Kairu

As his master pushed him off the edge, the descent was absolutely glorious.

He flattened his squishy body against the bottom of the shiny blue box as it hit the main current of the waterfall. He was a creature born of a river; the rushing water, the deafening roar, and the dizzying speed of the heavy drop felt exactly like coming home. The only thing he wished for was the chance to jump directly into the angry white water—a treat he was absolutely determined to claim for himself once he reached the bottom.

Through the see-through walls of the shiny box, he saw the locals. Massive blue crabs, many octopuses, turtles, schooling fish, and sleek, biting shadows darting through the heavy spray.

Watching them swim through the crashing torrent reminded him of his old home—the warm, slow river running through the hot, dry sand. Back then, he had been just a tiny, frightened puddle hiding in the mud, barely daring to peek over the shore's edge when the big, scary desert monsters came down to drink. These Hunger's creatures were way bigger, meaner, and a lot hungrier. But Kairu pulsed his core proudly. He wasn't a hiding puddle anymore. He had come a long, long way since those days. He was Master's partner now.

Still, it surprised him to see the waterfall monsters moving so well. They were all falling incredibly fast, yet the crabs and fish had enough stability to swim through the heavy spray, snapping and swiping at his box as if they were in a calm pond. How were they not just tumbling out of control? The shiny box kept Kairu perfectly steady, and he realized that unless he jumped out and experienced the roaring, naked fall himself, he wouldn't really understand how they managed such neat water-tricks.

Even so, he didn't let his curiosity distract him. Master had given him a very specific job: memorize their ugly mugs so they could take their revenge at the bottom.

Kairu watched the swarming monsters closely, committing every single crab, fish, and slithering shadow to memory. The slime knew exactly what Master meant by "revenge"—it meant Master wanted Kairu to get his fill! It was a promise for a giant, tasty, all-you-can-eat buffet the moment he hit the basin. Bouncing against the bottom of his shiny box with absolute satisfaction, Kairu pulsed brightly, feeling incredibly proud of his improving ability to translate Master's complicated human words into simple slime logic. He was becoming a very smart familiar indeed!

His glorious journey, however, did not remain peaceful for long.

As he plummeted deeper, the locals took offense to the glowing, falling anomaly in their waterfall. A massive crab lunged from a hidden hole in the rock, its crushing pincers snapping shut around the shiny box.

Hiss.

The outermost layer—Master's black-and-red erasing magic—flared angrily. The crab's pincers vanished cleanly at the joints. The monster shrieked and plummeted blindly into the dark, while Kairu just jiggled happily, soaking in the ambient magic of the fast fall and eagerly anticipating his future snack.

But the sheer number of angry monsters and the crushing, heavy weight of the angry water began to take their toll. The first of the outer shiny boxes—Master's invisible shields—groaned and shattered into sparkling dust under the relentless pounding of the waterfall and the biting creatures.

Encouraged by the sight of the shield breaking, the monsters grew frenzied. A swarm of flying fish and water-snakes began to bombard the falling box from all sides, throwing their bodies against the magical shell.

With a final, stomach-dropping plunge, the box hit the massive pool of Floor 27.

The impact was monumental. The shockwave was strong even by Kairu's highly bouncy standards, and the slime got completely, violently squished into a flat blue pancake against the floor of the box. Master's magic absorbed the brutal, bone-crushing hit, but the cost was steep: the remaining outer shields and the protective erasing films shattered upon impact. Only the main, see-through shiny box survived the crash, but deep, glowing cracks began to spiderweb across its surface.

Submerged in the shallow water, the cracked crystal was immediately surrounded. Hundreds of aquatic monsters, drawn by the massive splash and the fading magic, swarmed the failing shield, scratching and bashing it with claws, teeth, and water.

To Kairu, this wasn't a crisis. It was the perfect opportunity.

He knew this was exactly the kind of waiting-trap his master loved to play. Kairu pulsed his magic. Ping.

Then, he prepared his newest trick.

As the final shiny box was undone with a loud shatter, the dungeon water rushed in to claim him. Kairu didn't flinch. He unleashed his magic.

Frost exploded from his core. The water surrounding the shattered box froze in a matter of seconds, expanding outward and flash-freezing the entire swarm of biting monsters into a giant, solid block of jagged ice.

More monsters rained down from the waterfall above, drawn by the noise. Kairu looked up. He couldn't freeze the entire waterfall yet—a personal goal he would definitely achieve another day—but he could still fight. He rapidly stretched out his mass, firing hardened slime-spikes and sharp, pressurized water blades upward, slicing the falling predators out of the air before they could even hit the water.

With the immediate threats turned to popsicles, Kairu gleefully expanded his body over the battlefield. He stretched wide and gobbled up the massive frozen block of monsters—ice, tasty magic stones, and all—along with the freshly falling corpses. His core glowed brightly, humming with the sheer, delightful volume of absorbed monsters.

Satisfied and pleasantly bloated with loot, the slime bounced out of the shallows and onto the damp rocky shore. He etched the circle into the stone with a tendril of his magic

Knowing his master and the jumpy dark elf would need a safe landing zone free from any stray attacks or fish, Kairu went to work. He expanded his mass drastically, stretching himself upward and outward to form a tall, thick, semi-clear blue wall that wrapped protectively in a half-circle around the magic circle.

