I'm in a mess, starting with a meteor shower!

Daphne drew her sword.

"This is the first time I've ever personally dug up a magic stone from Amphisbana, so it's quite a memorable event."

The magic stone of Amphisbana is smaller than that of Golia. Although Golia is not as long as Amphisbana, her waist is wider. Although Amphisbana is 20 meters long, she is a snake after all, and her total thickness is only a little over one meter. Therefore, the magic stone is not that big.

Soon, a magic stone about the size of a human head was dug out.

Daphne washed the valuable magic stone with lake water and tossed it into her backpack.

"Let's go, let's go to the 28th floor!"

Volume 1: 100. O White Cup, Sing!

"We've finally arrived."

"Yes, we can finally rest."

"I reached the 28th floor in one day. I never did it this fast when I was in the Apollo Familia."

Upon reaching the 28th floor, Daphne and Cassandra immediately relaxed; they were exhausted from the day's forced march.

They had marched for a whole day and then for several hours in the first half of the night, which meant they had been moving for more than 12 hours. Now that they had reached a safe floor, they needed to make the most of their time to rest.

Of course, before resting, we need to set up camp first.

"Ritsuka, Cassandra and I will set up the tent, and you and Ryu will take care of dinner. Is that alright?"

"no problem."

Daphne and Cassandra set up the tents they had brought. Unlike the 18th floor, the 28th floor was smaller, so it didn't have a huge town like the 18th floor. Because there were fewer people, they only brought two tents, and the two of them set them up quickly.

Fujimaru Ritsuka and Ryu were in charge of preparing dinner.

Of course, Ryu was in charge of gathering firewood and starting a fire, while Fujimaru Ritsuka was in charge of cooking.

Ryu was very unwilling to accept this, but there was nothing she could do. She simply couldn't cook a meal that anyone could eat normally, so she had to accept the fact that her feminine charm was temporarily zero.

As for Fujimaru Ritsuka, although her cooking skills are average, she can at least eat something normal, especially in the wild. If you're not expecting anything fancy, she can easily make a simple stew.

By the time Daphne and Cassandra had set up their tent, Fujimaru Ritsuka had already prepared a pot of mixed potato, vegetable, and beef stew.

The four sat around the campfire, eating and chatting.

"To be honest, this expedition was an experience I had never had before."

Daphne ate while reminiscing.

“We’ve been here before when we were with the Apollo Familia, but it usually took us several days to get here. Reaching the 18th floor on the first day was the fastest we could do. It would take at least a day to get to the Great Tree Maze, not to mention the Water City. If the floor master refreshes, it will take us a very long time to get here. If it doesn’t refresh, it will probably take us a whole day.”

"But today, I actually got here in just one day."

"It's mainly because there are many members of the Apollo clan."

Fujimaru Ritsuka helped her think of a reason.

"The Apollo Familia consists of over a hundred people, most of whom are newcomers at LV1. There are fewer than five LV2 members, including two. Only Hyacinthus, at LV3, serves as the main fighting force. Commanding such a large force and making it move quickly is no easy task."

"There are only four of us, the fewer the better, we can command them."

"The main reason is still the two of you; you two cleared the monsters too quickly."

Daphne looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"After all, even the floor master was taken down by you with two arrows. If the higher-ups find out about this, it will probably cause a huge uproar, just like when you killed Golia when you were at LV1."

“I needed these upheavals back then, but I don’t need them now.”

When she first arrived in Orario, the bigger the commotion she made, the more attention she received. But now, there's no one in Orario who receives more attention than Fujimaru Ritsuka.

Therefore, there's no need to spread the word about someone dominating a thread and make it trend on social media.

"That's right. Right now, you are the one who truly stands at the top of Orario."

Daphne looked at Fujimaru Ritsuka with envy in her eyes.

“You’re not bad either. You’re my companion, the one who’s at the top.”

Envy turned into joy.

"Indeed! I am a companion of those who stand at the top!"

Daphne has been at LV2 for many years. Because she prioritizes her own survival, she has experience in all aspects of life, but she has failed to level up.

Now, listening to Fujimaru Ritsuka's words, she felt a long-lost enthusiasm to work hard and level up quickly.

Seeing the smile on Daphne's face, Fujimaru Ritsuka also spoke up to remind her.

"Hurry up and eat. You must be tired after walking all day. Let's eat and then take a nap together. We'll head to the 29th floor tomorrow morning."

Daphne shook her head in response.

"No, we still need to send someone to keep watch at night."

While safe floors are indeed safe, they are only safe to a certain extent. Monsters won't spawn automatically, but you never know when monsters from other floors might accidentally wander over. Also, there are other adventurers out there; the wickedness of human nature is an essential part of dungeon adventures.

"Don't worry about keeping watch."

Fujimaru Ritsuka took a specially made magic stone out of her pocket.

"Isn't this a magic stone?"

"I have inscribed a spell on it. I will unfold it later to form a defensive barrier. Although it is not large, it can defend our entire camp. No attack will be able to break through this barrier."

"any?"

"any!"

