Dungeon, Seventh Floor.
I pulled my dagger free from the body of the War Shadow.
For a moment, the monster's body remained still at my feet, its long arms twitching one last time before it crumbled into ash. A magic stone dropped onto the damp floor with a soft clink, rolling once before stopping near my boot.
Three War Shadows had tried to ambush Lili and me the moment we entered the passage. Only to fail miserably.
I turned around to see Lili already crouched beside the remains of the other two monsters, carefully collecting their magic stones with practiced hands.
"Lili, see? I'm strong. You believe me now, right?"
Lili paused, a magic stone held in her hand.
"Quinn-san, these monsters are still Level 1," she said. "If possible, Lili would like to see Quinn-san fight something stronger. Maybe a Level 2 monster. But if it is too much, there is no need to force yourself. We can continue another time."
'Such a good girl, even now, she was still worried about me.'
I almost wanted to tell her the captain of her Familia was already taken care of.
'Lili will eventually learn about Zanis' death once we leave the Dungeon. Its a good thing we entered the dungeon early this morning.'
I wonder how she'll react once she gets to know that.
"Then we can continue descending-"
Crack.
The crack raced across the stone-wall like spiderwebs. A heartbeat later, the Dungeon spat out three new monsters, their bodies forcing their way through the broken wall with a grinding sound.
Killer Ants.
A specialty of the 7th floor. Another one of the causes why rookie adventurers entering the 7th floor end up dead.
The ants were huge, almost reaching my waist, each one had four legs and two arms and a hard looking shell. Their mandibles clattering at a high speed gave them an even more dangerous air.
Lili immediately steeped back and spoke about the ants.
"Quinn-san, they're called Killer Ants, and are spawned from the 7th floor onwards. Their shells are hard to pierce, so aim for the eyes or joints."
"If we don't finish it quickly, they'll call for their allies and we'll be surrounded."
As expected, Lili was useful. She was like a living encyclopedia when it came to monsters, their habits, and the best ways to kill them.
For someone like me, who had power but lacked experience with the Dungeon itself, that knowledge was worth more than a few extra magic stones.
"Kreeeee!"
"Kiiiii!"
"Kree!"
The ants screeched loudly upon seeing me.
I steadied my gun, a touch of a smile gracing my lips on an otherwise expressionless face.
Fighting with the monsters here reminded me of my grueling training, the fight here were nothing compared to that.
The ants crawled across the floor and walls, spreading out as they closed in on me, trying to attack me. The keyword being 'trying'. Their attacks never reached me.
I shifted half a step aside, letting the ant sail past my chest by a narrow margin. Before it could land and turn, I pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The bullet tore through the Killer Ant's body. Its carapace cracked apart, and the monster burst into ash before it even touched the ground. Only its magic stone remained, dropping with a sharp click against the stone floor.
Seeing their fellow monster being destroyed, the two ants started making sounds furiously and crawling faster.
BANG!
BANG!
Both bullets found their mark. The two Killer Ants shrieked together as their bodies turned into ash.
The respite was short-lived, the sounds the two ants had earlier made were calls for reinforcement. A large group of killer ants were swarming in from the room entrance.
"Quinn-san, we have to run." Looking at the swarm of ants entering the room, Lili's face had already gone pale. She hurriedly continued,
"The swarm of killer ants are dangerous, they'll completely swarm this place in a few minutes, we need to escape now!"
She was trembling looking at the ants, her hands clutched the straps of her backpack, but my thoughts were different.
'So many ants, no so many magic stones. I can easily farm a large number of them here.'
'I can use charged bullets and blast the entire swarm, but being underground it's a bit dangerous, time for my handy magic.'
["Enhancement Magic: Weapon Enhancement."]
I took out my dagger and cast an enhancement magic over it. A thin layer of mana spread over it enhancing its sharpness and cutting power. The blade of the dagger sharpened, gleaming with a sheen even in the darkness, promising a swift cut to whoever touched it.
"Lili, stay back and hide while keeping watch. I'll deal with the ants."
I gave instructions to Lili and then turned to look back at the ants.
The first Killer Ant was already near me. Its mandibles snapped toward my leg.