Safe and serving as a living barricade, he channeled a sliver of his magic into it. The teleportation circle glowed with a crisp, welcoming crimson light.

Ki! Kairu signaled happily through their link. All clear!

-◈ -

General POV

At the top of the waterfall, Max leaned casually against the damp stone wall, watching Hogni pace with quiet amusement.

The Dark Elf was a picture of contained panic. Every few seconds, Hogni would stop his frantic marching to peer over the edge, his eyes straining through the heavy mist, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the crystal capsule plummeting into the abyss. The sheer lunacy of the plan was clearly still short-circuiting his tactical mind.

Max, on the other hand, was entirely unbothered. He trusted Tozanshō and his Destruction well enough. If it really came to fighting on the way down, Kairu could take care of himself. And there was always the contingency of Max teleporting in to deal with the threats personally. Right now, his mind was already skipping ahead, finalizing his plan for Floor 27.

Without the Amphisbaena acting as a localized threat, he didn't have much interest in dealing with the aquatic grunts conventionally. He couldn't simply jump into the water and slash his way through them willy-nilly—the sheer volume of water would dampen his strength, and fighting submerged would consume far too much of his magic just to maintain mobility.

However, standing on the shore and treating the lake like a firing range? That was a different story.

It's basically heaven down there for Kairu, Max mused, a smirk touching his lips. Between the slime's natural affinity for water and the new ice magic he got from the magic sword, Max could only imagine what his familiar was currently getting up to in the basin. I should definitely test how Raikōhō scales against a massive, conductive body of water. Area-of-effect electrocution sounds incredibly efficient.

Just as he finalized his bombardment strategy, a sharp Ping! echoed in his mind.

Impact.

Max exhaled a sharp breath, releasing a fraction of tension. He immediately canceled the Dankū and Tozanshō barriers he was maintaining remotely, dissolving the magical capsule to free Kairu up to swim for the shore.

Then, the waiting began.

Max's casual smirk faded, replaced by a tight, focused line. He pushed off the wall and stepped right to the edge, his eyes straining into the misty white abyss below.

He knew Kairu was resilient—highly resistant to blunt force and smarter than any normal monster—but the Floor 27 basin was a chaotic, churning spawning ground for aquatic predators. Right now, his familiar was navigating it completely unshielded.

Seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness. Hogni stopped his frantic pacing, his instincts picking up on the sudden, heavy shift in Max's demeanor. The Dark Elf watched as the boy's knuckles turned stark white where they gripped the slick stone of the ledge. For all his arrogant, confident posturing just moments prior, Max was completely rigid, his entire consciousness funneled into the mental link connecting him to the slime.

Come on, buddy, Max thought, his heart thudding a heavy, anxious rhythm against his ribs. Just hit dry land.

Thirty seconds passed. Then a minute. The deafening roar of the waterfall seemed to actively mock the tense silence stretching inside Max's mind.

After what felt like an eternity, a second, much brighter Ping! flared in his head. It was followed immediately by the crisp, welcoming hum of a teleportation circle locking firmly at the bottom of the falls.

Max's rigid posture shattered. The tension drained out of his shoulders, instantly replaced by a wide, overwhelmingly relieved grin. He let out a sharp bark of laughter, stepping back from the ledge.

"And that's our cue," Max announced, turning back to the elf with his usual confident swagger fully restored.

Before Hogni could protest or demand a status report, Max channeled his mana. His crimson circle flared to life beneath them, synchronizing flawlessly with Kairu's anchor.

VWOOM.

The deafening roar of the upper waterfall vanished, instantly replaced by the echoing, cavernous splash of the Floor 27 basin.

Hogni stumbled as the spatial distortion deposited them on wet, uneven stone. His eyes darted wildly to assess the threat level of the Water Capital. But instead of open air and attacking monsters, he found himself standing inside a tall, semi-translucent blue barricade.

Ki! Ki!

Kairu, acting as the living wall around the teleportation circle, rippled and greeted them with immense, vibrating enthusiasm.

Max laughed, stepping forward to give the gelatinous wall a solid pat. "Good job, buddy! Best water slide ever, right?" He took the slime's excited bouncing as absolute proof that Kairu had enjoyed the ride.

Without wasting a second, Max peered over the top of Kairu's barricade.

The massive underground lake stretched out before them, but the dark water was churning ominously. The surface boiled with movement—hundreds of aquatic monsters, drawn by the explosive impact of Kairu's arrival and the lingering hum of magic in the air. Urchins floated in the shallows, while the shadows of massive, armored crabs shifted just beneath the surface.

"This looks great," Max said, his eyes gleaming with the predatory light of a gamer who had just found the perfect farming spot. He raised his hands, crimson-black energy already sparking across his knuckles, ready to test his most instinctual solution first.

He leveled his palm at the nearest churning mass of monsters and fired a concentrated beam of Destruction. The black-red energy tore into the water with a violent hiss. For a brief, spectacular second, a deep trench was carved into the lake as the water itself was erased. But just as quickly, the immense volume of the basin surged back in, collapsing the void instantly. Max saw a few Urchins caught at the edge of the blast disintegrate, but the effect was far too localized. The current dispersed the erasure faster than he could sustain it.

