125 Broken Ceiling

(38th Floor)

The Loki Familia sat around the campfire, laughing and joking as drink sloshed around while food cooked in the pot. The weaker adventurers could do nothing but congratulate the executives for taking down Udaeus at first, but when it had then been revealed that Lyze had pretty much taken it down with support from the mages in the back, people could just not shut up about it

Once again their prodigy had done the impossible, had defied normal logic, and had gone and slain a monster way out of his league. The dwarves (who were the people that liked Lyze the most due to his tolerance, his fighting spirit and his singing) hollered and cheered, while dedicating toast after toast to the boy. The most enthralled was Ais, who begged for every detail with an earnest gleam in her eye.

Smiling, Riveria and Finn couldn't help but divulge what Lyze had done. Now this was a very momentous thing, such that even the top three were worked up about it. Udaeus was a monster that typically needed a team of high levelled adventurers to take down because of how brutal and strong it was. To engage it by one's own self was a thing unheard of, and for a level 3 to do it...

Had anybody told Finn a week ago that their prodigy would practically defeat Udaeus by himself with minimal support from the mage team he would have called them crazy. And besides that, he was pretty sure that Lyze could have done it absolutely by himself if he'd wanted given how powerful his other forms were.

Especially his blade works...there had to be something more to Lyze than simply just being able to contend with Udaeus's own giant sword. And THAT was also another thig. Udaeus having a sword was sure to be a subject of great interest when they brought this info back to the guild. No doubt that other higher levelled Familia would try and fight the beast themselves to get the sword.

And it was not like anybody had a reason to disbelieve them. After all, they had half of the monster rex's sword wrapped up in the cart. It would be useful for melting down into a weapon as Tsubaki had assured them that it was a quality piece of material that would no doubt make an extremely powerful weapon once it was shaped.

The unfortunate thing was that Lyze was not there to share in his own glory. Noir lowered his tankard from his lips as he watched the boy, who was a good long way out of the campsite.

Hovering about a hundred feet in the air, Lyze meditated as his hair slowly ruffled from being disturbed by the magical aura of silver fire now covering him. When the boy had devoured Udaeus's soul, he'd become mute and unresponsive no matter how much they tried to talk to him. Instead he'd come to the 38th floor, walked right past camp, stuck Excalibur into the floor and then levitated up to a height where it would be hard to reach him unless Gareth threw someone up there.

Silver flames slowly flickered and swirled around him like a protective coating as the bright light inside his chest pulsated like a heartbeat, creating a little drum sound as it did so. For a moment it would glow bright before going dim, then become bright again before going dim again, on and on. And when Lyze had first started meditating, the executives had noticed him trembling quite a bit at first.

But as time had gone by, the trembling subsided and his breathing became more even, which alleviated their worries for the most part and they returned to their merry celebrations.

...

What Lyze was actually doing was regulating the sudden influx of energy inside his soul, trying to allow to fill in little by little instead of all at once and potentially damaging his soul. For some reason, the soul of that monster rex had contained a lot more soul energy than should have been expected even of him. He'd heard comments though about how the monster rex seemed slightly stronger than normal, just like every other monster they'd encountered when coming down here.

It was at this moment that Lyze finally descended into deep suspicion. Something was going on here. Of course this was his first time coming all the way down like this, so he'd had no idea how powerful monsters were supposed to be. But hearing people say over and over again that the monsters he was fighting was stronger than normal had finally begun ringing alarms.

Why were the monsters stronger? What was the Dungeon doing? Was it evolving or something? Freya's warning surfaced to his mind again. He didn't take people's worries lightly, especially when they were people he cared about...and boy did that feel good to say.

He cared about Freya...he liked her...he loved her...

Yes, every time he said these words to himself his heart flipped and his stomach wriggled. And his current task became so much easier. Like this, he proclaimed his love for Freya and for his other special person time and time again, to make it easier as time went by.

But regardless...something was coming. Something was about to happen and now he too could feel it. Which meant he'd have to keep a keen eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

...

He suddenly had a powerful urge to sneeze. He violently sneezed as the sound of his output echoed around the expanse of the 38th floor, momentarily breaking his concentration from his meditation as he quickly gathered himself and refocused.

...

