After breaking the limits on his status, Shay began to solo the Dungeon more often with strict warnings from Také not to try the Middle Floors. In these mini-expeditions, Shay used and abused his magic, rapidly rebalancing his status accordingly. When the group made their daily trips into the dungeon, Shay would be moved from the vanguard to the rear in order to give the others more chances to earn excelia. After about a month of this, Shay finally hit his true ceiling with his highest abilities at 1499 SSS.
Knowing that a Level up would further ease their financial straits, the rest of the familia was totally on board when Shay said he'd like to try reaching Level 2. In order to do this he needed to perform a heroic feat, something even the Gods couldn't ignore, and proposed a plan to fight an infant dragon. The infant dragon was the strongest monster to be found in the Upper Floors, and was said to be the equivalent of an Upper level Floor boss. It was estimated to be almost Level 2, meaning that beating one alone would be quite the feat. After preparing ample potions and equipment, the group headed out for Shay's first real adventure in the Dungeon.
~
"Finally! Infant dragon, 3 o' clock!"
Mikoto was the one to break the silence, having spotted their first infant dragon after nearly three hours of roaming the foggy 12th floor. Being as strong as they were, infant dragons were quite rare, with only a small number being on the 12th floor at any given time. This had given the group quite a headache, as they were forced to roam aimlessly until they came across one. Because of their aimless roaming, Shay had been given more than enough time to get his nerves and excitement in check, and when the time came, he was completely ready.
"Good eye, Mikoto! Shay, you're up."
"Right."
With a smile and a nod, Shay put himself ahead of the group and prepared to fight. This was his chance to finally prove to himself that he wasn't all talk. Over the years of peace at the shrine, Shay had felt his conviction slipping, but the feeling in his gut right now told him all he needed to know. Taking a deep breath, Shay began walking forward.
His plan was to take advantage of his speed and start with the legs, and since an infant dragon couldn't actually breathe fire he could take his time when at range. Ready for a challenge, he removed his spear from its place on his back with his right hand and drew a kunai with his left. Since the dragon was looking away from him, Shay could've taken his time and landed a surprise attack, but this wasn't a normal fight.
This fight was for the express purpose of granting Shay a Level up. To that end, he needed to make it as close a match as he could, since the excelia an adventurer gained was at least partially dependent on their experience of a fight, meaning an easy win likely wouldn't count for much.
Ringing the starting bell in his mind, Shay threw the kunai at the dragon, the knife bouncing off the back of its head. Turning to see its challenger, it gave a mighty roar and wasted no time closing the distance. As the relatively small dragon, being not even as tall as Shay but roughly four meters long, barreled towards him at high speed, Shay immediately realized that he was only going to be marginally faster than his opponent. When the infant dragon was spoken of, it was usually talked about as a rugged force of nature, so Shay was a little taken aback by its speed.
Adjusting his plans slightly, he sent another kunai straight at the dragon's face right before they clashed. Using the distraction along with his spear's superior reach, he attempted to take out his opponent's front leg before its speed became too much of a threat. Shay's spear only made it partially through the monster's knee, but the infant dragon wailed in pain as it continued to lunge towards the adventurer. Dodging to the right as he pulled his spear through more of his opponent's leg, Shay assessed the state of the infant dragon.
Its speed is definitely lowered, so I should be fine to take my time from here on out.
Getting somewhat comfortable with his opponent, Shay decided to take his time. His party watched for another ten minutes as Shay slowly built up damage on the infant dragon in a series of close range clashes. After dragging the battle out for so long, Shay was beginning to wonder whether this was even enough of a challenge for him to Level up. As he noticed himself getting somewhat cocky, he decided he had probably fought long enough. His opponent was bleeding from an assortment of gashes all over its body, courtesy of Shay's cheap but remarkably reliable spear, and Shay himself was starting to feel his fatigue building up.
With a final indignant roar, the bleeding infant dragon charged its opponent, desperately aiming for the kill. Shay had the situation completely under control as he watched the dragon try and charge while down a limb, and raised his spear toward the beast.
As he was about to land the decisive blow, a faint but deeply disconcerting screech came from deep within the fog. His instincts screaming at him, he jumped away from the infant dragon as fast as he could, the others looking at him questioningly as he landed a good distance away.
"What is it?"
Mikoto didn't need an answer however, as a split second later an orange glow began to diffuse through the fog above them. The injured infant dragon wailed as it was scorched head to tail by a stream of continuous fire, its skin making horrible sizzling noises with the adventurers watching on in horror. The stream of fire passed over the dragon, the flames clearing out some of the fog before a gust of wind caused it to be replaced.
