In the Dungeon, under normal circumstances, the deeper one went, the larger each floor became.
According to joint statistics compiled by the Guild and numerous familias, the area of the Dungeon’s 5th Floor was already comparable to the central plaza in front of Babel, and by the time one reached the 40th Floor, its area was vast enough to rival the entirety of Orario, so spacious that it felt almost unreal.
Because of this, cities were able to exist on safe floors such as the 18th Floor, and if the area was insufficient, then a city could not be established.
It was precisely because the Dungeon was wide enough and expansive enough that all kinds of miracles could appear one after another.
Naturally, before the 18th Floor, even if each floor was relatively spacious, its overall area was still limited and could not accommodate too many people.
At the very least, an expedition party like the Loki Familia’s, which mobilized dozens of members at once, would find it difficult if everyone were crammed into the labyrinth’s narrow corridors.
Forget fighting monsters—just moving around would already be a problem.
Moreover, the Dungeon did not belong exclusively to the Loki Familia, since, besides them, countless adventurers entered the Dungeon to travel and explore. If a large force were allowed to move freely through the Upper Floors during an expedition, trouble was inevitable.
Therefore, when conducting an expedition, although it was unclear how other major familias handled things, the Loki Familia usually divided its main force into two or three groups that advanced separately, departing at staggered times, and only regrouped after reaching the 18th Floor, where they reorganized and continued their descent.
And this time, the Loki Familia had split into two groups.
The first group was led by Finn, with Riezel, Ais, Riveria, Tiona, Tione, Bete, and other First-Class Adventurers joining him, and it served as the vanguard, concentrating the familia’s primary combat power.
As for the second group, it followed behind as support, led by Gareth and included Lefiya, Raul, Anakitty, other core members of the familia’s second strings, Tsubaki, and other senior blacksmiths from the Hephaestus Familia.
Even though their combat power might not have matched that of the first group, their numbers were far greater.
This division existed because no one knew what kind of anomaly might occur in the Dungeon. As such, the vanguard that departed first needed to concentrate more combat power to deal with any incidents that might arise along the route.
In this way, the support group responsible for transporting supplies could advance safely, without worrying about suddenly encountering an anomaly that might damage or destroy the supplies, which were effectively the expedition’s lifeline.
That said, all of this was merely a precaution.
"At least I don’t think we’ll run into anything in the Upper Floors that even we can’t handle!"
Walking at the front and looking visibly impatient, Tiona spun the massive double-bladed sword in her hands while turning back to grin at everyone, leaving the others feeling rather helpless.
At the moment, the vanguard of the expedition party was moving through the labyrinth passageways of the Dungeon’s 7th Floor.
On this floor, the monsters that appeared included Killer Ants, monsters that stirred a sense of nostalgia in Riezel. Killer Ants always appeared in swarms, so if a Level 1 beginner adventurer were to see such a sight, they would probably turn pale with fear.
Back when he was still a newly minted beginner adventurer, he had once come to this floor together with Lefiya, slaughtering Killer Ants in great numbers.
Now, however, monsters of this caliber could not cause any real trouble, even if their numbers increased tenfold, a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold.
It was only natural, given that those traveling here were the vanguard led by seven First-Class Adventurers, which concentrated the Loki Familia’s top-tier combat power.
Faced with First-Class Adventurers whose levels were all above Level 5, mere Killer Ants classified at Level 1, no matter how many there were, were no different from ordinary ants in their eyes—one casual stomp could crush an entire cluster.
Thanks to this, despite having departed first and bearing the responsibility of clearing the way for the support group, Finn and the other adventurers in the vanguard appeared completely relaxed, as though they were on a leisurely countryside outing.
With the strength of this group, even if an irregular monster did appear, it would be nothing more than child’s play.
And now, Tiona was charging ahead at the front, and Bete could not help but let out a mocking laugh as he kicked apart a Killer Ant that lunged toward him.
"You dumbass. Even if you swing that ridiculously oversized hunk of scrap around and hack at things here all day, it’s not gonna get you to Level 6."
Bete’s ridicule made Tiona twist her head around instantly and stick out her tongue at him.
"Mind your own business, you stinky wolf. I’m gonna keep cutting. No matter what monster shows up, I’ll cut them all down. If I still can’t reach Level 6 like that, then you, who’s eating dust behind my ass, definitely won’t make it either!"
At Tiona’s jab, the sneer on Bete’s face stiffened slightly before he flared up.
"Who the hell are you saying is eating dust behind your ass?" Bete bared his fangs threateningly. "If I actually get serious and run, you’re the one who’ll be eating dust behind my ass, dragging around that heavy piece of junk you dumb amazoness!"
"What did you say?!"