"Inefficient," Max muttered, lowering his hand. A different approach was needed. Something that used the environment to his advantage rather than fighting against it.

Seeing the boy's initial attack fail, Hogni finally stepped forward from the faded teleportation circle, his brow furrowed as he read Max's intent. "Maximus, a frontal assault is unwise. The sheer volume of this basin and the violent currents of the falls will dilute any magic you throw at it. The charge will dissipate before it can achieve lethal conductivity against these lower-floor variants."

"Normally, you'd be right," Max smirked, a new, more brilliant plan already forming. He stepped out from behind Kairu's protective wall and reached into the small storage pouch at his belt. A sharp, metallic clinking sounded before he withdrew his hand, casually tossing a fistful of silver bands through the mist. "Which is why we don't dilute. We overload the circuit. Here. You're going to need more."

Hogni caught the handful of metal on pure reflex. He opened his palm and stared.

Rings. Dozens of them.

All identical to the one currently resting in his pocket. All thrumming with the suppressed, volatile energy of a mid-tier Hadō spell.

The Dark Elf's breath caught in his throat. It was one thing to craft a single, miraculous prototype. It was another thing entirely to mass-produce them. To pull a literal armory's worth of strategic-grade magic items from a mundane leather pouch as if handing out cheap candies?

The final puzzle piece clicked into place with terrifying, absolute clarity.

Mystery.

It was the only Developmental Ability in existence that permitted the creation of magic items. His earlier suspicion had just been confirmed in the most blatant way possible. The boy hadn't just stumbled upon a trick; he was a walking, breathing forge of miracles.

And based on Hogni's own assessment from just a floor above, he was currently holding tens of millions of Valis worth of inventory in his palm. His own hand, which had never held an item of such power, now held several dozen of them. He could not, in good conscience, accept such an extravagant gift.

"Maximus, I cannot—" Hogni began, his voice tight with a mixture of awe and protest.

"They're just prototypes," Max interrupted smoothly, as if reading his mind. "They need to be field-tested by someone who actually knows what they're doing. I trust you to use them properly, and to not speak of them to anyone else."

He said it so casually, with such an unshakeable, matter-of-fact trust, that Hogni was left momentarily speechless. The boy's audacity in dismissing such valuable artifacts as mere "prototypes" was second only to the weight of the trust he was so freely offering. Seeing that the Dark Elf still wasn't entirely convinced, Max continued, "If you feel they are too much to carry on your own, I'll take a few as well."

Before Hogni could speak again, Max plucked half a dozen of the rings from his hand, slipping them onto his own fingers with a grin. He then gave the stunned elf a firm nod, leaving him with an undeniable arsenal of lightning magic and a profound sense of obligation.

Moved by the display of trust, Hogni closed his fist around the rings. "I... My thanks, Maximus," he murmured, slipping several of the bands onto his fingers with practiced, deadly elegance. "I shall put them to adequate use."

"Thought you might," Max said, turning back to the water's edge.

He widened his stance, drawing a massive breath. He didn't just point his finger; he leveled his entire palm at the churning water and unleashed the full, sonorous incantation to maximize the spell's density.

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!"

The ambient mana in the humid cavern curdled, vibrating with the sheer weight of the aria.

"Hadō #63. Raikōhō!"

A massive, concentrated burst of yellow lightning erupted from his hand. It didn't just strike the lake's surface; it crashed into it like a meteor. The water, saturated with dungeon minerals, acted as a flawless conductor.

The electricity didn't dissipate. It arced violently across the basin in a blinding, jagged web of pure, sustained voltage.

The lake instantly turned into a boiling cauldron. Dozens of massive Blue Crabs and armored turtles breached the surface, their tough shells offering zero protection against the magical current. They convulsed violently, their carapaces glowing from the inside out before shattering into ash. A school of the infamous Iguazu—the terrifyingly fast, dagger-like fish Max remembered from the anime—tried to torpedo themselves out of the electrified water to escape. They breached the surface, only to seize up mid-air, caught in the arcing lightning, and disintegrated before gravity could pull them back down.

Hogni stood safely on the dry stone, his eyes reflecting the brilliant, strobe-lit devastation. The boy's crude manipulation of elements had completely overpowered the Dungeon's terrain advantage.

Seeing the sheer, devastating efficiency of the tactic, Hogni didn't hesitate. He moved down the shoreline, raising his ring-adorned hand. He twisted the first silver band, locking his aim onto a distant, churning section of the lake that Max's spell hadn't fully saturated.

He unleashed the stored Raikōhō/Maiden's Lament.

A second, equally devastating burst of yellow lightning tore into the water. Then he twisted a second ring, and a third, chaining the detonations in a relentless rhythm. The resulting bombardment turned the sprawling basin of the Water Capital into a blinding, crackling execution ground.

While the two adventurers moved along the shore, systematically electrocuting different sectors of the lake, Kairu went to work. The slime dove into the shallows, expanding his mass significantly to form a gelatinous dam across the natural choke points of the basin, ensuring no stunned monsters slipped away into the deeper currents. Max briefly wondered how the slime wasn't getting shocked by the residual electricity in the water, but shrugged it off. If Kairu was fine with it, Max wasn't going to complain.

