DanMachi 32

The food Olive prepared was starting to taste like something from a five-star restaurant. The increase in her cooking skill clearly showing. We ate, and lazed around for a bit, while snuggling up to each other, taking a much-needed rest, for the first time in hours.

"How far is your excelia accumulation right now?" I ask

"S, A, A, SS, C." She answers, and that surprises me, her excelia gain is progressing faster than mine, thanks to her Adventurer class, the one I'd rather not take, as it has no meaning after this world.

"You?" She asks, even if she can check it on her own.

"Strength at C, Endurance at D, Dexterity at S, Agility at B, and Magic already at max."

"Don't sweat it." She says picking up on my disappointment. "I'll protect you!" She adds lifting a fist in the air and giving me a cheeky smile.

Oh, how I'd love to have telekinesis right now, pin her down with it and show her who's the boss. "Stupid rune-based magic system." I grumble under my breath while giving her a manly pout. She'll get what's her due, later in the bedroom. A wicked smile appears on my face, as I start formulating a pretty interesting play. A light shiver runs down Olive's back as she sees it.

"I take it back!" She quickly tries to take back her words, which only makes my smile wider. She sighs and looks to the ground, feigning helplessness, knowing all too well what's waiting for her, while at the same barely keeping her panties dry, in expectation of something fun.

"Please be gentle." She adds timidly making me roll my eyes, but at the same time making me happy.

"And later, on you'll be begging for me to spank you harder." I say with a wide smile, giving her a wink, as she starts rubbing her legs together. To be honest with her current stats, I did have to spank quite hard for her to feel it, and even then, the palm mark, vanished moments after it, the true downside of a high vitality stat. I'll have to come up with some kind of curse magic that lowers her defenses, just for bedroom activities. Oh, what I do for love.

I stand up and embrace her, and after a heartfelt kiss, I plant a "light slap" on her behind, making a light moan escaped her mouth. She quickly looks to the side, hiding her embarrassment. Truthfully, that "light slap" would have crippled a normal human, thousand times over.

"Don't tease me." She says shyly.

"But I love it when you act so shy." I say, and give her another kiss. "Let's pack and head downstairs, if we continue as we are right now, we might be able to reach level seven by the end of the day."

With my earlier survey of the floor, I had pinpointed the location of the staircase leading downward, so after packing we moved towards in with brisk steps.

[Quest: [Dungeon diving 73] Completed 73 WP(x4) Received]

The 73rd floor was a total change of environment, and it was breathtaking. All around us large, kilometer wide, floating islands could be seen, all connected with bridges, made out of ropes and rotten wooden planks. Each island had a different biosphere, some had cacti and deserts, some had jungles with large trees, and some had even rivers or lakes on them, but the most interesting ones had some kind of large spiral structures with large jagged protrusions on their outside walls, reaching all the way to the sky.

I move to the side of our small island, housing only the staircase, leading back to the previous floor, and connected to five other floating landmasses, only to see clouds traveling under us and the bottom nowhere to be seen. That made me think about something, the island we are currently standing on, is floating, not connected to anything, and we somehow exited the staircase into it. I didn't feel any mana affecting us while we descended, so it was not mana-based spatial manipulation, it had to be an ability of the dungeon. Shelving the idea for a later investigation I wonder about the thing below us.

I wonder if flying down to reach the bottom was even possible, but the spatial distortion, created by the high-density mana, prevents me from even attempting it, less I want to end up like minced meat or a sphere of wriggling flesh. It started a few hundred meters under the floating islands, stretching, from what I could sense, across all of the floor, and it was probably there to prevent anyone from attempting to reach the bottom. I could probably ignore all of the restrictions by shifting into space element affinity form, thanks to my [Magical Embodiment] skill, but I see no true reason to even risk that.

"What's keeping these things afloat?" I ask out loud, not feeling any movement of mana or anything that would explain their ability to float, but before I even attempt to investigate, a loud roar pulls me out of my thoughts and redirects my attention to the flying flock of dragon-like creatures quickly approaching our position.

