"Portal."
As Genichi finished the chant, a portal glowing with dim blue light appeared before the group.
"Step through this, and you'll arrive at the Dungeon's forty-third floor."
With that, Genichi went first. His figure vanished into the light as if he had stepped into another world.
Right behind him, the members of the Loki Familia and Freya Familia followed one after another through the portal.
By the time the last person crossed the threshold, the scene around them had changed completely. They were surrounded by the rock walls and murky light unique to the deep Dungeon.
The forty-third floor.
The air was thick with the Dungeon's trademark damp, moldy smell, and in the distance came the low growls of monsters.
Sparse patches of glowing moss clung to the surrounding rock walls, casting the area in uneven flickering light.
"So this is the forty-third floor..."
Finn looked around, astonishment rising in his eyes.
"We really got here instantly. This teleportation magic is unbelievably useful."
As the captain of the Loki Familia, he understood better than anyone what this meant.
On every expedition, the greatest drain was not the fighting itself, but the time and supplies lost battling all the way down from the first floor.
With a teleportation spell like this, not only could they skip the repeated effort of descending floor by floor, they could even return to their Familia at any time to resupply. Expedition efficiency would increase by more than tenfold.
Ais said nothing. She simply watched Genichi's back in silence, a curious gleam in her eyes.
On the Freya Familia's side, Ottar remained as taciturn as ever, but the look in his eyes had grown more solemn.
As Orario's strongest adventurer, he had seen countless powerful people, but there were only a handful like Genichi, people he simply could not see through.
"All right, enough talking. Move."
Genichi cut off everyone's amazement, impatience edging his voice.
"We don't have much time. No one knows when Orario might get blown sky-high."
He paused, then smiled in a way that carried a deeper meaning.
"And I'm sure none of you want your beloved patron deity blown sky-high either."
The moment he said that, the faces of the Freya Familia members darkened.
Hegni, the Level 6 adventurer, immediately glared at Genichi, anger blazing in his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean? How dare you speak so disrespectfully about Lady Freya?"
Genichi spread his hands, looking perfectly innocent.
"If that's how you want to take it, that's not my problem. I'm only stating a fact. If the Six Spirit Rings really go off, all of Orario will be reduced to rubble. Against an explosion on that level, I doubt even Lady Freya would come through unharmed."
Hegni's hand had already gone to the hilt of his sword.
But Ottar raised a hand and stopped him.
"He's stating facts."
Ottar's deep voice rang out. "This is not the time for infighting."
Hegni ground his teeth, but in the end he let go.
Finn stepped in smoothly to ease the tension.
"All right, let's keep moving. If the goal is to make sure Lady Freya comes to no harm, then I doubt you'd want to waste time arguing over something like this."
He looked at Genichi, his tone serious.
"And you should avoid saying things that divide the group."
Genichi shrugged and did not argue.
He turned to face the dark tunnel ahead.
"Then let's move."
As he spoke, he began chanting under his breath.
"Shadow King."
The instant those words left his mouth, something changed.
The shadow at Genichi's feet suddenly began to writhe like a living thing.
That pitch-black darkness twisted and swelled, as though something were tearing its way out of the abyss.
Then, in the next instant, several black figures crawled out of the shadow.
They had no distinct faces, only vague humanoid outlines, as if they had been formed from pure darkness.
They stood silently around Genichi, radiating an eerie, dangerous presence.
Everyone's expression changed.
What was this?
Bete almost instinctively took a step back. His instincts were screaming at him that those shadowy figures were dangerous.
Ais's pupils narrowed slightly, and her hand tightened around the slender sword at her waist.
She could feel that although those shadows gave off no magical power at all, they filled her with deep unease.
"Is this summoning magic?"
Gareth asked in a low voice.
"Not exactly."
Riveria shook her head.
Ottar's gaze became even heavier.
Genichi ignored everyone's shock and said only one thing.
"Move."
At a thought from him, the shadow figures surged forward.
In the tunnel ahead, several monsters lurking in ambush sensed the intruders and came roaring out. They were Hellhounds at around Level 4, their three heads spitting flame as they lunged forward with savage force.
But the shadows were faster.
They met the Hellhounds without a sound. Their black arms turned into blades, piercing the monsters' bodies with effortless ease.
The Hellhounds' roars stopped abruptly.
Their bodies shriveled and collapsed at once, finally crumbling into heaps of black ash, leaving behind only a few faintly glowing magic stones on the ground.
The shadow figures picked up the stones, merged back into the darkness, and vanished.
In the next instant, those magic stones appeared at Genichi's feet, where he calmly collected them.
The entire process had taken only a few seconds.
Clean. Efficient. Silent.
Everyone fell silent.
"This..."
Finn opened his mouth, then realized he did not know what to say.
Riveria took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
"Genichi, what exactly is this magic of yours?"
Genichi looked back at her, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Shadow King. It lets me manipulate shadows and create physical shadow servants. They can move freely through darkness, they're immune to physical attacks, and..."
He paused.
"They can help me grind my status."
Grind his status?
The others exchanged looks, not quite understanding.
Genichi explained, "The status points these shadows gain from killing monsters are transferred to me. So as long as they keep killing, I keep getting stronger."
As he spoke, he looked toward the tunnel ahead, anticipation flickering in his eyes.
"This is actually perfect. Let's see whether I can use this opportunity to max out my status, or maybe even level up to Level 7."
Level 7?
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Going by the timeline Genichi himself had given earlier, how many days had it even been since he'd reached Level 6?
And now he was already aiming for Level 7?
But no one dared laugh at him.
Because the reality before their eyes proved that the boy had every right to say something like that.
The shadow figures were already advancing farther ahead. Everywhere they passed, monsters fell and turned into magic stones and black ash.
They moved like messengers of death, harvesting every life in their path.
(End of Chapter)
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