A world of searing magma—just imagining having to spend every day in a place like this is terrifying.
After the Frozen Hell comes the Blazing Hell. Truly worthy of being called a Dungeon.
Bell found himself almost impressed by how the dungeon was structured. The deeper one went, the fewer chances it gave adventurers.
Whether a frozen realm or a burning one, these environments clearly weren't meant for ordinary adventurers to break through. Linking these two worlds together was simply a way to trap and eliminate those who didn't belong here.
And the further down they went, the larger each floor became.
By the 79th floor, the space was conservatively hundreds of times larger than Orario. It was hard to imagine how much larger it would grow if they continued downward.
Perhaps the deeper one descended, the fewer passages there were—nothing like the "White Palace" or the upper-level caves they started with. But that only meant the entire floor lacked a clear direction.
In fact, every direction could be the right one. No one could point to where the exit lay, which meant that unless they explored the entire floor, they'd never find the path to the next level.
And the deeper the floor, the less likely the passage downward would be on a wall.
Most paths leading deeper hid somewhere in the center of the floor—insidious, concealed, and painfully difficult to locate.
Which meant spending more and more time on each level before progressing.
But the problem was that below the 65th floor lay the frozen world. Even someone as strong as Ais had only been able to endure fifteen minutes at first. It was a completely unsuitable place for extended stays.
The deeper the floor, the more malicious it became toward adventurers.
Little by little, the dungeon devoured those who invaded, and the deeper one ventured, the more torment those adventurers endured.
Of course, that excluded people like Bell, who needn't worry about such things at all.
Here, Runes had to be mentioned.
As a perfect Magic, Runes encompassed every form of transformation, allowing Bell to adapt to any situation he encountered.
"What a terrible environment."
Ais frowned, her eyes full of concern as she scanned the forest teeming with vigorous life.
"The deeper we go, the worse it gets. That's just how it is."
"Ais, don't forget: the dungeon is designed this way to keep adventurers trapped inside."
Bell stayed calm. Everything happening was exactly as he had expected.
But Ais continued frowning.
"But if the dungeon wants to trap adventurers, why make the Upper Floors seem so safe?"
"To cultivate better souls, of course."
"???"
Seeing his student so confused, Bell decided to properly explain the relationship between the dungeon and the world.
"Ais, you need to understand: the dungeon is a great trial the world imposed on humans and gods alike."
"The world's Three Great Quests—Behemoth, Leviathan, and the Black Dragon—exist alongside this trial. So when Behemoth and Leviathan were defeated, the Black Dragon appeared deep within the dungeon."
"Everything points to the dungeon being a tool created to nurture those destined to slay the Black Dragon."
"That's why it's designed this way."
"If the dungeon simply wanted monsters to overrun the surface, it could have just sent the strongest monster to the top floor from the start."
Ais finally understood the dungeon's design, but that only gave rise to another question.
"Then why is the dungeon so hostile toward adventurers?"
"Isn't it supposed to cultivate them?"
Bell knew then that her perspective was still far too simple.
"Ais, listen carefully and remember this: to push an era forward, what's needed isn't kindness toward something—it's pure malice."
"How could an era of peace produce the kind of extraordinary talent needed to defeat the Black Dragon?"
"Only by creating a product born of malice can the era advance, and only then can more exceptional individuals appear to face the world's trials."
"From this viewpoint, such an approach is completely devoid of humanity."
"But the world doesn't care about humanity. Everything exists for a purpose, and 'humanity' isn't something the world needs to consider."
Bell understood this perfectly.
Ais, however, seemed unable to accept it.
She probably wouldn't accept it no matter how she thought about it. Bell understood that, but he had the patience to explain.
Bell's gaze shifted toward a certain point in the Lava Forest.
'So slow. I've been stalling this whole time, and she still hasn't finished adapting.'
'Looks like the Corrupted Spirit's Fetus is in far worse condition than I expected.'
'Still being cautious? So you've been investigating my handiwork since the beginning.'
Bell sighed inwardly, though he couldn't blame her.
He'd do the same—when you know a trap lies ahead, the first thing you ask is whether you can survive falling into it.
He turned back to Ais and picked up their earlier discussion.
"Ais, seven years ago during the Evilus ambush, the chaos dragged all of Orario into disaster. Countless civilians died, and many adventurers were killed. So let me ask you: did the Evilus deserve to die back then?"
"Yes."
Ais answered without hesitation.
Bell wasn't surprised. Because she was Ais, she would respond that way. "Then let me look at the same issue from another angle.
"The era had reached the end of its heroes. Most of the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia—heroes of the previous age—were wiped out by the Black Dragon. The flame of their era was fading. And at that time, the surviving heroes of those familias looked upon an Orario that had grown far too complacent. They asked themselves the same question:
'Can this era still move forward?'
"Adventurers who'd lost the drive to advance, who only wanted comfortable lives, lacked the resolve to shoulder the responsibility of defeating the Black Dragon."
"They were lost."
"At that moment, a god who called itself the 'Evil God' witnessed the same thing. So it made a choice."
"To give Orario an enemy—to leave behind a flame of hope for its future."
"So that god defiled itself, taking all the blame onto its own shoulders. Along with the remnants of Zeus and Hera, it began planning to destroy Orario."
"And in the end, they succeeded."
"They stained every one of their own achievements, making the people of Orario fear and hate them."
"But in doing so, they left behind a spark of hope."
"So tell me, Ais—at that moment, did they deserve to die?"
Ais fell silent.
Deserve to die… instinctively, she wanted to say yes, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth.
She understood the two stories her teacher told were the same one. Yet in the second version, everything that happened made it impossible for her to say "deserved to die."
"They… were heroes."