A huge grin appeared on Elena's injured face as she fought the beast, Though not as efficient as Connor, she was still holding off well.
At least compared to the start, she was getting better at dodging and countering the beast. She was clearly enjoying this fight. But she was not the only one.
In the back while shielding the rest of the group from the beast stood Connor with the same grin, the beast would occasionally come to attack them whenever Elena took a hit, It would always take her a while to recover.
But Connor noticed a few more things that even Elena herself might not be aware.
She was recovering faster every time she got struck.
If in the first hit, she needed a whole minute to get back up, now it only took around 10 seconds to get back into the fight.
Connor realized elena was growing quickly and adapting well into the battle, she was also enjoying it a lot.
Whether it was due to her own nature to strive for victory or the Lighting Valkyrie's influence, he couldn't tell, maybe it was both or maybe it was a new trait she was developing.
But Connor liked it, At this moment looking at Elena reminded Connor of himself.
Maybe he had influenced her with his words, whatever had changed her Connor was loving the battle-crazed appearance of Elena.
"I like it", Connor muttered in a low voice as he licked his lips. He was barely controlling his urge to join the battle.
But he knew that now wasn't the time to be swayed by emotions.
So, After a while when Elena was showing signs of exhaustion, he decided to end the fight as he invoked [ Darkness surge ] right when the two were about to trade blows.
The beast was momentarily stopped as the sudden bind caught it off guard.
But before it could even resist the binding darkness a streak of lighting brushed past its vision as the head of the beast fell to the floor.
Elena too was surprised when darkness erupted, but a millisecond was all it took for her to realize what was happening, She put all her strength into a final swing going for the kill as she aimed the slash right at the beast's neck.
[ You have slain a lv.33 Vorpis Beast ]
" I could have handled that beast myself" She protested looking at connor, But a second later as all the adrenaline calmed down came an unbearable pain.
She had been ignoring the protest of her muscles and the pain from the fractured bones all this while a trait of her esper which she was only able to realize now as she reverted to her original form.
She was just about to fall when Connor caught her.
"You were amazing," He said with his devilish smile taking Elena by surprise, His smile was always captivating for her.
But right now that smile was entirely directed at her with an intense emotion she felt.
She felt embarrassed as she tried to recall everything since the fight started.
' Did I grin like that too when I was fighting the beast?'
' Was I looking like a battle frenzy maniac?'
' Did I appear too arrogant when I complained?'
A lot of thoughts were running in her mind as second by second she became embarassed even further, Even Connor could see that.
He chuckled at her reaction as decided to elaborate his praise to explain her actions.
" You were truly amazing Elena, I think that Esper helped you gain Battle Instincts and you were able to swiftly adapt to the attack patterns, You might have not noticed this but you recovered faster after each hit you took, The first time you were down it took you a minute to come back on your foot, but then that time was reduced after more beatings, You were truly an amazing warrior who is not afraid of death"
Elena was left speechless as she was showered with more praises and she liked all of them. It made her feel rewarded for all her efforts and pain.
" Elena, You should rest now that the beast has been slain," Alya said with concern as she helped her stand. She was frustrated at being a deadweight to her best friend. Even though this dungeon exploration was for everyone to grow stronger.
It seemed that only Elena was getting stronger.
Sure, they all have also leveled up at least once, but they could not even properly watch the fight between Elena and the chimera, Alya felt like baggage as shame overwhelmed her.
She decided to Push herself further to the next floor.
"Alright, Lets head back now" Connor's voice shattered all her plans as she turned to face him.
"Why? Didn't you say we will conquer this dungeon?"
" Let's not be reckless, There is still a month until the monsters respawn. We can rest for a day and continue with the rest of the floors, what matters now is regrouping and splitting the treasures we have obtained till now"
" But, We can clear one more floor before resting right, at least we can make way till the boss room and get all the treasures in the third floor as well" Alya's voice was filled with urgent plea as she hoped Connor would agree, Alas he was stern with his decision.
" Look at your best friend's condition, Do you think she can fight after a few hours. her bones are fractured and muscles are torn. Although at her current level and Esper's powers do boost her natural regeneration. She needs proper healing and rest until she can move comfortably. Who do you think can cover for all of you if she is out?"
At Connor's question no one could answer, Elena seemed like she wanted to say something but she had no energy and was utterly exhausted to even open her mouth.
"We are leaving, Now" Connor gave his verdict as he carried Elena in his arms. She was flustered a little but got comfortable after hearing Connor's voice.
"Just rest for now, I will make sure nothing happens to you or the team"
With those words, A smile appeared on her face, she could discern the genuine concern and care in his voice which made her happy.
Connor was a reassurance to Elena, that no matter how dire the situation he would step in for her. She had unknowingly become reliant on him as she nodded and fell asleep finally giving in to the exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Alya could only groan silently and curse herself as she grew impatient.
She too wanted to excel and grow strong, at least strong enough to support her friends, But she was nowhere near their level.
This inferiority complex of hers only grew when she heard Furina had reached level 6. Only a couple levels below her despite this being her first raid.
Furina also got her second skill, [ Aqua Swirl ] which conjures multiple watery orbs that create a whirlpool pulling nearby objects and enemies inside, It became a great supportive skill causing the enemies to lose balance and footing as well as considerable damage when the orb explodes causing the fierce water droplets to pierce and scratch the enemies skin.
The reason she took this skill was mainly that the monster their party defeated was a rare aquatic creature, hence she knew that the skill would be related to water and that was what she was aiming for to as this skill would complement and synergize with her first skill, [Hydro Surf].
This left even Connor impressed as he added her to his squad. Now that the first floor has been cleared and the 2nd floor boss has been defeated. Connor saw a need to reconfigure the group settings.
He disbanded the previous parties and adapted to a proper military order.
Currently, the four squad leaders: Connor(Alpha), Elena(Bravo), Sylvia(Charlie), and Julian(Delta) were in a discussion inside the room where Elena was resting.
She was still in recovery even though a day had passed. It seems that she really pushed herself beyond her body's limits.
" Now that, Everyone has some decent skills, I will look into them and draft them into proper Military squad positions based on their specialties and where they excel." was what Connor said once they reassembled in the dungeon gate.