At the end of the day, Issei reached the thirteen floor. Unlike the previous floors, the floor that Issei was on has gotten more difficult. The lower he descends in the dungeon, the more dangerous the dungeon becomes. However, Issei hasn't shown everything he is capable of. The entire time, he hasn't even used any of his magic.
"This is getting harder, but it's fun," Issei said. Getting challenged isn't something that often happens for Issei, but when it does happen, he would take advantage of it and have as much fun as he could. Issei looked at his sword, and it was in bad shape. "I guess even coating this sword in sword intent isn't enough to keep up with me. Then again, most swords wouldn't be able to withstand the techniques I use. But this sword is now falling apart. As long as I hold on to it, I could use my Knight of Owner to turn it into a Noble Phantasm of D rank".
The moment Issei used Knight of Owner, the sword in his hand was covered in green energy and red like veins. The rank of the weapon rose to a D rank Noble Phantasm. Although it wasn't a very high-quality weapon, it was good enough to reach at least the 50th floor.
"Good enough," Issei said. He looked in front of him, and monsters were charging at him. Issei didn't have the patient to wait for them to reach him. So, he dashed towards them with Shundō. "Ha-ha-ha! Let's have some fun!".
With each slash of Issei, not one, two, or three, but more than a dozen monsters would be decapitated. Each swing of Issei's sword is like a river flowing. The entire time, Issei had a smile on his face. Although he couldn't be called a Battle Maniac, Issei did like fighting when it doesn't involve getting the people he cares about hurt.
After killing all the monsters on the floor, Issei decided not to descend to the next floor. Instead, he created a barrier around him and entered his soul subspace. This Soul Subspace was something he received when he absorbed a Page of the Temporal Demon Spirit Book.
This subspace has a few benefits. One, Issei can use it as a living space for the people he loves. Two, it can be used to train people. Those who train inside the subspace benefit from its ability to help its residents to comprehend their techniques. Three, the subspace has a ratio of 1:24. 1 day inside the subspace is equivalent to 1 hour in the real world. Lastly, Issei has complete control of the subspace. He can change what it looks like to accommodate all those that live within.
Why would Issei enter the subspace when he's inside the dungeon? Issei wants to access his Divine Sword Knowledge – God to learn Sun Breathing. Why? Isn't Issei strong enough as is? True, but Issei has the hunger to continue getting stronger no matter how strong he got. Learning a new sword style is just another way to get stronger.
While Issei was in his subspace to train the Sun Breathing. Issei-II, on the other hand, was struggling on the 25th floor. That's right, he hasn't made any progress at all. Then again, it was to be expected since Ddraig was not allowing him access to the Boosted Gear.
"Damn it! When are those monsters going to leave!" Issei-II complained. A few hours ago, the monsters in the dungeon suddenly increased. Thankfully, they weren't after him. "This is insane! It's getting worse by the minute! I don't know how long I'll last in these conditions".
[You have no choice but to do your best] Ddraig said. He felt that the increase in monsters spawn was done by the other Issei. He didn't know why, but that was the feeling he was getting. [As great as your hiding spot is. Eventually, you'll get caught].
"What do you want me to do?! There is nothing I can do to fight these monsters since you aren't allowing me to use the Boosted Gear!" Issei-II whispered to Ddraig. He looked at the glowing area on the back of his left hand. "And this damn sword he gave me is useless! I couldn't even scratch that snake earlier".
[Your wrong, the sword in your hand is a powerful weapon] Ddraig said. He felt the power of the sword long ago. However, Issei didn't have the physique to bring out the true potential of the sword. [With enough strength, that sword in your hand is capable of cutting just about anything he can physically cut. Right now, you're simply too weak to make use of the sword].
"Is it really that great?" Issei-II asked. He got confirmation from Ddraig that it was. "Then how could I use this thing? As you said, I don't have the strength to bring out its true potential".
[The power of the Boosted Gear could bring out its true potential if you Boost yourself enough] Ddraig said. He then sighed. [If only you could stop being lecherous for a few minutes, I could allow you access to the Boosted Gear. Alas, your damn pervertedness is disgustingly more important to you than your life. I already told you that if you want to use the Boosted Gear, you need to stop having perverted thoughts].
"I tried!" Issei-II shouted. How can he not have lewd thoughts when the breasts of the Harpies were there for all to see. "He-he-he! The Oppai of the Harpies go boing-boing…".
[Snap out of it!] Ddraig shouted. He really thought that it would be better to let Issei-II die and let him get a new host before he gets a weird nickname like the Oppai Dragon. [The more you continue to be this way, the faster you'll dig your grave].
