Author's Note

A small warning. In this chapter, a few new spells will be introduced based on Hindu legends. I took inspiration from the legends I found, but am by no means an expert on them so please consider that fact, if there are any inconsistencies.

Another good thing is that by now me and Hapa have prepared a small buffer of 2 chapters. This not only increases the quality of the chapters when they are uploaded but also guarantees that we will continue with 1 chapter a fortnight for a good while.

Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Omori; all rights go to him. I only own my original characters Sleipnir, Ikuchi, Sylphie, and all the others (including the Ganesha members in this chapter).

Hapa: We have a new type of Dialogue to add with Sly's new magic making a debut. Although it isn't fully new Acatl has been using it a lot behind the scenes.

Speech: "Watch me prank the entire Apollo familia. They won't see me coming from the second layer!" Sylphie calls proudly to the authors.

Thoughts: 'Yes, after all, you will be invisible.' Shimizu thinks amused, while Hapa warns. 'Better watch out for Apollo Sylphie. He can see you even in the second layer.'

Screaming/Demonic Voice: "The pervert god. I will distract him with his only weakness! The bra of Lydia."

Magic: Happa smirks at Shimizu. "I shall discover thy person from the color of thou underwear. - Appolo's Eye!"

Runes: Evil pervert begone. Nemesis of the pervert! Reverse Harem no Jutsu Appolo Style! - "Fuin!" Shimizu thinks he has outsmarted Hapa until he notices Apollo swings both ways.

Chapter 19 Mischief and Teamwork

Afternoon - Solis Manor - Sylphie POV

Sly had shown her the perfect place she could prank. A manor filled to the brim with weak adventurers, with a handful of stronger adventurers on the level of her fellow spirit. And somewhere in there was a god like the evil goddess that caught her.

This will be a fitting test to see whether her new traps would work on a deity, but first she had to map the place and see if she overheard anything important. 'I'll stay on the second layer then none of the adventurers can see me. Oh, and I have to keep out of sight of the god, otherwise, he could banish me from the grounds.'

With the idea fixed in her mind, Sylphie entered the Solis Manor. She went through the rooms and if there was nobody present appeared in the first layer to rummage through the stuff of the missing adventurers. Only a few were present as it was still afternoon, so she didn't have free reign over all the rooms of the Apollo Familia. This said, surely, they wouldn't notice a few snacks missing or a thing or two being misplaced right? And in case somebody came too close she could always hide away in the second layer once she managed to avoid their gaze for 15 seconds. Although that would force her to drop all the items she had collected.

With the time it took for her to change layers in mind, Slyphie began with the rooms on the outer edge of the manor, which were brightly lit but filled with simple beds. She would have to delve a little deeper to find some worthy targets.

A few minutes later Sylphie entered the core area of the manor in the second layer. The halls were brightly lit by magic stone lamps, lavish carpets covered the floors and stylish plants were placed around every corner. Of course, every door was locked making Sylphie pout.

'Why do mortals close their doors with pieces of iron? With my strength of a tier 1 spirit in the first layer! I can forget about breaking the locks. And using my wind to unlock them is just as pointless. Iron is annoying! Pure iron isn't mana conductive and is slightly disruptive to mana. It wouldn't stop me if my mana density was higher, but with the limitations of tier 1 magic, it becomes a hurdle… I will just have to find a key.'

She continues a little further until she hears the distressed murmuring of a human. "Please believe me Daphne! We need to convince Lydia-san not to do it! I saw it! It will go horribly, horribly wrong! The plan works, but it goes too far! It awakens a monster! I still see the teal glow of slitted eyes and two thrashing appendages of pure magic descending amidst a whirlwind of ropes to the terrified pleads of an orange-haired fairy!"

Sylphie gets a little closer to the pair with a frown. The one called Daphne has medium-length red hair with yellow eyes. She retorts, "Cassandra please stop with your dreams! Targeting him won't be any trouble. The more troublesome thing will be finding him alone and disrupting his magic. You know Lydia cares little for your dreams, she is too practical for it! She'd sooner stop entertaining Apollo-sama than listen to your dreams!"

The timid woman Cassandra has waist-length blue hair with light green eyes. "But Daphne it has never been this bad before! No matter what I try the dream remains the same every night! I even saw glimpses of a wargame and a gold fletched arrow that-"

Daphne turns around to look Cassandra directly in the eyes and give her a light chop to the head, causing Cassandra to shrink in on herself. "Cassandra! Please be quiet! We are already forced to stay in the Solis Manor and to keep you, our only healer, safe from the threat of an invisible spy. We can't even join the teams who are trying to level up in preparation for a war game! We don't want to add another concern to Lydia-san's plate, or she might not let you out of her sight anymore. So please, keep quiet!"

Sylphie continues floating behind them, but the conversation is mostly over. However, what the girls could not see was the human-bovine spirit behind them. 'That was harsh from her... Why does she try to ignore the warnings of the seer girl? With a kudan following her around, her prophecies should be taken seriously. Seers are rare even among spirits and should be honored.'

With that thought, Sylphie quickly bows to the kudan, a tier 3 spirit, before flying onwards. 'A seer in the enemy camp. Sly will have to account for her, but from that interaction, it seems her prophecies aren't taken seriously.' Slyphie's eyes narrow. 'But they have a plan to target Sly, I will have to tell him, but after laying a few wind traps in the room of the mean redhead!'

Following that interaction Sylphie continued scouting the interior of the Solis Manor and overheard a few more conversations between the adventurers; most of them were discussing preparations they were taking like Daphne indicated.

It was time.

Sylphie backtracked and started setting multiple wind wire traps in the halls for those wandering the manor to trip or even walk into a barrier of wind wire at head level. To complement this, Sylphie searched for the perfect window to enter the first layer and steal the panties of a few female adventurers and stuffed them under the locked doors of male adventurers; she even draped one of Daphne's bras upon the door knob to "Lord" Apollo's master bedroom. It took some doing to sneak into Daphne's room with the named adventurer, but the reward of drawing the god's eye to Daphne was well worth it.

Next was the kitchen around mid-afternoon. With some sneaking into a few of the women's rooms, Sylphie acquired some powder foundation to mix with the flour supply in the kitchen. Then she decided to switch the salt and sugar in the containers she found to ruin the day for tea drinkers and meat prepared by the cooks. While difficult at her size, it was still possible with multiple trips and very worth it.

It didn't take her long to see adventurers stumbling and bumping into each other. Besides the obvious wind wires, she also laid many small wires mere centimeters above the ground to cause unprepared adventurers to stumble. Yells and arguments broke out in the manor as faceplants and discoveries of panties under doors and on doorknobs occurred.

Sylphie's favorite was when the cooking crew entered the kitchen to begin dinner only for a cut-up sack of the flour-powder mixture to slam into the lead's face as a result of the string being cut from the door opening. An audible *thump* of impact followed by the lead and assistant chefs coughing amidst a cloud of white powder was Sylphie's reward for the many trips it took to set up the sack. She could only laugh more at the appearance of the crew with white faces and hair covered in powder.

Unfortunately, the commotion drew the attention of a strong, golden-tan woman with shoulder-length black hair who quickly noticed the traps and began using her arrows to cut through them, while instructing her familia members to use swords against the invisible traps.

'It seems I have found my primary target! Let's have some fun!' With those thoughts, Sylphie flew after Lydia and began harassing her with pranks. Be it using her windstrings to move objects in her way, changing the temperature of her shower, or "misplacing" her clothes out her bedroom window Sylphie had a plethora of options she employed and had many more for future "visits."

Triumphant in her first raid, Sylphie escaped the Solis Manor through a window on the top floor into the moonless night with a small pseudo-satchel made from one of Lydia's veils. The bounty consisted of an assortment of jewelry including a bracelet she nicked from one of the female adventurers, a couple rings from a particularly snoobish elf, and a ring from Apollo's room. She could only grin as she made her way high in the air over Orario taking a round-about route back towards the Martial Dojo to ensure no pursuers while she was visible in the first layer.

