Ren Isana provided his classmates with an unparalleled sense of security. Whenever someone was in imminent danger, his fire support would rain down from above.
They even noticed that the moment anyone's buffs were about to expire, Ren would instantly reapply them—all without dropping a single beat of his [Piercing Magic Cannon] bombardment.
At first, everyone assumed Lefiya was the one buffing them. But when they saw her charging into the fray with her weapon drawn, they realized it was all Ren's doing.
*Multitasking? He's casting piercing spells and buffing everyone at the exact same time? Isn't that a little too overpowered?* Shock rippled through the class.
But more than shock, they felt exhilarated. It was incredible—they could completely entrust their backs to Ren. You could always count on the class rep's support.
Lefiya noticed it too. Watching Ren seamlessly weave his piercing spells with support buffs left her utterly bewildered. *Wait, why does that feel exactly like my [Fairy Effect]?*
However, Lefiya quickly dismissed the thought. [Fairy Effect] was an exclusive ability that only Elves possessed.
And Ren wasn't an Elf. He couldn't even learn her [Elf Ring], so how could he possibly use something like [Fairy Effect]?
*It must just be his own raw strength,* she reasoned. *Multitasking is probably pretty simple for him. With his insane talent, pulling off something like this shouldn't be hard at all.*
Ren's presence acted as a safety net, allowing everyone to fight without hesitation. Asuna, Yukino Yukinoshita, and Megumi Kato were currently slaughtering their way through the monster horde.
Seeing Ren single-handedly support the entire battlefield left the three girls with complicated feelings. He was becoming more terrifyingly powerful by the day. As members of his personal squad, the pressure on them was immense.
Though they were among the top fighters in the class, their strength felt insignificant compared to his.
Megumi Kato felt this pressure the most. Forget Ren—even compared to Asuna and Yukino, she was dead last in their four-person squad.
Originally, her mindset regarding her own strength had been very go-with-the-flow: *I'll just improve as much as I can.* But now, she realized that passive attitude wasn't going to cut it anymore.
If she didn't work harder, it wouldn't be long before the other three left her completely in the dust. With that thought, Megumi made her resolve.
Her normally placid expression sharpened into something fierce. Lowering her presence to the absolute minimum, she sprinted straight toward the monsters.
*Killing monsters makes you stronger, right? Then I'll just have to try my best.* Relying on the assassination techniques she had learned from Yor Forger, Megumi slipped into the horde and began rapidly dispatching the creatures.
Every strike was aimed for a one-hit kill—and she succeeded. Megumi possessed a terrifying natural talent for this. Combined with her practically nonexistent presence, the monsters didn't even notice her until it was too late.
Ren took in the entire scene from above. Seeing Megumi's performance, he paused in surprise. *She can already control her innate talent to some extent?* A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes.
Through his [Perception Magic], he could feel her presence drop even lower. Even Asuna and Yukino hadn't noticed that Megumi had slipped away from their side.
It wasn't until they saw monsters randomly dropping dead in the distance that they realized Megumi was already deep in enemy lines.
"Kato's talent has gotten even stronger..." Asuna quickly realized what was happening. It was obvious Megumi's unique stealth was at work.
"We can't let ourselves be outdone!" Yukino declared. She condensed her True Qi into her hands, recalling the image of Ren executing his [Iai Slash].
The next moment, she attempted to replicate it. A white arc of sword energy blasted forward, instantly bisecting the monster in front of her. Yukino's face lit up with joy.
*It actually worked!* But... the consumption was way too high. Her heart sank after just that single strike, realizing that more than half of her True Qi had been instantly drained.
In other words, if she used that move again, two strikes would completely bleed her dry. For a Tier 3 to force out a Tier 4 technique was simply too taxing.
Realizing this, Yukino decisively abandoned the idea of spamming [Iai Slash]. Instead, she conserved her True Qi, relying on her own innate talents and focused strikes to fight.
Asuna merely glanced at her before accelerating her own swordplay. With every thrust, she took down a monster, her blinding speed aimed entirely at securing one-hit kills.
Thanks to everyone's seamless teamwork, the first wave of summoned monsters—along with the stragglers drawn in from afar—was gradually wiped out.
The clearing speed skyrocketed once Ais freed herself up and joined the main fray. She moved like a spirit of the wind across the battlefield.
Darting around with ethereal speed, countless monsters met their end under her blade. Eventually, Ren didn't even need to provide support anymore; he simply hovered in the air and watched.
