The Middle Floors

I woke up early to plan our route and inspect it because what we were heading to was Labyrinth Cave. If I had not chosen my route correctly, we could have found ourselves either getting lost or pinned to a dead-end road by the monster. Compared to the upper floor, which had a flat and circular maze, the middle floor has a far more complex layout of intertwining upper and lower tunnels. Without knowing the terrain, you either get lost or, worse, get cornered by the monster.

I know that with the help of Una Familia, I don't need to plan my own route, but in Chase, we are separated, and I have to know how to navigate the middle floor correctly and learn what kind of monster we are likely to encounter.

"Master, here I brought you some drink."

Orstrid brought me a hot, dark coffee. In this world, there is no coffee being traded yet by the merchant, as far as I know. I discovered it during my time in Wishe; it came from a purple berry called Baisk. The people in that village use that fruit as a remedy because of the pleasant aroma, but they do not realize it can be used as a beverage because, according to them, the taste is too bitter.

"Hm, the smell is great, and the taste, *slurp*... Ha, I feel better. Thank you, Orstrid."

She just bowed and went to continue cooking the food for the others. They have not yet woken up, maybe because they are dead tired. I want them to sleep well because the monsters we will encounter on the middle floor are far more dangerous and stronger than those on the upper floor.

'I forgot to ask Valda about their level, but most likely they are a level above one because they manage to reach this floor... I had one day left. I had to up my training a bit.'

Rivira was located on the 18th floor of the dungeon. To reach it, you must go through the 17 floors, where there is a chance you will face a floor boss that is called 'Goliath', a giant monster that can reach seven meters in height. Normally, the top Familia will be the ones who slay the Goliath, but there is still no confirmation that the Goliath has been slain yet.

When I was busy reading, one of the Una Familia woke up; it was Kara, still wearing her sleeping pajamas.

"Ah, morning, did you have a good rest?"

"*Hoam*…. Yes, thanks to you. We can sleep well."

"I create a bath there; you can clean and change your clothes there. If you need more water, just say a word."

Then she inspects a room that was just created overnight with earthy magic. I create the small bathroom, and for the water, I just use magic, and I make the water warm with the use of fire magic.

"I never thought that magic could be used this way."

"Magic is not something that can only be used to hurt each other; it can be used to help other people's lives too."

"I see… Are you not going to peep?" I can hear a bit of a luring voice in that word.

"No, I will not stain my family name, and my people trust Kara, so don't worry."

"So what happens if you are not an Elven noble?"

Then I laid my eyes on Kara and said,

"I think you know the answer, Kara."

I could see she was blushing a bit, then she avoided eye contact, shunned her face, and walked straight to the bathroom.

("Orstrid, please give her a towel. I will continue the cooking.")

("As your command master.")

This morning's meal is warm potato soup with some carrots that Mother taught me when we were out camping in the forest. It has good nutrition and helps the soldier raise their morale.

"Morning Oberon-sama."

"Valda, good morning. I will prepare the food. You can take the shower after Kara finishes."

"Shower?"

Then she saw an earth wall that did not exist yesterday. Notice the delicious aroma. Valda can't help but smell it up close.

"What is Oberon-sama cooking?"

"It's a soup with some vegetables my mother taught me how to cook; it helps you all gain strength for our exploration, and for the taste, it's guaranteed to be delicious after all; it's my mother's recipe."

When the other members woke up, they all came to help prepare the dinner table. After a few minutes, Kara finally left her bath with a happy face, seeing that the other members were getting fired up a bit knowing they could take a warm bath. After everyone finished with the bath, we had breakfast of warm potato soup, which was so delicious they all asked for the second one.

Everyone was in high spirits. I can see they are all checking their belongings to make sure everything is in order. At a large table, we put the map that details the route of each floor. I let Kara choose the route we would take; after all, she had more experience than I did.

"If we follow my route, we can avoid being lost, and I will explain the monster that we will likely encounter."

The new monster that we will encounter on the 13–15th floor is Crytal-Mantis. Because the crystal covers its body, magic becomes less effective against them; thankfully, it is rare to be found, but Kara told me that on the 15th floor, we are most likely to encounter them.

