Chapter 81 - Finn's Decision!
"The team that cleared out the imps, go help others."
"Level 2 adventurers, speed up to kill the Silverback Ape."
"Level 3 adventurers, a new Silverback Ape appeared at three o'clock. Intercept it and wait for the mages' magic."
"Mages, start chanting and aim at the new Silverback Ape."
Upon Luke's return, Finn's commanding voice continued resonating on the battlefield.
The battle was reaching its conclusion; the peripheral imps were almost completely eliminated, and the initially assaulting Silverback Ape was near death under the siege of many adventurers.
The only concern was the newly arrived Silverback Ape, which Finn had already arranged for.
"Riveria, have the mages release their magic at the right moment. Huh? Luke, you're back?"
Finn gave his final command and turned around to see Luke returning.
"How's the situation over there?"
"There was an 'Infant Dragon hidden,' but I took care of it."
While answering Finn's question, Luke walked towards Gareth, who managed logistics.
"Luke? Are you back... This is really bad."
Before Gareth could finish his question, he saw the sword Luke was handing over.
He took the weapon, inspected it briefly, and then sighed.
"No way to repair it now; the blade's completely hollowed out inside."
"Can't you be gentler with your weapons?"
Looking at Ais fighting with imps not far away, Luke chuckled slightly in response to Gareth's complaint.
"I've been as gentle as possible."
"Hmph, I guess I'll believe that."
From his backpack, Gareth took out a finely crafted sword and tossed it to Luke.
"If you break this one, you'll have to pay."
Luke caught the sword and sheathed it at his waist. Finally, he was ready for another battle.
At this moment, the ongoing battle had reached its final act.
"Mages, unleash your magic, go!"
Boom, boom, boom!
Following Riveria's command, several magic simultaneously struck the new Silverback Ape, turning it into pieces.
At this point, the battle that occurred on the newly entered 10th floor had concluded.
"Finn, what's next? Rest for a bit or continue forward?"
"We encountered an attack right after reaching the 10th floor. Just to be safe, let's take a break for now."
Upon hearing Gareth's question, Finn, after some consideration, made a decision.
For a large group like theirs to rest in the dungeon, they needed to find a relatively safe place within this floor.
And Finn and his group had undertaken expeditions more than once, making them quite familiar with the area.
So, they chose a resting place that resembled a cave-like "room."
This room had only one entrance, and all around it was sealed by stone walls.
In the dungeon, there was a hidden rule.
If the terrain in the dungeon, led by the walls, was destroyed, the dungeon would prioritize restoring that specific part.
In other words, when the walls were damaged, monsters wouldn't respawn in the surrounding area.
So, as long as they found a room with only one entrance, they could designate a group to continuously break down the walls and another group to guard the entrance.
By rotating this process, they could successfully rest in the dungeon.
Because there were many areas in the dungeon that required teamwork, entering the dungeon alone was considered an unwise act.
"Luke, did you notice Ais's performance earlier?"
After arranging the rotation, Finn found Luke.
"Yeah, what do you think? Still can't make a decision?"
Luke silently looked at Finn, who was the leader of their group.
This decision, which was crucial to Ais's future, had to be made by Finn.
"To be honest, I still don't have complete confidence."
"But after seeing Ais's change in combat style during the recent battle, abandoning defense and focusing solely on killing monsters, I believe there must be a change in Ais's education."
"If it weren't for your suggestion, I might have temporarily forbidden her from entering the dungeon after this expedition."
The meaning in Finn's words made Luke understand that he basically agreed to let Ais use magic.
"So about this matter, I'll leave it to you."
"Leave it to me? Shouldn't it be Riveria?"
Luke was somewhat puzzled. Shouldn't mama elf be responsible for Ais's education issues?
Finn, seeing Luke's confused expression, was also surprised.
"Haven't you noticed?"
"Noticed what???"
Realizing that Luke genuinely hadn't noticed the issue, Finn suddenly smiled strangely.
"Nothing, just consider that Riveria is a bit shy and can't bring herself to discuss this matter."
Luke, looking at Finn's odd smile, was a bit puzzled, but he still accepted the task.
In fact, Luke hadn't noticed that Ais listens quite well to him.
Perhaps it was because on the first day, Ais saw a somewhat 'fatherly' figure in Luke.
Or maybe Ais instinctively sensed that both of them, now, are essentially 'swords.'
Or maybe because Luke, like Ais, is a novice adventurer.
Or it could also be due to that long-lost 'mother's wind.'
In any case, Ais saw too much in Luke, leading to a natural sense of closeness to this familiar or similar person.
Finn and the others had noticed this long ago because Ais always appeared very obedient in front of Luke.
This is what Finn and the others know, but there are actually things they don't understand.
In Ais's eyes, Luke was not only similar to her but also different from her.
He was powerful.
While Luke was similar to Ais, he possessed a strength that Ais currently couldn't match.
Both newcomers, both 'swords,' but Luke's strength was something Ais, no matter how she tried, couldn't surpass at the moment.
Why was this person so powerful?
This question had actually been in Ais's mind since the first day, during Luke and Finn's duel.
Ais didn't know the reason, but she wanted to know, she wanted to understand why Luke, even as a newcomer, remained powerful.
So, with an intense desire for strength, Ais subconsciously drew closer to Luke.
And this desire-induced closeness began to show some changes after Luke helped her recall the warmth of her mother that night.
The most noticeable change was that the current Ais, compared to Riveria, listened more to Luke.
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