"Man, the nineteenth floor was super tough, too, wasn't it?"
The sound of five glasses clinking together echoed in their usual Western restaurant. Furi, who had gulped down a glass of beautifully colored red wine, let out a deep sigh and reminisced about the dungeon.
"Yes, truly. There were simply too many enemies..."
Iris's expression, as she agreed, was a wry smile. The number of enemies that appeared in the nineteenth-floor boss battle easily exceeded twenty.
The boss was a Goblin Paladin, a high-ranking goblin armed with a metal sword and armor, and capable of using healing magic. So now even the enemies can heal themselves while fighting, Ren thought, utterly exasperated.
"Thanks to Master, the rest of us had an easier time."
"No, I would have been in danger without all of you."
Although Ren employed the kiting strategy again, raining down magic while retreating, the sheer number of enemies forced them to prepare further measures. Furi, Mei, and Mariabelle were instructed to hide in the side paths of the escape route, pull passing Goblins inside, and quietly eliminate them. Since Ren and Iris provided ample provocation, the main force didn't flow toward Furi's group. Instead, they were able to crush the enemies by sandwiching them.
"It is only possible because everyone executed their roles perfectly. You should be proud of this result."
Mariabelle also praised them with a smile. The loot from the nineteenth floor, including a total of 117 fragments, was considerable, and the rewards, including the drop items, were excellent. They were finally within reach of the next milestone, the twentieth floor.
"However,"
Mariabelle, having drunk about half her wine, set her glass down with a gentle click.
"You should assume the next floor will not be like the ones before."
Ren and the others already knew the weight of this warning. The dungeon's difficulty had increased sharply since the sixteenth floor. It was expected that the twentieth floor would be even more difficult, based on the jinx of every fifth floor, but even more so because of the advance information from the strategy guide.
It stated that the structure of the twentieth floor itself was different. There were no mob battles, only the boss battle. Or rather, the mob battle was the boss battle.
"I will fight from the very beginning on the twentieth floor. ...Otherwise, the risk of annihilation is too high."
"Is the Extermination Battle that intense?"
"Yes."
The fact that the gentle Mariabelle nodded without smiling meant she was 100% serious.
The Extermination Battle. The twentieth floor had no walls, and the ceiling was extremely high. A field the size of the entire nineteenth floor or larger stretched out, packed with the same number of monsters or more than those found on the entire nineteenth floor. The victory condition was the complete annihilation of the enemies. The boss fight began the moment they stepped down, and taking any wrong move would make it impossible to even climb the stairs and escape. If a comrade died, they wouldn't be able to retrieve the body unless they somehow dealt with the surrounding enemies. They wouldn't be able to replenish their MP whenever needed with Energy Drain as they had before.
A delicious meal was laid out before them. It was a deluxe version with not only meat dishes but also grilled freshwater fish caught from the river and lake, yet the vivid imagination of their "hardship" made them pause. Ren quickly finished her wine and addressed her comrades.
"I have a proposal."
This was something she had been considering as the twentieth floor approached.
"Why don't we clear the twentieth floor jointly with another party?"
--------------------
"...The twentieth floor, huh?"
There was only one party Ren could think of asking to join forces with. Carrying pork jerky as a gift, Ren and Furi headed to the house of their former classmates' party, the one taking care of Shou and Ken, with whom they recently had frequent contact.
They briefly greeted Shou and the others, who were delighted by the visit, particularly Ren's, asked them to step aside for "important business," and then faced the four members to explain their request.
The leader sighed deeply and looked up at the ceiling.
"The twentieth floor. Honestly, we were getting depressed just thinking about it. We wondered how tough it would be."
The cleric girl, who was his girlfriend, placed a hand on his shoulder and nodded slightly.
"Many people died on the twentieth floor, apparently. Some even say, 'Everything up to the nineteenth floor is just a tutorial.'"
It must have been especially bad back when information was scarce. The despair of the first party to descend to the twentieth floor was terrifying to even imagine.
The other boy crossed his arms.