Next was a hellhound, one of the weakest monsters on the middle floor, but if you are facing a group of them, they have become more dangerous, even for max stat level two. They will find it hard to fight because of their ability to breathe fire.

"Most of the monsters on the 13–15th floor are dangerous because of their large numbers, but we have tree mage; we don't need to be worried about their number. The monsters that we must be aware of were the monsters on the 15–17 floor. It was the Minotaur (a cow-head humanoid monster), the Ligerfang (a tiger-like monster), and the Goliath. According to the guild, Goliath is not yet being defeated, so we will take other routes to avoid fighting the floor boss."

"How long does it take to use an alternate route to reach the 18th floor, Kara?"

"If there is no obstacle, we probably can arrive before noon, I believe, but there is a chance the Goliath is already being taken down, but we are not yet aware of that."

"I am sorry to ask this. I want to know all of your levels, and of course, I will tell you mine."

According to Kara, their group was mostly level three, but Cyo was level two because of her role as support in the group; sadly, they only revealed their level, not their true ability or skill. Even Valda knew that she needed to keep her secret for the sake of her goddess and Familia.

'Is it right to ask them to take the Goliath with them? With Orstrid's great strength, we can probably take down that monster.'

"Now that you know our level, how about you, Oberon?"

"It's maybe hard to believe... I was level one, the same with Orstrid."

I can see that all of them were not surprised, maybe because they already knew that I had just arrived in Orario a few days ago.

"I was skeptical at first, but Oberon-sama already confirmed it, so I believe it. I knew Oberon-sama had a good reason for doing this reckless action, but I had to ask, Did Riveria-sama know about Oberon-sama going to the 18th floor?"

"Yes, she did, and yes, she was angry at me. Now, brushing that aside, let's continue. I hope today we can reach Rivira. For that, I will support you all in whatever I can."

"Thank you, Oberon; we will do the same. Now, everyone, we should pack all our belongings and prepare to head out. Let's do our best for the sake of Una-sama!"

((WUOH!!))

----

We are now descending to the 13th floor. I'm still wondering how the dungeon works. The wall somehow has some glow that makes the road along the way go through without any light needed, but somehow at night, it gets dimmer.

'Did the dungeon have a day and night cycle like the outside world? There were so many questions I had when I explored the dungeon. The deeper I went, the more I wondered: who created it? ...'

"Oberon-sama, what's wrong?"

"Ah, I just wonder about the dungeon work. Before I came to Orario, I learned a lot about them, but when I think I understand most of it when I am exploring it myself, it makes me question my understanding more. I can't help but feel a bit excited to imagine what the secret of this dungeon is."

Hearing our conversation, Cyo can't help but get into our conversation.

"I see, Obenyan~ to fufu, I want to learn the secret of the dungeon too, but I can't fight well; thankfully, I meet Kara and others. So I can explore the dungeon."

'Nyan!?'

"I see. I always thought most adventurers were looking for fame and power, but it was a shallow opinion of mine."

Cyo did tell me that she was intrigued by the dungeon because her parents willingly faced the danger of the dungeon. After all, they wanted to try to reveal all of its secrets and obtain fame and power, but sadly, they all died in the process. The same is true for every orphan child in Orario.

"Everyone, I can see the entrance leads to the 13th floor."

The entrance to the 13th floor is called the First Line. When we reach the middle floor, I can feel the air getting much moister the deeper we go, and the layout of the floor looks more like a normal cave than the upper floor, which is mostly a flat and circular maze.

'This moist air... I can use it as an advantage.'

("Orstrid, keep vigilant and avoid the use of fire magic.")

("I understand, Master.")

----

((Growl))

"Valeria Shield!" Kara shouted.

"Roger!"

Valeria then sprinted forward with a big shield and blocked the Hellhound's fire breath. Valda and Rina started chanting their magic; from what I heard, it was most likely ice-type magic. I and Orstrid stand by and watch. It would be a stupid idea to let me get into the fight when I don't understand their way of fighting the monster. I just needed to support them when I knew my hand was needed.

Rina and Valda started chanting their magic spell; from what I heard, it was most likely ice-type magic.

'Weird, how did Rina learn that magic? Did Valda teach her that magic?'