By the time Hogni had exhausted the charges in his rings, the lake was quiet, and Kairu was pleasantly bloated with a massive haul of high-quality aquatic drops.

With the water cleared, the land-based monsters of Floor 27 proved to be a joke by comparison. They made quick work of the remaining stragglers as they navigated the damp, glowing corridors toward the next descent.

"I have to admit," Max said, a hint of genuine disappointment in his voice. "I was really hoping we'd run into a Mermaid."

He remembered the anime clearly—Bell's unexpected, wholesome interaction with the mythical creature. He had wanted to see one with his own eyes.

Hogni wiped the last of the crab viscera from his clothes. "Mermaids?" he asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah," Max said, peering into a deep, crystal-clear pool at the edge of the cavern. He was still riding the high of the successful electrocution, his mind buzzing with the possibilities of his new farming spot. "I remember reading about them. Mythical creatures of the Water Capital. Thought they might pop up to check out the commotion."

Hogni shook his head, the movement small but decisive. "Mermaids do not surface for common commotions, Maximus. Before the Leviathan was slain, specialized Diving parties hunted them relentlessly for the miraculous healing properties of their blood. After the calamity, the few that survived fled deep into the uncharted submerged caves to escape the greed of the surface."

He gestured to the vast, dark lake stretching out before them. "You will not find one simply wandering the shallows. They are creatures of the deep dark now, hidden and rightfully wary."

"Bummer," Max sighed, kicking a loose pebble into the water with a quiet plink. He turned his gaze toward the far end of the cavern, where the next stairwell beckoned. "Well, no point crying over un-met mythical creatures."

They reached the end of the corridor and descended the stairs.

As they crossed the invisible threshold between floors, the oppressive, cloying humidity of the Water Capital vanished as if sliced away by a blade. Max stepped onto the soft earth of Floor 28 and stopped dead, genuinely taken aback by the shift in scenery.

This was the Under Garden.

Unlike the sprawling, diverse expanse of Floor 18, this safe zone was smaller, narrower, and breathtakingly beautiful. The cavern floor was blanketed in a lush, vibrant field of luminous flowers that glowed in soft, gentle hues of violet, blue, and silver. Their light pulsed with a slow, rhythmic cadence, like a field of sleeping heartbeats.

The air smelled sweet, thick with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and clean earth, utterly free of the metallic tang of monster blood. It looked and felt exactly like a pristine Elven flower garden, preserved perfectly in the impossible depths of the earth.

"Whoa," Max breathed, his gaze sweeping over the glowing flora. As a designated Safe Point, he knew no monsters spawned here, but the sheer, tranquil beauty of it felt more effective at soothing frayed nerves than any fortress wall.

After enjoying the scenery for a bit, he went to work. He moved to the perimeter of the floral cavern, establishing his teleportation anchors with practiced efficiency. He didn't just place the parchments on the ground; he carefully tucked them into the gnarled roots of the glowing flora, their violet hue blending seamlessly with the ambient light.

While his hands moved, his mind was already turning over the logistical headache he had faced at the waterfall. The slime-submarine worked, but it's too situational, Max thought, pressing a sigil into the earth behind a cluster of silver lilies. I need a reliable, reusable way to address vertical drops. Something that doesn't freak everyone out if I pull out my wings, but is practical enough to use in combat.

He knew he could use his magic to create an Aero Step platform, but unless he automated it perfectly with his Auto-Evade, manually forming footholds mid-air was mentally taxing and prone to failure under pressure. He wanted something instinctual. Something he could theoretically teach to others.

His internal anime-encyclopedia provided the answer almost immediately.

Rokushiki. Specifically, Geppo. The Moonwalk.

Since Geppo was a purely physical technique—relying on explosive leg strength to kick the air so hard it compressed into a temporary foothold—it shouldn't require complex magical theory. And since Hogni possessed the physical parameters of a Level 5 adventurer, the Dark Elf should have absolutely no problem executing it.

Max finished securing his final anchor and turned back to the center of the cavern.

Hogni was currently sitting cross-legged in a field of glowing blue lilies, entertaining Kairu. The Dark Elf was speaking in a hushed, dramatic voice, explaining the terrifying anatomy of the monsters in the Lower Floors, while the slime dutifully attempted to morph its blue body to imitate the shapes Hogni described. It was an incredibly endearing sight, and Max let them relax for a few minutes before calling out.

"Hey, Hogni. Can you come here for a second?"

Hogni stood up, brushing shimmering blue pollen from his dark cloak, and walked over.

"I was thinking about the waterfall problem," Max began, his eyes gleaming with the manic excitement of a mad scientist about to unveil his latest breakthrough. "I thought of a technique that can bypass vertical drops without relying on magic tools or falling inside a crystal box."

Hogni frowned slightly. "That is impossible without specific wind magic or a flying mount."

"Not if you kick the air hard enough," Max grinned. "I call it Geppo. The Moonwalk."

