Dungeon Exploration

ROOOOAAAAR!!!

A roar of a monster could be heard in a room within the undiscovered dungeon

"Lancell! Keep its wings busy!" Arthur shouted.

"I'm trying! Can't you do your business any quicker?! I'm dying out here!" Lancell shouted back as he avoided and blocked the numerous steel feathers flying his way.

After a while of exploring the dungeon, for some reason, they managed to trigger a magic circle that suddenly summoned a Steel Gryphon.

Steel Gryphons were a greater variant of the Gryphons that had feather and fur made of steel. They were agile predators and their steel feathers didn't hamper their ability to fly in the slightest.

As Lancell fended off a feather barrage, he was once again greeted by another.

"Damn! This is endless! Can't you hurry up, Arthur?!" Lancell warned of his plight.

The gryphon was a Level 40 of the Second Step and Lancell alone would have been able to beat the monster, but that would be if he was alone. Right now, he currently had a baggage named Aria to protect, so he couldn't just fight the monster on a showdown.

"I'm almost done!" Arthur informed.

The moment Lancell heard Arthur, he figured it was his cue, as he then activated Void Wind Guidance and accelerated as he grabbed Aria and made a run behind Arthur.

And the moment they went behind her, Arthur's sword lit up in a blinding radiance as she raised it overhead.

She then finished her chant.

"Thou who rebel shall be punished by mine blade! Divine King's Punishment!!"

As she finished her chant, she brought down her blade as a sword of light appeared above the gryphon for an instant, and fell down the next moment.

FWOOOSH...BOOOOM!!!

The gryphon was cleanly sliced in half as the sword of light suddenly exploded as it made contact with the ground, burning the gryphon with Holy Flames.

Finally, when the dust settled, the group heaved a sigh of relief as it was suddenly over.

"Whaahh...We're finally done. That was quite a tough nut." Arthur breathed out as she spoke like she had just finished a daily chore.

Lancell approached Arthur with a grave face, and then smacked the girl in the head.

"Oww!! That hurt, you asshole! Learn to hold back already!"

"Shut up! You're the one who triggered the magic circle weren't you?!"

"What are you talking about?! It was Aria who did it!"

Aria who already had cold sweat running along her cheeks, suddenly pointed at Arthur and accused.

"It was her! She coaxed me into doing it!"

And what followed was utter chaos.

◇◇◇

After an hour, the group rested as they ate their packed lunch.

Hunting monsters was indeed exhausting, and the lacking ambient mana in the air made them unable to sustain themselves, so they were forced to eat their food earlier than planned.

"Hey Arthur, have you used the magic core yet?" Lancell suddenly asked.

"No, not yet. Why?"

"Give it to her." Spoke Lancell as he pointed to Aria.

Aria who was still nibbling on her food, was surprised her name was suddenly mentioned as she looked at the two with inquiring glance.

Arthur then took out the magic core as she threw it to Lancell's hands. She then grinned and insisted.

"You give it."

Lancell just clicked his tongue and threw it to Aria's hands this time. Aria was surprised and asked.

"This is?"

"Investment." Lancell explained.

"What he means is that you're gonna drag us down at this rate, so he's giving it to you so you could at least protect yourself better." Arthur elaborated in Lancell's stead.

Aria glanced at Lancell's direction with an inquiring gaze, but Lancell could only avert his face as he couldn't find any ways to deny Arthur's explanation.

Aria smiled at Lancell's reaction, and nodded at the offer. "Alright. I gratefully accept."

She then held the magic core as she prepared to absorb it, but Arthur suddenly asked.

"Oh. By the way, what Guidance Tome are you using, Aria?"

"W-Without honorifics already... Ahem...Anyway, I'm using the Royal Family's Royal Sword Manual." She answered. Although she was surprised at the fact that Arthur referred to her directly by name, she didn't actually mind.

'Yup. It's not because I have no friends. It's not like that at all.' Aria thought as if trying to convince herself.

Arthur who heard Aria's answer, went silent as she looked down and held her chin. She then turned to Aria and spoke.

"I don't think that Guidance Method would suit you best. Maybe Lancell has one better suited for you, but I'm not sure he'll hand it over." Arthur stated.

Lancell looked at Aria for a bit, and noticed she was being embarrassed. Perhaps it was because she had been receiving things for no reason at all, but Lancell didn't care about that and spoke.

"I don't mind handing it over."

Arthur smiled at his predictable answer as she knew he quite doted on Aria. Even though the person himself didn't notice, how could it escape Arthur's observant eyes.

Lancell then handed the Guidance Tome to Aria by tapping a finger to her forehead, and explained.

"That Guidance Tome is called Silver Starlight Sword Manual. It was once used by a close friend of mine, but you can have it. I'm sure she wouldn't mind either. Or rather, she would have begged you to practice it."

Aria was shocked at the information she received. Judging from what she learned, the Guidance Tome was far superior to the Royal Sword Manual in practically every aspect.

Without any further ado, she began to cultivate the Silver Starlight Sword Manual as instructed by the manual. She already was already Level 54 of the First Step when she had just joined, but now, she was currently jumping over levels.

Level 60...

Level 70...

Level 80...

Level 99...

Aria felt the feeling of colliding with the First Wall, but the sheer momentum from the amount of mana held within the core easily tore through it like paper. And so, she continued to rise Levels.

Level 10 of the Second Step...

Level 20...

And finally, she reached Level 21 of the Second Step.

Aria was dazed at her current power as she couldn't believe it was really her own power.

She glanced at Arthur and noticed Arthur was looking at her with a smile.

"Good for you, right? Aria?" Arthur congratulated as she gave a grin.

"Mm. Thank you, Arthur. You too, Lancell."

Lancell averted his face and spoke. "Shut up. This is investment."

And so, Lancell's team for the final battle against the Calamity Dragon had yet increased a new member.