{{Ice Arrow}}

Then a barrage of sharp ice pierced the group of hellhounds. When I watched it more closely, the magic spell was the same element, but it had a different shape and speed. Then one of the hellhounds managed to avoid the magic attack, and it was going to try to use its fire breath again. Seeing that, Kara aimed her spear at the hellhound and shouted.

"Pierce!"

With the speed of sound, it pierced through the hellhound's mouth and killed it instantly. After the fight, Cyo went to gather the material dropped by the monsters, but my eyes were concentrated on Valeria's hand, which blocked that monster's attack.

"Valeria, can I look at your left hand?"

I could see that she was confused, so she laid her eyes on Valda. Then she started taking off her gauntlet, and I could see a burn mark and other battle scars throughout her left arm.

"Just stay still; I will heal all of your wounds."

Valda looks closely at my hand touching Valreia's hand, and then I start chanting healin' magic, the same magic that I cast to Tsubaki because I know there is a chance of scars that I can't see. After a short time, Valeria felt warmth and comfort all over her body, and then she saw all the burning marks on her hand disappear.

"Thank you, Oberon."

"You're welcome. now; it should heal all of your wounds. Let's continue before the monster spawns again."

The monster that we encountered was a hellhound because of its spawn frequency. It troubles me a bit that I become less part of the battle, but I can learn more about their way of fighting. It will be a great experience for future battles, and this dungeon will be more different than I thought it would be. If I do not remember the route carefully, there is a chance I will get lost.

"We are now in a monster called Almiraj territory. Keep on alert, everyone."

"Kara, can you let me deal with that monster? I believe with their great number, it's hard for you all to fight it off."

"Sure, it will help us a lot."

Kara and others understand that Almiraj is one of those monsters that are level 1 if they are alone, but in a group, they become level 2 monsters because of how dangerous they are in a group.

"Rina, is your name right?"

"Y-Yes Oberon-san."

'Hm, she's the type of girl who easily gets embarrassed. She rarely gets into a conversation.'

"Who is the one teaching you the way of magic?"

Oberon is well aware that Valda is not the one who taught Rina the way of magic because of the rule that bound every Elven mage that resides outside of the forest to not, in any circumstances, teach other races our magic spells of any kind.

"I was taught by my mother before she passed away with my father, and I received a new magic skill thanks to Una-sama's blessing."

Before I continued, Kara made a sign to ask us to stop while she closely watched a small fur monster in front of us.

"Almiraj!"

As Kara said, a group of Almiraj were in a small cave, feasting on something. When they noticed us, they all laid down their red eyes on us. At first, Almiraj looked like a normal, cute rabbit and was harmless, but I knew they were all dangerous because of the blood stains on their mouths.

"Everyone stand back."

I can see they are heading this way, so I point my finger and concentrate on manipulating the water surrounding me in the air and gather it all in front of my finger, and it starts forming a water ball. Then I shot the water ball at a slow speed, and when it arrived in front of them, I exploded it and scattered it.

The strong explosion knocks them down, but they are still alive, seeing that Kara and the others are confused, and Valeria starts holding her shield firmly.

{Frost Nova}

Kara and the others started to feel a cold wind on their skin, and the Almiraj tried to stand up and sprint toward us while they were soaking in water. They started to slow down, and they started crystallizing, killing them in an instant.

"Woah, that amazing magic, Oberon."

"Thank you, Kara... Can you feel the mana? or you both may know it as mind."

'I can understand that Rina can't feel it, but I believe Valda does.'

"Yes, I can feel that mana scattered and then concentrated on Oberon-sama's finger, and what followed was cold air coming out of Oberon-sama's palm, but I still don't understand that normally when a mage casts magic, the mana shouldn't be scattered; it should be concentrated from the start, and... I didn't hear any incantation at all from Oberon-sama."

When I laid my eyes on Rina, she was shaking a bit.

"I-I can't feel it like Valda-san, but I can see... Oberon-san somehow gathered water around us... I don't know how."

'Did she have eyes like Ghislaine's demon eye? I hope I had that kind of skill."

