Dungeon, 50th Floor.
After clearing the 44th Floor, the Loki Familia, having spent an entire day, finally reached the 50th Floor once again, a safe floor where monsters would never spawn.
As they surveyed this floor, it looked no different from what they had seen during their last expedition—no changes had occurred, and everything remained as it was.
The entire floor presented an enormous, open chasm, while the ground was covered in volcanic ash, and the forest had turned gray.
The only signs of life were the veins of blue-green currents weaving between the towering trees and the stone pillars, resembling massive stalactites, several dozen meters above, faintly glowing with phosphorescent light, which prevented the area from appearing completely bleak and gray.
About two months ago, on this floor, the woman-like caterpillar monster that Riezel had slain and subsequently self-destructed, leaving behind a large pit in the center of the floor from the corrosive fluid that had spilled, was now a distant memory, since the traces of this destructive event had long since disappeared.
Whether it was the terrain burned away by magic or the large hole created by the corrosive fluid, both had been naturally repaired by the Dungeon in the two months since.
In the end, the Loki Familia, accompanied by the blacksmiths from the Hephaestus Familia, set up camp on a massive rocky cliff that once provided a full view of the gray forest below—one by one, the tents were erected.
"We need another tent here!"
"Do we still have magic stone lamps?"
"Tie the magic stone lamps to the tents and supply crates, and light the bonfire later!"
"Where are the cooks? Go make dinner!"
"Bring the food and water over!"
"Coming, coming!"
Amid the shouting and clamor, the adventurers, now relieved of their heavy armor, each busied themselves with various tasks, transforming the camp into a rare, lively scene within the Dungeon.
Raul and Anakitty were busy directing the expedition party members in setting up the camp and arranging the supplies, as the camp gradually took shape and the magic stone lamps began to glow.
Even though the bonfire had already been prepared, it was not yet lit.
However, the cooks had placed the ingredients near the fire, so once the bonfire was started, they would immediately begin cooking to reward the expedition party members for completing the nearly six-day journey.
Riezel was also among them, carrying a batch of special equipment vital to this expedition—the magic swords—together with Lefiya at his side.
"So, this is a magic sword?"
Riezel picked up one of the magic swords and curiously examined it.
The sword he held was short, but its surface was rough, and it looked nothing like a weapon made of iron. Instead, it resembled some kind of stone weapon, as if it had been made from a rare type of stone.
"It's a short sword form of a magic sword."
Lefiya carefully lifted several more magic swords out of the crate as she spoke to Riezel, who was still inspecting the sword.
"Mr. Riezel has never seen a magic sword before?"
Riezel nodded in response to Lefiya's question.
"Yeah, this is the first time I've held one like this."
As he felt the magical energy emanating from the sword, Riezel placed it back down.
"I see..."
Lefiya nodded in understanding.
"Well... there are different types of magic swords. Some are short swords, some are long swords, and there are even axe-shaped and dagger-shaped ones, just like the weapons adventurers use."
"Magic swords of different types have different levels of power."
"For example, the short sword releases lower magic power, no stronger than a Level 4 mage's attack, but it's easy to carry and use."
"The long sword one, on the other hand, has much greater power, comparable to a Level 4 mage's offensive magic. The strongest can even pose a threat to First-Class Adventurers. It could potentially injure someone like our top executives, even though they are Level 6."
"Some magic swords release fire-attribute offensive magic, some release lightning, and others even release ice. It depends on the type."
"I haven't used them myself, but this is what I've been told."
Lefiya explained this neatly to Riezel, who smiled and nodded.
"I understand. Thank you."
Riezel expressed his thanks, naturally reaching out and patting Lefiya's head.
"N-No, you don't have to thank me! I just hope Mr. Riezel doesn't think I'm just showing off things that everyone knows!"
Lefiya's face turned bright red as she clutched her magic staff, looking both happy and embarrassed, which made her seem quite endearing.
"Seriously, I'd never think that," Riezel said with a smile. "Let's go. According to the captain's orders, we might run into those colorful caterpillar monsters pretty soon, so we gotta hand out the magic swords fast so everyone's got a way to fight back."
Yes, the magic swords were prepared for this purpose.
