NARRATOR P.O.V

It was a whole new day. Y/N and Bell were going to Babel once more after having a free day. The Ranger decided what class he was going to use on his ring. A Mage. As such, he asked for Welf to make him a mage staff, something to start his journey with. The blacksmith obliged, making him a beautiful enchanted iron staff. The enchants lets Y/N have some spells to begin with.

Author notes:"Which one do you like the most guys? Pick the one you like. If you ask me, I think Nº3 is perfect. Simple yet effective."

Now, Y/N was going to visit Riveria really quick to see if she has some robes and a couple of tips for the begginer mage. Our ranger arrived at the Loki familia manor. He was about to open the main gate until Aiz who was also going to leave the manor did for him. Seeing Y/N on her doorstep made Aiz's day. Her usual bored expression changed to a happy one.

Aiz:"Hello dear. What a pleasant surprise. Here to visit me?"

Y/N:"Actually I'm looking for Riveria."

Aiz:"Oh. She's inside."

Her face changed expression once again. Y/N gave her a small kiss on the lips and walked inside. Aiz decided to tag along, just in case the elf does something she may dislike.

Aiz:"What for?"

Y/N:"I decided what class I'd like to use on the ring you gave me."

Aiz:"A mage I presume."

Y/N:"Mhm. I want Riveria's advice and help."

Aiz:"Well, she still holds dear to her old clothes. I'm sure she can give you something but Riveria will most likely want something in return."

Y/N:"W-Well, we don't have much money. We use it all on maintaining our home, food and supplies for the dungeons so..."

Aiz:"Don't worry. She won't ask for Valis. That's what I'm worried for."

Y/N and Aiz reached the living room where Riveria was located. She was sitting in their leather couch, reading a book about gods and goddesses.

Riveria:"Y/N. Here to pass time with Aiz I see. Have a nice-"

Y/N:"Actually it's you I'm looking for."

Riveria closed her book and smiled.

Riveria:"I see. What do you need?"

Y/N:"Well I want to learn the ways of magic and I can't think of a better teacher than you."

Riveria:"I feel honored. Aiz, can you please bring me a black robe from my room? The big one."

Aiz:"Sure."

Aiz left the room. Riveria patted the sit next to her. The Ranger sat next to his friend and waited for Riveria to start her lesson. Instead, the elf told Y/N to remove his leather chestplate and raise his shirt so she could see his new skills. Once you change your class, your stats and skills change to fit your new specialisation. Riveria was making sure Y/N could have a good start on his first incursion as a mage.

Riveria:"Hmm... it's a solid start. Some spells to hit one target at a time, others to deal damage to many and a couple to defend yourself. It'll do. What about your staff? What does it do?"

Y/N:"Fire bolt and Combustion."

Riveria:"Great."

Y/N:"Can we test them?"

Riveria:"Of course but don't waste too much mana. You will need it for the dungeon."

Y/N:"Right."

Timeskip brought to us by Riveria scolding Y/N for burning Bete alive.

After a quick training season (which made Y/N only understand the basics) he reagrouped with Welf, Liliruca and Bell. They were in the Guild getting a gift from Eina. Fire resistance cloaks. After all they were making a trip to Floor 15. Bell placed his around his Cloak of Shadow while the rest wore it as actual clothes. Y/N was not only happy to recieve a new robe but also a new cloak.

Eina:"Be extremely careful out there. Monsters in Floor 15 start to appear in great numbers. It certainly doesn't help they start casting spells. Are you sure you are ready for this?"

Y/N:"Of course! I have a couple of new tricks up my sleeve for this!"

Eina:"I'm concerned Y/N. You're... well, new to magic."

Y/N:"I know what I'm doing."

Welf:"C'mon Eina we will be fine. I'm sure Y/N's spells pack a punch. Besides, he said he has frost spells which are the counter to fire magic, right? We will be okay."

Y/N:"I'm also packing quite the amount of mana potions. I have enough to develop an addiction."

Liliruca:"And I also bought new equipment. I'll keep these guys safe, don't worry Eina."

Eina:*Sigh* "Okay, okay. Don't say I didn't warn you tho. Be safe and good luck."

The four adventurers nodded and said their goodbyes. While they walked towards Babel, Liliruca watched Y/N's belt with quite the glare.

