A group of vanguards blocked the assaults of several monsters, and several mudguards became entangled with incoming flying monsters.
Along with their combination, many started moving and killing those monsters one by one as the vanguards pushed away the monsters in front of them before the support threw a strange liquid that covered all the monsters.
"Fire."
As Asfi said those words, who was also their commander in this operation, the magician sent a fireball, and the monsters covered in liquid burned to death.
"We won't let you go."
With those words, no monsters could escape from all members of the Hermes Familia.
"They are impressive," Ryuu murmured as she saw the combination attack of the Hermes Familia. Unlike before, she appeared relaxed, especially due to Isao's strangely calming scent and calm expression.
Isao might not have joined the attack, but he used his usual scent manipulation to make them less tense during this quest, especially after they knew an Evilus might appear during their investigation.
If he were a Level 5 or 6, they might not feel anything, even spirited, as their reinforcement was reliable and strong. But as expected, he was just a Level 3, even if he was powerful, so it was impossible for them to feel confident about this quest, and all of them felt that they might face a threat of death.
Nevertheless, unlike Ryuu, who was impressed by the Hermes Familia's combination attack, Isao, Daphne, and Cassandra appeared calm and didn't seem impressed.
Yet, it was normal, especially after Daphne and Cassandra had seen many amazing things that Isao did.
Only when the members of the Hermes Familia finished their attack did they subconsciously glance at Isao and his group, seemingly waiting for his impression.
Glance! Glance! Glance!
They appeared giddy and kept staring in his direction.
"I think they want to hear your impression of their combination attack, Isao-kun," Daphne said speechlessly.
"I think so, too." Cassandra nodded.
"..." Ryuu.
Isao took a deep breath and said, "Impressive combination attack. I can tell that you...."
Hearing his poetic and sincere impression of their combination attacks, they blushed and felt a little embarrassed somehow.
Meanwhile, Daphne, Cassandra, and Ryuu thought that this guy was as good as bullshit as ever.
"Thank you." Asfi pushed the frame of her glasses as if she would be lying if she didn't feel happy with Isao's praise of their hard work.
After their meeting at the pub, they didn't waste their time since they wished to finish their quest as soon as possible.
This time, they were in the area between the 19th and 24th Floors, which was known as the "Grand Tree." A passage that extended like the inside of a massive tree. Height exceeded ten meters. It contains several smaller caves and has the characteristics of a plant kingdom.
The light illuminated by the fauna fascinated many adventurers but also invited them to their deaths as the floor was full of death traps.
An example would be the big mushroom beside them; while it might appear harmless, it exuded poisonous spores that came in contact with it.
Frankly, whether it was Isao, Daphne, or Cassandra, this wasn't their first time to be in this place. Or rather, they had come to the 37th Floor as they helped Aiz to defeat Udaeus.
Still, Isao had to say, this trip was more peaceful than he had thought, and even if the enemies appeared, they were a proper enemy instead of a group of homo or Amazoness who wanted to be impregnated by him.
Nevertheless, as their quest might take a while, they decided to have a little break.
Breaking the walls in their surroundings, all of them quickly had lunch. While their actions might be strange, the monsters spawned from the walls of the dungeon, and by breaking the walls, the dungeon would prioritize recovering the interior of the dungeon first, giving them a chance to take a rest.
Only the members of the Hermes Familia looked at Isao's group with a gulp as their lunch appeared better than theirs, and more importantly, Asfi felt like... Isao had a space inventory, which made her dumbfounded.
Isao looked at them and asked, "Do you want some?"
"Can we?"
"Sure."
"Yay~!"
In the end, all of them ate lunch together, and their expression was full of bliss as his food tasted so much better, and strangely enough, their bodies also became stronger.
"Hmm..."
Asfi looked at the riceball in her hand before she looked at Isao with doubt.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
This was their first meeting, and Asfi thought it would be rude of her to ask about the secret of Isao's Familia, especially when she had asked him to keep a secret about her Familia. 'Level 3...'
Even though the level of members of their Familia was about the same, Asfi had a strange feeling that Isao was better than all of them, which made her feel inexplicable.
"By the way, that liquid you threw before was made from Obia Flare, right?"
"Ah? Can you tell?" Asfi was surprised.
"Well, I am also an item maker, after all."
Somehow, they became closer than they had expected. Isao was knowledgeable about many things, and Asfi was impressed by his knowledge and talent as it was rare for one to have an item-maker-related skill. Usually, she would develop everything on her own, learning by herself as the rest were clueless, so it was her first time having someone to share this experience and knowledge, which made her happy somehow.
Watching Asfi, who spoke excitedly, all the members of the Hermes Familia were stunned as they had never seen their captain be this chatty.
'This... is captain going to be stolen?!'
On the other hand, Daphne, Cassandra, and Ryuu only rolled their eyes, thinking that this guy was the same as ever.
