The Fifteenth Floor was a hilly region, a series of low mountains with gentle slopes that rolled on as far as the eye could see. Traveling through it was arduous, but its most notable trait was the abundance of monsters that utilized the elevation to launch surprise attacks.
The Red Raptors were the most formidable foes here. They resembled small dinosaurs; a single one was a match for a C-Rank adventurer, but their habit of hunting in small packs made them truly dangerous.
Their most lethal move was a surprise charge from higher ground. By sprinting down the inclines, they built up immense momentum. Word had it that even a heavily armored shield user would struggle to deflect such a blow. Not that we had a shield user in our party, of course, so "taking the hit" was never an option to begin with.
Our strategy against the Red Raptors was simple: immobilization and rapid elimination.
『Hm? Have they noticed us? The raptors are coming! Seven of them.』
"Understood! Spira, please pin them down."
"Got it. I can probably stop three."
Though we lacked a shield user, we could halt them using Spira’s tree attribute magic. Restraining three would be an excellent start.
"Halfa, you partner with Shiroru."
"Hmm, I guess it can't be helped. I wonder if I can use Shock Voice while riding him?"
『D-Don’t you dare aim that at me!』
"Please, just use it for the opening strike..."
Halfa’s Shock Voice was potent, but it was useless once a fight became a chaotic melee. It would be a disaster if an ally got caught in the blast. I had to convince her to limit it to the first blow as the enemies approached.
From then on, she would provide support while riding the giant-sized Shiroru. It was difficult for Halfa to deal with a Red Raptor’s charge on her own. As for Spira, as long as she wasn't caught off guard, she could handle physical attacks one way or another. Although she was currently materialized, she was a spirit; if things got dicey, she could simply turn invisible.
"Lowell, look for openings and attack. We need to thin their numbers as fast as possible."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Lowell and I were the primary damage dealers. Our priority was to reduce their numbers and limit their opportunities to strike.
"They’re trapped!"
As the Red Raptors closed in, Spira stretched out Ice Vines like a wall across their path. The raptors, fueled by their own momentum, couldn't stop in time and plunged right in. The Ice Vines snapped with a sharp crackling, but branches and leaves grew back just as quickly, entangling the beasts. True to her word, Spira snagged three of them, pinning them firmly in place. While the four following behind avoided being caught, their momentum was completely neutralized.
"Here I go! Hah!"
Halfa, who had circled to the raptors' flank atop Shiroru, unleashed her Shock Voice on the remaining four. Two of them took the full brunt of the blast and collapsed. They weren't dead, but the shock to their heads left them dazed and reeling. Since Red Raptors possessed high durability, even Halfa couldn't take them out in a single hit, but the opening she created was more than enough.
At this point, only two raptors were still moving properly. Lowell rushed toward one. The White-Silver Sword in his hand shimmered, its blade coated in sparkling, luminescent grains of ice. The raptor tried to intercept him with a snap of its jaws, but Lowell slipped past with ease and delivered a sharp slash to its throat. The beast leaped back with a shrill scream. The wound wasn't deep, but the damage was done.
The freezing strike sapped the raptor's warmth. These creatures seemed particularly weak against the ice attribute; after a few more hits, it wouldn't be able to move at all.
I wasn't just standing by and watching, either. I closed the distance instantly with Shadow Leap and landed a surprise blow. Since the raptor’s hide was tough, I used a piercing attack with my Light Blade from the start. If I were to bury the blade too deeply with my limited strength, I might not be able to pull it back out.
Immediately after attacking, I retreated into Spira’s shadow with Shadow Leap. The raptor lost track of me completely. Since they weren't particularly bright, I could pick them apart with one-sided attacks using this method. That said, with the Shadow Strike Skill boosting the power of my surprise attacks, the raptors usually didn't last long enough for me to repeat the cycle many times.
Once we finished off the two Lowell and I were handling, the danger was effectively over. Finally, Shiroru delivered the finishing blow with a charging attack that seemed to mock the raptors' own specialty.
I had to admit, we’d grown quite a bit. Between our teamwork and the new members, we were now able to fight a pack of C-Rank monsters without breaking a sweat. No, I couldn't afford to get complacent. Given how often I got caught up in messes involving the Evil God, I had to keep getting stronger.
"Oh, look, a treasure chest."
"You're right. Though it feels like they don't show up as much as they should. You find them way more often in Labyrinth Type dungeons, especially since we have the Item-finding Rod now."
Halfa seemed a bit disgruntled by the frequency of the drops. To be fair, we were finding a decent amount.
"It's probably true that the labyrinth types have more... but I'm not so sure about the rod's effectiveness here."
In Labyrinth Type dungeons, treasure chests spawned in fixed locations, so I was sure the Item-finding Rod would react to them. However, whether it was actually helpful was another story. The rod merely pointed in the direction of the target; it didn't show the route. It might point to something close by, but if you had to hike around a whole mountain to get there, it wasn't much of a guide.
Well, whatever. More importantly, the chest. After a quick round of Trap Disarming and Lockpicking, I threw the lid open.
"Wait, what is this?"
Inside the chest was a strange item: a flexible rod with something fluffy attached to the tip. I pulled out my Appraisal Loupe. The result told me it was a Hairpin of Conviction. It apparently boosted the wearer's Mental Attack Resistance.
It wasn't a bad item, but were hairpins always designed like this? Honestly, it looked like nothing but a cat toy to me.
Hmm, cats, huh?
I hadn't seen any actual cats in Aingurna, but there were definitely people who fit the description.