Liliruca:"Y/N, I see you got an alchemist belt."

Y/N:"Mhm. I strapped a couple of mana potions there for quick access. Since I'm going to be a pure spellcaster I must have a way to keep me going, y'know?"

Liliruca:"I was thinking that you could let me carry your repeater crossbows to have more room in the belts. More potions, more spells that you cast. It's not like you're going to use them. Besides, as a mage your agility goes down in favour of intelligence. You won't hit anything."

Y/N:"..."

Liliruca:"I'm not going to steal them Y/N. I thought you..."

Y/N:"You're right. Here, have them."

Y/N grabbed the crossbows and gave them to Lili who immediately putted them on her backpack.

Bell:"Aiz is not coming with you Y/N? She likes to be around you it seems..."

Y/N:"No, she has to go with her party to Floor 70. It seems they are about to slay a new monster that appeared there."

Welf:"How can they travel through Babel so fast? I mean, I suppose they don't go up the stairs, right?"

Y/N:"No. Riveria knows who to cast a teleportation spell. So long she has been physically present in that Floor she can take them there."

Welf:"You can't cast that?"

Y/N:"Riveria is level 86 Welf. I'm 25. I think there's quite the gap in levels there."

Welf:"What a bad excuse..."

The party made it into Babel. Going through the first floors was a cakewalk already. Having Lili and Welf was overkill and the reward was minimum so they skipped fighting the monsters up until Floor 13. Orcs and the usual kobold and spider yet the numbers were now worth the trouble.

Bell and Welf did all the hard work. The plan was to save Y/N's mana and potions for the worse fights. They were unaware of how much that decision saved them...

Finally, they reached Floor 15. It was famous due to the almost random layout. Sometimes it resembles a small cavern similar to Floor 1 or 2 Other times it transformed into many long ravines where you couldn't see neither the surface nor what was below the long rocky bridges they had to walk through. Falling from one of the bridges could be their downfall.

The monsters were also much stronger. Fire wolfs capable of using magic to attack from range if needed and killer rabbits that wield weapons. Although a white rabbit may not be intimidating, the fact they could respawn in an instant made it very hard for adventurers that were unprepared. Even more for solo adventurers.

Minotaurs made rare appearances all throught the Floor, being more common the higher you go. If it wasn't bad enough Floor 17 contains the first boss in Babel. Goliath.

It didn't matter to Y/N and Co. Their objective was to get used to this Floor and leave. Things never go the way one wants tho.

The party was walking though one of the rocky bridges that leads to another cavern. The only sound you could hear was the echo of their own footsteps. That was until Babel decided to create monsters at the other side of the bridge. Killer bunnies armed with iron weapons along with minotaurs.

Y/N:"Bell, tell your cousins to leave us alone!"

Bell:"How many times do I have to say they don't look like me!"

Liliruca:"They kinda do..."

Bell:"Just focus on the fight you assholes!"

Welf and Bell charged at the bunnies while Y/N prepares a spell. A blue circle appeared below him. He closed his eyes and started gathering frost energy on his hands. His staff was floating due to the magic around Y/N. In the meantime, Bell and Welf made sure to not let the monsters to Y/N.

Two bunnies with axes jumped towards Bell. He made a jump to the side dodging both of them. With a roundhouse kick he threw one of the bunnies out of the bridge. The other tried to stab him once again just for Bell to use Shadow Strike and appear behind the bunnie. He grabbed it by the ears and backstabbed the monster, killing it.

3 Killer Bunnies tried to pounce on Welf. With a single swing of his nodachi Welf cutted the bunnies in half. A minotaur tried to pierce Welf with it's greatsword just for the adventurer to use a skill of his own. Royal Guard. As soon as the greatsword made contact with his nodachi it bounced off, the minotaur almost loosing balance.

Welf:"Y/N!"

Y/N:"Right! FROSTBOLT!"

Y/N opened his hands aimed at the minotaur, an enormous bolt made of frost energy launched at the monster. At soon as it made contact with it's torso the bolt exploded, freezing the monster. Welf only had to kick it to break the ice, killing the creature. The other monster tried to attack Bell while he was busy with the hordes of bunnies. Y/N extracted magic from his staff, fire magic. He then used another spell.

Y/N:"COMBUSTION!"

