Sorry for the delay, I had actually forgotten today was Sunday, so I was just doing something else until I remembered...
Peace!
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'Their way across the forest was a smooth one with no monsters in sight.'
'Everything nearby that could pose a threat to them had already been taken care of during Silver's onslaught.'
'And it would likely take even longer until more spawned...'
'As the fires still caused destruction all around, the Dungeon was working nonstop to fix the damage, and as such, it had no time to create more monsters.'
'To some, this was a relief, but to others, this was depressing…'
'They were tired after many days of repetitive fights, it can be thrilling at first, yet as time passed and they became dirtier and dirtier, spending many days without seeing the sun, they start to loathe spending time in this dark abyss.'
'While the others, those with unending fighting spirit felt bored, as they were here already, better make the most out of their time.'
"Haaa… There are no monsters… Like, at all." Tione said with a frown as they walked into the woods
Whenever I think I've seen a monster... I get disappointed since its always a carcass.
'She turned to the side, fixing her eyes on Silver, making him raise an eyebrow.'
'Yet, she said nothing, only letting out a breath of disappointment as she swung her Kukri knives around.'
/Rustle…/
"Hm?"
'Several people including Silver looked to the side, some of the bushes far away suddenly moved unnaturally…'
"FINALLY!"
'Tione's eyes opened maniacally, she knew what it was, something to vent her frustration!…'
/SHA-SHA-SHA!/
'A scaled serpentine creature jumped from within the bushes, flying above their heads with its many small wings.'
'It opened its mouth, full of razor-sharp teeth, intending on devouring the pray in front of it, Tione, in one bite...'
/ROAR-SPLURGE/
'But it was blown back to the ground with a single kick… The poor thing didn't even finish its introductory roar before its head was crushed into bits.'
/Fwoosh/
/Crack…/
'Like an agile ballerina, Tione flipped in the air, falling with her two feet on the ground, cracking it as she smiled.'
"Haa, feel much better now."
"..."
'The others didn't say much, keeping their eyes open for more monsters.'
'Raul looked at Finn, but he shook his head, there was no time to harvest the monster, so Raul did what he had to do, he grabbed a spear and raised it, ready to turn the Magic stone inside of it into dust.'
'This was how things were done in here, they had to make sure to dispose of all Magic stones before leaving, even if that meant having Riveria cast a wide-scale magic to turn them all to dust.'
'However, this wasn't necessary right now, a simple spear thrust to destroy would suffice.'
'And this time he would hit the bullseye in a single try!'
/Splurge…/
"..."
Hm? This isn't it... Don't tell me I...
'Then realization kicked in, followed by a wave of embarrassment.'
Wh-What!? I… I missed?
How?!
/Chuckle…/
'Hiding his face from a laughing cat girl, Raul looked at the monster's body in confusion.'
"Sigh... Alright, this time I'll..."
"Here, I grabbed it for you."
'But his confusion vanished as he noticed a brilliant stone in his "assistant's" hands.'
'He says assistance, but in truth, Silver was anything but that, the only reason he was called that by him was that he had no position in this party, hence, he acted in the same way a supporter would for a party, standing somewhere in the back next to the mages and the other supporters.'
"Huh? How did you…"
'Raul didn't understand how Silver grabbed it, to the point he thought he was playing some tricks on him.'
'When did he grab it if he was staring at the body the entire time?'
'Even if he did it under the cover of his eyes somehow, there would've been some sort of clue like the body vibrating…'
"Like this."
'Silver raised his finger, pointing it at a tree near Raul.'
"Huh?"
'But when the finger lit up with light, Raul felt his knees go weak...'
/Splurge!/
"?!?!"
'The tree behind him was hit with a strong invisible bullet as blood splattered around it, some of it falling on his face.'
/Thud.../
'As the monster's body fell onto the ground, he realized what happened... There was a hidden monster there! Dangerously close to his face!'
/Gulp…/
"A… A monster…"
How?!
I… I need to focus…
'Raul shook his head, opening his eyes to see the monster's body split apart as a small magic stone flew towards Silver's hand.'
"See?"
"I… I see it… Thank you..."
My heart stopped there for a moment.
But this guy… Is he showing off to me?
'Despite feeling grateful, he quickly started to get annoyed.'
'He took the magic stones and put them inside the bag with a tired expression…'
"Huh?"
'But Silver suddenly frowned, his expression growing darker and darker...'
"Wh-What is it?"
Is he going to ask for compensation?
Well, he did take one down I guess…
'Raul took the magic stone again, ready to hand it to him when Silver said:'
"I forgot my bag."
""...""
/Silence/
'Raul wanted to kick him in the face for making him worry like that.'
'Cruz had to give it to him, Silver was very good at moving the tension up and down...'
"Give me a second, I'll be back in no time." Silver said as he looked at Finn in the front
/SHOOSH!/
"Just make it fas… Fast... And there he goes." Finn replied as his head fell slightly
In some senses he's similar to Loki, coming and going... But in her case, I can see where she goes most of the time.
