Here it is, another chunky chapter, I've been posting quite a few of these recently...

This is what happens when I edit them twice...

This one has 4K words, so enjoy it, next one is only in 2 days.

We are officially starting the next small Arc here, as I said before, probably around 10 chapters or so, perhaps a bit more if we count the inter-arc.

After that, the last Arc of this VOLUME will take place.

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/Later that day.../

'A small and delicate Goddess moved around impatiently in her room, taking heavy steps as she puffed angrily...'

/Crack!/

'The wood on the floor of her room started to distort, and a door suddenly rose from the ground, opening to reveal a man carrying a massive box awkwardly.'

'Seeing him, the Goddess smiled for a split second before her eyes sharpened again.'

"You're late!"

'The man immediately stopped, the box in his hands started to float, revealing a man with a tired expression.'

"It's been an entire day, I risked myself in the Dungeon, went to buy a beautiful cake I ordered a few days ago, and everything I get is this?"

"Sigh, it seems I'm in the wrong place." Silver disappointingly said as he turned around

'The goddess suddenly froze in place! From all possibilities that had passed on her head, this wasn't one of them!'

'So she jumped forward awkwardly, trying to grab onto his collar.'

"WAIT!"

'But in one swift movement, the man quickly turned around, grabbing the Goddess, having her fall onto his arms.'

"Wh..."

'Before she had the chance to reply, he kissed her and fixed her hair as the door disappeared behind him.'

"Mnn..."

'After a few seconds, he stopped kissing her and... Walked past her as if nothing happened.'

"HEY! Are you going to leave after that?!"

'The man with Silver eyes stopped, staring back with a small, sneaky smile as he said, "We have a party to set up." Before opening the door and leaving.'

'The large box soon also seemingly turned alive, flying after the man, albeit mid-way through that, it was sucked into a dark shadow, vanishing from reality...'

"Y-You..."

'With her eyes twitching, her hands clenched and her veins sticking up, Hestia grit her teeth as she stomped the ground...'

"COME BACK HERE!"

Bad boy!

He needs to be disciplined!

…

/Around an hour later.../

'A group of 5 girls slowly walked in the streets of Orario, under the light of the Magic lanterns and the moon.'

'3 Human girls, one with long dark blue hair, having a more meek personality, she had a long, simple dark dress that went all the way to her feet.'

'Beside her to the right was a strong-looking girl with red hair, wearing a casual shirt with a pair of leggings and a pair of dark glasses, looking really fashionable.'

'And on her left was a girl with blond hair, she looked strong and elegant due to the way she walked and her stylish adventurer clothes.'

'Although those weren't clothes meant for the Dungeon, it was only a fashion trend.'

'Aside from them, there was an Amazon and an Elf.'

'Unlike others of her species, this Amazon was wearing a large, long-sleeved jacket and the most skin she was showing were her legs as her shorts only went to her knees.'

'She was sucking on a lollipop, calmly walking without thinking much with her hands in her pockets.'

'And next to her was a tired red-haired Elf, she was rather unusual as she used little clothing, something very strange for an Elf, as they were a very reserved species...'

'It looked as if she had just walked out of the gym, although she wasn't sweaty and instead, smelled like flowers.'

'Overall, this was a pretty strange group.'

"Urg... Right there..." The Elven girl said as she had the blue-haired girl massage her shoulders

/CRACK!/

"AHH! MY BACK!"

'The human girl's expression turned ashen as she exclaimed:'

"AH! I'm sorry!"

'Her hands started to glow as she started to chant...'

"Stop it, Cassandra, you know that you can't use magic in the middle of the city..."

"But..."

"I... It's okay... My back may hurt, but... I won't die yet..."

/Crack.../

"Urg! Hopefully..."

'The Amazon rolled her eyes, saying with a bit of mockery.'

"Next time, don't try to show off just because you saw some pretty boys."

"HAH?! Care to repeat that sketchy Amazon?!" The Elf said as her expression distorted in displeasure

"Heh, those long ears are for decoration? I'll say it again since you're getting deaf."

"Just because you saw some pretty boys, you tried to act tough and lift that heavy hammer meant for First-Class adventurers, and now your back is like this..."

'She looked at the Elf and said with a snicker:'

"Do you think boys like strong women like that? Or are you aiming for that kind of guy?"