"I've also heard of people who stopped exploring because they were either sick of the dungeon after clearing the nineteenth floor without doing the twentieth, or cleared it and then were too exhausted to continue."
Even if they were protected by a "Blessing," they could still die. If they clearly faced the reality of "death," they could no longer fight as they did before. Ren's group and the others were originally just high school students, not soldiers or mercenaries. Earning money by defeating the regenerating enemies up to the nineteenth floor was enough to sustain a living. It was only natural that some people would give up and decide, That's good enough.
The leader turned his attention back to Ren's group.
"This is a godsend. I think we would have honestly had to swallow our pride and beg you to 'help us' if we were serious about conquering it."
"Then..."
"But there's a problem. We've only cleared up to the sixteenth floor."
"Ah, that's right."
Since they had restarted from the first floor to look after Shou and the others, their progress had stalled during that time. Prioritizing the safety of the young boys meant a slower pace, which allowed Ren's group to overtake them.
"We're almost done with the eleventh floor with Shou and the others. We don't want to leave those excited kids hanging. We'd like to take them up to the fifteenth floor, if possible."
"And honestly, we can't recommend going past the sixteenth floor..."
If they could acquire a good amount of fragments and minimal Storage, they could stop dungeon exploration entirely. Even if they took normal jobs, they would have an advantage that other native-born children didn't, and most importantly, they had girls who worried about their safety. Although judging by how excited Shou and the others still were, the two girls hadn't confessed yet.
"I actually have a proposal for that as well."
"Oh, what is it?"
"We'll temporarily reorganize the parties. Furi and I will help you with your progression from the seventeenth floor. Iris and Mei will cooperate with Shou and the others."
Since it would be temporary, their living arrangements could remain as they were. They would likely meet up and split at the temple. Iris was somewhat trained by Furi and could handle traps, and if she wasn't confident, putting Mei at the front would prevent major damage. This way, the leaders' group could clear up to the nineteenth floor without rushing Shou and the others, and Shou's progression wouldn't be halted either.
The leader blinked and muttered, "That's an incredibly good proposal."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I've already gotten approval from Iris and the others."
"Iris was excited, saying, 'If we're going to do it, we're going to be strict!'"
Clearly defining the hierarchy would also eliminate any concerns about sexual harassment. Iris might actually have a somewhat strict, or rather, athletic-club personality when dealing with people in a junior position. Still, they agreed because they knew Shou and Ken's personalities to some extent.
"Well, for me, having two Thieves is a bit redundant..."
"No, no. Just having more combat personnel makes a huge difference."
"We rarely get a chance to see how others fight. It'll be a good learning experience, too."
The two men were quite enthusiastic. Ren looked at the women in the other party.
"What do you two think? Of course, I promise I won't do anything inappropriate to these guys."
"If I'm there, I'll know immediately if Ren does anything weird."
"Haha, I'm not that worried about that."
"Yeah. If anything, I'm worried that the guys here will get ideas, even if Ren-chan isn't doing anything."
"Hey, we wouldn't get ideas if we weren't being tempted...!"
The boys immediately retorted, but Ren, having been told by the leader earlier that "you can handle it," couldn't fully trust them.
"So, is it settled then?"
"Yeah. As long as Shou and the others agree."
When Shou and Ken were called in and told the situation, they also didn't say no.
"I would have preferred being with Ren-san."
"No, that would be inefficient."
Ren also couldn't use Energy Drain on Shou and the others. They were persuaded that the leaders needed to level up for their future, and they reluctantly agreed. Since the situation was only getting more complicated, Ren sincerely wished the girls would confess quickly.
--------------------
Why are these guys holding hands and kissing?
The first impression the leader had of Ren and Furi in the dungeon was quite harsh.
Part of it was due to the seventeenth floor's first battle being relatively easy. Ren's levitation ability was convenient, but her magic itself was common. Compared to the powerful area magic like "Lightning," "Fireball," and "Area Heal" that the leader's party was accustomed to, Ren's magic seemed slightly inferior.
On top of that, they were constantly flirting after every battle.
