The group of three anxious 'fathers' were pacing around nonstop and couldn't help but rush towards the barrier that was blocked from sight by five huge shields when they heard a blood-curdling scream from within it. Only stopping in their tracks when their 'mother' told them to stay away and keep watch.
They had to be at least over level 175 if Ebony was unable to Identify their levels. Since they actually received training of some kind they should be more than capable of taking this floor on.
Admittedly, they had never been in dungeons and only worked out in the wilds. There had been a big difference in the number of dangers they had to be aware of. The fact that monsters spawn over and over again must have gone over their heads and they bit off more than they could chew.
It was no wonder they had deep eye bags, they probably weren't able to rest well.
"Didn't you join up with the camp in the centre of the floor?" Hector asked.
"What camp?" The lanky, brown-haired swordmaster who Hector Appraised to be a [Fencing Brute Lvl 184] was confused. Rapiers were not common as a weapon of choice and Hector was only aware of one or two academies that had courses that taught fencing.
Those that used rapiers usually focused on speed and agility but the 'brute' in his Class told Hector that this guy might be more balanced or even leaning towards power and strength. Their equipment was decent but in this parts, it could be considered high quality. Most likely, they came from pretty far away, closer to the centre of the Empire.
"Don't tell me you guys didn't know there was a camp in the middle of the floor?" Hector would have been flabbergasted at how unprepared this party was if Mark hadn't been insistent on information gathering.
"...uhhh. We were just aimlessly walking around the place and resting wherever we felt was suitable." The bulky, bearded [Flesh Wall Lvl 179] replied without shame. They had limited stamina and didn't just fly around or have someone fly them around. Not to mention the build up of exhaustion of their dear 'daughter' who was relatively newer to the trade.
"We came up here just 2 days ago. The mana density here is normal but the increase in gravity is really bearing down on us. We can hardly travel half the distance in a day that we travel in an environment like this outside." The lanky but bright blue-eyed [Dagger Burst Lvl 182] explained.
Hector was familiar with the Class. It was pretty famous due to the Grandmaster that fought on the front lines centuries ago. He retired and opened the academy and has produced many strong rogues that have decent control over mana and specialise in multiple different ailments inducing magic.
It was said that every graduate has changed their mana's properties to inflict some kind of ailment even without any sort of effort. That was to say they changed their mana with training and got a Fortification to permanently change their mana's base properties.
Their weapon of choice, daggers, were specially made. Their blades are fragmented and they would use mana to explode the dagger after they stabbed something or someone. Other than the physical harm it would do, their mana-infused dagger fragments would be transmitted all over the target's body.
The effects of each individual's mana varies but most of those that had some reputation had nasty properties like corroding the internals of the target or the more standard poisonous ones.
Hector was wary of this one the most due to this fact. Even if the Grandmaster that fought for the Empire was loyal there was no knowing if all his students, grand students, great-grand students and more would be the same.
He didn't manage to speak before the 3 anxious men dashed off to their 'mother' who was calling out that the topaz girl was fine. The archer likely already evolved before she attended whatever academy she went as her [Archer of Survival Lvl 228] was unheard of. If it was any good academy she must have spent a long time changing, mutating or refining many of her skills to fit whatever style was taught.
No one noticed that Hector couldn't tear his eyes away from the archer's figure. Not even Hector himself and it wasn't just because of the scars on her chiselled jaw or the one on her neck.
❅❅❅
"Wanna go together? We're moving towards the next floor anyway." Hector proposed.
Ebony did not oppose it but it was inevitable that they would be slowed down.
They already exchanged greetings and introductions after the archer shut the noisy men up as it would disturb the younger girl's rest.
"There's no need to trouble you any further!" The lady in charge, Tracy Velas did not want any more interaction with a group of young nobles and people in high places.
There was a little quarrel between themselves, the three men, Albert, Richard and Maximus who were the swordsman, guardian and rogue respectively argued and persuaded her that they needed the help since Ally the topaz girl was still sleeping and they didn't know the way either. They shared the same last name which also used to be the name of the orphanage they came from.
Tracy glanced at the sleeping figure on Maximus's back before sighing and accepting the offer.
"Haha! Yes! Finally someone else to talk to. You don't know what it's like to be around a bully, two that hardly talk and are always flirting and a boring nerd that's overly cautious." Hector was in glee.
The glare from Mallory sent a shiver down his spine and his knees buckled a little when he heard Scarlet's heartbeat accelerate. He clenched his fist in preparation to protect himself but didn't expect to see Scarlet looking between the ground and Ebony who was still tilting his head and clearly wondering who Hector was referring to the two that were flirting.
"There's no such thing as being over-cautious in the dungeon or out in the field." Mark commented.
"That's right! I can't stress that enough with these kids either." Tracy was delighted at the mature freelancer's words that struck close to home.