"Yes, that's one of the ways the element surrounds You need to learn to manipulate your mana. With a new spell that I teach you both later, you can practice how to do it, but for now..."

Then I walked forward to pick up the material dropped by Almiraj. Then I laid my eyes on the corpse that Almiraj had feasted on. There is nothing much left. Then I burn the remains until nothing is left but ashes, and then I put them in a pot made from earth magic.

"I will carry the remains... Maybe someone is looking for her."

"I understand Oberon; I believe her soul will be grateful... Use this as a reminder to be more vigilant. Let's continue, everyone."

----

After walking through many junctions and cave labyrinths and encountering mostly hellhounds, their number was random. Sometimes there is one, and sometimes there are five of them, but they are no match for a level three adventurer. In the worst case, when they need to lend a hand, I only use water and ice magic to assist them in a fight.

Valda and Rina are eager to learn, and sometimes they try to write important bits about my teaching that I know will be important for them in the future. Rina did ask me if it was okay for her to learn from me. I only told her that as long as it was not a magic spell or way of my race's magic, it was permitted because what I teach is the way of my magic and I did ask her to not share this knowledge freely.

"We should arrive at a staircase leading to the 15th floor shortly."

Thanks to Una Familia I can walk through the maze with ease. I ask Orstrid to memorize the way, but something is bothering me. The others may not realize that someone is tailing us; they keep a great distance from us, but Orstrid can detect a group of them.

Seeing Oberon not pay attention to his surroundings, Kara can't help but feel irritated and somewhat happy because she knows that Oberon indeed trusts them.

"Oberon I know you have many things that need to be thought about, but pay more attention to your surroundings because, on the 15th floor, the monsters are all level two. Just a small mistake can cost your life."

"I am sorry, Kara. I will put that in mind."

Oberon can't help having deep thoughts even in a dangerous place because he believes there is no enemy 'yet' capable that can endanger him and others. Just as Kara said, when we were leaving the tunnel, we descended and arrived at the 15th floor.

"It's so amazing that we can reach this floor so fast; I thought it would take us till midday. Well, all thanks to Oberon and Orstrid. I hope we can continue partying in the future."

"Likewise Kara."

"Now, it should become more dangerous because all the monsters we met were level two monsters. In my opinion, the most dangerous among them was the minotaur. They were vicious and strong, and for that, we need to rely on your magic, Oberon."

"No problem, Kara. Just say the word; I will gladly help you in battle, but for clarity, I can use my sword as well."

"Hm, I am not sure level-one adventurers can cut through Minatour. Their flesh is thought to cut or pierce through, so I suggest aiming at the weak points on their wrist and knee joints; it is easy to pierce and cut to incapacitate them. After that, a stab on the back head should end it."

Oberon is well aware that Kara's advice is important to remember, but Oberon still thinks that no monster can harm him on the middle floor, not even Goliath. We followed our formation, which planned Kara and Valeria as the vanguard. My position was in the middle with Valda and Rina and, of course, Cyo and Ortrid as supporters; they are right behind the group.

I can feel the tension changing in their expressions, and the less talkative Valda and Rina are,

'I should release my restraint.'

Then I took off my bracelet, and I ordered Orstrid to do the same because the enemy we were going to face was not the same as the monster that I ever faced. The deeper we go, the more changing the outlook of the dungeon is from the wall color, and the darker the light becomes.

("Master, enemy ahead.")

Before I told Kara, she already felt the ground shaking because of the weight of a monster heading this way.

((Thud))

((Thud))

Just merge from the shadows three humanoid monsters called 'Minotaur', a monster that is well-feared by adventurers on the middle floor. They all hold weapons and look like axes, and their eyes lie on us. Kara and the others had already prepared their weapons, but Oberon was the one to take a step forward first.

'They will be a good practice for my training.'

"Kara, can you let fight those Minotaurs alone? I know it's stupid, but I want to test myself."

"Oberon, you could die; you know that, right?" I can hear a cold tone in her voice.

Then I pulled my two blades from my wrist. Seeing how serious I am, Kara knows she can't stop me. Kara lays her eyes on Valda, and she can see that Valda can't do anything to stop Oberon.

"If I see Oberon-sama in danger, I will involve myself in the fight without Oberon-sama's permission."

