After a fair awkward lunch they finally were able to get back out into the field and back to training. Thank goodness, Hanta really couldn't take much more of it all. Between Hana's overbearing behavior and Lily's infuriating comments it was hard to enjoy his meal. The former seemed nice enough, and he wouldn't mind training with her some time if they were around again, if she agreed to keep quiet. As skilled as Lily was in combat her attitude made it awfully difficult to want to be anywhere near her. So when it came time to get back to the grind the little team split up, Hanta and Komada resuming their own training as before. Even for being just the first day he was rather pleased with how their chemistry in combat was working out. Switching was a fairly easy thing for them, and they hardly even had to say a single word to do it. While certain he could work with another player just as well there was something nice about this unspoken cohesion that he felt others would lack. If they kept this up he was confident they'd be more than capable of protecting themselves, and if need be others around them. Getting in a few more hours of training was definitely nice, and he sincerely enjoyed fighting at this point. No new skills were learned, but each of them got a level or two out of it, which was better than nothing. As the sun was now beginning to set they opted to call it a day, taking a reprieve beneath a tree before walking back to town.

Hanta watched as a few other players continued to train, noting how each of them battled. There were at least a dozen different weapons being used, each with their own unique set of skills and styles. Despite there only being a handful of abilities players still managed to make things look unique, and that included one-handed sword users. He was especially curious to see what his counterparts could do, trying to pick out any movements or tactics that would better his own swordplay. A silly endeavor maybe, considering everything was handled by the system. But the system wouldn't dodge for you, or help you with any tricks to fool the monster's algorithms, that was all player-side. Nothing fruitful was coming out of his watching, it was the same old tired moves that he himself used. In fact he was fair certain he was more advanced than the others, as there were quite a few things he saw that he'd do differently. Not to stroke his own ego, but Hanta certainly believed he was better than the average player already, and watching the other Clearers, in his own class at least, he felt more positive of that.

Curious as he was called for Hanta roused himself from his idle viewing, looking over to Komada curiously. Hearing her out for a moment he frowned at her words, looking away himself. She had a point, he knew she did, but really didn't want to accept it. While it was selfish to deny her the chance to fight on her own it certainly made him feel more at ease. Realistically he couldn't always be around to help, so it made sense for her to become self-dependent. But that meant stepping back from his self-assigned position as a protector, and that was easier said than done. Komada wouldn't have brought that up if she didn't feel strongly about it though, which meant it was a serious problem with her.

"If you need space you could have just said so," Hanta said, smiling apologetically. Lifting a hand up he rubbed at the back of his head, looking away again. "I don't mean to be overbearing... So, sorry if I am. I'll definitely back off when we train from now on, I promise."

-----

Now it was time to see whether or not those two weeks of training had paid off or not. After grinding through monsters and clearing the field boss, Clearers had finally gathered in Floor One's dungeon. No one was certain what to expect, and as such they moved as one solid team, gradually working their way through the labyrinth in search of the boss room. Inside the creatures were a tad stronger than those outside, but not overly so. It was easy enough for the forward most players to engage whatever they came across, and when they grew tired they would switch out for the next group. In all there were about three waves of Clearers in the dungeon at present, each wave consisting of nearly a dozen people each. Izumo was among the first wave, often leading the charge against the enemies when his team's turn came up. Hanta had to admit, as much as they might not get along he had to be impressed by the boy's bravery and strength. Definitely going to be a staple for Clearers, that one. Hanta himself was included in the second wave, and Komada in the third. He'd been initially adamant about getting her in the same team as him, wanting to keep an eye on her and stay by her side. After some gentle deference on her part and a bit of impatient banter from other players he ultimately relented. She was doing fair well on her own, so maybe he was getting up in arms over nothing after all.

Clearing the floor itself wasn't too difficult, and half of it had already been done the day before. The latter half didn't prove to be any more difficult, and if anything went by more quickly now that they were so organized. Hanta wasn't sure of how much time had passed initially since they entered, but it couldn't have been that long. Soon enough they were stood out against two massive iron doors, the boss room entrance. The sheer scale of them was breathtaking, they towered over the tiny players by comparison. Fairly ornate too, with some curious silver figures adorning the fronts of the doors, and a similar metal trimming the door itself. They seemed much too large for someone to realistically push open, so it was probably a good thing that they were in the game. Having been going non-stop since getting inside everyone had unanimously opted to take a breather. After all, it was the first boss battle of the game. They had a general idea of what to expect, they knew who they were facing and what it could do. A kobold, if memory served, with some basic skills and minions. The battle plan then was for the forward team to fight the boss as the two auxiliary teams dealt with the minions that would no doubt keep coming. The teams would rotate occasionally to keep the fighters as fresh as could be, and given enough time they should be able to win. 

"Well... This is it..." Hanta mumbled, sighing as he leaned up against the wall. Do or die, literally. It was the first step in what was undoubtedly going to be a long, tedious climb to the top of the castle, and he wasn't terribly thrilled at that prospect. Here and now though, this was their first real battle, and that was where he had to focus. Head in the game, or whatever it was that people said. He could lament about their inevitably upsetting existence after the fight.

"Pick yourself up... Have a little faith in yourself," Izumo said, admonishing Hanta with a gaze before looking away. "Honestly, you've got to be more confident. We're at the front of the fight right now, and we're fighting to make everyone's lives better. If you were going to act like this then you should have just stayed back. Seriously... Your girlfriend looks to be handling this better than you."

"She's not my girlfriend..." Hanta said testily, frowning as he glared back at Izumo. Seeing the other boy smile triumphantly at getting to him he looked away this time, folding his arms over his chest. "And I'm plenty confident in myself. I'm worried about everyone else, that's all. We've never had a boss fight before now, we don't know how everyone is going to perform. And just knowing about the boss doesn't guarantee we'll be victorious. I'm just being realistic here, that's all. I'm sure we'll win, what i don't know is what will happen before then."