Raynare and Serafall were shopping in the Tower of Babel outside the dungeon. Seeing the cool looking adventurer clothing that some of the adventurers were wearing, the duo thought about looking at some of the armour in the famous Hephaestus store.
While Serafall was not that knowledgeable about weapons as she doesn't use any, she could tell that some of the weapons were high quality. However, the same cannot be said for Raynare. When she saw the weapons around, she felt disappointed. Not a single weapon even comes close to one of the Legend Rank or Epic Weapons that Issei is capable of producing.
"Ray? What's with that look?" Serafall asked. She saw the disappointed look on Raynare's face. "Is there something wrong with these weapons? I think they seem great".
"No, none of the weapons here can rival Issei's weapons," Raynare said. She looked around and found a great sword that could be considered the best. However, it was leagues behind Issei's epic weapons. "I don't get why this place is famous. Not a single weapon here is any good".
"If the weapons are no good, let's look at the armours," Serafall said. She dragged Raynare to another section of the store. "Look, this place is the armour section. Let's look around".
This time, it was Serafall's turn to be disappointed. Although she didn't know if Issei was the one that made the Robe of the Sage or not, the armour around the shop looked disappointing when compared to Issei's Robe of the Sage.
"Okay, this time, you're the one that looks disappointed," Raynare said. She saw Serafall look disappointed with all the armour around the shop. "Is there anything wrong with the armours?".
"I can't really say. I've seen Issei's Robe of the Sage when we enter a Magical Girl Convention. That robe was phenomenal," Serafall said. She loved the Robe of the Sage that Issei wore that day. It didn't just make him look hot, but it emitted an aura of superiority. "Compared to that robe, all these are like a piece of junk".
The entire time that Raynare and Serafall were bad-mouthing the equipment from the Hephaestus store, the store workers could no longer take it. They couldn't tolerate their products being insulted.
"Who are you two to say such words about the quality of our products? You're not even blacksmiths. You wouldn't know the blood, sweat and tears that were shed when these weapons were created!" One of the Hephaestus Familia members shouted. "Every item sold on the shop floor and showcased is equipment that has been acknowledged by Hephaestus-sama herself! How dare you say that they are of low quality!".
To be fair, Raynare and Serafall never said that the quality of the equipment is low. They merely stated that it doesn't come close to anything Issei has or made. This is true.
"We said no such things!" Serafall said. She looked at the person that shouted at her and Raynare. "You are spouting nonsense! We merely said that the quality of this store doesn't come close to the equipment that our husband has or made".
"Lies! I heard you call our products a piece of junk!" The man said. He then pointed at everyone in the store. "I have witnesses. They all heard what you said!".
"Are you perhaps deaf?" Raynare asked the man. The man recoiled at the sight of Raynare. "We never said that the products here were junk. We said that compared to the Robe of the Sage that our husband owns, everything here is like a piece of junk. That doesn't mean we are implying that the things here are junk. Do you understand? Or do I need to spell everything out for you so that you'd understand what the words I'm saying mean?".
While Raynare and Serafall were arguing with the man, a beautiful woman with short red hair arrived. She saw one of her Familia members arguing with a customer and wanted to know what was happening.
"Sedrick, what's going on here?" Hephaestus asked. He looked at the man for an explanation. "Why exactly are you making a scene here?".
"H-Hephaestus-sama! It isn't my fault!" Sedrick shouted. He then pointed at Serafall and Raynare. "These two women were slandering our blacksmiths' hard work! They called our products a piece of junk!".
Hephaestus listened to her child, but she didn't believe him. Why? That's because she saw the whole thing. Hephaestus heard what Serafall and Raynare said about the items in the store. They never called the equipment junk. They merely said that compared to something, it could be considered junk.
"Why are you lying to me, Sedrick?" Hephaestus asked. The man recoiled after he heard what Hephaestus said. "I saw the entire thing. They never outright said that our products are junk. They inferred that it could be considered junk compared to their husband's work. Tell me, Sedrick. When did they call our items junk?".
The man named Sedrick was cowering in the presence of his Goddess. All he wanted to do was humiliate the duo saying horrible things about the products produced by their Familia's blacksmith. In the end, he was scolded by his Goddess.
Hephaestus was looking at Serafall and Raynare. The words that they said weren't lies. That would mean that there is a person out there capable of forging weapons and armour better than her Familia.
Excited. That's what Hephaestus was feeling. She didn't know why, but the prospect of meeting the husband of the duo made her excited. Huh? The husband of the duo? She stared at both women in shock. Someone was able to make two powerful women become their wives? Hephaestus got even more intrigued by the kind of man their husband was.