"So... So powerful. Is this Lord Lynn's true strength?"
Not far away, Lili, who was holding a crossbow and preparing to provide support, was dumbfounded.
The battle between Lynn and the four Hellhounds seemed somewhat long when described, but in reality, everything had happened within just a few seconds.
To an outsider, the battle scene was Lynn rushing up and taking them out one by one, slicing through the four Hellhounds like cutting melons and vegetables without taking a single injury.
"This is truly too exaggerated."
"Yeah."
Not just Lili, but even Mikoto and Ouka, who were Level 2s, were startled.
As monsters that first appeared on the thirteenth floor, the strength of Hellhounds was far beyond what monsters on the previous floors could compare to.
After a brief charge, the flames released by a Hellhound could easily melt most armor and deal devastating blows to Adventurers.
Facing four Hellhounds at once, both Mikoto and Ouka would have been in for a hard fight; it would be completely impossible for them to end the battle as elegantly as Lynn.
Looking at the black-haired youth walking toward them, a hint of curiosity appeared on Mikoto's face.
"Lynn, have you leveled up?"
"No level up, I'm still Level 1."
"Eh? Then how did you suddenly become so much stronger?"
Compared to their first meeting two days ago, the strength Lynn displayed this time was completely different.
"I've gained some insights into the Breathing Technique, so I've become stronger."
Ripple was also a Breathing Technique, so there was nothing wrong with that statement.
After having Lili pack up the magic stones dropped by the Hellhounds, Lynn and the others continued forward.
"We've arrived. This is the first cavern room."
Reaching the end of the passage, an open space appeared in everyone's sight.
"Lynn, should we continue forward?"
Ouka looked at the black-haired youth beside him.
"Yes, our destination isn't here."
Lynn looked at several passages within the cavern room and led the team toward the passage on the right
Along the way, the group encountered monsters several more times, but the numbers weren't large.
With Lynn leading the charge, these monsters soon followed in the Hellhounds' footsteps.
"Lynn, are you not planning to go to the fourteenth floor?"
As they advanced, Ouka compared the path to the map in his mind and found something wrong.
This path was not the way to the fourteenth floor.
Or rather, it was the exact opposite.
The path Lynn chose perfectly avoided the several passages leading to the fourteenth floor.
If the route hadn't been planned in advance, such a situation would be impossible.
"We're not going to the fourteenth floor today. Let's first adapt to the intensity on the thirteenth floor."
"Hmm... that's true. After all, it's the first time you and Liliruca have come to the middle floors, so you need to adapt."
"You've misunderstood. The 'adapting' I mentioned wasn't referring to me, but to you all."
"To us?"
A look of confusion appeared on Ouka's face.
Because they had two Level 2s, the Take-Mikazuchi Familia frequently came to the thirteenth floor to hunt monsters.
In terms of experience on the thirteenth floor, they clearly had more than Lynn no matter how you looked at it.
"We're here."
Just then, Lynn's voice rang out again, and he led the group into a new cavern room.
Because they had avoided the path to the fourteenth floor, the location of this cavern room was very remote. Generally speaking, no other Adventurers would pass by.
After letting everyone rest on the spot to recover their stamina, Lynn took out a black box from his backpack and began to explain the battle plan.
"Inside this is a bait I made myself, which can attract monsters to come close."
"Once you've recovered your stamina, take this bait and help me gather the monsters."
"Isn't this too dangerous?"
Ouka frowned upon hearing the plan.
Starting from the thirteenth floor, the Dungeon was already considered the Middle Floors.
Aside from Hellhounds, there were many different types of monsters like Unicorn Rabbits and Fang Liger Tigers.
Gathering these monsters together increased the danger level far beyond a simple one plus one equals two.
"Don't worry, there won't be any danger."
Lynn took out a dozen more potion bottles from his backpack.
"This is the Featherweight Potion produced by the Dian Cecht Familia; it increases movement speed after consumption."
"If an LV1 takes it, increasing speed by twenty to thirty percent for a short time shouldn't be a problem."
"Take two bottles each. If you feel like you can't outrun the monsters, drink one."
"But..."
Ouka was still hesitant.
If too many monsters from the thirteenth floor were pulled, even he wasn't sure he could retreat unscathed.
Most members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia were LV1; he had to consider the worst-case scenario.
"How about this, I'll add another 30,000 Valis as the commission reward." Lynn held up three fingers.
"It's not a matter of money."
"50,000 Valis."
"Lynn, I..."
"100,000 Valis."
"Say no more, I'll do it!"
As the saying goes, sincerity can crack open stone and metal.
Perhaps moved by Lynn's persistence, Ouka finally stopped hesitating and accepted the commission with a grand wave of his hand.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
Lynn lowered his clenched fist.
Fortunately, he had Lili's sponsorship, otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to fork out so much money.
Pretending not to see the Palum Girl nearby clutching her flat chest with a pained expression.
Lynn gave a shout and called all the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia over.
Although he said they were pulling monsters, there was a technique to both pulling and farming them.
Lynn had his reasons for choosing this chamber as the farming location.
The chamber they were currently in had a total of three paths connecting to the outside.
One of the passages was behind them; it was the path they had come from.
The remaining two paths were on the other side of the chamber, no more than five meters apart.
"The Take-Mikazuchi Familia will split into two teams. Ouka, you and Mikoto will each lead a team. Take the bait and pull monsters from those two passages over there."
