While Leon was lost in thought, Line had already finished processing the spoils of war. She gathered up all the magic stones and dropped items, packing them into the backpack behind her that was larger than she was.
After handling the loot, the young girl immediately ran over in Leon's direction.
Then, Leon told her what he was thinking.
"Go to the 13th floor?"
Line voiced her surprise.
"Yes." Leon nodded and said, "The 12th floor can no longer satisfy my current needs. So, let's head to the 13th floor."
"But—" Line said with some apprehension, "Is it really alright for just the two of us to head straight into the Middle Floors like this?"
It wasn't that Line was afraid. Although she was only a Lv.2 and a non-combatant, as a scarce healer, she had accompanied her Familia's expedition force to floors below the 50th floor.
Those areas went beyond even the Lower Floors and into the Deep Floors. Having been to such places, Line naturally wouldn't be too afraid of a mere Middle Floor.
However, precisely because she had seen the world with the Familia's expedition force, Line was all the more aware that the Middle Floors and the Upper Floors were completely different domains.
Some of the monsters there were the same as those on the 12th floor. For instance, Hard Armored would appear frequently on the 13th floor, though their strength would be somewhat higher than their counterparts on the 12th floor.
Yet, monsters like the Hard Armored, which were reputed to be unconquerable on the Upper Floors, were merely one of the lowest-tier creatures on the 13th floor.
Starting from the 13th floor in the domain of the Middle Floors, not only would monsters classified as Lv.2 begin to appear, but their methods of attack would also become far more complex.
Monsters in the Upper Floors typically attacked by rushing straight in front of an adventurer for close-range combat. The more complex ones merely scattered some poisonous scale powder like the Purple Moth. But starting from the 13th floor in the Middle Floors, the monsters appearing here would possess distinct long-range attack methods.
For example, the Hellhound, known as the arsonist, not only possessed strength far exceeding that of Upper Floor monsters but could also breathe fire from its mouth.
This fire was extremely powerful and could easily melt ordinary armor. Even upgraded adventurers could be burned to ashes by the fire spat out by this monster. A large portion of the adventurer parties that were completely wiped out upon reaching the 13th floor died from the flames breathed by Hellhounds. Consequently, the Hellhound was considered the first magical creature that adventurers entering the dungeon would encounter, and the fire from its mouth was the monster's magic, possessing immense power.
Furthermore, starting from the Middle Floors, the environment of the dungeon would also become much more complex. Natural armories could be seen everywhere, and terrains would appear that favored monsters while causing noticeable hindrances to adventurers. If one stepped into the Middle Floors completely unprepared, then even an entire party of Lv.2 adventurers would perish here.
The Middle Floors acted like a watershed inside the dungeon, completely different from the Upper Floors.
Therefore, the Middle Floors were also called the dungeon's first deadline of death. The number of adventurers who died here was simply on a different scale compared to the Upper Floors.
Generally speaking, there were basically only two types of adventurers who died on the Upper Floors: one type was the greenest of rookies, and the other was the most foolish of idiots.
The former went without saying; being too weak was an inherent sin. But the Guild had already provided strategy guidelines for each floor, so as long as one followed those guidelines and refrained from stepping onto floors that their capabilities couldn't handle, they generally wouldn't die.
The latter referred to the type of people who, despite their strength not yet meeting the standard, would rush around recklessly due to arrogance or a disregard for the dangers of the dungeon. It would take divine intervention for such people not to die. Their ancestors in the heavens would probably be worked ragged trying to preserve their lives.
In other words, as long as one wasn't too weak or too foolish, they generally wouldn't die on the Upper Floors, unless they encountered an irregular situation like Leon did during his first time in the dungeon, or ran into unlucky events like PKers.
But starting from the Middle Floors, things were different.
Here, even if one's strength met the standard, their equipment was fully complete, and their preparations in all aspects were flawless, they could still walk into an abyss of no return due to a momentary oversight or temporary carelessness.
Therefore, the number of adventurers who died in the Middle Floors was far higher than those who died in the Upper Floors. If the Upper Floors were merely a leveling ground for novice adventurers and a trial area to filter out qualified powerhouses, then starting from the Middle Floors, it was a real battlefield, a true hell.
The Guild's recommended strategy indicator for the 13th floor was Lv.2, with basic ability parameters around I to H. However, the difference from the Upper Floors lay in the fact that starting from the 13th floor, the Guild no longer recommended solo exploration for adventurers. Instead, they advised forming a formation in parties of three.
