Ren Isana put the magic staff away. Instead of storing it with magic, he simply carried it with him. After Sora left, Asuna and the others had no desire to continue their previous conversation.
After all, chatting with a guy like Ren was simply a blow to their self-esteem; there was no comparison. The group chatted for a bit before closing their eyes to meditate.
It was already past midnight. Staying up late was bad for the body, so they needed to hurry and recover. Heaven knew if more monsters would spawn later.
The classmates who had been cleaning up the battlefield soon returned. Upon reaching the camp, they carefully rejoined the group and quickly entered a meditative state.
Perhaps because too many monsters had attacked at once, although a few more spawned in the latter half of the night, everyone easily dispatched them without causing much of a stir.
The night passed silently, and soon it was the next day. Despite the occasional monster spawns during the night, everyone's mental state was quite good.
Waking up in the morning, Ren washed up by the lake, taking the opportunity to wash his hair as well. Once he finished, he and Asuna's group resumed their journey, heading toward the lower floors.
The environment here looked no different in the morning than it did at night. The time on their phones read 8:00 AM, but the surroundings remained exactly as they were when they first entered yesterday.
The entire fifth floor seemed frozen in time, with no distinction between day and night. Or rather, the entire Dungeon was likely like this. Once you entered the Dungeon, it was truly easy to lose track of time without a clock.
The entrance to the sixth floor wasn't too far away, and they just needed to head straight in one direction. Since the fifth floor consisted of a single ecological zone, it took Ren and the girls about half an hour to reach the entrance to the sixth floor.
They were the first to set out; no one was even following behind them yet. Some classmates didn't want to leave so early, but how they arranged their schedules was none of Ren's concern.
Leading Asuna and the others, Ren stepped onto the sixth floor. As soon as they entered, he came to a halt. The bright environment vanished, replaced by a dreary, gray expanse.
Furthermore, this floor was blanketed in a dense fog, reducing visibility to less than five meters. This was likely the easiest floor to get lost on. The four of them exchanged glances; none of them expected the environment here to look like this.
Barring any surprises, many people would probably be stuck on this floor for a long time, as finding the path to the next floor wouldn't be easy. There wasn't a single coordinate marker to be found here.
"Let's go. We need to be careful from here on out," Ren said before stepping into the dense fog. Seeing this, Megumi Kato and the other two closely followed, joining Ren in the search for the passage to the next floor.
None of them dared to stray too far, knowing that separating in this environment meant certain displacement. At this moment, Ren activated his [Spatial Perception]. Fortunately, this environment didn't affect him much.
His perception acted like a god's-eye view, completely ignoring the fog. This surprised Ren—could it be that his perception wouldn't be hindered at all?
Feeling the mist in the air, Ren pondered for a moment before raising his staff and casting a wind-element spell.
A verdant green Magic Circle materialized at the tip of Ren's staff. The next moment, a fierce gale blasted forward. The air currents stirred up by the wind magic directly blew away the surrounding fog.
This allowed the four of them to clearly see the path ahead. However, not long after the fog was dispersed, the surrounding mist rolled back in, restoring the area to its original state.
"How troublesome. The dense fog on this floor can't be kept away for long. Even if blown away, it just fills back in rapidly." Ren stared at the path he had just cleared.
In just a few short seconds, the cleared area was completely engulfed again. This speed was ridiculous. Using magic to disperse the fog on this floor was simply a waste of Magic Power.
"Let's just advance slowly. As long as we're careful, it'll be fine," Asuna comforted him upon seeing this. Since that idea wouldn't work, they had no choice but to take it slow. They weren't in a rush anyway.
"Let's go. Let's see if we can make it out of here in a day." With that, Ren continued walking forward. However, after only a short distance, an anomaly appeared in his perception. The Dungeon was spawning monsters.
And this time, the spawn was completely silent. If Ren didn't have his perception, he might not have noticed either. The monsters silently materialized on the walls right behind them.
Without a shred of hesitation, Ren spun around and aimed his staff behind them. A Magic Circle formed instantly, and the next moment, a piercing [Magic Bullet] blasted out, grazing right over the tops of Asuna and Yukino's heads.