"Are you an old woman? Are you an old woman?? Trying to appeal so much to men, are you that desperate?"

"..."

'The Elf's expression was completely devoid of emotions now.'

"Your ways scream of... Virginity!"

"!"

'The other girls suddenly trembled, almost falling on the ground.'

"Granny, pay attention to your surroundings and act your age, if you can calm down, the Uncles are certainly going to give you a chance sheesh." She said as she licked her lollipop

"..."

'The poor Elf started to twitch, she couldn't keep her expression anymore.'

"WHAT ABOUT YOU, HUH?!"

"You talk about me, but you're Virgin as well! What a failure as an Amazon, yeah?!"

"Huh?! But I..."

"BLA BLA BLA! Yeah? I don't care."

"You can say whatever you want, but at least, I have something on my chest to be proud over!"

/Thunder!/

'The Amazon girl stumbled down, dropping her pink lollipop on the ground.'

'Indeed... For an Amazon, she was very much... Lacking.'

"Heh, you say I'm old, but aren't you too... Childish?"

'The Elf's expression was like that of a demon as she continued with her harsh words.'

/Thunder!/

"Don't tell me... Your panties have cute little bears in it?"

/Thunder!/

'The Amazon felt weak...'

'The blue-haired girl looked at the red-haired Human, asking:'

"Hey... Cute bears are okay, right?"

"..."

"..."

'To be honest, the other two were also currently using cute panties... But they remained silent, a silent nod to each other...'

'The 5 continued on their way into the Manor, but the relationship between the Amazon and the Elf seemed to be forever damaged as they continued to insult each other.'

'But there was one thing on the other 3 girls' minds... What was the true age of the Elf in front of them?'

'Only the Amazon knew, and she didn't dare to actually say it out loud.'

'For now, the Elven girl was in her mid-20s...'

...

/POP POP POP!/

'As the girls walked into the Manor, all sorts of festive props were ignited, confetti and such things started to fall into their heads.'

"Congratulations on the Level up!" Everyone from the Hestia Familia said in Unison as they looked at the 5 girls

"Eh?..."

'Cassandra and Daphne, who were Level 2 already, took this opportunity to walk to the crowd and clap as well.'

"You two..." The blond human girl said slowly

'Daphne scratched her head and replied awkwardly.'

"Sorry, we were tasked with having you stay occupied as everyone prepared this..."

"..."

'The Amazon and the Elf looked at each other, reaching a truce, this wasn't the time to fight.'

'Seeing everyone in front of them like this, they smiled, after all, they were also very expectant of their Aliases...'

'But... Where was their Captain... And their Goddess?'

"The Captain and Kami-Sama?..."

"Well..."

'Suddenly, the crowd parted ways, revealing the empty main dinner table...'

/POOF!/

'White smoke suddenly covered it, and when it dissipated, many plates full of sweets and snacks, together with a massive cake appeared!'

'On one side of the table was a man with deep silver eyes, but they were covered by a pair of sleek dark glasses.'

'He smiled slightly as he replied:'

"You called?"

'One the other side of the table was a small Goddess, smiling widely as she puffed her chest proudly.'

'She looked at them and said:'

"And we came!"

"Congratulations on your new Aliases... Urg..."

'Hestia suddenly stuttered, but Silver winked at her.'

'So she closed her eyes and said:'

"From left to right..."

"Rig-Righteous Daffodil!"

"In... Innagua..."

It means... Virgin Amazon... I'm so sorry!!

"And... Rauoralfar."

I hope I said that right... It means, Red Elf...

BUWAA! I'm so sorry everyone! This was the most I could do...

'But despite her inner plight, the 3 were smiling, with the Elven girl almost crying with happiness.'

'Finally, she was Level 2 as well!'

'She did not understand what her Alias meant, but it sounded cool, and that was all it mattered!'

'Unfortunately, she would never understand the cringe of a certain Goddess...'

...

/One week later somewhere on the 39th floor…/

'A small Amazoness girl turned and turned in her bed until her eyes trembled slightly…'

"..."

'She opened them slowly, welcoming the faint light of the 'day' as her brain resumed its functions…'

"Urg!... I miss my bed…"

My bum is stiff...

'She suddenly realized something!'

