In one of the deepest parts of the dungeon...
Particularly, the 60th floor.
A knight clad in armor... the same one who had led the attack on the Loki Familia's homebase... walked with a blood-soaked sack slung over one shoulder.
With every step he took, instead of hard stone, the sound of something wet and sticky being stepped on echoed beneath his feet.
'This place... disgusts me every time, no matter how many times I come here.'
The knight thought, his face concealed beneath his helmet.
When he finally reached his destination, he stopped and dropped the sack to the ground.
He drew his sword and cut it open, revealing the corpse of a woman whose name he didn't know and whose identity he had no interest in.
"The body you requested."
The knight spoke, his voice deep and cold, revealing not a single hint of emotion.
"Hehe..."
A childlike laugh echoed through the dark as plant-like tendrils slithered forward, coiled around the corpse and dragged it away into the shadows.
The knight turned around and waited.
After a while, footsteps approached from behind.
"Welcome back, Revis."
When the man turned around again, his gaze landed on the same woman who had been a corpse earlier.
But instead of lifeless eyes, there was now a certain fierceness in her gaze, something most would describe as striking and intense.
"I've been brought back again."
She murmured, staring at her own open palm before slowly closing it into a fist.
"That was your seventh and final fragment. The next time you die... it will be permanent."
Revis said nothing in reply.
She simply tilted her head upward toward the ceiling, closing her eyes as if lost in thought.
Whatever she was thinking, even the knight had no way of knowing.
...
The 29th through 32nd floors form a region known as the Jungle Ravine.
A vast, sprawling jungle... distinct from the Large Tree Labyrinth... stretches across this area, and it is here that powerful dinosaur-type monsters such as the Bloodsaurus begin to appear.
The monsters that spawn here are strong enough that Level 2 adventurers stand virtually no chance against them.
If the middle floors require at least a single Level 2 adventurer to have a decent chance at survival, then in the lower floors, ranging from the 25th to the 36th, one would need at least Level 3 adventurers.
The expedition was currently pushing through the tail end of the Jungle Ravine, searching for the stairway leading to the next floor down.
Somewhere near the edges of the 32nd floor...
The large formation of adventurers pressed onward as the expedition continued its descent.
Several days had passed since they set out.
Judas recalled that when he had come down here with just Ais and Riveria, they had already been on the 37th floor by this point.
But that had been a small group with nothing to manage but themselves.
With this many people, the pace was inevitably slower.
"Haap!"
"Raa!"
"Roar!"
The sounds of battle filled the air as Raul, Anakitty and the others clashed with a group of monsters up ahead.
Judas and the main force... the first-class adventurers... watched from the sidelines without moving.
They hadn't needed to lift a finger since the start, and for good reason.
Two reasons, to be exact.
The first was to give the lower-level members real combat experience and the chance to accumulate excelia and grow stronger.
The second was conservation. By staying out of engagements on the weaker floors, the main force preserved their stamina for when it would actually be needed.
"Everyone, hold formation!"
Raul's voice rang out as he wiped the sweat from his brow.
'They're doing well… and the others seem to be listening to him, despite his flaws.'
Judas thought, tapping his chin.
'Like a well-oiled machine... though that's probably because they've done this many times before.'
Despite his timid demeanor in everyday life, Raul had been personally selected by Finn as the familia's next leader.
Watching him here, it wasn't hard to see why.
"Muu... can we speed this up? I want to fight already."
Tiona complained with a drowsy expression, Urga resting lazily across her shoulders.
"Your turn will come soon enough, Tiona."
Finn said without taking his eyes off Raul and the others.
"That said, don't stray too far from formation. This is the dungeon... unexpected situations can arise at any moment."
He added, shifting his spear to his other shoulder.
"As for you, Judas... do as you see fit. Unlike the others, you have the flexibility to operate effectively in any given situation. Just don't engage until I give the word."
Finn said with a glance in his direction.
"Understood."
Judas nodded, arms folded.
His position within the formation was awkward, for lack of a better word.
He classified himself as a mage and by all rights should have been positioned alongside Riveria and the other magic users.
But he moved like a front-liner when he needed to, so close combat wasn't a problem either.
On top of that, he could fill a support role... providing healing and buffs across the entire expedition at a moment's notice.
In short, Finn had described him as a perfectly flexible all-range adventurer capable of slotting into any formation or party role without issue.
'And from what I've heard from the others who've seen him in action... as well as from my own observations... he has a knack for reading people and keeping them motivated when it counts.'
Finn thought, rubbing his chin.
Then the sound of a mass of monsters roaring reached them all at once.
Everyone turned their gaze toward the source.
A Bloodsaurus unlike the others stood at the front of a massive pack, its presence clearly different from those they had encountered before.
It was blocking the path forward, and it had brought a fairly large army with it.
"An irregular! Everyone fall back!"
Raul shouted, quickly making the call to retreat after assessing the threat.
A smart decision given what they were looking at.
Irregular monsters, while rare, were not unheard of.
After years of exploring the dungeon, the veterans had encountered more than enough of them.
So no one was surprised.
Finn glanced sideways at Tiona's barely contained excitement and shook his head.
"It seems you got your wish."
He said, gesturing forward with his spear.
That was all the signal anyone needed.
Several blurs shot past him as Tiona and Ais were already moving, tearing into the monster horde without hesitation.
From that point on, the expedition moved like a wrecking ball.
Every obstacle the dungeon placed in their path was met with overwhelming force and swept aside without slowing their advance.
Their advance only paused when they chose to rest, sleep or eat.
It wasn't long before they reached the 50th floor... the dungeon's second safe zone.
And that was where the real challenge began.
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