[Island, Deep Underground]
The power of an ancient elemental magic is truly outstanding no matter how advanced the modern magic is. In fact the usage of ancient magic came in a surprise as aside from Sephiria, Lorius is also capable of ancient magic.
However the only difference is Lorius could only use ancient basic elemental magic that span in six categories which are light, fire, wind, water, earth, and darkness, elany element that stems out of it like complex element are out of his league. That's why the presence of a complex elemental magic such an ice is quite a sight for him.
"Amazing! Looks like I overly underestimated you Sephiria, you've grown strong over the span of few months... what happened to you during your vacation?"
"... things... things happened" said by Sephiria as she remembered the time when she fought agaisnt the terrorist group with this power and still lost.
"However, this is not enough yet... by my standards I'm still weak, I need to become even more stronger" added by Sephiria
"Yes... your right! How could I forget, in order to become truly strong, you need to reach the peak of magic, however is there truly a peak?" Asked by Lorius
"What do you mean Lorius?" Asked by Rekka who looked at him.
"Well based on my opinion, a person claiming to reach the peak of magic is simply restraining himself in that level since he or she doesn't have the capability to climb higher any longer. For me there is no peak, because magic is uncertain and ever changing, meaning magic itself would always improve throughout the generation... magic is limitless"
After Lorius said that, a moment of silence exuded around the place as each and every single person in the area is looking at Lorius. Soon after when all the ants attacking Sephiria had perished due to freezing to death, she then soon returned to her original form, as she exhaled in exhaustion.
"This magic really takes a to on my stamina"
"It seems that you can't maintain that form" Pointed out by Cynthia
"Your right! After all using that magic consumes a huge amount of mana, thankfully I have an abundant of mana due to my condition, cause if I wasn't, I would have been drained completely of mana and die"
After hearing what Sephiria said, Lorius simply nodded as he looked towards the other end of the tunnel and urged the group to move along.
"I see, then for now, I'll leave the rear to you... alright let's move on now, I feel like we're close to our destination"
"Your leaving the rear guard to me? Are you sure?" Asked by Sephiria after everything she had showed to show that she is capable enough on her own.
"Ahahaha! You seem to be misunderstanding something... I said I underestimated you, I never said that your stronger than me"
After Lorius said those words, he then led the group at the front as he goes deeper inside the hole. With no much choice and the feeling of threat from Lorius words, Sephiria then simply followed from behind as she slowly recovers her stamina.
After that confrontation, the group itself encountered waves after waves of ants blocking their way. However none of them were strong enough to stop the advance of the group. Due to that it didn't take long until Lorius and the group finally arrived at the very bottom of this deep underground passageway.
In fact since the theme of this underground area is an ants nest, they expected an ant queen to guard the final area of the deep underground place. However what greeted them at the end of this road, was a teleportation circle with no queen monster in sight.
"What's this? Isn't there supposed to be a final boss here? Where is it?" Asked by Mario.
"This teleportation circle too... it leads to the surface area" said by Rekka after she examines the teleportation circle.
"Surface area... and no dungeon boss in sight... is this truly the end? Feels a bit anti-climatic isn't it?" Wondered by Lorius
"Well this is a big waste of time" commented by Cynthia
As the group were discussing this, each and every single one of them showed annoyance as this trip was a complete waste of time. After all, they thought that the final treasure to ensure the top grade in this island was hiding in such place, however what greeted them was nothing but an empty area, a dead end.
Due to that disappointment, annoyance, and even the sense of loss can be felt throughout the whole group. This type of situation lasted for a bit until Lorius brought everyone back up to their feet and said.
"Well no need to dwell now, since the treasure isn't in this place, then the only thing we can do is search elsewhere right? Based on the formation of the clock, it's still the second day meaning it hasn't been one month yet... it would be unfair and boring if we just cleared the top condition to get the highest grade on the second day right? So cheer up"
Upon hearing his words, the rest of the group lightened up as they cheered each other on. After Lorius littered up the mood, he made Rekka activate the teleportation circle as he gently nudge his group to enter the teleportation circle and leave this area.
Not long after when all three members of his group finally left, Lorius then retrieved the mana from the teleportation circle which activated it, as he faced Sephiria.
"Now that there is only the two of us, I think it's time to settle this?"
The moment Sephiria heard his words, she then laughed for a bit as she remembered what Shun had told her about Lorius. Even though Lorius is strong, there was trait that he had that made it hard for even Shun himself to handle, Lorius himself is a battle junkie. The worst type of people that you can fight.
"I knew that this would happen considering your trait"
"My trait?"
"A battle junkie"
"Battle junkie? Did Shun tell you that? Well I guess I am hahaha!"
"Yup! So let's get on with it"
Just like that, both Sephiria and Lorius simultaneously activated their magic as they clashed against one another.