*Crack!*
The ground was cracking.
In the enormous cavern, the earth shattered like glass, creating sudden cracks that raced in all directions.
Before long, the cracks swelled, soil rolled all around, rocks shattered, and dust filled the air.
*BOOOM!*
A massive pitch-black monster burst through the ground, shaking off rocks and sand clinging to its massive body. It let the debris fall as it made the cavern violently tremble.
*ROAAAARRRRRR—!!!*
A roar echoed from the massive monster emerging from the earth. It sounded like a cry and an angry howl combined, turning into shockwaves that rolled in all directions.
The monster resembled a gigantic skeleton, entirely black, with sharp spikes protruding from every corner of its bones. These spikes glowed with an eerie and dangerous sharpness, instilling fear in anyone who saw it.
At the center of this massive monster, within the chest cavity, a magic stone much larger than usual was embedded like a heart, protected by thick chest and rib bones.
This was the floor boss of the 37th Floor, Udaeus!
Without any surprises, Ais, standing in the middle of the cavern with her back to the floor entrance, immediately caught the attention of this floor boss.
*BOOM!*
Accompanied by a rumbling sound, the massive skeleton monster swept its massive bone arm, sending Ais flying.
"!!!"
Witnessing this scene, Riezel's heart, tightly strung, snapped. Without hesitation, he extended his hand toward one of the two swords hanging at his waist.
Facing the 37th Floor's floor boss, a Level 6 massive-sized monster, Riezel almost instinctively reached for Fool under Hermit, ready to use this first-class equipment ranked in the top three in Orario.
But before he could draw his sword, a voice stopped him.
"Don't!"
The scream from Ais froze Riezel's movements.
Shortly afterward, he saw Ais, thrown by Udaeus's blow, standing unsteadily from beneath the cracked wall.
"Don't do anything..."
Ais stared intently at him as she spoke.
In her transparent golden eyes, rare and intense emotions appeared.
It was a determination.
It was a resolve.
With Ais looking at him with such eyes, Riezel couldn't help but halt his hand reaching for Fool.
"Tempest!"
Shortly after, Ais loudly chanted her exclusive magic and activated the overpowered wind enchant-type magic, enveloping her body in chaotic gusts.
With help from 'Ariel', she finally began to sprint.
*ROAAAAARRRRRR—!!!*
The massive skeleton monster roared once again, swinging its bone arm, stirring up gusts of wind and sand, forcefully sweeping toward her.
Ais seemed to be attempting to evade, leaping slightly with the help of the wind. However, just as she was about to leap, her body froze mysteriously.
This freeze was undoubtedly deadly.
*BOOM!*
The massive bone arm brutally struck Ais, sending her flying once again, crashing into the wall at the other end of the cavern, shattering it to pieces.
"Ais!" Riezel couldn't help but shout in panic.
Ais didn't respond; she just stubbornly got up again, charging at Udaeus once more.
Udaeus continued to swing its giant bone arm, carrying frightening force and emitting thunderous roars and vibrations throughout the massive cavern, showcasing the immense power typical of floor bosses.
From this astonishing display of power and noise, it was clear that this floor boss, like the others, possessed terrifying strength comparable to the giant species.
Under such power, the cavern quickly suffered devastation.
The ground became pockmarked, cracks and holes marring the walls all around. Stones and debris flew like bullets, even forcing Riezel to dodge several times.
Fortunately, Udaeus's strength, while powerful, also had a common weakness shared by every giant species—slower movements.
Though still threatening, with Ais's speed, she shouldn't be easily hit.
However, reality proved otherwise.
Amidst Udaeus's indiscriminate destruction, Ais, despite her efforts to evade, was repeatedly hit somewhat easily. Like a cannonball, she was either slammed into the wall or crashed onto the ground, raising dust and sending stones flying, looking extremely miserable.
After being hit several times, even with Ariel's wind protection, she began to accumulate injuries.
