n

n

nAriel and Serena both had worried looks on their faces as they descended towards the door leading to the 12th floor, but they didn't say anything about it.

n

"Is everything okay, with you two?

" John asked as they descended.

n

"E-Everything's fine...

" Said Serena with a nervous expression.

nAriel slowly nodded with an equally nervous expression.

n

"I'll take that as a no. But it makes sense, we're heading into a floor where we'll encounter monsters even stronger than the one we just beat.

" John said.

nRight now would be a good time to try to calm them down, but John was not sure if he should. Ever since they entered this dungeon, it felt as if it had been targeting them. They need to be on alert if they want to survive this.

nEven if they do manage to survive, coming back would be risky. They could start going to the other 3 dungeons, but if they target them, they might really be goners. Honestly, it was starting to annoy John how they were getting targeted. But for now, there's nothing he could do about it.

n

"Can't you try making it sound less scary?!

" Said Serena as she started trembling.

nAriel nodded at what Serena said and they stood close together. Now that John thought about it, as far as he could remember, Serena and Ariel have been close. They sort of resemble sisters. A black-haired angel and a silver-haired half-elf.

n

"Pfff

" John accidentally let out.

n

"I-It's not funny!!

" Shouted Serena.

n

"Y-Yes!

" Added Ariel.

n

"It's not that, I just finally realised that you two are like sisters,

" John said.

n

"Sis-ters?

" Muttered Ariel as she looked over at Serena with lit eyes.

n

"W-Well, I suppose we are like sisters...

" Muttered Serena.

nAt Serena's words, Ariel let out a bright smile as she nodded and said,

"Big sister. Serena is a great big sister

"

nHearing this, Serena gave Ariel a big hug.

n

"That's right, you can count on your big sister to protect you.

" Said Serena with a happy expression as she continued to hug Ariel.

n

"Yeah, but in this case, I wonder who would be the older sister... Serena's slightly taller but...

"

n

"Oi, what were you just about to say?

" Asked Serena as she stared straight at John.

n

"Haha, nothing,

" He said.

n

"You were going to say something insulting, weren't you!?

" Asked Serena as she started pulling his cheeks.

n

"I-It's fine, Serena, You can be the older sister so...

" Said Ariel as she tried stopping her.

n

"T-Thanks Ariel, but when you say it like that it sounds like you're pitying me...

" Said Serena as she made a dejected expression.

nSeeing these two act this way, John felt his fear and nervousness get washed away. They also looked as if they had calmed down and were having fun. He couldn't help but let out a smile.

n

"What's gotten you so happy?

" Asked Serena as she continued to pull his cheeks.

n

"I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have you two here,

" John said.

nIf he were alone in a situation like this, he didn't know what he'd do. But with these two here, John could feel most of his worries disappear. '

nNo matter what... I can't do anything that will put their lives at risk. That is my responsibility as their leader and…' John decided.

n

"W-Why do you always say these things at these moments...

" Asked Serena with a reddened expression.

n

"W-We're lucky to have you here too...

" Said Ariel with blushed cheeks.

n

"Thanks,

" John replied with a smile.

n'But she's right... Did I make a mistake saying that...? In most books I've read, usually when a person does that, doesn't something bad usually happen afterwards..? Isn't this called setting up a flag..? Nah, there's no way, this is reality after all... There's no such thing as flags... right..?. John wondered.

n

"Sorry, I am very sorry,

" John said as he bowed his head.

n

"Why are you suddenly apologising?!

" Asked Serena with a shocked expression.

n

"Y-You don't have to apologise! What's wrong?

" asked Ariel while startled.

n

"No, I've just been doing something stupid this whole time, and only realised it now,

" John said with a straight expression.

n

"O-Okay..?

" Muttered Serena.

nAfter that interaction, they had finally reached the door to the 11th floor. They entered the 11th floor and slowly climbed down the stairs. John could feel that the girls were nervous, but it wasn't as much as before.

nThey continued to walk down the stairs for what felt like minutes until they finally reached the floor. There were rocks everywhere, and it looked like a giant cave.

nJohn cast deprehendre and didn't spot anything unusual.

n

"Let's go,

" John said as he began to walk forward.

nThe two girls silently nodded and followed behind him.

nAt the end of the cave stood a door to the next room, which was most likely the boss' room.

n'That being said, do monsters that aren't the boss stop appearing after the 10th floor? There weren't any on the 11th floor. Unless…'

nJust as John thought that most of the giant boulders around them turned into a humanoid looking golem which carried stone weapons. They were completely surrounded.

n

"Looks like I was right...

" John muttered.

n

"About what?

" Asked Serena.

n

"The reason we didn't encounter any monsters aside from the Boss in the previous floor, was because the eel ate them all,

" John said.

n'Speaking of eating... We should have our lunch after we deal with these golems. We also need to rest up... I haven't gotten any rest from the fight with the eel... My muscles feel sore and I can still feel the fatigue from the fight... Maybe coming down here without resting wasn't such a good idea…' John thought.

nThe golems approached them, and they stuck close together. They were using the back to back-formation, which they practised in cases they get surrounded. Each one of the, will face a direction and attack anything that gets close. With the 3 of them, they were able to cover 360 degrees.

n'With this we should be fine, they're obviously weaker than the previous boss.... Let's just hope I have enough magic power…' John thought.

n