Li gave a nod of acknowledgement to Asala, and the serpentine woman flitted out her forked tongue, pleased that there were still many who acknowledged her scholarly knowledge. He stepped forwards to the Spiral Door, a swirling mass of twisted space spanning the width of the Midpath bridge.

The forest environment of the Gigant was still visible behind the Spiral Door, its towering, hundred meter trees completely devouring up any view of the sky, but Li knew that this was not necessarily an accurate depiction of what it looked like.

One had to travel past the Spiral Door to truly enter the Gigant, for as a proper dungeon, there was no flying over it or entering through the underground or whatnot. And the Spiral Door was like a dimensional doorway, meaning that it was only by passing through it that one could get a proper and accurate view of what was behind. 

For all Li knew, the forests that appeared visible from behind the Spiral Door were just an illusion, something that had been propped up almost a thousand years ago. It was entirely possible that maybe the entire forest had rotted away or maybe it was just the same.

It was up to Li to figure out. 

Li hovered a hand over the Spiral Door, and that was when he felt it: cold. 

Tia felt it too. She clung to Li's side, tugging at the sleeve of his brown Farmer's Guild jacket. 

"Papa…," began Tia.

"I know," said Li with a concerned furrowing of his brows. He addressed Asala. "Asala, do you happen to know more about the Gigant? How many layers it has as a dungeon? The type of monsters within it?"

Asala put her stylus to her red lips and wondered for a moment. "I hath only…second-hand recollections. But yes, I doth posses some idea. 

It is said that the Gigant is a land of the giants. The three races of giants that came with the Convergence – the treants, the Musphelites, and the Jotunn- deemed themselves too great to occupy the greater world. 

Thus, they made peace and life in the Gigant. A world within a world.

It is said that each people of the giants creates one layer. The forests with the treants, a land of fire for the Musphelites, and a snowy land for the Jotunn." 

"Demons, then," said Li. "Musphelites are fire giants, yes, but they are also demons." 

"Tis' so," said Asala.

The mention of demons sent a wave of chilling silence over the rest of the party, particularly with Mason and Mercer, but Old Thane and Zagan remained unfazed, though Zagan did noticeably stir in reaction. 

"Yet, it cannot be so that the Musphelites raise their great fists against us," said Asala. "In the First Darkening, tis' true that Asmodai, the king of the Musphelites, attempted conquest of the greater world as a herald of Wrath.

But when he was struck down, the very blow that reduced him to ashes creating the Shibboleth, the Musphelites accepted the rule of Skadi, the gentle queen of ice who treats life dear to her heart." 

Li began a telepathic communication with Zagan. 

'It is true,' said Zagan. 'Since the First Darkening, the Demonic See has never called upon the might of the Musphelites again. Nor was it ever possible. 

The Gigant Dungeon is impenetrable unless Skadi, the center of the dungeon, wishes for the intrusion, and she has made it quite clear that she reviles our kind.'

'I see. Then all of us are going into this situation blind. Then I will be taking extra precautions,' said Li. He ended his telepathic link with Zagan and turned to the rest of the party. 

"I have reason to believe that behind this Spiral Door, the Gigant may be more dangerous than I have thought. For that reason, I will be casting this spell," said Li. He put his palms towards everyone. His eyes flashed a bright green. 

"[Living Armor: Justicar Set]" chanted Li. 

A pulse of green energy willowed out from Li's palms and washed over the party members, temporarily turning their bodies alight with bright green. They gazed down at their glowing bodies with wonder.

"Ooh! I'm shiny!" said Tia as she waved her hands in front of her face. 

A second later, and the light died down, revealing wooden armor encasing every individual. The armor was fitted to their specific class and builds. 

For Mason, a warrior, the armor was heavier. A full set of knightly armor fashioned from sturdy yet flexible and light oak. An antlered helm encased his head, leaving his blue eyes poking out from a visor of leaves. 

For Mercer and Sheela whose primary classes were Assassins, they gained much lighter armor. Weaves of vines and leaves that mimicked lightweight chainmail. A few thinner plates of oaken armor protected vitals such as the chest and groin, but it was evident that flexibility and movement were prioritized in the armor's design. 

Hoods of black leaves covered their faces, and a cape of the same black-tinted leaves trailed behind them, granting them additional bonuses to stealth. 

Asala, as a Mage, gained a mantle created from a weave of glowing red leaves. This would not grant her much direct physical protection, but it would massively enhance any magical barrier she had around herself or casted. 

Old Thane and Vilga were warriors like Mason, but due to having bare handed specialty classes, they gained lighter armor. A nice medium between the Assassin armor and Mason's full body plating. 

Tia, however, surprised Li. She did not gain a suit of armor, but instead, it was like she had absorbed the spell.

The only thing that changed about Tia was that some of the scales visible on her human form gained an oaken, wooden texture, indicating her natural defenses had been imbued with the properties of living armor. 

"This is a spell called [Living Armor]," explained Li. "It is B ranked, so it will protect your lives well enough against any ordinary giant. You will know if an enemy or attack is too powerful for the armor to handle. However, the armor will grant you regenerative properties and repair itself so long as you stay within my vicinity or, to a lesser extent, the vicinity of a forest.

This will ensure your lives. Now, to arm all of you:"

Li put his hands together, and a surge of magical energy crackled between his pressed palms. He casted multiple instances of his newly crafted spell: [Hollow Branch Arms]. When he was done, multiple weapons, all different from each other according to specifications that Li thought suited their owners best, floated in the air before hovering into the open hands of their users.

Mason received a wooden longsword. Mercer received twin daggers of wood. Old Thane and Vilga both obtained wooden knuckles. Sheela gained a single, curved dagger. Asala obtained a staff of wood. 

Again, the spell interacted differently with Tia. Li was going to shape a blade for her as well, but when the unformed magical energy recognized it was to be meant for her, it changed instead seemingly of its own accord into a small, round shield strapped to her wrist by vines. 

Li could tell that compared to the awe of the armor, everyone felt far less overwhelmed by the weapons for they were entirely plain, looking like shoddy wood carvings. 

"These are weapons called [Hollow Branches]. Cherish them with your lives. They are tied to you, and the more you wield them, the more they will grow with you. Their base rank is B, but their limits are far higher than that should you manage to push your strength to those levels," said Li. 

"B-rank?" stated Asala with wide eyes. "Behemium class spells are already in the realm of myth."

"And I have a feeling that now IS a time of myth. The world is in danger. Step up to it. Be the heroes and legends of the myths you read about," Li nodded to Asala. "Or write about."