Danmachi: The Sign In System!

Chapter 87 - Ais: Orsted!?

Thanks to the magic items boosting Lili, Tifa, and Naaza's speed, the team's pace was blistering. 

A journey to the seventeenth floor, typically half a day, took them just over an hour.

At the Big Wall of Grief, Lili's tension dissolved into a sigh. 

"No Goliath. What a shame."

She'd been on edge about facing the monster rex, but the silent wall, devoid of the monsters presence, left her oddly disappointed.

"No big deal," Orsted looked unfaze. 

"If Goliath's not here, we'll hunt Minotaurs instead."

Lili nodded, echoed by Tifa and Naaza. 

"Let's do it."

The group retraced their steps, ready to engage the seventeenth floor's denizens. 

Their earlier forced march had bypassed monsters to reach here, leaving them empty-handed. 

Now, it was time to hunt.

As they engaged, Orsted's eyes sharpened, catching Tifa and Lili's magic in action.

Tifa's spell, Explosion, was a berserk-type magic, ill-named for her graceful demeanor. 

It surged her strength fivefold, at the cost of heavy mental stamina. 

Her prowess, amplified by the gloves and now Explosion, stacked buffs to devastating effect. 

A single punch obliterated a Minotaur's head.

Lili wielded a fire spell, its flames roasting a Minotaur alive. 

Naaza's arrows, empowered by magic items pierced with precision, downing another monster in tandem with Lili's fire. 

Their synergy was near-instantaneous.

Tifa sidled up to Orsted, a playful glint in her eye. 

"Surprised?"

"Very much." 

A faint smile tugged at his lips. 

"With your strength, the middle floors are no threat—except maybe Goliath."

The middle floors' Level 2 monsters, led by the formidable Minotaur, posed little challenge. 

Stronger beasts existed, but only marginally. 

With ample high potions to restore mind, Tifa, Lili, and Naaza could dominate, even without Orsted's aid.

Lili, buoyed by their success, approached with Naaza. 

"Orsted-sama, why not push to the nineteenth floor?"

Naaza nodded. 

"I've never been past the eighteenth. I'm in."

Orsted raised an eyebrow. 

"Really?" He turned to Tifa. 

"Your thoughts?"

"Stronger monsters mean faster growth," Tifa said, her confidence shining. 

"I'm in the game."

"Then it's settled," Orsted said. 

"To the deeper floors."

The nineteenth floor awaited, a dense maze of emerald foliage and towering trees. 

Unlike the Minotaur-heavy fifteenth to seventeenth floors, its ecosystem teemed with variety of monsters of all Level 2, but numerous and relentless.

In their first half-hour, the group faced four monster types. 

Orsted intercepted most, giving Lili, Tifa, and Naaza room to hone their skills. 

The varied foes once again sharpened their combat finesse. 

Orsted watched everything with approval.

They anchored on the nineteenth, planning to fight until dusk before retreating to the safe zone for rest. 

Unbeknownst to them, an hour after they'd left the seventeenth floor, the Loki Familia arrived at the Big Wall of Grief— Finn, Riveria, Ais, Tione, Tiona and Lefiya. 

The elite group pressed onward, their purpose unclear, missing Orsted's group by a hair.

The nineteenth floor's tangled paths kept Orsted's group focused, unaware of the Loki Familia's deeper dive. 

But fate aligned later that evening in Rivira.

"Orsted?" 

Ais's voice cut through Rivira's bustle, her eyes wide with surprise as she spotted him with Lili, Tifa, and Naaza.

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