Finally, the power surge he'd experienced came under control and his soul swelled with power as the Flame burned even hotter than before. Lyze unfolded his legs, and stood up right while floating in the air. He lifted his right hand and clenched the fingers. Silver lightning crackled in his hand and increased tenfold in intensity as a silver energy ball began to form in his hand.

Throwing his hand up, he fired a stream of that lightning in the air, which caught the attention of his Familia. The lightning hit the ceiling and spread out over its great expanse as the entire Floor's ceiling was engulfed in a swarm of crackling silver electricity which lit up every dark corner.

The Loki Familia stared in awe at his clearly elevated levels of power as he had crossed yet a bunch more rungs on the power ladder. Lyze retracted the lightning back into the energy ball in his hand as his arms shook with the overflowing power. Dismissing it with a little effort, he lifted the lid on the magical energy he was keeping inside his body.

The air around him became blurry as his magical energy filled his body, and leaked out into the air. And as he descended to the ground, that invisible aura unsettled the dust and pebbles around him. He used Chaos Vision to peer through the seal on his Falna and take a glance at his stats.

...

STR: 1599 SSS

END: 1599 SSS

DEX: 1599 SSS

AGI: 1599 SSS

MAG: 1599 SSS

...

If he was a person in the habit of dropping his jaw when he saw something unexpected, he would have done it right there.

1599?

His cap had gone up! Whereas before the cap had been 1500, for it to have gone up by a whole 99 points in each attribute...his vessel had become wider and his power had reached new heights! And beyond that, he was eligible for a level up.

Feeling many gazes on his back, he turned around to see his Familia staring up at him. He grinned and waved at them before he floated away towards the other end of the Floor. The Loki Familia shrugged, used to his dramatic displays of power now, just assumed he was back to his normal self and they returned to eating.

Lyze came to descent by a very large boulder, one that was bigger than a house and one which was clearly very dense. And if he had to wager a guess, it would be heavier than Udaeus's body. Lyze stared down at his bare torso, examining his core before raising his arms. Even as young as his body was, every inch of him was defined with rippling muscle that may have been lean in nature. But he'd already performed feats like those of a strongman.

Lyze cancelled out all magic, leaving him as a normal boy besides his supernatural strength. He walked up to the boulder and dug his fingers underneath, his finger tips easily poking through rocky ground to get beneath the giant thing. He heaved and lifted carefully with his legs in case he strained his back. With a bit off effort, the boulder groaned as it lifted up.

Lyze grit his teeth as he made sure to breathe in and out properly so pressure did not build up in his head. When he managed to lift one side up to the level of his chest, he flipped his hands so the fronts of his wrists faced up, and he was pushing the boulder up now. His muscles strained as veins bulged out of them, while the skin over his abdomen tightened. The ugly scar was pulled back so much that it nearly became smooth surface again. He held it there for a while until his arms started shaking from the strain.

When he felt he'd reached his limit, he let it fall with a giant thud that shook the area around him for a few feet while cracking the ground underneath and throwing up dust. Lyze puffed out a small bit of air and blew it all out of his face as he felt his arms stinging, while his back felt like it was being stretched out now that it had reached resting position.

Lyze lifted his calloused hands and thought for the umpteenth time about how he missed his previous body size. Feats of strength had a lot to do with sufficient height, more than people realized, and it also had to do with the weight of the person themselves. His body, as shredded as it was, was light enough that it could easily be lifted with one arm of a normal man. He was also limited in his combat abilities. With longer limbs and bigger muscles, he could use his old martial arts moves on man and monster alike. At a height of 6 feet at the very least, he could most definitely pose a much greater threat to Ottar even at his current level.

He sighed as he clenched his hands and focused on his soul once again. While he'd been handling the surge of power, he'd also capitalized on using the sudden rush of spiritual energy to ever so carefully touch his own soul and what was imprinted on them. While he'd been doing that, he tried to centralise Chaos amongst the mess of powers, skills and other things. It seemed to be quite happy to acquiesce to his demand and moved to a place where it did not get in the way of him trying to touch his skills.

Think of it as a kind of back door into the Falna.

And doing that, he had taken the {Cratus} skill and tied it to the Flame of Origin. So when he called upon the skill, it would be fuelled and boosted by the raw power of the Flame. Meaning this strength would be boosted and the Flame would cover him with magical augmentation too. A multiplier of sorts.

