Although they decided to venture deeper, the two had no intention of pulling a "clear up to the middle floors on the first day" stunt.
According to their initial plan, they would only be active within the first five floors of the Dungeon today.
The first five floors of the Dungeon are practically filled with nothing but Frog Hunters and Goblins. Packs of Dungeon Lizards are the biggest threat on these levels.
Even though Furina had already moved past that level of danger, she didn't let pride or overconfidence get the better of her. Her next goal was the [War Shadow], a monster located on the sixth floor known as the "Newbie Killer."
To describe its appearance in a nutshell: it looks like a silhouette.
Pitch black from head to toe, roughly 1.6 meters tall with two arms and two legs. Embedded in its cross-shaped face is a perfectly circular piece resembling a hand mirror.
The things you primarily need to watch out for are its swift, sharp movements and the claws extending from its wrists, much like Wolverine's.
In truth, for a Level 1 adventurer, the War Shadow could absolutely be described as a boss. Its razor-sharp claws can even slice through low-quality equipment.
If you don't possess attributes surpassing a standard Level 1 adventurer, you'll be finished off in no time. It's hard to imagine something of that intensity appearing as early as the sixth floor.
But perhaps that is exactly why it earned the title of "Newbie Killer."
Is it terrifying? Yes, very. If it weren't for Sushang by her side, Furina wouldn't have dared to take such a risk.
The pair cleared out every monster they encountered along the way. The magic stones they dropped accumulated to the point where they were almost too much to carry.
Although Sushang offered to use her own methods of storage, Furina thought it over and decided to entrust that "supporter" duty to Mademoiselle Crabaletta.
They didn't have much concept of the value of magic stones, but judging by the reactions of other adventurers they bumped into, their haul must have been significant.
After all, many would show looks of surprise whenever they saw the heavy bag of magic stones Mademoiselle Crabaletta was shouldering.
Going through the trials of battle had reached a point where Furina no longer felt terror at the massive size of the Dungeon Lizards.
Should one call it desensitization or just getting used to it? After trading blows several times and slaying them each encounter, she found she couldn't bring herself to be afraid even if she wanted to.
As for the Frog Hunters and Goblins, they were nothing more than roadside trash to Furina.
Compared to the massive Dungeon Lizards, these two could essentially be dispatched with a single strike—hardly living up to their reputation as "friends of the newbies."
However, when the two arrived at the sixth floor and circled it several times, they couldn't find the target Furina had set for today's lesson.
As mentioned before, the Dungeon is a conical structure, and the sixth floor is naturally much larger than the first. But were War Shadows really such rare monsters?
After searching for two or three hours, the two had already had to fend off several other types of monsters.
Noticing that Furina no longer felt that rush of adrenaline when facing these creatures, Sushang stopped making her focus entirely on the combat.
Instead, she had her pay attention to her body mechanics during the fights and taught Furina the Edge of Taixuan forms hand-in-hand afterward.
Sure, rolling around like a donkey might help you dodge attacks, but a fighting style based purely on instinct won't take you very far on the path of Edge of Taixuan.
Cultivating the body and cultivating the heart—that is the essence of the Edge of Taixuan.
Only when one reaches the level of Sword Soul, where every punch, kick, blade of grass, or flowing stream can become a blade, can one stop worrying about forms and simply let the body follow the heart's intent.
The two chatted and trained as they fought, slowly making their way down to the seventh floor.
Sushang couldn't help but sigh; this world really was just like a video game. Non-stop grinding, fighting, moving forward; grinding, fighting, moving forward.
This Dungeon seemed like a place specifically designed to nurture adventurers.
With combat experience and rewards (magic stones and materials) always in abundant supply, it was incredibly convenient for those who wished to become stronger.
"Sword forms... trying to keep my movements precise while fighting, I feel like I'm losing track of what's important..."
After taking down a few Needle Rabbits, the bottom-tier monsters of the seventh floor, Furina pouted and stretched her body, trying to strike the pose Sushang had just taught her.
Although she complained, her ability to learn was actually remarkably fast.
Perhaps it was because she was an individual separated from Focalors, or perhaps because of her five hundred years of performance experience, but she had an excellent grasp of the precision required for every move in the sword forms.
Sushang believed in positive reinforcement. Remembering the harsh corrections she received for her own lack of coordination back in the day, she consoled her: "Fufu, you're already doing great. Not only is your body flexible, but your movements are also very coordinated."
"I suffered quite a lot when I first started learning the sword forms."
If Fu Hua were to hear this, she might be at a loss for words—this was purely a humble-brag.
Although Amber's performance at the start was indeed abysmal, the speed of her progress had left Fu Hua stunned.
Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Amber was using Fu Hua's body, which had the muscle memory etched into it, but to master the Five Levels with no weak points in just a few days was something even her most gifted disciples couldn't do.
One could attribute this to the good fortune of using Fu Hua's body—a stroke of luck. But luck is also a form of destiny; you can't have it just because you want it.
Furina didn't know any of this and simply assumed she was genuinely talented.
She puffed out her cheeks slightly and beamed: "Is that so? I guess it's because I'm used to perfecting my movements for the sake of the performance, so I'm already accustomed to this kind of thing."
"As long as I treat these moves like choreography for a show, they're actually quite easy to remember."
"I suppose that counts as your talent, Fufu."
Sushang wholeheartedly agreed.
"But I never thought the sword forms would have moves that are so... much like a Fontaine opera performance." Furina struck a pose: "I thought they would all be like those Liyue-style moves."
"They started out that way, but over the many years, one eventually summarizes and adopts the worthwhile elements from other styles."
Their idle chatter echoed through the Dungeon. Just as Furina prepared to push deeper, Sushang's expression shifted, and she looked off into the distance.
"What's happening up ahead?" Furina, also quickly adjusting her mindset, took two steps to stand beside Sushang and peered forward vigilantly.
"There are many footsteps..." Sushang frowned: "And most of them sound like those of arthropods. If I'm not mistaken, those would be your new target: Killer Ants."
"Even though they are the new target... my list only accounted for one Killer Ant..." Furina's face turned slightly pale: "Could it be that someone has been tangled up with them for too long, causing them to swarm?"
As another "Newbie Killer," Killer Ants might not be as strong as War Shadows in a one-on-one fight, but the fact that they call for reinforcements mid-battle is enough to bury many an adventurer.
"Shangshang... there's only one path here. If we have to run, can we outrun those ants?"
Furina looked behind her, not holding out much hope.
Besides, there was another problem: if they ran around aimlessly, they were likely to run into even more monsters. Being attacked from the front and back would make the situation even worse.
"In that case, we have no choice but to take care of them here." Sushang smiled and patted Furina on the shoulder:
"Besides, it's getting late. Let's treat this as the final lesson of the day—finish them off and we're done for the day!"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL