Once inside, he let out a rather intense sigh, one to release as much tension as he possibly could, and yet it still wasn't enough. He was worried, and happy all at once.
"So, you really do want to sex her up. I had a feeling you did, but I couldn't be too sure. Now I'm certain of it." Hathor said with a knowing smile. "Are you prepared for the training expedition this time?"
"Yes, I am. This time we aren't going to be bringing the lower levels with us. Their training can be handled up here, and on their own for now."
"Agreed, I don't need another long line like last time. And given how much time we have left, it's for the best if you only bring those at level 6 and above this time."
"That's still quite a handful of members."
"Yes, it is, my son." She stood up, and wrapped her arms around Shurry's neck, pulling herself up to kiss his forehead. "I love you so much. So, what would you like me to do?"
"I only wish to know how far my status can be pushed right now. No need to actually advance it."
Hathor smiled as she let go of Shurry, and then he turned to have his back facing her. She didn't use any of her blood this time, instead opting to just read the glyphs, and feel the improvements he'd most definitely made.
"A shame really… If you weren't my precious, most adorable son of mine, I would have asked you to my bed."
"Mother, how am I supposed to take that?" He asked, spinning around, hugging her closely. "You're my mother, I could never do such a thing."
"I know son, I know… And now that I've said it long ago, I can't really use you that way either. For my mortal husband would need to make mothers out of all the women of my familia who've yet to become one." She huffed, clearly lying about it, she really only wanted to come up with a reason for her to keep from promoting her son to a husband. "Anyway, you have enough to level up, with almost the same amount of stats as the last time."
"I see, it really does take a lot to manage more power. Seems I'm not far from the maximum, am I?"
Hathor remained silent as Shurry gave her a quick squeeze in their hug before letting go. He smiled, conveying all of his feelings through it instead of words… words only made the feelings vague and difficult to understand. Then he left the room and prepared his best equipment for the dive.
It did not take long before the expedition made their exit, beginning their descent into the dungeon once more. However, this time, with their slowest members being level 6, and being the smaller group they were, the path they followed down in the dungeon was fast. There was one exception to the group though, and that was Rose Fannet, despite being level 4 as of now, she demanded to come on this trip, and so a pack wolf was proudly carrying her down the floors.
They reached the 50th floor in the same time they'd once reached the 39th floor. It was here they made a small camp to rest up before continuing their descent further down. However, they did not stop at the next safety point that appeared like they usually had, instead, they continued pushing further, much to the surprise of everyone, except for Shurry himself.
Then finally, after slaughtering their way through monsters of immense power, they arrived at floor 83, it wasn't exactly a safety point, so much as it was a floor with a zone that never spawned monsters, and this is where they chose to make camp.
The location had all of the basic requirements for a camp; a source of water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning with. Enough open space to set up a fair amount of tents, and… close proximity to some of the most powerful monsters around.
"This expedition is going to be much harder isn't it?"
"Indeed. We probably won't clear it this time. But that isn't the point. I had deemed the previous zone too easy for our current group. Many of us wouldn't have gained much of anything from being there. And this is the next closest safe point that also has a fresh source of water."
Zald looked around, on guard. "This place is perfect for us. Isn't that right Alfia?"
"Agreed, but I already knew that. My husband wouldn't bring us anywhere too weak for us." Alfia replied with her usual sense of annoyance towards Zald's voice, then noticed that the Astraea familia's girls were clearly more eager than before, though she let it go.
"Training begins now. The rest of you are to clear the floor of monsters. I will stay behind and protect the camp. I'll only act in the event you'd somehow die out there without my intervention."
And so, Alfia, Zald, Leon, Malik, Nernatti, Bokhoir, Donathan, Alise & the rest of the Astraea familia including Neze, Ardee, and Rose. Along with the numerous unnamed level 6 members of all familias. Shakti, Ilta, and Hashana, all worked their tails off.
However, while all of their efforts were indeed quite impressive, they were still a far cry from managing to completely clear the floor of monsters. The speed monsters reformed anew down here was nothing short of speedy. Creating a situation where the expedition team was currently practicing for the eventual fight they'd have with the One-Eyed Black Dragon's thunder.
With everyone's efforts they'd improved leaps and bounds. Only occasionally switching places with Shurry, who would go on to show everyone exactly why he was the ridiculous freak of nature he was, eliminating the floor's monsters entirely. Once he'd proved it to be possible, Zald couldn't help but want to do the same, Leon felt similarly.
It took the expedition team 5 months before they finally managed it… Albeit, barely managing it before a new monster had appeared. Once more, they'd overcome a trial of immense difficulty, and headed to the surface, eager for their new status updates. And, while they may have wanted to ask him about it, they opted not to, Shurry's efforts were clear enough for everyone to feel the same… Even he had been put to the test.
…