"We're leaving, now! Follow Asuka and head for the exit, Shay and I will bring up the rear!"
""Right!""
Everyone was still in shock, but as the leader, Ouka quickly came to the obvious conclusion. Startling the group into motion, he moved to his place in the back of the formation. Following them, Shay looked back at the scene behind him in a startled daze, small fires starting to spread among the grass fields covering the floor. Struggling after being horribly burned, the infant dragon was still stubbornly following its instincts, chasing after the fleeing group as Shay thought to himself.
What the hell? I was just about to end the fight, too! Plus, I've never seen a flying dragon before, not even in the dungeon guide I got from Amelia! Does that mean… actually, of course there's usually nothing like this in the Upper Floors!
After Také explicitly told Shay to stay in the Upper Floors, Shay decided to hold off on finding information about the Middle Floors, leaving him completely guessing as to what kind of threat they currently faced. As he watched the stream of fire come around for another sweep, finishing off the infant dragon in a massive blaze that almost seared both him and Ouka, Shay could only say one thing for sure.
That means… that thing's definitely not Level One.
"Ouka! That thing's definitely from the Middle Floors, there's no way we're making it all the way to the exit before it gets us!"
Ouka grimaced at Shay's assessment, never having been faced with a situation as hopeless as this. Embracing the tactical teachings from his patron God, Ouka gave out his orders.
"We'll use the fog! One group will stall it while the other escapes! If we keep breaking into groups and buying time–"
The party was bathed in an orange glow before a streak of flame bore down on them from straight above, splitting the group in two and clearing out enough fog for Shay to spot an imp running away nearby.
"Just state the obvious, already! I'll stay back! That's the best way for everyone to escape!"
The party looked back at Shay incredulously, seemingly thinking his suggestion came out of nowhere. Seeing their reaction, he decided to elaborate as they regrouped, sprinting in the general direction of the exit.
"The fog's getting thinner with every attack, it'll be no time at all before it can target us individually. Plus, ever thinning groups would be cumbersome and just get wiped out in no time. Right now, we need someone to totally stop it."
Not wanting to accept sacrifices, Mikoto was the first to speak up.
"No, you just fought an infant dragon! If you stay back alone, you'll die! We have a couple of ranged weapons, if we can just ground it with those, we'll be able to escape!"
Sick of wasting time as the air started to become dangerously clear, Shay left no room for argument.
"Our arrows would probably barely scratch it! Magic is gonna be the only thing that can slow it down! Plus, I've still got the best chance of survival out of all of us!"
Ouka was about to argue as another stream of fire forced the group to split up again, causing the fog to finally clear enough for them to catch a glimpse of their pursuer. Shay looked up from the burning plains to find the wyvern far above him, circling around for another attack. This monster was far more intimidating than the infant dragon he had fought earlier, with massive wings that almost resembled those of a bat.
In truth, Shay was terrified. Not just about the wyvern, but about his party. Shay had been pushing Také for a chance to Level up, impatiently seeking greater strength. All of his movements for the past half decade had been directed towards that goal. All the way from him joining the shrine to this very moment. From his perspective, the universe was punishing his whole party for his own lust for strength.
…but, that's just how it is.
I still know the answer.
It hasn't changed.
And so, as the wyvern came around for its attack, Shay doubled down on the answer he was given years before.
…I just have to be stronger.
"Raijin!"
Before Ouka or Mikoto could argue his decision, Shay was engulfed in a sheath of lightning dancing in jagged arcs all over his body. The pale blue light flickered in and out, the sparse mist catching the glow, creating a flickering aura that sporadically overtook the ambient blazing orange. Drawn by the magic, the wyvern zeroed in on its new target.
Screeching fiercely, it barreled directly at Shay, unleashing its stream of fire straight at him. Taking his party out of the line of fire, he sprinted headlong at the flames, evading at the last second with a massive leap to the side. Reaching his apex upside down beside the wyvern roughly two stories high, Shay let loose a handful of lightning clad shuriken.
This was one of the tricks he had learned being so reckless soloing the Dungeon in the weeks before. Enchantments could be used on weapons free of their user, and Shay's lightning was no exception. It also had the bonus effect of mild paralysis, due to being of the lightning element. The rest of Takémikazuchi familia gasped as they watched him land the acrobatic attack on such a horrifying monster.
All of the shuriken had found their marks, but only one stuck into the skin of the Level 2 beast. This was enough to yield an incredible opportunity however, as the lightning's paralysis caused the dragon to spasm and plummet to the ground.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Shay reapplied the magic he had put into his shuriken and sprinted towards the temporarily downed beast as the wind whistled in his ears. He landed far however, and as the wyvern began to regain mobility, it roared and blasted another stream of fire towards him, this time spraying it horizontally in an attempt to force some distance.
