"Raaah! ...Orun!"
Will swung his twinblade at the approaching winged lion monster—Manticore—disrupting its balance severely.
I immediately stabbed **Schwarz Hase** into its vital spot—turning it to a magic stone.
As expected from a sword forged mainly with black dragon scales by a top blacksmith.
Even without **Sharpness Up**—**Schwarz Hase** in base state outperformed my previous sword.
Plus—tailored perfectly to me—no adjustment needed. Felt like it drew out my full strength.
Finally understood why upper-rank explorers obsess over custom gear.
Seeing beats hearing.
The 92nd floor—vast canyon-like area.
Opposite 91st—few monsters.
But individual strength high.
Some rival lower-floor bosses.
Extreme elevation changes—many flyers.
Must watch not just front/back/left/right—up/down too.
Three hours since arriving on 92nd.
Cross-referenced my memorized 92nd layout with *Silver Rabbit*'s mapped data—chose route minimizing encounters while reaching boss area fastest.
Result—combat kept minimal.
Goal today: reach 93rd.
Black dragon fight at end—preserve stamina. Minimize unnecessary battles.
That's the big difference—exploration vs. conquest.
"Ah—Orun-kun, cut on your hand. Hold still—I'll heal."
Lucre pointed out—left back of hand lightly cut, bleeding.
"This small—no need for recovery magic—"
"No way!!"
Lucre shouted—cutting me off.
"—Um, uh... germs might get in! Better heal if you can, right?"
...Messed up. Triggered Lucre's trauma?
Should've realized she's sensitive to comrades' injuries.
Insensitive...
"...True—could worsen. Please heal."
"Y-Yeah! Leave it to me!"
◇
Continued fighting repeatedly—progressed smoothly.
Finally—cave leading to 92nd floor deepest boss area appeared.
No irregularity this time.
Walked cave—soon massive double doors: three meters wide, ten high.
Black dragon inside.
Interior: huge hall-like space—seventy meters diameter.
Most boss areas similar—size varies.
But 92nd—no ceiling. Open air.
If airborne—could rise beyond attack magic range. Must destroy wings.
"...Arrived. Everyone—final gear check while watching surroundings. Rain, Orun—start prep."
Checked gear—new storage ring.
All good.
Concentrated mana on **Schwarz Hase** blade—coated in jet-black.
Rain-san eyes closed—focused on formula build.
"**Vanguard Up**, **Rearguard Up**."
Selma-san buffed Will with **Vanguard Up**—rear three with **Rearguard Up**.
**Rearguard Up**—parallel five basic supports excluding **Strength Up**.
I cast **Quadruple Status Up** on myself.
"Ready? ...Go!"
We nodded firmly at Selma-san's final check.
Selma-san touched doors—slowly opened with loud creak.
We entered boss area slowly.
Black dragon roar from above.
Black dragon flew twenty meters up—near center.
I locked on—immediately **Mana Convergence** platform—closed distance.
『Rain! Orun! Drop black dragon as planned!!』
Black dragon prepped fireballs—but faster—
"**Mjolnir**!"
Massive lightning poured from above black dragon.
Near-ambush—didn't ground it—but unbalanced mid-air.
By spell end—I held position above black dragon.
It hadn't noticed me—focused on ground Will.
"Heaven Flash...!"
Swung **Schwarz Hase** downward—jet-black slash.
Tail didn't block this time.
**Impact**-powered black shockwave erased left wing.
Further unbalanced—black dragon crashed to ground.
Landed okay—but glared at me venomously.
(This black dragon—narrow vision maybe.)
Floating mid-air—looked down—analyzed individual.
Monsters same species—not identical.
Abilities similar—but personality, size vary.
Floor bosses no exception.
Will—facing black dragon—twinblade blades emitted mixed red/blue/green mana.
Will's twinblade—weapon and storage artifact.
Normal storage—matter only.
Tweaked formula—stores mana instead.
Only while blade touches—so timing strict—but nullifies magic/spells.
Stores—so can release.
Released mana—manipulable like mana inflow.
But converted magic/spell mana—not pure mana.
Without direct mana interference ability like my **Mana Convergence**—hard to control chaotic mana.
Yet Will does it perfectly.
Effort? Talent? Unknown—but fully tamed wild mana.
"Don't look away! Chaos Edge!"
Will swept twinblade horizontally—chaotic mana slash flew at black dragon.
Struck face—black dragon focused on me.
Planned so far.
Rain-san and my attacks ground it—destroyed wing.
Will overwrites hate drawn to us.
Black dragon roared fury—five purple mists around it.
One lash like whip—toward Will.
Bad move.
"That won't work!"
Twinblade touched mist—erased completely.
Mist just mana mass.
Useless against Will.
『Pattern C! Rain and Orun—switch while chipping black dragon! Will—hate control. Lucre—support Will!』
『『『『Roger!!!!』』』』
All responded to Selma-san's order.
Rain-san cast spell.
I dropped from above black dragon—landed behind.
Multiple **Fire Javelins** rained from where I was—toward black dragon.