"Ah?! Is it still too weak?"
When Kochou Shinobu heard this, she looked at her sister in shock. It would take quite an effort for her to kill these monsters.
Isn't it true that she also falls into the category of being too weak for Kanae?
Moreover, just how strong had she become now?
"Well, your intuition is correct."
"When a person's strength reaches a certain level, an opponent who is too weak will not continue to make you stronger."
When Takumi heard what Kanae said, he looked at her in surprise at first, and then agreed with her perspective.
"So..."
Kanae glanced at Shinobu, and then asked Takumi seriously:
"Lord Takumi, can we go to a deeper floor? I want to take advantage of today to see where my limits are."
"Okay, let's go."
Takumi agreed with a smile without any hesitation.
Then he said to Shinobu beside him:
"Shinobu, if you find it difficult later, please step back and help protect Kanao."
Well, that's what he said.
But in fact, it was just picking up magic stones with Kanao; he just changed the phrasing to be more considerate.
Kanae's concern was nothing more than the fact that going too deep into the lower levels was too dangerous for Shinobu.
When Takumi gave Shinobu this order, he was also telling Kanae that with him there, he could completely guarantee Shinobu's safety.
"Yes!"
How could the young Shinobu understand such high emotional intelligence in his words?
She truly believed him and responded enthusiastically.
There was nothing more to say, and the four of them continued to move forward.
They stopped at the entrance to the 13th floor.
Kanae didn't feel strained yet, but Takumi told her to stop.
"Next is the 13th floor. There will be Hellhounds inside. Let me cast a shield on you first."
As he said this, Takumi cast the Iron Armor Curse on the three sisters and himself.
"Okay, let's go."
The Iron Armor Curse is a very comprehensive defensive magic.
Not only can it defend against small-scale magic, but its physical defense effect is also excellent.
It is a literal layer of armor that can resist attacks from heavy weaponry, as well as fire and ice.
Although you will still breathe hot air when encountering flames right in your face, at least you will not be easily ignited or burned.
On the 13th floor, they encountered three Hellhounds.
Because it was the first time encountering monsters that could attack with magic, Kanae struggled a little bit.
But after figuring out the patterns, she was able to deal with them easily.
However, Shinobu was completely out of her league.
She couldn't help at all and had no choice but to retreat. Together with Kanao, she was responsible for picking up the fallen magic stones.
But...
"Lord Takumi, they are still following us."
The monsters were dealt with again. While Kanao and Shinobu were cleaning up, Kanae looked at the figures in the distance behind them, frowned, and reminded Takumi.
Starting from the 10th floor, there had been a group of people following them.
If these people hadn't put away their weapons, Kanae would have been ready to chase them away. Takumi looked back, and his photographic memory allowed him to recognize a few of the people in the group.
They were the ones from before at the entrance of the Dungeon; there was a group of people watching them back then.
Takumi didn't say anything, but just raised his hand and pointed it at them.
A dazzling magic ball with a diameter of one meter condensed instantly, and this also made the people over there realize Takumi's intent to attack.
"Not good! Get out of the way!"
Someone in the crowd shouted.
But unfortunately, it was too late.
With a sharp 'swish,' the magic ball had already crashed into the crowd.
Then... boom!
A violent explosion enveloped the crowd in an instant, and no one was able to escape.
After the smoke from the explosion dissipated, only a large pit and the remains of some equipment were left where the crowd had been.
Takumi slowly withdrew his hand, his expression calm, as if nothing had happened. He said: "Okay, now they're gone."
"Well..."
Kanae couldn't help but feel a drop of cold sweat on her forehead.
"Is this going too far? They even put away their weapons."
Regarding Takumi's ruthless efficiency, Kanao didn't feel anything.
After all, she had already sold herself; whatever her master decided was final. Even if she had objections, it would be useless and only make herself uncomfortable.
It was just that Kanae was afraid Takumi had killed the wrong people; she felt it was somewhat unfair that they died so hastily.
Moreover, Takumi only took action after her reminder, which also made her feel a little guilty.
Takumi shrugged indifferently.
"If they dare to follow us here, it means they are prepared."
"And those who can reach this floor are all veterans."
"If you are a veteran, you should understand the unspoken rules of the Dungeon and not behave in such a suspicious way."
"Although they put away their weapons and tried to appear non-threatening,"
"But they have been following for so long, and it's not like we haven't stopped."
"Yet they just kept hanging behind and didn't come up to offer an explanation. This already explains many things."
"And even if we killed the wrong people, it's okay. As long as we don't tell anyone, no one will know it was us."
"The most important thing is that this is their own fault."
"Wandering around behind others in the Dungeon for no reason, isn't that just asking for death?"
"..."
After his explanation, Kanae was completely speechless.
Thinking about it carefully, what Takumi said did make sense.
This group of people kept following them, and even when they stopped, the group didn't come over to explain themselves, as if they were asking for trouble.
There is more than one path, yet they insisted on following.
Even if they didn't have bad intentions and were just looking for someone to take advantage of, they were not worthy of pity at all.
Thinking of this, Kanae immediately stopped worrying.
Seeing that she was relieved, Takumi warned again:
"You should also pay attention in the future. In this Dungeon, it is not only monsters that are fatal, but also other people."
"In addition to your Familia, listen only to your companions. Don't trust any outsiders easily, at least not completely. You must always be vigilant, especially with those you meet whom you don't know."
"If you meet someone with bad intentions in the future, just kill them directly while ensuring your own safety. There is no need to talk nonsense to them."
"Don't be afraid of trouble. Hestia and I will support you."
"Even if we really can't handle it, we can just hide back in the Dimensional City."
"If there is truly danger, you must teleport back immediately to save your life."
"Yes!"
The sisters nodded, etching Takumi's words—and the hidden rules of this world—into their hearts.
On the 17th floor, there were more people around again.
Most of them were heading back to the surface.
After these people saw them, they only glanced at them a few times and quickly walked away.
Among them, the more polite ones even nodded or waved to show friendship after making eye contact.
In short, they would not easily interfere with outsiders' affairs to avoid misunderstandings.
Now, the sisters felt even more that the previous group of people really wasn't killed wrongly.