Monsters instinctively seek to go deeper, for the further down they go, the closer they are to the Dark Mother, and thus, the more power they can obtain.
This was one of the most fundamental background settings of his "Special Dungeon".
That was why the previous [Goblin Kingdom], under the leadership of the [Pale King], constantly launched expeditions toward the Lower Floors. Their goal was to prove their strength. However, upon reaching the Middle Floors here, things seemed to have changed somewhat...
...
Not a blade of grass grew between the barren rock walls. Filth and bone fragments of various sizes were scattered everywhere, left behind by unknown monsters. The air appeared stifling and foul.
The path ahead was always winding, sometimes leading down, sometimes up, and branching into many forks, making it completely impossible to distinguish direction. The light falling from the ceiling was extremely dim; one couldn't even clearly see what it was. Fluorescence? Algae? Crystals?
From time to time, Isagi and the girls could spot some "markers" that seemed to have been left by Goblins. They were tattered cloths tied to things like wooden sticks, emitting that unique stench characteristic of Goblins and Kobolds.
Most were already broken, but some had been preserved, proving that the [Pale King] had indeed once led the Goblins here.
Undoubtedly, this was originally the 13th to 17th Floors of the Dungeon. Adventurers called it the [Cave Labyrinth]. This metaphor was very apt, and after being specialized by his skill, it became even more so.
The paths had become incomparably narrow. In some places, it was impossible for even two people to walk side by side.
Above, below, left, and right—aside from the visible path, there were all sorts of fissures of varying sizes. They would even suddenly shrink or expand, causing the path to seem as if it were constantly changing. Not only would monsters suddenly dart out from within, but it would also disrupt the squad's original travel plans. Often, while walking, several paths would inexplicably appear ahead, leaving them completely unsure of how to proceed.
During a break.
Isagi took the map drawn by Ryuu-senpai. Feeling the Elf maiden quietly squeezing toward him, he also leaned his head in close. Her golden-yellow hair draped slightly, emitting a unique, fresh scent.
The map was simply a chaotic mess, basically impossible to look at directly. He had absolutely no idea where was where. The only good news was that the place where they first arrived via the elevator was located in the center of the map. So, as long as they kept heading upward with their heads down, they would always be able to return to the starting point. There was no need to worry about getting lost inside and being unable to walk out.
"The main problem is that there are too many fissures between the floors," Ryuu said with distress.
Logically speaking, this should be the 13th to 16th Floors, a total of only four floors. But in reality, because there were so many fissures going up, down, and at various angles, it was difficult to distinguish the specific floor. And between fissure and fissure, there were connecting paths.
This formed such a complex labyrinth. However, at least it wasn't like the Deep Floors where the entire floor was affected and changed, so the area covered wasn't too large.
The multiple adventures over this period allowed Isagi and the girls to explore about seventy or eighty percent of this place. Actually, there was no need to worry about those complex intermediate areas. They just needed to head straight down.
Passing through passages that were either slopes or straight, pitfall-like tunnels, they would eventually arrive at a massive stalactite cavern. Its name was [Anthropomorphic Holy Church · Land of Holy Promise].
The light here was even dimmer, and there were no monsters present. In the center of the huge cavern chamber, there was only a black Site of Grace, as if reminding him and the girls that this was a "Safe Point".
At the foot of the cavern, there were still pristine, flawless crystal walls. From here, one could overlook the skeleton of the giant Goliath sealed within, as well as the scattered armor and weapons of adventurers.
Compared to taking the elevator before, looking down from above now felt quite different. It was like the ruins of some ancient battlefield.
Lefiya skillfully raised a campfire around the dark Site of Grace. After setting aside her large travel backpack, she began to cook. The other girls also ran over to help, washing vegetables, cutting meat, each performing their own duties.
Very soon.
The aroma of steaming hot curry began to drift, along with ribs and radishes stewing in a large pot, making one's appetite surge.
Isagi and Ryuu-senpai were still comparing the map, trying to figure out where the boundaries of the entire area were, and then continuing to plan a new "farming route"—preferably farming all the way to the top elevator. As the [Origin Land], that was also a Safe Zone and wouldn't spawn monsters.
This way, it worked out perfectly: walk up once, walk down once. When reaching the very top or the very bottom, they could rest. Going back and forth about five or six times like this, once their supplies were mostly consumed, they could return to the City.
Raising Ability Scores was just like this.
The monsters along the way were quite numerous, mainly consisting of those they had seen before: the "Hellhounds" draped in beautiful sky-blue robes, and the "Rabbit People". Apart from these, of course, there were the most famous monsters of the lower levels here—the Minotaurs.
There was also another type of guy similar to the Minotaur, called the "Liger". Their appearances were mostly similar. They either wore beautiful sky-blue armor or were draped in sky-blue robes. Overall, there were many variants, mainly representing the process of slowly changing from "Beast" to "Human".
However.
Their strength wasn't very high. The ordinary monsters here were roughly Level 3 to Level 4. Some special ones that looked like Elite Monsters were also around Level 4, which was indeed a bit lacking compared to the Great Tree Labyrinth below.
Speaking of which, it should have been like this originally. The deeper the floor, the stronger the monsters. But looking at it now, that Anthropomorphic Church wasn't in the lower levels, but rather here. So, was even the "strength" inverted? Were the weaker monsters ruling the powerful monsters...?
