Chapter 52 - Trouble...
Sleeping was difficult because there was only 3 of them. Ais had the first watch. Bell got the second watch, and then Wiene got the third watch. Ais was also puzzled why Bell would not answer her question last night...
They hoped that the floors would go faster as they start using the vertical holes, but no one had gone beyond the 62nd floor. While Revis told them they have pretty much seen all the types of monsters, minus a couple tougher goliaths and dragons, there was still a lot of uncertainty. If they run into thousands violas and virgas, it would be difficult to avoid a dangerous time-consuming fight. After the calls with Hestia and Finn/Riveria, they started heading into the labyrinth floors.
In the call with Hestia, Hestia reminded Ais not to seduce Bell...
In the call with Finn and Riveria, they promised Ais a special gift when she returns...
Back at the Hestia home, Welf and Mikoto added an additional decoration on the door for Ais/Bell's room - a baby teething ring... Thus, Hestia decided that Welf and Mikoto are going have a really really really difficult time earning their next update, whenever that happens.
To prepare for the deep floors, Wiene transformed and Bell/Ais installed the armor and lightning sharp edges.
The labyrinth floors were much more busy than the last trip. Even with use of the vertical holes, they had to defeat 5 dragons over several encounters. These large dragons were pretty tough, but Bell typically used 30 second argonaut Ariel/Crystal attacks that were quite effective. After consuming the magic stones from 5 dragons, Wiene felt noticeably stronger. When the team reached the 61st floor, no fighters appeared, which agreed with Revis' statement that none should be left.
Thus, they kept descending, with their strategy being 1) take a quick look around and if there are hundreds of dangerous monsters 2) if so, decide whether they would be able to get through the floor on their return 3) if not, then head for the next vertical hole or exit to the next level, whichever one is closer.
Floor 63 - avoided a dragon and a group of scorpions.
Floor 64 - avoided some titan alm plants.
Floor 65 - had to blast a large group of black rhinos, but did not stop for the magic stones.
Floor 66 - vertical hole went straight through the level
Floor 67 - had to blast a group of large spiders.
Floor 68 - encountered a large goliath that could not be avoided. This goliath was a difficult fight. Ais and Bell asked Wiene to keep her distance while they try some Ariel/firebolt attacks. The goliath took damage but fired back with lightning attacks. Fortunately, Bells' magic resistance absorbed most of the damage. Bell immediately activated hati that prevented additional attacks from causing much damage when combined with his magic resistance. However, the goliath was regenerating quickly, forcing them to retreat while Bell charged argonaut. When Bell was ready, they would launch their argonaut spell attack before jumping in with physical attacks. After charging for 1 minute, the argonaut Ariel strike severely damaged the goliath. At which point, they went in for physical attacks that finished it off. Wiene did used up a lightning charge, so a new sharp edge had to be installed on her right talon. But the magic stone was worth the effort.
Floor 69 - avoided a few scorpions, a group of black rhinos and some barbarians.
Floor 70 - on the last floor with information from Revis, they took their time to search around for vertical holes to the floor 71 as well as the types of monsters on the floor.
Floor 71 - The first floor Revis did not provide information on. It was a 'normal' floor. Not knowing where the exit was and where vertical holes were, they had to tread more carefully around the floor. They were able to locate a few vertical holes on different areas on the floor, and went down one of them.
Floor 72 - This floor was another normal floor. They were also able to avoid some random monsters like a dragon and a few black rhinos. Ais and Bell did use a few Ariel/firebolt attacks to deter a large swarm of hornets. They were able to located 2 vertical holes and went down one of them.
Floor 73 - 84 - These were more normal floor with a few random monsters. They have gotten better at evading monsters and were able to avoid instead of engaging. They would mapped out the vertical holes on the floor and proceeded down one of them.
Floor 85 - This floor was beautiful and resembled the 18th floor - Lush vegetation, crystal formations, very high roof, crystal lighting, and seeming lacked many monsters. They were able to locate a few vertical holes on different areas on the floor, but then it was lunch time. By flying and avoiding battles, they have descended an amazing 35 floors in 4 hours! Before lunch, they went down one of the vertical holes.
Floor 86 - This floor was bitter cold. Ais and Bell had to embrace tightly to maximize the sharing of bodily warmth, though Wiene was fine. As the turned the corner around an ice wall, a cone of ice struck Ais and Bell...