Isagi's current "Project" plan was very simple.
Cecil and Amid would join forces to first create a suit of "armor" or a "puppet" capable of housing a soul.
He himself would go into the Dungeon and find a way to acquire an adventurer's soul.
Then.
The [Sage], Fels, would perform the operation to "resurrect" it.
Of these three steps, not a single one was certain at the moment; they might all require a long period of research.
However, Isagi had a backup plan!
Hasn't Fels already turned entirely into a skeleton frame? Could the soul inside be transferred into a new puppet or something similar?
This was also a topic worth researching.
Regarding this.
The [Sage] appeared somewhat apprehensive at first, as she recalled how she had touched upon the "Taboo of the Gods" long ago and was punished to become what she was now.
Eternal life, resurrection, creating life—
These were the domains of the Gods, but why couldn't mortals achieve them?
She didn't understand.
She still didn't know to this day.
Perhaps Isagi could really do it. The "possibilities" born from the youth were a brand-new domain that had never existed in this world before, something incomprehensible, perhaps even completely different from the Gods themselves...
...
Outside the City.
Demeter and Astrea were together in the courtyard, watching that Golden Tree which had already gradually grown larger.
It was not a golden illusion that appeared from casting a prayer, but just like that Golden Tree originally planted in the courtyard of the Starry Garden, it was planted here personally by Isagi after he leveled up not long ago.
Compared to the small sapling from before.
This Golden Tree had already grown quite a bit, standing taller than a person. Under the somewhat dim spring night, it emitted a bright glow.
From within it.
The two Goddesses could even sense the very distinct existence of "Divine Power", or perhaps a certain kind of "Rule"—the rules by which all things operate.
Just as apples fall from the tree when ripe; birds can fly by flapping their wings; the moisture of rain nourishes the earth to let crops grow—
With the growth of this small Golden Tree.
Demeter and Astrea had both confirmed that Isagi was indeed gradually "approaching" the Gods.
There could be no mistake about this.
And not only that, the youth also underwent many changes that were hard to explain clearly. For instance, that guy ate a lot of what he called "Elixirs" before leveling up. The result was that his entire being underwent a change that was very difficult to describe.
Neither of the two Goddesses knew how to describe it; after all, they didn't understand idioms like "shedding one's mortal body and exchanging bones."
But he was just different.
In a certain sense, this was actually a good thing.
Watering the water, loosening the soil.
Regarding how to take care of the Golden Tree, Demeter could only perform this kind of daily care for the Golden Tree before her eyes.
The spring night was quietly serene.
The children of the Familia were not here, including the two maiden Goddesses, Artemis and Aphrodite. This was because originally, Astrea had come over to discuss the subjugation of the Corrupted Spirit in the Dungeon with Loki and Freya.
Returning to the house.
Under the warm glow of the Magic Stone lamp, the red-haired God of Schemes, and the Goddess of Beauty—who was still wearing a robe that concealed her face, revealing only a bit of gray hair—were already sitting quietly in the living room, waiting for Demeter and Astrea.
As the members of the Freya Familia returned from their expedition, they also brought back more news regarding the Corrupted Spirit.
The expedition last time was very smooth.
However, for the Freya Familia, the "consumption" was also immense.
Although no adventurers died and the children all returned safely, they had to retreat due to the consumption of supplies, and they even encountered some accidents during the retreat.
This was why.
Freya agreed to the suggestion from the Guild to join forces with the Loki and Astrea Familias later to subjugate the Corrupted Spirit—of course, Isagi definitely wouldn't participate in the expedition to the 60th Floor to subjugate the Corrupted Spirit, because if he participated, everyone wouldn't be able to go down.
This time, the Guild prepared to gather the strongest adventurers to resolve the threat located in the Deep Floors once and for all.
According to the intelligence brought back by the Freya Familia, the clone of the Corrupted Spirit they fought on the 59th Floor was extremely powerful, possessing at least the level of a Lv.7. Inferring from this, its main body should be Lv.8 or above.
This was an existence that exceeded the levels of all current adventurers in the City.
But because it was a monster, there was still a theoretical possibility of subjugation; at least, it wasn't a situation with zero chance of victory.
This plan had been quickly proposed by the Guild as early as when the operation in the Artificial Labyrinth ended. The Goddesses didn't have any objections, and now, Freya had specially run over here to meet with the other Goddesses mainly to share a strange incident encountered by her own Familia's children.
After the expedition ended, when they returned to the surface of the City.
They.
Encountered a very powerful monster.
"It was a Goblin."
"A Goblin?"
"Mm."
The City's strongest, the Freya Familia, encountered a very thorny and powerful monster in the Dungeon, and the opponent turned out to be a Goblin of all things. If it were in the past, this would definitely make people feel it was inexplicable.
But, Goddess Freya was naturally serious.
Although she herself was also very baffled when she first heard this news, Hedin, who was always steady and served as the commander of the expedition, did not lie.
Including Ottar.
The children all said that in the Deep Floors of the Dungeon, they encountered a powerful Goblin.
"The opponent's strength was at least Lv.7 or higher; only Ottar could suppress that guy."
"At the very beginning, it was Hogni who discovered it. At the 45th Floor, just as we had set out from the camp on the 50th Floor, Hogni engaged it as part of the vanguard unit."
"Afterwards, Allen also ran over to support, but neither of them was its opponent. It wasn't until the vanguard unit sent the message to me that Ottar rushed over."
"In the end, that guy escaped."
