As they continued deeper, the labyrinth began to change. The stone grew slick with moisture, and the walls seemed to pulse—alive with dormant Ather. Ellen stopped at a fork in the corridor, one hand on the hilt of her blade, her cold eyes scanning the dark.
"Four presences ahead," she said. "Two flanking."
Mia cracked her neck. "Let's make it quick. I'm starving."
Noct stepped back, activating the Numbers field silently, trying to trace the enemy locations by running simulated projections.
Suddenly, the ambush sprang.
Grotesque, wolf-like monsters with crystalline fangs lunged from both sides. Fast.
[System identified: crystal Lycanthrope]
Ellen moved first.
Ability: Severance Bloom
Ellen accelerates in a straight line with such intensity that her body becomes a blade of force. All targets along the path are cleaved before they register the movement.
With a blur of motion, she flashed forward—her blade trailing behind like a comet. A clean arc of destruction followed. The three monsters that had emerged in front of her collapsed before they finished snarling.
"...Too slow," she muttered, flicking blood from her blade.
One more remained—behind Noct.
Mia smirked.
"Guess it's my turn"
Ability: Mirror Collapse
Mia's mirror clones are detonated manually. Each clone implodes, drawing enemies into a burst of vacuum and shrapnel.
Three mirror images of Mia flickered into place around the beast. They swirled—then detonated inward.
The monster was crushed in a vortex of blades and light.
Noct shielded his face, stunned by the sheer violence of it all.
"Your turn, Math Boy," Mia teased, stepping over the shredded remains.
Noct activated a Multiplier Edge on his sword and used Heat Expansion, causing the blade to glow white-hot. As another wave of smaller monsters surged forward, he calculated distances.
Formula Engaged: Area Calculation – Radius Burn Grid
He slashed the ground in a half-circle, inscribing numbers mid-air.
With a flash, a burning grid of energy expanded in a ten-meter radius. The monsters shrieked as they were caught in the searing formula field.
Noct stumbled slightly. His breath ragged.
"Too much output..." he gasped.
Mia tossed him a flask of water. "You're learning. Fast."
Ellen didn't smile. But she paused.
"You're still behind," she said.
"But you're not useless."
That, from Ellen, was practically affection.
As they advanced down another stairwell, a shimmer of light caught Noct's eye—a ring glinting beneath a fallen creature. He bent down and picked it up.
Item Acquired: Ring of Constant Flow
Rare-tier. Passive Ather regeneration increased by 300%.
He slipped it on. The fatigue that gnawed at his core began to ease, if only slightly.
Ellen noticed.
"Don't rely on it. That ring won't save you from real pain."
Noct nodded, already summoning new formulas in his head.
"I'll make sure I'm the one saving you next time."
Mia let out a short laugh. "I'm holding you to that."
As the three disappeared into the shadows of the next floor, only the drifting embers of their battle remained—numbers fading in the dark, one calculation at a time.