A few hours ago…
Meanwhile, as Renjiro (Aether) and Lumine pushed deeper into the dungeon with Finn and the others, two major events had caused a rapid stir in the city of Orario.
The first was the monster uprisings in the Large Tree Labyrinth, which had intensified dramatically.
By now, more than a dozen requests for assistance had already reached the Guild Headquarters, all with a single urgent plea: send reinforcements.
Facing this situation, the Guild planned to issue mandatory missions, higher priority than even emergency tasks, dispatching more adventurers to address these threats.
At the same time…
Breaking News – The Freya familia affiliates, the Twin Stars, successfully defeated the floor master Amphisbaena – Amphisbaena on the 27th floor. Both ascended to Lv.3, officially becoming Second-Level Adventurers.
The city of Orario erupted the moment the announcement hit.
Within half an hour, adventurers, merchants, and even ordinary citizens flooded the streets, all discussing the news.
"Wait… so two Lv.2 adventurers killed a floor master with potential Lv.5 power?"
"Amphisbaena… that's a floor master!"
"Are you sure it wasn't Goliath?"
"Even Goliath would be terrifying!"
"A nightmare-level foe requiring a large-scale team… and just two people took it down?"
"That brother-sister duo… they're monsters."
"Are they even human?"
Shock and awe were everywhere, endless murmurs echoing.
When faced with such unprecedented feats, many couldn't even summon jealousy.
After all, when someone's shadow is beyond reach, any petty envy is powerless.
Of course, as Orario was the center of the world, there were still those with vast resources who hated seeing such "supernovaes" rise.
The Ishtar Familia was a prime example.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!!!" In their headquarters on Night Street, atop the pseudo-Babel Tower, a nearly naked brown-skinned goddess fumed.
"I knew I couldn't let that sibling pair grow any stronger… and now… damn it!"
She gritted her teeth.
"I must contact the Dou Kingdom and our allies immediately. My carefully planned scheme… can't be delayed any longer. The chance of success only grows slimmer with time."
Despite being only human in physical capability, she snapped her pipe again.
"That bastard Hermes… and he's been called to the Large Tree Labyrinth by the Guild… tsk, I'll have to commission others to fetch the 'Killing Stone' in the Far East."
The goddess, her face twisted in fury, pointed through a smaller window toward the top of Babel Tower.
"Just wait, Freya. Next Goddess Festival, that throne will be mine."
==========
Meanwhile, on Orario's West Main Street…
"Heh, Lv.3 already, huh? Impressive." A disheveled blond man with curly hair, wearing a feathered traveler's hat, muttered casually.
"Her Majesty found two very interesting kids indeed."
"The Twin Stars, huh… if not for the urgency of this situation, I'd like to study them properly."
Before he could continue…
"Hermes-sama, please don't start thinking about all these troublesome things again," said a blue-highlighted, short-curl-haired woman beside him.
"Lv.2 in a week, Lv.3 in less than a month, and all by defeating a Amphisbaena… this is exactly the sort of thing Freya would monitor closely. I don't want to attract the strongest familia's attention…"
"Oh, relax, Asfi, I just want to make a friend…"
"That's exactly the problem! Every time you think like that, it always leads to…"
"And now we're pressed for time, we can't linger in Orario."
The woman started to complain, but Hermes silenced her with a pat on the head.
"Unfortunately, we must handle business first. You take someone you trust. I'll go to the Guild and bring more to the Large Tree Labyrinth."
Hermes, usually carefree, now spoke with serious authority.
"This hazard is more troublesome than anticipated. Let's finish this quickly, we still need to return."
"Understood," replied the short-haired woman, Asfi, currently a tool for the Hermes familia… cough, current guild leader, the All-Rounder Asfi Al Andromeda.
And at that moment…
"Someone I trust…" Asfi thought, that leaves only her.
Coincidentally, the main street had both master and servant in view.
Asfi instinctively looked toward a nearby tavern…
The bountiful landlady.
Clearly…
The "tool" had found her matching "tool spirit."
Perhaps this was what one traditionally calls… setting up a friend.
==========
Back to the present…
Dungeon – 37th Floor
[…Burn them through, Sword of Surtr.]
[- my name is Alf]
[Rea Laevateinn]
"Everyone, retreat!"
Inside the Throne Room, Finn immediately gave the order as Riveria finished her spellcasting.
Those who had been entangled with Udaeus withdrew beyond the range of Riveria's magic.
Then, with the trigger incantation…
"BOOM~"
"BOOM BOOM BOOM~"
…like a volcanic eruption, searing columns of fire spiraled upward across the Throne Room.
The normally muted gray-white palace glowed crimson, the Throne Room instantly transformed into a natural oven… no, a furnace.
Finn's team was mostly unaffected due to Riveria's careful control, at most, a bit sweaty.
But Udaeus… unable to endure the concentrated destruction of such power, was utterly obliterated in the flaming core.
Even the ashes didn't need to form.
Renjiro (Aether) and Lumine had participated too.
According to Finn, this was a preparatory exercise for attempting the 58th floor.
The results were decent.
Unfortunately…
"That huge magic stone… gone too." Beside him, little Tiona voiced the thought Renjiro shared.
"Considering its size, and we're not a full expedition team… how could we even transport it?"
Tiona scolded further, "Even if you could, Traveler and Lumine can't carry something so massive, and our arrival target for tonight isn't complete."
"Clean up quickly. With Udaeus defeated, we need to reach the 39th floor and camp. That's the priority."
Her logic was clear.
"There are plenty of monsters on the safe floor that need clearing. Don't act stubbornly and make trouble for the leader."
Ais felt the hint and instinctively tilted her head, avoiding eye contact.
Elsewhere…
"I just thought of something," Renjiro and Lumine discussed through the mental link.
"If Udaeus is a skeleton monster and the magic stone is fully exposed in its ribcage… such a glaring target…"
"What if Paimon goes in and uses Time Stop + Spatial Storage to snatch the stone… could we instantly defeat it?"
Interesting idea.
"If it works, that'd be like a natural nemesis effect."
"Next time, let's try it with a 'ground-based' one first," Lumine replied.
Renjiro nodded.
"Works~"
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