After their brief foray onto the eleventh floor, the trio began their retreat as planned.
As they made their way back through the frost-fog of the tenth floor, Lyu suddenly came to a halt in a relatively spacious cavern hall. The rocky walls of the hall were riddled with cracks of varying sizes, through which one could see the faint, rhythmic pulse of pale purple mana.
"Su Lun, what do you know about the Dungeon's monster generation mechanism?" Lyu asked.
Su Lun recalled the information from the Guild records and the Goddess's previous explanations. "The Dungeon is a living entity. Monsters are 'born' from the walls, floors, and ceilings. The more intact the wall surface is, the faster and stronger the monsters spawn. Places that have been damaged will remain quiet for a while."
"Essentially correct." Lyu nodded, gesturing to their surroundings. "Look at these cracks. Another party fought here not long ago, breaking the walls. That is why no new monsters are emerging while we stand here."
Alise walked over to one of the fissures and tapped the rock wall with her sword hilt, producing a dull, thumping sound.
"There's a trick to breaking the walls, too. Shallow scratches heal in minutes, but if you hit deep enough and cover a large enough area, it takes the Dungeon several minutes—or even longer—to repair itself." She turned to face Su Lun, her tone becoming earnest. "This is tactically significant. In complex terrain, or if you plan to stay in one place for a while, veteran parties will intentionally destroy walls at key locations to create a 'Safe Zone.'"
Su Lun looked down at his hands. Could magic... be used to tear down walls efficiently?
As if reading his thoughts, Lyu spoke up. "On the way back, you can try it. Use your magic against the rock walls and observe the effects of different spells. Just remember to conserve your mana; we are still in the middle of a retreat."
They continued their ascent.
At a fork in the path on the ninth floor, new monsters began to "seep" out from a section of relatively intact wall—three Hard Goblins, larger than the standard variety with heavier stones in their hands.
"Su Lun, they're yours." Alise stepped back, her hand resting on her hilt as she kept watch over the surroundings.
Su Lun nodded and did a quick sweep of the battlefield. The junction was T-shaped; they were standing in the vertical passage while the three Goblins emerged from the walls on either side of the horizontal crossbar.
He didn't rush to attack the monsters. Instead, he raised his hand and aimed at the pristine rock wall behind the Goblins—the "source" of the manifestation.
"Acid Splash!"
The orb of potent acid struck the center of the wall, immediately accompanied by a corrosive hissing. The rock surface quickly became pitted and uneven, and the pulsing mana of the Dungeon visibly weakened. One Goblin, which had only managed to poke half its body out, had its spawning process interrupted; it remained stuck in the wall, howling in fury.
The other two fully-formed Goblins wound up and hurled stones at him. Su Lun sidestepped the first and caught the second squarely with a Shield spell. The stone slammed into the forcefield and shattered into dust with a sharp crack.
"Breaking the walls works, but it needs a sustained effect," his mind raced. "Acid Splash's area is too small..."
He shifted strategies, constructing spells with both hands simultaneously. He aimed his left hand at the wall on the left: "Eldritch Blast!"
The violet beam slammed into the densest cluster of cracks on the wall, exploding into a shower of debris. His right hand aimed at the right side—where a fourth Goblin was currently manifesting: "Burning Hands—Metamagic: Empowered Spell!"
He forcibly "squeezed" the normally cone-shaped flames into a concentrated pillar of fire, blasting it into a specific section of the wall. The intense heat caused the rock surface to melt and shatter, halting the spawning process entirely.
The two formed Goblins charged. This time, Su Lun didn't retreat. Instead, he dashed toward them, and when the distance closed to about three meters—
"Grease!"
He released it directly under the Goblins' feet. The monsters' footing slipped, and they lunged forward, faceplanting into the muck. Su Lun seized the chance to dart between them, heading straight for the rear wall. His target was clear: the area that had been corroded by acid and blasted by energy but was still slowly knitting itself back together.
He gripped his shortsword with both hands and took a chopping stance.
"Supreme Holy Smite!"
The divine strike slammed into the rock. Unlike the specific smiting effect it had on demonic creatures, when used against the "structure" of the Dungeon itself, the power of the Supreme Holy Smite manifested as pure impact and energy tearing.
BOOM!
A fissure nearly two meters deep and several meters long was carved into the rock wall. The lingering golden energy at the edges of the rift briefly hindered the Dungeon's self-repair, and the spawning pulses in the vicinity ceased entirely. The Goblin still stuck in the wall simply dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
"When you destroy the wall, the monsters about to spawn vanish along with it," Lyu's voice came from behind him. "However, is the mana consumption for the Supreme Holy Smite high?"
