61 Chapter Sixty-One

"This is only the first floor," Edward spoke as he looked at his companions. His gaze landed on Brandon, specifically, "Let's take a few days to run through it as many times as we need before we move on to the second one."

"We can do that?" Markus exclaimed with mild curiosity.

"Don't you remember when I told you how the dungeon's layout was different with every attempt? That means the enemies will reset when the dungeon does, as well. All we need to do is walk out of the dungeon before walking back in," Edward told him. He looked at Brandon and smiled, "And with our lucky charm, here, we won't have to worry about mapping the floor."

"It does sound convenient," Leila smiled. She stood up and stretched her arms before turning to Edward, "While we walk back, you can tell me how you did that last attack. It was amazing!"

"That's right!" Brandon added as he, too, stood up. Markus had already finished tending to Brandon's wounds, so his arm was back and a few of his scars had been healed, "The attack hit the entire room, not just the enemies near us. If you used that while surrounded, you might clear house."

"Sorry, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I don't think I'd be able to do it again," Edward replied. While this statement was true, it wasn't completely honest, either. Edward might not have been able to replicate his final attack, but his time being influenced by pure inspiration had changed the ways he would use pyrokinesis in the future. The palm attack was one attack he would surely replicate- even if it used more MP.

"Well, that's a shame," Leila sighed. She looked at Edward then smiled, "But I see you've put on your new armor. How does it feel?"

"I put some stats into strength," Edward said. He raised his arms to reveal his armor in all its mummy-like splendor. It didn't look as awkward as he thought it did- perhaps because his entire outfit was as black as his hair. If anything, the leather tunic made him look cooler than he did before, "I can hardly feel its weight, now."

"That's good. I imagine it would've been awkward if the tunic weighed you down," Brandon laughed, "You might have ended up slower than Markus."

"Hey!"

"Sorry, man."

"Now that we've fully recovered, I think it's time we head back to the dungeon entrance," Edward suggested. Leila and Markus nodded, though Brandon immediately raised his hand. For a moment, Edward felt like a school teacher as he nodded to Brandon.

"Why can't we at least try the second floor? If the monsters there are stronger, they might be protecting more loot. We only managed to find one chest on this floor and only got two items because I was the one who opened it. If we repeat the floor, we might only find one chest again," Brandon reasoned, "Besides, I don't think the second floor would be that much harder than the first, right?"

"He has a point," Markus said as he turned from Brandon to Edward. Edward put his hand against his chin as he considered Brandon's suggestion. Truthfully, Edward desperately wanted to go to the second floor, but he was planning to hold back until everybody was ready- especially Brandon. However, if Brandon himself was the one who suggested the second floor, it must've meant the man felt ready to risk the endeavor.

Edward looked up and let his hand fall back to his side.

"We'll go if everybody agrees," Edward said. He looked to Markus and Brandon, "You two want to go, but we haven't heard from Leila, yet."

He looked at the green-eyed woman and found her smiling at him. Her eyes were wide with excitement and her fists were clenched.

"Let's go!" She pleaded with a big smile. Brandon chuckled and playfully shook his head before turning back to Brandon. After a moment, Edward gave his brother an affirmative nod.

"That's everybody, right?" Brandon asked. He raised his fist and smiled, "Then it's decided! Let's move onto the second floor!"

The second floor's entrance was on the other side of the boss room, so the group didn't have to walk far to reach it. The door's appearance was identical to the dungeon's entrance but it was a little bit larger. In the center of the door was a large lock broken in half. Some of hte lock was still hanging from the door's handle, but most of it had fallen to the ground.

"It probably broke the moment we beat the floor boss," Markus guessed, "So it doesn't look like we'll be able to sneak around future floor bosses if they prove too difficult."

"We'll have to fight them," Edward nodded. Markus stepped forward and pushed against the door just as he had done with the door at the Dungeon entrance. Soon after, the group felt the same cold gust of wind that had appeared at the beginning of the dungeon, but they were prepared for it, this time. Everybody took hold of their coats and covered their bodies while they waited for the gust to disappear.

"Man, that's just as bad as last time," Brandon shivered as he let his coat fall to his sides. Edward nodded before summoning the usual ball of fire. However, to his surprise, the ball of fire was vastly different from the past flames he summoned. The color had shifted from a bright orange to a dark flame- almost to a crimson red. The brightness had been intensified, as well. His previous flame was only as bright as a small flashlight- but now it was as if he held a miniature bonfire in his hands. After he managed to register the change in color and brightness, he and the entire group felt the flame's intense temperature. Compared to the usual flames, this one was almost three times as hot. Thus, it must've been three times as painful. 

"Hot!" Brandon immediately shouted as he stepped away. Edward immediately shook his hand to extinguish the flame. Edward stared at his hand in bewilderment before a grin spread across his face.

This Dragon flame was stronger than Ikarus's.