'Opening her arms with a large smile on her face, she exclaimed:'

"Oh yeah! Final… OOOF!"

'She was suddenly punched in the head, sending her head straight into the pillow, smoking slightly.'

"Can you shut up? Yesterday was already hard on me, and now you scream as soon as you wake up?" Someone said on the side

'It was another Amazoness just like her, but this one possessed some… 'Refined' features only found on mature women.'

'It was Tione, her older twin sister, scrubbing her eyes groggily as she opened her eyes.'

'Tione rubbed her eyes before taking a small hand mirror and checking herself, frowning at the sight of her two large dark circles…'

"My back hurts, my face is a mess, my hair is messy, and I can't take a bath in this place, only wipe my body with those rough towels that damage my skin…"

/Crack!/

'She clenched her fists and teeth, her veins started to stick up…'

"This place is getting on my nerves, I need to break something."

I can't meet Captain like this…

'Seeing her sister on the verge of exploding, Tiona said:'

"That's normal Sis, it has been over 2 weeks since we descended and we're still on the Deep Floors, this has to be one of our longest expeditions to date, and you knew that remember?"

If we add the time it'll take to go back, this expedition will take over 3 weeks if not a full month.

"Finn said we had to wait for the Udaeus to spawn again since we need the money…"

"..."

'Tione was silent.'

"If you were so bothered by it, why didn't you go back with the Backline and Support team? By now, they would be relaxing somewhere next to Rivira…"

"..."

'Tione remained silent.'

"If you had done so, you would've been able to take a bath right?"

They had to go back first since we don't have enough supplies for everyone here, so they went first.

Albeit they'll wait for us on the 18th floor so we can make the rest of the way together.

I'm okay with this, it's nothing much really, yeah it sucks to be like this, I feel unclean despite washing myself twice a day…

But I can't miss fighting it!

"..."

/Silence…/

"But if I remember correctly… Who was the one that said she wanted to participate in the Udaeus hunt, despite all warnings?..."

"Ahh! Fine, I can last a few more days no problem so shut it for a minute."

At least until I reach the 18th floor… I'll take a nice bath there and then…

'She blushed.'

I'll hug the Captain and…

/Sniff…/

'But when she sniffed herself, her energy suddenly plummeted and she crashed her face on her pillow.'

"Sigh."

'Her sister shook her head as she looked at the side.'

"..."

"..."

"…"

'As soon as they stopped talking, the 3 other girls in their tent sneakily opened their eyes, thinking the same thing:'

'"Are they finally done?!"'

'Despite it all, they wouldn't move at all, simply because… If they were to do so, they would become the next in line to hear Tione's complaints and worries, cutting their sleep short.'

'And no one wanted to do that so early in the morning…'

…

/Half an hour later…/

'In front of a large hole with a staircase leading up, a group of about 20 adventurers could be seen holding many weapons, ready to fight.'

'One of them was carrying a small flag with a smiling clown painted on it…'

'It was the Loki Familia... Obviously.'

"Alright! We'll be going now, everyone, pay attention!" Finn exclaimed as he looked back

'He nodded towards Gareth and Riveria before taking the first step.'

"Raul, you'll protect the rear as per normal."

"Yes, sir!"

'Behind this group, a pair of twin Amazones yawned.'

'Tione raised her right fist, clenching it as she thought of the 18th floor…'

"A warm bath… Here I go."

'Her sister nodded as well.'

"Yeah, I really miss a nice bath…"

Almost to the point, I lost my motivation to fight these monsters…

I simply want to soak in some hot water.

'Some of the girls near them also nodded, all of them missed a nice bath.'

'Thinking about this, the two followed behind the large crowd…'

'But they would all be in for a pleasant surprise…'

…

/36th floor…/

/Boom…/

/Boom…/

'Faint vibrations traveled across the ground, the sound of something heavy echoed in the air.'

'A man raised his head from his comfortable rock, gazing at the tall prehistoric trees that surrounded him.'

"A monster?..."

"Ah..."

'The man smiled.'

"It's coming, rest time is over."

I've been looking for this guy for a long time.

It finally spawned.

/Boom…/

'The sounds became louder, it seemed the beast was close, but in truth, it was still far.'

