[Field Test]
Syr hummed quietly to herself a she swept the cobbles just in front of the Hostess. The lunch rush had just finished so things were quiet, and all of the staff including her were taking the time to tidy up before the dinner rush made a mess of things again.
It was a pretty pleasant day out, pleasant enough that she wasn't sweating thanks to the breeze wafting through the streets. A few adventurers passed here and there, and one or two recognized her and gave her a wave which she returned with her usual soft smile. She liked days like these. Simple, pleasant ones.
Syr was about to sweep the first pile of debris into the gutter when she paused as something tingled the edge of her senses. She slowly looked up into the cloudless sky, and blinked. Then blinked again, almost unable to believe what she was seeing.
A little over a dozen feet overhead, her friend Tanya was floating down towards her like she had suddenly sprouted wings from her back. Except she didn't have wings, nor anything else that could indicate how she possibly achieved what she was currently doing. Syr gawked alongside several people just passing by on the street as the child floated down out of the sky like some kind of graceful fairy.
Or a fairy, at least, Syr amended mentally as Tanya stumbled just a bit upon landing. She looked down at her feet, her face curling into an adorably annoyed expression, as if she was angry at the ground itself for tripping her up. Unable to contain her curiosity, Syr leaned her broom against the wall and skipped over.
“Tanya! How in the world did you do that?”
Tanya turned to her, brushing a lock of sweaty hair out of her face. She looked somewhat tired, but there was no denying the satisfied smile on her face. Syr's eyes dropped to the girl's neck where a softly glowing jewel hung from a silver chain, and tilted her head. She'd never seen anything like it before, but it was clear that there was something magical about it. Could this be the tool behind her flight?
“Good afternoon, Syr,” Tanya nodded. She noted where the girl was looking and reached up, pulling the amulet up for view with a smirk that suggested she was feeling particularly pleased with herself. “My investment paid off.”
Tanya lifted the jewel higher, and Syr watched the way the light gleamed off of the polished surface. “Meet the prototype Type 96 Computation Orb. Though I suppose since Shugel didn't have a hand in creating this one, it's technically the first of its generation.”
Syr eyed the jewel. She didn't know what any of that meant. “Is it something from your homeland?”
“In a way,” Tanya nodded. “It's a recreation of a magical focus that I brought here. The old one was broken to the point of being useless and rather dangerous besides. Luckily, I found a craftsman here who was talented enough to make me a new one. With this, I'm able to access my magic much more freely than before.”
“That's how you were able to fly?” Syr asked. “I've never heard of someone being able to do that with just magic before.”
“My method of using magic differs from most adventurers.” Tanya offered no other explanation in that regard, but Syr already knew that was the case. After all, she didn't know a single unblessed human who could do even half the things Tanya had done since she showed up.
“And with any luck, it's something the rest of the city will be interested in as well. I have a theory that needs to be tested,” Tanya continued, her eyes drifting toward the middle distance. “If it pays off, I may have finally found the path that takes me straight to the easy life I've always wanted.”
Tanya's smile grew as she drifted off into whatever reality she was imagining. “No more Dungeon, no more meddling gods sticking their noses into my affairs. I could live out the rest of my days as a shareholder in a very lucrative business, collecting dividends and spending my afternoons in an office looking over my ledger. A perfect, simple life.”
As Tanya gazed off into the distance, imagining a world where she could live the life she wanted without others meddling in her business, she missed the way Syr's expression had shifted. The soft smile on her face had been replaced by a light frown as she eyed Tanya's amulet, a million thoughts running rampant behind her eyes.
It was gone the moment Tanya looked back at her, a warm expression once again plastered on her face.
“That sounds wonderful, Tanya,” Syr said softly. “It looks like things are finally looking up for you.”
“Well it was about time,” Tanya joked, stepping past Syr to enter the Hostess.
As Tanya disappeared through the door of the Hostess of Fertility, Syr remained where she stood for a long moment. The breeze tugged gently at her hair, and the sounds of the street filled the silence left in the blonde's wake. Syr picked her broom back up, her fingers curled around the handle just a bit more tightly than before.
Tanya put the prototype through its paces over the following days, delving into the dungeon to test its efficacy and just in general using it whenever she thought it applicable.
What she found was that, while not quite as smooth or even efficient as her Type 95, it was much more stable. Despite being only a prototype, the thing operated well enough that she didn't feel the need to worry over it falling apart or failing mid-flight. And best of all, she didn't need to constantly pray to make the damn thing work properly.
