Chapter 231: Entering New Territory, the 59th Floor!
"What a haul!"
After taking inventory of everything inside his Imaginary Number Space, Ethan was in an excellent mood.
This harvest had surpassed everything he had gained before.
The 58th floor, the Dragon's Vase, really was a natural treasure trove.
Ethan almost felt reluctant to leave.
As for Ais, she stood off to the side like an outsider, silently watching everything.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
Now that the 58th floor had been cleared, it would take some time for its monsters to respawn.
After all, the Gate of Babylon's bombardment had caused considerable damage to the terrain. Even the Dungeon needed time to restore itself.
So their next destination was the deeper 59th floor—
The deepest floor currently recorded by the Guild.
Step.
Looking at the passage ahead, Ais felt slightly dazed.
Finn and the others had prepared for more than half a month. Everyone had rested and made every possible preparation, yet they had still been forced to stop on the 58th floor.
And Ethan?
This trip had merely been something he decided on a whim.
There were only two people in their party, yet they had traveled straight through to the 58th floor.
More absurdly, Ethan had not even needed her help to clear the entire floor by himself.
Was the difference between people really this enormous?
"What are you staring at, Ais? Come on."
"Mm."
Seeing Ais lost in thought, Ethan called out and walked into the passage first.
Ais quickly followed.
However, as she stared at Ethan's back, the figure in her heart became clearer than ever.
She admired him.
[Liaris Freese] was the Skill born from the admiration she held for Ethan deep within her heart.
Walking ahead, Ethan did not notice the change in Ais's expression.
As they traveled through the dim passage, the surrounding temperature gradually began to rise.
"This is strange."
"According to the Guild's records, the 59th floor should be a 'frozen floor.' Why is it getting so hot?"
Ais frowned as they walked.
Back when Finn had been preparing to explore the new floor, the Loki Familia had specifically prepared cold-resistant equipment to deal with the extreme conditions expected on the 59th floor.
Although they had fallen just short and never got to use it, Ais still clearly remembered Finn's instructions.
"Who knows?"
Ethan shook his head.
He had no idea either.
The Dungeon truly was an extraordinary place.
Within a finite underground space, it gave birth to endless possibilities.
Its bizarre floors were each almost like independent miniature worlds.
It really was incredible.
Swish.
Soon, after passing through the connecting passage between the 58th and 59th floors, the space before them suddenly opened up.
Hot, humid air rushed toward them.
The temperature here had absolutely nothing to do with "cold."
Ethan estimated that it was at least thirty degrees Celsius.
The vegetation around them also consisted entirely of shrubs and trees that belonged in a tropical climate.
"Looks like this place doesn't match the records at all."
"Mm."
Ais nodded, tightening her grip on [Desperate].
An environment like this was practically a natural breeding ground for life.
There were undoubtedly many monsters here.
And their strength certainly would not be low.
Rustle.
At that moment, a nearby bush shook.
Then a huge figure pushed its way out.
Its entire body was pitch-black, its hide reflecting the light like polished steel.
It stood around three meters tall with a body roughly four or five meters long, and a distinctive horn protruded from its head.
It was a rhinoceros-type monster.
Rustle. Rustle.
Then more black rhinoceroses emerged from the surrounding vegetation.
Ethan glanced over them.
Every one possessed an extremely powerful physique.
As monsters living even deeper than the Dragon's Vase, their strength was certainly no weaker than those dragons.
"Let's test their strength a little."
Buzz.
Golden ripples spread behind Ethan.
A Noble Phantasm slowly emerged.
Whoosh!
It shot through the air like an arrow.
Pshk!
"ROAR!"
The Noble Phantasm pierced into one of the black rhinoceroses.
However, it merely lodged in its body.
Judging by the result, the weapon had only broken through its defenses without dealing much actual damage.
"Their defense is strong."
"Not just the hide. Their bodies themselves are extremely tough."
In the end, it was only a D+ Rank Noble Phantasm.
Its power had limits.
"ROAR!"
The wounded black rhinoceros immediately went berserk.
At the same time, every other rhinoceros nearby became enraged as well.
BOOM!
Just as Ais raised her sword in preparation for battle, a violent explosion erupted among the monsters.
Five black rhinoceroses were instantly blown apart.
More than a dozen others suffered injuries of varying severity.
"Not bad."
Broken Phantasm.
Melammu Dingir was not the only Noble Phantasm that could treat other Noble Phantasms as disposable ammunition.
In theory, any Noble Phantasm wielder could destroy their weapon to unleash its stored power.
It was simply that almost no one would willingly do such a thing.
Swish.
A holy sword glowing with golden radiance appeared in Ethan's hand.
Excalibur.
Now that Ethan had separated from [All the World's Evil], Excalibur naturally no longer remained in its demonic form.
Of course, if Ethan wanted to blacken it again, he merely needed to corrupt it with black mud.
Still, wielding the proper holy sword was not bad either.
He no longer carried [All the World's Evil], so he had no reason to remain fixated on its corrupted form.
Rumble!
Dozens of enormous black rhinoceroses lowered their heads and charged together with blood-red eyes.
If anyone else faced a stampede like this, they might already have been terrified out of their minds.
Pshk!
The moment battle began, Ethan's presence turned cold.
Excalibur swept downward and cleanly severed the head of the first black rhinoceros.
[Eternal Arms Mastery]
It granted Ethan martial skill standing at the pinnacle of an entire era.
And in his hand was Excalibur, a holy sword standing at the summit of sacred blades.
Every swing possessed enough force to split stone and shatter mountains.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Ais shot over Ethan's head with wind wrapped around her body.
[Desperate] flashed rapidly across the black rhinoceroses.
Bloody wounds appeared one after another before the monsters collapsed to the ground.
Several minutes later, everything fell silent.
The ground around them was covered with the corpses of black rhinoceroses.
Although they were dead, their bodies had not suffered enough damage to immediately dissolve.
Looking at Ais, Ethan smiled faintly.
As expected, battle was the best way to become familiar with new power.
After fighting all the way down here, Ais had already become quite skilled at using her Vision to wield Anemo.
…
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