Large Tree Labyrinth(corrected)

Once on the 18th floor, the group would have a couple of hours to rest or stock up. Mark was also planning to relax by visiting the 18th floor, but he wanted to confirm something first.

"Ohi Aiz wait a moment." -Seeing Aiz leaving he quickly called her.

Hearing Mark calling her, Aiz turned around with a confused expression.

"Don't look at me like that, I wanted to ask you what happened. You guys didn't even give the others a chance to move."

"I can answer that." -Riveria said as she approached them.

"On the 9th floor, we encountered an adventurer fighting a minotaur, despite being level 1. It was a good battle, reminding us of the taste of an adventure." -She said with a nostalgic smile.

"Do you know the name?" -Mark asked.

"It was Bell." -Aiz replied.

"Oh! So it was him, then I can understand. He already had enough strength, he just needed to adjust his attitude. Looks like someone else is going to break your record." -Said Mark with a hand on his chin, but he was thinking of something else.

'He's too fast, I'd understand if he spent a lot of time in the dungeon, but his growth is much faster than mine. Maybe it's his skill that gives a higher growth increase than mine, plus it doesn't seem to have any negative effects, what kind of op skill does he have?' -Mark sighed.

"Although he was good, I would have been more curious to see your fight, especially the last spell you cast." -Riveria said with interest.

"Maybe you'll get a chance to see it again in the future, if I tried casting it now, I'd probably die." -Said Mark wryly.

"That's too bad. Anyway, I must say goodbye, it looks like my help is needed." -Waving them off, Riveria began to head towards Finn and Gareth.

"Mark I have a question." -Now alone, Aiz was curious about something.

"Tell me."

"After the fight was over, Bell's back was visible with his status and we were able to read that all his stats were S." -She told him while looking him in the eye.

"S eh... Do you want to ask me what my stats were before I leveled up?" -Mark asked her to confirm.

Seeing her nod, a mysterious smile formed on Mark's face.

"If you want the answer, think about this question. If it had been me instead of the minotaur when I was still a level 1, who do you think would have won?"

Leaving her with that question, Mark began to head towards the floor village. The first time he came here, because of the murder, he didn't have a chance to explore it properly and now that he had some free time he didn't find anything wrong with visiting it.

The place had recovered quite well from the invasion of those plant monsters and even though there were still buildings under construction, it looked like the village would be 'new' again in no time.

"Doesn't that seem like too much of a price for a broken sword?"

"You don't understand kid, in case you don't have any weapons, this would seem like a gift from heaven."

"Gift from heaven or not, it's still a broken sword."

"Look, if you're not here to buy, you can just leave." -Said the shopkeeper, as he signaled him to leave.

'I hope your shop fails.' -Thought Mark as he walked away.

He had wandered through various shops in the village and realized one thing, the people in this place were thieves. They would sell you junk for double or triple the prices and although it sounds crazy, some people actually bought these things. This was because, as the seller had said, there were situations where an adventurer was in desperate need of equipment, even if they were expensive.

Time passed fairly quickly as he visited various places and the group had finished sorting out the last few things, so they were starting to regroup, to receive further instructions.

"I'm glad no major problems were coming here, but now the troublesome floors start. As you know, the next resting point is on the 28th floor and we will have to pass two zones, the first, is the Large Tree Labyrinth and the second is Water City. In these two zones, we will use this formation, Gareth, Bete, and Tiona will be the rearguard, while I, Riveria, Aiz, and Tione will be the vanguard. The rest of you will be divided into groups of four, the first group will be..."

After giving a quick explanation of how they would be divided, Finn began to list the various groups and their members.

'I'll have to team up eventually.' -Thought Mark complicated.

He knew it would happen sooner or later, but he still didn't feel comfortable. Even though he had come to the 18th floor along with a group, he didn't fear for his safety because he knew he would be able to handle the various monsters, but from the later floors, that wouldn't be the case.

He had already done some research both on his own and with the Guide, of the monsters of the floors he will face and all of them were level 2 or higher, much stronger than the minotaurs he had faced, and now it was his turn to fight these monsters with people he barely knew.

