Noon.
Tiona repeatedly swung her white fists, creating several large craters in the rock wall. The nearby wall stopped spawning monsters and focused on repairing itself instead, giving everyone a moment to catch their breath.
The recently promoted Level 3 supporter girl, Rakta, took food from her backpack and handed it out to everyone one by one.
"Red bean and cream-flavored fried potato balls, want some too?" Ais glanced at the supporter girl, hope shining in her eyes.
"Sorry, they've gone bad…" Rakta rummaged through her bag, only to find the decaying remains of the fried potato balls. She apologized with a guilty face.
No kind of fried potato balls can last five days, and carrying a magic stone refrigerator is obviously impossible.
Ais lowered her head slightly, looking a bit dejected.
"Thank goodness, it's the old Ais again!" Tione patted her chest in relief and laughed brightly.
"Ryoji, eat this one instead. It tastes better!"
"Wait, then why don't you eat it yourself?"
Any food that could last more than five days obviously wouldn't taste good. But while exploring the Dungeon, you couldn't afford to be picky. Ryoji wasn't someone who cared about flavor either.
"By the way, Ryoji, I meant to ask yesterday, where did you get that katana?"
Finn sat cross-legged on a woman's shawl. Tione had a blissful look on her face, breathing heavily through her nose, while Finn looked curiously at the katana beside Ryoji.
It was a katana that emitted a silver glow like rippling water, obviously expensive just by appearance, almost on par with their first-tier gear.
The katana Ryoji had previously spent hundreds of thousands on had already broken in the lower levels.
And yet, somehow, he had pulled out a blade like this from who-knows-where.
"Oh, that?" Ryoji picked up the katana beside him and looked around at the others.
He paused for a moment, as if deep in thought.
"If it's hard to explain, you don't have to tell us."
Seeing the look on his face, Finn seemed to understand and smiled without pressing further.
"It's not exactly hard to explain…"
Ryoji appeared to come to a decision and raised the katana in his hand.
"…just not that easy to explain."
Shortly afterward, under everyone's gaze, the katana suddenly dissolved, transforming into countless particles of light that vanished from his hand.
"Un un un? What just happened?!"
Tiona leaned over Ryoji's shoulder, staring in shock at his now-empty palm, her eyes nearly popping out.
"What… was that?"
Everyone's eyes widened simultaneously, filled with disbelief as they looked at Ryoji.
"This katana is called the Vrring Blade. It's a weapon that's symbiotic with my soul and can be recalled into it at any time."
Deep in the 37th Floor, far from the surface city, Ryoji chose to reveal his secret to them.
"Just treat it as a natural talent of mine."
Every person here was someone he considered worthy of his trust.
That's why Ryoji was willing to share this secret with them.
After all, they already knew he had a special acceleration magic, so telling them about the Vrring Blade wasn't a big leap.
That's the kind of warm-hearted atmosphere Loki Familia had.
"So that's what it is. I always wondered why there was a weird sound effect every time you swung your sword. That must've been from the blade, right? Is that why it's called the Vrring Blade?"
"Ugh… can we not mention that?"
"Now that you mention it, is your acceleration magic also something you were born with?"
Riveria joined the discussion with interest. As a royal elf skilled in magic, she was clearly more intrigued by Ryoji's acceleration magic, especially since she had never seen such a unique magic before.
"More or less. It does have a high demand for magic power."
"So, even though you don't have magic, you still possess magic power... I didn't know such miraculous things existed in the world. Truly enlightening."
The executives all learned Ryoji's secret.
But they only reacted with repeated exclamations of surprise and occasional envy, no one dug deeper into how he came to possess innate magic. Instead, they enthusiastically discussed the power of his magic.
"The damage is definitely high. One strike can take down those caterpillar monsters. His attack power is comparable to a Level 5. That's about the same as Ais going all out."
So a Level 5 swordsman can unleash supersonic-level attacks?
"His dodging ability is also very powerful. No matter the monster, he can always dodge in time."
"So that's how it is! Back when Ryoji was still an ordinary person, he could dodge my punches, makes sense now. As expected of you. So impressive!"
"This magic definitely gives you the power to fight opponents above your level!"
"His own technique is also a big part of it."
Everyone chatted passionately while eating dinner.
Just as Ryoji was biting into his food, he suddenly felt a tug at the hem of his clothing.
He turned his head to see Ais looking up at him with her golden eyes, filled with curiosity.
"Your sword… does it not break? Can it be remade if it does?"
That was what Ais cared about most.
She fought frequently, so rather than a sharp sword, she preferred a sword that wouldn't break. Her beloved sword "Desperate" had the rare "Durandal Attribute."
Of course, saying it doesn't break only meant it was tougher than average weapons, it didn't mean it was indestructible in the absolute sense.
"It's very durable, but it can still break."
Ryoji thought of battles against Blazers and shook his head. "If it breaks, I might even pass out immediately. After all, this sword is forged from my soul."
"I see…"
So, it's not all-powerful after all.
"But having a weapon like that is super convenient during expeditions. It frees up weapon space so you can carry more supplies."
Ais nodded, half understanding. Finn, however, looked genuinely impressed.
Different perspectives bring out different pros and cons.
"By the way, Finn, are we heading toward the central zone next?"
Ryoji swallowed the last bite of food and suddenly recalled something. "If I remember right, the 37th Floor has a third Floor Boss, right? And its strength is at least Level 6?"
Goliath on the 17th Floor.
Amphisbaena on the 27th Floor.
Udaeus on the 37th Floor.
These were the three Floor Bosses, listed in ascending floor order along with their designations.
Based on the formula where a Floor Boss's level is about two levels higher than the floor's average monster level, Goliath was Level 4, Amphisbaena was Level 5, and Udaeus on the 37th Floor would be a terrifying Level 6!
So far, Ryoji had only fought Goliath. He hadn't even seen Amphisbaena, let alone Udaeus.
"That's right. And judging by the timing, Udaeus might respawn soon."
Just thinking about the power of a Floor Boss made even Finn's expression grow grim.
"That's why I plan to head back this afternoon."
"Eh?"
Ryoji froze in place.
"We're not going to fight it? But with this team, we totally could, right?"
He had actually been looking forward to it.
With his absolutely divine-speed special ability, even if the opponent was Level 6 Udaeus, he could still contribute something, maybe even earn a big chunk of Excelia and quickly level up to Level 4.
"Look at our item supplies and then say that."
Finn pointed at Rakta's backpack and shrugged.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395