective, without Riveria and Leyfia they likely couldn’t handle all the threats up to the 37th Floor.

“Your Fairy Force formations are quite effective,” Taylor praised after a brutal take down of a couple Dragonewts.

“Thank you, we’ve worked hard to make sure of it!” one of the elves, Yunis, said cheerfully.

“You’re not bad with magic, either,” Sonia, another elf on the team, commented. “I’ve got some ideas for using my own spells thanks to watching you!”

Taylor nodded at that. She’d also experienced many new things, and had acquired plenty of new questions. Speaking of which…

“Riveria, may I ask you a question about magic?” Taylor inquired as they marched through the jungle-like terrain of the 30th Floor.

“Of course,” the elf replied. “What is on your mind?”

“What exactly is stopping somebody from copying another adventurer’s Spell by writing down the magic circle for it and then casting it themselves that way?” Taylor asked. “I understand Leyfia’s ability is unique and unprecedented, but all it’s doing is copying the magic circle into her own Falna. Why can’t we do something similar?”

In fact, the parahuman had done something similar in the fight against Ais a while back. She’d copied Mikoto’s gravity Spell, but Taylor had immediately noticed that it was far too weak to even be compared to it. There’d been something missing when she’d tried it, but she couldn’t figure out what.

Meanwhile, as Leyfia spluttered indignantly at her Skill being analyzed and dismissed in the same breath, Riveria hummed before answering.

“In theory, nothing. In practice? Several factors prevent a person from being able to do just that, though admittedly many have tried.” She raised a finger. “The first obstacle is memory. A Spell’s magic circle is exceedingly complex, beyond the ‘normal’ spells used by those without Falna. To copy one would require photographic memory. Not impossible, but again, not common.”

“The Magic stat of the Falna boosts a person’s memory, though,” Taylor pointed out. “A Level 3 with a high rank in Magic has almost perfect recall.”

This, the parahuman could confirm thanks to her own experiences.

“True,” Riveria conceded. “And that leads to the second aspect that complicates your question: the soul. Every soul is unique, and it has a signature that is branded into the Falna itself, and by extension, a Spell’s magic circle. As you said, Leyfia’s Elf Ring allows her to copy these magic circles, but in truth, when she does so, her Falna alters the soul signature aspect, allowing her to cast the Spell as if it were her own.”

“If you were to compare the Magic Circles of the Spells, one Leyfia has copied, another the original, you would find very slight, almost impossible to notice, deviations between them. This is due to the differences in the Falna between adventurers. No two souls are the same, after all, and Leyfia’s Skill allows her to cast other Spells through minor alterations to the base Magic Circle.”

The verdette shrugged. “In comparison, the third component, the amount of Mind required to actually cast a Falna-based Spell, is almost trivial compared to the first and second problems. Without a Falna to supply the Mind, even an elf would require rituals or a spirit’s assistance to cast the Spell. Not to mention, the cost will be exponentially higher if the Spell in question hasn’t had its unique soul signature altered to allow for somebody other than the designated caster to use it.”

“So, assuming somebody managed to find a way around all three issues, then it would be possible?” Taylor inquired.

“Yes,” Riveria confirmed.

From the glint in the parahuman’s eyes, it was clear she was going to try to do just that. From the look Riveria herself had in her eyes, she believed that the parahuman would be able to do something that could change the field of magic, and was eagerly waiting for that day.