"Yukino, keep summoning," Ren called out, watching the dwindling monster numbers below.
Hearing his command, Yukino finished off the beast in front of her and pulled out a Red Potion. She downed it to replenish her True Qi before resuming her monster-luring technique.
The rest of the class heard Ren as well. They quickly dispatched their current targets and chugged Red Potions and Blue Potions to recover. Just as they finished drinking, the next wave of monsters spawned.
This time, the variety of monsters was much greater. A few newly spawned creatures immediately locked onto Ren in the sky, lunging at him with terrifying speed.
Catching sight of the incoming threats, a hint of surprise flashed in Ren's eyes. He quickly identified them: massive, mantis-like insects.
"Careful, those are monsters from the 30th Floor!" Ais's voice rang out. Even she hadn't expected creatures from that deep to spawn here.
The leaping insect swung its scythe-like forelimbs at Ren. Faced with the sudden strike, Ren instantly stowed his magic staff and summoned his Tang Dao.
He swung his blade without hesitation. *Clang!* A loud, metallic ring echoed through the air. The sheer hardness of the creature's limbs surprised Ren, but his eyes quickly lit up with greed.
*This is good stuff! Those mantis legs actually sound like solid steel when struck. That means they're top-tier crafting materials!* With that thought, Ren decided to send the bug straight to the afterlife.
Exploding with physical strength, he overpowered the mantis, smashing it down from the sky. Ren immediately spun around, kicked off the ceiling of the Dungeon floor, and rocketed downward like a missile.
His Tang Dao sliced mercilessly through the air, decapitating the mantis just as it tried to stand. The creature instantly dissolved into ash, returning to the Dungeon.
But there were plenty more mantises where that came from. Given their blistering speed, if he didn't deal with them quickly, they could easily cause casualties among his classmates.
Landing firmly on the ground, Ren glanced at the Magic Stone the mantis had dropped. He felt a pang of disappointment. *No drop items? What a shame.*
*Whatever, there are plenty more. One of them is bound to drop something.* Springing into action, Ren cast [Lightness Technique] and [Ariel・Wind Spirit Dash]. His speed instantly skyrocketed to its absolute limit.
Locking onto the mantises preparing to ambush his classmates, Ren dashed forward, taking them out one by one with single, lethal strikes.
After cleaving through one, he leaped high into the air. His [Perception Magic] picked up another mantis swinging its scythe at Sora. Without missing a beat, Ren hurled his Tang Dao like a javelin.
A streak of light descended from the sky as the blade impaled the mantis. A split second later, Ren used his [Teleportation Magic] to blink right next to the embedded sword. Ripping his weapon free, he vanished once again.
On the battlefield, Ren was like a continuous flash of lightning, appearing everywhere at once. The combination of [Lightness Technique], [Ariel・Wind Spirit Dash], and [Teleportation Magic] made him impossibly fast.
In just a few seconds, Ren slaughtered every single high-threat monster. Watching him work, Ais's eyes widened. *Such incredible speed... and so much power.*
Even she could barely track his movements. Every strike was clean and decisive, instantly killing a monster before he immediately darted off to the next.
He was simply too fast. If she were to fight this version of Ren in a life-or-death battle, Ais figured she would be killed instantly. And his raw physical strength was nothing to scoff at either.
The way his sword had effortlessly pierced the solid Dungeon floor proved that. Speed and power—wasn't that exactly what she was striving for? Fired up by the thought, Ais threw herself back into the fray, helping to clear out the remaining horde.
Sora had nearly jumped out of her skin when Ren's Tang Dao suddenly shot toward her. For a second, she thought he was trying to assassinate her. But when she saw the dead bug behind her, she realized he had just saved her life.
Watching Ren's fleeting silhouette, Sora's eyes sparkled. *That was so cool! As expected of the class rep!* She made up her mind right then and there—she was going to break through her limits and learn Ren's moves no matter what!
"Sora, you idiot! Stop turning off your [Perception Magic]! Do you have any idea you almost just died?!" Ren's furious scolding shattered her starry-eyed moment.
She had almost been ambushed because she turned off her perception. And she wasn't the only one—several others had done the exact same thing. *Who the hell turns off their radar in the middle of a firefight?!*
Scolded so harshly, Sora's face flushed with embarrassment. Throwing her attempts to conserve Magic Power out the window, she hurriedly reactivated her [Perception Magic].
