After the group left the dim forest, their field of vision suddenly opened up.
Lefiya raised her arm and lightly touched Bell's waist. She moved closer to him and quietly asked,
"Bell Cranel, do you feel your ability values being boosted like the others?"
"Hmm? No."
Bell answered frankly.
"Mm…"
Lefiya frowned.
In the end, what exactly was [Affection Level????]…
Did she have to do something special for the other person to receive the bonus effect from [Requited Love Bond]?
But what exactly was that special thing…
Lefiya let her imagination drift for a moment, and her cheeks turned scorching hot.
"Lefiya, that's enough flirting."
Finn reminded her calmly.
Ignoring Lefiya, who was bright red and trying to come up with an excuse, he continued, "There won't be any time for idle chatter from here on out. Everyone, be ready. Enter combat state."
Ahead of Bell's gaze, an enormous cavern appeared in the western wall of Floor 50.
The cavern itself did not run parallel to the ground. Instead, like an entrance to purgatory, a steep passage extended from the hollow in the wall.
Darkness filled the inside. Countless bloodthirsty eyes stirred restlessly, sending icy gazes stabbing toward them.
Finn gripped his spear and cast a cold glance at it.
For this elite squad, he had no need to say anything unnecessary.
"Go."
The instant the order fell, the Werewolf and the Dwarf stomped against the ground and charged down along the cliffside, bodies lowered.
Sinister roars crashed like drumbeats. They had only just entered the passage when several monsters rushed straight at them.
A silver boot landed on a Black Rhino like a sharp blade, piercing through its hard hide. A giant axe swept out in a silver arc, cutting the attacking giant spider in two.
The labyrinth structure of Floor 51 was extremely complex. Huge, spacious, glossy-black rooms intersected endlessly, while the walls and tangled passages formed a labyrinth in the truest sense.
"Proceed according to plan. Avoid monsters wherever possible!"
Finn calmly issued instructions.
The Deep Floors.
Once the Dungeon reached a certain number of floors, all past experience and knowledge underwent a despairing reset. Monsters became more intelligent, and the Dungeon walls could suddenly crack open to birth new monsters. Intersections, ceilings, walls. Every place had to be watched.
Within the entire elite squad, Bell was the only one stepping into the Deep Floors for the first time. Even Ryuu, who had joined the team temporarily, had explored parts of the Deep Floors in the past.
Moreover, Floor 51, where they currently were, was even more terrifying than the Deep Floors they had crossed on the expedition route. Countless ferocious monsters surged toward them like a tide. They struck down the monsters ahead and had barely crossed a spacious room when new giant spiders and raging bulls were born behind them, charging in with roars.
Bell did not panic in the slightest.
He had already witnessed the malice of the Deep Floors during the expedition, and besides, he had experienced a monster wave like this when he had first arrived in Orario.
To him, only the types of monsters and the scale of the labyrinth had changed.
Bell closely followed everyone's pace while calmly observing the surrounding monsters from the corner of his eye.
"The Rhino-type monster at our rear flank can keep up with us."
Bell deliberately lowered his voice so he would not interfere with the vanguard's judgment.
"Ais, that's most likely an Enhanced Species. I'll leave it to you! Bete, Gareth, slow down slightly and don't break formation!"
Finn immediately gave his orders.
Before setting out, he had given the boy command authority.
If Finn was present, Bell could freely provide key information to help Finn, positioned in the middle guard, adjust their tactics. If the squad was split apart by monsters, or if some special emergency occurred, then the rear guard, the supporters, Lefiya, and the others would all fall under the boy's command.
The Deep Floors were a place where the unknown brewed. No one could guarantee perfect safety, and the party being scattered by monsters was one of the most ordinary accidents there.
Bell naturally did not refuse the trust placed in him by Braver. He ran cautiously through the labyrinth, eliminating every risk he could.
"Tempest."
Following the instruction, Ais called forth a violent storm. She twisted her body, rode the wind, and collided head-on with the charging giant Rhino.
The storm raged, and a light-speed slash cut the monster into several pieces.
A huge crack split open in the wall behind them, and several more monsters were born. Ais did not linger in battle at all and sprinted back into the rear guard formation.
"The abnormality in the rear has been dealt with."
Bell relayed the news.
"Everyone, full speed ahead!"
Finn changed the instructions once more.
Bete and Gareth increased their pace. One moved nimbly through the sea of monsters, every kick delivering a fatal wound. The other was like an unstoppable warship, sweeping away everything ahead with his giant axe and sturdy body.
"Doesn't this feel a lot easier than before?"
Tiona swung her double-bladed sword and shattered a monster's Magic Stone.
"It does. We really have gotten stronger."
Tione thrust out her halberd, working together with her sister to deal with the giant spiders wrapped in webs that ignored the vanguard and attacked them directly.
"Maintain this speed!"
Finn ignored the Amazoness sisters' relaxed attitude. That was simply their nature, not a sign that they were taking the current battle lightly.
Having Bell Cranel take part in command really had been the right decision.
Finn was positioned in the middle guard. While advancing at high speed, it was difficult for him to keep track of every detail behind them. To see the entire field, he would have to serve as rear guard, but then he would be unable to respond immediately if something unexpected happened up front. He had to stay in the center of the formation to guard against emergencies.
The boy's presence filled that gap perfectly.
Relaying information from the rear sounded very simple, but most of Loki Familia's first-tier Adventurers could not filter information with precision.
In this monster wave, which threats were poison that could endanger the party, and which were mere noise that could be ignored to save time? Aside from Riveria, it was difficult for the others to judge that immediately. Instead, they would end up giving redundant information and affecting Finn's judgment.
As for Riveria, she was the Mage the squad relied on most. In the past, she had always split her attention to handle this job while also looking after Lefiya, Ais, and the others. Although Riveria was more than capable, those tasks still affected her performance.
Now that Bell was here, the entire party had gained another commander, and everything flowed much more smoothly.
Most importantly, the boy held considerable prestige within Loki Familia. Ais, Tiona, and the others trusted Bell unconditionally. As long as Finn and the boy worked in sync, the entire party moved like the hands and feet of a single person, with no obstruction to command.
The group continued cutting down the monsters that rushed at them, carving open the path ahead.
When they crossed yet another huge room, a Virga monster appeared at the end of the passage.
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