This is the defensive barrier that Chen Gong used to surround the city. Guess how strong it is?

"Because it will be running continuously, this magic stone can only last for 7 hours. After 7 hours, the magic stone will be completely consumed and lose its effect."

"Seven hours is enough!"

Being able to sleep soundly for 7 hours in the dungeon, what more can I say!

"Looks like there's something even more comfortable than my previous expeditions."

She used to be in charge of command, and let alone getting 7 hours of sleep, she was lucky if she could get 3 hours of restful sleep.

"In that case, I'll go and get some rest!"

Cassandra, who hadn't said a word, nodded happily. As a healer, she hadn't done anything the whole way. She had originally planned to take the night watch, since she had to do something, but now she could finally rest properly, which was so comfortable.

After dinner, Daphne and Cassandra crawled into a tent together, while Fujimaru Ritsuka set up the barrier around the campfire.

A blue barrier rose from the magic stone, covering the entire camp. This prevented outsiders from entering the camp and also prevented attacks.

"very good."

Fujimaru Ritsuka looked at the barrier and nodded in satisfaction.

He had considered summoning sea monsters to help guard the place, but there was no paint available, and the original color of the summoned monsters would still be somewhat nauseating. Although Liu was there, all members of the Astrea Familia within the aura would gain mental resistance, but the nausea would still be there, so he decided against it. He would use Chen Gong's defensive barrier and a magic stone dropped by a mid-level monster, which would be just enough to get through the night.

Fujimaru Ritsuka, having completed the barrier setup, turned around and saw Ryu standing in front of the tent, lost in thought.

"What's wrong, Senior Liu? Aren't you going in?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka walked past with a puzzled look.

Liu stiffened for a moment, then quickly nodded.

"Of course I'll go in. I... I'm just waiting for you."

"Then let's go in together."

Fujimaru Ritsuka said, pulling open the tent flap and gesturing for Ryu to go in first.

With her back to the firelight, Ryu blushed slightly, but still crawled into the tent and lay down directly on the simple bed that had already been laid out, shrinking herself into a corner and facing the tent.

The tent, which could originally accommodate two people lying down, now occupies less than a third of the space after she shrunk down, leaving a large empty area.

Fujimaru Ritsuka watched Ryu's actions and couldn't help but smile slightly before crawling into the tent and lying on the bed.

As Fujimaru Ritsuka lay down, he could feel that the moment he lay down, Ryu's body stiffened and her breathing became a little labored.

The pure elf girl is sleeping in the same bed with a man for the first time, and she looks very nervous.

“Senior Liu, you’re too far to the corner. You can move to the center a bit. There’s plenty of space.”

"I...I know."

Ryu replied stiffly, while moving slightly closer to Fujimaru Ritsuka, but she remained hunched over.

Seeing Ryuna's nervous expression, Fujimaru Ritsuka started the conversation.

"Senior Liu, how are you feeling right now?"

"How do I feel?"

"Yes, we'll be able to reach the 30th floor tomorrow."

When the 30th floor was mentioned, Ryu's expression immediately dimmed, but quickly brightened again.

"It's probably excitement. If you succeed, Ritsuka, everyone can come back."

"I see. It seems I'm carrying a lot of hopes from my seniors."

Fujimaru Ritsuka smiled.

"If we fail tomorrow, my senior will probably be very disappointed. It's like the hope that just appeared has been extinguished again."

"That's not true."

Liu quickly sat up.

"I have already accepted the fact that everyone has left. Now it's just another possibility. Even if you can't do it, Ritsuka, I won't be disappointed, and I won't blame you."

"I see."

Fujimaru Ritsuka also sat up.

"Then I absolutely cannot let you down, senior."

He looked at Ryu seriously.

"Senior, don't worry, I will definitely bring all the first generation of predecessors back to your side."

Ryu stared at Ritsuka's serious face, stunned for a moment before nodding firmly.

"Yes, Ritsuka, I believe you."

"That's good!"

Fujimaru Ritsuka laughed.

"As for now, get some rest. You don't want to look like you haven't slept well when you see the first generation of seniors tomorrow, do you?"

With that, Fujimaru Ritsuka lay back down.

Ryu laughed and lay back down. This time, she was no longer huddled in the corner with her back to Fujimaru Ritsuka, but was lying on her back just like Fujimaru Ritsuka.

"Lixiang".

"What's wrong, senior?"

"Call me by my name, just like before."

“That… Ryu.”

"Ah."

A satisfied smile appeared on Liu's face.

Goodnight, Ritsuka.

Goodnight, Ryu.

The two of them closed their eyes and fell asleep.

The four of them got up early the next morning and set off.

After the floor master on the 27th floor, although the 29th floor is a new environment, the monsters on the way are obviously not as strong as the floor master, and they still pose no threat to them.

Following the guild's instructions, the four collected materials from the designated area and then headed straight for the 30th floor, to the site where the first Asteria Familia was wiped out—a place Ryu would probably never forget in his life.

Upon arriving at the location of the total annihilation, Alice Phil in Fujimaru Ritsuka's BOX immediately lit up.