At the entrance to the 37th floor, the campfire was burning, illuminating the space shrouded in darkness.
Compared with the harsh battles during the day, the expedition seemed a little more relaxed at night.
Everyone first cleared out the monsters nearby, then dug and destroyed the walls of the dungeon, putting it into a state of repair to ensure that no new monsters would be born here during this period.
The map drawn by the expedition team to break through the 33rd floor was finally completed.
At the same time, all the precious materials entrusted to the Astraea familia by other familias were also collected.
At this point, the mission of this dungeon expedition can be said to have been successfully completed, and everyone can embark on the return journey back to the sunny ground.
At this moment, Alise was sitting quietly on a chair. She leaned forward slightly and gently supported her delicate chin with her white and tender hands.
She deliberately put on an unfathomable look and slowly asked Lyra beside her, "We will start to return to the surface tomorrow. Lyra, how is our mission going?"
Seeing Alise's playful look, since everyone was very happy to go home today, they just joined in the fun.
After all, although adventure is their choice, being in a dark dungeon for a long time, with constant high-intensity battles and subtle darkness and oppression, is a burden.
Even though physical exhaustion can be healed by potions and magic, the wear and tear on the spirit and will is undeniable.
At first the expedition was very enthusiastic, but as time went on, it became increasingly silent.
If it weren't for Alise and Akira who often made jokes to amuse everyone, and Akira's meticulous logistical care, no one would be in the mood to do these boring things. The only thing they would want to do might be to lie down and rest early to recover some energy to face the next challenge.
"Well... Captain, we have the map and materials, so this expedition is a complete success." Lyra held up the map she had drawn and the materials list, saying with respect etched across her face.
Hearing this, Alise continued without changing her movements, "Really? Well done, you are worthy of being our military advisor. Everyone has done a great job on this expedition."
"No, no, all this is thanks to Alise-sama's leadership. We just contributed a little bit of effort." Akira, who was sitting aside with a smile on his face, took over the conversation.
Then he made a clapping gesture and said to the others, "Why don't you hurry up and congratulate Alise-sama?"
Only then did everyone react and began to applaud with a teasing smile.
Facing this scene, Alise scratched her cheek and said, "Ahaha, thank you,... Can you stop for a moment? I'm a little shy."
"Oh— Alise-sama is so amazing." Following Akira's eye signal, Ais shouted out these seemingly praiseworthy words.
With a red face, Alise grabbed Akira and held him tightly in her arms.
Akira was caught off guard and was hugged tightly by Alise, with his whole body pressed against her.
Alise used Akira as a shield to cover her reddened face, while she kept muttering, "You guys are going too far. Wasn't I just showing off a little?"
"I admit my mistake. Stop clapping."
As the applause continued, Alise's shy voice sounded from behind Akira.
After hearing this, the crowd that had been clapping and cheering gradually stopped what they were doing, but the smiles on their faces did not diminish in the slightest. They all laughed even more wantonly.
"Captain, isn't this your favorite compliment?"
"Yes, Captain, you are not usually like this."
...
The last bit of firewood finally went out completely, as if symbolizing the end of a journey.
Although they were on the 36th floor and could not see any signs of "dawn", the endless night finally came to an end.
At least that was the case for the expedition team. Everyone packed their bags and set off on their return journey full of confidence.
As for the deeper floors, they just took a look and left. Although there were many dangers, as everyone became stronger and stronger, they managed to gain a foothold before the 37th floor.
When they go back and update theit falna, and turn the excelia accumulated from this trip into stats, the next expedition will definitely be easier.
The expedition team carried ample supplies, potions, and all kinds of food, enough to support them to return to the surface smoothly.
Therefore, everyone's mood was getting better.
Akira carried a giant backpack on one shoulder that was taller than him. It was filled to the brim with the rich harvest from the expedition.
When carrying the bag on one shoulder, he can throw it away if he encounters danger to prevent it from restricting his movements.
"Are you okay? Maybe it's too heavy. Give me some more."
Celty, was responsible for supporting Akira together. Maybe it was because she was a little scared yesterday, so Lyra asked her to be the supporter. However, she carried very little stuff, probably less than 0.3% of Akira's luggage.
Although Akira could put everything into [Backpack], he can't let others see him on an expedition with nothing in his hands.
Moreover, since helping her in the battle, Akira's relationship with Celty has become much better, and she would often talk to him intentionally or unintentionally.
But Akira considered the fact that she was a mage, and she was also small and young, so he took the initiative to carry most of the harvest himself, even though the elves always looked very slender, including Akira.
Akira smiled and hooked his arm around her slender and soft arm, and followed the crowd quickly with her, saying nonchalantly, "Don't worry, don't you know my body?"
Hearing this, Celty's cheeks instantly flushed with shyness.
She lowered her head hastily and said to Akira in a low voice, "...Akira, your words are a little ambiguous, could you please speak a little more quietly?"
After saying this, she secretly glanced at the people around her out of the corner of her eye, fearing that others would hear this slightly ambiguous conversation.
On the way back to the surface, the girls were warmly welcomed by the monsters.
After going through the training in the lower floors, they not only knew the weaknesses of monsters well, but could also deal with their attack methods with ease.
Before long, those originally aggressive monsters fell at the feet of the girls and turned into piles of lifeless corpses.
Although their stats had not yet increased, everyone could feel that they had made great progress in all aspects.
Compared with the last expedition, they had made significant improvements in both skill application and teamwork this time.
Therefore, when the battle was over, looking at the monster remains all over the ground, every girl's heart was filled with indescribable joy and surprise.