"133: Mana Restoration, Adventurer’s Challenge"

Ais only knew that the Philosopher's Stone was an extremely precious item, capable of transmuting metals and granting immortality. She was entirely unaware of its many other applications—or that it could even assist with growth and strength enhancement. So after her initial shock, she quickly calmed herself and followed Su Mo as they ventured into the next floor—the fifty-eighth—ready to resume monster hunting.

Although she had rested for dozens of minutes, her magic reserves hadn't fully recovered. Fortunately, Su Mo had his own unique mana restoration method. Not that kind of suspicious "mana restoration," of course—it was entirely proper. After consuming merely a sliver of the Philosopher's Stone, not even as thick as a strand of hair, Ais was instantly back to full health and mana.

She was immensely grateful to Su Mo. As his assistant, who helped him acquire countless Philosopher's Stones, she required only an insignificant fraction of one to fully recover and continue assisting him. She didn't even need any compensation—and was still endlessly thankful. Such efficient labor would make any capitalist green with envy.

Upon entering the next level, they encountered many flying monsters. But to the current Ais, who could now expertly control her wind wings, these posed no real threat.

Before long, Ais had already lured in the next wave of monsters, flying swiftly back toward Su Mo and leaving behind another field littered with magic stones. After repeating this cycle several times, they had finally cleared out nearly all the monsters inhabiting this layer. The magic stones in front of Su Mo had once again piled up into a small mountain, slightly larger than the one from the previous floor.

As Ais led the final wave of monsters over, Su Mo was just about to deal with them as effortlessly as before when Ais suddenly spoke, hesitating slightly. "Su Mo-Sensei, may I handle this one myself?" she asked, looking at him with a gaze full of determination.

Su Mo was slightly surprised. "You want to take on this entire monster wave alone?" Nearly a hundred Level 5 monsters had gathered together. The difficulty of handling such a horde wasn't any less than defeating a Level 6 floor boss—in fact, in some ways, it was even more challenging. Even with her mastery of Wind Wings, it would still be an incredibly difficult task to face this many monsters alone.

Of course, precisely because it was so difficult, overcoming it would become a significant achievement. If she could pull this off, the merits she'd earn might even surpass those of slaying a Level 6 floor boss.

Seeing her resolute expression as she nodded firmly, Su Mo asked again for confirmation. "You want to try it?"

"I want to try!" she replied with conviction. She felt that she was no longer the same person she once was. Perhaps the old her couldn't have managed it, but after all this training, she now had the confidence to take on this challenge.

Su Mo, naturally, saw no reason to refuse. "Then go ahead and try!" After all, this was the final monster wave, and once it was cleared, they'd be finished for today. If Ais was willing to handle it, he was more than happy to let her.

"Thank you, Sensei!" she said joyfully. Drawing her rapier, she prepared to charge into the fray. At that moment, Su Mo offered her one final piece of advice from behind. "Wind magic is better suited for evasion than defence. The key to dodging is sensing the flow of the wind. Just remember that."

With that said, Su Mo fell silent, leaving Ais to digest his words. She took them to heart, charging forward. Her wings no longer appeared crude and unrefined like when she had first begun using Wind Wings. Instead, they had taken on the graceful shape Su Mo had once demonstrated, fluttering like a delicate spirit.

The blonde sword maiden dove directly into the swarm of monsters. Slipping past several attacks with agile sidesteps, she drove her rapier cleanly through a monster's skull, instantly felling a Level 5 beast. Before she could be surrounded, her Wind Wings flared, propelling her out of the encirclement in a flash.

Using this hit-and-run tactic, Ais swiftly dispatched five or six monsters. But as she continued, the pressure gradually mounted. Level 5 monsters weren't as fragile as common beasts; unless she struck vital points, it was difficult to deal lethal blows. Many of these monsters also possessed various long-range abilities—wind blades, ice shards, venom sprays, and sticky webs—all of which required careful evasion. One misstep could easily place her in a dangerous situation.

Fighting an entire horde alone was like dancing on a high-voltage wire, where even the smallest error could prove fatal. Attacks came at her from every direction—even from the walls. In such a high-pressure environment, evasion became all the more crucial. This was no video game bullet hell with hitboxes and save points. Although the density of attacks didn't match a bullet hell game, it was still overwhelming by any normal standard.

Under this intense strain, Ais's focus sharpened. Su Mo's earlier words resurfaced in her mind—sense the flow of the wind. Calming her breathing, she chose to trust his teachings, attuning herself to the subtle air currents she usually ignored.

At that moment, a deadly ice shard flew toward her back. Her old instincts would've had her strengthen the wind around her to deflect it or turn to parry with her sword. But now, following Su Mo's advice, she sensed the faint disturbance as the shard sliced through the air.

Based on its trajectory, she adjusted her Wind Wings slightly, tilting her body. The airflow to her left shifted, pushing outward. With this dual adjustment, the ice shard missed her completely without her expending any unnecessary movement. In that same instant, her rapier flashed with blinding speed, piercing through two monsters in quick succession.

Compared to her earlier methods, this approach dramatically increased her combat efficiency. Realizing this, Ais's eyes lit up. She continued to dodge based on the wind's currents while focusing entirely on offense. Without the burden of blocking or absorbing attacks, her agility flourished even further, and her footwork became more fluid than ever.

In just ten minutes, she dispatched over twenty monsters. As she grew more accustomed to this technique, her ability to predict incoming attacks became second nature. Without even glancing around, she could sense the direction and speed of assaults purely through the shifts in airflow. Countless attacks narrowly missed her or were subtly deflected by the currents surrounding her, making it nearly impossible for the monsters to land a hit.

Twenty minutes later, Ais finally came to a stop, standing amidst a field of scattered magic stones. Her slender hand trembled slightly as she gripped her sword. "All of this… I did it by myself?" she murmured, staring in disbelief at the scene before her.

Though she had only intended to give it a try, she hadn't expected that she would actually be able to clear the entire monster wave with such clean precision.

Except for the very beginning, when she had to rely on Ariel to forcibly block a few attacks, Ais had managed to stay virtually unharmed for the remainder of the battle. Even after defeating the final monster, all she felt was exhaustion — not once did she sense any real danger. What had previously seemed like an almost impossible task had now been accomplished smoothly and with far less difficulty than she ever imagined. The whole experience left her with a surreal sense of disbelief.

When did I… become this strong? she asked herself inwardly, and as she did, her gaze naturally turned toward Su Mo. "It's after I met Su Mo-Sensei," she whispered to herself. In just a single day, she felt as if the growth she had achieved surpassed what she could've gained through an entire year of effort. Only now did Ais truly understand how much power a capable teacher could possess. She couldn't help but feel fortunate for the choices she had made.

Thankfully, she had discovered Su Mo. Thankfully, she had agreed to his request. Thankfully, Su Mo had given her this opportunity. Without him, she was certain she could never have progressed at such an astonishing pace.

"You did great." Su Mo, seeing how quickly she had grasped his teachings, didn't hold back on his praise. To be able to sense the flow of wind so quickly and dodge accordingly, even going as far as to manipulate airflow to divert enemy attacks instinctively — this level of talent truly lived up to her reputation as a genius.

Of course, when it came to the deeper comprehension of wind elements, Ais was still only at the entry level. But her learning speed was nothing short of extraordinary. If she continued under proper guidance, her potential growth could very well reach heights unimaginable to most. Surpassing Ottar, or even surpassing her own father one day, might not be an impossible dream.

"Thank you, Sensei!" Ais responded with a bright smile, much like a child receiving praise from her parents. Compared to her usual aloof and quiet demeanor, this might have been the first time her true emotions shone through so openly.