Mark was already the one that she felt was the most normal of the group as the children's bodyguard. The wise words only made him seem like the only one she would get along with. They shared a knowing look with each other and understood from each other's eyes that they were of a similar breed of people. At least when it came to fighting, travelling or just freelancing work in general.
Both of them were unaware of the irritation that their interaction and exchange of glances brought the prince and princess of the Empire. Similarly, both the Royals were confused about why they felt so.
Without any prompt, Ebony had five of his shields ready. He prompted the other party to get on while his own already did without hesitation.
They were confused by Ebony's actions and only a little surprised by the many casts he was handling. Seeing his party members other than Mallory already on board, they could only copy.
Ebony was slowed down a lot by the sheer weight he was carrying, mostly from the [Master Guardian] who weighed even more than his large size suggested.
Although his speed wasn't even half his top speed, it was still much better than walking because who knew how long it would take if they were to walk.
The Velas family traversed the dungeon like they never had. Originally thinking it was such a stupid waste of energy and mana that would drain anyone. Tracy even asked Mark why he would let Ebony do something like this but Mark didn't even need to answer as she didn't see any sign of exhaustion on Ebony's face after literal hours off carrying 8 people along with his own shields while running in a way that seemed like he was floating non-stop.
Sleeping in a barrier-protected camp was another luxury that they never believed they would ever get the chance to do again. Ally woke up surrounded by her overly anxious family. Having to introduce herself and also thank Mallory and the whole party again.
She was quite the chatterbox despite her recently healed wounds. Together with Hector, their camp was a noisy one that night.
Ebony did not take part in the conversation but the praises they had for Scarlet's food made him happy. Proud even.
Scarlet didn't let him eat with her and insisted he ate with the other's like usual. He was disappointed to get rejected like that. Liking someone was just a rollercoaster of emotions that was unfamiliar to him.
She was life's test on his calm heart and mind.
Another uneventful night passed and they started their day early.
The Velas family took care of the attackers during their ride. They were pretty efficient but that might be because of Ally's non-involvement.
Ebony watched their battles.
A singular Falls Issile was their first attacker. It charged up from under the swampy ground in the distance and was going straight for them for a frontal attack.
Richard hopped off the Layered Ice Carapace he was on and ran forward to meet the humongous flying eel. He didn't draw the axe on his back. Keeping his arms open, he rammed right into the Issile's face.
Pushed back hundreds of steps, his feet were firmly stuck in the swampy ground. The man stayed upright and managed to stop the Issile's charge with a tight hug that he turned and slammed the creature much larger than himself into the ground.
'Now that's a tank…' Ebony who stopped moving forward thought.
The other Velas members excluding Ally already moved off to face the threat as well. It was kinda standard for more than a couple Boomarrow Fangs to be on the body of the Issile.
Ebony couldn't see where Tracy went, she hid herself too quickly and smoothly. Richard moved away from the fallen Issile, drew his axe and charged for the golems that were coming from behind the Issile. Maximus was right behind him. The Issile was left to Albert with his thin Rapier.
Ebony only saw Albert hold his rapier perpendicular to the ground, in front of his face before he burst forward in a single thrust that brought him through the Issile from mouth to… the other end. Being closer to Albert, he could sense that mana was used in that skill.
The snakes fell down to the ground with an arrow in their head each. Ebony didn't see or sense the movement of any arrows nor did he sense where Tracy was. It was like the arrows just appeared in their heads. He doubted it was space magic though.
The dozen or so golems were no match for Richard and Maximus either.
Ally didn't complain but she pouted. They did not let her join as she was not fully recovered.
The walls which doubled as stairs were in sight after a short time and by noon, they arrived at the camp in between both sides of the stairs.
They were to state their affiliations if any before they were allowed in the small camp.
Hector somehow exchanged 'numbers' with Tracy to his delight. He was actually about to get Ally's but was found out and got Tracy's instead because the men didn't trust him to talk to Ally. By some magic, he got Tracy's instead. To her displeasure.
There was no emotional farewell as the Velas family stayed and made camp while Ebony and his party prepared to make their way up the stairs of ice.
'Ice… it's not just denser than anything I've seen, it's like one large block of ice mana instead of a large number of mana particles.' Ebony tried manipulating the stairs of ice but only managed to drag a fist sized ice block before the dungeon snatched control back and reformed the stairs.
"Looks like it doesn't want anyone to mess around with the stairs." Hector commented. The dungeon didn't stop other parts of itself like the earth and environment from being used by others. At least not so actively.
"A good training partner maybe." Ebony replied. It was like how Enya could completely rip control out of his ice spells from him.
The Frost Elves warned him not to fully depend on his Icebody Enhancement at that time since they could completely stop his body's movement and even crush him inside out by taking over control of ice mana in his body. Although Ebony no longer used Icebody Enhancement there was no guarantee someone with greater control over ice mana couldn't manipulate his flames as well since it was essentially ice mana.