"What's somewhat strange is that, according to Allen and Hogni, that Goblin's combat was a bit odd. The opponent seemed to be learning something... It didn't treat the battle as a slaughter, but was honing some kind of technique of its own..."
After the Artificial Labyrinth operation ended.
What the Guild and the major Familias worried about most was that some mutation had occurred in the Deep Floors—especially concerning the adventurers like the God of Wine (Dionysus), the God of Death (Thanatos), and the master of the labyrinth who were parasitic to the Jewel Fetus and had gone to the Deep Floors back then.
And now, it seemed something had really changed.
After listening to Freya's narration.
Loki seemed lost in thought, pondering something.
"Is it a Xenos?"
"Not clear."
Regarding the matter of intelligent monsters capable of speech appearing in the Dungeon, the Guild ultimately chose to inform the Goddesses.
Initially, of course, they felt shocked.
However, compared to adventurers, Gods were still a bit more accepting of this.
Especially since they had previously heard that even a magnificent "[Goblin Kingdom]" had appeared in the Dungeon where Isagi adventured.
So...
"Could it be related to Isagi? For example, was Isagi in the Dungeon at that time?"
"It's possible."
The Freya Familia had only returned to the City recently, so it was very normal for Isagi and the maidens to be adventuring in the Dungeon just as they were on their way back.
But Astrea still shook her head.
"Isagi's Skill won't affect a place that deep. And didn't it say before that when he reached the 37th Floor, the entire floor changed? If it's the 45th Floor, it's impossible for just a single Lv.7 Goblin to appear."
In reality.
If Isagi's Skill really caused a change in the Deep Floors, it would be hard to say if the Freya Familia could have returned smoothly.
"Go ask Fels, then let the Xenos go take a look."
Loki spoke very directly.
Because regarding the current situation in the Dungeon, it was best to let the Xenos investigate. They were originally very familiar with the Deep Floors, and they would also go to the Deep Floors daily to "train"—the Xenos becoming stronger by devouring Magic Stones was also one of the reasons they cooperated with the Guild.
Aside from killing monsters in the Dungeon daily to obtain Magic Stones, the Guild would also send them a certain amount of Magic Stones every month to improve their combat power.
The topic was dropped here.
Subsequently, they began to discuss matters regarding supplies with Goddess Demeter.
A large-scale Familia expedition was a considerably troublesome and complex matter. Even at the fastest speed, with several Familias planning to join forces to subjugate the Corrupted Spirit, it would still require several months of preparation time.
Heading to the Deep Floors located on the 60th Floor.
Just the travel time back and forth for the adventurers would take several months. The consumption of supplies during that period, the wear and tear of various weapons and items, plus the need to construct strongholds along the way, set up camps, and have second-line troops stationed for support, and so on—
The Astrea Familia hadn't really conducted expeditions before.
Coupled with the fact that the Familia's scale wasn't large.
So the Goddess of Justice had absolutely no concept of this and couldn't chip in, only listening to Loki and Freya discussing with Demeter.
An expedition force of over a thousand adventurers, heading into the depths of the Dungeon, requiring supply replenishment for several months.
Naturally, this was a considerably terrifying figure, and to ensure nothing went wrong, it had to be prepared personally by the Agricultural Goddess.
Thus.
The Goddesses discussed for a long time, until late at night.
When Loki and Freya had both left, Astrea and Demeter prepared to rest and sleep, only to discover—why hadn't Isagi returned yet?!
"I left a note for him in the room."
The Goddess of Justice was puzzled.
Tonight.
The children of the Familia were all still over at the Starry Garden. At the farmhouse outside the City, only she and Demeter were present; the purpose, naturally, went without saying.
She thought, Did Isagi not see the note I left after he went back?
But actually—
Isagi hadn't gone home at all.
After leaving the Pure White Healing Center and parting with Cecil, he went directly toward the direction of the Dungeon.
He had long since adapted to the discomfort from leveling up, so he decided to carry out some "live combat" practice. His target was also very clear: the [Pale King].
Utilizing the Divine Wine.
Isagi intended to summon the Pale King in its peak condition and have another hearty battle with it.
Now, Lv.5 vs Lv.5, it was precisely the time when they were evenly matched!
Holding such thoughts, Isagi walked briskly toward the distant Babel under the dim falling rain.
The result...
"Ais, what are we doing here?"
"Shh."
On one side of the long street deep in the night.
In a dim alley, the golden-haired maiden and the tall High Elf Princess were huddled together, quietly watching the back of the youth going away in the distance.
What the hell.
Was she stalking him together with Ais?!
Riveria was dumbfounded.
Just now, she and Ais were still at Twilight Manor. She didn't know if the maiden saw Isagi on the long street not far away through the window, but subsequently, she actually flew up directly, very skillfully left the Familia station, hid in this dark alley, and constantly followed the youth in the distance.
"..."
Riveria was dumbfounded. However, Ais's explanation for this was:
"Isagi is definitely going to the Dungeon."
She spoke with incomparable certainty.
Obviously, for Ais, this was definitely not the first time.
"What if he encounters danger? Let's follow and take a look!"
"?"
She always felt something was not quite right.
Riveria blinked, thinking that what Ais said wasn't problematic, but it was just very strange. To become a stalker so naturally or something—even if Isagi was going to the Dungeon, there was absolutely no necessity for this, right!
And just as the two followed Isagi all the way to the Central Park of the City.
Not far away.
Inside the pub that was about to close for the day, the gray-haired waitress maiden, Syr, watched the back of the youth walking alone toward the Dungeon under the night colors, and she too narrowed her eyes slightly.
____
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