Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

The short sword in her right hand (Tears of Pain) had just slain another enemy, leaving no time to use it against the enemy. Deep down, the elf knew what she was doing was very improper, but she still kicked the enemy in the face without hesitation.

"Gurgle—!?"

This is the wild "footwork" that Lefia was rewarded with countless times by the werewolf (Bert) during her recent training.

Although Lefia was merely imitating, the Lv.4 script itself was a weapon. The "Hellhound," whose jaw had been kicked and smashed, was instantly decapitated, her flesh and blood flying everywhere. Her short skirt was lifted up, revealing her slender, peach-like legs without any cover.

Despite the lack of "elegance," who cares about such things? The graceful elf (Lefia Viridis) is dead.

Saying goodbye to her former self and determined to "make a change," Lefia imprints a certain scene in her mind and uses it as a mirror to imitate and project onto herself.

She hoped to get as close as possible to—

The actions of the White Witch (Maenads).

Let her, who lives in my heart, be resurrected through my own body.

"Ugh ugh ...

Faced with the spirits yearning to realize their ideals, the Minotaur, wielding large stone axes, boldly launched an attack, intending to use their size and numbers to kill their target.

Lefia's response was—a gesture.

"【Remembering Liberation (Canon)】"

She gracefully extended the short cane in her left hand forward.

"【The Holy Staff of Exorcism (Lightning), sweeping away my enemies】—【The Staff of the Supreme God, Dionysus】!"

Through the trigger spell of Double Pursuit (skill), the bracelet-shaped magic circle unfolds and becomes a "cannon muzzle".

Lefia used summoning magic to recall the magic of the White Witch, and white lightning roared in response.

"~ ...

A large group of Minotaur were instantly charred into charcoal by the incredibly powerful lightning.

Not only the bulls, but also the monsters in the path of attack were annihilated along with the "magic stone".

Hearing the deafening roar that could shatter the walls of the cave, Nano and the others who were fighting in the distance trembled in fright, and the monsters also stood frozen in place as if they were stunned, but Lefia did not stop.

She skillfully used "swordsmanship" and "magic" to fight continuously, greedily gaining experience points as a "magic swordsman".

(Continue to improve reaction speed, and then hone the accuracy of judgment—no problem, I can do it, I can become a "magic swordsman".)

This is not arrogance or boasting.

Rather, it was her "real feeling" of prying open the "door" blocking her way.

Lefia used to be a rigid, old-fashioned woman.

Casting summoning magic—because it's a highly difficult incantation that requires a lot of mental energy, so you have to summon a wide-range and powerful spell. To be precise, it's based on the stereotype that "it would be a waste not to do it."

However, this stereotype is completely wrong.

The "summoning magic" from which her title is derived should not be limited in its application, but should be used in various situations such as attack, defense, support and recovery, providing herself with a wide variety of options.

(Illustration 015)

By observing the battle situation and selecting the appropriate "magic," one deliberately refrains from immediately activating it, instead adopting a "standby state." In short, this is a "counter-attack" strategy that adapts to any situation. As long as there is time to grasp the situation and make choices, one can use the [Staff of the Supreme God] to confront monsters and deal with various "distances" and "situations," just like now.

The "Giant Cannon" did not employ the extra-long Mandarin recitation.

Instead, it is a call to action to sing the meaning of "rapid-fire cannons" in a very short essay.

Through this chaotic battle, Lefia personally experienced that improving strategic flexibility can yield tremendous results.

She had been stifling her own potential in the past.

While lamenting how much the past had limited her personal growth, she was also genuinely grateful to have realized this.

I can continue to grow stronger—

Lefia was certain she could do it.

"Luke!"

"!"

Lefia, who had annihilated a large number of enemy troops in an instant, quickly turned her gaze away after hearing the girl (Nano)'s tense scream.

On the other side of the horde of monsters surrounding them, the "Seventh Squad," who were engaged in a fierce battle against the enemy's vanguard, could be seen struggling.

"Luke! Get back down!! You need to take over the baton quickly!"

"What are you dawdling about?!"

"Hmm────!?"

Cole and Miria called out in confusion, only to see Luke being overwhelmed by the "Fanged Lion Tiger." While the large monsters (Fanged Lion Tigers) with their superior combat abilities within the "Cave Labyrinth" certainly required caution, they were ultimately no match for a team whose members had reached Level 3. Even with the larger number of monsters this time, they would have easily handled them under normal circumstances.

No, to be precise, in order to give them a way to deal with it, Lefia has drawn most of the monsters' attention to herself.

The problem is that the Seventh Squad's current performance is far from as good as their performance in the school district's training grounds.

(Luke's reaction time is extremely slow! This also affects the teamwork between teammates!)

It's likely that Luke is still resentful about his defeat to Lefia, which is why he couldn't even unleash one-tenth of his strength, resulting in his inability to handle even a single monster.

Luke is the core figure of "Squad Seven". When he's in good form, he can make the team fight more and more smoothly; when he's not in good form, he can cause the team to fall into disarray.

Because Luke was preoccupied with his own problems, he was unable to perform his duties as the commander.

Needless to say, it's all my fault! Lefia was shocked.

"Luke...!"

The key point is that Luke's abnormal behavior also affected Nano.

Amidst a series of unsettling moments, she was completely unable to cast "magic".

Miria and Cole were already stretched thin just from covering for the two of them.

The basic tactic of the "Seventh Squad" is to launch a relentless offensive and bombardment from powerful Lv.3 forwards and defenders.

While the worst-case scenario is that the forward (Luke) helps cover for the weaknesses created by the defender (Nano)'s poor performance, the aforementioned situation is irreversible. If the forward (Luke) falters, the team will collapse. The center forwards, Miria and Cole, are frankly just facilitators for the forward (Luke) and defender (Nano) to perform normally; neither of them has the ability to break the deadlock, highlighting the drawbacks of being overly used as mediators.