Finn had refrained from giving the order to use them until they had reached this safe floor, the final destination of the previous expedition.
Only now had Finn instructed Riezel and Lefiya to begin distributing the magic swords.
All these magic swords were expensive items, which made even Finn not dare to entrust them casually to just anyone. Because of this, Riezel, as an executive of the familia, and Lefiya, the successor to Riveria, were assigned the task of handling them.
"Understood..."
Lefiya nodded, no longer feeling shy.
With that, Riezel and Lefiya began distributing the magic swords around the camp, handing them out one by one.
The main recipients were those who fought from the back lines, as the vanguard rarely used magic swords in close combat with monsters, and the mid-liners were mostly tasked with guerrilla tactics, so they had less use for the magic swords.
Only those responsible for support duties and ranged attacks would benefit most from the magic swords, so the majority of the magic swords went to the supporters and mages, with a few distributed to the front and mid-liners for emergencies.
As for the First-Class Adventurers...
"We don't need them."
"Even if you gave us magic swords, we wouldn't use them."
Tiona and Tione, the experts in close combat, rejected the magic swords without hesitation.
"I don't need one either."
Ais, with her Durandal-attribute sword that could easily withstand corrosive fluid, shook her head as well and asked Riezel and Lefiya to give the magic swords to others.
The three top executives didn't need them either, especially Riveria, for whom casting a single magic spell would be far more effective than the magic sword's offensive capabilities.
Bete, on the other hand, glanced over after noticing Riezel and Lefiya walking by with the magic swords, then spoke up.
"Give me a few short sword ones."
Bete took a few of the short-sword-form magic swords.
Among the First-Class Adventurers of the Loki Familia, only he had a real need for the magic swords.
However, he wasn't planning to use them for ranged attacks but instead intended to combine them with his own weapon.
It should be noted that his metal boots, which extended to his knees, were not mere armor but weapons. Embedded with yellow gems, these boots were unique to Orario and possessed a special attribute—magic absorption.
Yes, these boots could absorb magic from others, temporarily adding their effects and power to the boots, which would significantly increase the wearer's attack strength when combined with the boots' inherent impact.
They were made from mithril, a highly efficient magical energy-conducting metal.
It was worth noting that these boots were hand-crafted by Tsubaki, making them Second-Class Special Equipment known as 'Flosvirt.'
Although second-class, their special attribute made them just as valuable and functional as First-Class Special Equipment, even stronger than most of them.
To activate the true power of the boots when necessary, Bete always carried a few magic swords, and once the situation called for it, he would use them to enhance Flosvirt.
Clearly, for the upcoming battles, he wouldn't be hiding the true power of his boots, which was why he had come to collect a few magic swords.
"Such a straightforward guy."
"Well, that's just his style."
"Young'uns can be like that, too prideful to admit they need help."
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth joked as they watched, causing Bete to grimace.
After Riezel and Lefiya had distributed all the magic swords, the bonfire at the center of the camp was lit, and a large pot was placed on top.
Alicia, Narvi, and Elfy, the cooks, were busy preparing the meal.
Once the food was ready, everyone from the Loki Familia and the Hephaestus Familia gathered around the fire to eat, laughing and chatting as they enjoyed their meal.
One had to admit that the scene was lively, a rare sight in the Dungeon.
Finn seemed to have intentionally lightened the mood by steering the conversation toward lighter topics, which made many of the female members giggle.
Meanwhile, Tione, who had been eyeing the pallum captain as her prize, glared at the nearby fox-like women, causing Lefiya and Elfy, who had laughed earlier, to break into a cold sweat.
Soon enough, after the meal ended, Finn shifted the mood back to seriousness.
"Next, we will begin the campaign to explore the floors below the 50th Floor."
Finn's words immediately tightened everyone's expression.
"From the 51st Floor onward, the frequency and level of monsters will be drastically different from what we've encountered before. Hence, explorations on floors below the 59th Floor will be handled by only a select few elite members because those who aren't strong enough will only become cannon fodder if they come along, needlessly sacrificing their lives."
Finn continued, his gaze moving from one person to another.
"Because of this, most of you will need to stay here in the camp and guard our supplies."
"Only those I select will join me in exploring the 59th Floor."
"I will begin calling names now."
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