A deal worth ten million Valis ended on an unpleasant note.
Finn, being on an expedition, naturally could not carry that amount of money with him.
More importantly, he recognized Dix.
In order to become a Hero and bring glory to the Dwarf race, Finn had always paid close attention to the powerful figures within Orario.
As the captain of the Ikelos Familia, Dix, who possessed Level 5 strength, was one of the individuals he kept an eye on.
"Riveria, have you been paying attention to the Ikelos Familia recently?"
"No, I have not heard anything about that Familia for a long time."
Riveria replied calmly.
She was not unfamiliar with the Ikelos Familia.
During the era when the Evilus was rampant, the Ikelos Familia operated in a gray area.
Riveria could easily list a long catalog of their negative rumors from memory.
However, ever since the god of the Evilus was sent back to the heavens and its remnants disappeared, the Ikelos Familia had gone quiet and rarely showed themselves in public.
"I thought they had settled down, but now it seems they are hiding alongside the remnants of Evilus."
"Yes, they are truly troublesome."
After negotiating with Cain a few days ago, Finn had already learned about Knossos and the Evilus.
Although Cain and the others had not explicitly stated anything just now, he could still infer the general situation.
If nothing unexpected happened, Cain and Ottar were likely investigating the remnants of the Evilus, which was why they had captured Dix.
"Let us go. We will rest in the forest for a while."
Glancing at his slightly stiff thumb, Finn called out to Riveria and the others.
"For now, we will leave the surface matters to Cain. With him and the Freya Familia present, nothing should go wrong."
"Yes, returning now is not realistic either."
"Come on, Ais. Stop spacing out."
The members of the Loki Familia headed toward the forest.
A moment later, sword marks that had torn through the forest came into view, slowly repairing themselves under the Dungeon's power.
...Boom!
A dull impact echoed across the plains. Bell was sent flying, rolling dozens of times across the ground.
A surge of intense pain spread from his abdomen. His entire body felt as if it were falling apart, trembling uncontrollably.
"Your off-hand is powerless, your dominant hand lacks conviction, your footwork is unstable, and your reactions are slow. Not a single movement is acceptable. And you still want to become strong? You are dreaming."
The cold evaluation pierced Bell's young heart like a blade.
Since joining the Soma Familia, his luck had been unusually good, and he had even begun to believe that he could truly become strong.
But at this moment, Hedin dragged him back to reality.
"Get up. Since you have caught Lady Freya's attention, you must show the spirit worthy of it."
"Yes!"
...Wait, something feels off.
As Bell struggled to his feet, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes.
What was going on with Goddess Freya? Should it not be God Soma and Mr. Cain?
Boom!
"Do not lose focus during a fight."
Hedin suppressed his strength and kicked the foolish rabbit down again, using only Level 2 physical ability.
"If you lose focus again, I will kill you."
"Yes!"
Bell cleared all distracting thoughts from his mind.
For Mr. Cain's Grimoire, for the encounter Mr. Cain spoke of, he absolutely had to become stronger.
"..."
It grew brighter again.
At the edge of the battlefield, Freya casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, the corner of her lips curving upward.
The boy's soul was gradually becoming brighter.
Faced with an overwhelming gap in strength, he did not feel fear or panic.
Instead, like a true warrior, he rose again and again.
If this continued...
"Yo, Goddess Freya, you are here."
That annoying guy had arrived.
Freya sighed inwardly.
He clearly possessed good looks, and his soul had an unprecedented shape, so why did she instinctively reject him?
"Were you not heading into the Dungeon with Ottar?"
"Yes, but we had an unexpected gain during training, so I brought him back for you to take a look."
Cain waved his hand.
"Come, Ottar. Perform for Goddess Freya... Cough, wrong scene. Bring him here."
"..."
Ottar stepped forward silently and threw Dix onto the ground.
Afterward, he took out a black notebook from his cloak, handed it to Freya, and briefly explained the situation.
"A descendant of Daedalus?"
So he was not here just to bother her.
Opening the notebook, Freya glanced through it before looking back at Cain.
"What are you planning?"
"I want to take a walk through Knossos first, using his identity."
"...Do you know transformation magic?"
"Yes. You can think of it as transformation magic, but in practice, it is more effective."
Cain did not elaborate further.
Super-speed regeneration could be explained as magic, but Flesh Mimicry could not.
From an observer's perspective, it was no different from a monster transforming. Anyone who saw it would misunderstand.
After brushing it off, Cain walked forward and slapped Dix twice.
"Huh? Where am I..."
Dix opened his eyes groggily.
Before he could react, Cain stepped aside and made room.
"Goddess Freya, for the sake of peace in Orario, please use your invincible charm on him."
"..."
This guy talks too much.
She needed to have Ottar discipline him later.
"I am going to explore Knossos, so I will not have time to oversee Bell. I will leave him with Hedin for now. We are allies, so you will not charge me, right?"
"...I will not."
No, she could not laugh right now.
Suppressing the slight curve of her lips, Freya shifted her attention to Dix.
To drive away Cain, the obvious nuisance, she might as well cooperate with his plan.
...
"Dix is missing?"
A question mark appeared over Valletta's head.
She was quite familiar with Dix, as he was essentially one of the overseers of Knossos.
In the past, when he handled matters related to the Xenos, she had participated a few times out of boredom.
But... was he not Level 5?
How could a Level 5 simply disappear?
"I am not entirely sure of the details."
Sensing her confusion, Thanatos sighed.
"Not long ago, an anomaly occurred on the Eighteenth Floor, so I sent Dix to investigate."
"I expected him to return quickly, but after he left, he never came back."
"What happened afterward? Did you not send anyone to investigate?"