This sudden attack immediately shocked the three girls into a daze. The magic projectile had flown right past their foreheads; if Ren's aim had been even slightly off, it would have killed them on the spot!
*Boom! Screech!!*
Before they could process it, the sound of the magic projectile exploding echoed from behind, followed by the agonizing shrieks of monsters. Hearing this, the three instantly realized: monsters had spawned!
And they had spawned silently right behind them! If Ren hadn't attacked immediately, they might have been ambushed!
Realizing this, a chill ran down their spines. Without hesitation, they quickly scattered, raised their weapons, and turned to look at the spot Ren had attacked.
Thanks to the magic projectile, the dense fog had dissipated slightly, allowing Asuna and the others to see the monsters' appearances. They were a group of bizarre, white monsters whose bodies blended in perfectly with the fog.
They had long, slender limbs that allowed them to easily scale the cavern walls and move rapidly. Their heads resembled human heads, but aside from a massive mouth, they lacked any other facial features.
Ren's barrage of magic projectiles knocked them right off the wall. One of them even had its head blown to pieces, instantly turning into ash and dissipating on the spot.
Just as the surviving monsters struggled to get up, Asuna and Yukino charged forward. Megumi Kato was about to follow when Ren's voice suddenly rang out: "Megumi, watch our backs!"
Hearing Ren's warning, Megumi abruptly halted. She quickly turned her head and saw that several monsters were now emerging from the direction they had been heading. They were being pincered!
"Leave them to me!" Seeing the newly spawned monsters, Megumi sprang into action. There were only three monsters behind them, whereas more were spawning on Asuna's side.
As Ren cast his spells, he observed the newly emerging monsters. These creatures were clearly born to blend in with their environment.
If Ren didn't have his perception, these monsters would be the ultimate assassins of this floor. They moved without making a sound, and their skin color matched the dense fog, providing them with perfect camouflage!
The monsters on the sixth floor, combined with the fog, would be a massive headache for anyone just stepping foot here. A single moment of carelessness could easily lead to injury.
But to Ren, their every move was clear as day. He noticed them the moment they spawned, which was why he had launched a preemptive strike.
As long as you were prepared, killing these things was actually quite easy. Ren and the three girls effortlessly slaughtered all the newly spawned Dungeon monsters.
Quite a bit of loot dropped onto the ground. Aside from Magic Stones, a white bone caught Ren's eye. Was this a rare material?
Ren walked over and picked up the half-meter-long bone, then probed it with his Magic Power. He found that his Magic Power flowed into it effortlessly, just like a magic staff.
"Good stuff. This would make a great material for forging a magic staff," Ren praised. He then shoved the bone into Asuna's hands. This thing could probably sell for a lot of money.
"Material for a magic staff? Maybe you could have Maya forge one for you. You still don't have a suitable staff of your own," Asuna suggested, thinking it was a great idea.
"We'll talk about it later. If we can get more, we'll make one for each of us. Be careful moving forward; the monsters on this floor are all assassin-types like Megumi!" Ren shook his head, not entertaining the idea for now.
After warning the girls, he picked up the Magic Stones from the ground and handed them all to Asuna to store in her Spatial Backpack.
Having sorted out the loot, the four of them resumed their journey, slowly exploring the floor. Even if they wanted to speed up, they couldn't.
Monsters would spawn from time to time, or pop out from unexpected places to launch sneak attacks, significantly slowing down their exploration.
While Ren and his group were slowly exploring, some of their classmates also arrived at the sixth floor. Stepping into the area, everyone instantly went on high alert upon seeing the environment.
Such an environment forced one to be vigilant. No one was stupid; they all knew that with this level of visibility, they might not even notice a monster spawning right away.
Therefore, everyone raised their guard and advanced cautiously. This time, many people didn't split up. Instead, several squads banded together to assist each other in their exploration.
They weren't Ren's squad. The strongest people in the class were all in that group, not to mention Ren himself, whose strength had already reached Tier 4. That squad was undoubtedly the safest and most powerful.
