Thump-thump

How peaceful.

The view from atop the floating island... This must be what gods or angels see when they gaze down upon the world from the sky.

In the distance, other floating islands, similar to this one, drift quietly like clouds. The sky, bathed in a soft blue dawn even as midday approaches, makes the world below look like something out of a dream. The silhouette of faint mountains stacked with terraced fields adds to the mystical atmosphere.

And amidst this serene scene, one jarring sight.

Thump-thump

The wind brushed past the floating island, gently caressing my ears. Faint, unidentifiable sounds of wailing floated up from below, like whispers of the wild. The sounds of nature, where peace and struggle coexisted, filled the air.

And above it all, there was one strange sound.

Thump-thump

The sight disturbing both my eyes and ears wasn’t something different, but the same thing.

It was Ray, floating in the air. She was strolling through the sky using her newly acquired magical ability, as if it were some kind of trampoline for her. Honestly, it looked like I should be holding her hand to keep her steady.

‘Maybe Ray should be the one holding my hand here?’

After all, I can’t float.

As I mused over such random thoughts, I called out to Ray.

"…Why don’t you come back down?"

Don’t ruin my beautiful view of the Abyss.

"Why? You’re the one who said practice is important, Roman." "And why does your practice have to be right in front of me?" "Hmmm…"

She stopped mid-air, crossing her arms, as if questioning why I even had to say such a thing out loud. A smug grin spread across her face.

"Sss… I don’t need it, but why does it bother me so much?"

Her playful smirk was both charming and irritating at the same time. It was a smile that made me think of two contradictory words—both “charming” and “irritating”—based on the same root but with opposite meanings.

Thump-thump

"Hey, I’m not the only one who got something from the altar, you know."

Ray finally stopped her aerial stroll and returned to the floating island.

"That’s why I’m letting it slide, right?"

The master of the altar. The entity inside the coffin, which had turned the floating island into a tomb, had bestowed more than just Ray’s "air-walking" magic, which she’d named Azurail.

Both Leif and I received something as well.

Unlike the altar trap in the underground, there was no need for an elaborate sacrifice; just a bit of blood was enough to receive a reward. Finding such a generous ruin is about as rare as finding a needle in a haystack.

Thinking of it that way, it was probably for the best that Ray went first. It’s possible the altar chose the most suitable legacy for each of us, but it’s also possible it was just random.

If Ray had been the only one to receive something, she wouldn’t be showing off like this in front of us. At least, that’s what I’d like to believe.

"What about Leif?" "Same as you."

Leif’s reward was a spirit. Fitting for a floating island, Leif inherited a contract with an air spirit. It was exactly like how Hecate passed down her demonic contract through bloodline ascension.

This supported the theory that the altar selected appropriate legacies, but what I received was so unusual that I couldn’t be certain.

Anyway, according to Leif, the spirit she contracted with was stronger than Undine. However, since it was a fresh contract, she wasn’t sure if she could draw out as much power as she did with Undine yet, and said she’d focus on building a connection with it.

"Hey, Roman."

Ray, who had returned to the island, squatted next to me where I was lying on a slope.

"What do you think Leif really is?" "…What do you mean?" "Are you pretending not to know, or do you really not know?"

Of course, I’m pretending.

When I didn’t respond, Ray made her own judgment and continued.

"Don’t play dumb. Even I can tell something’s off. No way you haven’t noticed."

"You’re saying you don’t have a good sense, but what about your intuition?" "That’s exactly why I don’t have a good sense. Most things come to me naturally."

We call that having a sense, Ray.

Whether it’s through analytical deduction or pure instinct, either way, that’s what we call having a sense.

"Anyway, what do you think?"

"Hmm…"

What is Leif, really?

Just a normal half-elf?

That doesn’t seem right.

Her constant effort to hide under her hood seemed like more than just insecurity about being a half-elf.

"But do we really need to know?"

"Huh?"

"Why? I mean, I don’t tell you guys everything about myself either. So why should Leif have to?"

"But I told you everything, didn’t I?"

Ray looked at me with wide eyes, talking as if it were the most natural thing.

Yeah, that’s true.

Ray had shared everything about her origins and why she ended up at Les Rimen.

If she puts it like that, I don’t have much to say in response. But we never forced her to reveal anything. Sure, she might feel a little hurt, but that doesn’t give her the right to demand Leif share her secrets.

"There’s no need to dig up someone’s secrets if they don’t want to reveal them. Especially if they really don’t want to."

"Ugh… I guess you’re right."

