Loki Familia was coming to experience the Dungeon adventure that had changed due to his skill.
Isagi was aware of this. The red-haired Goddess had sent him a letter in advance, and she was quite polite about it.
To this, Isagi actually didn't mind. He simply reminded Loki to be careful. At the same time, he provided a portion of his "Adventure Insights" to them—for a price, of course.
The price was simple: naturally, it was for the Elven big sister from before, Alicia, to teach her magic to Lefiya.
This was a very normal occurrence.
Intelligence on the Deep Floors of the Dungeon was inherently something of "value," and the Guild wouldn't provide it to exploration Familias completely free of charge either.
If you wanted it, you had to execute exploration commissions and some mandatory quests for the Guild. So, his "fee" wasn't expensive at all, right? It was even quite reasonable!
The "transaction" was thus concluded, and Isagi proposed a plan.
Since he would be going to the Dungeon to practice for a few hours every night recently, the members of the Loki Familia could take this opportunity to go and "try it out" first—
"I say, there was really no need for you to come along too, Old Man Gareth."
"Finn was too worried about you all, and..."
It was a late summer night.
At the Dungeon entrance in front of Babel, the fully armed Dwarven vanguard, looking like a moving fortress of steel, was conducting a final check on his armor and weapons.
It was currently approaching late night, and there were few adventurers entering or leaving Central Park.
However, the Ganesha Familia guards on duty greeted them with great respect upon seeing who had arrived.
The relationship between the two Familias was already quite good.
Moreover, as a Lv.6 adventurer—unlike those impersonal figures from the Freya Familia—he was one of the three veterans of the Loki Familia.
[Elgarm] Gareth Landrock.
He could be described as the most friendly and magnanimous senior in the city, frequently caring for and encouraging rookie adventurers, and was especially respected.
"Let's go."
For this trip to the special Dungeon—the [Goblin Kingdom]—the Loki Familia had dispatched a total of four members.
Aside from Gareth, there was the Lv.4 [Vanargand] Bete Loga;
Tiona's twin sister, an Amazoness warrior who also hailed from outside the city, the Lv.3 [Jormungand] Tione Hiryute;
And the Elven big sister who had participated in Isagi's squad adventure before, Alicia.
Unlike normal expeditions, or adventures to the lower or deep floors, they did not bring low-level Supporters, healers, or a long-range rear guard unit.
This was because before setting off, Alicia had repeatedly emphasized that in the Dungeon changed by Isagi's "skill," if one's "level" wasn't sufficient, they might die in an instant.
This was an adventure that only elite adventurers could participate in. Half-baked individuals or guys who needed others' cover to survive would easily become burdens.
"Adventure should be like this! No matter how many trash fish without strength you have, they'll only drag us down, heh."
Bete walked at the very front.
He felt that only the special Dungeon the Elf spoke of suited his appetite.
In response, Gareth simply spoke in a deep voice.
"Bete, mind the formation."
"Tch..."
Under the Dwarven uncle's reprimand, the werewolf obediently returned to the center of the formation, serving as the middle guard responsible for support and offense.
The squad had just entered the Dungeon.
Following Alicia's memory and the "abstract map" Tiona had drawn in her picture book, the four quickly found the [Border Fortress] located on the 4th Floor.
Pushing open the heavy city gates and walking inside, Gareth, leading the group, along with Bete and Tione, all experienced the same illusion as those before them—as if they had arrived in "another world."
The difference was too great.
Even in the Deep Floors, the Dungeon's environment was mostly related to natural landforms.
The [Great Fall] on floors 25-27;
The [Dense Jungle] after the 29th floor;
And the "Desert" and "Volcano" areas further down.
But what the hell was this fortress before them, which clearly bore traces of artificial excavation, and the massive pit connecting to the floors further below?!
Under the illumination of the Magic Stone lamps, Alicia commanded the squad to find the elevator at the edge of the pit. After reaching the bottom, they passed through the circular gate in the center of the ground and used the newly repaired elevator to continue descending.
A massive, pitch-black town slowly unfolded before everyone's eyes like a scroll.
It delivered a shock even greater than the one just before.
At the same time, Gareth and the others saw from afar that at the end of their line of sight ahead, there seemed to be a small "stage."
There, brilliant golden light shone, dispelling the deep darkness.
Was that a monster?!
Besides that, there was a boy engaging in combat with the monster.
Because the distance was too great, they couldn't see clearly, but almost instinctively, Bete, Tione, and the others could sense the power of that distant monster.
That was a certain shock that humans instinctively felt when naturally facing a threatening entity.
It was like an ordinary person suddenly seeing a giant serpent, a tiger, or a giant bear in the wild.
