Lefiya's new skill had undoubtedly given Riezel and Ais a tremendous surprise.
Both of them were adventurers, with levels far exceeding those of ordinary First-Class Adventurers, so they understood very clearly just how powerful Lefiya's Sword Canon was.
It was not something as simple as strengthening magic or merely turning it into a magic sword, as the truly valuable aspect of this skill lay in its ability to allow its user to perform multiple magic spells of different types.
Under normal circumstances, whether one was a magic swordsman or a mage, the amount of magic that could be activated at the same time was limited to a single type. They could not chant fire-attribute magic while simultaneously preparing ice-attribute magic and then release both magic spells at once.
Even if they had already completed the chant for one type of magic and, through careful timing, allowed it to enter a standby state without releasing it, they still could not continue chanting a second type while maintaining that state.
If they attempted to do so, there were only two possible outcomes.
Either the subsequent chant would overwrite the completed one, causing the finished magic to be dispelled and the mind spent on it to be wasted for nothing, or the magical energies of different attributes would clash with each other, ultimately resulting in a misfire that not only failed to injure the enemy but instead harmed the caster.
Consequently, no one in this world could activate two different types of magic at the same time—even Riveria was no exception, and neither was Riezel.
Even though Riezel could use magic enhancement to turn the magic he released into double-layered or even triple-layered magic spells, he could not activate two different magic spells simultaneously and could only use them one at a time.
Lefiya's Sword Canon, however, made this impossible feat into a tangible reality.
As long as she wished, she could turn one type of magic into crystalline small swords and place them into a reinforced standby state, then turn another type of magic into silver small swords that accompanied her at her side, and immediately begin chanting a third magic spell, controlling three types of magic at once and using them simultaneously.
Although this required preparation time, and not a single chant required by the magic could be skipped, compared to other mages, Lefiya clearly possessed far more options and was capable of far more complex maneuvers.
Moreover, as an elf who was theoretically capable of using a thousand different kinds of magic, the tactical choices, operations, and possibilities available to her in battle were simply too numerous to count.
Once she fully matured, Lefiya would certainly surpass Riveria and become a mage even stronger than her.
"If Riveria knew about this, she'd definitely be happy."
Ais stated this very frankly.
At the very least, Loki must already have been delighted, or she would not have blurted out an evaluation like 'an unheard-of, very rare skill,' a remark that made it easy to imagine her jumping up in excitement when she first saw the skill manifest.
Of course, Lefiya felt utterly flustered by Ais's praise.
"I-I still have a long way to go! Compared to everyone else!"
Lefiya was still the same as ever, lacking confidence in herself.
Perhaps this was one of the drawbacks of always watching Riezel and Ais from behind.
It couldn't be helped.
Riezel and Ais performed far too well, and the strength they displayed in front of Lefiya was simply overwhelming.
As a result, she constantly had the illusion that she would be left behind if she was not careful, and when compared to the two people she admired, she felt that she was still very weak.
However, what she did not realize was that she was already more threatening than many First-Class Adventurers.
At the very least, compared to Raul and Anakitty, who had just advanced to Level 5, Lefiya would play a greater role in combat and might even surpass Bete, Tiona, Tione, or even Ais in terms of overall impact.
If Lefiya were currently Level 6 like Ais, then the reputation she enjoyed in Orario would certainly be greater than Ais's.
"All right, let's keep moving," Riezel said calmly, glancing at the surroundings. "I have a feeling we're getting close to our destination."
Hearing this, Ais and Lefiya held their breath and nodded in succession, not doubting his words.
Although they did not know what basis he had for his judgment, if he said so, then it had to be true. Even if their senses differed, both Ais and Lefiya unquestionably placed immense trust in him.
And so, under Riezel's guidance, the three of them once again moved forward along the tunnel at the side of the sewer.
Along the way, they no longer encountered any monster ambushes.
It seemed that the group of monsters they had just fought had been the final cluster of aquatic monsters gathered together within the sewer.
Riezel led the two beautiful girls through a series of left and right turns, at times entering side passages, at times climbing stairways, at times crossing arched bridges, and at times opening iron grates, moving steadily through the unknown underground of Orario.