'I'm sure Sly will be quite pleased with the stories and loot I have from the Apollo Familia. I wonder what he is up to now?'

Hidden Lair - Sleipnir POV

For the first 7 hours, Sly meditated while regaining his lost mana. Afterward, he used the remaining hour to take notes and improve his equipment. Ikuchi used the time to first observe Sly and his notes giving a growl at the wyvern entry before he grew bored and started snacking on the enhanced magic stones.

Sly's Dungeon Journal (Private Entry)

Middle Floor: 15

Secret Passage: The indentations I found were closely tied to the crystal structures found in the center of the Cave Labyrinth. Different from the Upper Floors, every indentation required 3 magic stones to activate. The only reason I found them was because my Illusion Domain was distorted by the indentations.

Monsters:

Crystal Mantis: A 1-meter-high monster, that is made entirely out of crystal in a deep purple shade; perfect for hiding among the many crystals in the middle floors. It seems to prefer stealth and is proficient in the use of surprise tactics. Their magic stone can be hidden anywhere within their body. Enhanced variants seem to forego the camouflage of their purple shade for a dark shade better suited for night.

Weak points: All but their claws. Their crystal structure is very brittle. Finding the magic stone is difficult in the deep purple shade of their body.

Drop Items: Crystals

Value: 2'000 Valis

Wyvern: A draconic… Hnngh! A lesser draconic monster of different shades. Depending on their element. Purple represents lightning, red for fire and I will add further variations once I meet them. They are very nimble in the air and can harass close-range fighters with their breath attacks. If they are earthbound, their agility and dexterity will reduce drastically.

Weak points: Wings and eyes

Drop Items: Wing Leather

Value: 8'000 Valis

Lamia Mormos: A humanoid monster with a long snakelike tail. Their tail spans at least 3 meters and their upper body is slightly larger than a large humanoid. They prefer fighting in water and are likely slower on land. Enhanced versions have black scales and can bind opponents in seconds while using surprise tactics. Their strength is high enough to choke even a high-level two if they have no backup.

Weak points: Their upper body. Same weakness as any humanoid. Fighting them out of water is critical!

Drop Items: Lamia Fang

Value: Enhanced 25'000 Valis (estimated)

Storm Dragon: A monster native to the Watercity. A true dragon with two breath attacks and capable of higher mana control to manipulate water. The young stage lacks flight up to the adolescent stage (I guess) but are natural swimmers and should not be fought in water. Their scales are susceptible to fire and weaken with prolonged exposure.

Weak points: Amusingly, Lightning and Fire. Due to their second eyelid, their eyes are covered in two layers of armor.

Drop Items: Blue Dragon Scales (Still did not notice me taking them), Golden Dragon Scale (Couldn't get my hands on one of those yet)

Value: -

Sly noticed a larger stone to the side and picked it up; it was the lamia mormos stone. Sly put it in a pouch while Ikuchi occupied himself with the mantis stones. After he finished his meditation and his notes, Sly's thoughts focused. 'Now that both Ikuchi and I are awake, and I finished my dungeon journal it's time to get back on topic. I avoided this conversation long enough. If only Ikuchi-san wasn't so blunt and young-minded.' Sly could only sigh.

'It's strange that he isn't more cautious against me… Could he be planning something? Possibly, but it's more likely he is just very excitable. I'll just have to treat him like one of the children from the orphanage.'

For now, Sly still had something to do. "Ikuchi-san. May I mine some of the sparkling stone over there?" He says while pointing at the high silver vein.

Ikuchi perks up. "Oh? You're done scribbling? The sparkling stone? It is pretty, but I don't care about it. If you take some it will regrow again anyways."

With Ikuchi's indifference Sly began mining two pouches worth of ore, to not slow himself down too much. Ikuchi disliked the loud noise and hid in his pond while Sly covered his ears with his helmet which survived the previous encounter with a few dents and a large crack at the back of the head. 'Welf won't be happy about that... Let's hope the ore will appease him.'

Once Sly was done, Ikuchi came back out of his pond and glared at him. "Hngh, done hurting my ears?!" This prompted Sly to distract the dragon. "So why did you eat the magic stones Ikuchi-san?"

Ikuchi perks up. The magic stones? They help me grow of course."

Sly tilts his head in interest and sways his tails hypnotically behind him. "So they behave like excelia... Interesting. Ikuchi-san how would you rank your power among monsters?"

Ikuchi's eyes follow Sly's tail instead of his face, but he answers nonetheless. "Almost able to fight a ligerfang. Only a few more days of adapting to the stones you left me and I'll be able to fight it. What about you? How would adventurers rank me?"

Sly smiles slightly, shrugs his shoulders, while his tails mirror the motion. "Well, I can't be certain, but I am an average mage just beginning in level two. I would consider you to be mid-level 2. Below us are level 1 entities, like most adventurers you likely met in the past. If they are close to my power, they are likely peak level 1 adventurers with high overall stats or maybe low level 2. Below the peak adventurers, there are also high, mid, and low tiers in each level.

For example, the Almiraj are peak level 1 monster in agility and dexterity, hellhounds are around low level 2, and ligerfangs are mid-level 2 for their balanced stats. Can I assume that any enhanced monsters like the ones that have appeared in your lair are enhanced because they ate magic stones?

Ikuchi answers without pause happy to know the answer. "Yes, every monster that is enhanced, ate magic stones and had time to grow into them." Ikuchi pauses and scrunches his face clearly thinking. "Well the ones we fought were born as such. The mother sometimes makes ferals that way, but they will never grow beyond a Xenos."

Sly takes notes on this and prepares another question, however, Ikuchi beats him to it. "But if you are only low-level two, why are you here? Isn't this layer at least mid-level 2 with ligerfangs and minotaurs running around?"

Sly hesitates for a little before deciding to be honest. "Yes, this floor is beyond my strength, which is why I sought shelter in your lair. And I am only here because I fell down, one of the holes in the dungeon."

Ikuchi seems puzzled. He blinks both his eyelids rapidly. "Why didn't you just climb it back up?"

Now Sly waves tails in annoyance. "What do you mean just? I am strong and acrobatic enough but with my injuries and less rope than half the height of the hole it would have been impossible!"

"Can't you just climb the dungeon walls? Like this?" Ikuchi speaks while slowly climbing up the crystal wall and ends up looking at Sly from the ceiling.

Sly could only give Ikuchi an annoyed expression pouting slightly. 'Great. Ikuchi is a bigger and stronger version of a dungeon lizard.'

Shaking his head and tails in exasperation he answers. "Unfortunately, Ikuchi-san I lack the claws needed to grip into hard dungeon stone and climb like you do."

Ikuchi looks at Sly's hands. "Oh, that's true... But why do you add that thing at the end of my name?"

Sly only looks at Ikuchi in confusion uncertain what he means. Before slowly repeating his name. "I-ku-chi-san."

Ikuchi stops him there. "There that's the thing. That san? What does it mean?"

Sly finally follows Ikuchi's line of thought. "Oh, that's an honorific. It represents how much you respect someone you speak to."

Ikuchi lets go and lands before Sly again while watching him in annoyance. "That's stupid. Just call me by my name. I only call you Sly, after you introduced yourself as Sleipnir. Short names are easier."

Sly's tails and eyebrows twitch. 'A dragon who dislikes being honored with words. Does he only respect fighting prowess? And why do I feel like that was a direct insult against me?'

A little later - Floor 14 - Sleipnir POV

After their short conversation, Ikuchi and Sly left the lair and continued Sly's path to the Upper Floors. The passage is quite close to the 14th floor's entrance, so it only took very little time for them to ascend the stairs with Sly hiding their scent.

On the 14th floor where the strongest monsters were hellhounds, Sly changed his illusion into a visual one, barely half a meter in radius to fight more effectively. "Ikuchi, you see the mana domain around me, right?"

Ikuchi watches the mana sphere with both eyelids opened. "Yes, it's smaller than during the last light. It's easier to watch."