Ray scratched her head in frustration, her actions and voice conveying her irritation.

"Then why don’t you just ask her?" "Should I?"

Ray’s mood lifted as she asked me, a wide smile appearing on her face.

"But if Leif doesn’t want to answer, don’t push it." "…I’m not that clueless, you know."

Grumbling under her breath, Ray quieted down and joined me in gazing at the floating island’s scenery, eventually sprawling out next to me.

She stretched out her limbs, her arm landing on my neck.

"Hey." "Eh, I guess I won’t ask her after all."

I gently moved Ray’s arm aside and asked, "Why not?"

"I don’t know. If I ask her directly, it feels like it’ll lose its meaning. She’ll tell us eventually, right?"

Ray chuckled to herself, and as if drawn by her laughter, a shadow fell over both of us.

"What’s going on? Did I miss something funny?" "We were talking behind your back." "Huh? Really? Roman, is that true?"

Leif’s innocent reaction made both Ray and me laugh.

For a while, the floating island echoed with our laughter.

"So, we need to decide now."

At my words, Ray and Leif exchanged sharp looks.

"Let’s go down." "Let’s go up."

They spoke at the same time, indicating the purpose of this conversation.

It was the question every Abyss explorer faced at some point. Do we go down, or do we go up?

Do we stop the exploration here to rest and recover, or do we continue exploring deeper? This was the number one source of conflict in any party. Regular expeditions with a decisive leader didn’t have this issue, but for us, it was a big decision.

"We’re running low on food. We can get water from Undine or use magic to gather it, but without food, it’s too dangerous." "We’ll just hunt monsters and eat them." "I absolutely refuse."

Leif firmly rejected the idea, her determination clear. Was this some kind of elf thing? Though, to be fair, she eats well enough when we cook for her.

"What’s the big deal? Besides, once we hit the third or fourth layers, supplies will run out anyway, and we’ll have to rely on monster meat. Consider this practice."

So, are we not planning to go below the third layer? Ray brought up an unavoidable truth.

But Leif wasn’t backing down.

"I believe in Roman." "Huh?"

Why am I being dragged into this?

"He’ll master spatial magic and increase the capacity of this bag a hundred or even a thousand times!"

My spatial magic is only for teleportation…

And even if I could increase the volume, how would we handle the weight?

Ray may be physically strong and have plenty of mana, but she can’t use body enhancement all day.

"It would be faster for Roman to teleport supplies from Les Rimen to wherever we are."

Ray’s rebuttal silenced Leif.

"And we can always resupply at the gate before descending to the second layer." "…Is that possible?" "What did they teach you at the training center?" "Ehehe."

Leif let out a foolish giggle. Honestly, it was a bit silly.

"They taught us that there’s a base camp near the gate to the third layer." "But it’ll be expensive, right?" "Yeah, probably several times more expensive."

The gate to the second layer was already many times more expensive, and the third layer even more so.

"Ray, do you have money?" "……."

This time, it was Ray who fell silent, turning her head to avoid Leif’s intense gaze.

Yeah, I get it. You two don’t have any money.

"I have some." "…Roman says he has money." "Ray, that’s Roman’s money, not ours."

There was no need for her to draw such a strict line, but Leif remained firm.

My money is my money. Ray and Leif would need to cover their share.

Leif’s argument was so reasonable that Ray had nothing to say.

"Well, we could always consider it a loan. Once we sell everything we’ve collected, we’ll have more than enough to repay it."

She wasn’t wrong. The magic stones from the monsters we’ve hunted so far would easily cover the cost.

Once I showed my approval, Leif reluctantly agreed.

"Fine. But we can’t keep doing it this way. From now on, we should set aside a party fund before we leave." "Good idea." "…Alright."

With Leif’s practical suggestion being added to our party’s rules, the debate came to an end.

"It’s settled then. We’re going down. Let’s stop at the second layer on the way." "You know the way?" "I’ve already marked the trail at the signpost."

Now that our destination and the path were clear, there was no reason to delay.

We began preparing to leave the floating island.

Ray stretched as she got ready to descend using Azurail, while Leif looked around and asked, "Roman? What about our Stingray?"

"What are you talking about? That flying manta ray was summoned by Sean. I just took over control. Obviously, it’s gone now." "…What? Then how are we supposed to get down?"

To Leif’s question, I gave her a simple answer.

"We’re jumping."

We’d just use Dimensional Shift before hitting the ground. Worst case, we’d roll a bit on landing.

For some reason, Leif’s already pale face grew even paler.

Sounds fun, though.

Better get ready for a dive.