'How did this happen?' Riezel was genuinely stunned. 'Why does Ais keep getting hit often? With her speed, dodging Udaeus's attacks should be a piece of cake!'
This confusion lingered until he noticed the unnatural stiffness in her movements, finally uncovering the answer.
'Could it be that Ais is now just like me, enduring aches and soreness due to the side effects of Ariel?'
Upon getting this answer, Riezel finally understood why, despite using Ariel himself, he couldn't catch up to Ais.
It seemed that, like him, she was also using Ariel without stopping to hasten her journey. This seemed like a rather foolish course of action.
After all, her goal was the floor boss of the 37th Floor, a Level 6 Udaeus.
Facing such a monster, logically, one should avoid unnecessary battles before reaching the 37th Floor, saving stamina and preserving mind to be in the best possible condition for the battle.
Ais, however, used Ariel in advance for the sake of speed.
Not only did it consume most of her mind, but her body also suffered Ariel's side effects. Facing a floor boss with a higher level in this kind of state was practically suicide.
Yet, Riezel could understand; it must have been a helpless action.
To reach the 37th Floor, considering the possible obstacles along the way, not to mention the time required, it would take at least two or three days.
Ais entered the dungeon with minimal supplies, lacking provisions and food. Rushing through a two to three-day journey in the dungeon without proper supplies would leave her with no strength or stamina to fight Udaeus upon reaching the 37th Floor.
Instead of ending up in a weakened state during the battle, she preferred enduring Ariel's side effects and the loss of mind. At least this way, she would have the strength to fight.
Combined with the urgency she felt, Ais ultimately decided to use Ariel to speed up her journey, preventing Riezel from catching up with her. She successfully arrived at the 37th Floor before him, but the cost was high.
As expected, in the following battle with Udaeus, Ais was easily overwhelmed.
*BOOM!*
Udaeus's massive bone arm hit Ais once again, sending her flying and crashing onto the ground, rolling a considerable distance before coming to a stop.
Riezel didn't intend to watch any longer and quickly unsheathed Fool.
"Don't come!"
Ais's pained scream stopped him as she forced herself to unsteadily get back on her feet.
This time, Riezel had no intention of complying with her demands.
However, Ais's next word, caused his expression to stiffen, and the step he was about to take froze.
"Please..."
Her whisper created more turmoil in him than he had imagined.
Not for anything else, but because Ais Wallenstein, in a vulnerability he had never heard nor seen before, was pleading to him.
Her plea made his steps, which he could take at any time, impossible to move forward.
"You're gonna die!" Riezel could only take a deep breath and yelled.
"No..."
Ais stood up, pointing her sword toward the massive skeleton monster ahead, and took a deep breath.
"I will win!"
Her fragile tone was replaced by a resolute and determined one.
Riezel really wanted to argue.
If she were in her optimal condition, he wouldn't doubt her winning.
He recalled in the original work that she indeed could take down Udaeus alone, achieving a great exploit and leveling up to Level 6 with Ariel's help.
Ais's true power, with such overpowered magic, was more than a match for Level 6. For her, Udaeus was undoubtedly a difficult opponent, but not an unbeatable one.
In other words, if she was at her best, able to unleash a hundred percent of her power, Riezel would trust her, trust this girl, and let her confidently take on the challenge.
However, the problem was that she wasn't in her best condition now.
To speed up her journey, she had been using 'Ariel' nonstop, resulting in both body and mind fatigue.
In this condition, expecting her to showcase a hundred percent of her power was wishful thinking; even seventy to eighty percent was highly unlikely.
In this situation, what did she have to fight Udaeus?
How could she win?
Riezel really wanted to counter Ais like that.
Unfortunately, just as the words reached the tip of his tongue, he found himself unable to say them.
Ais's gaze crossed the distance between them, landing on his eyes.
In those transparent golden eyes, there was still determination and resolve, but now, there was a lot more pleading.
As a result, Riezel fell silent and couldn't advance any further.
His emotions, rarely seen, became extremely complex and chaotic.