"Next, stay close. Stay alert at all times."
Jeanne's voice was calm and clear. It echoed through the quiet cave.
"Okay."
Ronan followed the order at once. He moved closer to Jeanne by instinct.
In his future plans, Jeanne would be the field commander of the Veyr Familia. She would take the lead, like Finn in the Loki Familia, Hedin in the Freya Familia, Shakti in the Ganesha Familia, or Alise in the Astraea Familia.
Ronan knew his own limits.
Leading a fight, raising morale, and planning were not his strengths.
Ronan believed in letting the right person do the job.
Jeanne was perfect for the role of commander in every way. That was true even if she still claimed she only "knew a little" about fighting.
...
The two lowered their breathing and moved carefully through the deep cave tunnel.
Then the view suddenly opened up.
"Damn it, look at that ceiling."
Ronan whispered in shock. He quickly looked at the huge space covered in white fog. The thick mist blocked his sight, but the size of the room was obvious.
"The fog is in the way, but this place is huge."
Ahead was a wide room filled with fog that seemed to stretch on and on. With their eyes alone, Ronan and Jeanne could barely make out the open space in the middle.
Here, the environment was different from the empty caves on the floors above.
For example, several withered trees stood on the ground. They were dead and bare.
The change in the surroundings made the two look at each other. It matched the information in the manual.
"The manual called it the 'Labyrinth's Arsenal.' That's what this means, right?"
Jeanne asked. She already sounded sure.
They moved closer to check. The bark of the dead trees was hard. The trunks were thick at the bottom and thin at the top. Their shape was strange.
Reading about something in a book was never the same as seeing it for yourself. Ronan and Jeanne quickly confirmed what these trees were.
"Yes, it's the Labyrinth's Arsenal."
Ronan spoke in a low voice. He frowned.
"They don't just give weapons to monsters. They also become obstacles in battle. If you trip during a hard fight, the result could be disastrous."
"What should we do? Should we destroy them first?"
Jeanne asked with a frown.
The Labyrinth's Arsenal stood in the fog and looked unsettling. It made Ronan hesitate.
This was not something they could finish quickly. And no one knew whether the trees would just grow back. The Dungeon was impossible to predict.
"Forget it. Let's stay away from the walls for now. We'll move toward the tunnels deeper in the hall."
Ronan made his decision.
Before he could finish, Jeanne tightened her grip on the flag-spear. Her light purple eyes locked onto one direction. Her voice dropped very low.
"Maybe we can't leave yet."
Warning bells went off in Ronan's mind. His back stiffened. His left hand moved like lightning to the outside of his bag. He grabbed his staff and held it tight.
The thick fog blocked their sight. They could not see what was there, but the tension in the air was real. It felt like a heavy wave pressing on their nerves.
"They're here!"
Jeanne shouted.
"Thud, thud, thud..."
The ground started shaking.
The two narrowed their eyes. Deep in the fog, large black shapes were moving slowly. A heavy sense of danger came with them as they got closer.
The loud footsteps and the shaking of the ground traveled through their boots and armor.
"I'm a little nervous, but also excited. This is my first time facing a giant monster."
Ronan licked his lips. Without making a sound, he shifted half a step back and stood behind Jeanne so she could take the front.
"Gugugugugu..."
With a low, violent growl, the huge monsters tore through the fog.
"So these are Orcs? They really do feel heavy."
Ronan fixed his eyes on the enemies coming toward them and took a sharp breath.
They had brown skin and bulging muscles. Their bodies were fat, but their pig-like heads looked brutal. Scraps of fur hung around their waists like ragged skirts. Each one was over three meters tall, more than twice Ronan's height. They looked like walking walls.
The Orcs had arrived.
"Jeanne, can you handle these big guys?"
Ronan felt a little worried. Just from their size, he could tell these Orcs were monsters built around raw strength and high endurance. They were exactly the kind of enemy an adventurer without strong killing moves did not want to face.
"Can I handle them..." Jeanne's face was full of focus as she tightened her grip on the flag-spear. "No problem."
"Good. Then I'm counting on you." Ronan answered at once, trusting her completely.
Jeanne took a deep breath. She lowered her center of gravity, pointed the flag-spear forward, and took a perfect fighting stance.
"Buji Oooohhh!!!"
