Explorers typically despise unplanned battles.
You might wonder why.

Even though the essence of exploration involves adventuring through the Abyss and uncovering mysteries, their steady income doesn’t come from ruins or artifacts, which are often difficult to find. Instead, it primarily stems from hunting monsters and the materials collected from them.

However, these hunts are thoroughly planned.
Exploring the Abyss is a long-term endeavor.

Potion-based recovery is not a cure-all.
There’s a diminishing return on their effectiveness.
If you consume too many potions in a short period, their effects lessen.
That’s why, whether you’re a warrior or a mage, the time you can spend in combat is naturally limited.

There’s a reason why expeditions in the Abyss can last for months at a time.

So, from a common-sense perspective, it would be wise to withdraw for now.
In fact, even at the training center, they teach you to avoid unexpected battles whenever possible.

But that’s only common sense.

If the situation is beyond the bounds of common sense, then there’s no need to follow it.

The three of us silently agreed.

“Die!”

Of course, the first to charge ahead was, as always, Ray.

Ray’s talent shone brightly.
The colors of her magic rapidly shifted.

What was once a clumsy switch between Azure Raile and Argentus had smoothed out remarkably after just one actual combat experience.

Azure Raile not only enhances her legs, allowing her to step on the air but also boosts her raw leg strength.
Ray shot forward like a cannonball, and just before colliding with the approaching horde of monsters, she switched from Azure Raile to the silvery magic of Argentus, wrapping herself in it like armor.

Boom!

Dust filled the maze-like corridor, obscuring our vision.

But then, a gust of wind blew through, pushing the dust away.

I could feel the flow of magic along with the wind brushing against my skin.
It was distinctly different from the calm, stream-like flow of magic I usually sensed from Leif.
It was the power of Leif's new spirit, the spirit of air—Aerial.

“Aerial! Compress the air and shoot it!”

At Leif’s command, the air condensed, rippling like a mirage.

The compressed bullet of air shot straight into a scorpion-shaped monster that was aiming for Ray’s feet.

Thud!

But instead of the monster’s head, it was the bullet of air that burst apart.

“What the hell is this!?”

Ray, surrounded by Argentus, stomped on the monster’s head, crushing it.
Even if the monster had tried to stab her with its poisonous stinger, the magic barrier would’ve stopped it.
Ray probably ignored it because she thought the same.

Leif, looking a bit embarrassed at the lack of results from her bold command, spoke up.

“Well, that didn’t work as well as I thought it would.”
“You were copying me, weren’t you?”
“Oh! You figured it out!”

Of course, I did.

The mechanics were exactly the same as mine.

It’s a simple technique, easy to mimic.
But using ordinary air instead of the power of a high demon caused the effectiveness to drop significantly.
Not to mention, Leif didn’t use much magic, so Aerial’s output was low, or maybe Aerial itself wasn’t that strong yet.

‘She said it was similar to Undine’s terrifying Water Jet, so maybe that’s not the case.’

Leif would figure out the details in time through her own research.
For now, I offered some quick advice on what I knew for sure.

“You need to use more magic. The power that raw magic can generate without going through a spell isn’t very strong.”
“Hmm… I was holding back a little just in case.”

Conserving magic?
That’s something only ordinary human mages worry about.

Ray, a beastfolk with superior physical abilities and vast reserves of magic, wouldn’t need to worry.
And even though Leif was only a half-elf, her magic reserves were still comparable to those of pureblood elves.

If you compared them to our peers, the only one who could match Leif’s reserves was Elowen, another elf.
In fact, Leif had more magic than Elowen.

Then there was me, a walking cheat.
A being with infinite magic, making any concerns about managing magic reserves meaningless.

With the three of us on this team, worrying about conserving magic wasn’t necessary.
Even if it was, it was such a minor concern it wasn’t worth the trouble.

“Let’s save the lesson for later, shall we?”

At Ray’s suggestion, I resumed firing my magic bullets.

While Ray handled the bulk of the combat and Leif provided support, my role was to deal with any potential surprises.

Just imagine if another Shadow Stalker had appeared.
If it attacked while Ray was busy, things would get tricky fast.
Considering its power, it could probably break through Ray’s defenses.

I was the only one who could deal with such a situation, thanks to my teleportation ability.

But in the end, no such monster appeared.

