"Dungeon Magic! [Rain of Arrows]!!"
When the Dungeon Master shouted, hundreds of wooden arrows materialized in the air and rained down on us.
(Barrier Magic: [Large Shield].) (Eugene)
I conjured a large magical shield above us to block the rain of arrows.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of arrows bouncing off the shield rang out.
I caught one of the falling wooden arrows with a snap!
The arrowhead was rounded, so even if it hit, it would just hurt a little without piercing.
It was clearly a training spell.
I observed how the others were handling it.
"Wah! Wah! [Fire Storm]!!!" (Sumire)
Sumire unleashed a fire spell centered on herself, burning away every single wooden arrow that fell around her.
A flashy way of dealing with it.
"[Light Sword Dance]!" (Sara)
Sara used her holy sword magic to cut down the arrows.
"Yah! Hah!"
Airi skillfully dodged every arrow.
That girl… She's treating it like a warm-up.
Considering I heard she hasn't been moving her body much due to her emperor duties, she's probably testing her sharpness of movement.
"Rita-chan, don't you need to go back to the 100th floor?" (Claude)
"No one's showing up to explore right now. Besides, I finally got to see Claude-kun again… ♡" (Rita)
"Well then, after training…" (Claude)
"Yeah ♡" (Rita)
Claude, who had quickly escaped beyond the range of the dungeon magic, was flirting with Rita-san.
In a sense, that was the safest choice.
You could also call it shameless.
Everyone looked to be handling things fine.
"Hey, Eugene! Is this good enough!? Should I use more types of magic!?" (Anemoi)
Anemoi shouted loudly.
"Then gradually increase the power and range of the spells." (Eugene)
"I'm not good at fine adjustments, you know that!!" (Anemoi)
Even as she complained, the Dungeon Master kept throwing out spells strong enough to only cause minor injuries.
Suddenly, holes opened in the ground, rocks fell from the sky.
Iron weapons came flying, and the attacks grew stronger step by step.
I blocked or dodged them with barrier magic, while keeping an eye on everyone else.
"Wait, wait, wait! This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!!"
Sumire seemed to be the most frantic.
Fwooooooooosh!!
But no matter what attack came, she burned everything away with the fire magic of an Ifrit.
Oi oi…is that blunt iron spear melting?
Anemoi gave me a look that said, "What's with this one?"
Well, she'll manage somehow.
"Guh!"
"Ow!"
Sara and Airi were getting hit now and then, suffering minor injuries.
"Whew! That's close!" (Claude)
Claude wasn't just staying outside the spell's range, he dodged rains of arrows, spears sprouting from the ground, and giant falling rocks (hollowed out inside) with ease.
Unlike Sara and Airi, he hadn't been hit at all, likely because he positioned himself in spots where the dungeon's attacks weren't so intense.
Specifically, he kept moving skillfully from one blind spot of the Dungeon Master to another.
(Claude's field of vision is wide.) (Eugene)
Probably because as a dragon knight, he often had to oversee the whole battlefield.
In comparison, Sara and Airi had a tendency to face things head-on.
You two are national leaders. Pay more attention to your surroundings.
After about an hour, Anemoi stopped her attacks, and it was break time.
The Dungeon Master conjured drinks and light snacks with magic.
We reflected on the training as we ate.
"How was it, Anemoi?" (Eugene)
I asked.
"Well…with this group, I think you could make it past the 200th floor." (Anemoi)
"Is…that supposed to be impressive?" (Sumire)
Sumire looked unconvinced.
"That's no good. Our goal is the 500th floor." (Sara)
"Still, I can't really picture it." (Airi)
Sara and Airi frowned.
"Hey, Eugene. You cleared the 300th floor, right? What was the difficulty like for a Deus Discipline?" (Claude)
Claude turned the question on me.
Perfect timing.
"I'll show you now. Anemoi, be my opponent." (Eugene)
"Ehh, let me rest a little longer~!" (Anemoi)
She complained, but prepared anyway.
You caused plenty of trouble with your blunders.
No whining until you work.
"Here I come." (Eugene)
I readied my White Sword.
"If it's against you, I can go all out, right?" (Anemoi)
…Zuzuzu, a sinister red-black mana swirled around Anemoi.
"Full power at 300th-floor level, right?" (Eugene)
I confirmed, just in case.
She's careless sometimes.
"I know that much. Here I go!" (Anemoi)
I leapt sideways at the same time as her voice.
Clang!!
A massive blade thrust up where I had just been standing.
A dungeon spell full of killing intent.
"W-Wait a second!!" (Sumire)
"Eugy!?" (Airi)
I heard Sumire and Airi cry out in panic, but I didn't have time to respond.
