The monsters on the 59th floor were ferocious, not only in strength but in number as well. They spawned with relentless speed and flooded the terrain in waves. It felt almost endless.
Had Leon not been providing support, even a lineup as stacked as this would have struggled immensely.
And under such pressure, if they also had to watch for the roots beneath their feet? That would've made things unbearable.
In fact, it would have undermined one of their core expedition goals—training and increasing their stats through sustained combat.
Now, thanks to Riveria's magic and Leon's Gate of Heaven, everyone could focus solely on the fight.
The battlefield erupted into chaos. The skirmishes reached a fever pitch. This was no ordinary battle, it was a clash of steel and magic, of monster and man.
Even Finn and Gareth, both freshly ascended to Lv. 7, found themselves straining against the tide of powerful monsters. Every second was a challenge.
And the others? Bete, Alise, and the rest, each one was wounded at some point, again and again, in the endless clash. But they didn't stop. They didn't complain. Because behind them, always active, was Leon's Gate of Heaven.
Each time someone was injured, their wounds healed within moments. Physical strength and magical reserves were restored in real time. It was as if they were fighting with infinite stamina and immortality.
Thanks to that, even as the battles pushed them to their limits, there were no complaints. There was no fear or frustration on their faces. Only excitement.
Everyone here understood perfectly what this kind of experience meant.
Aside from conquering new territory, one of the expedition's greatest goals was to fight monsters of equal or superior strength, to use that struggle to temper themselves, get stronger.
This exact setup, where fierce combat raged endlessly and any wounds were immediately healed, was an adventurer's dream training environment.
And as they fought, they could feel it. They could feel their falna growing behind them.
For an adventurer, that warmth, the spark of falna rising, is a vision of their future. It means they're making progress. It means they're improving.
Most adventurers in Orario lose their way because they stop seeing a future ahead of them. But here, now, with this kind of progress before their very eyes, how could they not be elated?
No wonder Bete and the others showed such joy, even while fighting for their lives. Their grins weren't forced. Their excitement was genuine, bursting from deep within.
"This floor has definitely changed… There's no other explanation for this." Gareth muttered grimly, cleaving a white orchid monster clean in half.
"Yeah, it's way too over the top. If the 59th floor had been this dangerous from the start, that demi spirit wouldn't have been able to claim it all by itself." Finn agreed with a nod. His expression was unusually solemn.
"Who cares about all that?!" Tione interrupted with a manic grin, slicing a giant monster in half vertically with a blood-slicked blade. "Isn't this exactly what we wanted?!"
"Let's gooo! Die! Die!" Tiona shouted beside her, eyes blazing as she unleashed a whirlwind of slashes with her twin blades.
"Ha… You're not wrong." Finn, still mid-battle, blinked in surprise for a moment before letting out a wry chuckle. "This is exactly the situation we hoped for."
Even though he and Gareth had just stepped into the realm of Lv. 7, this nonstop, high-pressure battle was accelerating their growth. Their stats were definitely rising.
And for adventurers still in the Lv. 6 and Lv. 5 range, like Tione, Tiona, and others, this was an even bigger windfall.
Sparks of realization flashed in everyone's eyes. With renewed vigor, they struck harder, faster, more fiercely than ever before.
The clash was brutal. And still, Leon didn't attack directly. Instead, he stood amidst the chaos, calmly observing the various monsters flooding toward them. From time to time, he would casually eliminate one that got too close.
The most common among them were the four-headed Chimeras, but there were also airborne threats and several types of monsters crawling across the terrain.
Earlier, when he had used his shadows to scout, he had only been able to detect the presence of monsters. He hadn't seen what they looked like.
Unlike his light veins, shadow couldn't transmit images, only information. But now, encountering these beasts in the flesh, Leon understood everything.
So this is where those strange creatures, those used by the demi spirit, had originated. They had all been sourced from this very floor: the 59th floor.
In addition to the four-headed Chimeras, there were also silver-white wolves, Goliath-like giants, humanoid monsters, and massive lizards.
Leon had mistaken them before, assuming they were new evolutions caused by the demi spirit. He'd thought they were a result of the 59th floor being overtaken. But in truth, they were the original monsters of this floor.
He also spotted plant-type creatures, ones that looked nearly identical to the humanoid corrupted spirit avatar he'd fought before.
Even so, Leon didn't pay these monsters much mind. Even if their strength reached Lv. 6, he had no intention of wasting energy on them.
He simply kept the Gate of Heaven running, continuing to support his team and quietly training his magic stat.
His target wasn't here. He wasn't interested in Ievel 5 or 6 monsters. His focus was solely on enemies of level 7 and above and in large numbers. If possible, he wanted to engage something at the level 8 tier.
Leon hadn't placed much hope in increasing his stats on this expedition. Not even with the towering level 7 tree in the mix.
No. This trip had a different purpose.
Leon had come to pave a path, to carve open a road into the even deeper floors. A place where monsters of true power would appear.
And while blazing that trail, he'd also brought his trusty comrades in the Loki Familia to join the charge. Of course, Astraea Familia also joined later.
In the midst of their heated advance, everyone had made remarkable progress as they pushed deeper toward the center of the floor. However, halfway through their journey, Leon's footsteps slowed slightly and a deep frown creased his brow.
"…Are the roots… shrinking back toward the tree?"
Leon's veins of light had remained activated the entire time, much like his Gate of Heaven. And it was through these veins that he noticed something peculiar.
The thick roots beneath their feet, roots that had sprawled out aggressively across the floor, were now retracting. They were retreating swiftly, flowing like reversed rivers toward the center of the floor… to the place where the giant tree awaited. The phenomenon left Leon visibly puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
Riveria, having just used a high-level spell, turned to look at Leon. She immediately noticed the rare crease in his normally composed expression, and her tone was tinged with concern.
"The roots underground… they're withdrawing toward the center. I don't know what that tree's planning." Leon answered without hesitation, his voice low but steady.
Riveria's gaze sharpened, her brows furrowing as well. It wasn't something to take lightly.
"No problem… right, Leon-san?" Lefiya had also overheard the exchange.
Her usual cheer gave way to anxiety as she stepped closer. The new 59th floor had already proven itself to be abnormal. Its continuous spawning of monsters had already shattered the conventional understanding of floor ecology. Now, this unexpected shift made her heart race with unease.