Kilian and his team made their way through the first floor with ease. It was a floor even the general public could safely work in, so it was not a particularly large achievement. However, their team engaged in the largest amount of fighting by far. Icas’ long stave and ice spells more than made up for his naturally short reach. Fels diligently used her overwhelming strength and tough skin to crush any creatures that tried to fight back. Kilian wielded his own longswords with purpose and a well-practiced deftness. Of course his team was engaging in the most amount of fights by design. Any creature that was nearby was quickly crushed or cut open. Any creatures spotted in the distance was immobilized or pierced by spells. Kilian had insisted upon it. Every death of a dungeon creature strengthened their bodies and souls with mana, and therefore power. Even if they were weak, it would be foolish to allow the opportunity to strengthen themselves pass by.

[Icas] Gods among us. How do you two manage to keep eating these disgusting things raw?

[Kilian] It’s necessary.

With that short answer, Icas looked over to Fels for support.

[Fels] … ?

Seeing Fels chewing on a handful of herbs while tilting her head at him made him sigh.

[Icas] No. It’s fine. It was foolish of me to have expected otherwise.

The second floor went quite like the first. Insects and small mammals were slain quickly and without much fanfare. The only difficulty was due to the uneven shape of the terrain. They gathered a few ores, although it wasn’t one of their quests. It would help reduce the amount of food Fels needs to consume and there are always blacksmiths willing the purchase the spare. Although not as sensitive as most other earth aligned evolutions, Fels still managed to find a few clusters that were on the path towards the next floor. With Fels’ enhanced strength, the added weight of the ore and the more valuable creatures barely mattered.

Even with the direct path through the second floor, they gained far more than in the third floor. At first, they tried freezing or electrifying some of the smaller pools of water but found that it was too taxing on their mana. Fels especially was not helpful, with her mana enhanced strength adding no additional reach and a slight aversion to the water to begin with.

[Icas] I could… try poison?

[Kilian] Don’t. It does us no good if the guild bans us from the only dungeon we have easy access to.

[Fels] The guild said. Meant for food supply. Fisherman coming soon.

With no easy way to attack the aquatic creatures, they decided to move on. There was no point in staying on this floor when they had trouble hunting and gathering underwater. They saw little other way to proceed than to balance themselves on the thin stretches of land and rock between the pools and streams.

[Fels] Ahhh. Sinking. Sinking. Danger. Can not swim. Sinking. I require assistance.

Fels was fairly heavy and kept sinking into any muddy or sandy paths they tried to take. She also had a strong aversion to being in the water as her weight made swimming all but impossible. Whenever this happened, It would take both Icas and Kilian to pull her to safety. Icas was forced to consume more mana herbs and create a more frozen path. It was through a winding and narrow path made of ice and stone that they made it across to the entrance of the third floor.

[Icas] I swear I'm going to just buy some mana potions for myself if we have to do this every time to get to the deeper floors. I don't think I can taste anything besides the herbs.