159 3rd Floor

As they reached the door which was now opened, John strained himself to understand why none of the water would head to the next side, despite there being nothing to hold the water back. 

[Zestari, what sort of spell is this? It'd be quite useful to have at home, relaxing and feeling the rain...] 

[It's a type of barrier which prevents water from passing through, I don't recall the spell name] 

[I see...] 

The four passed through the barrier and dropped on to the platform before the staircase. They were all drenched with water 

So to help, John gathered up all the water in their clothes and before turning it into warm vapour. Doing so, John noticed that Master's Body suit hadn't been drenched, it was only her hair. 

"Thank you..." Said Serena as she put on her hat. 

She has a string around it and always keeps it on her back if she needs to take it off, or before going into a water field. John had also dried her hat because he knew she'd always put it right back on. 

[It's rare but getting to see serena's cute and pointy ears once in a while is worth it.] John thought as he constantly nodded 

"Thank you too" Said Ariel 

Her hair was getting longer and with wet hair, she somehow looked more feminine, John was finding it hard to understand. 

"You're welcome, also serena, your hair is still wet. You don't have to put your hat back on, since it's just us" 

Serena's ears suddenly twitched when she heard that, she then nervously stared at the hat before staring at john. 

"Besides, won't it be easier for you to see without it on? You can put it back on later." 

"Y-You're right, I've been using it too often... Okay, I've decided." Said Serena before lowering it back on to her back 

[The hat on her back... if you look closely... doesn't it look like... A turtle?] 

John did his best not to snort or laugh after thinking of this, Serena's self-esteem without her hat was low enough. 

[Think of something else...] John implored himself 

"Alright, we should probably get going, so Azure and his party can have their turn" Said John as he started heading down the stairs 

-------------------------------- 

"Hm... How long do you guys think it'll take?" Azure asked 

"It's been 2 minutes... give it another ten?" Ayda replied 

"You've been counting?" The purple haired girl asked 

"What else would I do, Jen? None of the other parties have arrived yet, well they're near" Ayda asked 

"Keep an eye out for the cloaked party... They've been pissing me off." Said the brown-haired boy 

"Haha, Rohan, don't worry, if they try anything... We'll just have to teach them a lesson" Said Azure with a smile 

"That look... You're planning something aren't you?" Asked Jen 

"Hm... Depends on how things go" 

*Creak* 

"Oi... Are you kidding me? It's been around 3 minutes and they're already done?" Ayda asked 

"Let's get going, we don't want to keep them waiting now, do we?" Azure asked 

The brown haired boy and Jen followed behind Azure without a single complaint 

"Am I the only normal person in this squad?" Ayda asked as she let out a sigh before following them. 

-------------------------------- 

As they went down the stairs, John noticed the grain of sand on the stairs 

[Great. Desert on the third floor.] 

The familiar dry air and warm sensation could be felt as they got closer to the bottom. 

"John, this is a desert floor, isn't it?" Serena asked 

"Right it is, and remember, if we see any buildings which might have a basement, avoid them." Said John 

"You don't have to tell us, I have no plans in repeating what happened last time" 

"Neither do I" Ariel added 

As they reached the bottom of the stair case, John noticed that the floor was covered in sand. He then slowly peered out of the doorway which was In front of him before looking around. 

The only thing he could see outside was sand and the sun. 

"Just to make sure..." 

John then peeked out of the door and checked to see if there was a giant stair case behind it, but there was surprisingly nothing. 

He stretched out his behind the door and couldn't feel a stair case either 

"Hm... So dungeons can manipulate the space inside of it." 

"John, how long are you going to take? Is there really a need to worry that much?" Serena asked 

"It's fine isn't it? He's just being wary, I didn't know he could do that..." 

"Ariel, could you please not say such things with such a straight face, It hurts and I might actually believe you..." 

"Eh? But I'm being honest?" 

"..." 

"Fufu..." 

[She just laughed didn't she...] 

"Then... Let's head out" 

John was the first to step on the sand, with each step, he could feel his feet sinking deeper and deeper in. He could feel sand enter his choose and the boiling hot heatwave on his skin. 

"... Glacio." 

John raised his leg out of the sand before freezing it to use as footing. He repeated this with his other leg, and now stood on the ice he had formed. 

The others followed behind and instantly mentioned it 

"John, that's not fair!" Said Serena 

Ariel on the other hand, created small mini tornados and her shoes and was basically floating on top of the sand. 

Master Sylvia seemed to have no problem walking on the sand. John quickly turned back to see if the doorway was still there and thankfully it was. 

"Serena, you can also use this move." 

"Won't it be a waste of magic power? We never know when we might fight the boss" 

"I'm not sure about boss... But I suggest you make some sort of footing." Said John 

"Eh?" 

Suddenly, the sand underneath them began to sink and twirl, exactly like a water vortex but on land. Following that, some sort of mouth with razor sharp teeth could be seen in the middle of the vortex.