bayedsolid Chapter 193: No Idea What to Call This
Chapter 193: No Idea What to Call This
The Dungeon expedition.
Since they had only just come into contact with Soulslike-mutated monsters, most of the fighting had been handled by Ron, who single-handedly held up the protective umbrella over the expedition.
The two Level 5 adventurers of the Loki Familia had basically not intervened at all.
And then—after losing the umbrella that Ron had been holding up, Daphne realized a very critical problem: the now-calm Dungeon wasn't raining at all.
"Why does it feel like… these monsters are all pretty weak?"
"..."
After confirming that their next objective was to head deeper into the Dungeon to search for Ron and Lefiya, who had been separated due to the changes in the Dungeon floors, they quickly finished preparing and set off.
There were no Soulslike monsters.
And with Tione also starting to fight, their advance speed was very fast.
As for her best friend Cassandra's absurd prophetic dream, Daphne felt a strangely complicated emotion inside. If she had to describe it… it was probably that, on an emotional level, she felt it wasn't baseless,
but rationally, she was faintly rejecting it.
'Mm…'
'Let's calculate based on the worst-case scenario.'
She couldn't quite explain this feeling.
But considering that—Ron, as the captain of the Hestia Familia, hadn't shown any strange attitude toward her because of her former Apollo Familia affiliation, and had instead been willing to trust her, even telling her such an important 'secret,' Daphne absolutely couldn't stand by and do nothing. Even if the crisis was truly as Cassandra had said, a battle on that level was indeed something she couldn't help with.
But, if she could bring along the strongest combat power of the expedition, the Level 5 adventurer Tione, it might be possible to effectively alleviate the crisis.
'I hope we can make it in time.'
A giant.
A roaring furnace.
The first thing Daphne thought of was Goliath, the Floor Boss of the 17th Floor. Perhaps, within the "secret" Ron possessed, this was the mutation that would ultimately occur?
"Let's head straight to the 17th Floor."
"As for the exact location… it's not particularly easy to find."
The Dungeon's environment was like a pyramid, except buried underground. The deeper one explored, the more vast each floor became.
So-called compasses and various navigation devices would all lose their function.
Moreover—Daphne had reason to suspect that the environment of the 17th Floor had already been altered by the Dungeon. "If it really comes to it, we'll split up!"
"..."
At the very front of the expedition team, Mikoto's expression was extremely serious. After realizing that her captain might be in danger, she hadn't requested that the other members of the Familia accompany her.
After all, they had only just joined the Familia not long ago, and some of them weren't even official members yet.
The girl only knew that since they were members of the same Familia, when a companion might be in danger, one must have the resolve to risk one's life.
Right now, things were naturally ideal.
The entire expedition team was heading deeper. As for the concern Daphne had raised—Mikoto cleanly cut down the Hellhound in front of her, then explained: "I actually… can roughly sense Ron's location."
"It's just rather vague."
A skill.
'Yatanoshirogarasu'
Its effect was to allow her to sense the whereabouts of her fellow Familia members. It could only take effect on companions with the same Falna, and since she had only recently joined the Familia, the sensing effect wasn't very strong.
At a time like this, there was no thought of hiding anything. She hadn't interacted much with Cassandra, and as for her vague, illusory dreams, they were hard to evaluate.
But she could feel Ron's attitude toward her.
Since even the captain was willing to trust her, then there was no problem.
"That's enough!"
But sometimes, as long as you have a clear direction, you can save a lot of effort.
Daphne nodded quickly, swiftly completing the coordination work, letting Mikoto—who possessed sensing abilities—act as the navigator for locating Ron within the Dungeon.
They cut down every monster they encountered along the way, and quickly passed through the current Floor.
It was no different from the usual routine exploration of an adventurer party—except that, under the impression left by Cassandra's prophetic dream, the atmosphere had become far more tense.
"..."
'Gotta say…'
'The members of the Hestia Familia actually seem pretty decent.'
This wasn't originally within Tione's scope of observation, but one had to look at things comprehensively. The talent Ron possessed was enough to make even the captain want to cooperate with him.
In that case… it was impossible to ignore the members of his own Familia.
There would inevitably be contact in the future, and at the very least, their personalities and character needed to be reliable. And from this period of brief interaction, it was already clear—they—compared to other adventurers in Orario, all had their own strengths.
As for strength, aside from Daphne—the former commander of the Apollo Familia, whom Tione was somewhat familiar with—the others were all relatively unknown adventurers.
But none of that mattered right now.
Talent?
In a Dungeon trial of Ron's level of difficulty, it probably wouldn't take long before stories about their future would start spreading throughout Orario!
'Very interesting.'
'It really feels like Ron's appearance is gradually bringing life back to this stagnant pool that is Orario.'
However, there was no time for Tione to dwell on such thoughts.
After swiftly killing all the monsters they encountered along the way, they continuously passed through the stairways of the middle Floors, advancing toward their target Floor.
Floor 15…
Floor 16…
When Tione, with an overwhelming display of strength, slaughtered all the Minotaurs blocking the stairway and cleared the path leading to Floor 17, she once again looked toward the Far East girl, whose brows were tightly furrowed.
"Well?"
"The feeling is pretty strong—Captain Ron is definitely on Floor 17!"
Mikoto looked at the Floor passage before her, using her skill 'Yatanoshirogarasu' to sense. Compared to the vague and elusive feeling at the beginning, as the distance continued to close, the tracking effect brought by the skill grew stronger and stronger!
"Then…"
"Let's keep moving."
Tione shook her head lightly.
She had never experienced an abnormal Dungeon situation before. The Floor Boss Goliath, who usually appeared on Floor 17, was only around Level 4.
Even if it had been strengthened, she estimated it would be at most around Level 5.
With Ron, Lefiya, and her younger sister's strength, they might not be able to defeat it in a short time, but there was absolutely no need to worry about safety.
To avoid the worst-case scenario, she took the lead and stepped into the slanted passage that extended downward, leading to Floor 17.
However, the moment she set foot in this part of the Dungeon, Tione immediately felt something unusual. Compared to the previous Floors, it was noticeably colder.
If she had to describe it—it was probably like when they had first reached the initial death line, after the Dungeon had mutated—the distinct malice they felt back then… but what she was sensing now seemed to be dozens of times stronger?
The tan-skinned girl's expression gradually grew serious, an ominous premonition rising within her. She looked toward Mikoto again.
"Which way do we go next?"
"Follow me!!"
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