"We did, but we found no trace of Dix. Instead, we discovered the Loki Familia setting up camp nearby."
"The Loki Familia?"
"Yes. They appeared to be on an expedition, gathered in large numbers, so it was not convenient to send too many people."
Thanatos briefly explained the situation.
Even he had not expected Dix to vanish.
After all, he was Level 5 and had a cautious personality. Even if he encountered Level 6 or Level 7 opponents, he should have been able to retreat safely.
Unless his identity had been exposed and he was ambushed without warning, there was no reason for him to disappear so completely.
"Valletta, can you investigate?"
"Tch. You useless god, always bringing me trouble."
Valletta clicked her tongue.
"What about the Hestia Familia? Are we abandoning that investigation?"
"Set it aside for now. Dix had the Labyrinth Key, and also the Labyrinth Map."
"Huh? The key is one thing, but why was he carrying the map too? Should that not be with Barca?"
"You know Barca's personality. He could not stop Dix if he insisted."
"Tch. Fine."
Valletta accepted the task.
Losing the Labyrinth Key was still manageable.
After all, Knossos was filled with traps. Even Level 6 or Level 7 adventurers would struggle to force their way through.
But the Labyrinth Map was a different matter.
If it fell into the Guild's hands, Orario would likely organize a large-scale operation to eliminate the Evilus remnants.
...
After gathering more details, Valletta led her group toward the Eighteenth Floor.
Half a day had passed. The Loki Familia had already moved on to deeper floors.
With no interference remaining, she could finally investigate the location where Dix had disappeared.
"Lady Valletta."
"What is it?"
"I think I see Lord Dix."
"Huh?"
Valletta abruptly halted.
Following her subordinate's gaze, she looked toward a nearby corridor.
At the same moment, a figure carrying a long spear flashed past her vision.
Damn, that really is Dix.
A twitch appeared at the corner of her eye as she immediately gave chase.
"Dix, stop right there."
"..."
Was someone calling him?
He stopped and turned to look at the woman approaching.
Valletta Grede.
Having reviewed the Guild's records beforehand, Cain recognized her instantly.
Although her title sounded impressive, she was only Level 5. Dealing with her would not be difficult.
"Young friend Valletta, what brings you here?"
"Young friend?"
What kind of strange way of addressing someone was that?
A flicker of confusion crossed Valletta's face, but she quickly returned to the matter at hand.
"Thanatos said you went to investigate the anomaly on the Eighteenth Floor and went missing. What are you doing here?"
"I finished the investigation and returned."
Cain rolled his eyes.
"Just because I took a bit longer, you treat it as if I disappeared. You really underestimate me."
"And the results?"
"I heard there was a battle on the Eighteenth Floor that nearly collapsed the entire level."
"It was not that exaggerated."
"Huh?"
"I mean it was not enough to collapse the floor."
As a safe floor, the Eighteenth Floor had a thick layer separating it from the Nineteenth Floor.
Unless Cain and Ottar fought continuously for days at a level exceeding the Dungeon's self-repair, it would not collapse so easily.
"Anything else? If not, I am leaving."
"Wait."
Valletta reached out to stop him.
For some reason, today's Dix felt different.
"You have not told me the results. Who was fighting?"
"Ottar and Cain."
"Cain?"
"The one from the Hestia Familia. He participated in the War Game recently. Quite handsome. Do you not remember?"
"Of course I remember."
After several days of investigation, Valletta had gathered plenty of information about the Hestia Familia.
"Was he not Level 3? Even if his growth is abnormal, he should not be able to push Ottar seriously."
"Level 3 is fake. A lie spread by the Guild."
"A lie?"
"Yes. Were you not wondering why I returned late? I infiltrated the Guild and discovered the God Creation Plan."
"And what is that?"
Valletta grew increasingly confused.
"It is exactly what it sounds like. Artificially creating a god-like adventurer to boost morale."
Cain's mind raced as fragments of various ideas came together.
"You know about the failure of the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia against the Black Dragon. Since then, people have been waiting for a new hero."
"Recently, Cain, a secret weapon cultivated by the School District with peak Level 6 strength, arrived in Orario and began this plan with the Guild."
"The details are complicated, but the goal is to elevate Cain into a heroic figure. Someone who defeats Level 2 opponents at Level 1 and suppresses Level 3 at Level 2, inspiring the masses."
"The fight earlier between Cain and Ottar was part of this plan. He was learning a technique that allows him to fight above his level."
"I see."
Valletta felt everything made sense now.
Given the worsening Dragon Valley situation, the Guild's actions seemed like a desperate attempt to inspire hope.
"How laughable."
"What do you mean?"
"The idea of defeating the Black Dragon. Even the Zeus and Hera Familias failed. It is already over."
Even Valletta acknowledged how powerful those past heroes were.
They represented the peak of a thousand years of hope.
Yet even they failed.
In her eyes, the current Loki and Freya Familias were merely delaying the inevitable.
The God Creation Plan was nothing more than a deception for the ignorant masses.
"By the way, did you learn anything else from infiltrating the Guild?"
"No."
"Tch. Useless."
"If you are so capable, do it yourself. Otherwise, be quiet."
"..."
Did he eat gunpowder today?
Valletta clicked her tongue.
"Forget it. Even if the plan is ridiculous, the information is useful."
"So Cain is Level 6... I need to be more cautious when investigating the Hestia Familia."
"Huh?"
Cain, who had been about to leave, suddenly stopped.
Which Familia did you just say you were going to investigate?
...
Read advance chapters on p@treon
[email protected]/guilt_free_daoist
Join disc0rd link in synopsis.
GIVE ME YOU POWER STONES.