Ren Isana cast a shield over the three of them and declared, "Alright, you've been buffed. Hurry up and get in there!"
With that said, Ren Isana sprang into action. He fired off a [Piercing Magic Cannon]. As the Magic Circle formed, a massive pillar of light blasted out from the staff in his hand, instantly swallowing one of the Dungeon's corridors.
*Boom!* A deafening explosion echoed through the 19th Floor. Many of their classmates jumped in fright upon hearing the noise. *Who the hell is firing off cannons in the Dungeon?*
Ren Isana hadn't held back with this [Piercing Magic Cannon]. Combined with the [Fairy Effect] he had just learned, the resulting destructive power was absolutely terrifying.
The dozens of monsters didn't even have time to charge before they were instantly vaporized on the spot—Magic Stones and all. The massive explosion even widened the Dungeon corridor significantly.
"Jeez, just how much Magic Power did you pump into that?" Asuna jumped in shock at the sheer scale of the destruction, unable to stop herself from asking.
"Not that much. If we use Yukino's Magic Power as a unit of measurement, it was about one Yukino." As Ren Isana spoke, he raised his staff and launched another attack in a different direction.
This time, he didn't use nearly as much Magic Power. He was genuinely worried about blasting a hole straight through the floor. It was entirely possible to punch through the Dungeon into the floor below.
However, it was highly recommended *not* to do that, as it could cause the Dungeon to collapse and block off essential pathways.
Hearing Ren Isana use her as a unit of measurement, Yukino Yukinoshita immediately voiced her displeasure. "Please refrain from using me as a metric next time, thank you!"
She had no desire for her name to become a standard unit of measurement. She could already imagine someone asking Ren how much Magic Power he had left, only for this guy to casually reply, *About five Yukinos.*
"Sure, next time. The battle's starting, less talking," Ren Isana replied casually, focusing his attention on using magic to wipe out the newly spawned monsters.
Yukino scoffed coldly. Deciding not to waste any more breath on him, she readied her katana and engaged the monsters. The four of them continuously slaughtered their way through the corridor.
With Ren Isana's buffs, the girls went all out on the offensive. They quickly realized they were terrifyingly safe; as long as that layer of light remained, they were shielded from harm.
Coupled with the sheer power of their new weapons, these monsters posed absolutely no threat. As Yukino Yukinoshita sliced a charging Hellhound to pieces with her katana, she couldn't help but sigh internally.
The katana Ren Isana had forged for her was incredibly easy to use—far more comfortable than her previous short sword. Ren was actually a pretty good guy. The only shame was that he could be utterly infuriating at times.
As a comrade-in-arms, Ren Isana was an incredibly reliable presence. Sure, he might occasionally give you a heart attack with his "surprises," but you could always trust that if he fired a spell directly at you, there was definitely something creeping up behind you.
However, that wouldn't be happening anymore. Now that they kept [Perception Magic] active at all times, they no longer had to worry about failing to react to a monster behind them—and subsequently having Ren blast a spell right past their heads.
The group quickly wiped out the horde of over a hundred monsters. Looking at the ground littered with Magic Stones, Ren Isana didn't ask Yukino to lure more this time. Instead, they cleaned up the loot. After gathering all the Magic Stones, Ren turned his gaze to the three girls.
"I have a pretty good idea. There's a massive plain on the 23rd Floor. How about we head down there tomorrow?" Ren Isana voiced the plan forming in his mind.
Now that he had confirmed Yukino could reliably lure monsters, Ren naturally wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. They just needed to find a much wider area and have Yukino summon an even larger horde.
Then, they could just slaughter them all in a frenzy. What a perfect opportunity to farm Excelia! Even though he didn't know exactly how much Excelia a single monster yielded, as long as they killed enough of them, everyone's levels would definitely increase by the time they returned.
The three girls paused at his words. Asuna was the first to react, eyeing Ren with suspicion. "You want to go down there so Yukino can summon even more monsters?"
Ren nodded and immediately laid out his plan. "Tomorrow, our whole class will head down together. We'll summon as many as we possibly can! That way, everyone can earn a massive amount of Excelia, and we'll rake in a ton of Magic Stones!"
Farming money, farming Excelia—this was the absolute best method, wasn't it? In a wide-open space, Ren could throw his magic around however he pleased. To him, the large plains of the 23rd Floor were the ultimate grinding spot.
"Jeez... what if the Dungeon gets angry?" Asuna could already imagine just how many monsters would spawn if they actually did this. It was highly likely to trigger the Dungeon's wrath.