That had been a small worry of hers. Though the Type 95 had served her well in her previous life, the fact remained that the design itself was flawed and prone to disastrously explosive failure if it wasn't properly soothed by the powers that be. Thankfully, this new design was entirely bereft of that little flaw.
During a visit to Krov to report her progress, she suggested they find another person willing to test the device. Though Tanya found it to work beyond expectations, she knew that her approach to magic was much different to those in this world. Her current theory was that the computation orb could act as a mental buffer to circumnavigate the need for a spoken word or chant, as it did for her magical formulas. If it did, then there was a lot of money to be made there.
Krov agreed that expanding their test pool was the logical next step. The problem, of course, was finding someone trustworthy enough to test an experimental magical device and discreet enough not to blab about it to half of Orario. To that end, Tanya enlisted Licia's help, hoping the girl would know someone who fit the qualifications.
And, as fate would have it, she did. Even better, Tanya had already met him.
Artus looked unsurely at the jewel held in his hand. “Are you sure about this, Licia?”
Licia placed a gentle hand on the teenager's shoulder, giving him a reassuring expression. “It will be fine. Tanya wouldn't ask you to test it if she thought something bad would happen.”
“If it's any consolation,” Tanya spoke from the sidelines. “I've already run it through a battery of tests much more arduous than what I'm asking you to do. The likelihood that something bad happens is a million to one, especially for something as simple as this.”
“That's... a little better.” Artus gazed into the deep fog around them. The Mist Labyrinth on the Twelfth Floor was especially dim today; he struggled to see even a few feet in front of him without his magic. Which, in hindsight, was probably the point.
Artus looked back towards Tanya, finding her watching him intently.
Licia's friend is kind of creepy, he thought for the hundredth time. It was mean, but there was something off-putting about someone so young acting like she did. She reminded him of some of the veteran adventurers that he saw wandering around the Twilight Manor, men and women who came from outside the walls already wielding knowledge of how to fight simply because their lives had forced that on them.
Licia said she was some kind of soldier? What kind of place makes kids soldiers? He wondered, turning his eyes back toward the jewel in his hand. It was kind of heavy. He didn't really want to put it on, much less use it. Wasn't it a bad idea to use magic artifacts that weren't yours? He was pretty sure it was.
Still, Licia trusted her. With a shaky breath, Artus hefted the jewel and dropped it around his neck. It clanged loudly against the armor-plate strapped to his right breast and he winced, looking back to Tanya to find her staring at him with an unimpressed expression.
“Please be careful with the experimental prototype,” she said dryly.
“He's nervous, Tanya. Cut him a little bit of slack,” Licia huffed. She turned to Artus who was looking at the jewel warily. “What does he need to do now?”
“All he needs to do is channel his magic and direct his will towards the Computation Orb,” Tanya instructed. “The device should do the rest. Think of it as a lens. If you focus your intent through it, the orb ought to process and structure the magical output on its own as long as you know and are capable of the end result.”
Artus blinked. “That sounds simple.”
“It's supposed to be.” Tanya tilted her head. “The theory is that the orb can act as a mental buffer, circumventing the need for the physical channeling. If the orb can handle that intermediary step, you should be able to cast without uttering a single word.”
Artus frowned, turning the jewel over in his hands. The faint blue glow pulsed softly against his palms. He looked back at Licia, who gave him an encouraging nod.
“What happens if it doesn't work?” he asked, looking back at Tanya.
“Nothing, as far as I know,” Tanya admitted. “The best case is you just stand there looking foolish. The worst would be Ignis Fatuus, but that should be able to be circumnavigated by simply uttering the chant to regain control of your magic in the event you feel it running out of your control.”
Artus absorbed that with a slow nod, though the tension in his shoulders didn't quite leave. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and let it out through his nose. When his eyes snapped open, they were filled with determination.
“Alright, here I go.”
Artus turned to face the fog, squinting through the haze as if that would help anything. He reached inside for his magic, his lips moving as if to utter the usual chant before he gained control of himself and forced them closed. Inside of his mind, he could hear himself speak it as clear as day, though the words never escaped his mouth.
My way is blocked yet I must push forward. These eyes will guide me towards the future I belong to and nothing shall stand in my path! Himinaugu!
Behind Artus, Tanya watched with immense satisfaction as her computation orb glowed on Artus' chest, casting a sapphire shadow across the mist. Magic swelled and then settled, and when Artus turned to face her, his eyes were glowing a deep blue and there was a smile across his face a mile wide.