But there was no time for them to lament or take a few more looks.
The elevator quickly continued downwards.
Submerged within the ruins of a castle, in a pit that had been cleared out once again, darkness instantly covered everything. Only the light emitted by the Magic Stone lanterns in their hands remained.
Their ears were filled with the sound of iron chains being pulled.
No one spoke.
They had only just begun, yet everyone had already sensed the extraordinary nature of this place.
Not long after, the elevator arrived at the [Management Layer]. They did not stop here but continued downward. However, with a hasty glance, Alicia discovered something slightly different. The fluorescent light that should have been coming from the "lamps" made of glass bottles was gone.
The [Management Layer] was pitch black.
In the instant it was illuminated by the Magic Stone lamp in her hand, it appeared full of disorder, completely lacking the feeling from before that could even be described as somewhat "cozy."
What happened?
Did something occur?
Wasn't the "NPC" Isagi mentioned—that small Goblin in gold armor named Akshi—supposed to be here?
Alicia was puzzled.
Subsequently, everyone finally reached the end of the elevator ride. They walked out of the tunnel and saw the pale city surrounded by deep crimson magma—
[Goblin Kingdom · Kingdom Core].
It felt even more shocking!
As the vanguard, Gareth walked at the very front. The Dwarven uncle carried a greatshield and held a battle axe, treading with steady steps toward the now-opened city gate at the end of the great bridge.
Logically speaking, this adventure was primarily to improve the ability scores of juniors like Bete.
Therefore, as a Lv.6, he shouldn't be so serious; he only needed to cover the werewolf youth and the others as much as possible from the side.
But.
After arriving here, Gareth's years of adventuring experience were telling him that the situation before his eyes was a bit off.
Especially—
"Watch out behind the gate."
Before they even stepped into the city gate ahead, Alicia's warning came from behind.
This made the Dwarven uncle wittily look left and right, discovering that there were no monsters hiding on either side of the city gate—something that was recorded in multiple places in Tiona's picture book.
However.
The next second, the Dwarf and the other squad members behind him heard a muffled explosion coming from the distance ahead.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!!
Amidst the rising smoke, right on the main street directly ahead, Goblin soldiers relying on the ruins for cover held [Gunpowder Magic Launchers] and launched their first wave of attacks, as if they had been specifically waiting for them.
Most of the projectiles slammed into the giant shield held by the Dwarven uncle, exploding with intense sparks.
Alicia, serving as the rear guard, quickly hid behind Gareth. But Tione and Bete, who routinely served as vanguard and middle guard, were a beat slower in their reaction—because their first thought was not to dodge, but to attack and counter.
The result was immediate.
Tione, whose Agility and Dexterity were lower, had a small flower of blood blossom on her shoulder, causing her to grunt in pain.
"Damn bastards!"
"Get down, Tione!"
"Ha?!"
Alicia's shout was completely ineffective on the Amazon girl, who was burning with rage at this moment.
Unlike her sister Tiona.
The elder sister, who kept her hair long and looked more voluptuous and mature, might have appeared dignified, but she was actually a short-tempered individual.
If Gareth hadn't been here, she might have lost her reason and charged straight in the moment she was attacked.
It was precisely because she would always be swept away by anger that Tione's skill, [Berserk Fury]—unlike her sister's—increased her attack power based on the degree of her "anger."
Yet even so, she did not choose to continue dodging.
Instead, she leaped high, intending to charge directly into the position of these Goblins who could use "ranged attacks."
However.
At the same time.
From atop the city walls, several Goblin Slayers wrapped in dirty black robes and holding short swords suddenly leaped down. In the blink of an eye, they landed in the rear of the team.
"!!!!"
Tione was intercepted.
She was forced to wield her twin blades and first engage in combat with these agile monsters.
Fortunately.
As if she knew monsters would fall from the sky, Alicia had already been chanting magic. Accompanied by the appearance of the monsters, countless ice crystals had already condensed.
"[Hail Dust]!"
The exploding magic instantly pierced through the Goblin Slayers that had leaped down, and the fish that slipped through the net were quickly slain by Tione.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief.
A house that looked like a ruin beside them collapsed with a crash, and a massive black shadow swept over the squad at extreme speed.
The Amazon girl immediately discovered that she had actually been grabbed into the sky by a super-large bat. Subsequently, it opened its huge mouth—exaggerated enough to swallow her whole—and facing her, it let out a violent screech!!
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
The oscillating sound waves looked like a gale to the naked eye. The Amazon girl, facing it directly at close range, opened her mouth wide and rolled her eyes back, losing consciousness in an instant.
Luckily.
