An ordinary profession creates the world's strongest

=================================

=================================

Yaegashi Shizuku 17 years old Female Level: 72

Occupation: Swordsman

Power: 450

Stamina: 560

Resistance: 320

Agility: 1110

Mana: 380

Magic Resistance: 380

Skills: Swordsmanship [+ Increased Slashing Speed] [+ Increased Sword Drawing Speed], Earth Shrinking [+ Double Earth Shrinking] [+ Shocking Kick] [+ No Beat], Prediction, Breath Perception, Invisibility [+ Phantom Attack], Language Understanding

=================================

=================================

Shirasaki Kaori 17 years old Female Level: 72

Occupation: Healer

Power: 280

Stamina: 460

Resistance: 360

Agility: 380

Mana: 1380

Magic Resistance: 11380

Skills: Recovery Magic [+Effect Increased] [+Recovery Speed ​​Increased] [+Imagination Strengthening Power Increased] [+See Through Penetration] [+Area Effect Increased] [+Long-Range Recovery Effect Increased] [+Abnormal Status Recovery Effect Increased] [+Reduced Mana Consumption] [+Increased Mana Efficiency] [+Continuous Activation] [+Multiple Simultaneous Activations] [+Delayed Activation] [+Additional Activation] Light Attribute Suitability [+Activation Speed ​​Increased] [+Effect Increased] [+Duration Increased] [+Continuous Activation] [+Multiple Simultaneous Activations] [+Delayed Activation] High-Speed ​​Mana Recovery [+Meditation] Verbal Comprehension

=================================

Among them, Kaori's recovery magic and light magic have reached their limits, especially her recovery magic, which has reached its limit. If we only look at the original number of skills, Kaori has the fewest of the four, but now her total number even exceeds that of the Hero, Glory.

Kaori sacrificed her sleep time and practiced day and night to achieve such results. All this was done to avoid breaking the promise, for the lover whom Kaori believed was still alive and who she absolutely wanted to protect.

"I think we should get going...is that okay?"

Kouki trembled as he spoke to Kaori and Shizuku, who were still staring at each other. Ever since he'd seen Kaori and Shizuku hugging each other in Kaori's room, Kouki had been acting strangely. Kaori's eyes widened in surprise at Kouki's attitude, while Shizuku, seeing through Kouki's thoughts, looked at him coldly. Shizuku's eyes seemed to say, "You idiot, how long are you going to misunderstand me?"

Kouki pretended not to notice Shizuku's look and gave orders to the members. They had already explored 90% of the 89th floor, and the only place left was the route they were currently taking.

About ten minutes after setting off, the group successfully found a staircase. They cautiously descended the dimly lit spiral staircase, checking for traps. After feeling a descent of approximately ten meters, Guanghui and the others finally reached the ninetieth floor.

This level was essentially an integer, so Guanghui and his companions, anticipating something might happen, were extremely cautious. However, the structure of this level appeared similar to the eighty-odd levels they had previously explored. They immediately created a map and began exploring. Even if the maze's structure remained unchanged, the monsters that appeared would likely become stronger, so they took no chances.

The exploration went smoothly and no problems occurred... Although it went smoothly, everyone's faces began to show puzzled expressions.

"……what is going on?"

As they explored deeper and came to a large hall, their doubts finally reached a climax. Guanghui raised this question with a confused expression; the other members showed the same expression, and after hearing Guanghui's words, they also stopped.

"...Why haven't we encountered a single monster after exploring for so long?"

Aside from minor side trips, nearly half of this floor has been explored.

The previous floors cannot be easily advanced due to attacks by powerful monsters. It usually takes an average of two days to explore each floor.

However, since Guanghui and his companions arrived at the ninetieth floor and began exploring, they had already covered half of it in just three hours. The reason for this rapid progress was simple—they hadn't encountered any monsters yet.

At first, they suspected a demon might be hiding in the shadows, observing their movements. However, even with their perception skills and magic, they couldn't find any trace of the demon, not even a trace of its presence. This was a truly bizarre and clearly unusual situation.