The key to maximizing the abilities of a Falna was to treat it exactly like it was...a game. And he'd just hacked it. No doubt Loki would probably get mad...he'd just remind her of how she promised to marry him if he reached level 10 before he was 20 years old. Usually that shut her up when she was being annoying.

...The thought of that prospect was not unappealing though. Despite her tendencies, her behaviour and her own preferences...Loki was still attractive in her own way. But for some reason, it felt weird to be in a relationship with your own patron...now he understood how Bell felt to a degree.

...

"{Cratus}." Lyze said as his muscles bulged to twice their size. It was so dramatic, even his chest became pecs that came out further than his chin while the amount of veins appearing over his body became crazy, such that they looked like they would kill him if even one was punctured.

Around his arms, his calves, his shoulder and his traps, the silver flame flickered like some sort of armour. Bending down, he slipped one hand under the same boulder and casually flipped it in the air. The boulder span around in the air at a furious speed before smashing into the wall and breaking into pieces. Lyze hummed in satisfaction as he called off the skill.

It was a pity he could not perpetually keep that skill on...or maybe he could. He'd never given it a try...and he wouldn't anyway since he wouldn't be able to exercise his base strength. He sighed heavily as he could still feel the strain from his arms and his battle with Udaeus still lingering. He held the back of his hand to his forehead as he thought about what lay ahead of them. They were over two thirds of the way to their destination but the journey ahead was still long and difficult...and even the top three were going to be stumbling now.

They were entering truly dangerous territory now...it was just as well that he got this powerup now.

--- 

(44th Floor - 2 Days Later)

Finn grimly led his Familia into one of the most famous rooms in all of the Deep Floors. The room that was known to look like the inside of the volcanoes, with its fire red walls and ceilings, and the black cracks in the floor that looked like molten rock had had cooled down there or had carbonated.

But regardless of whether it was a room of fire or not, it was home to only a certain type of monster kind. For it was those monsters that produced what fire could be found in these parts of the Dungeon. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see Lyze approaching with a guarded gait, and yet a lazy hand on Excalibur. The boy was geared up in his new cloak and a new red chest plate.

The air around the boy shimmered and wobbled as the Pallum could feel the pressure of the boy's vast Mind Pool, even from this many feet away. Finn smiled as Lyze came to the front and examined the Floor before them that they had to cross.

"Enjoying that new chestplate?" Finn asked Lyze.

"Loving it." Lyze said. "It feels good to have some measure of protection again."

"Face it. You would not have gone for this if Ais hadn't begged you to put on a piece of armour like she does."

"It's a breastplate at least." Lyze said. "Though when I went to Tsubaki to ask for one, I didn't expect her to immediately whip one up for me using that Red Barbarian horn."

"You gave her something to work with." Finn said. "And with all that you've done for everybody around, I'm sure she considered this as an appropriate way to thank you. It's relieving to see you fully clothed you know? Instead of strutting around bare chested and flashing that scar on your abdomen."

"I wear my scars with pride." The boy huffed. "Just because the sight of it makes Ais upset, it doesn't mean my fondness of it ends there."

"So you care more about the scar than her, whom you claim to care about?"

"Why did Riveria tell you about that?"

"As captain, I must be informed of everything." Finn smiled.

"Well obviously I cared about her feelings, otherwise I wouldn't have worn this breastplate." Lyze drummed his fingers on Excalibur's hilt. "But we're about to get real hot down in this floor...I'd rather have gone without."

"The heat would burn your skin."

"I'm not a normal level 3, remember?" Lyze said. "And anyway, I'm a master of flames. Fire is my specialty, so it would be embarrassing if I couldn't handle a toasty place like this."

"Hm. Well, even if it wouldn't protect you against the heat, what it will protect you against are the monsters that live in these floors." Finn said as they heard the rest of the Loki Familia arrive. "And they should be here to greet us about...now."

...

The ground rumbled as multiple giant mounds of dirt surfaced out of the ground in the distance, along with several smaller ones. The smaller ones burst open like bubbles to reveal the monsters hiding with. Like the little minions they were, the taster for the real monsters to come, Obsidian Soldiers shook dirt off of themselves before spitting lava out of their mouths and out of their chest as purple points gleamed in their heads for eyes.

