The Absolute Godspeed of Infinite Worlds

"Ran away pretty fast!" Bete spat.

They were completely bogged down by the worm horde. The slightest lapse in attention would allow monsters to close in, leaving no room to pursue that guy. They could only watch helplessly as he escaped.

"How many magic swords are left?"

"F-four!"

Raul tallied their remaining resources as he answered Finn's inquiry.

"We burned through that many in one go?"

Finn furrowed his brow.

Though magic swords shattered once their power was depleted, they could be used multiple times if conserved carefully. Yet against the worm horde, over a dozen had been expended in just two minutes.

This count didn't even include Eiji's magic sword consumption. He had unleashed the most attacks and shouldered the heaviest burden.

"Holding up alright?"

Finn glanced at Eiji beside him.

"Manageable... pass me two mind potions."

Eiji massaged his temples as stabbing pains lanced through his mind.

His magic swords were transformed from his spiritual armaments.

Pushing a magic sword to its breaking point meant grinding his spiritual armaments to their limits.

This inflicted tremendous mental strain, compounded by repeated instances of such torment. An ordinary person would have collapsed already—Eiji remained standing solely through sheer willpower.

Thus, even he couldn't wield magic swords indiscriminately.

Of course, switching to a fresh one after each use would eliminate the issue. But the frenetic pace of battle left no time for replacements, as both manifesting new spiritual armaments and reshaping them required precious seconds.

After downing two high-grade mind recovery potions, color returned to Eiji's face.

Gareth and Bete exchanged puzzled looks upon witnessing this.

What connection could firing magic swords possibly have with mental exhaustion?

Finn and the others, however, seemed contemplative.

Being privy to the secrets of Eiji's soul weapons, they each harbored their own theories.

But since this clearly involved Eiji's personal mysteries and he showed no intention of explaining, no one pressed further.

"Anyone else need recovery?"

Finn surveyed the group. "Do it now if so. Beyond this point lies completely uncharted territory—no telling what awaits us..."

Everyone shook their heads, Eiji included. They had all returned to peak condition.

"Then let's move out!"

Morale surged collectively.

Following their pint-sized leader, they strode resolutely toward the staircase leading to the 59th floor.

There lay the glory of Loki Familia.

The honor of adventurers.

The realm where ideals and ambitions converged.

Alongside the secrets of the dark factions and the mysteries of the new monster species!

All would be revealed in the journey ahead!

...

"According to the Zeus Familia's records, the 59th floor should be an glacial world, correct?"

Finn paused momentarily at the stairway entrance.

"Indeed."

Riveria gave a slight nod.

While the Zeus Familia's exploration record also stopped at the 58th floor, they had gathered intelligence about the 59th.

Historical accounts described it as a frozen wasteland with temperatures plunging dozens of degrees below zero, swept by bone-chilling winds capable of freezing even first-class adventurers. The extreme hazards had prompted them to specially prepare fire dragon protective gear beforehand.

"Yet we're not feeling any of that cold from here."

Finn murmured absently to himself.

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized.

That's right.

Being in the passageway, they should have sensed movements from the lower floors. If it were an ice domain, there should be cold air rising, yet now there wasn't the slightest hint of chill.

Instead, a faint coldness came from behind where Riveria had frozen the area.

"Forget all the knowledge I previously instilled in you. What lies below has likely become a world completely unknown to us."

Finn exhaled a long breath, trying hard to suppress the excitement in his heart.

"My thumb is throbbing with pain—it's a very bad omen."

"My intuition is also telling me that what's below is extremely dangerous!"

Eiji closed his eyes briefly, his expression turning serious.

The group exchanged glances.

Finn and Eiji were the two with the strongest intuition among them—so strong it had almost become a supernatural ability. Even Bete, who often clashed with Eiji, wouldn't deny this.

Now that both were giving warnings simultaneously, the danger awaiting them below was beyond imagination.

"Let's go."

Finn took a steadying breath, his expression gradually firming.

In the silence of their footsteps, the passageway shortened bit by bit.

They advanced steadily toward the darkness's end.

Toward the light at the end.

And there, at that end—

Lay the unknown, unreached even by mortals and gods alike.

Then, the group descended the stairs, arriving at the light's end.

The scene before them left everyone momentarily speechless.

There was no ice here.

No towering glaciers or crystalline rivers.

Instead, what they saw was an abundance of bizarre, flourishing plants—a sight completely unexpected.

"...A jungle?"

Eiji muttered under his breath, gripping his twin swords.

Looking around—

This was a stone chamber even larger than the 58th floor, overgrown with lush green vines and trees.

Emerald grass carpeted the ground, while towering trees stretched overhead. Vibrant, clearly toxic flowers dotted the landscape, and enormous buds hung from the distant walls.

Faced with this unforeseen sight, the first-tier adventurers were stunned into silence.

"...Wait, do you hear that?"

Bete suddenly perked his wolf ears.

"It's coming from the jungle!"

It sounded like chewing, or perhaps crumbling, occasionally punctuated by sharp, piercing noises.

"Forward!"

No sooner had Finn spoken than the party sprang into action.

Tiona, now wielding her great twin blades again, cleared the obstructing trees as the fourteen-member team advanced cautiously into the forest's depths, wary of potential threats.

Meanwhile, the noises grew louder, soon audible even to Lefiya.

Following the sounds, they pressed straight ahead for several minutes—

Then the jungle ended.

Their view opened up once more, revealing what lay before the adventurers:

"...What is this?"

Tiona stared blankly ahead.

No one answered her.

All were stunned by the unimaginable scene.

An expanse of gray, barren land stretched before them.

At the heart of this jungle wilderness, masses of new monsters—worms, man-eating flowers, and others—had gathered.

The horde of monsters, enough to make first-class adventurers hold their breath, was now gathered around a female-bodied creature with the lower half of a gigantic plant.

"Demi Spirit... being parasitized?"

Riveria shuddered as she uttered the true name of the plant-like lower body.

It was a tyrannical plant-type monster comparable to the Valgang Dragon, known for indiscriminately devouring both adventurers and its own kind.

Yet now, that fearsome creature had been reduced to a mere host for the female-bodied monster.