"...How should I put it? This is very strange. Is it possible that there are no monsters on this floor?"

Just as Ryutaro raised this question, the other companions also discussed various possibilities, but of course there was no answer, and the confusion only continued to deepen.

"... Kouki, do you want to go back first? I have a bad feeling the captain and the others might know something."

Shizuku advised, raising her guard.

Guanghui seemed hesitant about Shizuku's suggestion, and he also had a vague feeling that something bad was going to happen. To be on the safe side, it would be better to turn back first.

Yet, even when faced with immense obstacles, they must forge ahead. A slight resistance remained within Guanghui, who felt the need to retreat simply because of unexplained unease. Furthermore, the eighty-ninth floor was already a breeze for them, so Guanghui believed they could handle any situation.

While Guanghui was hesitating, Endo, who had been carefully observing his surroundings, suddenly shouted nervously:

"This is... blood... right?"

Endo touched the ground with his finger, smearing some for everyone to see. Hearing what he said, the others also began to carefully observe the ground and walls, and then—

"Because the lighting is dim and the color blends in with the wall, it's hard to notice, but... there are bloodstains everywhere."

“Hey, hey… there’s a lot of blood…”

Nagayama's expression was serious and he was on high alert; Nomura looked around stiffly.

The other companions only noticed the scene now. Seeing the large amount of blood around them, everyone's faces turned pale.

"Amanogawa, you should follow Yaegashi-san's advice. This is the blood of a monster, and it's still fresh."

Endo sniffed the blood on his finger and analyzed it. He urged Guanghui with a tone that was different from his usual strong tone. Guanghui pondered for a moment and raised a slight objection:

"Such a large amount of blood means all the monsters in this area have been killed. Since so many monsters were killed, there must be a very powerful monster here... No matter how strong it is, we must defeat it before we can move forward, right?"

Hearing what Guanghui said, Nagayama shook his head in denial. Nagayama and Ryutaro were the two biggest guys in the class, but unlike Ryutaro, Nagayama was a very thoughtful person. In addition, because he and Endo were long-time friends, he trusted Endo very much.

"Tianzhihe, listen carefully. The monster can't just appear in this room. It should also appear in the passages and rooms we passed through earlier. And we only found traces of it in this room. This means..."

"...Someone attacked the monster and cleared all traces?"

Shizuku continued, and Nagayama nodded in agreement. Hearing their words, Kouki suddenly realized what was happening, and like Nagayama, he wore a serious expression and raised his alert level to the highest level.

"While there might be a monster that clever, it's more reasonable to assume it's human. Furthermore, the traces are only in this room, which means they either didn't have time to erase them, or—"

——This means this is the end point.

Following Guanghui's words, a new female voice suddenly echoed through the hall, a raspy, masculine voice. Everyone was startled and instantly prepared, looking in the direction of the voice.

Loud footsteps echoed, and a young woman with fiery red hair emerged from the darkness of the vast space. She had slightly pointed ears and a light dark complexion.

Guanghui and the others opened their eyes wide in astonishment, for the woman possessed familiar features. Although they had never actually seen this species, Ishtar and the others had mentioned the racial characteristics of the woman many times when teaching Guanghui and the others. That race was considered the enemy of God by the Holy Church and the sworn enemy of humanity. Yes, it was...

"...Demon."

Hearing the words spoken by someone unknown, the female demon sneered slightly.

The female demon who appeared before Guanghui and the others had a wry smile on her face, and looked at Guanghui and the others, who had their eyes wide open in surprise, as if observing them.

Her eyes were the same color as her hair, a fiery red as if burning, and her clothes were like motorcycle rider's clothes, completely black and without any luster. Because the clothes were close to her body, even in the dim maze, her sexy body curves could still be clearly seen.

Against the backdrop of her charming temperament, Kondo, Nakano and Saito couldn't help but blush even though they knew it was not that kind of occasion.

"That fool-like person in shining armor, you are the hero, right?"

“Fool, idiot… Stop talking nonsense! A demon has no right to call me a fool! Why would a demon be in a place like this!?”