But he just zips around...
'Riveria looked at the forest.'
"That's probably how those that can teleport perceive the world, for them, something that is far away for us is just a step away from reach, it is a bit enviable."
"You talk as if that was the only thing about him that was enviable." Gareth pointed out as he scratched his beard
"Did you see how he healed himself and cleaned his own body? Not to say where he got those clothes from, he can control the environment and teleport not only himself but other things with him as well."
"An adventurer that can make the work of an entire party."
An extremely rare teleportation ability.
Telekineses...
Environmental manipulation.
Several forms of Elemental magic.
Healing magic...
"He's a tad too versatile..."
'Gareth smiled cheekily.'
"Hey, how would you ambush him if you had to?"
"Haaa… I knew you would come with one of those the moment you started talking." Finn replied as he lodged his spear on the ground
"As you do, thinking is what you're good at."
'Finn closed his eyes with a helpless smile.'
"Just thinking?"
"Oh, come on! Don't make me recite everything…"
/Fwoosh!/
"Hey, I'm back."
And I got my stuff! Muwahahaha!
I'm rich!... More so than I already was but...
"KYA?!"
'Cutting straight through Gareth's words, Silver reappeared behind Lefiya, this time with a massive backpack on his back.'
'He had a small, pleased smile on his face as if a massive weight had been removed from his heart…'
'But why was that the case when he was literally carrying such a comically large bag?'
'Silver's bag was clearly of high quality, meant for expeditions to be carried by the strongest of supporters.'
'The bag is around 2.5M wide, deep, and a tad over 2M tall as well, it was as if he was carrying a small wall...'
"D-Did you do that on purpose?!"
"Do what?"
What's this little Elf on about now?
"Don't faint ignorance! From everywhere…. Everywhere you could've appeared…"
Did it have to be behind me?!
'Lefiya had enough of getting stunned by him, this time, she was going to fight back!'
"S-Sto…"
"Sorry for that."
"Wh…"
'Silver interrupted her with a smile and an apology, honestly, he wasn't trying to scare the girl, he simply teleported to the spot he had been before, it wasn't his fault that they had moved a little, causing this misunderstanding.'
"I… Um… Humph! I accept your apologies…" She said as she turned to the side with her arms crossed
"You're really fast, but if everything is done, let's proceed!"
'Finn pulled his spear from the ground, moving forward in his continuous march.'
'As they walked, Cruz approached Silver with his spear on his back and a question in his eyes…'
"I… How do I say this… Dude."
"Yes? Speak your mind."
"Ya?... Thanks, man, sorry for being awkward it's just that… This may sound a bit strange but… Have we met before?"
"I've been having this feeling ever since we first met, and I can't tell if that's due to some other thing or... Yeah?"
"Hm?"
Met before?...
'Silver stopped for a few moments, thinking about all of the Demi-Humans like him he met in the past...'
'It didn't take long, but he finally remembered.'
AHA! I remember now.
I didn't recognize him that day but now… I did arrive at Orario through the Northern gates…
"I mean…"
'Silver let out a small chuckle.'
"I think it was around morning, near a living district." He said with a half smile
"Do you remember the Human guy that was cheated on by the Cat girl?"
/GASP!/
"With the Elf?"
/PFFFFFFT!/
'All of them were thinking the same thing… What?!'
'Some of the girls almost fell onto the ground while Raul and Anakitty coughed due to shock!'
'Wasn't it a tad too specific?!'
'Even Ais who isn't very well versed on these things became a bit embarrassed as she looked at the side, but her ears were perked.'
'What a sudden twist to their conversation!'
'Gareth was holding in his laugh while Finn wanted to shake his head, but he kept his eyes on the path ahead.'
'While Riveria narrowed her eyes, what are they talking about inside the Dungeon?...'
"I would never cheat on the Captain." Tione said with determination in a low tone, albeit almost everyone could hear her
"We can... Forget it." Tiona replied as she shook her head, choosing to stay in peace rather than deal with some problem
'Cruz's eyes on the other hand lit up as he heard his reply!'
'He touched Silver's shoulder with a smile.'
"Yeah! So it was really you?!"
"If we're talking about that same event that happened several months ago, then yes, that was me."
"I had just arrived in Orario, it was my very first time here, and I must say, it was quite the welcome..."
Taking my first steps in Orario and already noticing the disparity of Class between the Levels of the adventurers... That was a special case but yeah.
"Man! What a small world…"
...
'Cruz and Silver continued to talk as they made their way to the staircase leading to the 35th floor.'
'But the atmosphere was a little awkward due to the subject of their talk...'
"Since you two are talking about this so much… What is your type of girl?" Raul asked from the back out of nowhere
'His expression twisted into a smile as he quickened his pace, leaving him behind with the killer question.'
Heh, suffer...
"!"
"Now, that is a question I did not expect to get…" Silver replied as he thought deeply
How do I reply to this guy?