In reaction, Shay jumped barely high enough to clear the flames, drawing his spear and closing the last few meders. The wyvern screeched and began to escape back into the air, but Shay was quick enough to leap again after it, this time jumping with all his might. Soaring through the air, the pair looked like they were straight out of a scene from the Tales of Berk, Shay's personal favorite collection of ancient stories.
Shit! The effect didn't last long at all!
As the dragon began to pull away, Shay made a drastic decision. Again manipulating his enchantment, he quickly put all its energy into his spear and threw it with all his might. The wyvern screeched in pain as the flesh of its right wing was torn through, leaving its wing useless and relieving it of its aerial advantage as it hit the ground for a second time.
This time Shay landed much closer, and with the view of his party escaping in the distance, he rushed towards his vulnerable opponent. The monster wailed as he managed to take his spear back from its flesh, deciding to press the attack while he could. Reclaiming his enchantment from the beast, Shay went for a killing blow, thrusting his spear at the wyvern's head while it was still on the grass. Being Level 2 however, the wyvern wasn't amused as it deftly caught Shay's spear in its jaws, thrashing it out of his hands and violently snapping it in two as he jumped away, looking on in horror.
Shit! There won't be another opportunity like–
The beast gave no time to think however, unleashing yet another stream of fire at the baffled adventurer. Shay had built his magic up to be quite powerful indeed, letting him contend with even this Level 2 beast, but it had a correspondingly high cost. Shay was consuming mind at an alarming rate, already almost needing a potion just to stay on his feet. Feeling his fatigue building up, Shay was only barely able to duck past the newest stream of fire, the blaze lighting up his face an incandescent orange and singeing the tips of his hair.
After Shay's quick dodge, the two paused for a moment, the wyvern seemingly sizing up its opponent as Shay unsheathed his backup weapon, an exceedingly cheap rapier, and examined his options. The usually foggy 12th floor was rapidly becoming a hellscape, fire spreading through the grass and the trees looking like torches marking their battle's path. The fog had cleared so much that Shay could even see some other adventurers panicking and running to safety in the distance.
That last blast was weaker than the first. Does it have a limit, or was it just caught off guard? I really can't keep reapplying the enchantment like this, it uses an ungodly amount of mind. But, can I fight this thing without that trick? If it's already nearing its shot limit, should I try and outlast it? I only have a single magic potion though, and a killing blow is gonna take all I can possibly give it. Ah damn, Také's gonna scold me for being reckless again.
The wyvern resumed the match with a screech, followed by a short burst of bright flame. Shay dodged to the side and was about to try and close the distance, but the wyvern moved instead, going for a direct attack. Caught off guard, Shay barely managed to slip to the side before the wyvern's jaws snapped shut where his head had just been. The beast fired off three more shots while chasing its prey, two of which Shay narrowly dodged before taking cover behind a landform, which was promptly blown to pieces by the third.
Not giving its prey any room to work with, the wyvern let off another stream of fire at Shay as he fumbled with his only magic potion.
Alright, looks like it's not running out of juice. I'll have to end this soon somehow, otherwise–
Seemingly done playing nice, the wyvern barreled down on Shay before turning around and swiping with its thin tail. The tail cracked like a massive whip as it passed over a wide-eyed Shay's head, his panicked dodge leaving him sprawled out in the grass. Shay desperately rolled to the side as the wyvern flew at him like a ballista bolt, sending tremors through the ground after landing on his previous position. Jumping away, Shay downed the mind potion midair as yet another orange glow started to bloom from the wyvern's mouth.
Okay, here we go. Here's all I got!
Switching the rapier to his left hand and reaching into the pouch on his leg, Shay pulled out two shuriken as he landed and ran to the side, the wyvern's final stream of fire trailing him in a circle like a hand on a clock. When the fire stopped, Shay pivoted inward towards the beast, leaping high into the air while pouring his enchantment into just one of the shuriken before throwing them both with a flick of his wrist. The wyvern dashed to the side to dodge, but looked confused as the glowing shuriken completely missed, floating by the beast in a wide arc. Seeing its wingless prey sailing vulnerable through the air, the wyvern snarled tauntingly as it prepared to take the opportunity.
As time slowed to a crawl, Shay nervously watched his final trump card sail past the wyvern, deftly swapping the rapier back to his right hand. Quelling the fear trying to freeze his limbs, he prayed for the crucial moment to arrive as he began to fall down towards the dragon. After what felt like an eternity spent hanging in the air, a noise cut through the tension.
