"Walking here is significantly easier than on B11F."
Rei muttered the observation as he stepped down repeatedly, testing the solid feel of the ground beneath his boots.
Unlike the sandy desert of B11F, this floor offered a firm, reliable surface. His feet no longer sank into shifting dunes, nor did sand cling to his legs with every stride.
"Indeed. In terms of ease of travel alone, this floor is overwhelmingly superior," Elena agreed. She kept her cloak pulled tight as she tested the terrain herself.
"Guruuu," Set gave a short chirp of agreement.
They had finished an early lunch and begun their exploration of B12F about ten minutes ago. At first, Rei had assumed the ground was only packed firm around the stairs and the small room where they had arrived, but as they traversed the rocky desert, the stark difference from the sandy desert of the floor above continued to surprise him.
"Of course, better footing for us also means the monsters can move more easily," Rei added.
"A valid point. We must remain vigilant. Set, keep a close watch on our surroundings."
"Guru!"
Set let out a sharp cry and moved forward, his eyes scanning the horizon. With the gryphon acting as their scout, Rei and Elena followed close behind.
They continued their march for about an hour.
"Isn't it strange?" Elena asked. "We haven't encountered a single thing."
"Yeah. I wonder if this is normal for this floor, or if something unusual is happening. I wonder which it is..."
Rei scanned the landscape, but not even the shadow of a monster flickered across the rocks. Suddenly—
"Gurururururu!"
Set's sharp, warning roar echoed through the desert.
Rei instantly drew the Death Scythe from his Misty Ring while Elena pulled her Whip-sword from its sheath. They fell into combat stances, yet the horizon remained empty.
However, Set didn't relax his guard. A moment later, Rei and Elena felt it too—something was closing in on them.
"Above us!" Rei shouted.
Sensing a feral, overwhelming bloodlust directed right at him, Rei swung the Death Scythe straight up. It was a strike that seemed to cleave the very air. Perhaps sensing the danger of the weapon, the monster descending like a lightning bolt let out a screech and flipped mid-air. It soared back into the sky, putting distance between them.
"Shaaaaaaaaa!"
Only then were they able to clearly see their attacker.
It was a serpent with a body over two meters long, but three pairs of bat-like wings grew from its torso. It lacked the feathers of a bird; its wings were leathery and membranous.
Information Rei had heard from Pleiades surfaced in his mind.
"If I recall... that’s a Sky Fang!"
As if in response, the monster banked in the air, baring thirty-centimeter fangs as it shrieked a threat. Rei's expression shifted to one of understanding.
According to Pleiades, the Sky Fang was arguably the most ferocious monster on B12F, regardless of its actual rank. It suffered from perpetual hunger, driven by a metabolism that forced it to attack anything it saw. Among all the monsters found in the desert floors down to B15F, it was considered one of the highest-priority threats.
"With a creature like this around, it's no wonder the area is empty," Rei remarked.
It was a beast that would snap even at enemies much larger than itself. Rei could easily imagine other monsters fleeing the territory the moment they spotted a Sky Fang in the sky.
However, this great serpent had made a fatal mistake. Driven by its insatiable hunger, it had chosen to hunt Rei's party—more specifically, it had targeted Set, the gryphon known as the Flying Grim Reaper.
"Gururururururu!"
Set let out a roar, took a few quick steps to gain momentum, and flapped his wings to soar into the air.
The Sky Fang accepted the challenge, baring its massive fangs as it locked onto the gryphon. Despite its instinctual recognition that its opponent was of a higher rank, the serpent's starvation overrode its logic. It judged that a larger monster would simply be a more satisfying meal. Flapping its six wings, it contorted its body mid-air to lunge at Set—or at least, it tried to.
"Flying Slash!"
"Haaah!"
Rei unleashed a flying strike from the ground while Elena lashed out with her Whip-sword, the blade extending into its whip-like form as she poured magic power into it.
Though both were primarily vanguards, they possessed numerous ways to engage at a distance. Up until now, the Sky Fang had only faced opponents whose long-range options were limited to bows or throwing daggers—attacks it could easily deflect with its hardened scales.
Naturally, there were parties on this floor that included mages or elite archers, but this particular Sky Fang had never encountered such a group. If it had, it wouldn't have survived this long.
"Sha, shaaaaa!"
The Flying Slash whistled past its nose, checking its advance. The serpent instinctively tried to beat its wings to retreat, but Elena’s Whip-sword sliced through the air behind it, cutting off its escape.
Pinned between the two attacks, the Sky Fang hesitated. Suddenly, it was struck by an invisible force that slammed it out of the air. It crashed into the ground with a violent thud.
Dazed by the impact and the pain, the serpent groaned, but it never got a chance to recover. Another unseen blow descended, crushing its head instantly.
The Sky Fang, the terror of the desert floors, had been snuffed out without a chance to resist.
The source of the attack was revealed a few seconds later. Set's form shimmered into view, his right forepaw planted firmly on the serpent’s shattered skull.
It had been a surprise attack using Set's Optical Camouflage.