"Are those dragons?" Asks Olivia, a bright smile plastered on her face.

"Hmm..." I inspect them from afar and spot a distinct feature. "No, those seem like wyverns. See they don't have front legs, only limbs at the end of their wings." I say spotting the half-meter razor-sharp claws protruding from them.

"So how do we engage?"

"Ranged attack, or with [Fly]." I say, giving her a shrug.

"Ranged attack it is." She says sending out a sword slash, directed right at the closest dragon's wing, cutting it off right at the base, sending the poor dragon wanna be spiraling out of control and falling into the void below. A loud crunch echoes throughout the area, as the wyvern was crushed to paste, within seconds of its fall.

"Yeaaah... Let's not fall down." I comment, giving Olive a wry look.

"And the worse part is that I didn't receive any experience for that." She says with a sigh.

"Next time aim for their necks." I say as a few hundred [Arsenal] spears form around us, infused with the ability to penetrate magical defenses and moving at speedway exceeding sound. I pull the trigger and fire off the spell at the quickly approaching monsters. The first wave of the spell decimated their numbers by the tens, while the remaining ones, made a U-turn and attacked them from the back, similarly killing dozens on their approach. To the disapproval of Olive, only a few strugglers are left alive.

"Spoilsport." She says, sending out sword slash after sword slash, quickly disposing of the remainder of the flock.

That one flock was just what I needed to push me over the boundary and max out my current Sorcerer class and with that, a never-ending list of notifications assaulted my vision.

[Class: [Sorcerer] Max level reached additional class experience discarded]

[Class: [Aeromancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Geomancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Hydromancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Pyromancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Necromancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Sanamancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Umbramancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Luxmancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Chronomancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Spatiomancer] unlocked.]

[Class: [Arch-Sorcerer] unlocked.]

Aeromancer 0/50

+1 AGI, +2 INT, +2 WIS per level

25% reduced mana cost of Air spells.

30% reduced magical damage received from Air related spells.

25% increase in damage received from Earth-type spells.

Gain the ability [Air Affinity], granting you an increase in effects of Air-related skills, abilities, or spells, while at the same time giving you control over Air in the local area.

All of the newly unlocked classes, except for Arch-Sorcerer, had the same template. Granting +1 per level in different stats, based on their typing, while at the same time granting +2 in both intelligence and wisdom. They all granted a 25% reduction in mana with their respective elements, while at the same time decreasing the damage received from the same by 30%. They all had a drawback too, increasing the damage received from their opposed element by 25%. But the best part of them was the ability they granted. Giving you a boost in their respective elements, while at the same time giving you control of it in a local area.

Arch-Sorcerer 0/100

+1 DEX, +4 INT, +3 WIS, +3 VIT, +3 CHAR, +1 M. Res per level

The user gains the ability to manipulate the atmospheric mana in a wide area.

Removes the total requirements for any non-consumable spellcasting aids.

150% increase in the learning speed of magic.

40% reduced damage taken from magic.

100% increase in spell damage.

Arch-Sorcerer, on the other hand, was a full-on upgrade, from my last class. With increasing the ability to affect atmospheric mana from a larger distance, and at the same time removes all requirements of chanting, dancing, magical foci, and other types of spell-casting aids. It did grant a nice boost to quite a few stats, and at the same time, tremendously increased the speed of comprehending magic and its spell damage.

I was wondering where something like temperature, ice, or blood mancer's were. Not even Eromancy or Biomancy was visible on the list. Those things should be real things, right? My only assumption was that they were unlocked by maxing out, one, or more classes related to them.

That got me thinking, should I just focus on a low max level class, and unlock its advancements, or should I go for the straight-up increase in damage and abilities, maxing out the Mage class should take a few hours at most to max out while taking a mancer class could take a couple of days.

With that thought and the knowledge Olivia unlocked some interesting classes by maxing it out, go forward and choose the, not so fancy, Mage class.

Mage 0/25

+1 DEX, +1 INT, +1 WIS per level

50% increase in the learning speed of magic.