——Dungeon Magic: [Thousand-Blade Storm]!!
Over a thousand blades rained down unpredictably.
"Eugene!!" (Sara)
I heard Sara's voice, almost like a scream.
I closed the distance toward the Dungeon Master while dodging the falling blades.
——Dungeon Magic: [Shadow Beasts]!
Pitch-black wolf-like beasts erupted from the ground.
They swarmed at me.
Blades from above.
Beasts from the ground.
And then…
——Dungeon Magic: [Chains of Blood Thorns]!!
From Anemoi's center, red thorned chains writhed like living things, reaching to bind me.
"Eugene! You okay!?" (Claude)
That was Claude's voice.
Blades, black beasts, and red chains surrounded me, leaving no escape…or at least that's how it looks.
(Angel Magic: [Time Delay].) (Eugene)
For just a brief moment, I slowed the flow of time around me.
Surrounded 360 degrees by Anemoi's Dungeon magic…
(There! …Twin Heavenly Resonance Style: [Sky Walk]!!) (Eugene)
I found a tiny opening and closed the distance to the Dungeon Master.
Then, I pressed the blade of the White Sword against her neck.
Anemoi first looked shocked, then glared at me.
"That's match." (Eugene)
"Whaaat! Using Angel Magic like that is cheating!!" (Anemoi)
"There was no other way." (Eugene)
"Unfair, unfair, unfair! One more time!!" (Anemoi)
"You're tired, we'll do it later." (Eugene)
"Don't run away after winning!!" (Anemoi)
I ignored Anemoi screeching at me and returned to the others.
When I did, they all stared blankly.
"What's wrong?" (Eugene)
"What do you mean what's wrong, Eugy!? What was that!? Teleportation!?" (Airi)
"Eugene! When did you learn teleportation!?" (Sara)
To Airi and Sara, it must've looked like teleportation.
"No, that wasn't teleportation. I could barely see Eugene moving to dodge the spells…but it was beyond human speed." (Claude)
So Claude could see it.
"That was an arrangement of Destiny Magic and Barrier Magic. I just altered the flow of time around myself." (Eugene)
"You can do that!?"
"You can. I'll teach you all later." (Eugene)
I call it Angel Magic, but it's not exclusive to angels.
Humans can learn it too.
It's apparently a basic technique for angels. Mother can even use full time-stop magic.
(Actually, some level of space-time control seems mandatory above the 300th floor…) (Eugene)
Even Demon Lord Eri once told me that.
The difficulty of the upper layers of the Zenith Tower…there's no way they ever intended humans to clear it.
"Hey, Eugene! Fight me again!!" (Anemoi)
Anemoi wrapped her legs around my neck and clung on like she was forcing me to give her a piggyback.
Ugh, persistent!
"I've got something to do, later! Keep training the others!" (Eugene)
"…Fine. Later then." (Anemoi)
She pouted and let go.
What a spoiled Dungeon Master.
Not that I didn't already know.
"..."
I felt their gazes.
Sumire, Sara, and Airi were staring at me.
"What is it?" (Eugene)
"Eugy-kun… aren't you pretty close with the Dungeon Master?" (Sumire)
Sumire said something strange.
"W-Well, after three years together…" (Anemoi)
"We're not close." (Eugene)
"Huh?"
I answered before Anemoi could get mad.
After all, for three years she's been saying, 'Don't get too familiar just because you're human! Don't misunderstand!'
Her pride is as high and troublesome as the Zenith Tower itself.
"Right, Anemoi?" (Eugene)
"Ah… y-yeah… I guess so." (Anemoi)
"?"
She seemed a bit downhearted.
Maybe she was just exhausted from back-to-back sparring.
"Well, I've got somewhere to go." (Eugene)
I stood up.
"Where are you going, Eugy?" (Airi)
Of course Airi asked.
I hesitated how to answer…
"To a woman's place." (Sara)
"Yeah, to a sexy older woman's place." (Sumire)
Sara and Sumire beat me to it.
That phrasing sounded malicious.
"What!? No way!!" (Airi)
As expected, Airi tried to stop me. Thanks to their wording.
"I'm going to consult Demon Lord Eri about strategies for the Zenith Tower." (Eugene)
And also about Angel Magic.
I could ask my mother, but she always says, 'Ask Eri about combat. I'm not a combat specialist.'
Even though she should be a high-ranking angel… Eri's combat ability surpasses hers.
We'll need Eri's help to break through the 500th floor.
"Well then, I'm off." (Eugene)
Airi still tried to stop me, but I persuaded her somehow and headed for the dungeon elevator.
I could already imagine her scolding me for being late to visit…