Hearing the other party's words being too insulting, Guanghui was furious. With his anger, he came back to his senses from his shock and questioned the female demon's purpose.

But the female demon seemed to be annoyed, ignoring Guanghui's questioning and shaking her head, as if she couldn't stand his stupidity.

"How blunt! Is this the hero we want to recruit? Is such a person really useful? Well, since it's an order, there's nothing we can do about it."

Then, the other party seemed very reluctant and said something unexpected:

"You who are sparkling uselessly over there, would you like to join us?"

"W-What? Join...what do you mean?!"

"You're quite slow-witted, literally. I'm recruiting brave men. Would you like to join the demons? You'll enjoy many privileges."

For Guanghui and the others, this statement was completely unexpected, and it took them a moment to comprehend. After the other members understood the demon woman's words, their gazes naturally focused on Guanghui. Guanghui, however, tensed his expression again, stared at the demon woman, and replied:

"I refuse! How dare you ask me to betray humanity, my comrades, and the people of the kingdom! You demons are truly evil! You seem to have come specifically to recruit me, but coming alone reveals your folly. We are outnumbered, surrender now!"

Guanghui's roar echoed all around, and there was no wavering in his tone.

Despite being decisively rejected, the demon woman narrowed her eyes slightly, as if observing Guanghui, seemingly unconcerned with what Guanghui said. Furthermore, she even offered more generous terms:

"My boss told me that your companions can come along, too. You won't agree to that?"

"My answer remains the same. No matter how many times you tell me, I have no intention of betraying humanity!"

Guanghui answered without hesitation. As if displeased by this recruitment, he activated his holy sword, enveloping it in light. This gesture signaled—no more nonsense. If she didn't surrender, he would force her to submit.

It wasn't the female demon who was anxious about Operation Glorious, but Nagayama and Shizuku.

The two of them clucked their hands inwardly, paying more attention to their surroundings than the demon woman. Nagayama placed his hands behind his back and gave subtle instructions. Endo, already on guard, obeyed and vanished without a sound.

Nagayama and Shizuku had originally planned to change the location even if it meant lying to appease the demoness. However, before they could convey their intentions to Kouki, Kouki had already replied, forcing them to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Normally, no matter how superior a demon was in the realm of magic, it would be impossible for them to reach such a place on their own. It would be even more impossible for them to annihilate this entire layer of demons without a scratch or a trace. If demons were truly that powerful, humans would have been helplessly ravaged from the start.

Furthermore, facing fifteen humans capable of reaching this level, the demon-woman showed no sign of anxiety. If they also considered the obliteration of all traces of the battle, as they had initially feared, the demon-woman should have been ambushed here long ago. If so, she had the advantage of the terrain—this assumption was more plausible.

——We are not in the big maze now, but in the enemy's sphere of influence!

Shizuku and the others' sense of crisis was soon proven correct.

"...Is that so? Then we don't need you. First of all, we don't have to recruit you. The order from above is to win you over 'if possible'. I can eliminate the heroes as needed, so don't be so naive as to think you won't be killed. Lotus, Harbel, Enki, it's time for dinner."

After the female demon called out three names, a sound of breaking was heard, and Shizuku and Nagayama let out painful howls at the same time and were knocked away.

“Hmm!?”

“Guh!?”

The object that sent the two flying was unknown. At the command of the female demon, the space around Kouki and the others suddenly shook, and "something" approached at a speed faster than the "Shrinking the Earth" and attacked the rearguard, who were focused on the conversation between Kouki and the female demon.

Only Shizuku and Nagayama, who had set up the maximum security network from the beginning, barely noticed this surprise attack.

Shizuku immediately drew her sword, forming a cross with her sword and scabbard to defend against the swaying space. Seizing the moment of impact, she leaped backward, mitigating the force of the attack. However, the enemy's attack power far exceeded Shizuku's expectations. Her defenses were breached, and she suffered a shallow cut on her abdomen. She fell heavily to the ground, the air forced out of her lungs.