All the fire energy was teletransported inside the minotaur, who looked at it's chest in surprise. Suddenly the energy blew up making a huge explosion that leaved no remains of the minotaur behind. The explosion also launched some bunnies away.

Y/N:"We're almost done here! Push!"

Bell and Welf nodded and kept walking forwards, slashing their way through the pack of enemies. Two bunnies with arrows fired at Bell yet he was agile enough to not only slide underneath the projectiles (while slashing some bunnies in the meantime) but also used the momentum he gained to jump to the skies, falling on top of one of the bunnies. He stomped his foot on it's head and quickly threw his knife at the other piercing it's head. Welf used his mana to gather fire energy on his sword and made a hurricane of flames, gathering all the remaining monsters and burning them at the same time.

To finish the job Y/N used his staff's energy once again to fire his other enchancted spell, Firebolt. An enormous fireball was launched at the hurricane exploding at soon as it made it's way in, killing all the bunnies.

While they fought, Liliruca gathered all the stones the monsters dropped. They were quite a few stones.

Bell:"Nice! If we keep this up I'm sure we would be ready to reach Floor 20 in no time."

Welf:"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. If a rare monster appears it's gonna be hard to take it down."

Y/N:"Right. If that happens we flee. Now be careful, the next area is known for having many monster respawns."

Bell:"Right."

The party made their way forwards arriving at an enormous cavern. The walls were made out of green rocks. A camp of Killer bunnies was on sight with many, many killer bunnies. If that wasn't enough fire wolves were also present. 

Bell:"Y/N we're gonna need a fire shield right about now!"

Y/N nodded and closed his eyes, channeling arcane magic on his hands. A purple energy was created on the ground this time.

Liliruca:"Eyes sharp! They are about to fire!"

Bell:"Time for my new skill then! SHADOW ORB!"

Bell punched the ground, an orb of shadows covering the entire party. The wolves fired their fireballs towards the party yet the shadows engulfed the projectiles only making the orb grow in size. The shadows did not harm not block the vision from the caster or his party only those the shadows considered threats.

Welf:"Nice! What does the spell do?"

Bell:"It protects us from anything that comes from out of the orb. If they want to attack they're gonna have to go inside."

Welf:"Well they are about to do just that! Stay sharp!"

Not afraid of Bell's skill the Killer Bunnies charged towards the orb with killing intent. Y/N finally gathered all the energy he needed and crushed it with his hands. The energy went to every member of the group, transforming into an arcane shield around them.

Y/N:"It's not like Riveria's fire shield but it will also protect you from conventional weapons!"

Well:"It will have to do, let's go!"

Well and Bell charged out of the orb taking the bunnies by surprise. Bell managed to pierce one of them with his knife and quickly used his free hand to send a firebolt at another one. Welf made a horizontal slash killing 4 bunnies with a single slash. 10 bunnies started running around the two adventurers while a group of wolves go around them, trying to reach Y/N.

Bell:"Y/N!"

Y/N:"I got it!"

The mage quickly gathered frost magic and send it to his feet. He grabbed Liliruca's arm and yanked her towards himself, making sure she doesn't get caught in the mid of his spell. The mage stomped the ground, sending a nova of ice around himself. The wolves got trapped by the ice, their legs frozen.

Y/N:"Lili, use your crossbows!"

Liliruca:"R-Right."

Y/N released her and she quickly used her crossbows to deal with the remaining wolves. The mage looked at Bell and Welf to see them dealing with the monsters with no problem. Until something unexpected happened.

Liliruca:"Hey, what's wrong over there?"

Lili pointed with her finger at a path leading upwards to yet another camp. Y/N could see a group of adventurers making their way down. One of them was carrying a wounded adventurer. Problem was, they had a group of monsters following them. The only male of the group looked at Y/N with shock yet he quickly looked at the ground, almost ashamed of what they are about to do. One of them shouted at their leader, not really proud of his decision yet they still decided to follow him.

Y/N:"Wait... they are coming our way! You can't be serious!"

Bell and Welf turned around to see the group of adventurers passing right next to Y/N and fleeing the scene. The monsters changed target, going after Y/N instead.

Welf:"Son of a- Y/N, I'll give you some time but you're gonna have to do that now!"

Welf charged at the pack of monsters protecting the mage.

Y/N:"If I use it..."

