Linn's leisurely pace—as if he were merely out for a casual stroll—made Lefiya, trailing behind, gnash her teeth in frustration.
"Hey! You! Is dodging all you know how to do?!" she finally burst out. "You're supposed to be an adventurer, aren't you?!"
"Can't help it. They're too aggressive; I can't even get a hit in." Linn spread his hands with a look of pure innocence.
(Besides, it's not like it matters—I'm still raking in the Runes.)
His response nearly made Lefiya choke on her own indignation.
Ais turned her head, her golden eyes locking onto Linn. "The trial... has it not started yet?"
"Soon, I think." Linn smiled and pointed toward a massive cavern entrance ahead. "I have a feeling it's right around here."
The group stepped onto the 15th Floor. The environment here was a stark contrast to the upper levels; gargantuan stalactites hung from the cavern ceiling, the ground was pitted and uneven, and the air was thick with the heavy, cloying scent of damp earth.
Almost the moment they crossed the threshold, the entire cavern began to shudder violently.
"ROAAAAAR—!"
Accompanied by a deafening howl, a titan standing over ten meters tall rose from the depths of the cave. Its skin was a bruised bluish-black, it possessed a single massive eye, and its muscle-bound frame looked like a small mountain. It was one of the Floor Bosses of the Middle Floors: Goliath.
"Oho! A Floor Boss? Finally, something decent!" Tiona's eyes lit up instantly, her battle intent surging.
"Lefiya, begin your chant!" Tione barked the order immediately.
"Understood!"
However, their preparations were entirely unnecessary.
In the heartbeat that Goliath took its first step to begin a charge—a flash of silver and a blur of black vanished past its flanks almost simultaneously.
Ais moved like a bolt of lightning. Her blade flashed, and a deep, bone-deep gash instantly erupted across Goliath's Achilles tendon. Following right behind, Tiona leapt high into the air, her giant sword Urga descending with the weight of a falling star, slamming into Goliath's neck as it buckled in agony!
Squelch—!
The massive head spun into the air, and the titanic body collapsed, dissolving into a mountain of light particles that scattered into the atmosphere.
From the moment the Floor Boss appeared to the moment it was insta-killed, the entire process took less than three seconds.
"...Eh?" Tiona landed, staring at the empty space before her, looking a bit dazed. "That's... it? It's over?"
"You've got to be kidding..." Lefiya's chant died in her throat, her face a mask of disbelief. "We came all this way just to kill a Floor Boss this weak?"
Tione frowned as well, looking toward Linn. "Mr. Linn, is this the trial you were talking about?"
Their voices were filled with confusion and a hint of disappointment. This didn't qualify as a battle; it barely even counted as a warm-up.
Only Ais kept her gaze away from where Goliath had vanished. She looked at Linn instead. She believed that things would never be this simple.
Sure enough, Linn didn't react to their confusion. He didn't even spare a glance at the evaporated boss. He walked straight across the clearing toward the rock wall at the very back of the cavern.
He reached out and began feeling around the seemingly unremarkable stone surface, as if searching for a mechanism.
"Of course it's not that simple," Linn replied without looking back. "My God's trial is only just beginning."
The girls blinked.
"Found it."
Linn's voice rang out as he pressed down on an inconspicuous protrusion in the rock.
Click... Rumble...
The sound of heavy gears grinding echoed through the cavern. The massive stone wall began to slide inward, revealing a deep, lightless corridor. A blast of air—utterly different from the Dungeon's scent, smelling of decay, ancient frost, and wind—hit them full in the face.
"Let's go," Linn said, being the first to step inside. "The real trial grounds are in here."
Ais followed him without a moment's hesitation.
"W-wait for us!" Tiona and Lefiya hurried after them, with Tione bringing up the rear, warily scanning their surroundings.
The moment the last person crossed the threshold, the stone door slammed shut behind them with a heavy boom.
The sight that greeted them made everyone gasp in unison.
They were no longer in a cave in the Dungeon.
Above them was a leaden, gray sky, so gloomy it looked ready to weep. In the distance stood a castle so magnificent it took their breath away—countless twisted towers pierced the heavens, and the battlements were scarred by the wounds of ancient wars. A desolate, ruined, yet majestic aura blanketed the entire land.
"Where... where are we?" Lefiya's voice trembled.
"It doesn't feel like the Dungeon... Is it an alternate dimension?" Tione's expression turned grim.
Linn scanned the horizon, a flash of nostalgia in his eyes, followed by a hint of confusion.
It was Stormveil Castle, no doubt about it. He would recognize that iconic architecture and the oppressive atmosphere even if they were burnt to ash.
But... the terrain didn't match at all.
The grand road leading to the main gate in his memory was gone, replaced by a rugged, rocky slope. The positions of the distant lifts and ramparts had also shifted eerily.
(What is this, a randomized map? To keep me from speedrunning through multiple New Games?)
While Linn was grumbling internally, a sudden change occurred in his companions!
"Ngh!" Tione was the first to notice. She let out a muffled groan, her body swaying. "My body... it's so heavy!"
"Me too!" Tiona cried out. She tried to swing Urga, but the giant sword felt heavier than it ever had before. "My strength... it feels like half of it's been drained away!"
"Mana! My mana..." Lefiya's face went pale. She discovered with horror that the river of mana that usually surged through her had been reduced to a sluggish, barely moving trickle!
Ais didn't speak, but her hand gripping her sword hilt and her unprecedentedly solemn expression said it all.
An invisible shackle had descended upon them.
That power that surpassed mortals, those feats that could move mountains and part seas—the very foundation of their strength as Level 6 and Level 5 adventurers—had been forcibly suppressed and sealed by a tyrannical law of this land the moment they stepped foot here!
"My attributes... they've been capped at a Level 1 standard..." Tione reached the conclusion with difficulty, her face full of shock.
Falling from the heavens back to the realm of mortals—this massive disparity made them lose their greatest advantage in an instant. In this eerie and dangerous unknown land, what was the difference between them and lambs for the slaughter now that they had lost their power?
At that moment, Linn—the only one unaffected—stretched his limbs and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ah... that's the feeling."
He turned around to face the four pale women, a brilliant—perhaps even slightly mischievous—smile on his face.
"Welcome to Hidetaka Miyazaki's Trial. It's not too late to turn back, you know."
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Danmachi: My Primary God is Hidetaka Miyazaki? (Simulpub – Ongoing)
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