Captured by the monster, Frieda felt as though she had spent several years sleeping. The faulsbaum had been draining her vitality, leaving her weaker than a toddler with a depleted geist and strength. Dark circles had formed under her round eyes, her blond hair was losing its color, and her skin had grown extremely pale. Frieda struggled to open her eyes, and as she managed to lift her lids halfway, she glimpsed the silhouette of a young man holding a katana. His black hair was streaked with white, and his blue eyes appeared as if it''s frost.


    I thought the Reaper of Death wielded a scythe? Anyhow, to think death could look this good... I have mixed feelings about passing on.


    With her dry lips and parched throat, it took great effort to summon the strength to speak. However, before she could utter a word, the young man—Eis—interrupted, "Drink this potion; it will help restore your strength.”


    To think that stupid bulk purchase would help, I might just become an overly cautious hero...


    "I can''t express how grateful I am, thank you very much." Enduring the stab wound, Friedrich made sure to properly thank the stranger who saved his sister before passing out.


    He passed out before I could even reply.


    "Heidi carry Friedrich, I''ll carry Frieda. The name''s Bernadette, you really saved us." Bernadette extended her hand as she introduce herself to shake Eis''s


    "No worries, I did that expecting a reward."


    "Spoken like a true adventurer, huh. I like that." Bernadette and Eis exchanged smirks.


    Leaving the frozen portion of the floor, Eis and the rest headed back to the 60th floor.


    .


    .


    After arriving, Eis split from the group, heading to the different inn he is staying after deciding to rest the entire day.


    A day has passed since Eis and the others made it back to the 60th, Frieda made a swift recovery thanks to Eis''s potions, and thanks to their party''s healer, Will, Friedrich recovered in no time. Waking up early in the morning, the group sat at a table of seven, waiting for Eis. Opening the door, the rest inside got their glance caught.


    "Oh kid! How are you? Did those potions do well?" A random stranger who seemed unrelated to Eis greeted him with a wide smile.


    "Ah... They were put into good use." Eis replied with an embarrassed grin.


    "You''re finally here. Well then, let us introduce ourselves officially. I''m Bernadette, class is champion."


    "I''m Heidi, my class is champion, specifically, I''m fast."


    "My name is Will, I''m this party''s healer. My class is regulator."


    "Ruhig, my class is elementalist. Thanks for helping us."


    Frieda stood and bowed before introducing herself. "I''m Frieda! My class is Conjurer. Um... I heard Sir Eis was the one who saved me. Thank you very much!"


    “Oh, your skin and hair have regained their vibrant look. It seems the potion worked wonders—you look great.”


    Frieda blushed and quickly sat down upon hearing Eis’ compliment.


    Friedrich stood up before bowing to Eis. "I''m Friedrich, Frieda''s older brother. I owe you a debt, thanks for saving my sister."


    "You don''t have to lower your head, besides, I did it with a reward in mind. Anyways, my name''s Eis Drache, nice to meet you all."


    After introducing, the seven indulged in their well deserved breakfast.


    "So, let''s get into business. What do you want?" Friedrich inquired.


    "It''s simple, just escort me back to the 10th floor."


    "We''ve decided to head back to the 30th anyways so that''s no problem, but why?"


    "Do you need extra baggage carriers?"


    "It''s not that... The thing is, my geist has been unstable for a week now. It fluctuates from high to low. Fortunately during that time, my geist was at its highest so I was able to help all of you."


    "An easy task, if you don''t mind, we''ll even help you with your geist control on the way." Friedrich stood up pressing his curved fist on his chest with a smile.


    "I''d appreciate it."


    The group made their way to head back to the 10th floor. Outside several strangers would greet Eis in a playful, teasing manner.


    "You good kid?" Asked by one of the passerby with a grin.


    "Yeah, barely hanging on."


    Walking with a grin and embarrassment plastered across his face, Eis was stopped by a man presumably in his mid thirties.


    "Oh! Eis, perfect timing, I just stocked up, ya'' gon'' buy more?"


    "Ah, I still have a lot from the previous purchase. Besides, I found people who would escort me so I''m heading back now."


    "I see, good for ya. Buy lots again from me when you come back!"


    "Thanks for your help these past week! I''ll visit you first when I come back, old man!"Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    "You''re quite popular aren''t you." Friedrich leaned to Eis.


    "Ah, when I first arrived here, I immediately passed out at the entrance of the town. Mr. Arondight helped me out a lot, even going his way to search for people who would escort me back."


    "Must''ve been tough, huh? Almost all adventurers wish to go out into the outside world, so escorting someone back to the 10th is a chore."


    "Have you guys ventured outside world?"


    "Nah, but that''s our goal."


    "Are you sure? It''s gonna be a pain to go back up again."


    "We can''t exactly do my sister''s benefactor like that can we?"


    "By the way, what''s up with that potion thing, mr. Arondight mentioned earlier?"


    "Ah, you know how I can''t control my geistkraft, right? I''ve been purchasing recovery potions in bulk, because the first time I went out by myself, I almost died due to my fluctuating geistkraft."


