◉◉◉◉◉
"Alright, go on. Tell them your name."
Anos gently set the prum girl on the ground.
"Li… Liliruca… Liliruca Arde."
It took a few seconds before the small girl answered.
Her eyes were fixed on the blonde girl in front of her.
She recognized her instantly.
Ais Wallenstein.
The famous Sword Princess of Loki Familia.
One of Orario's most well-known prodigies.
So this man is with the Sword Princess…
Does that mean he's also part of the Loki Familia?
If someone from another familia had told her they could help her leave the Soma Familia, she would never have believed them.
But if it was someone from the Loki Familia…
Then maybe it really was possible.
After all, they were one of the two strongest familias in all of Orario.
"I think she had a falling-out with the adventurer she was supporting."
"Today the Dungeon seems a little strange. If we left her alone, she probably wouldn't make it out."
"So I brought her along."
Anos explained calmly.
"And I also think our familia could use a maid."
"A maid?"
Ais tilted her head.
"You mean the kind that stays beside their master all the time?!"
Bell Cranel suddenly asked.
After asking, Bell stared straight at Anos, as if trying to read his intentions.
"Not all the time, just… someone who stays at the house."
Bell quietly let out a breath of relief.
For some reason, Ais did the same.
"In any case, we should discuss this with Lady Hestia first," Bell said seriously.
Her position was completely aligned with Hestia.
The fewer girls getting closer to Anos, the better.
That way he would only choose among the familiar people around him.
Like Bell herself.
Or Hestia.
Cough!
"Alright. We'll talk about it later."
Anos shrugged.
Liliruca wasn't absolutely necessary.
But since he had already picked her up along the way…
Why not?
Just like that, somewhat confused, Lili ended up joining their group.
Both Ais and Bell were kindhearted.
Neither of them could leave a helpless prum girl alone in the Dungeon.
What they objected to was simply Anos casually deciding to recruit her as a maid.
"First, let's treat your injuries."
Anos sighed and reached out.
Healing magic.
Combined with sage arts.
A soft surge of spiritual energy flowed through Lili's body.
In a moment, all her injuries disappeared.
"Eh?"
Lili froze.
She had never felt such comfort before.
The lingering internal injuries she had accumulated over years of abuse…
They were gone.
Completely gone.
Did he just wave his hand and heal everything?
Was he some kind of high-level priest from the Loki Familia? But earlier she had clearly seen him obliterate an entire swarm of monsters with magic.
And now he could casually perform healing magic too?
Ais stared in surprise.
"Anos… how many kinds of magic do you actually know?"
Magic in the Dungeon world was different from magic in the world of High School DxD.
In the DxD world, magic could be learned gradually.
With his ability, Anos could even deduce spells comparable to transcendental-level magic.
But in this world, magic had to awaken naturally.
Otherwise, it could only be learned through grimoires.
Compared to the DxD world, it felt more like a game system.
Of course, in reality…
This world was also a playground for gods.
"How many kinds of magic do I know?"
Anos thought for a moment and smiled.
"Well… I know a little bit of almost everything."
He wasn't exaggerating.
He had never systematically studied most magic.
He simply understood the principles and then pushed them to levels no one else had reached.
"A little bit of everything…?"
Ais opened her mouth slightly.
That sounded incredibly impressive.
She remembered that Riveria Ljos Alf was considered the strongest mage in Orario.
But even Riveria didn't know so many spells.
So Anos wasn't just powerful with the sword…
He was also incredibly strong in magic.
Ais didn't fully grasp the significance of mastering every element.
She only knew it sounded amazing.
Lili, on the other hand, nearly had her eyes pop out.
All-element magic?
Do you think you're a god or something?!
Of course, she kept that thought to herself.
Right now she was still trying to understand her situation.
Who exactly was this young adventurer?
Did he really save her just to recruit a maid?
She needed to find out.
"Ais... It's your turn to train now, Ready?"
Anos asked.
"Yes."
Ais nodded firmly.
She understood what he meant.
They were going deeper.
---
Thirty Minutes Later
Lili clung tightly to Anos's hand.
She was genuinely terrified.
They had already reached the 35th floor.
She had never gone this deep before.
The number of monsters.
Their strength.
Everything was beyond anything she had experienced.
"Is… is this really safe?"
Wave after wave of monsters rushed toward them.
Lili's voice trembled.
"Relax."
Anos smiled.
This time he could tell the difference.
Before, Lili's fear had mostly been an act.
Now it was real.
Earlier she had only pretended to be weak to ensure he would protect her seriously.
But now she was genuinely frightened.
She had never seen such endless swarms of monsters.
Even though Anos cleared them instantly with magic each time, she still worried.
What if he runs out of magic and collapses?
Who would save them then?
Even Ais seemed slightly strained under this pressure.
Lili could see sweat forming on the Sword Princess's forehead.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly Anos glanced behind them.
Someone was approaching.
"We… finally made it here…"
A young voice echoed through the corridor.
Another group of adventurers had arrived.
They had already felt that today's Dungeon seemed harder than usual.
But once they reached this floor…
They realized something terrifying.
If the floors they had traveled were slightly harder than usual…
Then the floor where Anos stood had become three times harder.
"Ah! Mister Anos! So you're here!"
Tiona Hiryute noticed them first.
Right as she spoke, Anos casually cast a formation.
A magic array flashed across the floor.
Six Paths Extermination Formation.
A massive wave of magic erupted.
An entire group of Level 4 monsters was instantly wiped out.
Anos never used divine power in front of others.
Only late at night, when he was alone.
Using divine power inside the Dungeon would increase the difficulty dramatically.
When Hestia once released a trace of divine aura, it had created a top-tier Level 5 monster on the lower floors.
If Anos truly used divine power here…
Everyone except him would likely die.
"…."
The adventurers stared in stunned silence.
He had just casually wiped out an entire swarm of Level 4 monsters.
The cleaning magic he used for Bell earlier was one thing.
But this?
Even a Level 5 monster would probably be seriously injured by that spell.
"Oh. You guys made it."
Anos smiled casually.
Yesterday he had provided two maps.
One of them included the 35th floor.
He wasn't responsible for opening paths for Ais.
His role was only to protect Bell and guide Ais's training.
Still, fighting through these floors had clearly exhausted her.
"Today's Dungeon seems strange," said
Finn Deimne, frowning slightly.
"When I saw the map yesterday, something already felt off."
"The monster numbers looked unusually high."
He had originally assumed the map was inaccurate.
Now he realized something else.
The so-called prophet who created the map had already predicted this situation.
"So, Mister Anos… are you planning to keep going deeper?"
"Of course."
Anos smiled calmly.
"Don't worry. I'll make sure Ais stays safe."
He definitely intended to continue downward.
If he stayed on this floor too long, the monster numbers here wouldn't match the map he had given the Loki Familia.
And if that happened…
They might try to renegotiate the reward later.
That would be annoying.
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 300 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!