My type... Having one type is hard.
There are already many pretty girls, so I would say it's more on personality, but that isn't entirely true.
I like short, long, and all kinds of hairstyles...
/SMACK!/
'Anakitty smacked Raul's head since he couldn't read the mood and was making things worse.'
"No need to answer this idiot, just go on adventurer Silver."
"Huh? I do have one though… But I guess that's okay."
/Silence.../
"... That's it?!" One of the girls in the back said suddenly
'She quickly blocked her own mouth.'
"Cough! F-Forget what I said…"
"BAHAHAHAHA!"
'Gareth lost his mind in laughs.'
"Don't you want to know as well Tiona?" Her sister asked
"Huh?! Me? Why would I... Urg... Let's move on!" She said as she quickened her steps
"Everyone… We are in the Dungeon… Please… Some concentration would be appreciated." Riveria said from the side with a sharp gaze
Can't he read the air? Why does he keep causing trouble?...
"..."
'They stopped thinking on this matter, albeit a few girls still thought about it…'
…
/Sometime later…/
"We've arrived, the 35th floor… Be prepared everyone! We have company!"
/ROAR!/
'Barely had Finn talked, the sounds of monsters running from afar reached their ears.'
"Now this is the Dungeon I know." Bete muttered with a smile as he smashed his fists against each other
Not that boring feast!
I can finally have some fun!
"I'm going first!"
/Crack!/
'Bete kicked the ground and rushed forward with incredible speed the likes Raul could not even react to.'
"He's gotten faster than before…" He said as he took out a bow, ready to offer supportive fire
/Cling!/
"He's just trying to act tough, if he moves like that he'll get tired in less than an hour." Anakitty said as she took out her own weapon from its scabbard
"Isn't that just normal Bete behavior then?" Asked the red-haired swordswoman in the back
"No Narvi, even Bete knows where to stop..."
'Seeing the high number of monsters that continued to increase, Silver asked:'
"Should I help?"
'Silver took a step forward, wanting to offer some assistant, but not because he felt they needed it...'
If this goes on, it may take over 2-3 days to reach the safe point on the 28th floor, which wouldn't be ideal.
That's already very fast since it normally takes 2 weeks to reach the 36th floor... But that's excruciatingly long to me.
I've lived with the convenience of coming and going into the Dungeon that I've forgotten what it is to travel around on foot...
And if we stay fighting and taking the longer routes every time... Should I create an excuse?
Perhaps it...
"Stay the fuck away!" Bete exclaimed from far away as he smashed a Triceratops monster's head with a kick
"Guess that's a no then."
'Cruz tapped his shoulder and said:'
"I'll be going first, friend, I'm actually part of the Vanguard group you see."
'Silver smiled.'
"Go on, try not to get yourself any dirtier than you already are." He replied as he dusted his shoulder
"Hey!... Not everyone can get themselves cleaned like you…"
'Silver got an idea... But it wasn't time yet...'
/Swoosh!/
'Cruz rushed forward, piercing with his spear.'
"I'm going too!"
'Me too!"
"..."
"Wait for me!"
'Following those two, Tiona, Tione, Ais, and Lefiya rushed to the frontlines, albeit Lefiya merely stood a few feet in front of Gareth who was there to ensure her back was safe.'
"Those 4… They are going against my orders again." Riveria said displeased
It's all due to him...
"Ha, leave those young ones alone, they are a bit too shaken and they need to vent their energy."
I could even extend that to me as well... I still can't quite comprehend what I'm seeing right now.
To think this kid grew so much so fast... If I were a few decades younger I would've...
'Gareth has always tried to defend their actions, he was in his own way, a very soft person.'
'He many times disagreed with Riveria's harsh actions, taking more casual approaches than most would take given his position.'
"They are all proficient adventurers…"
"DIE!" Bete exclaimed as he decapitated a monster with a kick
"..."
"They don't look that professional to me." Riveria said as she saw Bete rush into a group of 12 flying monsters, ripping them apart with his hands as he smiled amidst the falling blood
'As they fought, Raul smiled proudly, saying:'
"See? This is the power of the Loki Familia?"
'But Silver merely nodded, saying something very mature:'
"It's very impressive, my hope is that one day I can lead a Familia just as good as yours my friend."
"I…"
'To his words, Raul shut up, feeling completely defeated. Both in power and temperament…'
'Raul started to draw circles on the ground, depressed while the others shook their heads.'
"..."
'Silver made sure to imprint this into his mind, this was how a First rate Familia fought in the Dungeon, even if they are more relaxed now than when they were deeper down, they still have their own dynamic that is worth studying.'
'Because one day, he may very well be right there where Finn is, overlooking the battlefield with a serious gaze.'
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Notes
As some people were asking, Silver did collect most of the loot.
Next two or so chapters, they'll make their way to the 28th floor, and I'll release the side chapter of this arc, after that, Amphisbaena and we're back at the surface to start the end.
Peace.