For the next twenty minutes, Max explained the theory. He detailed the biomechanics of using explosive, superhuman leg strength to strike the atmosphere repeatedly, compressing the air into a series of momentary solid platforms that allowed the user to literally step into the sky.

Hogni listened, his mind straining to accept yet another blatant violation of natural laws, but his veteran instincts grasped the brutal, kinetic logic behind it.

"Let's practice," Max encouraged.

They spent the next hour treating the peaceful Under Garden like an anti-gravity trampoline park. Hogni, relying on his massive Level 5 stats, found the explosive kicking motion itself relatively easy to generate. His 'flight,' however, was sporadic at best. The sensation of walking on nothing was so wondrously alien that the Dark Elf kept forgetting to maintain the continuous, rhythmic kicking motion, resulting in several highly undignified, flailing falls into the soft beds of silver flowers.

"Keep the rhythm! It's all in the rhythm!" Max called out, effortlessly bounding up beside the struggling elf, his own steps making sharp, echoing cracks against the air.

While the two bipeds struggled to master the airspace, Kairu decided he wasn't going to be left out. The slime initially tried to act like a spider, extending long pseudopods to grip the cavern ceiling and swing alongside them like a gelatinous acrobat.

"You're a slime, buddy, you can be whatever you want!" Max yelled mid-air. "Just manifest wings like a Dragon!"

Taking the suggestion to heart, Kairu rippled violently. Two massive, perfectly formed gelatinous Dragon wings erupted from his sides. With a cheerful Squelch, the slime flapped them, catching the air currents perfectly, and effortlessly blew past both Max and Hogni in the ensuing race to the far end of the cavern.

Max landed gracefully in a patch of flowers, laughing hard as Hogni plummeted beside him with a disgruntled, pollen-dusted huff. The elf was clearly unused to the sheer amount of focus required for maintaining Geppo, his chest heaving, but a faint, almost imperceptible tremor of exhilaration ran through his rigid posture.

"Alright," Max smiled, dusting off his trousers as Kairu did a proud, victorious lap above their heads. "I think I've pushed your sanity enough for one day. I won't even suggest we tackle Floor 29 right now."

Hogni let out a long, weary exhale, clearly grateful to be back on solid ground. He massaged his temples. "I concur, Maximus. My brain... requires a period of stabilization before attempting any further violations of the laws of motion."

"Good. Mine too," Max conceded, though his energy still hummed with residual excitement. He looked at Kairu, then turned to the Dark Elf. "You know, we've been on a non-stop dive for almost a day now. Even with the potions, our bodies need to fully reset. We should rest for a few hours before anything else. Let the potions run their course, give Kairu time to recover from his adventure, and then we hit Floor 24 with fresh eyes."

Hogni nodded in immediate agreement, sinking onto a large, moss-covered root. Max found a clear patch of earth, lay back, and almost instantly, his exhaustion claimed him. He let his Auto-Evade drop, his senses withdrawing to a more manageable radius around his sleeping form.

-◈ -

After a few hours, the dungeon's ambient hum slowly woke Max. He stretched, feeling his renewed mana surging through his veins, his muscles humming with completely restored energy. He rolled his neck once, the earlier ache a distant memory. The quiet crackling of his ration packet as he tore into a strip of dried meat was the only sound in the floral cavern.

The soft noise stirred the other occupant of the safe zone. Across the clearing, Hogni shifted, pushing himself up from where he had been resting. The Dark Elf blinked once, his eyes adjusting to the ambient light, his posture instantly alert.

"Hey," Max said around a mouthful of jerky, offering a casual wave. He reached back into his pouch and tossed another packet of dried meat and a full water skin across the clearing. "Rations."

Hogni caught them on pure reflex. He looked down at the provisions, then back at Max, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Sharing personal rations on a deep dive was a profound gesture of trust among adventurers. He gave a single, almost imperceptible nod. "My thanks, Maximus."

"Don't mention it." Max turned his attention to his familiar. "Kairu, chow time."

A cheerful blue blob detached itself from a pile of soft petals where he had been sleeping and bounced over eagerly. Max tore off a generous portion of the meat, which the slime absorbed with a happy, vibrating Squelch.

The trio ate in a comfortable, practical silence, the quiet punctuated only by the soft drip of condensation from the crystal-laced ceiling and Kairu's enthusiastic jiggling. When they had finished, Max packed away the remaining supplies and stood, rolling his shoulders with a crack. Hogni rose with him, sheathing the dagger he'd been using to portion his food. Kairu, practically vibrating with excitement for the promised hunt, leaped onto Max's shoulder, ready for action.

"Alright, Vanguard," Max said, a grin spreading across his face. "Let's go slay a Dragon."

Hogni nodded, his hand resting on the hilt of Victim Abyss. He was ready.

They teleported back to Floor 24.

The oppressive root-ceiling of the Large Tree Labyrinth materialized around them, the fungal air thick and close after the Under Garden's sweetness. The colossal roots, dense fungal forests, and winding wooden corridors stretched before them, exactly as they had left them.

But this time, their objective was singular.

They didn't search for a fight. They hunted a target.