20% reduced damage received from failed spells.

25% increase in damage dealt with spells

With the selection done, I turn back my attention to the surroundings. No additional flock was seen nearby but that didn't mean they didn't know about us. I look at the bridges connecting our small island and grimace.

"Yea, I don't think we should step on them, they are in a bad shape." I comment after inspecting them closer.

"So... Fly me over them?" She asks, tilting her head to the side.

"Sure." I shrug and pick her up the fly us to the island nearby, one that had a desert biosphere.

As soon as we crossed the island's threshold, the temperature skyrocketed, reaching fifty degrees Celsius, and I finally understood the theme of these floors. The rapid change in the environments on each island was meant to make us exhausted and easy prey for the multiple types of creatures that rule the sky.

The moment our feet touched the ground, wyverns, this time crimson in color, appeared in the sky, a few kilometers away from us. If their color indicated anything, they should be fire based, in clear contrast to the mundane ones that attacked us earlier. There had to be a connection between the biospheres and the types of monsters we will face. A tundra connected to this island will prove or sink my theory, but first, the group of thirty fire-breathing wyverns had to be dealt with.

The first breath of fire descends upon our location, missing us by a few meters, and turning the sand under our feet straight into liquid glass. Our enchantments and boots kept us out of harm's way, while the molten substance freely flowed off the island's surface, right into the void below.

The first one of many, descends to the ground, aiming its maw at us, ready to fire off another breath attack, but Olive doesn't let it. She [Blink]s under its chin, slicing right through its neck, separating its head from the rest of its body. A rain of blood gushes out of the wound, coating not just Olivia's blade, but all of her being. With rapid succession we both [Blink] around, delivering killing blows to our enemies, some of them not even noticing they breathed their last. At one point, during this skirmish, Olive gains the Assassin class, and finally maxes out her current Warrior class, opening up a plethora of new classes.

[Class: [Assassin] unlocked.]

[Class: [Swordsman] unlocked.]

[Class: [Tank] unlocked.]

[Class: [Paladin] unlocked.]

[Class: [Knight] unlocked.]

[Class: [Executioner] unlocked.]

Assassin 0/50

+1 DEX, +2 AGI, +1 PER, +1 LUCK per level

35% increase in damage dealt with small-bladed weapons.

40% increase in the learning speed of small-bladed weapon skills.

While attacking from the back the user's attacks deal 50% more damage.

The user is 20% less likely to be discovered while using a stealth skill.

Swordsman 0/25

+1 STR +1 AGI, +1 VIT per level

45% increase in damage dealt with swords.

50% increase in balance, flexibility, and coordination.

10% reduced damage received.

Tank 0/50

+1 STR, +2 VIT, +1 P. Res, +1 M. Res per level

Allows the instinctual knowledge on how to wield a shield.

Gain the ability to [Taunt] enemies, keeping their focus on you.

Gain the ability of [Damage Transference], allowing you to take damage intended for your allies.

40% reduction of all damage received.

20% damage reduction in damage dealt.

Paladin 0/50

+1 STR, +1 VIT, +1 WIS, +1 P. Res, +1 M. Res per level

Allows the instinctual knowledge on how to wield a shield.

Gain the ability [Lay On Hand], healing up an ally to full health.

Gain the aura [Consecrated Aura], dealing holy damage to all enemies in a nearby radius.

Gain the ability [Divine Shield], ignoring all damage received for 10 seconds.

Gain the ability [Sense Undead], allowing the detection of undead in a nearby radius.

Knight 0/50

+1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 AGI, +1 VIT, +1 PER per level

Gain a 50% boost to all of your abilities when following orders.

Reduced movement impairment while wearing plate mail.

Gain the ability [Rallying Call], boosting the morale and stamina of all nearby allies.

35% reduced damage received from physical attacks.

Executioner 0/50

+1 STR, +1 DEX, +1 AGI, +1 WIS, +1 CHAR per level

Gain a 10% boost to your experience gain, when delivering a killing blow.