By now it is close to midnight and the light crystals on the ceiling of the dungeon are very dim, making the dungeon glow in twilight. Fortunately, neither Sly nor Ikuchi had trouble with the dark, as Ikuchi had his mana sight, while Sly had his nightvision.

Ikuchi can clearly see Sly within the smaller domain. It blocks far less of his vision, and the bright teal color is still the strongest around Sly. He can see Sly's tails which looked like shining beacons and the rest of his body to a lesser extent.

With a nod Sly continues. "Please close your second eyelid."

Ikuchi frowns in confusion but does so. Now he sees nothing but the shadows on the floor. Wait, he sees it. The cave wall behind Sly looks strange. And what's that blue thing? "So I can't see you… Though the place you stand at looks strange."

The strange curve in space moves a little before speaking. "Good. The curving space you see is a sign that you are close to seeing through my illusion. A high-level 2 monster could see the effect to a larger extent and anything above could probably see through my illusion. Now there should also be a silver-blue fox symbol visibly to you."

Now that he knows what it should look like Ikuchi nods. "I see it. But why is it so… weak?"

The symbol makes a little circle in the air. "The word you are searching for is faint. To answer your question what would happen if it was anymore obvious?"

To underline his words Sly makes the illusion a bright blue comparable to Ikuchi's scales and removes the transparency. Ikuchi sees this and raises his head high. "You would tell anyone where you stood. But you make it hard to see, so only those that know about it can know where you are!"

Sly makes himself visible and hides the fox symbol again. "Correct Ikuchi. Whenever I use my visual illusion and you are not using your mana sight you may use that symbol to find me. Now, shall we continue onwards? We will need to avoid large hellhound packs, but aside from them we should be strong enough to fight monsters on our way up. We might even find a few secret passages you haven't found before."

From there they fought most of the smaller monster swarms, while Ikuchi guided them on a direct path to the 14th floor. Neither intent on fighting a mid-level two monster. Strangely they found enhanced level 1 monsters besides the level 2 monsters. From needle rabbits, Sly steered clear of to dark war shadows, which made the battles a little more chaotic.

However, with Ikuchi agreeing to his plan to further observe him they found a strange dynamic. Sly's way of fighting was strange but effective to a stupid degree to the young dragon's mind. This caused him to sometimes make noises on purpose and attract monsters they could have avoided to see how far the spirit could push himself. Of course, he did it as a prank and saw no damage in it.

He still avoided the larger hellhound packs of more than 6 hounds, as they would be strong enough to dry his scales and weaken his defense, which hadn't quite returned from their battle the previous day. At least the scales on his legs were almost healed and had regained their strong defense.

Sly was annoyed with Ikuchi's proclivity for battle, but after the first 3 groups he accepted it as a given. "You know you remind me of a teammate of mine Ikuchi."

"Oh. I am sure we would get along!" The dragon almost makes a victory dance with his wings while clinging to the ceiling.

Sly tails wave behind him quickly, clearly amused. "Maybe. If we got her drunk enough and took her katana away from her."

Ikuchi believes his words. "Great! I will need to meet her then!"

"That was sarcasm. She is a very bullheaded adventurer. The type to attack first and ask questions later. It's better if you continue avoiding adventurers. Most of all, her!"

Shortly after this quick exchange, they found a secret passage on floor 14, thanks to Ikuchi, who knew these floors far better than Sly. Inside they found a group of 30 enhanced almiraj. All of them had the strength of low-level 2 monsters, at least in terms of speed.

Ikuchi was already cheering at the prospect of another grandiose meal. "Perfect! Let's see how long it will take to defeat them. I will go first!"

"Wait just a moment Ikuchi! How about I show you a trick or two? You were interested in improving your magic, right?" Sly offers in a hurry.

Ikuchi instantly turns around and watches Sly intently. "Finally!"

Sly keeps quiet already knowing about the weak manipulation attempt of the dragon. "In this case let's make the most out of your water and lightning breath."

Sly spends the next few minutes teaching Ikuchi about the behavior of water and lightning. However, his main focus was on the magical water Ikuchi's breath attack creates.

In contrast to normal water, Ikuchi's water spell should be the perfect conductor for his lightning breath. The mana within the water acts as a conductor and allows for the otherwise impossible feat of striking multiple enemies, who barely touch the water.

A natural puddle of water struck by a lightning bolt would diffuse the electric charge into the ground within seconds, but the mana within the water changes this, creating an insulating layer of mana between the floor and the magical water, which in turn allows the electricity to propagate through the entire puddle, before discharging into the ground or if there are any opponents through them as they offer the least resistance.

This phenomenon gave Sly the perfect chance to teach Ikuchi how to use more advanced tactics and figure out how exactly Ikuchi's magic behaves in comparison to the ideal example Acatl gave him when he learned of the interactions between magic attributes. He made a quick battle plan and had Ikuchi follow his lead. The young dragon was excited and had to be silenced with a quick illusion before he would reveal their location.

Sly then slowly instructed Ikuchi on his plan. Ikuchi had to use a lot of patience to keep still and listen, but the toothy grin on his muzzle spoke of his expectations.

After the explanation finished, he then quickly ascended the dungeon wall and began to slowly use his breath attack to create large puddles of water. The almiraj were confused, but as the room wasn't too large they stood at the outer edges of the puddle. Which is why they were unprepared for a strafing round of foxfires from behind.

However, the enhanced almiraj showed their agility, when they noticed the fireballs coming at them and scattered before any could get hit. Which in turn separated them and caused around 20 to jump into the puddle before turning towards the direction of the attack.

Ikuchi grinned evilly, he charged his lightning breath to the maximum. Then let it strike the water, and as Sly explained the bright yellow lightning danced through the magical water and into every almiraj within.

The almirajs weren't fast enough to react against the lightning bolt and got paralyzed en masse. This was the signal to begin the melee. Sly attacked from his invisibility, and Ikuchi let himself fall into the middle of his puddle to fight the smaller monsters with strong slashes from his claws and tail, beginning with those he paralyzed before.

The battle wasn't without trouble. Sly took a few hits after an almiraj with faster reflexes than him heard him and forced him to exchange blows. The clanging between his daggers and the dungeon landform axe of the monster attracted enough attention for 3 more to discover his approximate location.

From there Sly had to fight with more care as the 4 almiraj got his scent. All were as fast as him and only a little weaker than him in strength. This forced him to fight defensively against their 4 dungeon landform weapons, while Ikuchi dealt with the remaining 6 mobile almiraj and took down the paralyzed ones.

Ikuchi also took more care than in the battle against the mantises, as he didn't have the benefit of being invisible. It didn't change much from his strategy, but now instead of attacking nonstop, he let the almiraj attack him, moved slightly to the side to block the attacks with the spots where his scales were still complete and countered.

This proved an efficient strategy against the almiraj, who only managed to damage his scales, but nothing beyond, as they weren't all that strong even when enhanced.

The battle continued for a few minutes, where Ikuchi continued killing the paralyzed monsters who were regaining some mobility, and Sly defeated his four opponents, before helping Ikuchi with the 10 that regained their mobility.

Together they continued the battle, and while Ikuchi took some injuries to his head while defending against the 10 almiraj since his scales hadn't fully regrown there, the almiraj took the worst of it.

After the last almiraj fell, Ikuchi cheered with a roar. It would have sounded dignified if his voice wasn't as high-pitched for his size.

Laughing lightly Sly made himself visible. "Perhaps you should grow a little more before you try roaring like a big dragon."

Ikuchi glares at him. "Hmpf! I can take care of myself I do not need to wait!"

Sly merely shrugs with his tails. "And the magic? You used it similarly before didn't you?" 'My theory has been proven. Magical water is highly dangerous in conjunction with lightning magic.'

Ikuchi nods. "Yes, but I only understood little. I didn't know the difference between my water and normal water. How do you know it? You do not have a water breath attack."

Sly smiles while collecting the last magic stones and two dropped landform weapons with his tails. "My magic teacher taught me about the properties of every common mana type. I merely utilized said knowledge. Now shall we continue? I will give you the magic stones when we part ways, you might have some trouble carrying them."