The giant hills then burst open to reveal monsters about five times the size of the Soldiers. A larger, more powerful cousin to the smaller rock monsters, Flame Rocks rose from the ground as they turned their giant red eyes on the adventurers. Big bulky clusters of boulders with distinguishable limbs, eyes like red lamps in their heads and magma filled mouths in their chests.

The 44th floor was known as a volcanic floor and it provided the perfect home for these monsters who were the most powerful forces in these floors. Gareth smashed his fists together.

"Finally." The dwarf grinned. "Some fun to be had. I've missed being able to smash these guys heads apart."

"About time we had something to do for once." Bara said as she clenched her fists. "The kid's been hogging all the glory lately and I need to dust off the cobwebs."

"I'd like to see you try." Lyze said as he flared his {Cratus}. Finally reverting to his old ways, he did not chant the skill this time to activate it. "Permission to engage captain."

"Be careful." Finn warned. "These ones are a little bit nastier in their home advantage. But yes, you all may do as you please since we are the ones taking the lead. The others won't be able to kill these things."

"Yes sir." Lyze said as he looked back at Bara. "Catch ya later granny."

A flex of the boy's legs and he disappeared with mind boggling speed that blew draughts of wind backwards that made their clothes flap in the winds generated. Lyze reappeared in front of a surprised Obsidian Soldier an the boy grinned as his bare fist connected with its chest. The monster did not have time to process as its body shattered into rock fragments and splatters of lava.

"Any bets he's faster than Allen?" Dain asked his friends.

"When is anyone amongst us going to tell him that he outpaces even us?" Riveria asked. "His speed stats have been insane so far, not to mention the augmentations and stress he's been through."

"Let us retain a small measure of our pride." Finn chuckled ruefully. "Just because we're proud of his achievements, doesn't me we can't still mourn the shame...and for the record, Allen is nowhere near as fast."

Lyze wasted no time with the small fry and lightning crackled around his legs as he raced towards the Flame Rock. The giant living monolith turned towards him and its footsteps shook the ground beneath it. But why try to make a person stumble when they could fly?

Lyze shot through the air with a leg stuck out as his boot connected with its shin. His leg held firm as his heel dug deep trenches in its rocky leg. The surprise attack made the Flame Rock trip and fall to a knee with a great rumble as it groaned in strain. Lyze ran past its felled body and round behind it before he launched to the back of his head and upper cut it from behind.

The Flame Rock's body slammed forward in the dirt as its face ate rock and soil while its body swam through the ground. One of its friends raised its foot in the air, casting a shadow over Lyze as he looked up to see everything go dark. But not even his heartbeat quickened as he held up a palm.

Over his palm formed a ball of condensed Darkness and condensed Light as they swirled around one another. The two opposing powers slammed into one another to create a ball of purple energy of unstable Chaotic Force. Flicking it forwards, it smashed into the large chest of the Flame Rock and blew a hole right through it. The light from the second Flame Rock died out as its core was taken out with the attack.

It collapsed backwards with a crash that shook the Floor and made dust cascade down the walls. It groaned one final time before bursting into white dust.

"And there he goes again." Finn said. "Well, Loki Familia. Shall we let him get all the credit?"

"Absolutely not." Riveria said as she smiled and held up a palm, a ball of orange fire forming over it. "I've been earnestly practicing wordless magic...and I aim to make proper use of it now."

"And once I'm done smashing these beasts' skulls apart, he's going to taste my knuckles for calling me a granny." Bara smiled cruelly as she rushed forwards.

"And there she goes." Dain said as he dropped his axe and followed. "Well don't just stand there, hurry up."

"What he said young'uns." Noir said as he too passed the top three, not giving them a chance to move before he could speak. "Don't tell me the youth are already slow."

"I'm older than you, you old fart." Riveria said but the old man was well away before he could hear her fully.

"Gotta admit, they've got their old fire back." Finn said. "Our old teachers have finally got that spark they were waiting for. Who else to give it but Lyze."

"And when are we going to use our sparks?" Gareth grinned. "I don't know about you, but I don't want him to have exclusive bragging rights after dealing with these big lummoxes."

"Neither do I." Finn said as he crouched in a running stance with Fortia levelled at the monsters. "He's performed enough already. Time we showed him that he can't just race past us that easily!"

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