Noon.
Tiona continuously swung her fists, creating several large craters in the rock wall. The surrounding walls stopped generating monsters and instead focused on repairing themselves, giving the group a moment to catch their breath.
The supporter girl, Rakta, who had just reached Level 3, took food out of her backpack and handed it to everyone.
"Do you have any more red bean cream-flavored fried potato balls?"
Ais looked at the supporter girl with hopeful eyes.
"Sorry, they've already gone bad..."
Rakta rummaged through her pack and only found the rotting remains of the potato balls, looking apologetic.
No fried potato ball could last five days, and carrying a magic stone-powered fridge was out of the question.
Ais lowered her head slightly, looking a bit dejected.
"Great! The old Ais is back!"
Tione patted her chest in relief and smiled.
"Eiji, here, eat this! This one tastes even better!"
"But... why don't you eat it yourself?"
Food that could last more than five days was unlikely to taste good, but in the dungeon, there was no room for being picky. Eiji also wasn't the type to care much about taste.
"Speaking of which, Eiji, I've been meaning to ask—where did you get that sword?"
Finn sat cross-legged on a piece of silk cloth. Tione, beside him, looked very content, breathing heavily through her nose. Finn, however, stared at Eiji's sword with curiosity.
It was a katana that emitted a rippling silver glow, appearing expensive enough to rival their top-tier equipment.
The katana Eiji had bought for tens of thousands had already broken in the lower floors.
Yet somehow, he had pulled out this new sword from who-knows-where.
"Oh, this?"
Eiji picked up the katana beside him and glanced at the people around him.
He paused, as if contemplating something.
"If it's difficult to explain, you don't have to say it."
Seeing his hesitation, Finn smiled understandingly and didn't press further.
"It's not exactly difficult..."
Eiji seemed to make up his mind. He lifted the katana.
"It's just not easy to explain..."
Then, under everyone's gaze, the sword suddenly disassembled into countless particles of light and vanished from his hand.
"Huh?! What just happened?!"
Tiona clung to Eiji's shoulder, eyes wide with shock, staring at his now-empty palm.
"What... was that?"
The entire group was equally stunned, staring at Eiji in disbelief.
"This sword is called a Spirit Blade. It's a weapon that coexists with my soul—I can recall it into my soul at any time."
In the depths of the 37th floor, far from the city, Eiji decided to reveal his secret to the group.
"Just think of it as my natural ability."
These people in front of him were all worthy of his trust.
So he was willing to share this secret with them.
After all, they already knew about his special "Acceleration Magic." Telling them about the Spirit Blade wasn't a big deal.
That was just how heartwarming the Loki Familia's atmosphere was.
"I see. I was always curious about the strange sound effects when you swung your sword. That must be from the Spirit Blade, right? So that's why it's called 'Spirit Blade'?"
"Uh... Can we not talk about that?"
"Does that mean your Acceleration Magic is also something you were born with?"
Riveria, intrigued, joined the discussion. As a high elf proficient in magic, she was particularly interested in Eiji's acceleration magic—something she had never seen before.
"More or less. It requires a lot of mana."
"So you have no spells, yet you have mana. I never knew such a thing was possible—this is quite the eye-opener."
The executives of the familia were all amazed by Eiji's secret.
But instead of probing into how he obtained such abilities, they simply marveled at it and discussed his magic's power enthusiastically.
"His attack power is definitely high—he can take out a caterpillar monster in one strike. His offensive power is at least on par with Level 5. Ais at full strength is about the same."
So a Level 5 swordsman could already attack at supersonic speeds?
"His evasion abilities are also incredible. No matter what monster he encounters, he can always dodge in time."
"That explains why, even when Eiji was an ordinary person, he could dodge my punches. No wonder—you're really amazing!"
"This magic definitely allows him to fight above his level!"
"Of course, my own skills also contribute a lot."
As they ate dinner, the conversation grew more animated.
Eiji was in the middle of taking a bite when he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.
Turning his head, he met Ais's golden eyes, filled with curiosity.
"Does your sword never break? Even if it does, can you make a new one?"
That was what mattered most to Ais.
Because of her frequent battles, she valued durability in a sword more than sharpness. Her beloved sword, "Desperate," was an "unbreakable" weapon.
Of course, "unbreakable" simply meant it was far more durable than normal weapons—it wasn't indestructible in the absolute sense.
"It's very sturdy, but it can break."
Eiji thought of battles against the Blazers and shook his head. "If it breaks, I might even pass out—since it's literally created from my soul."
"I see."
So it wasn't invincible.
"Still, having a weapon like that is very convenient during expeditions. It frees up space for carrying more supplies."
Ais nodded in partial understanding, while Finn seemed quite impressed.
Looking at things from different perspectives revealed both advantages and disadvantages.
"By the way, Finn, are we heading toward the central area next?"
Eiji swallowed the last bite of food and suddenly remembered something. "If I recall correctly, the 37th floor has a third-floor boss, right? And it's at least Level 6?"
The Goliath on the 17th floor.
The Amphisbaena on the 27th floor.
The Udaeus on the 37th floor.
These were the three floor bosses, counted from the upper floors downward.
According to the formula where a floor boss's strength is two levels higher than the monsters on that floor:
Goliath was Level 4.
Amphisbaena was Level 5.
And the Udaeus on the 37th floor was a terrifying Level 6!
Eiji had only fought the Goliath before. He had never even seen the Amphisbaena, let alone the Udaeus.
"That's right. And based on the timing, the Udaeus is likely to respawn soon."
Thinking of the boss's immense strength, even Finn's expression grew serious.
"So, I plan to start heading back this afternoon."
"Huh?"
Eiji was taken aback.
"We're not going to fight it? Our current lineup is totally capable, right?"
He had actually been looking forward to it.
With his extreme speed ability, even against a Level 6 Udaeus, he could at least land some assists. If he played it right, he might rack up enough experience to quickly reach Level 4.
"Look at our supplies first."
Finn pointed to Rakta's backpack and spread his hands helplessly.
***
[T/N: I have decided that in worlds other than Chivalry of a Failed Knight to call the 'Device,' 'Spirit Weapon' or 'Spiritual Weapon' as it sounds kind of weird to call it a device in worlds it have relation to. If you don't like it, you can tell me inthe comments.]
***
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