Rushing down to inform those below about the approaching horde of swamp monkeys, it didn't take long before everyone packed up their small temporary camp on the spiral staircase. Wasting no time as everyone came to the unanimous decision to start their journey up the spiral staircase towards the fourth floor of the dungeon.
Even if most of them hadn't had the opportunity to rest properly during their time on the spiral staircase, they had at least managed to clean themselves and get a few hours of sleep, being in a far better state compared to how they had been earlier when first arriving at the base of the spiral staircase.
Back then, even if they wanted to climb the spiral staircase, there was a good chance not everyone would make it without taking a break along the way, something that was incredibly dangerous considering they would be in full view of any passing flying monsters that might pass by the spiral staircase.
Although they would be able to defend themselves, it wasn't exactly a great place to fight against flying monsters. Especially considering close to half of the group would be rendered useless as they didn't wield any kind of ranged weapons or had the ability to use magic.
But now with the horde of swamp monkeys rushing their way, they wasted no time rushing up the spiral staircase after spending a few short minutes packing away everything essential and leaving behind everything nonessential that would only end up slowing them down or taking far too long to pack away.
The hope was that they would be able to make it up the spiral staircase in a single attempt without any breaks along the way. Not only minimizing potential encounters with flying monsters during their ascend but also preventing the horde of swamp monkeys from catching up to them.
After all, though they weren't yet clear about the goal of these swamp monkeys, the fact that they had already clashed with them earlier before they had suddenly disappeared into thin air only to return now made everyone feel like the swamp monkeys had only left them behind to gather more reinforcements to take them down.
And… Just looking at the size of the horde of swamp monkeys that had formed from above as they began their long climb up the spiral staircase, it was clear that there were indeed far more swamp monkeys compared to before.
Not just that, but as Verdell stood at the very front of the group and stared down towards the approaching horde of swamp monkeys, he clearly noticed that the overall strength of these swamp monkeys was far above the swamp monkeys that had attacked them in the past that even those weaker younger adventurers could deal with working together.
In fact, among the horde of swamp monkeys, he even sensed a few that made him feel somewhat threatened. Although they shouldn't have reached the S Rank in terms of strength, they were undoubtedly close to reaching that level.
If they ended up clashing with this kind of monster horde, their fate would be clear, as there was simply no way for them to fight back.
One positive about their current situation being that it should still take those swamp monkeys another fifteen or so minutes to reach the base of the spiral staircase. Giving them some headstart that would allow them to widen the distance between themselves and the swamp monkeys.
Another positive being the flat spacious steps of the spiral staircase, as they would make it far easier for them to defend against the swamp monkeys if they managed to catch up with them. The unique design that made it close to impossible to climb the staircase in any other way than intended made Verdell feel thankful for the first time in his life that the spiral staircase didn't come with any kind of railing.
Hm? Maybe there is another way to slow down these swamp monkeys…
But as he found himself gazing out over the vast swampland, Verdell inevitably narrowed his eyes as he noticed the two S Rank Monsters that they had bypassed a few hours earlier still locked in a deadly battle with each other that showed no sign of ending any time soon.
Fwoosh~
And as he watched the swamp monkey horde moving past these powerful monsters over the next few minutes without getting too close to the battlefield, he formed a small arrow made entirely of fire above his palm before silently reciting a complicated incarnation to push the range of this simple fire arrow to the limit of what was currently possible for him with his current understanding of fire magic-
Swish-!
And as the last mystical fire magic incarnation left his mouth, the small fire arrow underwent a complete transformation, becoming far darker in color as it instantly flew out at a terrifying speed in the direction of the two S Rank Monsters locked in battle.
Arriving at the location only a few seconds later before exploding with a blinding light that soon turned into a small sea of fire that swallowed both the S Rank Monsters.
ROOOOAR-!
ROOOAR!
Although this sea of fire didn't do much damage to the two S Rank Monsters, it did what it was intended to and fully angered the two powerful monsters, who immediately stopped their battle and shifted their attention towards him. Spending a few seconds looking back at each other before coming to some kind of understanding as both began making their way towards the spiral staircase a few minutes behind the horde of swamp monkeys that had already bypassed them.
Even if they wouldn't show up before the swamp monkey horde began making their way up the spiral staircase, this was exactly what he wanted to see, as he intended for the two S Rank Monsters to clash with the swamp monkeys. The spiral staircase only being so big, they would have to force their way through these swamp monkeys that clogged the path upwards.
"Hah… Using incarnations for magic truly isn't something I'm used to. Not only time consuming but also drains far more mana than usual…" Silently muttering this to himself as he saw that his goal had been achieved, Verdell didn't linger around watching the two groups of monsters approaching and instead began rushing up the spiral staircase. Having already been left behind by the rest who had gone ahead of him after seeing that he intended to do something to delay the swamp monkeys chasing after them.
To be honest, using incarnations for magic was incredibly useful and allowed the usage of magic normally beyond one's own capabilities, but the detriment was clear. Not only requiring a long time to chant the incarnations but also consuming far more mana compared to normal magic.
All things considered, unless necessary, mages rarely ever used incarnations, as they weren't useful when it came to hunting monsters or fighting outside a large-scale battlefield. After all, though the strength of a spell could be increased through incarnations, one first had to learn said incarnations and, in most cases, incarnations capable of enhancing the power of a spells damage were incredibly rare. Even more so the stronger one got.
For Verdell, the only real incarnation he knew of, that was useful at the A Rank, was an incarnation that increased the range of his fire arrow spell along with another that allowed it to explode into a sea of fire.
Although these sounded awesome, they weren't exactly that amazing, as the fire arrow was one of his weakest spells, while the sea of fire created upon impact was even weaker. Barely having the strength to damage a B Rank Monster, let alone an A Rank or S Rank Monster.
In a way, today was the first time he had managed to make proper use of these two incarnations he had learnt by complete accident in the past to draw the attention of two S Rank Monsters at the same time.
Now all he could do was hope everything worked out as he intended and the S Rank Monsters clashed with the swamp monkeys when they ended up blocking their path.
After all, like these two S Rank Monsters had displayed earlier, they did have some intelligence.
What he was banking on was the fact that this kind of intelligence only existed when interacting with monsters around the same level and not towards weaker monsters like the swamp monkeys, something that was far more likely to happen when it came to dungeon monsters compared to monsters found outside a dungeon.
This was also one of the main reasons why S Rank Monsters found outside a dungeon were considered far deadlier compared to those found inside a dungeon, as their intelligence alone far surpassed that of dungeon born monsters, something Verdell himself had experienced in the past over his long career as an adventurer. Encountering a few such monsters in the past that made him believe that some A Rank Monsters found outside the dungeon were far deadlier than some of these S Rank Monsters found inside a dungeon…