I’d wondered if another predator might show up after the Shadow Stalker’s death, but no new threats emerged.
Even though you’d expect some to run away after witnessing the head of their kind getting blown apart, they seemed to charge at us as if on some kind of drug.
The battle only ended once every last monster was wiped out.

In other words, Ray had basically carried us through the fight.

But Ray didn’t complain.

Instead, she stretched out with a satisfied grin, placing her hands on her hips and savoring her victory.

“Ahhh… that’s the stuff. Haven’t fought this well in ages!”

Her reaction made it seem like she’d just finished a morning jog.

A young beastfolk is still a beastfolk, after all.
It’s easy to forget, but Ray was a member of the strongest, most ferocious of the beastfolk—the lion tribe.

“Well then…”

Ray didn’t bother collecting the mana stones from the monsters’ corpses and looked ready to jump into the next battle, her magic swirling around her.

And it wasn’t just Ray.

Neither Leif nor I had lowered our magical defenses either.

The reason was simple.

While the battle with the monsters was over, the overall fight wasn’t finished yet.

I responded to Ray’s words.

“What about him?”

I looked beyond the pile of monster corpses toward the man standing there.

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

The man raised his hands to show he had no intention of fighting.

“I don’t intend to fight you.”

Everyone says that at first.
But it never turns out that way.

“What should we do? Should we subdue him, just in case?”

Contrary to the man’s peaceful gesture, Ray was more than ready to fight.

Even using both magic sense and detection, I couldn’t feel anyone besides this man.
He could be an assassin hiding his presence, but if that were the case, Ray’s sharp instincts would have picked up on him.

This guy was wandering around on the second floor of the Abyss.
And with the number of monsters increasing and their natural instincts seemingly broken?

‘At the very least, he’s a Senior. He might even be an Expert like Nathaniel.’

Could the three of us take on an Expert?

Even though Nathaniel was more of a divine magic user than a pure combat class, he freely roamed the third floor with his burden, Pilon, in tow.
And Meah, whose skill was supposedly at the Expert level, had been no pushover in battle.

Thinking back on their abilities, I couldn’t help but wonder if our colleague Bongshik would have passed the Expert test if he had taken it.
Maybe that’s why he never attempted the exam, despite his capabilities.

“I understand your suspicion, but I came to help you.”

The man added, “Though, it seems like I haven’t been much help yet.”

“Well, there’s something you can help with.”

My words made the man glance around, as if wondering if there were more monsters he hadn’t noticed.
But the mana and aura around him remained calm.
It seemed like he didn’t want to provoke us.

“The monsters have all been wiped out.”

“So there’s still something to be done, huh?”

“Help us collect the mana stones.”

Work for us.

Prove your good intentions by helping out.

The man’s name was Luke.
Despite having a name that seemed like he’d walk among the clouds like Ray, his last name was Starling.

Luke Starling.
As it turned out, he was a Senior-ranked explorer, just as I had guessed.

“Well, thanks to you, this ended quickly.”
“I’m glad to have witnessed something so extraordinary. If I’ve paid my dues, then all is well.”

Luke reminded me of Arthur.
They were cut from a similar cloth.

The difference was, Luke seemed more composed.

“Hmm…”

Ray was still glaring at him, her distrust evident, but Luke remained unperturbed.

“She’s got a bit of a mistrust of humans,” I explained.
“I understand. She must’ve been burned by someone on the first floor.
There are plenty of lowlifes there who barely deserve to be called explorers.”

For the first time, the calm and composed Luke showed a hint of displeasure.

“The licensing system is too lenient. People who aren’t ready to face the Abyss chase after riches instead.
I don’t understand what those in charge are thinking.”

Was he really criticizing the upper ranks here?
Given my connections with the Grand Duchy, that wasn’t something I could easily agree with.

“Oh, pardon me if my words were out of line.”
“It’s fine. The three of us went through the official training. We don’t have any particular affiliations.”

I subtly hinted that we didn’t have any powerful backers.

How would Luke respond?

After all, the people he despised most were those who targeted individuals without strong affiliations, seeking to avoid any consequences.

Luke spoke, his voice filled with admiration.
“As expected. You’re clearly well-trained. Your foundation is solid.”

Suddenly, Luke started talking passionately about the importance of having strong fundamentals.

I glanced at Ray and Leif in turn.

We exchanged looks, all sharing the same thought.

Great. We’ve attracted another weirdo.