“It worked!” he cheered in astonishment. “I-I can see!”
Artus spun in place, and Tanya imagined what he was seeing. Artus' skill allowed him to see much further than normal and pierced past any obfuscation, be it magical or mundane. Fog dispersed, darkness shied away, and even walls failed to impede his path—though those of the Dungeon itself tended to make things fuzzy. It was, Tanya would grant him, an incredibly useful tool for a scout. And with her orb, he had been able to utilize it without uttering a word.
Tanya watched as he drank in the world around them, admiring a view that they couldn't see. “This is incredible,” he breathed.
“Can you maintain it?” Tanya asked. “Does the orb feel stable?”
Artus’ brow furrowed in concentration. “It feels the same as if I'd used the chant. I can normally keep this up for about an hour before I start getting tired. It might be a little more draining? I'm not sure.”
“We'll have to run some more tests,” Tanya decided. “But this just proves that it works in practice as well as theory. I imagine people would pay handsomely for a tool like this.”
“I'll definitely buy one,” Artus laughed as his eyes returned to their normal color. Now that he didn't have to worry about exploding, he seemed about as excited at the prospect as Tanya was.
Licia smiled at the exchange, though her eyes lingered on the orb as Artus handed it back to Tanya. “So what's the next step?”
“Next is finding a way to manufacture these at a scale that's actually profitable,” Tanya said, placing the device upon her neck. The faint glow had already faded, returning it to what looked like little more than an expensive bauble. “Hopefully Krov can find a way to cut the cost. I doubt everyone needs a catalyst as complicated as mine. You could achieve the same with a single core design or even a dual core.”
“Should we keep moving?” Artus asked, hefting his spear. Now that his magic had faded, he was as blind as the rest of them. “We've been standing still for a while.”
Licia nodded, drawing her weapons. “Artus is right. We've been stationary too long. Let's head back up. We can—”
A distant rumble caused her to pause. It was quickly followed by growling and yowling from further in the cavern. Tanya turned toward it, her hand drifting to the saber at her hip.
“That sounded big.” Artus swallowed.
“Hard Armored?”
“That, or a Silverback or Infant Dragon.” Licia eyed the direction the noise had come from. “It's coming from the direction we came from. Which means we either kill it or find another way up.”
“Can you use your sight to check?” Tanya asked Artus.
Artus nodded, stepping forward and speaking his chant aloud. As it came to an end, there was a swell of magic and his eyes began glowing brightly. He focused his sight across the cavern, frowning.
“There's another group,” he said. “They're being chased by a horde and heading this way.”
The rumbling grew louder. The floor beneath their feet began to vibrate with the telltale tremor of a large group of monsters on the move. Tanya's eyes narrowed as she listened to the sounds of claws on stone and wings beating against air.
Artus gulped, “That's a lot of monsters.”
“We need to help them,” Licia urged. Tanya was of a mind to argue that their survival far outweighed that of some random persons', but the first figures emerged from the fog before she could. A boy with a familiar shock of white hair burst into view, practically skidding on the stone floor as he rounded a corner. Behind him came a small girl with a pack nearly thrice her size strapped to her back, closely followed by a young man with red hair and a large sword slung over his shoulder.
“Bell?” Tanya blinked as she recognized the lead figure. The boy turned his head toward her, eyes widening as he caught sight of them before his face shifted with relief.
“Ah, it's you!”
Bell skidded to a halt beside them, his face smudged with dirt chest heaving. Behind him, the small supporter girl nearly collided with his back, her oversized pack swaying dangerously as she stumbled. She looked up at the group of them suspiciously. “Do you know them, Bell?”
Bell rubbed the back of his head. “Ah, I know her. I don't think I've met the rest of them. Um.”
A growl from the fog behind them cut him off. Tanya stepped forward and around him, eying the mist. “Introductions can wait. We need to deal with this first. How many did you bring with you?”
“A bunch of grunt monsters and a Wyvern,” the red-haired man answered, turning to face the corridor with his sword drawn. “We got caught in a bad spot and were planning to lure them into an open area so we could deal with them. Didn't realize there'd be another group down here. Sorry.”
“No time for apologies. How far behind you is the horde?”
“Thirty seconds, maybe less,” the redhead answered, tightening his grip on his sword. “We've been running for a while.”
“We'll make our stand here,” Licia decided, drawing her weapons “The corridor funnels them, so all we have to do is hold the chokepoint.”
A sensible strategy, though Tanya saw a flaw.