/Fwoosh/

'In one swift movement, Silver jumped high and held the branches of the large tree, gazing at the horizon above the forest Canopy.'

/Crack!/

'He saw many trees being pushed aside, a feat of absurd strength…'

"These trees can't be broken so easily…" He mumbled with an awkward smile

Each tree has a trunk with a diameter of at least 10M, and that is for the thinner ones.

Heh, no one wonder it's called a Tyrant…

'Something massive was coming, pretty fast at that.'

"Phew, this will be rough, I can feel it already."

Too much, perhaps?

'Silver relaxed and sat, spreading his legs as he stretched his arms.'

"I've been here for a week already, and progress has been noticeably faster."

The difficulty is certainly a factor, but I think the Level difference is what matters here.

No matter how high my Stats are, if you have a Level 3 defeating Level 4-5 monsters, you would still get a higher amount of Excelia.

Perhaps even directly gaining High-Quality Excelia, the one used by the Gods to Level someone up.

High-Quality Excelia can only be gained by doing things that would impress the very Gods... And defeating stronger opponents works just fine.

So, even if the monsters on the 25th floor were weak to me...

Since we were on the same level range, that was enough to give me a decent amount of Exelia.

But due to the lack of a challenge, my growth slowed down as I imagine that the effects of my Skill started to drop.

I've been researching deeply into the true effects of my Skill, but that has been pretty unreliable so far, as I've gathered a bunch of inconclusive Data...

This is mainly because its effects change over time, and I can't quite point out a reason why.

Perhaps because of my feelings and way of thinking change, or because of my environment… Regardless, it isn't simply based on the difficulty of a challenge, and overcoming it.

If it was just that, things would be much simpler.

"I've even thought about just going to the Deep floors…"

But I've decided to spend some more time here before going there.

The monsters here at the end of the Lower floors are all High Level 3, and Level 4 adventurers should have an easy time here... If it was in one-on-one situations.

It's almost impossible for a Level 4 to solo these floors because monsters come in groups of dozens and in constant waves, sometimes even as armies.

Naturally, they would require high-Class equipment, like Magic Swords or be… Special to do so.

Average adventurers won't be able to last alone here at all.

/Thud... Thud.../

"..."

I've read some reports too, and the best attempts at soloing these floors and were shared with the Guild were from the big Familias.

Like a guy who came here with top Class gear, and even a few Magic swords… He was a High Level 4, not a Wizard, but a frontline fighter with a lot of Stamina.

Because what ends up killing a Higher Level adventurer here isn't injuries, but their lack of stamina.

After slashing down 1000 enemies, your sword isn't as sharp anymore, and your arm doesn't move as easily anymore either.

To show how difficult things get.

"The only reason why I'm not being harassed by monsters right now is that I hid my presence."

Smell, sounds, heat, and more, I'm literally invisible right now.

"That is why I'm very happy that this big guy decided to come here…"

'Silver's expression turned devilish as he turned around.'

Did it smell the blood from the fallen monsters?

'If you were to look behind this very tree Silver was sitting on, you would notice a literal lake of blood, but no monster carcasses…'

'Those mighty trees were toppled, the ground was razed, the stones were broken, and the forest was silent, still fearful of what happened.'

'Truly a monstrous scene.'

'As he waited, Silver pulled a small book from within a black portal, reading a line.'

"The Tyrant of the Plains will only spawn on the 36th floor with at least a minimum time interval of a week and when a large number of monsters die close to the central area of the floor where the Red plains are located."

/Poof!/

'He closed the book, throwing it aside…'

'But a black portal appeared from the empty space and swallowed the book whole.'

"What does this mean? Simple."

It means that every Expedition group should avoid traveling through the central area of this floor, because big groups are bound to attract large groups of monsters, killing them in the process.

And causing this guy to appear.

"The red plains are an area full of blood-red weeds, legends say it's due to the many battles that happened in this place."

"And albeit there may be some truth into it, it is also a fact that these weeds are red by nature."

I grabbed a few and grew them in my garden, and they multiple pretty quickly, and they were still red.

So it doesn't have much to do with the spilled blood of the warriors that fell here…

/Boom…/

'The monster's steps now were close enough to make the trees shake, making a few leaves fall onto Silver's shoulders.'

'But his expression was still relaxed.'