–Ting!
The wyvern was preparing to leap up and bite Shay in half as it was struck in the back by a lightning enchanted shuriken. The orange ambience briefly yielded to a brilliant blue as the enchantment engulfed the monster, causing it to spasm in place as Shay prepared his last attack with a relieved yet unmistakably wild smile.
"Raijin!"
His magic flared to life once again as prey became predator. Shifting all of its energy to the rapier, Shay lit up the space between the combatants with his enchantment. Still spasming in midair, the wyvern could do nothing but watch as Shay's rapier made its way deep into its right eye and the magic scorched and electrocuted the beast's innards. With a sickening screech of pain, the wyvern hit the ground one final time as Shay slowly rose to his feet above the beast, finally victorious.
~
The wyvern… was killed? And what the hell was that, some kind of shuriken redirect!? You've got to be kidding! What's this guy doing in the Upper Floors!?
An average looking man with goggles and slicked back black hair stood rooted to the spot in bewilderment as he watched the blonde teen in the distance fall into a sitting position next to the dead beast, laughing from relief.
Dix Perdix, known as Hazer, was having quite the day in the Dungeon. Earlier, he had been transporting a group of captured monsters, including that wyvern, to the eleventh floor. One of his idiot subordinates hadn't taken the care he should have when securing the cages and the next thing they knew the monsters had all escaped. Afraid of causing a panic and being discovered, Dix and his crew had killed the monsters before they got too far, the wyvern being the sole exception due to its speed.
After killing the rest of the monsters, Dix rushed after it, meeting a strange Far Eastern party near the entrance to the 12th floor. After noticing one of the women silently crying, Dix inquired, fearing that the wyvern had caused an incident. He was told about the battle that was underway, and had rushed to stop it before things got farther out of hand.
Upon entering the scene however, Dix was stunned to witness an impressive ending to what looked to be a solid Level 2 fight. Watching the lone adventurer pull off such an audacious stunt had deprived him of the will to intervene. After about thirty seconds of silence, Dix decided to flee the scene. He'd dealt with enough for the day.
~
…I've done it.
Sitting beside the wyvern corpse as it slowly turned to ash, Shay was certain he'd reached Level Two. There was no other option. Not only had he defeated an infant dragon, which would routinely wipe out parties of overconfident Level 1 adventurers, but he had fought and killed a monster that surely made its home in the Middle Floors. After having rested for roughly a minute, Shay decided to get a move on. He looked to the eye socket where his rapier resided and pulled it out, but only the handle parted from the corpse.
"...both, huh?"
With both of his usual weapons destroyed, Shay took a kunai from his pouch and went to remove the monster's magic stone, figuring that he at least deserved that much. Sensing something behind him, Shay turned to see Mikoto flying at him like a speeding bullet.
"Shay-dono! …You're alive!"
Now up close and personal with his squadmate after being tackled to the ground, Shay noticed the tear stains marking Mikoto's otherwise relieved expression. The other members of the party were close behind her, some of them having to manually pick their jaws up from the floor after taking in the corpse of the wyvern that had threatened their entire party. Shay was starting to become flustered as Mikoto continued to hug him tightly, especially since the others were looking on. Patting her on the head a couple times, he began to stand up as she let him go.
"Sorry for making you worry. And, well… I apologize for pushing everyone all the way down here just so I could Level up."
Judging by status, nobody in the familia other than Shay had any business going all the way to the 12th floor of the Dungeon. Shay knew they were risking a lot on his behalf. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he could've done the same. Marveling at Shay's innate ability to ruin the mood, Ouka decided to step in.
"Shay, give us a little more credit. Everyone knew the risks when we came here, but strengthening the familia is our shared goal. Higher floor count, more money for the shrine, you've heard it. Everyone wanted a new Level Two."
"...I see."
Breaking into a smile, Ouka decided to have some fun.
"And when we get one, we'll be sure to have them pay our support back in heaps of valis. Too bad that guy had to take care of the wyvern for you though. That would've definitely put you over the edge. Although I must say, you seriously did well by just surviving."
"...?"
"...? …You know, the guy? The one with goggles?"
"...Goggles?"
Ouka's face tensed as he reached an impossible conclusion.
"...wait, you didn't actually kill that thing, did you? By yourself?"
"..."
Shay's chuckle and relaxed smile was enough to answer Ouka's question and send him into a daze. Seeing his stunned party members, Shay made his declaration with a smile.
"Like the captain said, I'll be sure to pay everyone back, with interest!"