"Tiona! Watch the monsters on Ais' left! Draw them away from her!"
"Tione! Hold back the creatures on my tail!"
"Ais! My magic's ready—fall back towards Tiona's position!"
Lefiya's commands cut calmly through the chaos, directing the three warriors around her.
The Amazon sisters, Tione and Tiona, couldn't match the speed Ais wielded with her wind magic, so the task of protecting Lefiya fell to them.
Ais's role was to gather every vine-like monster in the vicinity, pulling them into a tight cluster. Once she'd corralled the beasts, it would be Lefiya's turn to strike.
As the core of this operation, Lefiya had naturally taken charge of the battle's flow.
Truth be told, neither the sisters nor Ais had much talent for command. Lefiya wasn't exactly a natural either, but she was still miles ahead of those three.
Hearing Lefiya's instructions, Ais coolly assessed her surroundings.
"Wind, carry me forth."A swirl of emerald energy wrapped around Ais, then erupted outwards.
Like a booster, the gust pushed from behind her, altering her trajectory mid-air and propelling her onto the escape route Lefiya had indicated.
Tione and Tiona, following Lefiya's orders, cleared a path for Ais while simultaneously neutralizing the threats closing in on Lefiya herself.
And in that moment, Lefiya began her incantation.
"Dance in the name of Vihn! Elf Ring, grant me thy strength!"
Lefiya's chant was swift. A ring of light, primarily milky-white but shimmering with a rainbow sheen under the sun, materialized around her.
"My name is Alf! Freeze all creation! Wynn Fimbulvetr!"
Two spells, completed in less than a second.
Alice's concept of chant abandonment wasn't solely about reducing words to a phrase or to silence. It was this—adapting the chant to the situation, using it more fluidly, and on that foundation, unleashing magic in an even more potent form.
That was the true brilliance of Alice's no-chant technique.
And now, Lefiya had grasped it.
Merging her own magic with the altered chant, Lefiya unleashed a spell unique to Riveria—Wynn Fimbulvetr, a blizzard of ice capable of freezing everything solid.
When Alice had dealt with the vine monsters, she'd used fire magic, cleanly incinerating them.
But Alice had only faced three. A quick glance around showed a dense thicket of vines here—at least twenty or thirty gaping maws, meaning no fewer than a dozen or two of the creatures.
Had Lefiya used fire magic, she could have destroyed them too, but the ensuing blaze would have ravaged the surrounding area.
So, she opted for the safer choice: ice magic.
In an instant, the vine monsters were frozen solid by Lefiya's spell, the magic stones within them sealed in ice. Life fled the creatures immediately.
A vast swathe of the vine monsters was wiped out by Lefiya's magic.
The few stragglers remaining in the vicinity were easily mopped up by Ais and the others.
With the area secure, Lefiya let out a sigh of relief.
Casting magic on the surface felt entirely different from doing so in the Dungeon. Down below, she could unleash her full power without a second thought, amplifying her spell's force.
But up here, she had to carefully control that power. Too much, and she'd risk harming innocents.
Thankfully, her recent studies of Alice's magic circles had dramatically improved her mana control.
Plus, the local residents had all fled for safety when the vine monsters appeared—no civilians were left in the area.
That lifted a great weight from Lefiya's mind.
"Lefiya, that was amazing! I saw you do it in the Dungeon before, but it's still shocking to watch every time." Tione walked over after dispatching the last of the stragglers.
"N-No… I still have a long way to go. Alice-chan is much more skilled than I am." Lefiya bowed her head shyly at the praise.
"Why not just accept that you're outstanding? Alice's magic is incredible, yes, but our Lefiya is plenty impressive too. No need to be so hard on yourself." Tiona had noticed how intensely Lefiya had been pushing herself lately.
Lefiya had always been diligent, but recently her training had become almost excessive. They'd all wanted to tell her to take it a little easier.
Ais approached and added her own praise, though her words were, as usual, succinct.
"Lefiya, very strong."
Ais's compliment was heartfelt. The visible growth Lefiya had shown recently stirred a deep sense of envy within her.
"Miss Ais…" Lefiya's cheeks flushed even redder. "Let's not dwell on me. These monsters are strange, and Lady Loki and Alice-chan are here too. We should go find them."
Lefiya addressed the group.
"Yeah, good point. How did these things even get to the surface? This might be the first time in history."
"Probably. I wonder what's changed in Orario."
Tione and Tiona nodded in agreement.
Just then, Loki's voice rang out. "Heeey! Is everyone okay?!"
Her voice came from a distance, and somewhat above them. They looked up towards the sound.
To their surprise, they saw Loki being carried by a human-sized puppet, flying through the air. Right beside her was Alice.
The puppet was one of Alice's Goliath Dolls. Their size was adjustable, so carrying a person at a human-like scale was no trouble at all.
"Loki! Alice!" Tione waved, her face brightening at the sight of them. "We're fine! Are you two okay?!"
"We're all good!" Loki shouted back, then turned to Alice. "Let's head down, Alice-chan."
"Mm." Alice nodded, preparing to descend with Loki and join the others.
But at that very moment, Alice felt her breath catch. A powerful sense of foreboding, rising from the depths of her soul, gripped her.
She snapped her gaze towards the distant sky. There, a dark speck was speeding rapidly in their direction.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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