Danmachi: Voyager of Worlds Ability

[15] : Combat to Celebration: A Day of Victory & Earnings

"Watch out!"

Mika extended his left hand, using the shield attached to his gauntlet to block the attack from the war shadow in front of him.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!"

Airmid, who had nearly been injured, quickly adjusted her position, fending off another war shadow attacking from their formation's perimeter.

"Water Breathing, First Form: Water Surface Slash!"

Feeling the tactile sensation of their backs pressed together, Mika surveyed the quickly gathering war shadows around them and immediately used a sword form from Water Breathing. Gathering all his strength, Mika took a horizontal step and swung his body along with the sweeping strike.

The sharp sword stroke swiftly beheaded the war shadows surrounding the trio.

At this moment, Mika and his companions were on the sixth floor of the dungeon. After testing the waters on the first floor, they gradually delved deeper, battling the monsters on each level. While adapting to the environment, they searched for suitable places to continue their training, eventually arriving at the sixth floor, where they encountered their first real crisis in the dungeon.

A total of twenty war shadows.

Encountering so many war shadows was genuinely bad luck. Near a passageway, they had initially met seven war shadows—monsters that appear starting from the sixth floor. As they prepared to fight, eight more war shadows emerged from the walls on either side. This sudden emergence made the already narrow passage even more cramped, so they decided not to engage there.

Just as they considered retreating, more war shadows appeared behind them, blocking their exit. This unfortunate situation made Mika instinctively suspect an irregular event.

What is an irregular event?

In Orario, there's a saying: the dungeon is alive. This isn't just an empty phrase. The dungeon has a will and harbors malice toward adventurers. Normally, this isn't noticeable, but when adventurers are weakened from previous battles or otherwise off guard, the dungeon often delivers a fatal blow through an irregular event.

The most famous irregular event is a "Monster Feast." Normally, the dungeon spawns a limited number of monsters from the walls. But during a Monster Feast, monsters spawn continuously from the walls, quickly filling the area, and even attracting monsters from other places, creating a deadly situation for adventurers.

Other irregular events include cave-ins and enhanced species. A cave-in occurs when the ground beneath adventurers suddenly collapses, dropping them into more dangerous levels. Enhanced species possess strength far beyond others of the same level.

Encountering an irregular event is extremely dangerous and can be fatal, which is why adventurers say the dungeon is alive.

Though surrounded by monsters, Mika quickly ruled out an irregular event; if it were a Monster Feast, there would be hundreds of monsters. Moreover, irregular events rarely occur in the upper levels, as the environment there is too small for such events to manifest significantly.

Nonetheless, Mika remained vigilant. While they often trained, their abilities were no longer overwhelming on the sixth floor. Neither Airmid nor Mellie had experienced life-and-death combat, and they were more skilled in one-on-one fights, not group battles. With more training, they could handle this easily, but as newcomers, they were still at a disadvantage. Mika also worried the dungeon might exploit their situation, being "alive" and all.

...

With Mika's "Water Surface Slash," the five war shadows surrounding them were instantly eliminated.