Just like us (Loki's Familia)—Lefia had this untimely thought.

Once Finn, such an excellent leader, falls, the team becomes extremely vulnerable. For example, in the artificial labyrinth (Knossos), this almost led to their complete annihilation.

Therefore, Finn was very careful about his own condition. However, it was simply asking a student (Luke) to have the indomitable willpower of a first-level adventurer.

"Roar! Ro ...

“──!?”

A "fanged lion-tiger" lunged at Luke with bared teeth and claws.

Screams erupted from Nano and the others, but Lefia had already released the "magic" she had finished chanting.

"[Spirit Bow and Light Arrow]!"

The large beam of light, capable of automatically tracking enemies, cleverly evaded Luke and his companions, and pierced through the locked "fanged lion-tiger" on the spot.

"Ah... Senior..."

"[In the name of Viscount, I make a wish. Ancestors of the forest, noble kin, answer my call, come to the grasslands!]"

Lefia ignored the stunned Luke and the others and began "parallel chanting" again.

In order to rescue the "Seventh Squad," she not only slayed the enemies in front of her and dealt with a large group of "fanged lions and tigers," but also used "high-speed chanting" to quickly complete the "summoning magic."

Besides monsters, there is also "human malice" --

The "tyranny" of the dungeon --

Although Lefia hoped that Luke and the others could overcome these challenges on their own, there was nothing she could do at this point.

So she decided to carry out this "annihilation" operation herself.

"【The frozen sky, the falling rain, the white ice adorning the forest, sweep away those shallow barbarians——】"

The spell passed down from Alicia Forrestleite, a fellow member of the Loki Familia, through the [Spirit Ring].

It is also her most proficient "ice magic" that comes from her hometown, "Fanashe, the White Ice Forest" in the northern part of the continent.

"【Winter Chains, freeze the enemy!】"

As Rafia finished chanting, a blue and white orb of light appeared above her head.

The hailstones that had been illuminating the students and monsters suddenly flooded the entire cave.

"[Hail dust]!"

An incalculable number of hailstones fell instantly.

The magic projectiles fired from the orb traced various trajectories, including curves and right angles, carrying a chilling aura as they precisely pierced the bodies of all the monsters. Like a terrifying hailstorm, they shook and froze the entire battlefield.

'──────────────────────────! ? '

All the monsters that remained in the cave perished. Even the Minotaur and the Fanged Lion Tiger, whose screams before death were frozen, turned into ice sculptures, which shattered instantly and eventually formed mist-like ice crystals that scattered into the air.

【Hail dust】.

This, like Lefia's [Volley of Fire Javelin], is a wide-area attack magic.

Although they differ in their attributes (ice and fire), they are very similar in that they both fire countless magic projectiles at once. However, compared to the [Volley Fire Javelin], whose range is only a frontal "fan-shaped" area, Alicia's [Hail Dust] magic has an effective range that is "all-around".

The sphere of light that forms above the head can sweep in any direction of 360 degrees.

This allowed Lefia, who had moved to the center of the battlefield, to annihilate all the monsters in one fell swoop.

Although its power and range are inferior to the [Volley of Fire Javelin], it is far superior in versatility. It is also considered a treasure among the "Elf Army" led by Rivia.

Since both have their advantages, use whichever suits the situation.

The Thousand Spirits can do something that can be considered a foul.

“Hmm!?”

Luke wasn't directly attacked, but he was hit by the blast of hail and collapsed to the ground.

Miria and Cole barely managed to stay upright, but Nano, also a mage, collapsed to her knees after witnessing the elves turn the vast cavern into frozen soil.

"...Although this was not my original intention, it has helped you identify the issues you need to address."

Looking at the scene covered in white frost and blue icicles, where the temperature had plummeted, Lefia turned around, confirming that the battle was over.

With her short, thick golden hair fluttering slightly amidst the dancing ice crystals in the air, Lefia walked towards the still dazed "Seventh Squad".

"Luke, you must stay calm at all times. As the commander, you are the lifeblood of the team. You cannot fall under any circumstances, and you must shoulder the responsibilities you owe to the other team members."

"..."

"Then, Nano, you also need to learn how to command, in order to cope with Luke's absence. To be honest, you've been relying on Luke a bit too much. In addition to continuing to improve your own strength, you also need to know how to adapt to changing circumstances and adjust the formation's positioning."

"Yes, I understand!"

Including Luke, who was temporarily unable to speak, the gazes of Nano, Mililia, and Cole, who responded in unison, all changed as they looked at Lefia.

In contrast, the person in question remained unfazed and stopped in front of the boy who had fallen to the ground.

"Luke... I don't want you to rush things and die. Besides, if you fall, it will put the other team members in danger. More importantly, Nano and the others will be very sad."

"...I, I..."

Luke looked up at Lefia, who was looking down at him.

Luke, who had previously refused to listen to these words, is now finally able to accept them.

Having witnessed firsthand the consequences of ignoring advice, the boy bit his lower lip with a conflicted expression.

(Shouldn't we be a little too hasty...?)

After realizing that the advice, which was supposed to be directed at Luke, also applied to herself, Lefia lowered her eyes for a moment.

She then carefully considered how she should counsel Luke—and what conclusion she would ultimately reach.

"Therefore...whether it's you or the adventurer (me), let's all become stronger together, to the best of our ability."

"what?"

Lefia met those wide eyes, then relaxed her expression and smiled.

"There are many people in the world suffering... Actually, I hadn't thought that much about it before you mentioned it. I was already too busy taking care of myself."

"...Senior..."