"Green Dragons are territorial," Hogni warned, his voice low, his tactical instincts taking over completely as they moved. "They typically lair around a treasure tree. These trees act as their 'home base' but also limit their range of movement. They are fiercely possessive of their hoards, which makes them aggressive, but also predictable."

He paused, glancing at Kairu, who was practically vibrating with anticipation on Max's shoulder. "Their hides are thick, their claws sharper than hardened steel, and their breath attacks are lethal. They are easily equivalent to a Level 4 adventurer." Hogni's unspoken warning about caution was understood. Max simply gave a sharp nod.

After navigating several massive clearings, Kairu, leading the charge as scout, suddenly stiffened on Max's shoulder. He pulsed a sharp alert through the mental link, pseudopods extended.

Through a smaller clearing in the massive roots, they spotted it: a Green Dragon. This one was maybe two-thirds the size of the beast Max had encountered on his way down, currently draped across a smaller, but clearly treasure-laden, tree.

Ki! Ki!

Kairu launched himself. He beat his wings with frantic joy, soaring straight toward the Green Dragon with a battle cry of pure, unadulterated hunger.

"Just like we agreed, buddy!" Max yelled, a wide grin splitting his face. "All yours!"

Hogni and Max split into a flanking formation. They watched the ensuing battle, ready to intervene, while ensuring no opportunistic monsters tried to capitalize on the distraction. Kairu, with his wings, proved surprisingly agile in the air. He darted and weaved through the dragon's snapping jaws, firing volleys of highly compressed water bolts. He then engaged his ice magic, unleashing bursts of frost that momentarily stung the dragon's emerald scales.

But the dragon was a beast. Its scales shrugged off the ice, and its thick hide absorbed the water bolts with barely a flinch. With a roar that shook the surrounding trees, the Green Dragon unleashed a focused torrent of caustic green breath. Kairu, caught mid-maneuver, screamed as a portion of his gelatinous body was violently vaporized.

Hogni took a half-step forward, ready to intervene. "Maximus, he cannot sustain—"

Max subtly shook his head, his eyes narrowed, waiting. He saw the grim determination in Kairu's frantic movements. The slime was furious.

Instead of retreating, Kairu abruptly disengaged his wings. He plummeted from the air, reforming into a tightly compressed ball of blue jelly just before hitting the mossy floor. The dragon roared in confusion, turning its massive head. Kairu immediately began rolling, gathering a protective layer of damp moss and mud onto his exterior. He then launched himself toward the dragon, a heavily armored, rolling blue ball of dungeon detritus.

The Green Dragon, clever as Hogni had warned, read the maneuver. It anticipated the close-quarters attack. Instead of a directed breath, it unleashed a massive, sweeping wave of fire—a blinding torrent designed to vaporize Kairu's mud armor and boil him alive.

BOOOOM!

Max didn't hesitate. A crimson-black blast of Destruction erupted from his palm, perfectly intercepting the dragon's fiery breath mid-flight and cleanly erasing the flames in a silent void.

The momentary disruption was all Kairu needed. He was a blue blur, already launching himself off the ground. Before the dragon could reorient or gather another breath, Kairu slammed himself into its exposed underbelly. A dozen hardened, sword-like tendrils erupted from his body, twisting and piercing through the softer scales. Two of the tendrils glowed with latent energy— Kidō—and surged inward, electrifying the dragon's internal organs.

The Green Dragon thrashed violently, its roar turning into a gurgling shriek. It convulsed once, twice, then fell. Its massive body crashed against the treasure tree with a deafening THUD, then went still.

Kairu flowed off the dragon's corpse. There was no triumphant bounce. Instead, he jumped around erratically, letting out a series of frustrated, angry Ki! Ki! Ki! at the now-dead monster. He understood, on a primal level, that his master had stepped in to protect him. He had never encountered fire of that sheer, overwhelming volume before. He knew he likely would have been seriously injured, if not vaporized, without the intervention. But that didn't stop the hot, stinging feeling of a victory that felt unearned.

Max chuckled, walking over. "I know, buddy. I know you wanted to finish it yourself." He gently patted the agitated slime as it began to absorb the massive beast. "He almost had you, but you figured out the opening. That's what matters."

Max glanced at the overflowing treasure-tree. "Alright. One down." He looked at Kairu, who was still pulsing with a mixture of satisfaction at the loot and deep frustration. Max knew, with the certainty of a parent who understands their child's stubborn heart, that the slime needed one more attempt before they could pull the plug on this solo trial.

He sighed, a fond smile on his face. "Okay. We'll find another one. But this time... maybe you try that new ice trick a bit sooner, eh? Give yourself an advantage from the start."

Kairu pulsed once, a quiet, mollified agreement, his core glowing brightly with renewed determination. Hogni remained in the shadows, a silent sentinel standing vigil as Kairu finished absorbing the dragon and its hoard.

It took them another thirty minutes of navigating the treacherous fungal forests before they found their next target. This Green Dragon was perched on an immense, ancient tree, and it was a solid quarter bigger than the last one. A heavy, palpable aura of territorial aggression rolled off it in waves.

Max felt a familiar pit of unease in his gut. This probably isn't going to end well. But he had made a promise. He stepped back beside Hogni, giving Kairu a final, encouraging nod.

