Dungeon, fifth floor.
"An irregular situation..."
Lefiya, slung over Liber's shoulder, murmured as she watched the swarm of monsters chasing them from behind.
"This probably doesn't count as an irregular situation."
Liber ran with her in his arms, calmly responding to the words she murmured by his ear.
{Irregular situation}
This was a specialized term adventurers used for any unusual circumstance they encountered in the Dungeon that violated its basic rules.
Though the Dungeon was a monster-filled lair that people feared, it still had certain patterns that had already been identified.
People had compiled and recorded these known patterns and pieces of information, and the Guild and the various Familias spread them as essential knowledge for all newcomers.
For example, which kinds of monsters appeared on each floor was a fixed pattern.
Another was that the lower the floor, the greater the variety and number of monsters one would encounter in the Dungeon.
There were also things like the Dungeon continually repairing damaged walls and floors.
Patterns and information like these had been uncovered and made into lessons for adventurers in Orario and other countries to study.
"Monsters crossing floors is just a somewhat uncommon occurrence. It's nowhere near a real irregular situation."
Liber spotted some rocks blocking the way, twisted to avoid them, and kept running as he spoke.
Just as Liber had said, the kinds of monsters that appeared on each floor were generally fixed.
But just as Goblins and Jester Demons could appear on different floors, monsters crossing between floors was also fairly common.
Normally, monsters didn't leave their floor to go elsewhere.
But it had been established and recorded that a few would occasionally wander between the two or three neighboring floors where they lived.
They generally didn't skip many floors at a time.
"But this happened so suddenly. It's terrifying to run into so many War Shadows at once."
Hearing Liber's words, Lefiya looked at the scene behind them and spoke with a troubled expression.
War Shadows, also known as "Shadows of War,"
were monsters that lived on the Dungeon's sixth floor.
The sixth floor was far more dangerous than the fifth, which was known as the first casualty line for adventurers. War Shadows were the main type of monster found there.
They had humanoid outlines, but no fur or skin on their surface. Their entire bodies looked as if they had been soaked in black ink.
Their heads were cross-shaped, and their faces were studded with perfectly round, mirror-like parts. These grotesque monsters bore a strong resemblance to human shadows.
They had long, slender arms, each ending in three sharp hooked claws.
In a word, they looked like shadows: completely black, with two arms and two legs.
Their attacks were somewhat limited, but their physical abilities far surpassed those of monsters on the first five floors. Their arms could reach incredible lengths and bend outward from all kinds of angles.
Their sharp hooked claws could easily slice through a person's flesh like a cleaver.
For new adventurers who had only fought low-level monsters like Kobolds and Goblins, they posed a deadly threat.
That was why they had the special title "Newbie Killer."
In particular, once five or more War Shadows gathered, even a veteran among the Level 1 adventurers could die if caught in their encirclement.
Because of this, many adventurers considered War Shadows one of the most dangerous monsters on the upper floors.
One or two were manageable, but even adventurers who had leveled up wouldn't face dozens of War Shadows alone.
It was also unusual for them to encounter such an incredible number of War Shadows crossing floors together.
When faced with this kind of sudden crisis, the best course of action for adventurers was to avoid a direct confrontation.
Liber kept running with Lefiya in his arms.
Gradually, he felt the air currents behind them growing turbulent. He looked back.
The pursuing monsters were slowly closing the distance. Liber promptly cast [Levitation] on himself and Lefiya to lighten them both.
Feeling their weight decrease under the spell, he pushed off with a little extra force and surged far ahead, his speed suddenly increasing.
He flew forward as if skimming over the ground, quickly opening up the distance between himself and the War Shadows.
After putting some distance between them, he kept running to conserve his magic and maintain his pace.
Liber maintained a safe distance from the War Shadows. Feeling the monsters fall farther behind, he let out a small sigh of relief and asked Lefiya, who was slung over his shoulder,
"How is it? Can you use magic in your current condition?"
"I'll try my be—Ugh!"
Lefiya was draped face-down over Liber's back. Hearing his question, she tried to straighten up and answer him.
But as Liber dodged an obstacle, his shoulder slammed into her stomach. She retched, cutting off her words, then collapsed onto his back again.
He felt Lefiya, who had just managed to sit up, slump back against him after retching, trembling slightly as if in pain.
Liber looked apologetic, and seemed somewhat helpless in the face of her frail body.
Still sprinting at full speed, he felt his stamina steadily draining. He glanced at the monsters still doggedly pursuing them.
His expression turned grave as he thought for a moment. Then he spoke to Lefiya, who had stopped trembling on his back.
"Your [Arc Ray] is your fastest spell, right? Is it powerful enough to take out the whole group behind us?"
"Yes... it can, but... in this... condition, I can't... chant the spell."
Lefiya lay over Liber's shoulder, feeling the jolts as he carried her along, and spoke in fits and starts.
"Good. Calm yourself down and get ready."
Liber listened to her answer and spoke seriously.
"Huh?" Lefiya was confused by his words.
He didn't explain her question. Holding her with one arm, he reached his free hand out to the side. His palm skimmed lightly over the rocks and other obstacles they had rushed past, like a dragonfly touching the surface of water.
After they had traveled some distance,
Liber suddenly surged forward again.
"Ah!"
Liber abruptly stopped and dropped Lefiya onto the ground. She cried out in pain and looked up to see him gazing at her with a solemn expression.
"Focus completely on preparing your spell. The sooner, the better. I'll hold them off and buy you time."
With that, he turned to face the approaching swarm of War Shadows.
He raised his right hand, palm out toward the charging monsters, then clenched it into a fist.
Objects on the ground they had run across began to rise a short distance into the air.
The chunks of debris he had touched along the way floated upward, then rained down toward the center of the War Shadow swarm.
A great many small rocks and clods of earth, in all shapes and sizes, crashed into the monsters as they ran. The War Shadows sliced many of them apart with their sharp hooked claws, but even more struck their bodies and limbs, disrupting their movements.
Several hard rocks as tall as a person slammed into the War Shadows at the front, pinning them down and disrupting their advance.
The swarm was moving too quickly, so many of the objects struck from its flanks and rear.
The group quickly fell into disarray and stopped advancing.
"Now! Lefiya, get ready!"
After calling those words to Lefiya,
Liber pulled two swords from his storage space. He cast a spell to lighten them, held the greatswords in both hands, and rushed straight into the disorganized War Shadow swarm, with the broad blades floating beside him.
He had to hold the War Shadows back for as long as possible and keep them away from Lefiya so she could safely focus on chanting her spell.
Hearing the resolve in Liber's voice and seeing him charge at the monsters without a moment's hesitation,
Lefiya froze for a moment, then quickly came to her senses and scrambled to her feet.
She faced the monsters and aimed the tip of her staff at the War Shadows.
Clutching her staff tightly in both hands, Lefiya panted heavily and struggled to calm her nerves.
But
when she saw Liber darting between the monsters, anxiety and worry flooded her heart.
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