A loud roar crashed into their ears like a wave. Right after that came a disgusting smell.
"Damn it..."
Ronan cursed under his breath. He was glad he was wearing a mask. He did not even want to imagine how Jeanne felt standing closer to them.
The girl frowned harder. She turned her head instinctively and held her breath. One hand quickly covered her nose and mouth. Her voice sounded annoyed.
"Even on a battlefield, it is rude to let out a smell like that in front of a lady!"
However, the simple minds of the Orcs did not care about gender. In their red eyes, Ronan and Jeanne were nothing but fresh prey.
Their fat bodies suddenly moved. Their heavy steps pounded against the ground. Their huge bodies shook as they advanced. As they passed the withered trees, they reached out and ripped one straight out of the ground with frightening strength.
The dead wood that had been part of the scenery was now in the monsters' hands. It had become a rough giant club.
This was the Labyrinth's Arsenal, also known among adventurers as the "Natural Armory."
It was one of the Dungeon's more troublesome traits.
This living maze provided natural weapons for the monsters wandering inside.
The Labyrinth's Arsenal was a special feature that first appeared from the 10th floor onward. It was one of the Dungeon's hidden ways of making monsters more dangerous.
An adventurer might beat a monster easily when it had no weapon. But once the monster picked one up, the fight changed completely. It became a dangerous enemy that had to be taken seriously.
After all, for both humans and monsters, having a weapon made a huge difference. The threat was on a completely different level.
"So this is the change on the 10th floor... with this feature, the danger of the monsters goes up a lot."
Ronan whispered with a serious face.
Jeanne's sharp eyes followed the Orcs' movements. Her expression became even more serious.
"The natural talents and special traits of monsters are already hard enough to deal with. If they can use tools as well..."
"It's hard to imagine..."
Ronan let out a long breath. He forced his mind to calm down and raised his staff toward the target.
"It's our first time on the 10th floor. It's normal to be unprepared. Next time we'll know better. For now, we need to destroy the Labyrinth's Arsenal first and stop the monsters from using it."
The manual said the Labyrinth's Arsenal could be destroyed. But because it was part of the Dungeon, it would slowly repair itself over time. Worse still, it would even grow back the trees the monsters pulled out.
Usually, if adventurers had time, destroying these trees early was a good way to keep monsters from becoming more dangerous.
But right now, Jeanne and Ronan had already missed that chance.
The Orcs holding the giant clubs stared at their prey. Their breathing grew heavier. Their yellow eyes turned redder with violence. Their huge bodies leaned forward, and their muscles tightened. It looked as if they would charge at any second. The pressure on Ronan was enormous.
The air grew tense. His heartbeat sped up.
He felt both nervous and excited as he faced giant monsters for the first time. His palms began to sweat around the staff.
"Take a deep breath, Ronan. Relax."
Jeanne noticed his tension. Her cool voice held a strange power that calmed him down.
"I understand."
Ronan took a deep breath. His tense shoulders relaxed a little.
And in the instant his mind relaxed...
The Orcs seized the moment.
They roared.
"Oooooooooooooo!!!"
The battle began with a violent roar.
At the same time, Jeanne kicked off the ground.
Jeanne shot forward, her armor flashing through the mist. With overwhelming force, she charged straight at the closest Orc.
The prey was not running. It was coming closer.
The Orc opened its mouth, baring its tusks. It looked almost like it was laughing.
Its giant arm, thicker than Ronan's waist, lifted the huge club. The red light in its eyes flared.
"Cinder!"
Boom!
The magic landed first.
While Jeanne's charge drew the Orc's attention, Ronan's spell exploded across its body.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Flames and high heat scorched the brown skin, making the monster scream in pain.
But Ronan did not look happy. His face turned ugly. Cold sweat ran down his back.
"Are you kidding me? It looks impressive, but the damage is barely anything. Damn it!"
His mouth twitched. Alarm shot through his mind.
At that same moment!
Clang!!!
A loud, ear-piercing crash exploded through the room as Jeanne's flag-spear collided with the Orc's wooden club.
The Orc that had been hit by the fire ignored the pain. Its red eyes glared as it met Jeanne's charge head-on. It was a brutal clash of pure strength.
The sight of Jeanne, who was only around 160 centimeters tall, crashing head-on into an Orc more than twice her size sent a shock through Ronan.