A vanguard responsible for resisting the oncoming monsters at the very front, a midline responsible for guarding against the monsters' counterattacks and supporting the front at any time, and a rear guard responsible for long-range assistance attacks or taking up healing duties when the two at the front lines were injured. With such a joint action system that combined offense, defense, and support, exploring in groups of three was the most basic requirement for tackling the Middle Floors. Otherwise, the difficulty of exploration would be raised significantly.
On the 12th floor, adventurers could still fight alone by relying on their own status values that matched the strategy indicators given by the Guild. But on the 13th floor, entering precipitously without three adventurers who simultaneously met the strategy indicators and could complement one another was nothing short of a death sentence.
That was to say, to enter the 13th floor, the most basic requirement was three upper-class adventurers of Lv.2, and there had to be a vanguard, a midline, and a rear guard.
Yet, Leon and Line only had two people, and the latter was a non-combatant. For such a party to explore the 13th floor, the risk was too high.
"Why don't we just explore the 12th floor today? When we go home tonight, we can find another companion to form a party."
Line offered a reasonable suggestion.
In the past, it would have undoubtedly been difficult for Leon as a Lv.1 to find someone within the Familia to form a party. But now Leon was already a Lv.2 and about to enter the Middle Floors, so the number of suitable teammates he could find had increased.
There were still a fair number of Lv.2s within the Loki Familia. Perhaps they weren't qualified to join during expeditions and could only stay behind to guard the headquarters while waiting for their day to shine, but if it was just forming a party to explore the Middle Floors, their strength was absolutely more than enough.
In Line's view, even if she could barely serve as a rear guard, it would still be best for Leon to find one more teammate. That would be much safer. It would be ideal if he could find a dedicated vanguard and a rear-guard mage, so she could properly act as a supporter.
However, Leon held a different view.
"Though we only have two people, compared to ordinary adventurer parties, we likewise possess an advantage that others couldn't have even if they wanted to."
Leon analyzed it for Line in this manner.
"The vanguards and midlines of other adventurer parties are basically warriors who don't know magic. I, however, am a magic swordsman capable of using magic, which is a high-class midline profession. Not only can I fulfill the role of a vanguard, but I can also fulfill the role of a midline. Even if necessary, I can serve as the rear guard myself. After all, I have also acquired the development ability of 'Mage,' so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call me a rear-guard mage."
"Though you are a non-combatant, you are a healer who is even rarer than a mage. In the event that I get injured, you can bring me back to full health to keep fighting."
"Therefore, even with just the two of us, it's not like we can't venture into the 13th floor."
This really wasn't Leon overestimating himself, but rather a very logical consideration.
As a high-class midline profession that other adventurer parties dreamed of, Leon's capabilities as a magic swordsman already exceeded the midlines of ordinary adventurer parties by a wide margin. Even without a vanguard to take the monsters' aggro in front, he could entirely handle two positions by himself, holding his ground to slay monsters.
He had also acquired the development ability of "Mage," and his "Magic" before leveling up had reached SSS. His firepower already exceeded that of ordinary Lv.2 rear-guard mages by far, completely comparable to a Lv.3 mage. In fact, if he disregarded consumption and paid extra mind power to enhance the might of his magic, his firepower could absolutely surpass ninety-nine percent of Lv.3 mages.
With such a setup, entering the 13th floor for exploration was completely feasible. Although the risk was somewhat greater, with Line, a professional healer whom other adventurer parties couldn't obtain even if they begged, the risk would undoubtedly be lowered significantly.
As a result, exploring the 13th floor was no longer something worth hesitating over.
"This—"
Hearing Leon put it this way, Line also began to waver.
Mainly because what Leon said was true. As a healer capable of accompanying the team to floors below the 50th floor, Line herself certainly had the ability to follow Leon into the Middle Floors, and she would be of great use there.
In the Upper Floors, Line had actually been a bit constrained. After all, once Leon's strength rose, he rarely got injured. He hadn't even suffered a single injury that required Line to cast healing magic so far, leaving Line as a healer with no place to apply her skills. She could only act as a supporter who picked up items, and apart from that, she was completely useless.
But in the Middle Floors, it would be different. Line as a healer would surely come in handy. At the very least, Leon wouldn't dare claim that he could avoid getting injured even once in a place like that.