Ikuchi looks at him challengingly. "I can carry them. Just give me one of your bags and I won't have a problem."

Sly accepts the challenge. "If that's the case, where will you carry the satchel? How will you unstrap it and put magic stones inside? Can you protect it during battle?"

Ikuchi looks unsure but does not back down. "Put it on my left foreleg! I can turn it backward to protect it in battle. As for magic stones, my paws can reach it there and, if need be, my muzzle can get there as well."

Sly carefully approaches the confident dragon and unstraps one of his pouches. He binds it around Ikuchi's front left leg behind the elbow. The front is not a problem, but on the back, he has to fold part of Ikuchi's smooth fin to fit the straps. Which makes Ikuchi frown, but he endures it. It wouldn't do to display weakness.

After stepping back Sly looks at the dark blue satchel. Ikuchi begins fitting it a little better, moving it around and also testing how to open it. Surprisingly, he could reach it with his right hindleg, left front leg, and even his muzzle. "Looks like you can reach it. I didn't think your claws would be dexterous enough to manage it. We need to see if you can strap it on if you're on your own. If you can I might leave it to you."

Ikuchi tried it but gave up on it after getting it off, as he did not know how to knot the strap back on. "Fine. I do not know how to put it back. Sly can you put it back on?"

Sly suppresses a chuckle when he sees how disappointed the dragon looks. "You know I might show you how to do it if we meet again. Who wouldn't want to work with you? But for now, we should get to the 13th floor."

Ikuchi follows after him but is quiet. 'Meet him again? Hmm. I do not hate the idea. He recognizes my strength and can show me a lot about magic. But Arles would be furious which is a positive, but he could bring others with him! But he brings tasty food! But the adventurers… but the magic..!'

Out in the dungeon again Ikuchi took the lead in contemplative silence and they continued on their path to the 13th floor. Their steps in tandem with the faint rumbling of the dungeon.

The next few battles passed quietly, neither interested in testing further abilities. At least until Ikuchi noticed the telltale pattern of white scales ahead. Which made him adjust his path in that direction. With a slightly lower stance.

Sly followed from the ground and did not notice the white wyvern flying in the next passage till they got closer, however he noticed Ikuchi's stance. 'Something has Ikuchi on edge. There must be a strong monster.' At which time Ikuchi, landed beside him. "What's your plan for that one Sly?"

Sly looks back. "We avoid it and go another path."

Ikuchi speaks with a slightly aggressive tone. "That won't work. This is one of the central paths. If we avoid it we will have to clear 5 rooms to get around it."

Sly sighs. "Am I correct to assume that is an ice wyvern?" Ikuchi nods. "In that case, my foxfire should be effective. Ikuchi can you pin it to the ground?"

Ikuchi thinks, he is barely 3 meters long and at most 1.5 meters in height, the wyvern on the other hand is easily 3 meters high and 5 meters long. However, most of the wyvern's size came from its wings, which made it at most a few times heavier than Ikuchi. However, he nodded resolutely without even thinking of losing.

"I can. I need to get a grip on its wings, but once I have them it's an earthbound weak lizard." Ikuchi replies with more anger behind his words.

Sly takes note of this, but decides against calling out the Xenos, instead watching the arena. The ceiling is 30 meters high and mostly made from uneven bedrock with a dark blue coloration. "Then the best approach is if you surprise it by jumping it from the air. Once it is grounded, I'll attack its wings and then we can retreat and bombard it with magic. It won't be able to catch up to us on the ground."

Ikuchi nods and climbs above the wyvern slowly and without any sudden movements.

Once he reaches the highest point, he waits until he sees the wyvern below him and lets himself fall with a predatory grin.

The ice wyvern is patrolling its territory, it had to defend its home from a pack of hellhounds already and senses the dungeon's restlessness. Causing it to fly in alertness while watching the ground carefully.

Unfortunately, for the wyvern it wasn't watching the ceiling, as a sudden displacement of air caused it to shriek, but it was already too late. A heavy thing landed on the wyvern and dragged it into the floor with a loud thump.

Ikuchi had to grit his teeth. A fall from 30 meters would be easy to catch, but when he was holding on to a wyvern he couldn't properly catch his fall and injured one of his paws by landing on a crystal. At least the wyvern took the worst of the fall. Now he only needed to grip it tight and show it its place!

This gave Sly the chance to scale the twitching wyvern and begin cutting one of its wings with his dagger. He dragged a long bloody line through its right wing and made the trashing much worse until both he and Ikuchi were thrown away.

The furious wyvern shrieks loudly after throwing them off and charges his ice breath without delay. Sly notices this and retreats further, still invisible the wyvern instead follows Ikuchi with shrieks of bloody murder. However, Ikuchi is only just getting up after landing on his injured paw.

Sly calls to him. "Dodge!"

The dragon however isn't listening to him. "That's it you stupid lesser wyrm. Want to fight a real dragon? I will show you!"

Without bothering to dodge, Ikuchi runs straight into the wyvern breath, causing Sly to look to the side, expecting for Ikuchi to return frozen, or at least heavily cut.

At least until he hears the shrieking of the wyvern resume at an even louder volume. He looks back at it and sees Ikuchi, whose scales shine a light blue instead of the normal sea blue and are exuding frost. Slashing at the wyvern with even more frenzy than during their battle a day ago.

The wyvern's wounds get worse with every slash of Ikuchi's paws. They drag deep red lines across its body, and with only one wing digit and maw to strike back, it can do little against the enraged dragon.

Every strike of the wyvern hits Ikuchi's light blue scales and does little but rip out a few of them with none breaking. The injuries Ikuchi takes are where he lost scales on his stomach, but Ikuchi isn't even paying attention to that and continues the assault.

Sly gets over his surprise and sprints towards the battling monsters. 'Ikuchi isn't thinking straight! Let's hope he still recognizes me as an ally. Who am I kidding? I'll just maintain my illusion and his focus should remain on the wyvern.'

Closer to the dragon Sly prepares 3 large 0.2 meter diameter balls of blue foxfire. Each is around 500 degrees hot. Enough to cost him around 1/20 of his mana, but nothing his still quite full reserve couldn't handle.

Ikuchi continued raging against the wyvern but with the appearance of the foxfire, Ikuchi took a few steps back, still furious, but unwilling to let it hit his scales.

With a clear path, Sly shoots one foxfire at the wyvern's second now injured wing, and two at its torso. It screeches loudly, but it is totally grounded with both of its wings heavily injured and ripped to pieces in some places.

The fireballs hit the wyvern and exploded, creating a deep, charred wound on its stomach and punching through the entire bone holding on to one of its wings, before detonating further back. The ice sub-attribute is weak against fire magic, unlike its close relative the complementary water attribute which would have canceled out the fire magic.

With the injuries inflicted upon the wyvern it collapses to the floor, and Ikuchi jumps back at it, bites its exposed throat, and rips off its head with a loud tearing of muscle tissue. He stands still for a moment, breathing heavily, and sits down. Watching the wyvern dissipate into flecks of dust, a large magic stone, and one fang are left behind.

Sly remains a safe distance away, still cautious of a continuation of Ikuchi's frenzy. There he observes how his scales continue exuding frost. He tries picking up one of the light blue scales, but quickly drops it when he feels how cold it is. The scale is at least 30 degrees below the freezing point of water.

'Ikuchi's scales are weak to fire but appear to absorb ice! No, not quite. They are susceptible to temperature. In low temperatures and even freezing temperatures they are more resistant to damage, and at higher degrees, they dry out and grow brittle.'

Sly still picks up the scales with his robe, and deposits them in a separate satchel, to observe how long they would maintain their temperature. Afterwards, he calmly calls for the Xenos's attention. "Ikuchi. Are you alright?" The dragon watches him confused for a moment, before replying. "Hrrmaa. Yes, everything is alright again."

Sly approaches slowly while picking up the wyvern fang. "What was that about? Why did you enter a frenzy and attack the wyvern contrary to our plan?"