The slime launched himself into the clearing. This time, knowing the dragon's breath attack patterns, Kairu fared better, weaving through the initial torrent of fire and using his hardened tendrils to test its thick hide.

But this dragon was different. It moved.

It didn't stay still, rooted to its treasure like its predecessor. It met Kairu's charge with savage, sweeping claws and a whipping, spiked tail, utilizing its massive bulk with a surprising, brutal agility. Kairu threw everything he had at it—hardened water blades, ice bursts, high-velocity slime bullets—but the dragon countered every maneuver. It shattered the ice with its fiery breath, deflected the bullets with its emerald scales, and swatted the water blades away with its tail.

Worse, the beast was cunning. Whenever Max or Hogni took a half-step closer, instinctively wanting to offer support, the dragon would pause. Its massive head would snap toward them, assessing the overwhelming threat they posed. It would let out a low, rumbling roar—not a battle cry, but a clear, calculated warning that it deemed the two bipeds a hassle not worth engaging with unless absolutely necessary.

As the fight dragged on, it became agonizingly clear that Kairu, despite his valiant, relentless efforts, was simply not prepared to handle a truly mobile, strong Green Dragon alone. He was taking heavy glancing blows, his gelatinous mass rippling violently as he struggled to maintain his form against the sheer kinetic force of the dragon's strikes.

As the beast reared back, its throat glowing with the unmistakable, concentrated green light of a point-blank, lethal breath attack, Max and Hogni shared a single, mutual glance.

An unspoken agreement passed between them.

They surged forward simultaneously. Max Shunshined directly into the air above the beast, aiming straight for the crown of the dragon's head. Hogni became a blur of dark steel, slipping under the dragon's guard to slash low at its exposed, extended neck.

Max's fist—wreathed in the black-red energy of Destruction—slammed into the dragon's skull, precisely targeting the brainstem. The erasure magic drove inward, silently and instantly consuming the monster's complex inner workings. At the exact same second, Victim Abyss bit deep into the dragon's thick neck, severing the major arteries and causing thick, steaming green blood to gush forth in a high-pressure spray.

The Green Dragon thrashed violently for a single, final second, its colossal body tearing at the ancient trees it had guarded for so long. Then, with a heavy, ground-shaking thud, it went perfectly still.

Silence descended upon the clearing.

Kairu, seeing the combined finishing blow, dropped heavily to the mossy floor. There was no triumphant bounce. No cheerful jiggling. Instead, the slime's core began to pulse with an erratic, volatile light.

He didn't just whine. He boiled.

Furious that his personal challenge had been taken from him again, and humiliated by his own inability to finish the fight, Kairu lashed out. He fired a barrage of high-pressure water slicers that gouged deep, jagged trenches into the surrounding petrified wood. He launched a scattershot of hardened slime bullets that peppered the dragon's corpse like machine-gun fire. Finally, a wave of pure, angry frost exploded from his mass, flash-freezing a massive patch of the fungal floor and splintering it into a thousand icy shards.

He was venting a pure, unadulterated magical tantrum.

Max sighed, stepping forward to calm his familiar, but a black-cloaked arm gently blocked his path.

Hogni stepped past Max, his eyes fixed on the trembling, agitated slime. The Dark Elf didn't look at Kairu like a pet or a tool. He looked at him with the quiet, solemn respect of one warrior acknowledging another.

"You fought well," Hogni said, his voice carrying none of its usual anxious detachment. He was speaking directly to the slime. "For your first attempt against a truly mobile foe, you held your ground. Your adaptations mid-combat were genuinely impressive, and you forced it to respect your space."

Kairu's frantic pulsing slowed. He paused his barrage, turning his translucent body toward the Dark Elf.

Hogni knelt slightly, bringing himself closer to the slime's level. "But I must be honest with you. As you are now, you are not ready for that specific threat. Every fighter—every creature in this world—has natural counters. A mobile opponent at that scale, with that level of armored defense, is yours. There is no shame in hitting a wall; the only shame lies in refusing to climb it."

Max lowered his hand, a warm, appreciative smile touching his lips as he watched Hogni. The elf had perfectly bridged the gap.

"He's right, buddy," Max said, stepping up beside Hogni and crouching down. He scooped the subdued slime up into both hands. Kairu wriggled indignantly, pulsing with a restless, stubborn agitation, still half-convinced a third attempt was the obvious solution.

"Hey." Max's voice dropped, quiet and direct. "Look at me."

Kairu stilled, just slightly.

Max was quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "You remember what I told you about Ottar?"

The slime's restless pulsing slowed entirely. He remembered. Max had told him—the giant man who reunited him with his master, the fight that hadn't even been a fight, the wall Max had hit so hard and so suddenly that there had been nothing left to do but fall.

Kairu gave a soft, reluctant huff.

"There are always going to be things stronger than us," Max said gently. "That's not the problem. The problem is knowing the difference between persistence and being stupid." He held the slime up slightly, meeting the glow of his head directly. "You went twice today. You improved both times. I saw it. Hogni saw it." He glanced briefly at the Dark Elf, who gave a single, confirming nod. "But the gap right now isn't something a third attempt fixes. You understand that, right?"

