This was the threat they would have to face in the upcoming Familia expedition—various unreasonable, unprecedented groups of special monsters.
Lefiya didn't have any objections.
After all, the goal of exploration was to improve one's Ability Values and gain all-around experience.
And as for why Ron's strength had grown so quickly, and the reason behind the Loki Familia's expedition—at this point, all of that had already been answered.
"Should be… no problem."
Facing his calm gaze, the elven girl seed sowhat lacking in confidence. These Giant Dog-type monsters were, to so extent, quite troubleso.
Could she defeat them?
Lefiya herself wasn't sure, but she knew one thing clearly—no matter what, she couldn't beco a burden during this dungeon expedition.
"Don't push yourself too hard either."
"These monsters… are pretty tough. When they're on the verge of death, they might expose an opening—and then strike back desperately."
For example, "delayed attacks."
Since it was a specific gaming term, Ron could only explain it in a straightforward way.
That's just how Soulslike systems are.
Brutal.
Desperate counterattacks with delayed timings, monsters hiding in dark corners to fire sneak shots, or enemies with special chanics that are hard to deal with.
As for a boss's second phase—he hadn't actually encountered one yet. But he knew that as he went deeper, it would absolutely be an unavoidable death trap.
"All in all," Ron concluded with a smile, "just stay cautious. An adventurer's first priority is staying alive—only after that cos being an adventurer."
"…"
It was a rough, simple truth.
But when it reached the ears of the expedition team—especially the Hiryute sisters who had truly co into contact with Ron—they clearly realized: all of this… was experience earned by Ron himself. And the process of gaining that experience was probably even bloodier than they could imagine.
As for this expedition, their task was simple—to ensure the team's safety as much as possible. The most obvious change was in their attitude.
The earlier slackness was gone.
Having witnessed these troubleso monsters firsthand, even their expressions gradually turned serious. One misstep, and they could run into real danger here.
"We'll be careful."
"Let's keep moving."
After all, this was a mixed team composed of two Familias.
Getting this kind of response was already enough for Ron. As for so-called tactical coordination, it wasn't actually the most important thing.
When facing monsters, as long as they could stay calm, fight properly, and share so of the pressure—that was enough.
In the exploration that followed, they didn't pursue speed.
Instead, they began clearing out the area on the 13th Floor, gradually adapting to the strength of the Giant Dogs.
With his Character Save Slot combinations, Ron handled things more and more smoothly, actively taking on the pressure of the special monsters.
Of course, that didn't an the rest of the team were just dead weight.
Mikoto, who had already reached Level 3, could rely on the techniques taught by Takemikazuchi to effectively kill Giant Dogs even when fighting alone.
On the other hand, those lacking experience—Daphne and Lefiya—fought more like traditional adventurers: lee coordination and kiting up front, with the mage providing damage from the backline.
At least for now, the situation could be described as steadily improving.
When Ron cleanly swung his greatsword, combining it with an Ash of War to sever the head of the last Giant Dog, the malice lingering on this Floor vanished in an instant.
"Extermination chanism."
Inside the dim dungeon passageways, the concept of ti gradually beca blurred.
There was only battle.
Endless battle—constant encounters with monsters—until those mutated creatures reverted back to their original Hellhound forms.
Only then did Ron finally stop.
The overall intensity of the fights had been extrely high—one could even say exhilarating.
Based on his past exploration experience, when teaming up with Mikoto, it would take at least two days to completely exterminate the monsters on a Floor.
But as the team grew larger, the most direct improvent was efficiency.
Standing still, he adjusted his breathing. But the fatigue from continuous combat couldn't be shaken off in the short term. His gaze swept across everyone present.
Especially Lefiya.
From the eyes of this golden-haired elf, Ron could clearly see exhaustion—let alone the weaker mbers of his own Familia.
At this pace, ten days would definitely be enough to reach the expedition's final destination.
"Let's find a place to rest first."
"Going deeper right now isn't suitable. More importantly, there won't be any safe places to settle in the next Floors."
After all, they couldn't exactly set up camp in an area still crawling with monsters and filled with that Soulslike malice.
When they heard Ron's arrangent, Daphne finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Facing monsters stronger than herself, as a Level 2 adventurer, she was the one struggling the most. Even though it was still "combat," today's exploration was on a completely different level compared to before.
"That works."
"If we keep going, I'm seriously gonna drop dead!"
She didn't even care about propriety anymore.
Daphne just wanted to find a quiet place to rest.
And as they searched for a suitable campsite, the difference beca obvious.
That was—the mutated Giant Dog packs had seemingly vanished entirely. The monsters they encountered afterward were all ones recorded by the Guild.
Hellhounds.
They were still monsters.
But compared to the troubleso Giant Dogs earlier, even their appearance now seed almost… neat and gentle by comparison.
They posed no real threat to the expedition team.
In a relatively open area, as they set up a temporary camp, before Ron could properly rest, soone ca looking for him.
Her appearance was sowhat unfamiliar.
But he recognized her identity.
'Elfy.'
Lefiya's roommate.
Because she was a supporter and didn't directly participate in combat, her presence had always been relatively faint.
"Elfy."
As for her earlier attitude, Ron didn't care about it at all. He wasn't Valis—there was no reason for everyone to like him.
As long as everyone did their part, that was enough.
In a calm tone, he asked directly: "What do you need from ?"
"…"
Of course, she did have sothing.
It was just a bit hard for her to say.
Before truly eting Ron or experiencing the dungeon expedition, when she first heard about the so-called objective—especially that even Level 2 adventurers could reach it—to be honest, Elfy had thought that this rookie adventurer captain, who had drawn so much attention in Orario and even cost her vacation… was a bit all show and no substance.
But after actually seeing it for herself, and witnessing the nature of those mutated monsters, the girl felt nothing but sha for her earlier, rash judgnt.
If you're wrong, you fix it.
If you misunderstand soone, you apologize openly.
That was the principle Elfy upheld.
Facing Ron's gaze, after hesitating for a mont, she sat down on the ground, hugging her knees.
Her tone was clearly much softer now.
"Um…"
"I ca to apologize to you, Senior Ron!"
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