"Let it get angry. I'd welcome it. Unless we run into a monster we genuinely can't beat, we have nothing to worry about. If we can't win, we just run. It's not like we can't outrun them," Ren Isana said calmly.
As long as nothing too absurd showed up, Ren wouldn't panic in the slightest. Even if the One-Eyed Black Dragon itself appeared, he wouldn't be afraid. Worst-case scenario, he would just activate his magic and teleport them all back to the modern world.
The three girls were actually quite tempted, but the risks were simply too high. Yukino hesitated for a moment before speaking up. "I think it would be best to discuss this with the others first and see what everyone thinks."
This wasn't just a squad activity; it involved the entire class. If it were only their team, the three of them could just agree to it, but they needed to ask the rest of their classmates how they wanted to proceed.
"Yeah, we'll talk it over with everyone when we get back. I won't force anyone who doesn't want to go. Either way, it's a great opportunity to level up, and we might even farm enough materials to upgrade everyone's weapons." Ren understood their concerns and agreed to hold a discussion.
Seeing Ren concede, the three girls nodded. The benefits were indeed massive. There probably wouldn't be many in the class who would refuse such an offer, right? With that thought, they already had a good idea of how things would play out.
After clearing the battlefield, the group continued their exploration of the Dungeon. Ren Isana walked past the area he had just bombarded. The ground was still radiating heat, making the surrounding air feel comfortably warm.
The power of that single spell had been quite impressive. After all, it had wiped out every single monster that spawned in the area in one shot, leaving them absolutely no chance to fight back.
The four of them roamed the Dungeon until around 4:00 PM, at which point Ren Isana used the mark on his hand to contact everyone, telling them to prepare to head back.
Everyone had a map, so Ren wasn't worried about anyone getting lost. Even if they did, they could just use the mark to track the magical signatures of the others. The little communication seal he had whipped up was actually quite versatile.
After notifying the class, Ren led Asuna and the others back toward the 18th Floor. Along the way, they slowly regrouped with a few others, though no one waited around unnecessarily. There was no need to group up just to return to the 18th Floor; everyone could just head up on their own.
By the time Ren's group returned to the camp, several people were already there. The early arrivals were busy prepping ingredients, clearly getting a head start on dinner.
Not long after they arrived, the rest of the class trickled in from the 19th Floor. Ren did a quick headcount, and only after confirming everyone was present did he finally relax.
Once back at camp, everyone began tallying their daily haul, handing over a portion to Ren. The class had discussed it beforehand, ensuring that every squad contributed an equal share of their loot.
However, when it was Ais's temporary squad's turn, they handed over quite a bit more than the rest. Ren stared at the pile of Magic Stones Ais presented and said, somewhat speechlessly, "You don't need to give this much. We only collect a portion."
Before Ais could say anything, Ren cut her off. "If you don't want these low-level Magic Stones, just give them to your two teammates."
Ren knew exactly what she was going to say. As a core member of Orario's largest Familia, Ais usually wouldn't even bat an eye at such low-tier loot. Carrying it around just wasted inventory space.
Hearing Ren's suggestion, Ais nodded and agreed without a fuss. She scooped up the Magic Stones and walked over to her two teammates.
Even though today was her first time partying up with outsiders, she felt pretty good about it. It was a sensation she never experienced within the Loki Familia. Sure... their monster-killing speed was incredibly slow, but Ais still enjoyed it. It felt like she was carrying a bunch of newbies.
In reality, Ais had killed the vast majority of the monsters that afternoon. If the two girls hadn't constantly asked her to slow down, Ais probably would have cleared the entire floor by herself. After all, the monsters on this floor posed zero threat to her and Lefiya.
If Lefiya hadn't been trying to coordinate her magic with Ais, she likely would have just carpet-bombed the area. *They're just mere grunts!*
After slowing her pace, Ais had even taken the time to instruct her two temporary teammates. It was safe to say that out of all the squads, theirs had reaped the greatest rewards.
Teaming up with Ais was essentially like getting a temporary combat instructor. The two girls were more than happy with the arrangement. Having a top-tier adventurer carry them and help them grow stronger was absolutely fantastic.
After collecting everyone's Magic Stones, Ren Isana went over to help with the cooking. Those with free time sat around the camp chatting. Sora, who was sitting next to Yukino, couldn't help but ask, "Was that massive explosion this afternoon caused by the class rep?"
Many people had heard the deafening boom, but Sora's first thought was that Ren had done it. After all, he was the only one capable of causing that kind of destruction in the Dungeon.
