In the shadows, far from Hayasaka Ai's group, Ais was hiding and observing the fight between Hayasaka and the three goblins.
"...It doesn't seem like she used Kanao's ability. Did they not teach each other?"
Ais saw a lot in that one event. If even the members of her own Familia hadn't learned that ability, how could she, Ais...
"But... as long as there's a chance, I won't give up."
Ais silently made her decision, her blank face continuing to observe the three girls.
"Megumi, Kanao, let's keep moving! Let's see how far down we can get."
Hayasaka Ai put away the adventurer's manual, gave a wave of her fair hand, and led the other two toward the deeper floors. The map had the passages for the first few floors. This was something provided for free to new adventurers. It was an extremely practical item for rookies. As for the passages and routes for the deeper floors, you could only buy maps from those who had them, and the prices were not low. But you had to buy them. Exploring without a map, it was easy to get lost or trigger certain
"abnormalities,"
causing a massive number of monsters to spawn. Your life would be in danger. Therefore, any reasonably large Familia would have its own explored maps. After all, there could be hidden rooms between floors. The maps circulating on the market were just ordinary ones; their main purpose was to show the route to the next floor. Things like hidden rooms were non-existent on them. Take the Loki Familia, for example. They had certainly mastered the secrets of many floors, possibly finding things other Familias had never discovered.
"Aren't they new adventurers? I heard Loki and the others say yesterday was their first time..."
Ais watched them disappear into the passage leading to the deeper floors, standing up from the shadows and pondering. Soon, Ais continued to follow them. She didn't want to come all this way just to lose them.
Hayasaka Ai and her group headed straight for the lower floors, so they didn't take any detours. Each floor was very spacious, but the stairs between floors were not actually that far apart. This allowed for rapid descent. In just a few dozen minutes, Hayasaka Ai's group arrived at the third floor. On this new floor, monsters that hadn't appeared before would show up. Goblins and Kobolds were small fry. Here, cute little "bunnies" appeared, except they had a hard, unicorn-like horn on their foreheads. An ordinary weapon would need some effort to cut through it. Don't be fooled by how weak these rabbits look; they're anything but. Not only are they fast, but because their bodies are so small, they are very difficult for adventurers to hit. Coupled with the horn, they have caused considerable casualties. Getting poked by that horn would not be pleasant.
"Everyone, be careful! The adventurer's manual says these rabbit monsters are no joke."
Hayasaka was afraid Katou Megumi and Kanao would be deceived by the rabbit's appearance, leading to unforeseen consequences. As long as they could defeat this rabbit monster, they could establish a foothold on the third floor and then proceed downward.
"Let me try first!"
Hayasaka Ai said to the others as she watched a Horned Rabbit (Almiraj) slowly spawn from the wall. Right now, there was only one. If it wasn't a problem, she could let Megumi try next. The monsters they had encountered on the way down hadn't been in large waves like yesterday, so she and Megumi had been taking turns. If one of them couldn't handle it, the other would help. Up to this point, Tsuyuri Kanao had just been standing by, providing support, without making a move.
"Come on! You red-eyed, horned-rabbit monster!"
The newly spawned Almiraj quickly focused its attention on the taunting Hayasaka Ai.
"Guji!"
The rabbit reacted fiercely, its red eyes locking onto her. It kicked off hard with its hind legs, its body shooting toward her.
"A bit fast!"
Hayasaka Ai's reaction speed was not low. Although she didn't have the dynamic perception of a Sharingan, the increase in her stats still provided some feedback to her body. Otherwise, what would be the point if the monsters got stronger, but her stats just went up in number without improving her actual abilities?
"CLANG!!"
Hayasaka Ai's tachi and the Almiraj's horn collided, letting out a crisp sound. Thank goodness the Guild-issued weapon, while basic, wasn't shoddy. Otherwise, her weapon might have shattered from that single impact. Before Hayasaka Ai could even think, the Almiraj, having landed, immediately used its leg strength to attack again, not resting for even a second.