Ikuchi breathes slowly and watches the magic stone. "I will take that one. And wyverns are something I hate. They are beneath dragons in every way and an insult to my existence. They can fly from their hatchday, but I have tried and tried and even after 200 light cycles I still haven't gotten that one ability. I thought with you along, I could fight them better, but even with you I lost my cool."

Sly takes his time to answer, "I can sympathize. I might not have an instinctive grudge against wyvern's but I know hatred. I hate nobles without exception. They are the worst mortals have to offer. Self-righteous trash all of them."

Sly breathes deeply and centers himself. "I caused a lot of trouble because of that hatred. I decided I would not do the same here. It's a dangerous and self-destructive way to act. The only advice I can give you is to keep the bigger picture in mind and keep yourself centered through meditation."

Ikuchi frowns before focusing on the magic stone and devouring it. 'Bigger picture…Meditation? Sitting around? Sounds like a waste of time though!' Ikuchi snorts some before looking to the exit to continue their route.

Sly just shakes his head at the obvious distaste for his answer. 'Well, I wouldn't like sitting around either if I hadn't been locked into the library with a strict butler so often.'

They continue down the path towards the entrance of floor 14, when they hear loud noises. Sly's mana pressure feels strong mana fluctuations and they hear adventurers fighting.

Ikuchi takes a few steps back, also feeling uneasy. Sly continues for a few more steps, before turning around. With a sad smile and his tails drooping to the ground, he speaks. "Our meeting was brief, but it has been an honor Ikuchi. I would like it if we could meet again?"

Ikuchi stops his retreat and watches the spirit. Various ideas rush through his head, but one stays dominant. "It was fun. We will meet again spirit, but I do not trust you. Besides, you saw that I can take care of myself."

Sly's expression saddens with his words and his tails look even less energetic. Before he perks up. "How about we make another contract?"

Ikuchi leans a little closer. Prompting Sly to continue. "We will meet again in three nights, during the dark phase of the dungeon. Both of us will keep any other Xenos and adventurers, besides the two of us, away to the best of our abilities. As for the meeting, the only restriction is that we meet as allies and won't fight one another."

Ikuchi thinks his words over. "What about spirits? You didn't include them?"

Sly nods. "I will bring along Sylphie, the wind fairy I told you about. Any spirit besides her that will follow me won't be brought along by me."

With the terms finalized they both agree and Sly gives Ikuchi the magic stone of the enhanced lamia mormos and other enhanced monsters to keep with his pouch, as they part ways.

Night, 7 hours after Sly's fall - Dungeon - Chigusa POV

Chigusa and Welf both carried large backpacks, filled with supplies for the Ganesha party. Shakti did not hold back and gathered a strong party for the quest. Starting at the library, the first to join was Aphaiton the head librarian and level 4 mage.

Afterwards, they went to the common rooms and Aphaiton quickly sought help from a level three spearman by the name of Bedryn, while Shakti collected 6 more adventurers from the busy throng of adventurers just returning from their communal dinner.

Not everyone had the strength to continue for another battle, and many still carried injuries or showed signs of an exhausting day standing in the sun during guard duty. This forced Shakti to seek aid from another level 3 Ganesha guard captain who quickly brought forth the adventurers still ready for more and, more importantly, without guard duty the following day.

Chigusa stood beside her familia and could only marvel at the efficiency. Within 30 minutes the Ganesha party was put together and another 30 minutes and everyone was battle-ready.

With preparations complete Aphaiton stepped forward. He wore long black mage robes and a green mithril staff with a dark black gem at the tip. "Takemikazuchi familia. You have made a request to our lord, and he agreed to help you. I am here because Sly is a regular at my library and has helped me with a few chores. I am not the acting leader of this mission and will be back up and defend the supporters. In my stead, one of our captains will lead you, Bedrin please step forth. His word is law and must be followed to the letter."

Bedrin steps forward. He is a muscular chienthrope with short black hair, tail and ears. However, what stood out the most was that he only had one arm. Where his left arm should be there was little more than a gaping scar of a terrible bite wound, which had been scorched closed years ago.

"You heard Aphaiton! My name is Bedrin, also called the Handsome. I got the alias before I lost my arm, but because of my charm, I kept the title! During this mission, you will be our backline. None of you should get into the middle of our formation; our party is disciplined, and new additions will cause chaos. You two new level 2s in the back! You will be working with Aphaiton to protect our supporters. If you can't manage that I will send you back and save The Sly Blue myself!"

Everything was said with utmost seriousness, but even so, Mikoto was just about to retort, but Ouka stepped on her foot with force. She thought better of it. From there Aphaiton stepped in front of both her and Welf, and Bedrin ordered Mikoto and Ouka to the very back of the formation.

From there it was a quick march to Babel and now two hours later they were just entering the tenth floor. Chigusa had to say the Ganesha party was far more experienced in the dungeon than they were.

They always took the most direct route without even opening a map. Captain Bedrin leads an arrow formation of the other Ganesha guards and they cut through every swarm of monsters as if they were tofu. They do not take any deviations from their route and after the initial push, everyone targets the monsters closest to them, while guarding the flank of the guards at their side. This works wonders and destroys any opposition they had thus far. Be it killer ant or orc.

Chigusa realized quickly during their descent. 'Of course… Every one of them is level two and has years of experience. It's no wonder they make such short work of the Upper Floors. We really need to improve our teamwork, if we want to get close to their level.

I know how both Welf and Sly will act during a battle and can move according to it. Is that the next stage of teamwork? Is that what we should strive towards with Ouka, Asuka, and even Mikoto?'

Chigusa didn't have long to think, as another group of five orcs was just slain in barely a few seconds. She would do her job as a supporter and learn how to improve further.

Aphaiton was watching not only her but also Welf, who seemed more used to the work of a supporter. Both showed determination when they saw his familia work, but the most interesting of the four were Ouka and Mikoto.

Mikoto was frowning heavily, clearly wishing to join the battle, but held back by her promise to protect the backline. The internal struggle was messing with her and made Ouka do most of the work. A clear beginner mistake, she needed more experience.

However, the most astonishing of the group was the seriousness and coldness of the dwarf. Dwarfs were usually easygoing and took things as they came, but Ouka the captain of the Takemikazuchi familia watched Bedrin with intense focus, while continuously sweeping his gaze out for any monsters that might get around the formation in front.

An hour later they were on floor 12 and still maintained their pace to Chigusa's surprise. 'Really impressive. They only fight with as much strength as they need but do not stop for rest even once. Bedrin must know their endurance and is only leading them as fast as they can while keeping them battle-ready.'

Unfortunately, Mikoto finally had enough, and after sensing the approach of an orc from the back she charged out of her position before it entered the senses of even Aphaiton. Chigusa ignored it. A few seconds later the shrill scream of death came from behind.

Mikoto rushed back and handed her the stone, with a small smile on her face. Aphaiton turned to her in interest. "Would you happen to have a sensing skill Onna-musha?"

Mikoto glares at him. "Do not call me that Bookworm! And yes I do, which is why I am better suited in the front."

Aphaiton merely looks in interest. "There is no reason to get aggressive Onna-Musha. However, you are wrong. The best-suited position during this quest for a support type like you would be beside me. I have a sensing spell just like you do, and do you see me interfering in the battles of Bedrin?"

Mikoto scoffs and brushes her black hair back. "Of course, a mage would have a spell for it… And how far is its range? I doubt it can reach as far as my Yatanokurogarasu!"

Aphaiton laughs at her. "I might not have used my spell yet, but that's because it would have been unnecessary. Tell you what, I'll cast it once we reach floor 13 and allow you to judge."

Mikoto nods with a frown on her face. Chigusa observes the entire conversation with interest. 'Mikoto, can't you hold yourself back? If you insult Aphaiton we might not reach Sly! But, I am curious how Aphaiton's spell works. He is a second-class mage, so it should be great but I have no point of reference. Even Sly only ever saw up to level 3 spells from his first mentor.'

