Flame Stone, commonly called Explosive Stone, is as unstable as gunpowder but far more powerful.
A single Flame Stone can seriously injure even a Level 5 Adventurer if it detonates nearby.
While a Level 5 Adventurer wouldn't normally fall victim to such an ambush, once enough suicide soldiers start charging in with Flame Stones, things can quickly spiral out of control.
One-on-one, high-level Adventurers don't fear these things. The real problem is that the Evilus Familia members act as suicide troops. They'll clutch Flame Stones and rush right up to you, detonating themselves on impact. How is anyone supposed to handle that?
With Evilus Familia's followers wielding Flame Stones, they're practically walking bombs. Survival doesn't even cross their minds—they're charging in just to blow themselves up.
The mere thought of such a scene made cold sweat trickle down Bell's neck.
'I knew those guys were insane, but I didn't expect them to have all this prepared so early.'
He wasn't worried about the suicide squads themselves. What concerned him was that, if those maniacs actually set their plan in motion, they might end up blowing Orario to pieces.
And if Evilus had one base like this, it meant they definitely had others.
If the other bases were just as "impressive," then Evilus likely planned to bring the entire city down.
A look of indescribable fatigue crossed Bell's face as his mind drifted to thoughts of endless overtime and sleepless nights.
'Stop adding to my workload already.'
'My personal training time's been cut down a lot lately. Now I have to keep an eye on Evilus in the Dungeon and track their hidden bases in Orario. I'm really swamped here, okay?'
At times like this, Bell wished someone could share part of the burden—mainly the job of monitoring Evilus's movements underground.
But tracking down Evilus's hidden bases in Orario wasn't a task for just anyone. Better to handle it himself than risk getting exposed.
'The situation here's more or less confirmed, but I still need to check on a few other things.'
Taking a deep breath, Bell marked the coordinates of the basement. Without even deploying an "Eye," he moved to the alley beside the warehouse and the "Freelancer" tavern.
Night had deepened, and the tavern was busier than ever.
Around him, voices of adventurers filled the air—sharing stories of the day's battles in the Dungeon, laughing, and expressing relief at making it back alive.
They were at ease for once.
And right at that moment, a couple of figures slipped out the tavern's back door and entered the warehouse. It was the dwarf proprietor.
But the instant the tavern door closed behind him, the dwarf's face darkened, as if the shadows of the alley had swallowed it whole.
"How about it?"
The tavern's clamor drowned out every sound, including the dwarf shopkeeper's voice.
Two figures emerged from the back alley, both dressed like proper adventurers from Orario.
Soon, a small barrier shimmered into existence, enveloping the three of them.
"Shopkeeper, we haven't uncovered anything yet.
Freya-sama still hasn't made an appearance, and Loki-sama has already retreated behind the scenes. Both goddesses haven't left their familias for quite some time now."
The dwarf shopkeeper's expression remained calm and steady; he'd been hearing this same report day after day.
"Both goddesses are deliberately avoiding us. It seems they really have discovered our movements."
"It appears exactly as Goddess-sama predicted—we can't make a move against either of them."
The most effective way to dismantle a familia is to target its Familia God.
Once a Familia God is sent back to Tenkai, that familia is completely sealed off. Adventurers who once received divine blessings lose all their power in an instant. Even a Level 7 would be rendered helpless when their abilities are locked away.
Unfortunately, to execute such a plan, they needed the precise locations of those two goddesses. If the goddesses continued to hide in the shadows, the plan was simply impossible.
And this was an assassination attempt on deities—if the first strike failed, there would be no second chance. Acting without confirming their exact whereabouts would be nothing but suicide.
"How's the stockpile of Rune Stones coming along?"
The dwarf shopkeeper shifted to another topic—one that demanded his immediate attention.
"No problem. The funds from your accounts, Shopkeeper, along with the extra pulled from other ventures, are more than enough. We've already bought every Rune Stone available from Hephaestus's Divine Shop."
"The only issue is the daily supply isn't very large, so our current reserves still aren't enough for full-scale deployment."
The dwarf shopkeeper didn't seem displeased in the least.
"Attack-type Rune Stones are far stronger than Flame Stones in destructive power, yet their price is about the same. Being able to stockpile them works entirely in our favor. As for the supply issue, it hasn't changed much in the past half-year—it's probably a production limitation.
Given how unique Rune Stones are, it's natural they can't be mass-produced.
They can temporarily boost a user's stats, with no level restrictions at all. That's an incredible ability.
It's the same with support-type Rune Stones as it is with attack-types.
Even a single attack Rune Stone packs destructive force on par with a disposable Magic Sword—far beyond what any Flame Stone could produce.
With such properties, Rune Stones are practically strategic resources.
It's just that the quantity sold isn't high—otherwise, there would have been a buying frenzy long ago."
"Goddess-sama's orders are to keep stockpiling. She's also being cautious not to get caught off guard by Orario's Guild, so she can't stay active up there for long."
Just as those two goddesses in Orario must remain in hiding, their own deity also had to stay vigilant.
Once things reached the point of no return, gods were always the first to be targeted.
At this stage, both sides—Evilus and Orario—were treading carefully. No deity could afford to be careless now.
"Avoid all eyes.
The Guild has placed enormous bounties on us. If anyone suspects us, even those supposedly safe adventurers will turn into hidden landmines in pursuit of profit."
The dwarf shopkeeper understood this well, which was precisely why he stressed the warning.