With the body of a peak Lv.3 adventurer, and as a girl who originally hailed from Telskyura and was accustomed to walking the line between life and death, she activated her skill [Great Counterattack] at the moment of near-death.
The massive amount of Strength it provided allowed Tione to pierce directly through the giant bat's body with a single punch, while simultaneously bringing the monster's sonic attack to an abrupt halt.
The monster's corpse fell from mid-air together with the Amazon girl.
Gareth, possessing the level of Lv.6, first stomped heavily on the ground, activating his magic "Earth Strike."
The vibrating rocks layered upon each other, quickly causing the Goblin soldiers still shooting in the distance to lose their footing, falling and becoming dizzy amidst the shattered ground. Subsequently, with a speed a Dwarven warrior shouldn't possess, he quickly stepped forward and leaped up, catching Tione.
On the other side.
The werewolf Bete had already jumped into the position of those Goblin soldiers, quickly dispatching these guys who were still in a "controlled" state using his twin swords and fists.
But at the same time, Alicia's shout came from the distance again.
What for?
Is it not over yet?!
Indeed, it wasn't over. Because the moment the werewolf youth arrived, two tall Orcs clad completely in iron armor had already appeared at the street corner in the distance, along with noisy Imps crawling on their bodies to load ammunition.
Boom!
The sound of cannon fire, even more violent than before, came from further away.
Luckily, they had prior intelligence.
Bete knew that this kind of attack was also "Magic," so there was no problem! The werewolf youth advanced instead of retreating, kicking out with one leg towards the cannonball hurtling fiercely at him!!
Then.
The exploding flames were quickly "absorbed" by the metal boots the werewolf youth wore, and returned.
It looked as if the "Magic" had been kicked back by him!
[Flosvirt · Prototype].
Metal boots forged by the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia, the only Lv.5 blacksmith in the city, [Cyclops] Tsubaki Collbrande.
They were custom-made according to Bete's requirements and could be considered the only special armament in the entire city possessing the attribute of Magic Absorption.
However, because it was still a prototype.
Whether in stability or absorption rate, there were still certain defects. But Tsubaki had said that if perfected, it would be enough to become a First-Class Armament.
In the distance.
An iron-armored Orc was directly blasted to pieces by the returned cannon fire.
Meanwhile, Alicia in the distance had already finished chanting her magic.
"Forest, become the bowstring. Ice crystals, become the giant arrow! The nocked bow bears the will of the spiritual peak, this is—"
"[Glacier Arrow]!"
The remaining steel Orc was pierced by the giant crystalline arrow, then quickly and thoroughly frozen.
Both of them were Lv.4 adventurers. In terms of attack power, they were still somewhat "overpowered" for the current [Kingdom Core], capable of killing most ordinary monsters with a single strike.
But even so...
[That was really pathetic.]
Gareth had already fed Tione a vial of "Elixir."
A healing potion developed by the Dian Cecht Familia's most excellent healer, [Saint of the Battlefield] Amid Teasanare, possessing an effect close to "bringing the dead back to life."
Although the price was extremely expensive—one bottle cost 500,000 Valis.
But as the city's largest exploration Familia, the Loki Familia still carried quite a few on every adventure.
After all, it was something that saved lives.
Valis could be earned again, but losing a Lv.3 or Lv.4 Second-Class Adventurer might take several years or even longer to cultivate.
[This is only the first wave...]
As Tione woke up, Bete and Gareth, who had come here for the first time, both revealed grave expressions on their faces.
The Dungeon before their eyes.
It was indeed completely different from what they had encountered before. It wasn't just that the monsters had become stronger, but most importantly...
Even as veteran adventurers.
In the Dungeon, they had encountered countless arduous adventures where they nearly lost their lives.
But whether facing a [Monster Party] where monsters surged like a frenzy, or cunning and dangerous "Enhanced Species," or even a Monster Rex with a super-massive body type, the battles of the past were completely different from now.
If one had to say it—
It was [Malice].
Although the Dungeon of the past would also target adventurers, temporarily changing terrain and spawning monsters or whatever.
But those were merely accidental events.
Rather than saying they were targeted by the Dungeon, it was better to say their squad was just unlucky today.
But now, it was completely different.
Gareth and the others could clearly feel that from the moment they stepped in here, the Dungeon was watching them with an extremely [Malicious] gaze at every moment.
That was a [Malice] that would do whatever it took, by any means necessary, to kill the adventurers who entered this place.
It was pure to the point where one felt it would stop at nothing.
Too hateful, isn't it?
Even a veteran adventurer like Gareth couldn't help but sweat a little.
At the same time.