Aphaiton continues the conversations with Mikoto, with the occasional word from Ouka, who sought to learn more about their battle style. She just watched them with Welf and continued collecting the stones the captain collected until they reached the stairs down to the 13th floor.

Aphaiton stepped in front of them and looked at every one of them. "Takemikazuchi familia! I shall show you the difference between levels."

Aphaiton stands stably in front of them. Grips his staff with both his hands and holds it high into the air. As soon as the black gem is stable at its highest point a white magic circle filled to the brim with black sigils appears below his feet and spans 50 meters in radius within seconds. "A request by the sage Vyasa, scribe it he would on the condition that it be uttered without pause, in return he would understand every verse before it endeth. Vedavyasa dictates the position of the world - Mahabharata!"

With the last word uttered a pillar of pure white descended on Aphaiton, before expanding into every direction rapidly, pushing past dungeon walls and continuing in every direction for the entire 30 km until it hit the other end of the 13th floor.

Chigusa can't help but gasp at the display. She took magic seriously and had a good grip on her magic pressure, so she felt how insane the mana consumption of that spell was. It had to have cost her entire mana capacity at least 10 times over.

Aphaiton keeps silent for a total of 30 seconds while his eyes shine in a white glow before he slowly rises again. Then he turns and returns to their side. "I mapped the 13th floor in less than a minute. I believe my spell is slightly more potent than your skill, but do you agree my dear Onna-Musha?"

Mikoto does not even retort to his words and only stares blankly at the point of impact of the staff. There was a giant crater at the point of impact, and all around the position of impact, there was a 1-meter hole burned into the ground.

From there Aphaiton gave them directions. Instead of fighting towards the entrance of floor 14 directly, they chose another route given by him. The battles would be more numerous, but they could avoid the largest monster hordes, which would end up saving time.

Besides the slightly longer battles, their progress was just as fast as before. Bedrin never stopped moving and his spearmanship was fast and precise. Be it against hellhounds, almiraj or even the bad bats, anything that came close to him fell with one strike. After the first battle on the 13th floor he even called out to Ouka. "Masuratakeo! Stop watching and get defending! From here on out monsters might pass us or come from the back."

Ouka followed the command with a quick nod, already prepared for battle and ready. Mikoto took a little longer, with Aphaiton continuously distracting her. However, once she regained her momentum, she did not stop and fought with all her being to keep up with the Ganesha guards.

This continued for many minutes and Bedrin continued to call out commands every time a monster closed in on somebody without their knowledge. He even sent a guard to help them when things got too hectic with a pack of hellhounds charging towards them, only to be stopped by a Fortify thanks to Ouka.

It was all going well. Very well in fact, Chigusa thought. 'We already passed the furthest point we ever reached ourselves. Sly we are coming!'

Midnight, 11 hours after Sly's fall - Floor 14 - Bedrin Ganesha Captain POV

'What in all Genkai is going on! This is not normal. We are in trouble! We are on fucking floor 14! Why are there enhanced needle rabbits, invisible war shadows, and even an irregular red papilio!'

Bedrin stood in formation with his guards in front of a monster party the likes of which they hadn't seen on this floor before. "Aphaiton start chanting! Right flank, defend and use your shields. Left flank, go on the offensive. Onna-Musha, help the left flank. Masuratakeo, I want three of your shields here yesterday!"

Without pause his guards follow his commands. The right flank uses its shields to hold the position and defend them against a combined fire blast of hellhounds.

The left flank uses their swords and shields to cut down the almiraj, needle rabbits, and war shadows. He stops anything from getting around the right flank and protects Aphaiton and the two supporters.

However, he sees how the red papilio not only heals the monsters but also seems to be strengthening them with its red powder. Not only that, but its powder also only hit monsters and seemed to avoid them on purpose.

This sudden surprise boost in power was enough to injure some of his men, but they would hold steady. They were experienced adventurers, and a little pain was little more than a motivation to be more attentive in battle.

Aphaiton doesn't waste time and starts chanting. "A great feast, on his ride back home he fell, the moon led by Chandra overcome by humour laughed at the great Ganesha. Enraged a curse befell him and his light diminished, but Ganesha forgave, and the moon would furthermore pass in cycles. - Chandrama Abhishaap!"

Another magic circle appears below their feet, but this time it is as black as the abyss and covers the entire room. When his staff hits the ground all the shadows of the monsters are violently ripped away from beneath them and the monsters' movements become sluggish.

The spell is not finished with their opponents. The shadows coalesce into a giant ball of shadows that looms directly above Aphaiton like what one would expect from a fireball. Aphaiton slams his staff to ground again and touches his left hand to the gem atop it. The ball of shadows starts morphing into a 5-meter tall hand made of shadows that starts to flex its digits while the air seems to buzz from Aphaiton's mana pressure.

Seeing the mage finish his chant Bedrin finally starts fighting in earnest. Instead of holding his position, he rushes towards his warriors and Mikoto who had been fighting relentlessly.

He stabs with his spear in quick succession piercing one monster after the other. Most of these monsters can't even see his attacks, which gives his party room to breathe in the monster horde as Bedrin impales their opponents. This pace continues until he engages a huge dungeon worm in the middle of the room.

The large brown beast with massive jaws is at least 10 meters long and its hide is strong enough to resist a few thrusts from his spear. Fortunately, it is too slow to hit him allowing him to spend a few seconds to find a gap in its hide and pierce it while watching his guards and the Take familia struggle.

Against Bedrin's orders, the two supporters took out their weapons and struck the monsters in front of the three guards acting as the vanguard. Meanwhile, Aphaiton was using his summoned hand with movements of his own to crush and swat away anything that came close to them.

The guards behind him that were formerly their left flank all suffered injuries in some capacity. Bedrin even heard two cursing from getting hit by needle rabbits and saw another barely guard against a fire blast with his salamander wool cape and the Onna-Musha is fighting right there with them.

'It is extremely risky for her to stand with us, but at least her skill with the katana lets her keep up for the moment.'

She was cutting through monsters with reckless abandon. Instead of using one katana she now wields two. Both moved in rigid trained movements, not the fluid motions of a master, but an adept user who has learned the forms without sufficient experience to back up their training.

Her surprising speed did not fit her status as a new level two; however, he was the most surprised after he heard her call out her technique. "Zekka!" In one perfected motion she sheathed both blades and drew one with both hands in a single mastered iaijutsu strike. Before her speed was impressive, now it was beyond most mid-level 2s.

Her movements were fluid, and as fast as her body could make them while cutting through the enhanced level 1 monsters without pause. However, she avoided the hellhounds as they would slow her technique with their higher endurance. Her dungeon battle acumen was clearly not one of a rookie to these floors.

'And it's not just her! Masuratakeo has solid technique for a hoplite and more stamina than I would expect from a new level 2 and the two level 1s are strategically picking off rabbits with arrows or a quick great sword strike. What the hell is with these adventurers!?'

He could not let them be the only ones to turn the tide. Motivated, Bedrin charged with a piercing strike to the beast's heart and finally turned the dungeon worm to ash with a magic stone dropping to the floor. With the strongest monster in the room defeated they finished the encounter a couple of short minutes later.

Everyone stood before him. "Takemikazuchi familia I have to congratulate you! You held yourselves well in this battle. This encounter was beyond what was expected of the Cave Labyrinth. Normally supporters ignoring orders mid-battle would be dangerous, but your magic, arrows, and deft strikes helped my guards. It worked for us this time, but don't make a habit of it. Also, you'd better collect every last stone dropped in this room!"

He turns his focus on Ouka and Mikoto. "For new high-class adventurers, you did surprisingly well. You, Onna-musha, have a warrior's thirst for combat. You'll need to temper it if you want to survive, but keep a level head and you will rise high. Masuratakeo, you are a defender. Your magic is a perfect fit for defense. However, the role of a captain is to be a leader who does more than simple reacting. It's taking charge of the situation and being prepared for every eventuality."