100% increased damage done with Axes.

Gain the ability [Execute], allowing delivery of a devastating attack to a single target.

10% reduced damage received from physical attack.

The classes she gained, were quite interesting, as most of them granted her a new skill, some of them a lot more useful than others.

"What do you think?" She asks after showing me the list.

"I don't know, it's kind of funny how you just unlocked Swordsman, but you already ha Spellblade, one would think they are connected to each other." I say with a shrug then add. "Assassin is quite nice, and it will boost your movement speed even more, but if you want a defensive class you should definitively choose Paladin or Tank."

"You're not a lot of help." She says sighing.

"Well it's all up to you, I can't choose for you. You could even go for a magic class, you do have a few unlocked, already." I say pointing out the obvious.

She gives me a deadpan look and then points to herself. "Do I look like a mage to you?" She asks.

"More like a magical swordsman, adding some magic to your already large repertoire, could help you out." I point out. "But what do you wanna do, deal damage, take damage, or cast spells?"

"I'd rather not take damage." She says with a light laugh. "For the rest, I don't know." She shrugs.

I roll my eyes and make a choice for her. "Take a magic class."

"Okay, but which one should I choose?" She says bringing up the list of her available mage classes. Her question makes me give closer inspection to her available magical classes, them being Arch-Mage, Black Mage, Blue Mage, Burst Mage, Green Mage, Heretic Mage, and Red Mage.

"Black mage gains a massive increase in damage over time spells, while Blue Mage would allow you to learn abilities from different creatures. Burst Mage is a true DPS on this list, granting you an increase in spellcasting speed, and the ability to lock down targets, while Green Mage is specialized in buffing allies, and debuffing enemies. Red Mage has a neat ability to refund mana after each spell cast, which could be useful. Heretic Mage is a no-go, for obvious reasons, while Arch-Mage is just an overall upgrade to the mage class, with an additional ability of global mana cost reduction. So I'd say go with Burst Mage or Red Mage."

She makes a grimace, closes her status screen, and turns to me. "I went with Assassin." She says making me rise my hands up in the air.

"Why did I even bother..." My words and sigh, only receive a giggle and a small kiss on my cheeks.

These islands were quite enjoyable, if you defeated the spawned monsters, nothing else attacked you, or maybe that's what the dungeon wanted you to think. For you to let down your guard and then boom it ambushes you at the time you're least expecting it. We tried continuing on foot, but as the terrain was really sandy, and you know how sand gets into everything, I just picked Olive up and moved us to the next island.

This time it was one with an Icy mountainy terrain, and as soon as our feet stepped on the fresh snow, multiple roars could be heard from high in the sky. Twelve Ice wyverns descended to our position firing breaths of ice, trying to make us both popsicles, without any luck whatsoever. After repeated [Blink]s and an emergency [Fly], after a critically misplaced foot- What can I do, the icy scales are slippery- we disposed of our attackers and proceeded with our explorations.

On our way to find the staircase leading to the next floor, we ran into Fire, Water, Earth, Ice, Air, Lightning, Nature, and even Space affinity wyverns. The last ones were met while flying between islands, they seemed to be deployed against people who cheated the system, just like us.

Those fuckers could teleport around, but thankfully, didn't have a breath attack. Mundane attacks just passed through them, as they seemed to use some kind of spatial displacement. I'll have to investigate if I can replicate that skill with spells, if not you bet I'm taking [Blue Mage] next and learning it straight up.

Olive's [True Cut] came into play, while we fought these guys, I think, for the first time since she got it, as it allowed her to hurt even immaterial enemies using only her sword. The wyverns couldn't escape, both of our onslaughts, as I fired off multiple high densities of space-infused [Alter Orb] rays.

In the end, I did harvest all of their bones, teeth, and hides, as space affinity monsters were quite rare, and the materials could be used to create some really strong defensive equipment.

Our two-hour exploration of this floor, finally ended as we descended the staircase leading to the 74th floor.

[Quest: [Dungeon diving 74] Completed 74 WP(x4) Received]