Nagayama possesses the skill "Body Enhancement," which increases his physical strength, and "Vajra," which uses magic to create a fortified outer shell. Activating these two skills simultaneously grants him a defense far greater than even a steel shield. Combined with his enormous size, breaching this human fortress is practically impossible.

However, even Nagayama was breached by the attack of "something," leaving deep wounds on his arms, blood splattering, and he was sent flying. He collided with Saito and the others behind him, barely escaping the additional damage from the impact with the ground.

The sound, like glass breaking, was the sound of the barrier that Qian had instantly erected, broken down, following his instinctive sense of crisis.

It was at the rear of the group. Suzu didn't sense anything there, but judging by Shizuku and Nagayama's positions, she judged that a barrier should be deployed behind them. This judgment might have been based on instinct, or perhaps on her experience.

In the end, this action was entirely correct. Without Qian's barrier, the third oscillating space would have mercilessly torn Tsuji, Yoshino, and the others apart.

However, the price of successfully protecting his companions was that he had to bear the full impact of the shattered barrier, and Qian was also blown to the rear.

Fortunately, Qian was lucky and Huili behind her successfully caught her, so she was not seriously injured. However, Ling's body was paralyzed by the impact and she was out of control for a while.

The third shaking space immediately launched a pursuit. Shizuku, Nagayama, and Kan had just been thrown away and injured. Needless to say, the rear guard group had no time to react to the sudden attack and had no power to resist!

At the moment when his companions were about to die—

"Illuminate everything with protective light! — 'Return to Heaven', 'Circulation of Heaven', 'Heaven's Absolute'!"

Kaori used the omission of the chant, which was almost chant-free, to cast three types of light attribute magic.

One was a light-attribute intermediate recovery spell, "Kaiten," which could heal multiple targets scattered across the sky at once. Shizuku and Nagayama, who were torn apart and sent flying, were instantly healed upon hitting the ground.

The two men groaned in pain and struggled to get up. The white violet light shone on them, and their wounds immediately began to heal at an extraordinary speed.

Three entities trembled in space. They were formless beings, easily lost in the blink of an eye. The same violet light that had fallen on Shizuku and the others soon fell upon them. The light spread, and outlines of light emerged in the space.

The intermediate light-attribute healing spell, "Zhou Tian," has a small amount of healing, but it automatically applies healing magic at intervals. Its defining characteristic is that during its activation, a layer of magical light envelops the target. Kaori exploits this trait, minimizing the amount of healing, thereby indirectly revealing invisible enemies.

A violet halo outlined a bizarre monster, its head like a lion, its hands and feet adorned with dragon-like claws, its tail like a snake, and its back sprouted eagle wings. If it had to be named, it would probably be a Chimera. It likely possessed a unique magic similar to camouflage. It could negate not only its form but also its aura, making it a formidable ability. However, this unique magic had a drawback—it didn't seem to fully function during movement, causing the space to shake. This was a blessing in disguise.

After all, among their classmates, Shizuku and Nagayama possessed exceptional close-quarters combat prowess, and even they were incapacitated by a single blow from it. If the Chimera could achieve complete invisibility, it would be no match for Kouki and the others. Compared to the monsters on the previous floor, the Chimera's level was clearly far superior to the monsters on this floor.

“““Roarraa ...

The three Chimeras roared, completely ignoring the light wrapped around their bodies, and swung their claws to chase after Shizuku and the others who had not yet regrouped.

The Chimera's claws swung out like the Grim Reaper's scythe at astonishing speed, but before they could claim the lives of Shizuku and the others, they were redirected in another direction. Several gleaming shields appeared in the void, changing the claws' trajectory as if by some joking act.

This is the intermediate light-attribute defensive magic "Tian Jue". Compared to the primary light-attribute defensive magic "Guang Jue" that opens a barrier of light, "Tian Jue" is its superior version and can open several barriers at a time.

If Ling, a "barrier master", uses this technique, she can utilize this magic to adopt a multiple-barrier mode, quickly replenishing each barrier as soon as it is destroyed. Although each barrier is very fragile and will be destroyed quickly, it takes a long time to completely break through it.