Under these circumstances, setting Lefiya aside, Ais could clearly feel that she was entering an area where the air was gradually becoming unusual.
It was as if the wind that blew through the city had encountered countless obstructions, colliding with buildings and branching paths, repeatedly being blocked and redirected, causing the flow of air itself to become extremely complex.
Ais first tilted her head in confusion, then finally realized what it meant—or rather, she knew where she was now.
"Daedalus Street…"
Ais subconsciously spoke the name aloud.
"What?"
Beside her, Lefiya stopped when she heard Ais's whisper, her face showing a stunned expression.
"Oh?" Riezel did not turn around, but he smiled at Ais. "So you know where this is now?"
"Mm..." Ais nodded calmly. "We're beneath the Labyrinth Street, Daedalus Street."
Daedalus Street, also known as the Labyrinth Street, was one of the many districts in the Labyrinth City of Orario.
It had been personally designed by a great craftsman named Daedalus and was a residential area located between Orario's East and Southeast Main Streets, adjacent to the Entertainment District.
Daedalus Street was extremely vast and extremely chaotic.
Not only was the terrain highly complex, but the roads also crisscrossed in a disorderly fashion, to the point that people often got lost here. Some unpleasant rumors had even spread, such as the idea that once you entered by accident, you would never be able to get out.
In a sense, purely in terms of how easily it caused people to lose their sense of direction, this area might be even more thorough than the Dungeon itself, resembling a true labyrinth.
That was why it was called the Labyrinth Street, and why it had become the dwelling place of the city's poorer classes.
In other words, Daedalus Street was a slum.
Only the poor who could barely survive in the city, orphans, or lawless individuals deliberately avoiding the public eye lived here.
On ordinary days, almost no one except the poor appeared in this area, and even the staff of the Guild rarely set foot here.
And at this moment, Riezel and the others were beneath Daedalus Street.
"Hmm, thinking about it carefully, this place is actually pretty suitable for hiding people who can't come out into the light, right?"
Riezel's calm words caused Ais to subconsciously grip the hilt of Desperate, which was tied at her waist.
"You mean... the enemy is hiding in Daedalus Street?"
Lefiya understood as well, and her voice immediately became tense.
"Whether that's true or not, we'll know if we keep moving forward," Riezel said as a clear, transparent glimmer flashed through his eyes. "Violas's traces start becoming obvious from here on. Follow me."
As he spoke, he advanced in a certain direction, following the route depicted on the virtual map spread out in his mind, while also relying on faint traces in the sewers that could only be vaguely perceived by pushing the Transparent World to its absolute limit.
"Lefiya, stay by my side."
Ais lowered her voice to instruct Lefiya before following after Riezel.
"Okay!"
Lefiya naturally had no objections and stayed close to Ais as they stepped into an area of the sewers where the air was noticeably more turbid than elsewhere.
*Tap—* *Tap—* *Tap—* *Tap—*
As they walked, the footsteps of the three were uncannily synchronized, echoing rhythmically through the sewers, yet carrying with them an indescribable sense of eeriness and dread.
*SCREEECH—!*
Finally, as Riezel and the others pushed deeper into a certain section of Daedalus Street through the sewers, a familiar hissing screech reached their ears.
All three stopped at once.
"Th-This sound is—?!"
Lefiya was greatly shocked by it.
"..."
Ais said nothing, only silently drawing Desperate, her gaze turning cold.
"Looks like we've found them."
Riezel lifted his eyes and looked ahead, speaking calmly yet firmly, as though he could already see the monsters emerging from the darkness.
Under those circumstances, enormous, elongated bodies began to appear one after another within the darkness before them.
*SCREEECH—!!!*
*SCREEECH—!!!*
*SCREEECH—!!!*
Amid a series of hoarse, broken screeches that shook the entire sewer, vividly colored monsters covered in writhing tentacle-like vines burst out of the darkness like giant pythons.
They were Violas.
*BANG!*
Accompanied by a dull explosion, several Violas slammed into the spot where Riezel and the others had been standing moments earlier, destroying the footing there. Dust-laden wind surged forth together with shattered stone, spreading along the water channel and rapidly stirring the flow of water.