Since they lacked such overwhelming strength, they could only huddle together. There was no shame in it; when exploring outside, safety was the top priority. More people meant more safety.
The main force gradually arrived on the sixth floor and began their slow exploration. They even encountered the same type of monsters Ren had faced. Fortunately, these guys hadn't split up.
Otherwise, the teachers secretly protecting them from the shadows would have likely been forced to intervene. After all, it was far too dangerous to have a monster silently drop onto your head and take a swipe at you!
Meanwhile, Ren's group of four was still wandering around the sixth floor. Although Ren could perceive the surrounding spatial environment, this floor was simply too complex and massive. Finding the entrance to the seventh floor was no easy task.
Just as Ren and the others finished off a batch of monsters and prepared to move on, an anomaly suddenly appeared within Ren's perception range. An unfamiliar figure had intruded into his sensory field.
And behind this figure was a massive horde of monsters. Aside from the native monsters of this floor, there were all sorts of bizarre creatures. The sheer number was simply overwhelming...
When Ren got a clear look at the person's appearance, he froze. A loli, twin-tails, and... a blue ribbon. *Is that Hestia?*
Seeing this girl, Ren was completely dumbfounded. *What the hell is she doing here? Has this Dimensional Rift completely merged with that world?*
"What's wrong?" Seeing Ren stop in his tracks with a dazed expression, Yukino Yukinoshita was puzzled and grew tense, afraid that Ren was about to launch another sudden attack.
"Get ready to run!" Ren didn't waste any words. He simply dropped that line, turned around, and prepared to bolt. His words left Asuna and the others stunned.
Run? This was the first time they had ever heard Ren say such a thing. Just as they were about to ask what was going on, Ren had already started heading back, not hesitating in the slightest.
Although Asuna and the others felt baffled, they hurriedly followed him. However... they hadn't gone far when they suddenly heard a noise coming from behind them.
It sounded like an army of thousands of horses stampeding. The noise instantly made Asuna and the others' eyes widen. *What the hell? What's wrong with this Dungeon? Another monster horde?*
"Run! Don't stop!!" Ren shouted. He cast [Lightness Technique] and shot forward. His perception range was only one kilometer, and that Hestia girl was getting closer and closer.
Ren had absolutely no desire to charge in and clash head-on with that monster horde. Fuck that, whoever wanted to fight them could go right ahead, but Ren wasn't going to. The best option right now was to run for it.
As for Hestia? She'd be fine; she couldn't die anyway, being a Goddess and all. Although he didn't know exactly what was going on, Ren knew very well that the Dungeon was currently enraged.
It was entirely because Hestia had appeared inside the Dungeon. Otherwise, she wouldn't be chased by so many monsters. She was a walking disaster; getting away from her was the top priority.
As Ren utilized the [Lightness Technique], his figure darted forward, forcefully tearing through the white fog. Seeing that Ren was about to vanish from their sight, Asuna and the others hurriedly cast [Lightness Technique] and dashed after him.
If they were even a few seconds slower, the fog would roll back in, and they would truly be separated from Ren. That was absolutely the last thing they wanted.
The three girls quickly caught up to Ren, and under his lead, they began a mad dash through the Dungeon. Leading the charge, Ren didn't hesitate to veer into a different tunnel.
He intended to get as far away from Hestia as possible. The monsters' only target was Hestia; as long as he didn't get close, there wouldn't be any problems.
Asuna and the others also realized this wasn't the path they had taken before. Ren was leading them somewhere else, but none of the three asked any questions. Instead, they accelerated and stuck close behind him.
It wasn't until Ren had completely shaken Hestia out of his perception range that he finally came to a halt. Asuna and the others caught up to him and hurriedly pulled out Red Potions to drink.
During that mad dash, they had exerted all their strength just to keep up with him, which had left them utterly exhausted. If Ren had kept running for a little while longer, they probably would have been left in the dust.
However, just as the three girls finished drinking their potions, Ren's expression turned ugly once again, and he spat out a classic curse.
"Fuck!"