The light was no longer as dazzling as when they first arrived and had dimmed slightly.
This was how people on the 18th Floor gauged the time outside: the crystals alternated between light and dark in sync with day and night on the surface.
"Judging by the light, it should be around two or three in the afternoon on the surface now."
"Since our main reason for coming down this time was to familiarize the newcomers with the environment, and we didn't take any extermination quests, you could say we're traveling light."
Hanabishi Warabi rolled up the map and tucked it back into her bag.
She looked at everyone resting on the rocks.
"What do you think?"
"Should we take a detour and see what the entrance to the 19th Floor looks like?"
"If we only take a look from the edge of the entrance without going any deeper, then hurry straight back, we should have no trouble reaching the surface before dark."
At Hanabishi Warabi's suggestion,
the girls exchanged glances.
Onigawara Rin rubbed her chin thoughtfully and was the first to nod.
"Sounds good to me."
"We've come all this way, after all. It'd feel like a bit of a waste not to see what the Great Tree Labyrinth looks like."
Kisara Tendo also reached out and gripped the hilt of the Demon Sword beside her, indicating that she had no objections.
With everyone in agreement,
they wasted no more time.
Everyone readied their equipment again.
By this point,
they had reached the Dungeon's 18th Floor.
The party crossed the flat grassland and officially entered the passage leading to the Dungeon's 19th Floor.
The terrain changed dramatically.
The hard walls of rock had vanished without a trace.
In their place were extraordinarily thick tree roots and enormous, intertwining