At the same time, the figures of Riezel, Ais, and Lefiya were all blasted backward out of the dust cloud, each flying off in a different direction.
"Ais! Protect Lefiya!"
As soon as Riezel's feet touched the ground, he dashed out, drawing Fool as he issued his instruction to Ais.
Ais had also landed and was about to charge forward when she heard Riezel's words.
"I-I'm fine! Miss Ais!"
Seeing Ais halt her movement, Lefiya immediately spoke up.
"You go!"
As she spoke, Lefiya, unwilling to be protected unilaterally and equally unwilling to become someone who dragged the others down, began chanting a magic spell at high speed.
Her chanting speed was by no means slow.
Although it still fell short of Riezel's high-speed chant and was far inferior to the Corrupted Spirit's ultra high-speed chant, compared to ordinary mages, it was faster by an immeasurable margin.
Before long, a small silver sword appeared beside Lefiya, floating at her side.
Seeing this, Ais's halted figure immediately shot forward.
She knew that Lefiya no longer needed her protection because she now possessed the ability to protect herself.
Her junior had grown up and was no longer the child she once was, who would freeze up the moment an emergency occurred, unable to even chant properly, and who could only travel through the Dungeon's Upper Floors and Middle Floors alongside the then–Level 1 Riezel, trying to temper both body and mind.
The proof lay in the fact that while chanting magic, Lefiya continued to move without pause, sometimes leaping, sometimes shifting her position, evading the attacks of Violas's vines, which indicated that she had already grasped Concurrent Chanting.
Even though she was still far from proficient and could only manage movement and chanting at the same time, it was still far better than before, when she would stiffen up completely the moment she faced a monster.
"Veil Breath!"
While chanting on the move, Lefiya kept the silver sword by her side to protect herself, freezing incoming vines with icy slashes, and then released Riveria's defensive magic.
In an instant, emerald-green cloaks of light enveloped the three present, applying a protective layer over them.
Seeing this, Ais felt joy at her junior's growth, but at the same time felt that she could not afford to lose to her.
"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind Cutter!"
Ais immediately launched a high-speed assault, her entire body wrapped in a violent tornado that left behind gouges torn through the ground as she advanced, while she cut down the Violas in her path one by one.
*Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!* *Pu-chi!*
The sound of flesh being cleaved rang out repeatedly, and every single Violas touched by the tornado-like Ais was shredded on the spot, spraying blood into the air.
"Wind Breathing - Seventh Form - Gale, Sudden Gusts!"
On the other side, Riezel likewise unleashed multiple tornado-shaped, spiral wind blades while dashing forward, attacking the enemy like a raging gale that continuously tore through flesh, severing Violas's massive bodies together with their vines.
Violas's hoarse screeches turned into shrill screams, some becoming chunks of flesh that crashed into the water channel and splashed up large waves, while others slammed against walls and the ground, staining everything beneath them red with blood.
"Hail Dust!"
Lefiya also activated a wide-area annihilation–type ice-attribute magic, causing the orb of light above her to fire countless hailstones that fell like a curtain of rain, freezing the Violas that lunged at her into solid ice.
"Liberate - Reprise!"
Lefiya then released the crystal small sword that had formed at some unknown point, causing the freshly chanted Arcs Ray to erupt forth and pierce through several Violas monsters like a laser.
Unlike before, she seemed to have learned her lesson this time, reducing the mind infused into Arcs Ray to the bare minimum while barely applying any standby reinforcement, firing it directly instead.
Thanks to that, this Arcs Ray did not turn into an all-devouring flash of light, but instead became a beam about as thick as an adult's arm, darting back and forth around her as it pierced through one Violas after another.
Arcs Ray was originally a single-shot magic with tracking properties, and this method of freely flying about under the caster's control while continuously punching through enemies was its intended use.
It was only because the attack power of both Riezel and Lefiya was excessively outrageous that this single-shot magic had transformed into a ranged offensive magic comparable to wide-area annihilation magic.
Just like that, the three of them continued to slaughter Violas, exterminating the vividly colored monsters without pause.
And all of this was being observed in its entirety by a jewel embedded in the darkness, hidden in a place where no one could possibly notice it.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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