Chapter 31 - A Good Surprise?
The next morning, half of team 1 & 2 put on their Hades Hat and started descending down the dungeon again. Even though it is the same strategy, they decided it could still provide an advantage over the level 6 or 7 type enemies. Furthermore, the Xenos destroyed the previous traps. They would be installing traps further down the dungeon.
Back in Orario, Welf was recovered and working with Hephaestus and Tsubaki on thin metal layers for armor charging.
At the headquarters, the gods were in still in constant communications with all the groups. As there is no new information, there has been no adjustments in strategy. Meanwhile, Hestia and Loki were having a pacing competition for the ages...
There were no meaningful encounters until the 45th floor colosseum, which still had the same types of monsters. Team 1 slashed right through the colosseum, but team 2 will collect 50 magic stones from destroyed monsters for Wiene. Ais and Bell delivered those to a happy Wiene. After consuming the stones, Wiene felt stronger, and should have reached level 6 pre-boost, though fight testing is needed to be sure. Wiene's progress was reported to headquarters, which was adamant that this was not the time or place to do fight testing. Furthermore, the gods were better judge of power levels anyways. Loki also commented that even Hestia had some trouble reading her progress though it seemed Wiene was halfway from 'leveling'. So the results seem to be pretty consistent.
In the 47th floor colosseum with similar monsters, team 1, team 2 and perimeter 1 all slashed right through. With a slight change in strategy, Hermes had Perimeter 2 stayed and fought with hundreds of monsters. As a result, 153 magic stones were collected for Wiene. The group then quickly caught up with the other groups. After Wiene consumed those stones, a reasonable increase was felt in power level. The inexact power increase was reported to Hermes, who surmised that magic stones of higher level monsters are needed for significant power increase after level 6. In the 48th floor colosseum with similar monsters, team 1, team 2 and perimeter 1 again slashed right through. Hermes again had Perimeter 2 stayed behind, where 181 magic stones were collected for another small power increase for Wiene.
On the 49th floor, they confirmed that no Balor was there. At that point, Freya suggested that traps be set up on the 50th floor in the event of a retreat. That was also a good point for lunch and a rest. Thus, traps were installed on the 50th and the 49th floors. During advantage of the lunch stop, Wiene transformed to her wyvern form and did some quick sparring with Bell. She seemed certain that she was past level 6 pre-boost, but she could not tell exactly where she is. Finn and Riveria concurred that Wiene is fighting at least at level 7 post-boost. After the testing, Wiene transformed back and the groups continued their descent.
When team 1 & 2 reached the 52nd floor, they encountered a varlang dragon. While the dragon was defeated with a 1 minute argonaut Ariel/firebolt, everyone was surprised that the dragon was not harvested by the enemy. From the headquarters, Loki and Hermes asked for the teams to halt their advance while they thought it over. During the stoppage, Finn came up with a theory. Perhaps the enemy was too busy preparing to travel so many floors to harvest? Or perhaps their numbers are sufficiently limited that they did not want the harvesting party to be destroyed? Hermes suggested a bad scenario in which the enemy was busy setting traps and curses. At the same time, Bell and Ais delivered the magic stone to Wiene, who got another small power boost.
After a 10 minute conversation, there were just too many unknowns for all the high level combatants to be deep in the dungeon. Thus, the decision was made to immediately recall the Ganesha familia back to the surface while setting traps at the dungeon entrance area. The decision was made to go all in with the war, but his would provide some protection just in case the enemy escapes the army. As the Ganesha familia rushed back, the 4 groups continued to descend. One more dragon was encountered on the 56th floor. To save Bell's argonaut energy, it was dealt with by Riveria, while Wiene got another small power boost.
After reaching the 59th jungle floor, teams 1 & 2 both reported that there were no signs of demi-spirits or unusual monsters. At that point, Hermes requested that Wiene transform into the wyvern form with her armor and sharp edges installed. They decided her availability in the beginning of a firefight is more important than hiding her identity at this point. With Wiene transformed and armored, she and the Wiene armor group join the perimeter 1 group. After the short stop and a quick dinner, the groups started their march down to the 60th floor of the dark abyss that seems to absorb any stray light...