Tiona immediately raised her massive double-bladed sword, looking like she was about to explode and chop someone down.
"That’s enough," Riveria said, frowning as she scolded them. "Calm down, you two. You’re familia executives, yet all that comes out of your mouths is vulgar nonsense. Watch your language."
Indeed, for a pure and fastidious elf of royal blood, casually throwing around talk of buttocks was undeniably crude and unpleasant to hear.
If Alicia and the other elves who supported the royal family had been present, people like Bete and Tiona, who were swearing so freely in front of royalty, would certainly have been jointly denounced.
"You don’t need to be so impatient," Finn said from behind, holding a spear in his hand as he shook his head with a wry smile. "We’ve only reached the 7th Floor—there’s no need to rush already. Leave the monsters here for the rookies who need to accumulate excelia. Once we reach the Deep Floors, that’s where your real battlefield will be."
"Yeah, the Captain’s right," Tione said obediently as she walked at Finn’s side, turning to her younger sister. "Tiona, stop arguing with Bete. Even if you win, it’s not like you’ll feel much accomplished."
"Mm, you’re right, Tione," Tiona said seriously as she nodded, putting away her double-bladed sword before jogging back and looking at Bete. "I’ll let you off this time, you mangy wolf."
"Who’s letting who off?!" Bete snapped, veins bulging on his forehead. "Just you wait, you two. One day, I’ll kick you both to death."
Just like that, the group continued forward amid their bickering.
Only Riezel and Ais walked at the very back, not joining in with the others’ banter.
However, the two of them were not silent either and were having their own conversation.
"With the scale of our expedition party, we shouldn’t have any problems before the 50th Floor," Riezel said casually. "The only question is whether the Monster Rexes have respawned."
"When we came before, Goliath hadn’t respawned," Ais replied, recalling the time before the expedition when she, Riezel, and Lefiya had entered the dungeon together to train.
Back then, they often moved as far as the 18th Floor and passed through the 17th Floor almost every day, where the Monster Rex Goliath resided.
Yet for eight consecutive days, Goliath never appeared—even when Riezel and Ais went down to the 24th Floor, it still did not appear.
"Goliath should be close," Riezel said thoughtfully. "It has a respawn interval of about two weeks. Even if it was defeated shortly before our last trip to the 24th Floor, it should reappear in a few more days. As for Udaeus, its interval is three months, so it shouldn’t show up this time."
As he spoke, he glanced at Ais, making the swordswoman, who had single-handedly defeated Udaeus just over a month ago, feel slightly uneasy.
Just then, Riveria, who was walking a little ahead of them, joined the conversation.
"You two should pay a bit more attention to the intelligence Raul and the others gathered from the Guild," Riveria said, her tone mildly reproachful as she looked at the sword-wielding pair. "Raul already confirmed it with the Guild. During the period of our expedition, none of the four major Monster Rexes will appear."
"Well, that’s only natural."
Finn chimed in with a smile, glancing at Riezel and Ais.
"During our last expedition, we pretty much wiped out all the Monster Rexes. It hasn’t even been two months yet."
"Whether it’s Udaeus, which Ais took down on her own, the 49th Floor’s Monster Rex Balor, or even the 27th Floor’s Monster Rex Amphisbaena, none of them have reached their respawn period."
"The only one that could have passed its interval is the 17th Floor’s Monster Rex Goliath, but that’s already been confirmed as having been defeated a little over a week ago."
"Of course, that’s under normal circumstances, since the respawn intervals of Monster Rexes are only rough estimates and not always exact, so they can appear early or be delayed."
"Didn’t an anomaly happen with Ais last time?"
Hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
During the expedition a little over a month ago, the Loki Familia had already defeated the 37th Floor’s Monster Rex, Udaeus, so logically, it should not have been reborn for another three months.
Yet when Ais went alone to the 37th Floor a month ago, Udaeus broke through the floor of the Dungeon and was born right then and there, which was unquestionably an anomaly.
"Hahh, that’s the Dungeon for you..." Riveria sighed, her voice grave. "It’s not a dead thing, but a living demonic labyrinth. If it sees you alone, it will definitely take advantage of you."
Back then, when Ais had gone to Udaeus’s chamber alone in an utterly exhausted condition, it was enough reason for the Dungeon to take advantage of the situation, even forcing the early birth of a Monster Rex just to eliminate her.
"This is exactly the kind of situation we’re guarding against. Do you understand, Tiona?"
Finn tossed this remark toward the amazoness who had been boasting earlier.
"Yeeees, I knooow~"
Tiona replied carelessly, prompting a round of laughter from the group.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Riezel came to a halt, and a transparent gleam flashed in his eyes as something stirred in his heart.
’Is it time?’
===
[A bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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