"That's what experience is, young one."
"..."
Crack—
The wall split open again, spawning monsters.
"—Hey, that's a lot of them."
The dungeon sometimes whimsically gave adventurers little surprises, like spawning over a dozen monsters at once.
"Ah, head to the steps by the passage and guard the entrance — it'll make it a lot easier."
After speaking, Fron ran up the stairs, leaving Welf to guard the stairway.
-------------------------------
Dungeon, Seventh floor.
Fron and Welf were having a welcome party.
"Killer Ants, huh, this is troublesome. At my level, three is my limit."
These powerful monsters began appearing from the 7th floor onward, and together with the "War Shadows" that appeared on the 6th floor, they were collectively known as "rookie killers."
Their sturdy shells and attack power that far surpassed the low-level monsters of the previous floors were the reason they earned such a nickname.
Their entire bodies were covered by shells as hard as regular armor.
With half-hearted attacks, forget about penetrating their defenses, it was already excellent if one wasn't bounced off.
Thus, delivering direct damage through that shell required considerable skill.
Each arm ended in four sharp claws. The twisted, curved protrusions attested to their identity, and the eerie gleam they emitted made one's hair stand on end just by looking at them.
The rookies who usually fell to them were torn into pieces by those terrifying claws before they could even break through their defenses.
The "Killer Ants" were a tier above the monsters of the previous six floors in terms of strength.
Newcomers couldn't adapt to this sudden spike in battle intensity, and being killed caught off guard was all too common.
"Chi chi chi chi chi chi chi!"
The Killer Ants' mandibles chewed with a creaking sound.
—Ants, after all, are social creatures.
They could call for their companions, emitting pheromone-like substances that adventurers couldn't detect when in danger.
"High offense, high defense, and they can call reinforcements. Tsk tsk—"
It was Fron's first time facing Killer Ants. As he recalled their characteristics, he couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, we're completely surrounded here, nearly twenty of them! And you can still smile!"
"We've got the terrain advantage, haven't we? You just hold the front; leave the rest to me."
Saying that, Fron drew his Aqua Azure Staff from his side for the first time.
Gripping the staff, he began chanting his spell.
"[Face your end! (Ragnarok)]"
"——?"
"Crackle——"
Scarlet lightning flickered sporadically—then with a sharp "zing" sound.
Black flames and dark red lightning erupted wildly from his body. Only a vague silhouette and a pair of golden eyes could be seen within the flames.
The eerie shadow cast onto the cave walls swayed like a demon. Enveloped by enhancement magic, Fron seemed like a completely different person.
The powerful aura even blew out a strong gust of wind.
The ground began sizzling and gradually melting.
"Magic?"
Welf turned his head sharply, clicking his tongue, eyes widened.
Magic—was a power of another level entirely.
Among adventurers, having magic meant being the core of a team, its absolute center.
Aside from elves, who were born as magic favoured beings, most other races only had one to three magic slots, with 90% having just one.
Unfortunately, having a magic slot didn't guarantee awakening magic. It was a highly subjective power dependent on individual potential.
Welf smacked his lips.
"As expected, no one from the Loki Familia is ordinary."
"Fireburst!"
He pointed the staff forward with his left hand. The precious magic crystal at the head, made from Gem Beast's secret crystal, began circulating dark magic light.
Then, the staff-amplified violent fireball gathered, trailing playful flames as it shot forth, becoming a destroyer—it exploded directly among the monsters.
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM——"
The deafening blasts echoed throughout the cave, sending out shockwaves.
The powerful impact was so intense that even the tunnel walls crumbled, scattering stones—
"Ugh——"
As the dust settled, Welf lowered the great sword he'd used as a shield, dumbfounded.
Half of the monster horde within sight had been wiped out—the ground had even been blasted into a small crater, and the rocks were melting.
"Hey——"
"Fireburst——"
"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM——"
"Holy sh—"
He couldn't even finish his words—
With the magic-enhanced Fron, it was like his personality had completely changed.
His expression was brazen, and his golden eyes shone with a mix of excitement and desire—
Three shots.
Just three Firebursts, and the entire passage was obliterated. Not to mention the monsters, even most of the magic stones were destroyed.
The miserable battlefield emitted thick smoke, and the rocky ground looked carbonized.
"Tsk——"
Putting away his staff, Fron shook his head with a sigh.
"This is the downside of magic: too much power; even the magic stones get destroyed."
"Cough cough cough——"
Covered in dust, Welf struggled to his feet. After freezing for a moment, he burst out cursing:
"You bastard, you almost dragged me in—could you be a bit more careful?!"
"And what was with that creepy expression just now?"
Fron's face stiffened, his eyes darting away.
"Sorry, I got a little carried away, but—don't you feel that exhilarating sense of destruction? It's super satisfying!"
"..."
'A—A complete destruction maniac???'
'Is there a demon living inside him?!'
"Sigh——"
Welf sat cross-legged on the ground, sighing deeply.
"Fine, I'll be more careful next time. You take a break; I'll go collect money—no, clean up the battlefield."
"You just said collect money, didn't you?"
"You must've misheard."
"No, I heard it loud and clear—"
Bickering, their wallets once again bulged.
With Fron's work done and Welf rested, the two set off again.
"By the way, that was enhancement magic, right? I thought enhancement magic could only cover the body?"
While cutting down a lone Killer Ant, Welf chatted with Fron.
"Ah, it was a new usage I came up with when I was dancing between life and death."
"Since it's enhancement magic, besides applying it to myself, I can also apply it to other materials—including air."
"This kind of usage is possible for others too, like the Sword Princess. She usually applies magic to her sword, and sometimes throws wind when assisting teammates."
"But doing it that way is less efficient, since wind magic doesn't have explosive traits."
Through Fron's explanation, Welf finally understood.
"So that's how it works. And with staff amplification, it's no wonder the power is like that—wait, no, it's crazy!"
"Is your magic power really Lv.1??? This is way too much!"
"..."
That was hard to explain.
Fron couldn't exactly tell him that he had skill bonuses.
『Scholar』
· Can choose two development abilities each time
· Can learn magic without magic slot limitations
· Greatly increases power when using magic swords or magic tools
· Doubles magic power, range, and distance
The skill Scholar doubled the power, range, and casting distance of his magic. That's why Fron's output was so overwhelming.
On top of that — Reader gave him hyper-level spirit power reinforcement, allowing him to indefinitely sustain combat without exhausting his mental energy.
In summary, once Fron activated his magic, he was basically a mobile artillery.
However — to him, Fireburst was merely his normal attack.
What he truly longed for was a wide-area annihilation magic with an ultra-long chant.
When that one fired, it would surely be exhilarating and refreshing beyond words.