"Not small," Su Lun panted. "It's roughly equivalent to two standard first-tier spells. But... it was worth it." He pointed at the rift. "At this depth, this spot won't spawn anything for at least a minute. If we ever need to set up a temporary camp or a retreat point at a junction like this, this kind of destruction will be vital."
Alise walked over, looking at the crack while resting her chin in her hand. "The depth and area are both sufficient. Not bad at all! Your control over magic is more precise than I thought."
They continued their retreat.
On the eighth floor, they ran into a swarm of Needle Wasps. These fist-sized insects poured out from the ceiling in a dense cloud, their venomous stingers glinting coldly.
"The wasps' spawn point is in the ceiling," Lyu noted, looking up at the buzzing swarm.
Su Lun stared at the ceiling as well, his mind working fast. Conventional methods have trouble damaging a wall that high... Wasps are numerous but fragile. I could clear them with Ice Knife or Magic Missile, but if I don't stop the spawning, it'll be endless...
Got it.
He didn't attack the wasps, nor did he strike the ceiling directly. Instead, he raised both hands, pointing at two different spots on the ceiling—the areas where the wasps were emerging most densely.
"Mage Hand!" "Mage Hand!"
Two invisible hands of force coalesced in the air. Instead of grabbing, they slammed into the rock wall like heavy sledgehammers.
Thump! Thump!
Two dull thuds rang out. The rock wall shuddered; the damage wasn't deep, but it was enough to interfere with the manifestation process. The speed at which the wasps were emerging slowed noticeably. Taking the opportunity, Su Lun flicked his right hand.
"Ice Knife!"
The ice blade shattered in mid-air, covering the swarm in razor-sharp ice crystals. The fragile wasps rained down like hailstones. The remaining wasps turned toward Su Lun, but his next spell was already prepared.
"Emerald Flame Blade!"
A sweep of green fire followed, igniting the diving swarm. The leaping property of the Emerald Flame Blade worked wonders against the dense group, the fire jumping from one wasp to the next. The battle was over within ten seconds. On the ceiling, the dents hammered out by the Mage Hands were only just beginning to slowly heal.
"Excellent thinking. Low consumption, high efficiency." A hint of approval entered Lyu's voice, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
Su Lun nodded, but he was already thinking ahead. The destructive power of Mage Hand was limited. If the walls were harder or required deeper destruction, he'd have to find other ways... A few plans flashed through his mind, but they would have to wait for future testing.
On the seventh floor, the Killer Ants appeared once more. This time there were only four, but they emerged simultaneously from a narrow side passage, blocking the best escape route.
Su Lun didn't panic. He first laid down a Grease spell at the entrance of the passage to slow their charge. Then, he made a choice that slightly surprised both Lyu and Alise.
He didn't use Ice Knife or Magic Missile. Instead, he aimed both hands at the rock walls on either side of the passage and rapidly constructed two completely different spell models.
"Earth Tremor!" "Thunderwave!"
The ground began to heave. The rock walls on both sides of the passage cracked and buckled under the vibration. Immediately after, a sonic boom of thunder erupted from Su Lun as the center, blasting into the cone-shaped area ahead.
The combination of structural damage and the sonic shockwave was devastating. The hard carapaces of the Killer Ants emitted an overworked crack under the sustained vibration and boom. More importantly, the tunnel structure they were standing in became unstable, and rocks from the ceiling began to cascade down.
"Get back!" Su Lun shouted.
The three of them retreated quickly. Seconds later, the passage partially collapsed, burying the Killer Ants under a mound of rubble. Black smoke seeped through the cracks in the stones—the monsters were dead.
Alise blinked. "Killing monsters by dismantling the battlefield itself... that's quite the strategy..."
"Efficient, but dangerous," Lyu finished, looking at Su Lun. She was actually quite surprised; the boy's adaptability was incredible, but his methods were certainly risky.
"It was a bit of a gamble," Su Lun admitted honestly, feeling his mana take a significant hit. "If I hadn't controlled the collapse radius properly, we might have buried ourselves. However..." He looked at the passage blocked by rubble. "This spot is absolutely safe for a short while. And I specifically angled the spells so the collapse fell inward, not outward."
Lyu walked to the collapse and inspected it closely. "Good control. The walls are thoroughly destroyed; no monsters will spawn here anytime soon." She turned back, a flicker of genuine recognition in her eyes. "The method may be reckless, but knowing how to use the environment itself as a weapon... that's a tactic that usually requires experience. You must be exceptionally careful in the Deep Floors or complex terrain."