Because of this, the leader misjudged Ren's true ability. Although he should have assessed her high ability from the pre-raid information, he let his personal feelings interfere, thinking things like, "A kiss between two women is too distracting."
He started to feel something was off after clearing a few mob battles.
"Good job, everyone."
Ren would casually cast "Heal" while addressing her comrades. The standard practice was to conserve MP by only using recovery magic when absolutely necessary, to avoid wasting MP on minor injuries and fatigue. But...
"Ren can recover MP, after all."
The Succubus would recover MP via Energy Drain while holding hands during transit. She would also replenish the drained HP with Heal. If skin contact wasn't enough, she would recover MP with a kiss.
Observing closely, she was constantly firing off offensive magic during combat. Even though it was basic magic, converting it to different attributes should consume a fair amount of MP. Her style of shooting single-target spells one after another instead of aiming for maximum efficiency with area magic felt like it belonged to a different world entirely.
"Hey, Ren. What's your maximum MP?"
"Hmm? Oh, you want to see?"
The leader was speechless when Ren readily showed him her status. Her MP was more than double that of his two mage comrades. Furthermore, her overall level significantly surpassed the leaders' group. The combination of the Mana Conductor class, specializing in MP manipulation, and her Succubus race made it easy for her to gain experience. In a way, it felt a little like cheating.
"If you could use more kinds of magic with this, you'd be the strongest."
"That's the same as saying, 'You'd be the strongest if you could get one more Class.'"
"Well, that's true, but..."
Even with a daunting status in the leader's eyes, Ren wasn't boastful. She understood her comrades' strengths and positioned herself to respect them. During transit, she stayed at the rear to avoid being in the way. During combat, she avoided carelessly using area magic so the leader could cut in. She floated in the air to cast spells without obstructing anyone's line of sight and called out warnings based on the situation from above. The difference in the type of magic she could use meant she could coexist with both the mage and the cleric.
Her partner, Furi, despite walking hand-in-hand with Ren, would naturally point out, "Oh, trap there," and her charming conversation style eased the atmosphere. She also proved invaluable in combat, quickly stabbing the heart of any Goblin that managed to slip past the front line and headed for the rear.
"...Hey, you guys. Why don't we team up permanently?"
The leader felt he couldn't be blamed for blurting out the suggestion. His comrades also gave vague replies like, "I understand the feeling, but..." but their faces clearly showed they were thinking, "That would be a great help."
However, Ren smiled.
"Thank you. But I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"I have Iris and Mei as comrades. I've already decided to work hard together with them."
Her response was so resolute that he nearly developed a crush on her. Not in a romantic sense, but in a "Please let me call you Big Bro!" sense. No, she's a woman, so Big Sis.
It was regrettable, but unavoidable. The leader sighed internally and nodded.
"Then, how about cooperating only on the tough floors? You said a tough one comes every fifth floor, right?"
"Yeah, that might work."
Forming a permanent two-party alliance was an option, but that would reduce the share of the spoils and make life difficult for both parties. Cooperating every five floors seemed just about right. They discussed whether they should try to align their progress pace, considering the joint efforts, and finished their dungeon exploration at a very good pace. At this rate, they might be able to defeat the boss in one more run. Two runs would be plenty.
"Ren-chan, can't you learn a skill to share your MP with us? If you could, I don't think we'd have anything to fear."
"Hmm... unfortunately, I don't have a skill like that right now."
The leader nearly burst out laughing imagining Ren being treated as an MP tank for all the women. Then, Furi said,
"Since you're a Succubus, a skill to share MP only through a kiss might exist. Would you use it if you had it?"
That woman had just suggested something outrageous. The leader recalled that Furi used to pester Ren (then a male) in school, teasing him daily. Despite being quite cute, her personality was rather tricky.
He looked at Ren with a plea for help, and Ren merely shrugged, as if to say, "I can't help it with this one."
Meanwhile, the women in the leader's party pondered Furi's question, "Hmm..."
"Between women, would it be okay...? What do you think?"
"Absolutely not!"
The leader instantly changed his mind: it was probably better to team up with Ren and Furi only when absolutely necessary.
============
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