Journey to Planar World

The White Palace. That was the name for the 37th Floor.

Its walls emanated a strange and subtle milky white color, and the scale of the labyrinth here felt far more magnificent and vast compared to the floors the adventurers had traversed before. All the corridors and spaces were enormous, easily spanning ten roads in most places. The ceilings were also incredibly high; Charlie couldn’t see how high they were even with his Six Eyes.

In the middle of the expansive floor lay a staircase leading to the next depths. Five circular formations resembling massive castle walls surrounded the staircase, as if tasked with protecting an imperial throne from it. This unique layout had never been encountered on the previous floors. Adventurers wishing to reach the central staircase had to navigate the intricate maze formed between these giant walls, or be forced to go up and down countless times on their journey.

”Orario could probably fit in here, right? What do you think, Aishia?”

”I think so too. It’s hard to believe we’re so far underground... The Dungeon is truly a mysterious place.”

Walking beside Charlie, Aishia voiced her surprise despite her face remaining flat.

”SHAAAAAAAA!!!”

Just as the two of them took a few steps down a wide corridor, an arm covered in dark blue scales suddenly slashed with a large sword aimed at Charlie from around a corner.

*CLANG!*

The loud sound of clashing metal echoed as the sword struck Charlie’s body. However, the surprise attack didn’t even leave a scratch on his skin thanks to the Armor of Fafnir.

”If that were another adventurer, that ambush might have succeeded. Too bad, nothing can hide before my Six Eyes!”

*SWOOSH!*

*PU-CHI!*

With a swift and deadly movement, Charlie swung Terminus Est vertically, splitting the attacking enemy in two and killing it in a single strike.

The monster’s body instantly turned into a puff of black smoke and dropped a shimmering magic stone.

”SHAAAAAAAA!!!”

More numerous and threatening growls suddenly erupted from various directions around the two of them.

”Elite Lizardmen, huh...” Charlie muttered, recognizing the type of monster that had just appeared.

As their name suggested, these monsters were higher-level versions of the Lizardmen that adventurers often encountered in the Colossal Tree Labyrinth. However, their abilities were on a completely different level. Their scales were blue instead of red and looked as hard as steel armor, leaving no gaps in their offense or defense.

Their numbers were also significant, dozens of monsters armed with swords and spears surrounded them.

”No matter how hard their scales are, my Terminus Est can cut through them! Let’s go, Aishia!” Charlie said confidently, swinging his sword lightly.

”Um.” Aishia replied briefly. Then, she raised both her hands. Light began to gather in her palms.

”Icicle Shower.”

*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*

*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*

Instantly, a rain of sharp icicles fell from the high cave ceiling, striking the Elite Lizardmen with devastating force. The ice pierced their hard blue scales, freezing them in place or tearing their bodies apart with lethal ice shards.

*WHOOSH!*

While the monsters were trying to evade the unexpected ice attack, Charlie moved like the wind, Terminus Est in his hand dancing lethally.

*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*

*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*

Each swing of his sword mercilessly cleaved through the Elite Lizardmen’s bodies, leaving trails of silver light and black smoke in the air.

The battle against the dozens of elite monsters was brief and efficient, thanks to the combination of Charlie’s swordsmanship using Terminus Est and Aishia’s deadly Spirit Arts.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Starting from the 37th Floor, the Deep Floors possessed a terrifying and tense atmosphere, with monsters of inexplicable power and speed. More than that, the Deep Floors were rumored to possess a dark aura that could corrode the minds of adventurers, slowly pushing those affected into the abyss of despair and madness.

Since arriving on the 37th Floor, Charlie and Aishia had faced hundreds of monsters of various types lurking in the eternal darkness of this floor. They had dealt with the common Skull Sheep, Obsidian Soldiers, Barbarians, Spartoi, and even the Worm Well—a rare giant snake monster five meters tall and ten meters long.

”The atmosphere on this 37th Floor really isn’t suitable for living long.”

”Especially the layout that easily makes adventurers get lost. This floor has been explored deeply by many Familias, yet its size is rumored to be twice the size of Orario. Unless it was created by the gods themselves, I find it hard to believe how this planet could produce such a place underground.”

That was Charlie’s opinion as he observed the intricate labyrinth landscape with his Six Eyes.

”I think so too. If ordinary people without Falna lived here, their minds would corrode quickly. They would definitely go mad in a short time.”

Aishia nodded in agreement, although her facial expression remained flat.

Charlie sighed softly as his Six Eyes detected several Skull Sheep hiding in the darkness around them.

”These Skull Sheep are really annoying. They keep popping up no matter how many times I exterminate them. Oh well, this saves me time collecting Excelia.”

”...”

Realizing that their hiding place had been exposed, the Skull Sheep no longer tried to remain hidden. With swift and silent movements, they lunged out of the darkness and attacked Charlie and Aishia.

Skull Sheep were 140-centimeter-tall monsters entirely made of bones. What made them unique and dangerous was a piece of dark-colored skin covering the back of their heads, making it difficult to predict the direction of their attacks. This illusion of a skull floating in empty space also allowed them to camouflage perfectly in the natural darkness of the 37th Floor.

*SWISH!* *SWISH!* *SWISH!*

With swift movements, the Skull Sheep fired volleys of sharp stones at Charlie and Aishia.

*RUMBLE!*

Aishia stomped her foot lightly on the ground. Instantly, her Spirit Art created a sturdy wall of earth in front of her, blocking the high-speed stone projectiles.

*BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!* *BAM!*

On the other hand, Charlie completely ignored the defense and received the projectile attacks without injury.

*WHOOSH!*

His figure shot forward like a ghost towards the attacking Skull Sheep.

*SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!* *SWOOSH!*

*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*

With swift and precise swings of Terminus Est, he slashed through the Skull Sheep, shattering them into pieces and killing them in a single merciless strike.

The commotion from the brief battle against the Skull Sheep apparently attracted the attention of other inhabitants of the darkness. The sound of shattering bones and Aishia’s released Spirit Art echoed through the labyrinth corridors, summoning the arrival of more Skull Sheep and other monsters drawn by the noise.

Although the number of approaching monsters was increasing, it only caused slight discomfort for Charlie and Aishia.

For other adventurers consisting of only two people, being surrounded by dozens of monsters on this dangerous Deep Floor, the wisest choice would certainly be to retreat for safety. However, for Charlie and Aishia, the approaching monsters were merely additional sources of Excelia, valuable experience points that would accelerate Charlie’s power increase.