And so the expedition force pushed forward at an astonishing pace, heading for Floor 50, racing downward the whole way.
Because both Leo and Ais had grown vastly stronger, and because Hephaestus Familia was lending its strength this time, the expedition went unbelievably smoothly, and the pace was considerably faster than on the last one.
On the first day, the expedition force reached the Labyrinth Garden on Floor 28 and settled there to rest.
On the second day, the expedition force crossed the Jungle Ravine of Floors 29 to 32 and the Sand Land of Floors 33 to 36, reaching the boundary of the Deep Floors.
On the third day, the expedition force formally entered the Deep Floors, stepping into the white palace of Floor 37, crossing the Ash Bridge on Floor 39 without pausing, not resting on that safe floor but going straight into the Giant's Graveyard of Floors 40 to 43, and even conquering the Crimson Mountains of Floors 44 to 48 to arrive at Floor 49, known as the Great Wilderness.
Only after coming to this floor was the expedition force's advance slowed a little, forcing them to reduce their pace.
There was no helping it. Floor 49 was not only the territory of the Floor Boss Balor, whose classification level was at least Lv.7, but also home to many powerful monsters that only first-class adventurers could dispatch quickly, with monsters classified at Lv.5 existing here as well, and this wilderness was larger in area than the whole of Orario. Even with Balor not yet respawned, Loki Familia still had no way to push through quickly and cleanly here, not even with Hephaestus Familia's people helping.
If even Loki Familia, the city's strongest Familia, got bogged down here, then however impressive Hephaestus Familia was, those smiths could hardly be stronger than the elites of the expedition force, so once they reached this point the smiths' activity dropped off sharply, and only Tsubaki, a first-class adventurer, could keep bouncing around, though that couldn't change the overall situation.
So on this floor the expedition force still needed a full day to break through, arriving at last at their destination, Floor 50.
The final result was that in less than five days the expedition force successfully reached the final base they had settled on, passing through that vast gray forest and coming to the broad rock platform more than ten meters high, where they set up camp.
"Here again..."
Watching the adventurers and smiths begin pitching camp under Finn and the others' instructions, Leo felt something stir in him.
This was his second time coming to this floor, and his second time going this deep into the Dungeon.
Compared to his first time here, the place had scarcely changed at all.
Back then, they had fought off the worm-type monsters attacking the base here, leaving traces of the battle everywhere.
At that time there had been marks left by magic bombardment and marks left by dissolving fluid melting through, deep craters and scorch marks everywhere, a total mess, with hardly a single intact spot to be found.
The gray forest below the rock platform especially, since Leo and Ais had fought their great battle against the female-form monster there and finally driven it to self-destruct, looked as though a natural disaster had trampled it over and over with flame, storm, and dissolving fluid, and even a huge crater like a meteor strike had appeared.
But after roughly a month, everything here had already returned to its original state.
That was only natural. The Dungeon had a self-repair function to begin with, and never mind a month, even a week would have been enough to repair that severe damage.
So the Floor 50 that Leo and the others saw looked as if it had never gone through that agonizing battle a month ago, as if time itself had flowed backward, restored completely to its original appearance, without the slightest sign of the wreckage from before.
But...
It's not that nothing has changed.
He flexed the hand that now carried powerful strength, then touched the sword at his waist that had stepped into the legendary tier, and his heart settled.
About a month ago, when he fought the female-form monster to the death here, he hadn't just lacked a weapon that faintly crossed into the legendary tier, he hadn't even had a single piece of first-tier superior equipment.
Back then, what he held was the Third Class Dragon Fang Sword, and what hung at his waist was the Emerald Staff, equivalent to Third Class equipment. Only the Giant's Battle Garb he wore counted as First Class, and if you left out that piece of armor Loki had sponsored out of friendship, his gear was inferior to that of many of the lower-ranked members of the expedition force, let alone compared to the core figures of the Second Army or the executives and leaders of the First Army.
His Level had only been Lv.3, with only his magic's firepower reaching Lv.5, and if Meteor Dance hadn't been ultra-short chant magic that could also be released without a chant when necessary, then when facing the worm-type monsters he might have been like Lefiya, unable to move at all.
After all, the moment he chanted a spell, the reaction of the Magic would draw those worm-type monsters' attention, and with everyone else too intimidated by the dissolving fluid to close in for melee and unable to effectively block those monsters' advance, he was bound to end up as the kindling that drew the monsters in, attacked by countless worms.
If it had come to that, he might not have been able to handle even one worm-type monster, and could only have run about like the ordinary members.
But now things were different.
His Level had reached Lv.5, and before leveling up he had trained all abilities to SSS, and he had gone on to learn new Magic and a new Skill, and had obtained a legendary weapon that made even Orario's strongest smith lose her composure. Even performing normally, the Leo of now had abilities in every area that would put him among the top of the Lv.6s.
If he disregarded the cost and went all out, he should even be able to handle a monster classified at Lv.7.
"...What are you thinking about?"
A familiar voice came from beside him, pulling him back, and he looked over.
The golden-haired, golden-eyed swordsman stood beside him, as if that spot had always been hers, unchanging.
"Nothing." Leo shook his head, then said, "I was just thinking that if it were the me of now, facing that female-form monster from last time again, maybe I could subjugate it on my own without you stepping in to help me."
Ais looked at Leo, her eyes wavering slightly.
It was true. Compared to back then, Leo had grown far, far stronger.
Others didn't know just how strong Leo was now, since the whole way here he had obediently kept to the rearguard position, only casting magic, without even using his staff, deliberately holding back his output to conserve Mind, so that many people hadn't experienced his current strength firsthand.
Only Ais, who had gone through the Irregular on Floor 24 with Leo and witnessed with her own eyes the sight of him showing his real strength, knew that he was no less than she was now.