Bedrin straightens his black ears and tail. "Something I will have to teach myself again once we return. It is unacceptable that two of my guards were poisoned and that we have brought no antidote. We all have the development ability Abnormal Resistance, but that is no reason to slack off. At least we aren't purely at fault. I have never seen the spawn rate this high on the Middle Floors! This has been insane! That's not to even considering the enhanced monsters from the Upper Floors here in the Cave Labyrinth! Do any of you have an idea why the Dungeon is like this now?"

His guards stay quiet, but Welf can't help himself after showing his use to the level 3 captain. "Well, let's look at the positive. If the dungeon is this pissed, we must be close to Sly. I say we push on and rescue our favorite renard!"

Chigusa's cheeks turn a slight red from embarrassment. "Welf it's not something good when Sly annoys the dungeon so much! Don't you remember all the enhanced monsters we had to fight that one time Sly went and plundered every secret passage on the Upper Floors in a single go!?"

Welf just laughs it off. "Don't sweat it Chigusa! We got out of that one and from the presence of so many enhanced monsters I'd say Sly will get out of this one too!"

Bedrin observes their interaction in silence. 'Secret passages? Enhanced monsters on the Upper Floors? What the hell does this familia do to get such strong reactions from the dungeon!? I will need to ask for details later. We have to push on.'

Floor 14 - Sleipnir POV

Leaving Ikuchi behind and rushing ahead Sly assures himself that his invisibility is active. 'The battles with Ikuchi drained a lot of my stamina, but at least I avoided injuries by heavily relying on my invisibility. I still have a little more than half my mana. However, I will have to avoid further battles with Ikuchi, his insight into my invisibility would make him a very difficult opponent.

Sly shakes his head and tightens his fist at the thought. 'I will not let it come to that! Although he is very prideful, he is just honest and my only connection to yet another faction I knew nothing about. I have barely discovered Spirits and now I am dealing with Xenos!

At the very least all the cues I have observed from Ikuchi show signs of being lonely and bored. Just… Like I was… I can't in good conscience leave him like that. He is still very young and shoulders a heavy burden and goal alone.

The least I can do for now is tutor him until he feels comfortable around me!' Sly feels a headache for a short moment, finishing his inner monologue. 'I will need to ask for Acatl's approval, as my teacher she will deem if I am fit to show Ikuchi some mana control exercises...'

While his thoughts revolved around the young dragon, his steps carried him ever closer to the battle ahead. A large room opens in front of him, filled with purple crystals jutting out of the ground at odd angles, and in between there are countless monsters.

From the very back sounds of battle carry over to his position, but Sly can't make out any of the adventurers yet. The only thing he is certain about is that his magic pressure feels a familiar mana ahead of him.

Taking a step back and climbing a few meters on the wall Sly can oversee the room more clearly. There is a pack of hellhounds on the other side of the room, in between there are grey-enhanced needle rabbits, war shadows, killer ants, and even two large brown dungeon worms, fighting against a one-armed spearman.

Behind him is an injured but battle-ready Ganesha party, a giant hand made of shadows, and in the back Sly sees the distinct earth shields of Ouka. Just as he notices them, he also hears a battle cry from Mikoto fighting beside one of the Ganesha guards at the very back.

Straining his ears a little he can even hear Welf chanting Will-o-Wisp to the frantic commands of the Ganesha captain. 'Seems they did come for me! Good thing I left Ikuchi behind; this could have gotten ugly otherwise.'

Without any further distractions, Sly starts fighting the monsters from the very back. Priority targets like the poisonous needle rabbits and the hidden crystal mantises were the focus. He used his foxfire openly to alert the adventurers of his presence and avoid friendly fire.

The battle continued for many minutes as the monsters kept pouring out of the 5 passages connected to this room. However, after around 10 minutes of constant battling the monsters stopped coming and Sly finally had the time to approach his friends.

His approach was unwittingly still veiled in invisibility, his time with Ikuchi had made him lax in noticing how long he kept it active at a time. But this quickly ends when Aphaiton calls out to him. "Halt! Sleipnir-san it would be best if you removed your illusion before approaching, you might be seen as an enemy otherwise."

Sly stops in his tracks surprised at the call, before quickly removing his invisibility, but keeping this illusion domain active. However, the call already got the attention of the entire Ganesha party.

Before he even opens his mouth to reply Mikoto blitzes next to him and punches him in the gut. Spitting saliva he starts coughing under the stern gaze of Mikoto. "How dare you fall into the dungeon and make us come for you, without taking me with you! And when the hell did you fight a level two enhanced monster solo?!"

Before Sly can recover Chigusa appears beside him and pulls him to his feet with one of his arms, before quickly hugging him from one side. Sly still regaining his breath winces from her sudden closeness. 'She managed to step on my tail!' "Do not listen to her words Sly, although she doesn't show it Mikoto was just as worried about you as we were. She just has trouble telling it, because of her gruff exterior."

Mikoto now looks at Chigusa with a frown. "Gruff exterior?! My actions represent the height of nobility!"

Welf butts in. "Ladies, could you give Sly some room to breathe? You are crowding him."

He steps next to Sly and pulls him a little further away from Mikoto and Chigusa saving his tail in the process. "Sorry about that bud, didn't think they would jump you like that. Great to have you back!"

Sly regains enough breath to answer. "Thanks, Welf. Bearing the reaction of those two is more terrifying than sneaking around the 15th floor! It's nice seeing your concern though, and great idea to bring Aphaiton-san, with him around the monsters here shouldn't stand a chance!"

Ouka interrupts Sly before he can get too far ahead, also stepping closer. "It had its ups and downs Sleipnir-kun. With all the enhanced monsters running around we were lucky to get this far without getting poisoned."

"You can say that again! Greetings, The Sly Blue my name is Bedrin the Handsome!" Bedrin smiles brightly with an eager wagging tail. "Ignore the missing arm, I'm the one in charge of this little party on our quest to escort you back to the surface!"

Sly bows to him deeply. "Thank you for taking on this mission Bedrin-san. I will be in your care."

Aphaiton walks up to him in his dark robe with a clang as his staff impacts the dungeon floor. "It was only natural with the reward your god offered for the quest. But, it seems you managed to protect yourself despite the enhanced monsters. Your illusions are truly beyond what your level would suggest!"

Sly blushes and his ears burn red from embarrassment, but his tails wave quickly behind him. He regains control over one of them before both can hit Chigusa, who still stands beside him. Chigusa, however, is delighted and giggles in delight while hugging one of his tails. "Brother, you won't believe how worried I was! Are you still hurt? Do you need any potions?"

Sly grimaces at the reminder. Besides his mana he is beyond tired; he hasn't slept for almost two days and has been either fighting or training for more than half of that time. "I am still hurt Chigusa, but more potions would not do any good. Let's just head back before the dungeon throws more enhanced monsters our way, please."

Bedrin calls out. "Good idea! You heard 'em boys, collect all the magic stones and let's return! Blue you're placed between Bookworm and Onna-Musha in front of the supporters. Behind them Masuratakeo will defend, and my guards and I will lead the formation. Into formation!"

Sly follows his orders tiredly. 'No reason to argue now. I will just observe until we reach the surface. I can't wait to rest! Tomorrow I won't train for once, I just need to relax and meditate. Once my body and mind have recovered, I will continue my training with Acatl and Take.'

Chigusa and Welf stay behind Sly and note his lack of awareness. He would not be of much help on their return. The most he did was throw out small foxfires when their position was attacked, but they lacked their usual power and only used as little mana as Sly could reasonably get away with.

Mikoto and Ouka once again focus on the monsters as soon as they are forced to fight. The monsters aren't quite as numerous as before, but there are still a few enhanced monsters, making the battles challenging due to the large variety.

Sly's observations were primarily on Aphaiton, who still maintained his shadow hand from the previous encounter to help the guards in front. Mikoto also sometimes got his attention since she was the one who most often left their formation to hunt down monsters that came close.