"Last group, Mark Tormeto, Elfy Colette, Cruz Bussell, and Alicia Forestlight. Remember that your role is to protect the blacksmiths and not to engage the enemy. We will try to kill as many monsters as possible to lighten your burden, if you run out of potions or antidotes go to the supporters to replenish. We're leaving in a few minutes." -With the last command, Finn finished his speech.

When Finn finished speaking, the various people started to join their group, even Mark headed towards where his group would be standing, and when he arrived, he could see a Chienthrope boy already waiting.

He had golden eyes and light brown hair of medium length with dog ears and a tail of the same color. He wore simple armor and held a black spear slung over his shoulder.

"If I'm not mistaken you're Cruz, aren't you?" -Mark asked to confirm.

"That's right, looks like we'll be on the same team." -He replied with a serious expression as he extended his hand.

Shaking his hand, Mark was analyzing his aura, but there was nothing special about it except for the strength he had.

'From what is written in the Familia's accounts he is a level 4.' -While he was pondering these things, two girls arrived.

"Ara Cruz, if you keep looking at people so seriously you might scare them."

The girl who had just spoken was Alicia Forestlight, a level 4 and a beautiful elf. She had wavy blonde hair that reached her back and light brown eyes, she was equipped with a bow and a magic wand.

"Hey Mark can I see one of your spells, Lefiya talks about them all the time, saying they're too weird."

The second girl who had made the request was Elfy Colette, a level 3. She had a petite build with reddish-brown hair and brown eyes, but she seemed pretty friendly.

"... Alright." -Seeing her, as she looked at him with stars in her eyes, he could only sigh and nod.

"Firefly" -Inventing a name on the spot, a ball of electricity formed on her hand and moved for a while before disappearing.

"OH! How did you do that." -She asked him with her eyes twinkling.

"Stop wasting time, we're going to have to go down soon, we need to decide on a formation." -Interrupted Cruz.

'Haaa thank you, I don't know how to handle this kind of people.' -Thought Mark wearily.

"Hmpf stupid Cruz." -Said Elfy apologetically.

"Fufufu don't be mad Elfy, you know Cruz is right, when we rest on the 28th floor you can ask him." -Alicia told her as she stroked her head.

"Well Mark, since this is our first time fighting together, could you tell me what you specialize in?" -Cruz asked him.

"As you could see I can cast spells, at the moment I possess two, one to attack and one to blind, otherwise I fight with a short sword." -Explained Mark.

"I see, how long does it take you to cast a spell?"

"Almost immediately."

Hearing his answer, Cruz raised an eyebrow in surprise, the first change in expression he'd had since he'd started talking, but Alicia and Elfy were also surprised.

"AYou're so interesting." -Said Alicia.

"...I understand your skills. I know you've killed some minotaurs quite easily, so I assume your sword skills aren't bad either. How about positioning yourself in the middle? You can either advance if you want to attack with your sword or act as a support along with Alicia and Elfy, I think that's the best position for you." -Explained Cruz.

Hearing his thought, Mark found it reasonable. If possible he didn't want to be in front in a place he had never explored and the middle position would be the most comfortable for him.

"That's fine with me."

"Perfect." -Cruz nodded, still seriously.

"Begin descent!"

With the new command, the various adventurers began to descend the stairs. As he descended, Mark could feel the climate of the place change, if on the 18th floor it felt like it was the middle of spring, now as he approached the 19th floor it felt like it was transitioning to a hot and humid summer.

After descending the stairs, he walked through the entrance to the 19th floor and could finally understand the reason why this area is called Large Tree Labyrinth.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were made of wood making it feel like you were inside a giant tree. There were several rocky paths suspended in the void and an incredible amount of flora he had never seen, from trees to strange flowers, it looked like a real fantasy jungle.

This was one of the largest areas of the dungeon, it was said that there were many areas yet to be explored and it was so large, it could contain all the upper floors. Of course, this was just a guess, but from that one could tell the difference it had with the upper floors.

'Looks like things are going to get interesting from here on.' -Thought Mark with a complicated face.