"It was him. He completely obliterated every monster that spawned in one of the corridors," Yukino nodded, seeing no reason to hide it.
Sora's eyes lit up at the confirmation. Her tone filled with excitement as she said, "I'm looking forward to breaking through my limits even more now. Only by leveling up can we learn stronger martial arts and magic."
Speaking of martial arts, Sora suddenly remembered something. She looked at Yukino with a slightly puzzled expression. "Come to think of it, since the class rep came to this world, he's mostly just learned magic. He hasn't learned any martial arts at all, has he?"
It was true. Since arriving in this world, Ren Isana had spent almost all his time learning various types of magic. He hadn't bothered with much else. He was severely min-maxing his skill tree.
"It's mostly because he hasn't met anyone suitable to learn from. We haven't encountered that many people, and most of them have been mages... Ais uses a sword, but she also relies on magic." As Yukino spoke, she glanced over at Ais.
Ais was currently chatting with her two temporary teammates. In a way, Ais was quite similar to their class, wasn't she? She used weapons but could also cast magic, and her [Sword Skills] were incredibly powerful. Perhaps the academy wanted them to develop in a similar direction?
"I suppose so. I just hope that when I level up, I can get a powerful magic spell. The magic in this world acts more like an innate talent. I wonder if people like us can acquire it when we level up." Having learned about how Ais and the others' magic worked, Sora couldn't help but sigh wistfully.
Exclusive magic—it was incredibly enviable. It was practically a second innate talent. Naturally, everyone present hoped they would be able to awaken one.
The group continued chatting until dinner was finally ready. At a classmate's shout of "Food's ready!", everyone stood up, grabbed their utensils, and lined up for their meals.
The cooked food was placed in large wooden barrels. Everyone could take as much as they wanted, provided they didn't waste any. Having experienced this once already, Ais and Lefiya knew exactly what to do.
This communal style of dining was quite unique to them, and both girls found it highly enjoyable. It was certainly leaps and bounds better than chewing on dry rations.
After getting their food, the two of them found a spot to sit with the two girls from their temporary squad and began eating. The four of them got along remarkably well—at the very least, they were now comfortable enough to steal food from each other's bowls.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, Ren Isana called out to the group, "After you wash your dishes, gather around for a bit. I have something to discuss with everyone."
Hearing this, the crowd voiced their acknowledgment and hurried over to the water source to wash and store their utensils.
Before long, everyone had gathered in the designated clearing. Once the entire class was present, Ren Isana began, "This afternoon, I discovered a method to force the Dungeon to spawn monsters."
The moment those words left his mouth, Ais and Lefiya were the first to be stunned. *Force the Dungeon to spawn monsters? Is he serious?* If they could actually control the spawn rates, the benefits would be astronomical!
"Class rep, what are you planning?" The students' eyes lit up the moment they heard Ren's opening statement. As modern teenagers, what was the very first thing that came to mind when hearing such news?
Imagine you're playing an MMO, desperately needing Excelia to level up, and you suddenly discover an exploit that causes monsters to spawn endlessly... What happens next? You grind until you become an absolute god before even leaving the starting zone.
"There is a massive, wide-open plain on the 23rd Floor!" Ren Isana looked at the expectant gazes of his classmates and slowly delivered the punchline. Instantly, everyone understood.
"Starting tomorrow? I'm in!" "Me too!" "Holy crap, we're going to grind until we drop!" "Class rep, should we just move our camp down there? We can take shifts sleeping and farm monsters 24/7!!" "This isn't just farming, this is literally printing money! Think about all the Magic Stones and materials..." "Oh man, I'm drooling just thinking about it!!"
The students erupted into excited chatter. Not a single person backed down. Everyone was thrilled—this was the perfect opportunity to level up, farm money, and gather materials. Hell, they should just move the camp down there and grind non-stop for twenty-four hours a day!
Watching his overly enthusiastic classmates, Ren Isana couldn't help but find it amusing. He glanced over at Yukino Yukinoshita. Her expression was incredibly strained, filled with deep reluctance... because she had also heard the part about "taking shifts sleeping and farming 24/7."
*What the hell! I'm the one luring the monsters!* They were using her innate talent to draw the horde so they could farm. If they actually did this in shifts, didn't that mean she wouldn't get to sleep at all?!
Were her classmates really this hardcore about grinding? Was it too late to object? Yukino Yukinoshita felt incredibly depressed. Her classmates' enthusiasm was way too high!