The eighteenth floor of the Dungeon was a safe floor.
Within this safe floor stood a small town built by adventurers themselves, called "Rivira."
Because it had been constructed by adventurers, it looked extremely shabby. The houses were arranged in chaotic disorder.
Most of the buildings were made of wood.
After all, this was inside the Dungeon. If monsters suddenly attacked, any hard-built structures would be reduced to nothing.
That was why wood was chosen as the primary material. Even if monsters destroyed it, reconstruction would be quick.
However, Rivira was truly small. At most, it was only the size of a single street in Orario, so adventurers often called it "Rivira Street."
But today, Rivira Street clearly felt different from usual.
The merchants here were all staring upward nervously at the ceiling above the eighteenth floor.
Intense tremors were transmitting from above. From time to time, chunks of stone fell, smashing into the shops below. Fortunately, the merchants here were seasoned adventurers, so there were no casualties.
"Hey, hey! What's going on?"
Some merchants were utterly terrified. This was the Dungeon. The most frightening thing here was the unknown. In a sense, the less one understood the unknown, the closer one was to death.
"The seventeenth floor is the floor boss' chamber, right? Why is there such a huge disturbance?"
Others were confused.
To ensure Rivira Street on the eighteenth floor could function normally, the seventeenth floor boss had always been a major problem.
So every so often, the merchants of Rivira would band together to launch a subjugation against Goliath.
That way, the passage through the seventeenth floor would remain open.
But now...
Strange tremors were coming from the seventeenth floor?
What was happening?
When they had previously united to subjugate Goliath, there had never been such a massive commotion!
Let alone tremors so violent they could be felt through an entire floor!
Something new must have gone wrong in the Dungeon!
This abnormal phenomenon drove all the merchants straight to the town's administrator, demanding to know what was happening.
Unfortunately, the administrator himself had no idea.
"I know everyone is anxious, but calm down and listen to me."
Looking at the gathered adventurers and merchants, the middle-aged administrator spoke.
"Everyone knows that although this is a safe floor, we are still within the Dungeon."
"If we want to return to Orario, we must pass through the seventeenth floor boss."
"Although we don't know what's happening up there, if we go together, we can definitely resolve the problem, right?"
"We've subjugated Goliath together before. Even if something unusual has occurred, with so many of us, we can handle it!"
What the administrator said was true. If they wanted to return to Orario, they had to pass the great hurdle of the floor boss.
With their numerical advantage, dealing with abnormalities should not be an issue. Most of them were Level 1 or Level 2, with only a handful at Level 3.
Although Goliath was evaluated as Level 4, he was only one monster. They had numbers on their side.
However, the administrator had another thought.
Cannon fodder.
If those numerous adventurers served as expendable shields, then in the event something truly dangerous appeared, he could escape.
Anyone who could become Rivira's administrator was no saint. This was a town managed entirely by adventurers. Naturally, it did not follow the Guild's regulations.
Prices could skyrocket without reason. The number of forbidden items was unimaginable. Murder, theft, and bullying were common occurrences.
Simply put, Rivira Street was a lawless land with only a thin veneer of order.
That slight order existed only when danger loomed, prompting adventurers to unite against a common threat.
Of course, if their own lives were endangered, even that unity would vanish.
As the saying went:
Better you die than me.
"Let's all head to the seventeenth floor boss' chamber and take a look!"
...
Meanwhile, on Elise's side, she gracefully dodged the giant Goliath's attack with dance-like movements.
Then she spun and delivered a kick straight to Goliath's face.
Though her body was petite, her strength was enhanced by the Power of the Stars.
Just like that, the Guild-designated Level 4 monster, the giant Goliath, was kicked back into the crack in the wall from which it had emerged.
"I've been waiting so long. The opportunity is finally here!"
For Elise, she had been dodging the entire time earlier, leaving no room for effective counterattacks. If she had used a large-scale attack, she might have killed Goliath instantly...
More importantly, the magic stone inside Goliath's body might have been damaged. A floor boss' magic stone should be worth a great deal of valis.
That was why she had been fighting so cautiously.
But now, precisely because Goliath had been embedded into the wall by her kick, she finally had the chance to test her earlier idea...
Research topic: If Goliath lacks normal human organs, would a fatal blow there still hurt?
However...
If she used her body to strike it, or cut directly with Est... Forget it. She would just think about it. Better not make direct contact.
"In that case, I'll use sword energy!"
Elise aimed at the lower half of the giant Goliath's body and casually swung twice, sending out two arcs of sword energy that struck cleanly.
Now it was time to observe Goliath's reaction.
Pshhk—
Blood sprayed from Goliath's lower body. Roaring, it clawed its way out of the fissure again and launched another attack at Elise.
"This... doesn't hurt?"
Judging by the situation, Elise seemed somewhat dissatisfied. She swung her sword again, carving multiple cracks into Goliath's lower half.
Aside from roaring louder when struck, Goliath continued swinging its fists at Elise as usual.
And Elise obtained the answer she wanted.
"Eh? How disappointing!"
Goliath clearly felt pain when attacked. That much was obvious from its roars.
But its pain was no different from any other fatal strike.
No matter where she attacked on Goliath's body, it produced roughly the same level of pain.
So it would not clutch its groin and roll on the ground like those who suffered a truly devastating blow.
At that moment, Elise finally understood.
Why eunuchs in television dramas were always so formidable.