I put on a smile as Rylan continues to hold his arm around my shoulder tightly. We walk over to the nearest wooden table being offered to us by the old cheerful Innkeeper.

"Sit down boys, it's hot off the stove!"

Rylan releases me from his grip and takes a seat, I start to sit down as well and the old man continues talking.

"I know you wanted some time to rest, but I thought you could use a good meal right about now, was I wrong?"

I chuckle and take my seat, hearing my stomach gurgle at the sight of steaming hot food and cold drinks in front of me.

"No, you weren't wrong at all. I appreciate it, Conway."

With a slight bow, the kind innkeeper turns and waves as he walks into the back room behind his check-in counter.

"Welcome back Jay, enjoy."

I let out a sigh with my eyes locked on the meal in front of me, then dig in.

I pay no mind to any of the hunters eating their meals and trading goods on the tables nearby. Even Rylan's presence begins to leave my conscious thoughts as I become fixated on the meal before me.

Every bite rejuvenates me more and more. I'm fully invested, body and mind.

Over 10 minutes pass before the redhead's voice finally hits my ear.

"Hey Jay, want to hear something wild?"

I look up, beginning to feel much more satisfied. I shake myself out of the small trance and sit back while replying.

"Sure...What's up?"

Rylan crosses his arms, looking a bit annoyed.

"Remember those nobles we ran into the other day before you went off o your own? Apparently, they made it up to the 19th floor, just like you. They took out a ton of the base-level monsters. Can ya believe that?"

I raise an eyebrow, then rely in a low tone.

"Hmph. Really?"

He nods, placing both hands back on the wooden table.

"Yeah, they even passed through to our resting camp with a collection of really rare swords. They must have really killed a lot of them!"

I slowly nod, thinking to myself.

Those nobles didn't seem that strong to me. Their levels were nowhere near high enough and I've even fought their leader back when I had no mana control training at all... and I was a near-even match for him.

Something isn't adding up, but it's not my biggest concern at the moment. He's probably just collecting gear for his family to sell or something, it's none of my business.

Although my 10 minutes of bliss while eating were nice, now the real problem at hand has to be figured out.

The fact that the 20th Floor Boss supposedly has a 7-day cooldown timer is rather troubling. I won't take Rylan's word for fact, but it's more than enough for me to worry about the possibility of it being true.

I clench my jaw, then speak up.

"Hey, do you know when Fisher is getting back? I- I wanted to see if I could face the 20th Floor boss..."

I create a small item storage portal beneath the table and pull out the small white transport crystal the blue-haired Elite gave me before he left, then put it up in front of Ryan's eyes.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Or ya know, I could face it myself if he takes too long. I still haven't used my emergency exit."

I smirk and put the crystal down, but don't get the response I expected. Rylan pauses for a moment, the replies in a softer tone.

"There's... been no word from Fisher or any of the others in his Elite squad that left a few days back. They should have returned by now..."

I nod slowly, catching onto his serious tone. The redhead continues.

"I assume they'll still want your new squad in training to go out and help defend the northern border. It's just...

I'm not sure what's taking so long... If they can't finish the job, I don't know how much your squad will help-"

I cut him off.

"Got it. Understood."

I take a deep breath, faking a look of concern.

Rylan looks upset. Fisher was his student, he's probably very worried about his extended absence.

It seems there's some trouble brewing for the Association. First, an urgent mission, and now a full Elite squad is missing...

Sounds fishy, but this all works out perfectly for me. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect turn of events.

I stand up, looking down on the redhead, and speak in a volume just above necessary to get the attention of hunters at the tables surrounding us with my next line.

"Rylan. I'm going to face the 20th Floor Boss. I may not win, but at least I'll know the difficulties ahead. I'll make sure to say hi to Fisher when I see him in the dark continent soon. I'm sure he's fine."

The redhead shows me a thin smile and perks up a bit.

Letting out a sigh, I sit back down and Rylan relaxes as well.

We finish up our meal, share small talk about the association, and I throw the white transfer crystal back into my storage after repeatedly assuring Rylan that I'll use it if I get into any trouble while on the higher floors.

In reality, I plan to use it no matter what.

If that boss room is actually closed off, using the crystal to transport away will be the perfect excuse. I can just say I ran from the fight and that's why the room is closed for any future hunters that try to enter.

It's simple, but I don't see how it won't work.

My soreness and MP withdrawal effects are much less noticeable by the end of our feast. I can fight at 40-50% now if I needed to. It's great progress, but it feels like it'll take a while to regain my full capabilities. This won't be a quick recovery, time will tell.

I let out a satisfied sigh and turn to Rylan.

"Well, now is as good a time as ever for me to get going. Don't ya think?"

With a smirk, I stand up from my chair at the table and put out my hand for the redhead to shake it.

He replies, standing up and shaking my outreached hand.

"Y-You're leaving already?"

I give him a firm nod.

"Might as well. I'm fully rested and have a full stomach, there's no better time to start my journey."

I turn around to see the old Innkeeper come out from his backroom right on cue. I take the small metal key out of my pocket as we make eye contact and throw it at him from a few meters away.

"Appreciate you, old man. I'll be out for a while."

Conway catches the key and gives me a firm nod.

I turn back to Rylan.

He gulps.

"I'm starting to understand why they picked you to become an Elite... You never take a break do you?"

I chuckle, turning to the door.

"I guess not."

The redheaded hunter waves.

"Hey Jay, good luck."

I nod, replying while walking through the tables full of low-level C-Class hunters.

"Thanks for showing me around Rylan. If I'm not back soon, I'm sure we'll still meet again."

The poorly crafted wooden door swings open and I walk out into the open air of the dungeon.

Making a quick right turn, I make my way around the back side of the Inn and begin trekking deep into the 10th floor.

Once out of sight, I Dungeon Walk upwards.

I prepare myself for the sharp pain and exhaustion that follows, but my real reaction isn't as bad as my mental image.

I feel a slight headache for a fraction of a second, and my breathing gets a bit healthier the moment I blip back into reality, but it fades away quickly.

I've healed enough to Dungeon Walk without much trouble, this is good.

Although I'd love to check out the 20th and confirm my suspicions as soon as possible, I still have a mana-collecting quota to fill. I need over 20k MP worth of crystals before I think about going back to the Association.

I teleport up to the High Ogre Dungeon.

These will be low 300 leveled monsters. Easy for me to kill, but strong enough to drop decent loot. It shouldn't take more than a few hours to farm what I need, even in my current state.

I take a deep breath and get to work.

Pulling out my sword and activating my enemy detection skill, I find my first target and teleport over to it.

It's a High Orge, nothing too special. Nearly 4 meters tall, wearing a full suit of lightweight armor, and wielding its own long silver sword.

I channel a few hundred MP into an attack and let it fly, slicing the Ogre in two without a hint of resistance.

It falls to the floor moments later, hardly even registering that an attacker appeared. I slowly walk over to its corpse and wait for the monster to dissolve.

A new window of blue text fills my vision...

I grin creeps across my face as I read what it says.

[Use Advanced Mana Manipulation]

Advanced Perk: [Temporary Minion]

Enter Desired Level: 0-422

[YES][NO]