A long pause stretched between them. Then, a small, subdued Ki.

"Good." Max's expression settled into something steady and certain. "We go back. We think about this properly. And when you're ready—" he said it without inflation, without performance, just as a simple fact—"you'll take on the biggest one on this floor and you'll finish it yourself. I promise."

Kairu was still for another moment. Then he dropped from Max's hands, flowed toward the fallen dragon, and began absorbing the colossal corpse and the treasure-tree haul with methodical, unhurried focus. The anger was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating determination to grow.

Max straightened and turned back to Hogni and discussed their observations and how to overcome Kairu's weaknesses.

By the time Kairu had finished his meal and returned to Max's shoulder—glowing steadily, his core humming with a massive but not yet digested haul—they had their framework. Not a perfect plan. But a real one.

There was nothing left for them to do here today.

Without another word, Max activated the teleportation circle. The crimson light flared, swallowing them whole, and the damp, blue-green quiet of the Large Tree Labyrinth vanished, leaving only the faintest echo of their presence behind.

-◈ -

The transition from the Dungeon to Folkvangr was a sensory shock.

One moment, they were surrounded by the humid, earthy scent of Floor 24, the air thick with the residue of magic and monster blood. The next, they were standing on a plush velvet carpet in Max's suite. The air here smelled of beeswax, polished wood, and the faint, sweet aroma of Freya's perfume that seemed to linger in the upper floors. The chaotic, ambient blue glow of the dungeon was replaced by the warm, golden light of the executive floor's enchanted sconces.

They were both caked in dungeon grime—a mixture of sweat, monster ash, and dried ichor. In the unforgiving, pristine opulence of the room, they looked very out of place.

Hogni stood awkwardly in the center of the room for a moment, the sheer contrast between the brutal reality they had just left and the decadent luxury they had returned to leaving him momentarily disoriented. He glanced at the crystal chandelier, the ornate mahogany desk, the massive four-poster bed, and a flicker of something close to wonder passed through his eyes as if he still couldn't believe they were back to Folkvangr this quickly.

"Thanks again for today, Hogni," Max said, breaking the silence as he unstrapped his armor with a weary sigh. "Seriously. Wouldn't have pushed that deep without you watching my back."

Hogni turned, his composure returning. He offered a single, respectful nod. "The Vanguard protects his charge. It was my duty." His gaze lingered on Max for a moment longer. "You fought well, Maximus. Your growth... was substantial." After a moment, he looked at Kairu and continued, "I'm confident you will emerge victorious next time."

With that, the Dark Elf turned and walked silently toward the door. There were no drawn-out farewells, no handshakes. The understanding between them had moved beyond such formalities.

The heavy mahogany door clicked shut, leaving Max alone in the silence of his suite. The moment the adrenaline of the dive began to fade, a bone-deep exhaustion settled into his limbs. His entire body felt like a massive, throbbing bruise. He sank into one of the plush leather armchairs and let his head fall back with a long, weary groan.

He was tempted to share everything with Freya—about the Goliath, about Hogni, about the new techniques, about Kairu's water adventure.

But he stopped himself. He looked down at his grime-covered hands, at the tattered state of his clothes and felt the hollow ache of his depleted mana and the leaden weight in his muscles.

No, Max thought, closing his eyes. Not like this.

Showing up now, looking like a drowned rat who had barely survived, felt disrespectful. The conversation they needed to have was more than just a quick debrief; it was a strategic report. He had far too much to discuss. It was a discussion that demanded his full attention and sharpest mind.

He wouldn't go to her half-dead. He would go to her as a victorious, competent warrior who had not only met her expectations, but surpassed them.

He pushed through his fatigue to wash away the dungeon's grime. Clean and dressed in fresh linens, he finally collapsed onto the bed, Kairu settling into a rhythmic pulse beside him.

He had much to share with Freya, but he needed a rested mind to do it properly. Tomorrow would be the day for discussions.

Tonight, he just needed to sleep.

--> Devil in a Dungeon <--

AN:

Wooh! This is one of the longest chapters at 7.5k words! And it was another rollercoaster of emotions.

Coming to the chapter, I know Max could have used a higher tier lightning Hadō, in #88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō (Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon), but I felt it was unnecessary and this way, Hogni can also enjoy as both of them used same spell cull the monsters.

Do any of you feel this chapter drags the dive and I should instead jump to Folkvangr directly instead of showing this? Trust me, I thought the same while writing, but there are some things in this chapter that are necessary for coming chapters and I didn't want Max using Geppo to cause a narrative whiplash as if this was skipped, it would have come out of nowhere.

Finally Kairu hits a road block in his growth and he is not happy about it. Fire was something Kairu or Max didn't think would affect him this much and now it is time to find a solution!

And we are gonna jump into one of the important Status updates in next chapter and its impact will be felt by everyone in Orario ;) I am all too excited to write about it. Followed by many things Max was doing coming together.

Don't forget to share your thoughts on the story in a review/comment.

If you'd like to read 8 chapters ahead(around 40k words), support my work, or commission a story idea, visit p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m/b3smash.

Please note that the chapters are early access only, they will be eventually released here as well.

Next update will be on Friday.

Ben, Out.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.