It wasn't just her. Ren was yelling at Sora, but his words were meant for everyone else too. In that moment, the class finally understood why Ren had insisted they all learn that spell before coming down here.
It seemed they would have to keep it active at all times from now on. So what if it drained their mana? They'd be fine once they leveled up. Right now, keeping their miserable lives intact was the priority.
Spurred by Ren's roar, everyone flipped their perception back on, focusing entirely on the enemies in front of them. This wave of monsters was significantly stronger than the last.
Having eliminated all the high-threat targets and chewed out Sora, Ren's voice echoed across the battlefield again. "I'm cutting off your fire support! I give you guys cover and you instantly turn off your perception?! It seems you won't learn unless you suffer a little!"
Ren was genuinely pissed. These idiots had deliberately turned off their perception just because they knew he was watching their backs from the sky.
If he hadn't reacted as fast as he did, Sora might have actually been forcibly sent back to the surface in a body bag. Because of that, Ren decided to completely cut off their safety net.
Words rarely teach a lesson, but consequences teach it instantly. To force them into the habit of keeping their perception active, Ren was going to let them fend for themselves.
His voice transmitted through their communication marks, ringing clearly in everyone's ears. Those who had deactivated their perception felt deeply ashamed, fully aware that they had nearly gotten themselves killed.
"I'm sorry, Class Rep! I was wrong! I'll stay on high alert from now on!" Sora apologized loudly. Soon after, the other guilty students chimed in, admitting their mistakes.
Hearing their apologies, Ren quickly barked back, "Save the apologies and focus on the fight! These monsters are stronger than the last wave. If you feel your True Qi running low, swap out with someone and drink a potion! Don't try to tough it out!"
"Understood!" "Got it!" "Stay safe, everyone!" The class responded in unison before falling into a focused silence. Ignoring the rest of them, Ren dropped down to join Asuna's squad.
Seeing Ren arrive, Asuna and the others let out a sigh of relief. The four of them launched a coordinated assault on the monsters in front of them. With Ren in their formation, the girls' pressure plummeted instantly.
While they felt much more relaxed, the same couldn't be said for the rest of the class. Without Ren's aerial bombardment, the pressure on everyone else spiked dramatically. But they had no choice but to grit their teeth and endure it.
It wasn't long before people started taking injuries. Fighting with and without fire support were two entirely different beasts. Previously, Ren had been constantly picking off any monsters that slipped through their defenses.
Now that he wasn't cleaning up their messes, they had to rely entirely on their own reflexes and [Perception Magic]. And they were finally experiencing firsthand just how crucial that perception was.
No one dared to turn off their [Perception Magic] again. Under the crushing pressure, their teamwork rapidly improved, and the synergy within each squad grew tighter by the minute.
By the time the last monster was cleared, many students collapsed onto the ground, completely abandoning their dignity. The sheer volume of monsters in that wave had been overwhelming, and they hadn't dared to relax for even a second.
The dual exhaustion of mind and body left many completely paralyzed. Looking at their pathetic states, Ren called out, "Rest up and replenish your supplies! We're continuing in a bit!"
Ren had no intention of stopping. It wasn't even dinner time yet. They needed to recover quickly and get back to the grind. As he spoke, he began gathering the loot. Seeing this, the exhausted students quickly chugged down Red Potions.
They forced themselves up to help sweep the battlefield. The ground was littered with Magic Stones and crafting materials. Once the fight was over, it was time to loot and prep for the next round.
As everyone cleaned up, the injured students received treatment from Lefiya. They were mostly minor wounds, easily healed with a single cast of [Healing Magic].
But the pain was worth it. At the very least, it taught them a harsh lesson. They wouldn't dare rely on luck anymore, and they would treat every monster encounter with the utmost seriousness. Every single injury had been the direct result of carelessness.
Once healed, the students joined the cleanup effort. Though it had been dangerous, the profits from these two monster waves were absolutely massive.
These Magic Stones were pure profit, easily exchanged for all sorts of supplies. Plus, everyone had a weapon they needed to maintain. This high-intensity battle had given them a profound understanding of the gear in their hands.
If they had been using their old weapons, the blades would have chipped and dulled long ago. But the weapons Ren had forged for them remained in pristine condition, without a single scratch or sign of wear.
Top-tier materials combined with durability enchantments had created incredibly sturdy weapons. Even if they hacked away at monsters for months, it would probably take that long for the blades to even begin showing signs of wear!