Ylapu

“It’s probably not actually Ylapu”, Sylphid doused Sanakia’s enthusiasm.

“But it totally looks like Ylapu!”, the Sexy-Knight argued back. “What makes you so skeptical?”

“The sun.”

Oh.

Of course. It should be the middle of the night right now and yet wherever this place was, the sun was just about to set.

Well, that or rise, it was admittedly a bit hard to tell.

Regardless, this was the same case as with floor 40. Where the time inside the dungeon did not match the outside.

“This floor...”, Sylphid turned herself around, getting a good lock at everything. “...is most likely a replica of Ylapu.”

“But for a replica it sure is hooot!”, Lucky complained, brushing the sweat from her brow.

Yeah, Lucky was still running around in her cold weather gear from floor 40. Hardly fitting attire for what was a pleasantly warm summer evening.

“Well..”, Sylphid grinned widely. “You are the only one currently overdressed, Lucky.”

That was enough incentive for the Balance Breaker. She quickly discarded her clothes and showed of her cute bloomers and white camisole underneath without shame. Understandable. Even like this she is still the modest dressed from all of us.

“Muuuuuch better!”, Sylphid gave a thumbs up. “Now we are all appropriately clothed for this excursion!”

Nothing is appropriate about this.

“Sorry, Handsome”, Sylphid grinned. “Hope this won’t be too hard on you.”

She said while wiggling her butt at me.

As I was contemplating kicking Sylphid off the island we made our way to the only conspicuous landmark on it. Chiefly, the towering, majestic crystal structure situated in the middle of the island. To that end, we traversed a beautiful lush plain that stretched itself in the distance near endlessly.

Every so often we came across a small pond of clear water or a stone gazebo. Places clearly intended for rest and relaxation.

Compared to the barren waste that was Helman this truly looked like paradise.

“Man, no wonder, the mages decided to life up here”, Sylphid said while letting out a whistle. “I bet having sex in one of these stone thingies while watching the sunset would feel amazing.”

Can you think about anything else?

There was one thing that bothered me however. The complete absence of any living beings. We didn’t even see as much as a bird or insect. This was the same with the last two floors of course, but back there it was less jarring.

And yet, despite this complete absence, any structure was in pristine condition, as if it were just build yesterday. Even the grass beneath us was cut.

As we traveled further inland, we eventually reached a paved section. Stepping on to it, Sanakia yelped in surprise as the ground beneath her feet started moving. The Sexy-Knight countered this by running against it but the moment she did the road changed momentum and carried her in the opposite direction.

The flustered Sexy-Knight repeated this procedure a couple of times which ultimately resulted in her spinning in circles. After a while Lucky joined her, greatly enjoying the ride.

“My Lady! Heeeeelp!”

Just step off the pavement!

“Oh, they have these things in Zeth. It’s a magic highway, pretty useful.”, Sylphid explained, casually stepping on the road and getting whisked away. “Just look in the direction in which you want to go and weeeeeee!”

The last thing I wanted was getting broken up again, so I followed suit, grabbing the hopeless Sexy-Knight in the process. Sure enough, some sort of magic seemed to carry our body forward at a swift pace. It took a bit getting used to but after that it made for a surprisingly pleasant way of travel.

After a brief trip, the moving road came to a close in front of a massive, imposing gate, which impeded our further path forward.

The thing appeared equally gargantuan as impenetrable and aside from this gate the main structure seemed to be completely walled off.

“Do we look for another way in?”, I asked.

“I see no reason for that”, an eager Sanakia cracked her knuckles. “My Lady, allow me to crush this insolent door!”

“Nah, it says here the sexiest girl of the party needs to perform a striptease, Handsome, you’re up.”

THERE’S NOT EVEN ANY TEXT!

“I shall apply **** then.”

Sanakia nodded determined and positioned herself in front of the gate.

“WALL BREAKER SKILL! TOOOO!”

And punched the gate with all her strength.

Ding.

...

“My Lady, the floating city of Ylapu was created by the Holy magic sect. It is most unlikely they will allow any non mages entry.”

Sanakia explained, cradling her bruised fist while desperately holding back her tears.

“Yeah”, Sylphid agreed, giving the smooth surface of the gate a pat. “It’s said the Holy Magic Sect was capable of creating a metal even stronger then Hirara Ore. Valk might be able to break through but barring her...**** is not the answer.”

“Eh? So we can’t complete the quest, because we have the wrong party members? That just bad dungeon design”, Lucky pouted.

“Well, not exactly”, Sylphid continued. “Sana’s right on the money. All we need is someone with magic, and we should be allowed in.”

Right.

But last time I checked none of us are mages either.

…

Unfortunately, Sylphid gave me a mischievous grin. “Handsome…”

I sighed internally. “I’m not doing a striptease.”

“You have magic.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, let me guess. Uhh..Handsome you are sooo hot! You’re pretty much on fire magic!”

Sylphid guffawed. “Come on, Handsome. You need to be serious here.”

“I concur!”, Sanakia nodded. “My Lady, this is no time for your corny jokes!”

WELL, EXCUSE ME!

“The tracking spell”, Sylphid elaborated. “Since you are a lucky loser you have a tracking spell cast on you, right?”

Oh, true.

“But that’s not my own magic”, I argued. “There’s no way that will work.”

Sylphid shrugged. “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. No harm in trying, right? Just stand in front of the gate.”

…

I did while the rest of the girls moved out of the way.

Nothing happened.

Well, not that I was expecting it. That was a pretty long shot.

“Hmm...Maybe it can’t detect the spell because there is too much stuff in the way? Try stripping.”

I TOLD YOU I’M NOT DOING THAT!

“My Lady! Please! The fate of the continent depends on you barring your nude body!”

Ugghh…

Having my brain invaded with the suggestion that standing naked in front of a huge gate was a brilliant idea, I did just that, stripping slowly out of my Kyan-Kyan suit until I was completely nude.

Sylphid whistled. “Nice.”

“S-shut it…”, I blushed while covering myself up.

“Don’t think that’s cutting it, Handsome. Stand straight, hands to your side”, Sylphid suggested while holding my clothes.

Ugh...

These guys have seen me naked plenty of times and yet this new body somehow made it much worse.

There I stood.

Naked.

Nothing happened.

“Maybe you need to say something?”, Sanakia suggested.

“Uh...please open?”

Nada.

“Not like this, my Lady! Repeat after me…”

…

..

.

“I...I AM THE GREAT NOBLE LADY MARI BETA! I-IN THE NAME OF THE GODDESS I C-COMMAND YOU TO...TO OPEN THE GATES!”

I said while posing naked.

Nope.

“A fine attempt my Lady! Now do it without the stuttering.”

“Maybe it would help if you made a peace sign and smile?”

“Yeah and shake your butt at the door!”

“I will not shake my ass at the door”, I growled.

This was pointless.

Before these perverts could convince me to put on an even more degrading show, I attempted to get my clothes back only to found myself suddenly bouncing against an invisible wall.

Eh? A barrier?

“SCANNING PROCEDURE IN PROGRESS. DO NOT DEPART FROM PLATFORM”

“Eh?”

“Oh, that sounds promising, Handsome! Just keep staying still like this!”

“SCANNING PROCESS COMPLETE. RESULT: SAVAGE, FEMALE”

EXCUSE ME?

“Shh, my Lady! It is working! Do not move!”

Not that I could move. I quickly found out that was I trapped in all four directions by some sort of magic barrier cage.

“Uh guys...I don’t think this...”

“TRANSIT SAVAGE TO PROCESSING AREA”

Then, directly under my feet, a small circular hole opened.

Eh?

And I fell down into a black abyss.