When everyone saw the situation on the cavern ceiling ahead, a chorus of curses erupted. Ren's [Fireball] spell had directly awakened all the bats.
Pairs of crimson eyes snapped open. They dropped from the cavern roof one after another, spreading their wings and diving toward Ren's group while emitting piercing screeches.
*"Screech!"* The area echoed with the shrieks of the bats. The noise they produced caused some discomfort, though it was still bearable.
The fireball Ren had cast fulfilled its mission of illuminating the cavern, and then... *"Boom!"* A loud explosion echoed as the flames directly swallowed several of the falling bats.
"Prepare for battle," Ren shouted. He immediately channeled his Magic Power, unleashing new spells to attack the bats.
Magic was undoubtedly the best choice for dealing with these flying bats. Of course, one could also do what Asuna and Yukino Yukinoshita were about to do, though it wasn't recommended.
Seeing the incoming bats, the two girls sprang into action instantly. Dashing out from the left and right, they used the [Lightness Technique] to leap into the air and attack the bats directly.
Asuna leaped high, thrusting her rapier at a bat and piercing straight through its skull in a single strike. On the other side, Yukino executed the exact same maneuver.
Watching the two of them, Ren was left speechless. He couldn't help but complain, "You two reckless girls! Aren't you just making yourselves targets for the bats by jumping up right now? And you didn't even jump high enough!"
Despite his complaints, his hands didn't slow down. Ren fired off a barrage of [Magic Bullets], blasting the bats that were diving toward Asuna and Yukino right out of the air.
"Kato, finish them!" Every single one of Ren's magic bullets accurately struck the bats. Overwhelmed by intense pain, the monsters plummeted from the sky.
"Understood!" Megumi Kato dashed out. By the time her voice reached them, she was already standing in front of the fallen bats, her dagger swiftly reaping their lives.
Having been bailed out by Ren, the two girls felt a wave of lingering fear as they landed back on the ground. Good heavens, they had almost been swarmed. Their attack had been a bit too rash.
They shouldn't have just jumped up like that. If Ren hadn't intervened in time, they really would have been surrounded. Now safely on the ground, they stopped being so aggressive, deciding to shoot the bats down first.
Some of the classmates in the rear also rushed forward to help. The commotion erupting from Ren's side caused the students who had already split off to pause in surprise.
Hearing the explosions and the piercing screeches of the bats, the advancing students immediately went on high alert. The monsters on this floor were no joke—to think they could cause such a massive disturbance!
However, they quickly realized what Ren's group had encountered. The bats' ear-splitting cries had awakened other similar monsters throughout the Dungeon.
The moment they spotted humans, they launched frenzied attacks. Fortunately, these bats weren't particularly strong, and since everyone had learned the [Lightness Technique], no major issues arose.
With everyone on guard, the bats failed to inflict much damage, though a few unlucky individuals did sustain some injuries.
However, they were only superficial wounds, which was nothing to worry about. Ren's side also quickly wrapped up their battle. The moment the fight ended, Ren harshly lectured Asuna and Yukino.
"Could you two not be so reckless? You encounter flying monsters and your first instinct is to rush up and engage them in aerial combat? Why don't you just sprout wings and fly while you're at it?" Ren's words instantly left the two girls deeply embarrassed.
Their maneuver just now had indeed been far too dangerous. If Ren hadn't bailed them out, they very well might have gotten hurt.
"Sorry, I got hot-headed and just charged in." Asuna scratched her cheek sheepishly, hastily admitting her mistake. Yukino, standing beside her, did the same.
The two felt terribly awkward, but a mistake was a mistake. They didn't stubbornly try to argue back; since they were in the wrong, they just had to make sure not to repeat it in the future.
"Use your heads next time. Be careful on this floor. A lot of monsters have already spawned, so you need to be ready for battle at all times." After saying that, Ren stepped forward to collect the Crystal Cores.
No materials had dropped, which was a bit disappointing, but there would be plenty of opportunities. They would likely get some good drops later on.
The group continued their journey. As they progressed, they encountered more and more monsters, and Ren's party eventually separated completely from the rest of their classmates.
Only Ren and his party remained on their path forward. Although the flying monsters had caused them some initial trouble, once everyone adapted, the creatures on this floor no longer posed much of a threat.
The four of them continuously searched for the entrance to the next floor, killing an increasing number of monsters along the way. However, they soon discovered a stark reality.
Among the monsters killed on this floor, the drop rate for Magic Stones had begun to decrease. This discovery made Ren say in surprise, "Is there a drop limit or something? The quantity has dropped so much."
Ren felt quite frustrated. Why would the number of dropped Magic Stones decrease? Did the Dungeon actually have a rule like this? What kind of game designer came up with this? Wasn't this just bullying the players?
"Maybe this is the normal drop rate? After all, we really did get a lot of Magic Stones earlier." Asuna sounded a bit uncertain. Perhaps this was the legendary "newbie protection period"?
"Maybe. Whatever, we found the entrance to the fourth floor. It's right up ahead, and it looks like someone has already gone down." Ren shook his head, not dwelling on the issue any further.
An entrance had appeared ahead, and there were quite a few footprints on the ground, likely left by other classmates. Reaching the passageway, Ren walked in without hesitation.
Upon arriving at the fourth floor, they found another series of fresh footprints. Ren glanced in the direction they led and immediately decided to take a different path.
The environment on the fourth floor was similar to the ones above, consisting of cavernous tunnels. The only difference was that this floor seemed to have an abundance of glowing stones, which provided all the illumination for the passageways.
For the rest of the time, the group stopped and started along the way, fighting monsters whenever they encountered them. After an unknown amount of time had passed, Ren finally stopped and pulled out his phone to check.
"Good grief, it's already afternoon?" The time displayed on his phone was 13:00, which meant Ren and the others had been inside for several hours.
"Afternoon? That was fast. I didn't feel it at all." Asuna frowned. She also took out her phone to check and was quite surprised to find that it really was the afternoon.
After entering the Dungeon, being in such an enclosed space made them completely lose track of time. If they hadn't checked, everyone probably would have thought they had only been inside for an hour or two.
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