"Is training all you can think about?" Hector retorted.
"No. Nowadays, I think about Scarlet as well. From time to time, how to play a prank on you." Ebony replied before he could think.
Ebony bent backwards, glad he recovered enough for the manoeuvre to dodge the jab going for his ribs and watch as a red flash passed where his face had been.
"That was dangerous." He couldn't help saying.
"Was just checking if your back is feeling better." Surprisingly, it was Scarlet who retorted. She kept looking away whenever he looked at her. He already caught her gaze on him multiple times and she evaded his own after he returned the gaze. Did she think he couldn't tell?
"...As you can see, I'm feeling better already. Don't be so worried."
"Who's worried! You already slept for long enough, let's just go already!" Scarlet stomped off onto the stairway on their left.
It was a random choice, both would lead to the same floor anyway.
Mark shook his head at the youthful couple. The party waved goodbyes to the Velas party as they started climbing normally instead of flying. It was a mental break for both Ebony and Mallory. The climb might take hours though.
There were no railings but the stairway was wide enough for all five of them to walk side by side should they decide to.
Halfway up, the loud screeching roar of the Falls Issile was directed at them. Before it was anywhere within range for them to shoot down or repel, It screeched out in pain and fell down.
Ebony could see the tiny figure from within the camp shooting it down. They were far enough that it was just a tiny dot but he could see that it was Tracy and maybe also Maximus who was standing beside her with his current Perception.
He waved and gave a thumbs up whether they understood the gesture or not, it was him saying thanks. Seeing the jumping and waving Ally showed that the message should've been sent across.
It was getting colder as they ascended.
Hector didn't like it. Mallory had her barriers hold her bag ahead of her as she pulled out a shawl to wrap over herself. Mark took deep breaths as if to bring the cold air into his lungs. Scarlet's clothes and battle wear had incredibly high resistance to heat, cold and many more. Ebony just felt more at ease and comfortable with the lower temperatures.
The ceiling which was also the ground for the next floor was really thick and a couple hours were spent in a cramped tunnel of icy walls where bubbles were popping in and out as Ebony was fighting over control of the ice mana with Ordina. The stairs were a spiral here and didn't continue going straight. The thin column made them go round and round so much that the Journeymen except Ebony got dizzy and had to sit to rest.
Mark appreciated the break from the intense climb as well. The colder it got, the warmer his body was getting and although he was getting tougher and stronger, it was quite tiring with the increased stamina consumption. He was practically a hot water bottle emitting heat that was easily sensed by all of them now.
Hector snuggled close to him while Mallory closed the distance between them by a little. Ebony, who didn't really like the heat, had to walk ahead with Scarlet right beside him.
"Are you feeling cold?" Scarlet shook her head in reply to Ebony's question.
"It isn't even half as cold as your magic yet."
"Mmm. But you're not using fire magic or your core skill to warm yourself up."
"I'm okay, it's not cold yet."
"You have to tell me if you can't take it."
"What are you going to do about it if I'm feeling too cold? I can warm myself up much better than you can."
"Well…I could hug you and share body warmth."
"Yo..you dummy! Your body temperature's much lower than mine."
"..."
"I…I guess it'll still be warmer than the surroundings if you don't use your enhancement magic."
'So hugging is okay.' Ebony thought.
"Dammit! Stop flirting right in front of us!" Hector's irritated voice came over but he didn't want to get far from Mark so he didn't physically move over to stop them.
For some reason, he was oddly stiff from the atmosphere between his cousin and Mark as well. Shouting at the couple that seemed like little children when it came to their feelings was a good source of distraction and also lightened the mood.
"We're reaching." Ebony informed as he brought his shield to cover their sides and overhead. When they were about to pop through the surface he made them wait as he acted as the scout. Even with Scarlet's cold resistance clothes or her fire magic he doubted any of them were more resilient against the cold. His all round perception made it easy for him to check for nearby threats.
Ebony wasn't sure if Mark had better perception than him but from what he could tell it shouldn't be any worse. Not including within short range or distance due to Vibrational Gravity Sense and Frost Mist Perception Sphere which was probably working even better right here.
There was no ambush the moment he surfaced. Neither was there snow which he was used to.
Just a world of blue. Clear icy ground, trees, 'rocks' which were just a protrusion of ice from the ground and the same icy blue sky as the previous floor.
It was not quite as cold as Arcta was in winter but still pretty chilly.
There weren't any creatures that he could see in their considerably open surroundings. Few trees made of ice were around. Ebony would have described the place as an icy plain.
The environment was extremely harsh for most people. There was no firewood to start fires to warm oneself or cook food. Others who depend on hunting for food since they could only carry around so much food can only hope that there were creatures that were edible. The constant cold would bear down on fighters that can not relax their guards for days on end. Problematic.
Problems that didn't affect their party.
"There's nothing out here, you can come up now."