Welf:"You can't cheat death as a mage Y/N! You have to-" *Blocks an attack, grunts* "You have to, now!"

Y/N:"Crap... okay!"

Y/N took a deep breath and used his ultimate spell. Frost form. An aura of ice gathered around Y/N, changing his physical appearance and most importantly, giving him access to frost spells without having to cast them.

He started firing frostbolts everywhere, making all the monsters freeze in their tracks. Y/N saw an even bigger group of firewolves approaching them. He used his magic to make a frostbolts rain from the ceiling, exploding on the ground and dealing damage to said group.

Y/N:"Leave. Now."

Bell and Welf took the chance to book it towards the next exit. Liliruca went with them since there wasn't anything she could do.  Y/N slowly followed them, still shooting frostbolts at the non-stopping horde of monsters. Once he was near the exit he created a wall of ice to buy him some time.

Not able to maintain this form after using so much mana Y/N returned to his normal state and immediately fell to the ground. The mage grabbed two mana potions and drank them. He took another deep breath and stood up just to see the ice wall slowly being torned apart. He has to leave, now.

The mage started running until eventually he finally reagrouped with his party. He saw them in mid of the bridge they came from, looking at fire wolves waiting for them. It seems the other group of adventurers grabbed the attention of more monsters and some of them stood behind. 

Y/N:"What now?!"

Bell:"Brace for impact!"

The firewolves launched their projectiles directly at them and the bridge, making it break. The party fell towards the darkness, not knowing if they were going to survive this fall. Y/N quickly reached out for Bell who managed to use Shadow Strike to appear directly on top of him. The mage used some of his mana to cast another spell, Slow Fall, making Bell levitate. Sadly he wasn't able to save the rest. Y/N, Liliruca and Welf fell on the ground.

As soon as Bell hits the ground he scouted the place to look for his friends. Rocks were everywhere along with dust, making it hard to see anything. The young adventurer to see the fire wolves look at him and retreat, knowing they have no way of going down to finish their job. He looked around for monsters and saw none. They are safe for now.

Bell:"Y/N! WELF! LILI! WHERE ARE YOU!"

The coughs of a young woman were heard. Bell started running towards the source of the voice and saw Lili on the ground with her backpack broken. It cushioned the fall. Mostly. She had a couple of bruises here and there but was okay. Bell helped the girl stand up and checked for major injuries.

Bell:"Are you okay?! Have you seen the others?!"

Liliruca:"N-No... Y/N was trying to reach to us. That's all I saw. I'll help you look for them. They can't be... right?"

Bell:"Don't think like that! They will be okay!"

Liliruca:"Right. Let's go."

The two looked around the place for their partners. Liliruca heard someone grunting and saw Welf with a rock on top of his leg. He's trapped. The girl quickly rushed towards him and with the little strength than she had managed to lift the rock enough for the adventurer to free himself.

Liliruca:"Welf! Can you walk?!"

Welf:"Shit... I don't think so. I-I can barely feel it."

Liliruca:"I had healing potions on my bag! Wait here, I'll bring something!"

Welf:"Okay... what about Bell and Y/N?"

Liliruca:"Bell is okay. We're looking for Y/N."

Welf:"Okay, okay."

Bell yelled Y/N's name. He was getting desesperated. Bell started to think the worst until he saw a body on the ground, next to a lot of rocks. Y/N was there laying on his face. The white haired male quickly made his way towards the fallen adventurer, slowly turning Y/N around. He wasn't conscious. Bell placed his head on the male's torso to try and see if he was breathing. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when indeed, Y/N was still breathing.

Bell:"LILI! OVER HERE! I NEED A POTION!"

Once Lili gave a healing potion to Welf she sprinted towards Bell. Seeing Y/N on the ground, bloodied with his head on Bell's lap made her skip a beat. The girl quickly gave Bell another healing potion.

Liliruca:"W-We only have one left. The rest broke when we fell..."

Bell:"It's okay. Don't worry. I'm getting us out of here."

Bell removed the plug out of the potion and slowly made Y/N drink it. He made sure to pour the contents of the potion slowly to not suffocate the mage. Slowly, Y/N started opening his eyes and saw Bell a little teary eyed.

Y/N:"Hey there..."

Bell:"You idiot. Why didn't you cast that spell for yourself?!"