“A Wyvern would probably barely fit through those tunnels,” Tanya pointed out. “If it's forcing its way forward, the monsters are probably following the flow. We'll deal with a manageable stream to start with, but as it draws closer, the rest of the monsters are going to be forced out at once and we'll be overwhelmed in a melee. What are our ranged options?”
“Lili has a crossbow,” Bell nodded toward the Pallum who held up her arm to showcase the weapon strapped to her wrist. “I have a spell, but it's kind of useless against more than one or two monsters.”
Tanya's mind worked quickly, processing the assets available to them. A crossbow and a single-target spell weren't much in the way of ranged firepower, but they were something. The corridor would do most of the work for them anyway.
“Here's what we'll do,” Tanya said, and the other straightened at her commanding tone. “The corridor funnels them, so we fight them as they come and thin the horde while the numbers are manageable. Lili will pick off anything that slips past the front line. Save your spell for priority targets.”
She turned to Licia and Artus. “Licia, you and Bell will take the front. Artus and the redhead will be behind them as support and to plug any gaps.”
Bell blinked at the rapid-fire instructions, before his face hardened and he nodded. The red-haired man hefted his sword, positioning himself just behind Bell and Licia.
“I'm Welf, by the way,” he said, glancing back at Tanya. “Welf Crozzo.”
“We can trade pleasantries later.” Tanya stepped back, spinning up a formula. The jewel hummed faintly as she fed magic into it, and her feet left the ground. She rose a few feet into the air, hovering just above the group. “I'll provide air support and respond to the main breach once it arrives.”
Welf stared up at her. “She can fly?”
“Focus,” Lili said, though she too seemed shocked at the sight.
The first of the monsters emerged from the fog. It was a pack of Kobolds, their clawed feet scraping against stone as they barreled forward in a disorganized rush. Behind them, the hulking silhouette of an Orc could be seen plowing through the smaller creatures, trampling any in its way to get closer to the group
“Here they come!” Artus called out, tightening his grip on his spear.
Licia met the first Kobold head-on, her short sword catching it across the throat. She twisted past the falling body and drove her dagger into the chest of a second, using its own momentum to pull herself forward and clear the path. Bell was at her side a heartbeat later, his dagger sticking an Orc in the brain and dropping it in an instant before it could even bring its arms up.
Artus thrust over Bell's shoulder, his spear punching clean through an Imp that had tried to exploit a gap between the two frontliners. As he reset, Welf stepped past Artus, his broadsword sweeping in a wide arc that cleaved through a monster that had ducked beneath the spearman's thrust. His weapon passed through it as if it wasn't even there, a spray of blood and dust covering the duo.
“Keep it tight!” Tanya called from above, watching the battle unfold with a critical eye. “Don't let them spread out! If they get past the chokepoint, we lose our advantage!”
Lili's crossbow twanged and a bolt buried itself in the eye of a Kobold that had been circling wide. The Pallum then replaced the bolt and twisted, shooting an Imp out of the air as it jumped over Welf's strike and tried to make toward her. She was surprisingly calm under pressure, Tanya noted. That was an excellent shot.
The stream of monsters was steady but manageable. The corridor did its job of funneling the horde into a narrow front that they could managably hold. For a brief moment, Tanya allowed herself to appreciate the setup. This was how it was supposed to work—clear roles, disciplined execution, and a chokepoint doing the heavy lifting. It was almost nostalgic.
And then the floor began to shake.
The rumbling intensified, and the steady stream of monsters became a flood as they were forced forward from behind by something much larger. Tanya's eyes narrowed as the bellows of an angry creature echoed through the misty cavern. Her hand strayed toward her holster.
“Fall back!” Tanya barked. “All of you, back! Let them into the cavern!”
“What?” Bell turned to look at her, confusion written across his face.
“If we hold the chokepoint now, we'll be overwhelmed!” Tanya shot back, already moving higher into the air. “The Wyvern is forcing everything in front of it out at once. Let them spread into the cavern and we'll deal with them in the open where we have room to maneuver!”
“But—”
“Do as she says!” Licia cut Bell off grabbing his arm and pulling him back. Tanya was glad to see that the girl trusted her enough not to question her call.
Bell hesitated for only a second before nodding, falling back with the rest of the group as the monsters poured out of the corridor like water from a broken dam, driven forward by a massive beast of scale and sinew.
The Wyvern was large, easily twice the height of a man and thrice as long, with leathery wings that scraped against the walls as it forced its way forward. Its head swung from side to side, jaw parted to reveal rows of jagged teeth, and its eyes burned hatred for the people present.
