"Mm. This test told me roughly how far you can push it at maximum."
Riveria finally had her answer. Tsunayoshi hadn't drawn out every function of his power, but the temporary spike alone was already enough.
"For this joint expedition, your goal is to raise your Level," she said. "As long as you can handle the strength you have now and punch above your weight when needed, we won't have to worry so much."
She had been uneasy about the possibility of Tsunayoshi slipping away from the party mid-expedition to do solo feats. "Kills by puppets don't credit to you. Even if linking to a puppet boosts your basic stats, it won't grant you the excelia you need. For that, you must step onto the field yourself. It's the one inconvenience of your otherwise convenient ability."
If excelia from a floor boss killed by puppets counted for Tsunayoshi, Loki Familia could practically lie down and coast—let him farm ability gains, use Annihilation Maker to snipe floor bosses, collect excelia, and level again. Loop it a few times and Level 9 would be a matter of time. But because the excelia would fall to the "puppet," that route was shut.
"In past expeditions," Riveria continued, "the Dungeon always hurls itself at the party—an endless parade of trouble. Once we breach the Deep Floors, nearly every layer greets us with a 'banquet'… shame the courses are all monsters." She allowed herself a small joke. "At Level 2, you'll face some of those banquets—and you can handle them. For you, gathering excelia there should be… relatively easy."
"Relatively," she repeated, meeting his eyes. "Deep-floor banquets aren't easy for anyone—except perhaps this boy in front of me. I was worried whether you could truly manage that kind of onslaught. Now, I'm less worried. What you've shown is enough to face it."
Riveria disliked reckless gambits; confirming Tsunayoshi's ceiling today had been her way of smoothing the future's sharp edges. With his power measured, her anxiety faded to ordinary caution.
Thinking of leaps across Levels brought her to today's other challenge. "Bert faces the floor boss today. You know?"
"I know," Tsunayoshi nodded. He knew it was Amphisbaena's refresh—and that it was Bert's target for advancement.
"He told you?"
"He didn't. He'll probably say something after he crosses Level 5."
"You're not worried?"
"Worried? No. I don't think Bert will fail against Amphisbaena. He has a reason he must cross this wall." Tsunayoshi had fretted over Tiona and Tione's attempts, perhaps too much. With Bert, he wasn't anxious—not for lack of care, but because he knew Bert's reason would carry him through. Even one-on-one with a floor boss, Bert wasn't the sort to go down easily.
"Die!"
Bert, drenched in blood, dropped a heel like a guillotine. It smashed into Amphisbaena's remaining head.
Boom!
The shockwave heaved the surrounding sea. The serpent-twin couldn't even scream; the heavy skull slammed into the water and, after a final surge of waves, lost all strength to resist.
Crimson Dying Will Flames bloomed beneath Bert's feet, lifting him in mid-air. He looked down at the slack colossus—his feral snarl stretching into a grin.
"Done."
He sank with the flames, stepped onto Amphisbaena's body, and drove a claw of scarlet fire through the neck—angled to slip between the scales. The Storm attribute rode the talons straight inside.
"Hah!"
Red light flared from within the throat—destructive, searing. The glow reddened and reddened, tracing the web of veins—then burst.
Thump!
A half-meter hole blew outward; blood geysered over Bert, painting him even more dangerous, more terrifying. With that, both heads were finished: one torn off, the other held by strands of meat.
The subjugation was complete.
Clap, clap, clap.
Finn and Grace applauded from the shore. "Well done, Bert."
"Tch. After all that prep, this result was inevitable," he shot back—though the twitch at the corner of his mouth betrayed a fierce, irrepressible joy. The two veterans politely ignored the tsundere wolf's tell.
"Alone, fighting Amphisbaena where it holds the terrain, even Tiona and Tione only scraped out a win," Finn said. "You did it clean. Beautifully, in fact."
A floor boss with home-field advantage was never trivial. Using intel to force a winning line was its own kind of strength. Without a bold heart and a strong spine, even a perfect plan never reaches execution. And one-on-one at that—Finn had to admit, Bert's control of the Dying Will Flames already surpassed his own expectations by far. So long as he kept Amphisbaena from dragging him under, the advantage of "terrain" was manageable. This was the Dungeon; a floor boss existed to slaughter intruders. It wouldn't cower under the surface forever—and Bert had exploited that truth.
"Smart tactics," Finn concluded. "But only for the Dungeon. Only for floor bosses."
"Obviously," Bert snorted. "This plan was built for it—and only it."
(End of Chapter)
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