"Do as you see fit, Valda."

While I was facing three minotaurs, I tried to think of a way to handle this battle with Kara's advice. They had a weakness on the back of their heads, but they all carried heavy axes that could cleave me in half if I was not careful.

'I need to avoid fighting them at the same time.'

I put one hand on the ground and called a single spell in my mind.

{Quagmire}

I trapped two minotaurs in deep mud, leaving one minotaur to sprint forward. I could feel the weight from each step the minotaurs took. I can help but feel amazed by the speed the monster had with such a body. When it was right in front of me, he started to swing his weapon, but I used the Water God sword technique called 'flow' to redirect the axe swing with my left blade, yet I still felt the strength of that swing.

'Hmp, it's... heavy.'

Then I counterattacked it by simply slashing its chest with my right blade and taking a step forward to put a distance between us.

When our eyes met, I could see it got angry and started to sprint, this time not with its two legs but with both his arms and legs. With its head forward, I could see he left his weapon behind. I managed to jump high enough to avoid minotaur charges. while, in mid-air, I cast 'Electric' creating purple lightning out of my finger. When the lightning touches the minotaur, it starts to scream in pain. Then the minotaur drops unconscious. Taking the chance, I quickly stepped forward.

I follow Kara's advice to stab the unconscious minotaur right into the back of its head; just as she said, it kills it instantly. Then I turned to face the other two minotaurs, who were still trapped in the mud. I could see that they struggled really hard and tried to escape my trap.

I deepened the mud lower enough that my blade could reach their neck. While they still struggled to leave my trap, I put back my left blade, only using my dominant right hand. I started to prepare my stance, then quickly dashed forward with the speed of sound. In mid-dash, I spin my body to add more power to make sure it cuts clean throughout the minotaur's neck.

'Long Sword of Silence' (An advanced technique of the Sword God Style, where the blade is swung at a velocity beyond the speed of sound.)

I managed to cut clean through their necks, beheading them instantly. Then they both started to explode and turn into dust, leaving only a drop of material. Then I put my blade back into my scabbard and released a heavy sigh of relief.

When I laid my eyes back toward my party, they all looked in shock, excluding Orstrid, who just stepped forward calmly.

"Good job, master, Is there any injury?"

"No, I think not."

"Then I will gather the material."

"Thank you, Orstrid."

'I still can't use King's rank sword god style, but I feel I am getting closer to it thanks to Goddess Loki's blessing... Hm?'

I felt somebody pocking my back, and when I looked back, I saw Valda and others right on my back. They look unhappy because they feel like they are being ignored.

"Oberon-sama, can you explain?"

"It's a secret."

I see that Kara wants to grab my shoulder, but Valda stops her captain because it is rude for another race to touch an elven race's body.

"Maybe another time I will explain. We had to keep our heads to the objective first."

"That's a promise, Oberon... Now let's continue."

After the minotaur encounter, Kara gave me more chances to fight the monster. I used less magic. After all, I tried to store my mana because I was still worried about the people who were tailing us, but Orstrid did say that they were starting to fade from her radar, which made me more worried.

For some reason, the deeper we go, the fewer monsters we face. When I asked Kara, she thought that we most likely had the same route as an adventurer in front of us who fought the monster before we did, and thanks to that, we could reach the 17th floor much quicker than we expected.

"After we leave this hall, there is a deep cliff, so we make our way around it and do not use the stone bridge because that road will likely lead us to the floor boss, so... wait, did you hear that?"

("Orstrid.")

("There a two people in front of us they are not fighting.")

"There are two people in front of us, Kara; don't worry, they are not fighting. They most likely argue with each other."

"I see, we should head there fast."

Just as we get closer to the source of the sound, I see two catpeople that somehow look so familiar. When they are aware of our existence, they stop arguing with each other and look at us, but weirdly, their eyes are locked on me.

"YOU!!"

I can see the male catperson look at me with a hateful gaze toward me. I can feel blood lust in his gaze, so in my reaction, I put my hand on my blade, ready for anything.

'Did I do something to him, but his black hair and cat ears and beside him was a female catperson with brown hair... could be?'

"Allen… Anya, is that you?"