In the background, he noticed the constant commands from Bedrin but only listened half-heartedly as they were never directed at him. 'Bedrin-san is quite skilled at field commanding. If I have some free time later, I might ask him for advice. Unfortunately, I have to hold back from now on. Even if they are the Ganesha familia, it wouldn't do to fight with all my mana now. That would cause questions I'd rather avoid. Take warned me to hide my full potential from other familia, so I'll do just that.'

This continued on their way up until they entered the Upper Floors, and the Ganesha guards changed their formation. It let those poisoned travel with rear while the others led them back to the surface.

On the surface, Sly heard Ouka thank the Ganesha members. He even bowed deeply, which was a rarity for him. "I must thank you Bedrin-san and Aphaiton-san. Thanks to you two we fought down to the 14th floor and managed to save Sleipnir. We have learned much acting as your supporters and will be happy to collaborate with the Ganesha familia again."

Bedrin smiles. "You weren't too bad yourself. With your title as captain, you might profit from joining one of our training sessions at some point. If you're interested visit me in, I AM GANESHA and I'll recommend you for it."

After going to the Guild, reporting their "expedition" down into the Middle Floors, and turning in their drops and magic stones, the Takemikazuchi familia returns to the rest of their familia in their home. This time without any illusions to hide them, only revealed by the first light of dawn on their way through the winding paths of Daedalus Street.

Once at home, Take took one look at Sly, smiled and put a hand on Sly's head before saying, "Welcome home son." Afterwards, Take looks over the rest of his familia. "All of you have earned a respite. Bathe and go to sleep!"

After a long, warm bath Sly sat down on his bed, before looking around. Once he did, he spotted Sylphie sleeping on the little bed they made. On her head she wore a golden ring with the Apollo symbol, which he remembers seeing on Apollo's finger. All around her, there was a collection of golden bracelets, rings, and necklaces.

'I am way too tired to deal with this. That's for future Sly! Let's hope she left unnoticed.'

Morning, 2 AM - 12 hours after Sly's Fall – I AM GANESHA Library – Acatl POV

The goddess of wind and magic floats by a table in an isolated room for research; she watches through a divine mirror. She lets out a heavy sigh as Mikoto slugs Sly in the gut and begins yelling at him.

"Well, I suppose that concludes this insane adventure for my dear kitsune student…" Acatl murmurs as she flicks her hand slightly; the view of the mirror changes, chasing a fleeing dragon, and her eyes slightly narrow. 'But he certainly found quite a unique treasure… Monsters who are not feral, Xenos.'

Acatl then looks to the table, piled with requests and proposals from a variety of Orario's familias including Freya and Loki. She groans and her tail flicks the table, scattering the papers about the room. The goddess pouts and drapes herself upon a large, cushioned chair next to the table while her wings ruffled irritably. 'So annoying… So many of these requests are a waste of time! Most of the familias lack the resources to meet my prices or the ingredients needed for their requests will require employing the Hermes familia to gather specialized items from different corners of Genkai!

As the papers settle Acatl focuses her slitted eyes upon the proposal from the Loki familia, signed by Finn Deimne and marked with their official insignia. 'At least the executives of Loki are reasonable…. Then again, we have always underestimated the wit of Loki. Maybe this proposal came from her?' With a wave of her hand, her fingers traced a few nay imperceptible runes onto a tiny faint green magic circle. Follow my whim! Ehacatl – Fuin. The missive was picked up with wind and brought before her as she read it again.

'A payment plan to be completed over 3 years for an Hourglass of Ire. 2 billion valis, 56,000,000 a month for 36 months is not inconsiderable and we are still recovering from the aid we gave to the School District and then Orario 4 years ago… And that isn't even considering the claim rights to all drop items the Loki Familia acquires during that 3 year period in addition to a clause for payment to continue even if the Hourglass is lost somehow. All this for an asset that has been sitting in my vaults along with 6 others for the better part of 12 years…'

"Mmmm…." Acatl could only put a finger to her chin with a slight smile. 'This would let Loki delve far more comfortably and maybe even regularly hunt down Cadmus and Valgang dragon drops for us… Hera did say that those components would be good for the barrier on the Dragon Valley.'

Acatl's face then curled into a grimace thinking back to when she had to martial her familia with the School District for emergency support. 'That damned calamity! And those two blockheaded gods! If they had waited like I advised then maybe, just maybe, their familias would still be in Orario, and Genkai's overall powerbase for the Promised Time would be even stronger!' Acatl's grimace grew into a profound scowl and then into an exasperated expression accompanied by a deep sigh.

The goddess looked back to her mirror with a flick of her hand to focus back on Sly with the arm of the red-headed, smiling smith around his shoulders. '….It's time for me to return home…. But my kitsune student still needs more guidance. What to do…?' Acatl once again sighed and groaned as she stretched out on the couch. "Maybe if I didn't show at Denatus I could've stayed longer…. Ahhh! But I wanted to put forward a name for Sly!" She could only grumble at the situation.

….

"Maybe…it's time to see if my prodigy is healed enough? The School District should be arriving at Melen any day now after… Mmmm! Yes! Maybe this can solve a bunch of problems at once! He can bring the Loki familia the Hourglass and continue "Blue's" tutelage!" A wide grin curled across her face and drew runes into the air with large sweeping runes onto a floating magic circle of similar size rotating at her every motion. I require a space of convenience! Foramen! - "Fuin!", she shouts the last word.

Nearby a distortion of rippling space became apparent as Acatl's magic fed it into existence with a rune glowing over it. She reached into the space with a hand focusing upon a spherical object of interest in her mind. "Let's see… Ah! There it is!" With a grin, she pulled out her arm, and in her hand was a small glass sphere of a transparent silver color. 'Ah, I love this spell; it's so convenient!' The occulus faintly glows in Acatl's hand and she says, "Hey! Myles! Are you awake? Come on, answer!"

A couple of seconds pass by as noises from falling objects and the ruffling of cloth emanate from the occulus before a groan and a deep, but groggy male voice answer. "Ughhh…. Acatl why..? It's the middle of the night! What do you want? Is this supposed to be another prank or something?"

Acatl blinks slightly and then scratches the back of her head with a weak chuckle. "Ahhh…. Right, it is like 2, isn't it? Ehehe... Ehhh…. Nooo, sorry Myles. I just got inspired and had a good idea! The Loki familia really wants to have an Hourglass of Ire and offered to pay the full price but over 3 years with monthly payments! Not only that, but we have rights to all of the drop items their familia brings back!"

She could hear a low hum in contemplation from the occulus. "Hm…that does sound great for us to get a big boost of revenue and resources… Our reserves are still hurting from four years ago and depending on the drops we could get some insane profits. But wait, you just said you had an idea. What is it?"

Acatl's grin returns. "Mmm! Well, it's been three years so the School District should arrive in Melen any day now! While you're there again yo-"

Myles only sighed causing Acatl to stop and frown. "So, you are just pranking me… You want me to bring the Hourglass to the Loki familia instead of you so that you don't get more annoyed by any other familia who might just happen to see you right?"

"Gehk!" Acatl's tail and wings twitched at his accusation.

"Nope, I'm going back to sleep!"

Acatl's eyes widen at the occulus. "HEY! MYLES!" The faint glow of the occulus then fades. Her mouth was left gaping, but then her brows started to twitch as her grip on the occulus started to tighten. Her expression clenched into an annoyed expression with a twitching grin on her face. Quickly, she thrusts her hand with the occulus into the rippling space, pulls it out without the occulus, and activates the Rune Key, Celare!, causing the rippling space to dispel along with the runes she drew to maintain it.

Acatl's expression sharpens into a wide grinning expression with a twitching brow as she clenches her fist. 'That lazy, good-for-nothing freeloader! You didn't even hear me out! You'll pay for that! It's punishment time! You should know better than to hang up on me! What would my dear vice-captain say?!'

With a flick of her tail, she begins drawing complex runes that even adepts of Rune magic would not be able to make heads or tails of. With all three of her limbs in the air around her the long sequence quickly takes shape. With each rune, the destination is clearer, and once there are well over 40 runes, she draws the final rune, Fuin!, and Acatl teleports out of the I AM GANESHA library.