n

n

n

"I thought that you'll get some food?

"

nPercival asked Avery after seeing her together with an unexpected guest.

n

"Well, he said that he has food with him. He has Spatial Bag, unlike you.

"

nAvery answered as she went to her room cave to clean herself. It seems that she got dirtied while finding her some food.

nThe floor they were at has 5 cleared rooms spanning about 100 square meters each. They were still unsure how large this floor was and as far as they counted, they had gone up for about 30 floors already.

nThey were still unsure about the difficulty of the higher floors since during the 30 floors they passed through, they had always been fighting stronger monsters. They don't have medicines, reinforcements, or even supply of proper food so they decided to stay here after Percival learned that a rescue was coming to them.

nWhen they first got here, the place was full of dirt, unknown plants, rubbles, destroyed furniture, and even traces of dead monsters from some kind of incubators placed in several rooms.

nBut now that they were not being assaulted by any monsters here, they had the time to clean the mess as they just can't stand having a dirty place especially now that they have plans of staying here for several more days.

nThey were expecting that this room was a facility used to give birth to such monsters or chimera they fought before but it seems that those monsters don't have plans to return to this place as the two magicians have been peacefully living here.

n

"You've got a nice place here...

" The guest commented after observing the room they were at.

n

"Yeah... We've cleaned it a bit. How did you get here? Wait, do you know where are we?

"

n

"Our group entered a tower with about 20 floors but we got separated. That was more than a week ago. I've been wondering around this place until I stumbled upon that lady.

"

n

"I see... May I ask why did you decide to enter here? Well, we're trying to get out of here.

"

n

"Is that so? I was told that he was living here...

"

n

"Who?

"

n

"Aeolia...

"

nPercival froze at the mention of that mysterious person's name.

n

"Sir Slaine, he really is alive? Living in this godforsaken place?

"

n

"I believe so... Sigh~ I need some help for the future, I can only come here to try my luck...

"

nSlaine solemnly said before being silent. After a few moments, he suddenly chuckled as he remembers his journey up to here.

n

"I asked one of the Celestials to help us... I even had to sacrifice half of my team just to meet that being... Then, he just told me to visit here and ask that person.

"

n

"Celestial Beings?

"

n

"Yes...

"

n

"They're dangerous...

"

n

"More dangerous than you can imagine. I almost died just by getting near that creature...

"

n

"That must be awful...

"

n

"You bet...

"

n

"So, what are your plans now? Just to let you know, we've been climbing up this building and this should be around the 30th floor already. We don't even know if we are transported at the very bottom of this building...

"

n

"I'm not sure. I will try to look for him as much as I can... Wait, you just said that you got transported here? How?

"

nPercival then explained how the Sealed Mana Artifact called Heart's Grimoire has this hidden power. Unfortunately, it seems to be a one-time use since the grimoire has disappeared after Avery activated the ability.

n

"Well, it is good that you're not here to take your chances and create a weapon out of those Celestials...

"

nThe headmaster joked with the Grand Arcanist.

n

"Hmph! I'm guessing that whoever made it just luckily found a dead Celestial... There was no way a human could defeat such entity. I just can't imagine.

"

n

"Ho~ Even if the three Grand Arcanist worked together?

"

n

"Huh? If we worked together, the most that we can do was to guarantee our escape. Not even our finest creations can fight against that.

" Slaine said without any hesitation.

nThey all have life-saving skills that can only be used for a few times, it can be said that it was a perk of being a Grand Arcanist.

nOn the other hand, their counterpart in Combat Magician's path or the Grand Sage, they also have skills they can use to fight back.

nSlaine wasn't just sure whether it was enough to heavily injure a Celestial.

nPercival observed the man who, although looks exhausted, still exudes a majestic presence in front of him.

nIt may be due to his hidden Arcana or it was truly his aura born through the years of being at the peak of his path.

n

"You need to rest...

"

n

"I can't... Not now...

" Slaine said solemnly. He even pressed his temple using his right hand as if he was hurt.

n

"What happened?

"

nPercival asked as he felt that the man was hinting something.

n

"Last night, one of the problematic Celestials tried to destroy the moon and although it was blocked by a protective layer covering the sky, that Celestial would surely try again once it gathered its energy...

"

n

"This...

"

nIf Percival heard this words to others, he will definitely think they were crazy or joking with him.

nBut the one saying this was a respectable Grand Arcanist! So it can already be considered as the truth!

n

"Sigh~ I'm not sure about what kind of journey you had on the surface but it was surely tough...

"

n

"Mhmm...

"

nSlaine nodded since that was truth.

nIt was really hard. At first, he thought that their journey in this continent would be quick. It would be finish after retrieving some materials to manifest an Arcana...

nThis Arcana would supposedly help other magicians and non-magicians for the future but he slowly found clues about Aeolia and gradually decided to step further on his plans.

nHe put up his courage and met with a non hostile Celestial and got some answers. But it only leads to getting tied more and more to this continent.

nAnyway, Slaine had to meet with Aeolia as it seems that the man achieved some sort of agreement with a few Celestials.

n

"Just where was he hiding?

"

n***

nWallace and his group had a sumptous meal that night after cooking a part of the black bird's body.

nSince Wallace had brought a lot of condiments and even some fruits, Elaine had easily cooked an appetizing foods for everyone.

n

"Tomorrow, we'll not be stopping to rest even at night. The place we're about to go was a lot more dangerous but this time, it would lessen the danger during the night...

"

n

"Understood...

"

n

"Alright, then let's enjoy this last alcohol now.

"

nHannah offered to everyone while bringing out a bottle of alcohol from her backpack

nThe others only shook their heads after seeing it and remained unperturbed.

n

"It seems that it was raining... with genuine water this time...

"

nClint commented as he looked at the entrance of the small cave they were in.

n

"You're right... It's genuine water...

" Yumi agreed after glancing at the entrance's direction.

nEven though Yumi calmly said this, Wallace can still see traces of worry on her face.

nThe five rested for a few hours before continuing on their way.

nThey found a 3 story building covered by moss and tree on the surface.

nThis time, Wallace reached a place where Veda can still be contacted. He can now connect to the super A.I. and ask some latest news.

n