Nevertheless, their trip was rather smooth, and the Hermes Familia effortlessly defeated all the monsters that came in their direction. They found many good drop items, but they didn't take them as their quest came first, causing Lulune to cry.
Still, while Isao never did anything during this trip, Daphne, Cassandra, and Ryuu made their moves, showing their skills to everyone.
Daphne showed her deadly rapier, Cassandra became a support with her skillful archery, and Ryuu sometimes made a move with her green wooden sword, smashing nearby monsters with ease.
Still, their moves were minimal, but they easily impressed all the members of the Hermes Familia, and soon after, they arrived at the 24th Floor.
Only—
"It looks like a group of ants."
"These numbers are too much!"
"Can we just go back?"
Watching the number of monsters that appeared before them, all of them felt that they should have gone home, considering how dangerous this situation was. They didn't expect the number of monsters to be so much, after all.
"Asfi, what should we do?" Lulune asked with an awkward expression.
"Well, we have to deal with them anyway, so we have to fight them." Asfi was helpless, but she knew that they had to exterminate them.
"Let me deal with them."
"Huh?"
All of them were stunned by Isao's words as he had never moved before.
"Are you serious?" Asfi asked with a doubt.
"They seem to be a great target for testing my strength. Wait here."
Isao didn't wait for their answer and just leaped into the middle of the group of monsters as if he were taking a stroll. His movement was so strange, and even if he walked in the middle of those monsters, they paid no mind to him, which made all the members of the Hermes Familia feel weird.
"Is this his new martial art?" Ryuu's lips twitched since she could hardly perceive Isao. She knew he was there, but somehow, her senses didn't perceive him, no matter how hard she tried, unless he allowed her to.
Still, the moment Isao appeared in the middle of the monsters, everything within the vicinity was slaughtered. It was like a blink. Before they noticed it, he had already made his move, killing all the monsters without them being able to react.
"Wh-What is this...?!"
"This... is this the centipede?"
"Scary..."
Among all the abilities Isao gained from the world of "Rakudai," there were several of his favorites, which were "Instant Acceleration" and "Speed Accumulation."
The "Instant Acceleration" ability allowed him to reach his max speed instantly, even though one usually needed a moment to increase their speed to the maximum.
Meanwhile, his "Speed accumulation" ability allowed him to grow faster and faster.
With those two abilities, his speed became crazy, and if he wished to, he should be able to reach a Mach or more in speed.
If he fought Kuraodo again, that guy couldn't do anything, as the ability of Marginal Counter he had only allowed him to have a reaction time within 0.05 seconds, but his reaction time now could be done in an instant due to the "Instant Acceleration" ability.
More importantly, he also gained the "Trackless Step" from Touka, a technique that allowed him to slip into the consciousness of their opponent or intended target, which made his figure hard to perceive.
Well, it might be hard to understand, but if he gave an example, it would be like when you were about to be shot, you would focus on the gun instead of the pebbles, the color of the leaf on the tree by the side, or even the shit that was stepped by the one who wanted to shoot you.
By using this technique, his existence became that of stones on the corner, so it made people unable to perceive his figure.
So, at this moment, all of those monsters who were killed appeared as if they let themselves be killed by Isao, causing Daphne, Cassandra, Ryuu, Asfi, and all the members of the Hermes Familia to stare at him dumbfoundedly and some a shiver due of fear, thinking if they were targeted by him, then—
'Fortunately... fortunately...'
Isao made his move, killing all of them, but those monsters just stood there like idiots.
Nevertheless, the commotion on the 24th Floor attracted the attention of those who were hiding on this floor.
"Olivas-sama, there is an attack on the entrance!"
"All the monsters appeared to be dead!"
"Wh-What should we do?"
Olivas Act only snorted at his followers. "Just kill them, okay? You don't have to report to me every moment." After all, he had something important to do, and he also had to admit that the monsters that Jura Halmer summoned were stronger and more useful than he had thought.
If possible, Olivas wanted to summon those monsters and control them as they could be helpful for their activity.
"Don't mess up."
"I know."
Olivas glanced at Enyo's messenger, who had kept following him after their last mistake of letting their followers be controlled by Isao.
This time, there wouldn't be any such mistake, and this time, he would let "her" reappear to the surface, showing those idiots of "her" bright presence.
The figure with the black cloak didn't say anything, but she kept staring at Olivas without anyone knowing what she was thinking.
Nevertheless, as Isao had killed all the monsters that strangely appeared on the 24th Floor, they found something abnormal within this floor.
"I-Iinuma-kun, watch this!"
"Wall of plants?"
In front of them, they saw walls made from clumps of plants that appeared unusual and shouldn't have appeared on the map.
Isao extended his hand and could tell that this wall was living. As expected, his thumb throbbed as if telling him about the danger lurking inside. However, facing this encounter, there was only one option.
"Well, let's enter, shall we?"
They knew there might be a danger, but they had to enter since this was their mission, and they had to know what was happening on this floor.