Y/N:"Perhaps I should've. Don't know. I thought of what may happen to you- to the rest and..."

Bell hugged Y/N, happy to see him okay. The mage hugged Bell with one arm and ruffled Lili's hair with his free hand.

Bell:"Can you move?"

Y/N:"Everything hurts... but I'll manage."

Bell carefully let Y/N on the floor so he could stand up. It pained him to do so but Y/N managed to get on his feet. While Lili treats Y/N's wounds, putting bandages around, Bell went to rescue Welf. With an arm around his shoulder Bell managed to help Welf stand up.

Welf:"This ain't good. We fell how many Floors? 2? We should be near..."

Y/N:"Near Atlas, yes."

Bell:"We can't barely fight normal monsters like this, there's no chance we can defeat Goliath!"

Liliruca:"But we can't make our way up either. We are exhausted, wounded are lost. We can't win a war of attrition."

Welf:"Then what's the plan?"

Liliruca:"I'm sure Goliath has been slained by now by another familia. Floor 18 is a safeheaven. If we reach Goliath'schamber we can quickly jump into the hole and reach a place we can rest. That's our only hope."

Y/N:"I heard from Aiz her familia would make their way up Babel once they've finished their job. You saw how good they were Bell, perhaps we can cross paths with them and get aid."

Bell:"Sounds good. I'll lead the way, Y/N get Welf."

Y/N:"Okay."

Welf:"You should leave me behind. I'm deadweight. I'm only going to slow you guys down."

Bell:"No! We're all getting out of here."

Liliruca:"I can make a monster repellant with the materials in your backpack Y/N. I should be able to get us to the chamber without fights. Still, it's going to be a long walk."

Y/N:"We will manage. Do it Lili. We're counting on you."

Lili nodded and grabbed what she needed from Y/N's backpack. The male had to bent down a little to let his friend reach the bag. Once they are ready, Bell and Y/N changed places now Y/N being the one helping Welf move. Bell was the only member without injuries so he had to be the one fighting.

Walking around Floor 17 was a pain. It was very, very dark and there were even more falls. This time the group knew falling was not an option. If they fall in Floor 17 they won't reach Floor 18. The only way to said Floor is through Goliath. Falling is an immediate Game Over. It definetely does not help that the monsters although were not going to attack the group were following them, waiting for that nasty smell to go away.

After what felt like hours they found the entrance to the chamber. Bell got happy until he heard someone falling to the ground behind him. He turned around to see Y/N laying on all fours, exhausted. Welf passed out. The mage has been carrying all of Welf's weight in silence all this time even while still wounded. Bell quickly carried Welf in a fireman's carry and prompted Y/N to get up. After all they were almost there. The mage nodded and used his remaining strength to stand up and follow Bell.

Bell open the entrance to the boss room and made his way in along with the rest. The party couldn't help but glare at the enormous crystal wall on the right.

Liliruca:*Whispering* "That's Goliath respawn. Go! Now!"

They all started running towards the hole on the other side of the room. Until suddenly, a hand pierced through the crystal wall. An enormous and rocky hand followed by a head. Goliath was respawning.

Liliruca:"RUN!"

She didn't had to say it twice. The group started running as fast as they possibly could. Goliath spotted the party making their way to the hole towards Floor 18 and immediately enraged, piercing through the crystal wall and sprinting towards them. The sound of enormous footsteps behind them made Y/N's hear beat insanely fast. Adrenaline kicked in for all of them and luckily they managed to jump into the hole avoiding getting grabbed and killed by the giant monster.

The fall was like a slide, making all of them scream a little. Specially due to what they just managed to avoid. In the end they could see light.

Bell:"There's the light! Where are almost-"

Suddenly the slide finished and once again they find themselves falling towards the ground. Bell looked behind to see Y/N and Liliruca knocked out due to the exhaustion. The party fell to the ground. Yet Bell was surprised to see it wasn't rock but grass. Trees were around the place and better yet, it seems it's... daytime inside Floor 18? However there's no sign of the sun.

Slowly, he started to close his eyes. Bell was also dead tired and couldn't find the strength to stand up. He managed to turn and looked towards a hill. A female with long gold hair was running towards them. Bell couldn't see who it was but she seems to be in distress about something. Bell could only muster a couple of words:

Please... help us.