If it were the Leo of now, wouldn't his strength alone be enough to subjugate the female-form monster from back then?
That female-form monster's dissolving fluid no longer posed a threat to the Leo of now either.
After all, even if the Giant's Battle Garb couldn't block the dissolving fluid, Leo's flight magic with its protective capability could ward off the fluid's corrosion, letting him stand before an opponent without a scratch.
Thinking of this, Ais felt somewhat dazed.
This person closest to her had really grown so much stronger.
And from the time when he needed her help to now, when he could subjugate that female-form monster alone, only about a month had passed in between.
Remembering what he had been like before and what he was like now, Ais found it hard to believe that only about a month had gone by.
"...You've really become stronger and stronger."
Ais said it, her heart in a snarl of emotion.
Leo looked into Ais's eyes, gazed at the ripples there, and smiled faintly.
"Aren't you the same?"
That was right.
It wasn't only Leo. Ais had also grown stronger and stronger.
Though not to the extraordinary degree Leo had, compared to herself a month ago there was an enormous gap.
The girl who had crossed past what she had been and stepped into a new stage, reaching Lv.6, had gone through a transformation of her own.
Realizing this, the tangle of feelings in Ais's heart began to disperse, and she settled a little.
"Hey! What are you two slacking off over there for?"
"Hurry up and get over here! Leo! Ais!"
"Get the tents up already, we still have to prepare dinner!"
"Stop always sticking around Miss Ais whenever you've got nothing to do!"
The voices of Bete, Tiona and Tione came from a distance, one impatient, one cheerful, one with a cold snort, and Lefiya walked over puffed up with anger, looking ready to drag Leo away from Ais's side.
Leo and Ais glanced at each other and smiled.
The two walked toward the camp together and joined the others, roughhousing as they set up camp.
The noise of the camp gradually grew louder, lending this gray floor a touch of human warmth out of nowhere.
As dusk slowly settled over the surface world above, in the expedition force's camp far below in the depths, the light of the magic-stone lamps gradually brightened, and together with the bonfires, lit up all around.
The tents had been raised in orderly rows, and in the center of the camp a fire was lit, with an iron pot set over it, cooking up something delicious.
"Come eat, everyone!"
At the call of the women members in charge of cooking, apart from the few who had to stand watch around the camp and stay on guard, everyone else formed a large circle in the center of the camp and gathered to eat.
To reward the hardship and effort of the journey, this meal was truly lavish, with meat-flavored fruit and other Dungeon-grown produce, specially made jerky, and soup boiled in a great pot, fragrant and nourishing, so that the Hephaestus Familia smiths all ate with real relish and exclaimed loudly that there was such good food to be had in the Dungeon.
The atmosphere was so lively that a few cups of wine were all it would have taken to turn it into an outright banquet.
But as anyone could guess, in a place like the Dungeon getting drunk was out of the question no matter what, and no one would bring alcohol in, so everyone made do with drinks or water, clinking cups with each other and keeping the mood going.
Until...
"Let me tell everyone about the arrangements from here on."
Finn finally spoke, and the whole place fell silent.
"From Floor 51 onward, the advantage of numbers will be weakened to the greatest degree, and members who aren't strong enough won't even be able to keep up with the main force, so tomorrow's push toward the unexplored territory will be carried out by a selected elite main force, while those not chosen will stay behind to guard the camp and be ready to support the front-line assault team at any time."
Finn's voice reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity, and their expressions turned serious and grave.
"Now, those whose names I call, pay attention."
Finn's gaze began to sweep over them.
"First, Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Bete, Tiona, Tione, and... Leo."
The Familia's leaders and executives, all first-class adventurers, were selected without exception, not one left out.
Since this was the elite main force, it would have been strange not to pick the first-class adventurers.
On past expeditions, these seven including Finn had been the immovable main force, the First Army of the expedition force, and only these seven could roam the areas below Floor 50 unscathed, while no one else could do so without risk.
So for any assault on the floors below Floor 50, these seven were certain to be chosen as members of the assault group, and none of them could be missing.
This time, however, the elite main force had one new member.
That was Leo.
"We finally have new main combat strength joining us."
"That should take a fair bit of pressure off us, right?!"
Though Tiona and Tione had a considerable competitive fire burning over being passed by Leo, having a new first-class fighting force join them at a time like this was undoubtedly something to be happy about.
It meant not only that the Familia was growing stronger, but also that they had another comrade they could rely on.
"Just don't hold us back."
Bete gave Leo a glance and said it flatly, though he no longer had the words "small fry" on the tip of his tongue.
"With a new rearguard Mage joining, my burden will lighten a little too."
"You'd better work hard, kid."
Riveria and Gareth both smiled at Leo, looking thoroughly expectant of his performance.
As for Ais, from beginning to end she had never doubted that Leo would be chosen.
To her, it would have been unthinkable for Leo not to join.
So of everyone present, it was actually her reaction that was the most ordinary.
Finn relaxed his expression a little and added a few words.
"Leo joining is extraordinarily significant for the entire main force. After all, he's both a high-level swordsman and a high-level Mage. He can serve as vanguard or as middle guard, and the rearguard is no problem for him either. He can fill any position, which makes him nearly all-purpose."
"This greatly rounds out the strength of the main force. Even if something happens to any one of us, he can step in immediately, and in terms of both strategic and tactical significance that is without question greater than anyone else's."
"He's now not only risen to Lv.5, but both his swordsmanship and his magic are beyond the standard scale, and he's an indispensable support for us. Everyone can rest easy putting their backs in his hands."
From that assessment, it was plain how highly Finn rated Leo.
This already placed Leo in a position above the other main force members.
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