"Understood." Su Lun etched it into his memory.
The rest of the retreat was much smoother.
A War Shadow on the sixth floor tried to ambush them, but Su Lun was now familiar with the subtle changes in the shadows preceding their appearance. He blocked it with a Shield spell, and Alise finished it with a follow-up strike.
On the fifth floor, they even took a slight detour to find a high-spawn area so Su Lun could conduct more tests. He found that Ray of Frost could make rock surfaces brittle, allowing them to be broken efficiently with physical strikes. Thorn Whip could lash out deep, narrow grooves, perfect for marking paths or minor blockades. And the most "brute force" option, Eldritch Blast, had a respectable destruction depth if focused repeatedly on the same point.
"Cantrips are actually quite efficient for demolition," Su Lun summarized. Since cantrips could be used repeatedly with minimal cost, they were essentially a "home-remodeling" toolkit. No wonder many low-level parties carried throwing weapons or basic tools—in the Dungeon, breaking walls was a fundamental survival skill, and his magic gave him a natural advantage.
By the time they finally returned to the fourth floor, Su Lun had only about twenty percent of his mana remaining. However, his spirit was soaring—today's practical application had given him a brand-new understanding of magic. It wasn't just for attacking monsters. Controlling the battlefield, destroying the environment, creating favorable conditions... magic had countless uses.
In the wide passages of the third floor, they encountered their final group of the day: a mixed pack of eighteen Goblins and three Large Lizards. Su Lun decided to use everything he had learned to give this "first battle" a proper ending—a warm greeting to his first day in the Dungeon.
"Acid Splash!" "Eldritch Blast!" "Fire Bolt!"
Three cantrips struck key points on the walls in three directions, slowing the spawn rate to a crawl.
"Grease!" laid out on the Goblins' charge path. "Thorn Whip!" lashing the lizards so they wouldn't dare crawl along the walls to ambush. "Burning Hands!" A pillar of fire blasted the ground, creating a burning barrier that split the monster group in half.
He first handled the four isolated Goblins. Eldritch Blast for the snipes, Emerald Flame Blade for the melee cleanup. Then he turned to the remaining threats. Earth Tremor triggered a small-scale vibration to disrupt the lizards' climbing rhythm, followed by an Ice Knife to clear the field.
The battle ended in under a minute. Su Lun stood his ground, huffing slightly, but his mind was exceptionally clear. The entire process had been precise and efficient, with almost no wasted magic.
Alise began to clap enthusiastically. "From destroying walls to battlefield control and precision kills... you don't look like a rookie on his first trip to the Dungeon at all!"
Lyu walked to Su Lun's side, a faint smile in her eyes, and handed him a small vial. "A mana recovery potion. Drink it. Though we are not far from the surface, maintaining your condition is a basic requirement for an adventurer."
Su Lun took it and drank. A warm current of mana slowly began to replenish his reserves. "Thank you."
"What you displayed today isn't just a talent for magic," Lyu remarked, looking at him with genuine admiration. "Destroying walls to block spawning, utilizing the environment, spell combinations... these are things many adventurers spend months or even years to master." She paused, her tone turning slightly more serious. "But do not forget the lessons of today. The stiffness during dual-casting, the variance of certain spells in specific environments, and—most importantly—mana management. You were nearly tapped out several times today."
"I'll remember." Su Lun nodded solemnly.
They encountered almost no monsters on the final two floors.
When they finally stepped out of the Tower of Babel and back into the bright afternoon sunlight, Su Lun felt as if an age had passed. The gloom, dampness, and constant peril of the Dungeon compared to the light, noise, and vitality of the surface felt like two different worlds entirely.
"Home at last!" Alise stretched her arms wide, brimming with the energy of a young girl. "Now, a bath and a good meal! Su Lun, how was your first time in the Dungeon?"
Su Lun looked up at the towering Babel, then down at his hands. The grimoire mark on his palm was warm, as if it were recording everything from the day.
"It felt..." he searched for the right words. "Like I finally truly touched this world. Magic is no longer just a theory in a book, but a power I can hold in my hand. The Dungeon is no longer just text in a record, but a real existence that can be explored, fought, and even destroyed."
He looked up, his eyes thoughtful. "And, I know I still have a long way to go, but... I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
The corners of Lyu's mouth curled up slightly into a faint but genuine smile.
"Then, welcome to the world of adventurers, Su Lun."
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Danmachi: My Magic Style is Different from Yours (43 Chapters – Ongoing)
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