Tanya counted the monsters flooding into the cavern. Ten, twenty, with more still coming. The group turned to face them and Tanya floated a bit closer.
“Hem them in!” she ordered. “Artus, Welf, wide formation; keep them from circling! Bell, Licia, stay mobile and pick off the edges!”
The group scrambled to comply. Welf moved to the left flank while Artus took the right, his spear sweeping in low arcs to keep the smaller monsters at bay. Bell and Licia danced between them, striking fast and retreating faster, carving through the monsters at the perimeter.
The monsters milled and snarled, their attention split between the multiple targets. Without the corridor to funnel them, they spread out but they also lost the momentum that had made them dangerous. The Orcs were too slow to catch the faster adventurers, the Kobolds were too disorganized to coordinate, and the few Imps left couldn't pick out a single fighter to focus on.
The Wyvern, however, was another matter entirely. It lunged forward with a bellow, its jaws snapping shut inches from Welf's sword arm. The man threw himself to the side, rolling across the stone floor and barely bringing his weapon up in time to deflect a follow-up swipe of its claws that knocked him onto his back.
“Welf!” Bell shouted, breaking from his position to rush toward the redhead as he scrambled away from the monster.
“Stay in formation!” Tanya barked. “He's out of reach! Focus on your sector!”
Bell skidded to a halt, his face torn with indecision before he swallowed and fell back into line. It spoke well of him that he could follow orders under pressure, even if his instincts screamed otherwise.
Tanya's eyes swept the cavern. The monsters had stopped flowing from the corridor, and now the bulk of the horde was fully out in the open. The group was holding, if barely. The size of this horde was astounding. For every monster they cut down, two more pushed forward to take its place. And then there was the Wyvern.
Enough of them in one place now.
Tanya drew her Luger.
“Hold your positions and brace!” she called out. “Incoming artillery!”
“Incoming what!?”
Tanya was already aiming, focusing her attention on the Wyvern and the monsters milling about its feat. Her Luger barked as the bullet embedded itself in the stone floor at the center of the monster horde. The Explosive Formula layered over the round detonated a fraction of a second later, and a sphere of concussive force and fire erupted from the point of impact.
The blast caught the densest cluster of monsters dead center, incinerating the ones closest and dealing devestating damage to everything else. Kobold and Orc alike were reduced to charred meat and blackened ash, while those on the periphery staggered away, dazed and burned, their hides blackened and smoldering.
The shockwave swept through the cavern in a rolling wave of pressure that drove away the lingering mist. The group braced themselves, but even at the edges of the blast radius the force was enough to make Artus stumble and Licia's hair whip around her face.
In the ringing silence that followed, Tanya watched as the remnants of the horde struggled to rally. The Wyvern's scales were scorched and chipped, bloody ichor dripping down onto the stone from its tattered wings and newly-scarred face. If a monster could look livid, it managed it well as it turned its head upward to where it knew the attack had come from. Tanya met its eyes, calmly holstering her Luger and unsheathing her saber.
“Clean them up!” Tanya commanded, diving towards the monsters.
The Wyvern lunged upward to meet her, jaws wide and trailing ichor. It was faster than anything that size had any right to be, but Tanya was back in full form. She twisted midair, banking hard to the left just as the monster's teeth snapped shut on empty space where her torso had been a heartbeat before. The creature's momentum carried it past her, its scarred neck exposed for a fraction of a second, and that was all she needed.
Tanya adjusted her trajectory with a thought, the computation orb flaring against her chest as it channeled her magic. The Mage Blade formula wrapped around her saber in a sheath of crackling green energy, extending the weapon's reach by nearly a foot. She twisted, and her blade met the monster's neck, carving through scales and muscle and sending a spray of blood arcing through the air.
The Wyvern roared and twisted its body in a violent thrash that ripped the saber from its flesh with a gout of blood. The second strike was cleaner as Tanya sliced into the wound with a brutal stroke. Muscle and bone gave before the edge of her sword, and the monster's head lolled sideways, connected to its body by only a few stubborn strands of gristle.
Tanya kicked off the Wyvern's ruined neck, launching herself upward as the creature's body began to fall. Her saber came down one final time, and the head separated entirely, tumbling away into the fog below.
She hovered for a moment, watching the headless body crash into the stone with a heavy thud, then turned her attention back to the cavern below.