I stepped in instead of back. My dagger came down from above and pierced straight through its head. The enhanced dagger punched through the carapace, drove through the skull, and nearly struck the ground beneath it.
"Beside you." Hearing Lili's shout, I immediately twisted and leaned back just enough for the attack of another killer ant to miss, then drove my dagger into its eye.
A third ant rushed past me, targeting Lili.
Lili's eyes widened, but she did not freeze. She drew her small blade and stepped back, trying to put distance between herself and the monster.
Pulling out a spare dagger from my belt, I threw it. The dagger, now a silver blur, flashed through the air and struck the Killer Ant in the side of it's head. The force carried it off course, slamming it into the floor just a few steps away from Lili.
Lili stared at the fallen magic stone near her feet, her face still pale.
"No time to relax." I warned Lili and focused on another ant trying to bite me with its mandible.
My dagger carved silver arcs through the dim chamber. Each time a Killer Ant came within reach, the enhanced blade found a weak point and ended it.
The ants tried to surround me, but the room was too narrow for them to fully take advantage of their numbers. Their bodies got in each other's way. Their limbs scraped against stone and shell alike. Some tried to climb the walls, but that only made their paths easier to predict.
I just had to keep track of sudden attacks from the ants, but for me they were still too green, there were no feints or misleading attacks mixed in. It was purely killing strikes.
After a one-sided massacre of the ants, my dagger cut through the last ant, its magic stone dropping to the ground.
Looking around the ground was completely littered with magic stones; I had not kept count of the monsters I had killed.
"Quinn-san. Even some experienced Level 2 adventurers would struggle against a swarm of Killer Ants." Lili was staring at me as if seeing me for the first time.
"See? Told you it would not a problem." I gave her a small smile and started to pick up the magic stones, after all they were quite important to me.
After collecting the magic stones, we decided to rest for a short while in a smaller side room.
While I just sat down on a random stone, Lili checked the surroundings first, making sure no monster were present, then finally sat down on a flat stone with her backpack beside her.
I was sitting across from her and wiping my dagger clean with a piece of cloth.
The blade was still sharp. The enhancement magic had done its job well.
'Hmm. But in the dungeon, instead of a dagger, a weapon with a longer reach like a sword or a spear would be better.'
While wiping the dagger, I thought to myself.
'If I was using a sword, it would have been much more effective in cutting down the ants.'
It wasn't that fighting with a dagger was not effective, the dagger had a shorter reach which was perfect for assassinations, but tedious for drawn out battles.
"Lili, you know where I can buy a sword or a spear?" I turned to look at Lili who was sitting on another stone.
"A sword would be easiest. Quinn-san can buy one from the Hephaestus Familia or Goibniu Familia shops, but their weapons are expensive. If you want something cheaper, there are other weapon shops around Babel."
"Spears are sold too, but good ones are harder to find. If you want a specific length or style, it may need to be custom ordered."
Lili answered my question.
'No spear then, anyway a spear doesn't seem useful in the dungeon. Then a sword it is.'
Nodding to myself, I asked Lili about the prices.
"Umm. The prices are very expensive, even Third-tier weapons cost a minimum of a hundred thousand Vali. And Second-tier weapons used by Level 2 or 3 adventurers can nearly reach a few million Vali." Lili continued.
Seeing my blank face, Lily explained about the grading of the weapons. Third-tier weapons were used by Level 2 adventurers, Second-tier weapons were used by Level 3 and Level 4 adventurers and First-tier weapons are generally used by Level 5 and above adventurers.
"Thanks for the exlpanation. But even a third-tier weapon is so expensive." Thinking of the 20000 Valis that I had on me and comparing it to the price of the weapons, I started thinking what else would be useful for me in my current situation.
Only one thing came to my mind.
'Magic. I could try to use a few spells which I've learned, but didn't have the chance to use. If needed, I can buy a sword as a back-up weapon. And I still have my gun for emergencies.'
After resting for a while, we stood up and walked deeper into the dim corridors of the dungeon.
As we were walking, Lili suddenly spoke in a quite voice, "Quinn-san really is strong."
"Told you." was my reply.