These messy plot details were all guessed by Lefiya and Tiona. They did pick up some pure plot items that seemed to verify the girls' conjectures, but they were all a bit scattered and hadn't converged into a complete story yet, so even Isagi couldn't be bothered to ponder it.
Fragmented Narrative was just like this. It was best to wait until all the fragments were collected to read it all at once; otherwise, it was just blind guessing everywhere.
By the way, perhaps because the Dungeon's favorability toward him had greatly increased again, the number of items that could be picked up in this crisscrossing [Cave Labyrinth] had increased quite a bit. Aside from the initial Dung Pellets and Primordial Residue, quite a few small items had appeared.
There were throwing knives; medicinal herbs that could be used directly; some gems or gold and silver ornaments; it even dropped a soaking material called "Miracle Sacrament".
After Isagi switched his Character Card to "Retreading the Journey to the West"...
He took out the Monkey Booze that could restore health, threw this soaking material into it, and took a sip. While the wine became much spicier, his [Strength] attribute increased significantly—of course, it wasn't permanent, but a temporary BUFF that would last for about a few minutes.
Isagi was shocked! He wondered how the Dungeon could coordinate with his skills... Ah, no, this guy would originally react to his skills! Since their connection had deepened and he had even learned those taboo moves, producing "items" that originally didn't exist wasn't really a problem.
The compatibility was very good. Isagi even felt it was becoming a bit strange. Could it be that in the future, the Dungeon would thoroughly and completely not only turn into his shape but also work hard in various ways to adapt to and coordinate with him?! Why did it feel a bit terrifying?
Previously, Isagi was worried that this guy would do something strange when he came to the Dungeon, but fortunately, there was nothing at all. It couldn't be that because the favorability was too high, it was now satisfied just by him being inside... No, the more he spoke, the weirder it got!
"Speaking of which, Isagi, we seem to have not found where the [Church] is yet."
Lefiya, eating curry, suddenly leaned over, looking at the map spread out before him and Ryuu.
"Isn't it a Church? A Church should have a chapel, right?"
"Could it be that Holy City from before?"
"But apart from a BOSS, there was nothing inside. As a Church, there should be nuns, priests, bishops, and the like, right? Where did those guys go?"
"Ah, that's right." Ryuu was curious.
Isagi was also puzzled. Looking at it now, between the 13th and 16th floors, they indeed hadn't discovered anything special. Could it be that something was hidden in those fissures in the middle? But he and the girls had visited most places, and originally, they hadn't found anything at all.
Forget it. Thinking that they still had to farm Ability Scores here for a while anyway, as long as they did it enough times, they would always find some clues. Wasn't clearing the map just like this?
Holding such thoughts. After eating and resting for a bit, Isagi, as always, set foot on the return journey with the girls.
Anyway, as long as it was upward, it was fine. Trying to choose places they hadn't walked before, they spent more than half a day all the way back to where the elevator on the 13th Floor was originally located. Then they continued to rest, and headed downward again, cycling back and forth like this.
Many times in a row. Time passed unknowingly by quite a few days. Adventuring in the Dungeon was just like this.
Until suddenly, Ryuu-senpai, who as an Elf was presumably more sensitive in her "senses", seemed to hear something with her pointed ears—
"Isagi, did you hear the sound of a bell?"
"Hmm?"
Everyone stopped and listened carefully. Subsequently, they discovered that a very fragmented "ding-dong" sound really was coming from the distance, like a wind chime blown by a spring breeze, very faint.
Soon. The group found the fissure from which the bell sound was coming. It really was a considerably tiny crack, like a narrow "cat's eye". One could at most stick close to it and use an eye to see the situation behind it. If not for the sound coming from it, no one would have noticed this place.
Isagi looked directly through it. The result was that the scene entering his eyes wasn't anything special; it was still a very narrow, barren cavern chamber. But a strange thing happened at the same time.
Just as he leaned in and found the bell sound was much closer... Suddenly. The fissure before his eyes cracked open.
"Holy shit?"
As if some mechanism had been triggered, the originally tiny crack slowly expanded, finally transforming into a narrow corridor that allowed one person to walk inside.
And ahead, for some reason, a somewhat blinding and incredibly familiar light was slowly spreading out. Accompanied by that even closer bell, and even the sound of some kind of "hymn".
Isagi and the girls formed a line and slowly walked inside. The corridor wasn't long. Not even half a minute later, they had reached the end.
Subsequently, accompanied by a golden Site of Grace rising to the side, and a gray Fog Gate suddenly appearing out of thin air ahead, Isagi understood instantly.
Walking directly inside, what he didn't expect was that behind the Fog Gate was another "old acquaintance"—or rather, one couldn't really say that, they had only met once?
[Anthropomorphic Witch · Ardani].
The petite Rabbit Person riding on a giant wolf was still shaking the small bell in her hand, causing Isagi and the girls to recall that they had once met her in the central tower of the [Goblin Kingdom]. At that time, it was she who led the monsters of the Church to counterattack the Goblin Royal Capital.
And—
[To be able to suddenly crack open and cause people to fall into a "pitfall" to a lower layer is also a miracle of the Dark Mother.]
In a sudden realization. Isagi finally understood what the so-called "Miracle" actually referred to.
____
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