    .


    .


    On the 59th floor, the group stood in shock at the changes. The floor, which should have been a frozen landscape, had turned into a blazing hot terrain. Golems that once looked lifeless now had their bodies covered in fire and were brimming with energy.


    "What the hell is going on here?!"


    "It''s so damn hot!"


    I knew there was something strange about how the surrounding snow had a geist that resonated with me. It seems this sword really was the one that froze the entire 59th floor.


    "Stay close to me." Eis circulated his geist throughout his body. Draconic claws began to form in his right arm, making the vicinity around Eis cold.


    "It''s so cool, you''re a lifesaver. Still, I didn''t know a floor could change this drastically."


    After venturing the vast lands of the 59th floor, the group decided to rest at a nearby cave.


    "I never knew how powerful the monsters actually are on this floor." Uttered by the tired Friedrich


    "This floor was known to be the hardest floor to navigate due to the blizzard, yet it changed all of a sudden. Here I thought the dungeon couldn''t get any more surprising." Ruhig replied.


    "Do you know a lot about the dungeon sir Ruhig?" Eis inquired.


    "Ruhig is enough."


    Before Ruhig could even answer Eis'' question, Friedrich interrupted, boasting as if he''s Ruhig.


    "He doesn''t just know a lot, he''s a damn expert. He''s practically our navigator, his fighting skills are like a bonus."


    "Can you not butt in?"


    "Why not? Stop being bashful and accept my compliments."


    While the two are having a back and forth, Eis''s geistkraft fluctuated again. His draconic claws began to crumble as heat envelope the cave.


    "So damn hot!"


    "Why did you suddenly turn off the air conditioner?"


    "This is why I was searching for escorts, my geistkraft would just fluctuate at the most random moment."


    "Will, do something about it." Succumbing to the heat, Friedrich orders Will to solve the problem.


    Covering the cave with his geist, Will expelled the heat outside the barrier.


    "It''s not as good as Eis''s but it should be bearable enough."


    "It''s so nice to have a regulator around."


    The rest chatted with each other whilst Eis sat near the entrance of the cave. Noticing this, Frieda went to approach him.


    "Are you ok? Aren''t you hot not being near Will?"


    "I''m good, how about you? You just recovered, you shouldn''t exert yourself too much."


    "Thanks for the concern. By the way, do you know something about the changes in this floor?"


    "What makes you think so?"


    "Your geist, it feels familiar with some cold geist residue around. Also, I heard that when you saved us, you froze a good portion of the 80th floor."


    "I''m not entirely sure, but I think it has something to do with this."


    Eis pulled out the katana, revealing its broken blade.


    "It''s broken..."


    "When I circulate my geist throughout my body, it forms into a blade made out of cold geist."


    "Huh?"


    "What''s confusing?"


    "Are you a conjurer or an elementalist?"


    "I... Don''t have a class, I''m a title holder."


    Eis frowned his brows as he avoided eye contact, thinking Frieda would change her attitude towards him.


    "That''s so cool! How did you get stronger despite not having a system?"


    Eis'' eyes widened in disbelief of Frieda''s response. His face flushed before murmuring "I trained a lot..."


    "How does that sword even work? Does it like, give you the properties of an elementalist and conjurer?"


    "There''s still a lot I don''t know. But so far, I think this katana amplifies my ability. My title turns my geist cold, giving me the power to freeze anything. The catch is, without a system, my progression is painfully slow. Only when I got this katana, which gave my geist reserve a massive boost, was I finally able to freeze something for the first time."


    "So your sword is like a system." Frieda murmurs to herself before enthusiastically turning to Eis. "So! Have you been training before you got your katana?"


    "By circulating my geist throughout my body. My master advised me on that one."


    "Who''s your master?"


    "You probably don''t know him, he''s a bit eccentric. His name is Letz Meister."


    "Really!? Introduce us next time"


    Wait, she recognizes him?


    "By the way, that clothes you''re wearing, are you a student?"


    "Huh? Oh yeah."


    She''s just going to brush off that she knows my teacher?


    "Did you graduate early?"


    "No."


    "Why are you here then?"


    .....


    Eis replied with silence to Frieda''s question, averting his eyes again from Frieda''s gaze.


    "It seems complicated. It''s fine, you can tell me if you feel like it. I didn''t go to Ehre Academy, so I graduated already, but I think I''m around the same age as you. At least, I think I can relate to you. Feel free to talk to me whenever you like!"


    Oh yeah, most academies tend to have shorter semester with the exception of Ehre Academy. She''s pretty mature for a peer.


    "I think you''re the most adult like I''ve met so far."


    "Huh? Is that a compliment or what?"


    Eis smiled, recounting what he had experienced so far—from his childhood to the moments that led him here, though the parts involving Azazel were left unspoken.


    "I just met you and I''m already dumping all this on you, I kinda feel bad."


    Now that I''ve said all of that, it feels so embarrassing. I shouldn''t have said that.


    "It''s fine, I''ve been told a lot that I''m a good listener. Besides, I''m the one that insisted."


    .....


    "Thanks...”