Line, having witnessed Leon's strength, could also guarantee that he absolutely met the conditions to enter the Middle Floors. Even if the party setup wasn't fully complete, he could make up for it with his own capabilities.
Firepower that could rival a Lv.3 was matchless in the Middle Floors; no monsters except for the Floor Boss could withstand it without getting hurt.
Leon himself was a magic swordsman who had also acquired the development ability of "Mage." Whether it was vanguard, midline, or rear guard, he could fulfill them all.
Thinking about it this way—it seemed they really could give it a try?
"Let's go."
Seeing that Line had already wavered, Leon immediately smiled and said a word.
"It's just the Middle Floors. To others, it might be a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, but to our Loki Familia, could it really be some sort of desperate strait?"
Hearing these words, Line's heart also settled.
Indeed, they were adventurers of the Loki Familia, the faction that currently understood the dungeon best in all of Orario.
In the current Orario, the two Familias that had explored the most floors were the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia, both of which had already penetrated deep into the regions below the 50th floor. What did a mere 13th floor amount to?
At worst, they could just retreat. It couldn't be that with the capabilities of the two of them, they wouldn't even be able to run away, right?
Supplies and the like were also fully prepared by herself before entering the dungeon every time. Relying on these, venturing into the 13th floor was absolutely doable.
"Then—I will listen to Mr. Leon."
Line made her decision and spoke to Leon.
"Good." Leon made a prompt decision and said, "Then we shall set out for the 13th floor right now."
With that, the two of them began to head toward the entrance leading to the 13th floor according to the route map.
The journey was naturally not peaceful. Various monsters of the 12th floor emerged one after another, including Needle Rabbits, Imps, Evil Bats, and Silverback Apes, but these monsters couldn't do anything to Leon before, let alone now.
Even for a large-tier monster like the Silverback Ape, which was more troublesome than an Orc, Leon could now resolve it with a single swing of his sword, unable to obstruct their footsteps at all.
Thus, before long, Leon and Line ran across the grassland where the grass grew as high as a person's shins, entering a cavern room.
此 cavern room was rather peculiar; it was no longer a grassland terrain but a patch of rocky ground.
The dense fog that could be seen everywhere on the 12th floor only enveloped half of the space here, while the remaining half had nothing to obstruct the view, making the line of sight open up.
And at the deepest part of the cavern room, right in the center of a wall composed of gray rock, was a massive hollow.
Within the deep, dark hollow, the uneven rock surface could be faintly seen extending all the way down a slope, reaching toward the lower levels.
That place was the entrance to the Middle Floors.
"We have arrived, Mr. Leon." Line said with composure, "By passing through there, we can enter the 13th floor."
Clearly, Line was already extremely familiar with this path, describing it as a well-traveled route.
"Then let's go in."
Leon was equally calm.
He knew that the exploration difficulty of the Middle Floors far exceeded that of the Upper Floors, and he knew that stepping into them meant it would certainly be impossible to have such a safe combat environment again. But with his current strength, if he continued to explore the Upper Floor domains, it could really only be described as a waste of time.
Silverback Apes, Orcs, Hard Armored—these most dangerous monsters in the Upper Floors were now instantly killed by him. What would be the point of continuing to stay?
Even for the Infant Dragon known as the Floor Boss of the Upper Floors, Leon had the confidence to handle it easily. Therefore, he truly had to enter the Middle Floors to feel pressure again, to get training and growth again, and to continue growing stronger at that inhuman speed.
It was just danger; it wasn't as if he hadn't encountered it before. Back when all his abilities were at 0, he dared to venture all the way to the 7th floor. Now, under circumstances where his capabilities in all aspects exceeded the standards, if he didn't even dare to enter a 13th floor and acted timidly, he might as well stay at the headquarters and continue practicing the lovey-dovey swordplay with Ais.
At least, practicing against Ais, a Lv.5, even if she held back an ocean, Leon could still receive concrete training.
And as long as he could receive training, Leon could continue to obtain experience points, allowing his status values to grow.
However, the training obtained from practicing against Ais was certainly not as much as that obtained from a death match in a dangerous situation.
In summary, he was definitely going to the Middle Floors today.
"Let's go, Line."
"Yes, Mr. Leon."
The young boy and girl then stepped into the deep cavern without a shred of fear, following the downward slope toward the floor below.
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