Sol’s group was in the large room at the deepest end of Floor 17 of Abyss, where the staircase down to Floor 18 was located. The farthest any adventurer had gotten in a dungeon was Floor 10, with the as yet unannounced Divers having reached Floor 14. Getting to Floor 17, especially in a named dungeon where even monsters on the first floor were of unbelievable strength, definitely put Sol’s group at the forefront of the dungeon diving effort.
“I did it!” cheered Rosalind as the giant that had occupied the room crumpled to the ground, having failed to land a single attack on her.
The giant had been the boss of this floor. Every level since Floor 10 had one in the final room, obstructing progress down to the next floor. According to Player, this particular boss had been level 80 and named Magma Giant.
Forget Sol and the girls, this monster was no challenge even for Rosalind, who possessed the levels, stats, and skills to match. However, it looked truly awe-inspiring with its massive frame and the magma-based attacks that inspired its name, which made the scene of Rosalind fighting it that much more dramatic. In fact, if it had been broadcast the same way the Country Eater fight had been, she would have gained a surge in fans.
“Well done,” said Sol, keeping it simple but heartfelt.
Rosalind laughed bashfully.
“I can scarce believe it,” said Blue Water. “Just how powerful have we become?”
The other members showered Rosalind with smiles and applause, creating a relaxed atmosphere that was out of place this deep inside a dungeon. Normally, a party that successfully defeated a floor boss would be so spent that it had no choice but to leave. However, getting back to the surface, depending on the number of floors to traverse and how low supplies were, could be incredibly dangerous in and of itself. Relaxing was only for after one made it out safe and well.
With Sol around, however, the decision of when to call off a diving trip was entirely based on the hour, with the group completing at least two whole floors each day. Most of that time was spent on the move and mapping, with all fights being over almost the moment they began. Furthermore, Aina’noa used her power to extend the World Tree’s roots so she could set up teleportation circles that allowed Sol’s party to return home and resume progress as easy as pie.
“Rosalind’s getting the hang of fighting bosses,” Sol noted.
When Rosalind fought, she did so as one with Type Rodem, which reverted from looking like a black panther to a formless blob that completely enveloped her. At first glance, someone might think she was being swallowed and digested by a giant slime, but that was the way her armament deployed. It basically moved however her mind willed it, with Blue Water acting as the control system connecting the two. There was no limit on how she could make it look and attack, thus the definition of “Rodem” being “formless beast.”
Furthermore, Type Rodem possessed the ability to reproduce the characteristics of those it took in and digested with near perfect fidelity, which gave it an extremely large repertoire of moves. In exchange for not having any big, flashy attack of its own that surpassed enemies it had previously defeated, it had an answer for anything that enemies threw at it. Moreover, it retained Country Eater’s high resistance to physical attacks and ability to fully absorb magic-infused energy attacks—taking no damage doing so—and launch them back. It could practically turn into any opponent’s natural enemy, making it nigh invincible against monsters.
The one problem was that when Rosalind was enveloped by Type Rodem, its translucent consistency left her fully visible in her foundation suit. Of course, since she was still only seven, there wasn’t anything that drew Sol’s eye, but there was no telling how that would change when she grew older.