The others were already finished cleaning up. As she dealt with the Wyvern, the rest of the monsters had been slain, and now the cavern fell silent save for the soft dissolving sounds of monster remains and the heavy breathing of the ones who killed them.
Tanya descended, her boots touching down on the stone floor as the green glow of her Mage Blade faded from her saber. “Is everyone intact?”
“All good,” Licia confirmed, wiping blood from her blade onto her thigh.
“A bit damaged,” Artus admitted, pressing a hand to a cut on his arm. “But fine.”
The others were staring at her, shock written across their faces.
“That was...” Bell started, his red eyes wide as they tracked between Tanya and the dissolving corpse of the Wyvern.
“Incredible,” Welf breathed, pushing himself to his feet. He brushed dust from his clothes, though his gaze never left Tanya. “What kind of magic was that? I've never seen anything like it.”
“My own special brand,” Tanya said, glancing at her sword with a frown as her attention was taken by its state.
The edge of her blade was chipped quite badly. It seemed that even her formula was not able to fully compensate for the toughness of the Wyvern's scales. Another engagement like that and she'd be fighting with a blunt instrument, if not simply less sword than she had now.
“You're going to need a new blade.”
Tanya glanced sideways. Welf had approached, his own sword resting against his shoulder as he peered at the damaged saber with a thoughtful expression.
“It held up better than I expected, honestly,” Tanya murmured, turning the weapon to catch what little light the cavern offered. The chips ran along the forward third of the edge where it had met the Wyvern's scales at the worst angle. “I bought it second hand but it's been a rather suitable companion.
“Well, it looks like you're gonna need a new one if you don't want to be left holding a dagger instead of a full sword” Welf pointed out. He ran a thumb along his own blade's edge, checking for damage. “What was that green light? Some kind of enchantment.”
“Mm. A spell that wraps the weapon in a layer of hardened magical energy and extends the reach and cutting power,” Tanya confirmed. “It should allow a rusty knife to cut through steel, if properly applied.”
“Unfortunately, Wyvern scales are tougher than steel,” Welf shook his head. “You need a better blade.”
Tanya regarded the redhead “You sound like you know a thing or two about weapons.”
“I'm a smith so it sort of comes with the territory.” Welf grinned, sheathing his sword and holding out a hand. “Welf Crozzo, Hephaestus Familia. Since we didn't get to introduce ourselves properly.”
Ah, well that explained it. Tanya sheathed her own sword and shook his hand. “Tanya Degurechaff. Currently unaffiliated with any Familia and hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible.”
Welf blinked, clearly taken aback by her statement. “Wait, so—”
“Hey, Tanya!”
Tanya turned from the smith to find Licia bounding up to her, a rather large monster stone held in her hands. “Look at the size of this thing! It's bigger than the Hard Armored! Imagine how much we'll get for this!”
“Wait, who says you get it?” Lili asked, eying the stone. Bell put a hand on her shoulder, grinning sheepishly.
“Well, she was the one who killed it. It would have been a tough fight if they weren't here.”
“We'll split the haul evenly,” Tanya said, grabbing the stone from Licia who pouted. “Everyone played a part in this, so everyone should get something.”
They spent a little bit discussing how best to split things. There were a lot of monster stones to go around and despite Lili's words, everyone seemed in agreement that Tanya had earned the large Wyvern stone.
In the end, they settled on an even split of the common stones, with the Wyvern stone going to Tanya's group since she had dealt the killing blow. Lili grumbled a bit more about the arrangement, but even she seemed to recognize the fairness of it and didn't seem overly sore.
“You sure you don't want to head up with us?” Licia asked, turning to Bell as the group gathered their things. “You've got to be tired after that”
Bell shook his head. “We're still good on supplies, and we haven't hit our limit yet. We'll take our time getting back up.”
Lili nodded beside him, patting her pack. “Lili still has plenty of space. It would be a waste to go back now.”
Welf nodded toward Tanya’s sword. “In the meantime, get that thing replaced. Seriously, it's got maybe one good fight left in it. Two if you're lucky.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
With final farewells exchanged, the two groups parted ways. Bell, Lili, and Welf disappeared into the fog heading deeper into the dungeon while Tanya's group turned toward the surface.
As they moved, Tanya felt a glimmer of satisfaction that had sat in place since she'd slain the Wyvern. Her performance today was leagues above her last excursion to these floors, and even better, the computation orb had held up incredibly well, and her hypothesis had been confirmed. She was excited despite herself at what Krov's reaction might be, as well as the notion of a sustained cash flow in her near future.
All in all, a rather effective field test.