Thinking that previously both Tiona and Alicia had said that the boy from the Astrea Familia was also the instigator of the Dungeon's mutation.
In this kind of place, he was completely like a fish in water, as if he had returned home.
For real?
Just what kind of guy could be "lively and kicking" in a place like this?
"Let's go."
The adventure naturally had to continue.
The awakened Tione still seemed somewhat in disbelief that she had just nearly walked through the gates of hell.
Mainly because everything happened too fast.
She also finally understood why her sister had suddenly become so strong after a few months passed.
This is f*cking...
When did the Dungeon become like back home—ah no, judging by the battle just now, the intensity was much higher than back home in Telskyura!!
At least in the past, it was a life-and-death struggle between two people.
But these monsters were completely unreasonable. They existed solely to kill you, completely doing whatever was most underhanded.
So despicable!
After going through several more battles.
Tione couldn't help but think this. These monsters were too "despicable," right?! One could even say they were "gloomy" to some extreme!!
Suddenly drilling out from a nearby house wasn't even worth mentioning;
Never knowing where a monster would drill out from in all directions wasn't worth mentioning either;
But whenever they encountered combat.
From afar, there would inevitably be guys shooting from range to support;
And there were bastard guys who, if not killed quickly, would blow horns to summon companions;
And according to Alicia, this was already considered good.
Because most monsters in the [Kingdom Core] were Iron Armored Orcs and various Goblin soldiers, mainly using [Gunpowder Magic Launchers] to form positions and conduct long-range attacks.
According to Isagi, this didn't count as "trash" yet.
"..."
"..."
For real?
Regarding this, Bete and the others were somewhat skeptical.
After a long time, having experienced a series of battles, the squad finally reached the fountain plaza located in the center of the city, beneath the tall statue of the Pale King.
At this moment.
The members of the Loki Familia found it difficult to imagine what kind of existence the King of this so-called "Goblin Kingdom" actually was.
Ordinary Goblins had all turned into monsters peaking at Lv.2 or Lv.3. Could this [Pale King] possibly be Lv.5?!
This was still the Upper Floors!
"Next, let's go over there."
Alicia was fairly familiar with the terrain in the city, after all, she had explored it with Isagi before.
Currently.
The squad had come from the city gate to the north where the Infant Dragon originally was. Continuing south was the [Central Tower] leading to the lower layers. There was no intelligence there, so it was better not to go for the time being.
To the west was where she and the boys had previously used a secret passage to reach the Goblin Great Noble.
Since it had already been explored, there was no need to go again.
Might as well check the east.
The [Iron Queen] that originally existed there was dead, so presumably, no powerful monsters would appear.
"Alright, let's go."
Gareth still walked at the very front.
As the squad went deeper, they gradually found that the Iron Armored Orcs along the way were gradually increasing.
Such battles were actually slightly easier.
Because the Orcs' cannonballs could neither penetrate Gareth's shield nor pose much threat after being absorbed by Bete's metal boots [Flosvirt].
But as they went deeper, after a long time, Alicia, as an Elven archer, was the first to see the high tower located in the center of the buildings in the distance.
Hmm?
That abrupt structure, at least twenty or thirty meters high, was truly a bit too conspicuous amongst a group of buildings that were at most two or three stories tall.
She had a bad premonition in her heart.
Because according to Alicia's experience, the sudden appearance of "unusual" things basically represented—
"What is that?"
Alicia saw a short figure on the high tower.
Was it a Goblin?
Subsequently, she discovered a tiny red dot appearing on Bete's chest beside her.
Danger!
She violently pushed the werewolf youth beside her away, but even so, she was a beat too late!
A silent flower of blood exploded instantly, blasting a large, bloody hole in the side of Bete's waist.
"?!"
Before he could even feel the pain.
The red dot was still drifting between everyone's bodies. Until the next second, it blasted out silently again. Fortunately, this time Gareth raised his shield and blocked the blow!
Feeling the dull impact transmitted to his hand, that black iron projectile even left a small dent on the greatshield that was sufficient to withstand the attacks of a Deep Floor Monster Rex.
Not only that.
It seemed to have realized the sneak attack didn't succeed.
After pausing for a moment, the guy on the high tower suddenly began to spew out countless "tongues of fire."
Da-da-da-da-da-da...
Bullets fired continuously like iron rain, sweeping towards Gareth and the others in an unbroken stream.
"Find cover first!"
The veteran adventurers found the optimal solution in an instant.
However.
They still didn't know what the situation was right now, nor what on earth that Goblin on the high tower was using to attack them.
And if Isagi were here.
He would definitely exclaim loudly—
[Holy sh*t! There's even a sniper and a machine gun bro?!]
____
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