The moment the Sky Fang had been distracted by Rei's Flying Slash and Elena's Whip-sword, Set had activated his skill and moved to a higher vantage point. While the serpent was paralyzed by the sudden loss of its escape route, Set had plummeted onto its head, slamming it into the ground before finishing it with a second, high-velocity strike.
"Being able to vanish from the enemy's sight is truly incredible," Elena remarked.
"Oh, right—was this your first time seeing it? It's a skill called Optical Camouflage. Its only real drawback is that it doesn't last very long."
"Even so, with this much power behind it, it is a peerless trump card for an emergency."
Set had used the skill to slaughter bandits while they were traveling to Exil, but since he had been acting away from the main group at the time, this was indeed Elena’s first time witnessing the skill in a proper battle.
"Well, it's only so terrifying because Set is the one using it," Rei added.
"True enough."
Elena whispered the agreement with deep feeling. Even if a monster became invisible, it was only a true threat if it possessed the strength to deal a lethal blow in a single strike. If a common Goblin became transparent, it might be a nuisance, but it wouldn't be a disaster.
"Guru!"
Set puffed out his chest and purred, clearly pleased by the praise.
However, his right forepaw was currently matted with blood, bits of flesh, and grey matter from the Sky Fang's skull. It was a sight that would prevent most people from calling the gryphon "cute," yet Elena was unfazed.
"Yes, Set is wonderful. I hope Iero grows up to be just like you."
Having survived countless battlefields, a bit of monster gore didn't bother Elena in the least. She reached out and gently stroked Set's head.
Rei watched them with a smile, but knowing that the scent of blood would soon draw other predators, he touched the headless serpent and stored the Sky Fang corpse in his Misty Ring.
He glanced around and found the creature's characteristic fangs on the ground. Unfortunately, they had been caught in the path of Set's strike; they were snapped in half and ruined as saleable materials.
At least the wings and the skin are mostly intact despite the impact, Rei thought.
The wings were valuable for alchemy and medicine, while the skin could be tanned into leather for armor, cloaks, or accessories. The creature also contained a poison sac that fed its fangs. While the meat was reportedly unpalatable, it had some demand as a medicinal base.
With the current magic stone shortage, the Sky Fang’s stone would fetch a high price—though Rei fully intended to use it himself for his Beast Magic.
He checked the tip of the tail, which served as the Proof of Subjugation Part. It was undamaged, meaning they could still collect the bounty. Overall, the Sky Fang was a lucrative kill. It provided numerous materials, a magic stone, and a bounty that was higher than average due to the monster's notorious ferocity.
The only downside was that a Sky Fang’s presence tended to clear out all the lower-ranked monsters in its territory.
"So, is this the right way?" Rei asked.
Because this was a rocky desert, there were plenty of landmarks marked on their map. In terms of navigation, it was far easier to traverse than B11F.
"Yes. That trident-shaped rock mountain over there is on the map, so proceeding straight is correct. We should eventually hit a formation called the Dragon Rock. If we turn right there and continue straight, we should find the stairs to B13F."
Elena spoke while consulting the map she had pulled from her magic pouch. Rei nodded, and they resumed their march before any more monsters could arrive.
The firm ground made for easy walking, but the sunlight was brutal. The artificial sun of the dungeon emitted a level of heat that felt indistinguishable from the real thing. It was only thanks to the Dragon Robe and their specialized cloaks that Rei and Elena could continue. Any adventurer who attempted this floor without proper preparation would quickly succumb to dehydration or heatstroke.
Then again, you have to clear the desert on B11F to even get here, Rei mused. No one would make it this far without knowing how to handle the heat. Unless they're a Dwarf or a Beastman with enough raw stamina to just power through it.
"The landmark... I don't see it yet," Elena muttered as they trekked across the rocky waste.
Rei snapped out of his thoughts and looked around. They had been walking for about thirty minutes since the Sky Fang attack. There was still no sign of the Dragon Rock, and the only thing in the sky was Set, who was circling above to watch for more aerial predators.
The rocky desert stretched on, seemingly endless.
"That Sky Fang must have had a massive territory," Rei noted.
Elena nodded. "Set defeated it easily, but a D-Rank Sky Fang is a formidable opponent. Its ferocity is in a league of its own. It is a relief that we haven't been harassed by other monsters since entering its domain... though for someone like you who wants magic stones, I suppose it's a bit of a mixed blessing."
"Gururururururu!"
As if Set had been waiting for the cue, his warning cry drifted down from above.
"And there it is," Rei said with a wry smile.
Elena looked as if she wanted to apologize for jinxing them, but Rei just shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We probably just reached the edge of that serpent's territory."
Rei summoned the Death Scythe back to his hand, but no enemy lunged at them from the shadows.
"Rei! Look!"
Elena spotted it first. In the distance, several adventurers were locked in a desperate struggle with a Giant Spider over four meters long.
A few other adventurers lay motionless on the ground. The survivors were clearly at their limit, their movements sluggish and their armor battered. If left alone, the party would be wiped out in minutes.
Rei made his decision instantly. Helping fellow adventurers was one thing, but he also didn't want to miss out on the magic stone of a monster he hadn't seen before.
"Shall we?"
"Yes."
Elena nodded, and the two of them sprinted toward the battle. Above them, Set flapped his wings and dove down to follow.