They weren't far from the floor passage.
Single file, they moved at a steady pace through the winding, layered corridors. Faint moss-light and the phosphorescent glow of the ceiling wove together overhead, pushing back the heavy dark ahead.
Jeanne took point. Her silver half-heeled greaves clicked against the stone in a crisp, even rhythm. Gauntleted hands gripped the Banner Lance, her violet eyes sweeping every shadow, every alcove, never still.
Leon followed at a safe distance, the Supporter's pack on his back. His left hand carried the Twisted Staff by its cloth-wrapped head, swinging loosely with his stride. His right hung at his side, fingers half-curled, sparks flickering at the tips. He kept his magic on standby, ready to deliver fire support the instant anything came at Jeanne from the front.
They moved in fits and starts. Most of the time, the Dungeon lay wrapped in an unnerving silence. Only the occasional distant monster shriek or the faint percussion of a faraway fight reminded them what lurked in these depths.
"The Dungeon is alive." Jeanne spoke without turning, her voice low. "What a terrifying labyrinth."
"You're sensing something?" Leon connected it to her skill and dropped his voice to match.
She tilted her head, scanning the dark walls around them, her pace unchanged. Something complicated threaded through her tone.
"Ever since we entered the Dungeon, the Falna on my back hasn't stopped radiating warmth. Like soaking in a hot spring. I think... it's because Revelation has been active the entire time. I can feel this faint, persistent sense of danger. I couldn't pinpoint its source. Not until the Irregular hit us. That's when it spiked, became unmistakable."
A slow breath. Then her conclusion.
"Now I understand. That ambient threat isn't aimed at us specifically. It comes from the Dungeon itself."
"Equal-opportunity malice for every visitor?" Leon said, dry as bone.
"Scorch!"
Boom.
Leon's expression was black. He fought through the tingling numbness crawling across his body and, wincing at the cost, downed a bottle of Antidote.
"Careless... should've known you can't dodge everything forever..." His jaw was stiff from the paralysis, the words coming out slurred.
"Life is full of surprises. Smooth sailing would be the real anomaly." Jeanne's expression suggested this was the most obvious thing in the world.
As for why she didn't need an Antidote herself, the answer was simple: she had the exact right skill for the job.
God's Resolution. Massively increased resistance to all magic, with a Strength boost when triggered. Massively increased resistance to negative effects, with an Endurance boost when triggered. Enemies designated as hostile suffered a minor debuff.
Layer that with the all-around stat amplification from Holy Maiden and her own absurd innate resistances, and Jeanne shrugged off the Purple Moth's toxin like it was nothing.
Leon had Arcane Ward, which blunted the worst of negative effects, but it wasn't full immunity. Peace of mind won out. He reached for the Antidote without hesitation.
When it came to raw resistance, Jeanne was in a different league entirely. Her hidden base stats and natural talent gave her a tankiness that bordered on ridiculous.
Some time later, despite a handful of minor incidents along the way and the occasional monster ambush, the two reached the floor passage without serious trouble.
Unlike Floor 7, they didn't pause to rest. Straight through.
Floor 9.
Same as the levels above, still part of the cavern labyrinth, though the light had dimmed further. The darker, quieter environment pressed down on the nerves.
According to the Dungeon Environment and Knowledge Guide, Floors 6 through 9 expanded progressively. Each one larger, more complex, more dangerous than the last.
Their own observations confirmed it. Compared to the data from earlier floors: more chambers, and wider ones. Shorter connecting corridors between them. Ceilings that had barely cleared two people now soared to an estimated ten meters.
Woody-brown walls and corners wore thick carpets of moss. The floor itself had traded bare stone for short grass, spreading like a low prairie. Phosphorescent light filtered down from above like sunlight, giving the unsettling illusion of walking through open wilderness.
More space meant more room to maneuver, more margin for error. Most veteran adventurers considered Floors 8 and 9 relatively easy to clear for that reason.
Once inside Floor 9, Leon and Jeanne factored in the time and scrapped any plans to explore side routes or remote chambers. They'd stick to the main path and push straight to Floor 10. Today's objective came first.
"Matches the handbook intel. Floor 9 isn't much different from the ones above. No new monster types. Instead, Goblins, ground spirits, Needle Rabbits, and the rest spawn in stronger forms with higher base potential. As long as we don't misjudge their power, we fight the same way we have been."
Leon finished his analysis and summed it up.
"This floor only changes things within normal parameters: better monster quality, higher spawn frequency, slightly better odds of a rare species. Nothing unusual beyond that."
Jeanne agreed with the first half. The second half she ignored entirely. Rare species. Sure. Keep dreaming.
"Scorch!"
One snap of instant-cast magic dropped a screeching "enhanced" Goblin where it stood. Behind his face covering, Leon's lips curled.
"Monsters are definitely stronger, but at my current output it barely matters. The feel is no different from the floors above. One Scorch, one kill."
Which proved a point. After the staff bonus and his skill amplification, Leon's firepower against ordinary monsters had significant overkill built in.
"Paper targets. Not worth the mana." A hint of smugness crept into his voice.
Jeanne stared at the still-burning remains, a slight furrow between her brows. "No. Under the residual fire damage, the monster held on a fraction longer. You can't feel it, but my instinct says it lasted a little bit more than before."
Instinct? You mean Revelation. Leon's eye twitched. He kept that thought to himself.
With a clear objective and a map to follow, the two passed through the floor corridor and arrived at Floor 10 in short order.
"Starting from Floor 10, the Dungeon shows its teeth." Leon's tone turned serious.
"Floors 9 and 10 mark the dividing line. The overall layout still follows the same pattern as 8 and 9, but the ceiling light sources thin out."
"From here on, it's not just monsters. We need to watch for the Dungeon's own traps and mechanisms."
He flipped open the Adventurer's Handbook and pointed to an underlined passage.
"Here's the critical part. Floor 10 introduces vision-blocking fog and frost. That kind of environment cripples our ability to detect and scout enemies. Visibility shifts make threats hit faster, and our reaction window shrinks. We stay on high alert at all times."
"Last thing: Irregulars. Unlike what we ran into on Floor 7, from Floor 10 onward, Monster Parties become an official fixture. They'll be a regular occurrence in future runs. Every veteran adventurer has dealt with at least a few. If we're outmatched, tactical retreat is the best option. No heroics."
At the entrance to the Floor 10 passage, the two of them huddled close, one holding the Adventurer's Handbook, the other the map, voices low as they discussed tactics.
Ahead of them, fog thick enough to cut with a knife spilled outward, swallowing the floor in a blank white unknown.