"Every Dungeon Sector has its Rare and Unique monsters…"

The Upper floors had the Jack Bird and its Golden Egg, Blue Papilo, Mist Imp with its extremely high newbies death count, the Infant Dragon, and a few other instances.

The Middle floors have the famed Green Dragon and its hoard, the Crystal Mantis that is attracted to beautiful ores and crystals, the Firebird, the Vouivre…

Albeit this last monster is as rare as the Mythic Unicorn.

The Unicorn is a rare and unique monster that can appear anywhere in the Dungeon, and it even appears on the surface as well.

There is about a single report of it every year or so of it.

It's the only monster 'accepted' by those that live up above because Unicorns don't harm anyone, they just flee and run, and they are rather pretty horses.

It also helps how they appear in many Heroic Tales.

Continuing... There is also the Moss Huge, the Golden Lion Tamarin, and the feared Bloody hive, akin to a Floor Boss due to its unique characteristics.

Especially its ability to act as a Deadly Hornet spawner.

Like before, there are other rare instances as well, some recorded, some not as much, and some yet to be discovered...

The Lower floors also have their fair share of rare creatures like the popular Crabuncle, a cat monster with fluffy emerald fur and a red stone on its forehead…

Mermaids, Voltimeria, the Black and White Carps, Azul burrowing worm… And of course, like the other two sectors, a monster that is simply way above the danger level of other monsters, the feared Harurelia.

It's a type of eel monster that can naturally fly, being able to move extremely fast in both water and air, albeit, it moves faster in the AIR as compared to its water movement.

Funny enough, this monster can be said to be 'docile' because it won't go after adventurers as long as they leave its territory, so if you can create some distance between you two, it'll stop chasing whoever was unlikely enough to have bothered it.

If they even have the chance to do so…

It spends most of its time on the water, hidden, and when someone goes near it, it'll move out of the water to fight.

If this happens, the adventurer is as good as dead.

As soon as it leaves the water, it'll release an electric shock powerful enough to turn a cavern into a light show, vaporizing the water around it and melting the stone in a 15M radius around it.

It can even kill a Level 6 adventurer if they aren't paying attention, at least, cripple them so they won't be able to defend themselves for a while.

It only does this once, and it doesn't fight further despite it being very capable of doing so.

If the adventurer doesn't fall to its attack, it'll retreat into the water to flee, not even giving the poor sod the chance to rake in some profits.

A boring ass monster that has a single move…

"And it's so rare that I didn't really try looking for it, it's pretty dangerous too." Silver said awkwardly

Anyway, that's a thing of the past, now, I'm all about going further down the Dungeon.

My plan was to defeat the strongest creatures on the Lower floors first to make sure that I am capable enough to take on the Deep floors by myself.

Monsters on the Deep floors will be Level 4 on average, and yes, Stat-wise, I'm Level 4… No, I'm over that, but it doesn't mean I can breeze through an army of 100 such monsters.

I'll certainly... Get tired.

So I thought, what is the strongest creature I can take on before going there?

If you ignore the surface, it would definitely be the Monster Rex of the 27th floor, but she's on her respawn time…

"Hence, this guy is my ticket there." Silver said as he let the wind flow through his hair

Once this is done, I'll...

/BZZZZ!/

"PFFFT! A fucking fly got into my mouth!"

/BOOOM!/

'As Silver spat the annoying fly, a pair of amber eyes gazed at him from amidst the trees.'

'His eyes opened, now focused.'

"You sure know when to come, almost choked there."

Damn fly, it startled me.

'Its eyes were at least his size, and not only that, Silver was at least 15M above ground...'

/Exhale…/

/SHUAA!/

'The monster let out a turbid breath, the air pressure was so strong all of the tree leaves were blown away…'

"What a bad breath…"

/ROAAAR!/

''With a thunderous roar, the beast charged forward.'

…

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Notes

You've fallen into my trap!

Activate!

Cliffhanger!

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Cliffhanger: Trap Card

Activate it at the end of the chapter to make readers suffer 100 points of mental damage.

Use it during an intense moment to induce a target into a state of confusion.

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Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

We had several things happening one after the other, so I hoped it wasn't done in a bad way and you managed to follow everything with no problem.

Next chapter, fight of course?

We'll see.

Bye.