"After pulling the monsters back, Mikoto and Ouka can stay and fight with me, while the LV1s go to the path we came from to provide long-range support."
"We will block all the monsters. What you need to do is keep watch on the rear. If monsters appear from the rear passage, you must report it immediately."
"Lord Lynn, what if too many monsters appear in the rear passage?" Lili raised her hand to ask.
Monsters in the Dungeon don't spawn in fixed locations; they could emerge from anywhere.
The passage behind them was their retreat route.
If their luck was too poor and a large number of monsters spawned at once, getting pincered from front and back would be no joke.
"Don't worry, I've already prepared a trump card."
Lynn took out five short swords radiating magical fluctuations from his backpack and handed them to Lili.
"If a large number of monsters really appear from the rear and Ouka and Mikoto can't pull away to help, use these to clear out all the monsters."
"These are... Magic Swords? So many?!"
Mikoto let out a cry of surprise upon seeing the short swords.
"I see, with these Magic Swords, it will indeed be much safer."
Ouka nodded thoughtfully.
Magic Swords are not affected by an Adventurer's level or magic power; they can release powerful magic once activated.
As long as there are enough Magic Swords, even dozens or hundreds of monsters gathered together can be annihilated in an instant.
However, ...
Compared to the Take-Mikazuchi Familia, whose sense of security had greatly increased, Lili, who had first asked the question, fell into silence.
Staring blankly at the Magic Swords for a few seconds, she finally snapped back to her senses: "Lord Lynn, may Lili ask a question?"
"Ask away."
"When we arrived at The Babel earlier, you left for a short while. Could it be..."
"Yes, I went to buy Magic Swords."
"..."
Lili's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.
The price of a Magic Sword usually fluctuated between several hundred thousand to a million Valis.
Lynn had bought five Magic Swords at once, spending at least two to three million Valis.
In addition, Lynn had also purchased Featherweight Potions and hired the Take-Mikazuchi Familia to help pull monsters
With this series of operations, she feared her hard work over the past few years was about to be wiped out.
"Actually, there's a bit of money left."
As if seeing through the Palum Girl's thoughts, Lynn gave a thumbs up.
"I have acquaintances in the Hephaestus Familia, so I got a discount when buying the Magic Swords."
"The remaining money is enough for us to hire the Take-Mikazuchi Familia to work for us until next week."
"Lili isn't concerned about that..."
"As for food, I've prepared ingredients; there won't be any problems until next week."
"Why is everything based on next week as the standard?"
Mikoto, who had been silently eavesdropping, couldn't help but ask.
"Because I have a big deal next week. Once it's done, I won't be short on money anymore."
"Need help?"
This time it was Ouka's turn to ask.
After a few interactions, he had fully realized how generous Lynn's spending was.
If they could take another job, the Take-Mikazuchi Familia could take a vacation and have a good rest for a while.
However, to Ouka's disappointment, Lynn shook his head at him.
"You won't be needed for next week's matter."
"Alright then."
Ouka was a bit disappointed.
"Take the bait and get to work."
Lynn handed the box containing the bait to Ouka and silently backed away a few steps to put some distance between them.
To save money, he had made that bait himself after researching the principles of bait.
Because it was homemade, he had added some heavy-duty ingredients.
As a result, the bait's effectiveness was better than the bait sold on the market, and the same went for its smell.
"Gah!!!"
As soon as he opened the box lid, Ouka felt an indescribable stench rush at his face.
Beside him, the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia who were about to take the bait all retreated, their faces contorted in pain.
"Lyn—*gag*... Lynn, are you sure this is ba—*gag*!"
"It's bait."
Lynn retreated another few steps, pressing himself against the wall.
"I... *gag*!"
Ouka couldn't stand the smell and threw the box onto the ground nearby, also retreating to create distance.
The air was filled with a strange odor, as if someone had thrown diarrhea-like manure into a pot to heat it up and then used a fan to blow the heated smell around.
Feeling the impact of this smell, the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia all looked at Ouka with pleading eyes.
As the captain of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia, Ouka naturally understood what his companions' gazes meant.
Soothing his churning stomach, Ouka hesitantly approached Lynn.
"Lyn... Yukimura Lynn, can I give up on the commission?"
"You can, but if you give up on the commission, we won't be able to cooperate again in the future."
"This..."
"Ouka, and everyone else!"
"Please recall your original intention. Why did you and God Take-mikazuchi come to Orario?"
"That's right, it was to earn money to send back to your younger siblings in your hometown so they wouldn't go hungry!"
Lynn took a money pouch from his backpack and dropped it on the ground in front of Ouka with a thud.
"It's just a little bit of a strange smell; it's nothing compared to your original intention!"
"Come on! Let me see your grit!"
"..."
You're really something else!
Looking at Lynn, who had put on a gas mask at some point and was delivering a passionate speech.
Ouka took a deep breath and picked up the money pouch.
"Everyone, come with me to get the bait."
"Captain! No!"
"Captain! What are you doing, Captain!"
"Ouka, my stomach suddenly feels a bit..."
"No running away!!!"
Ouka grabbed Mikoto, a ferocious smile appearing on his face.
"Mikoto! Have you forgotten our oath?!"
"...Not seeking to be born on the same day, month, and year, but seeking to die on the same day, month, and year."
"That's right, now is the time to fulfill that oath! Come with me!"
He was already leading the way to grab that pile of manure; no one else was getting away!
Dragging his desperately struggling companions, Ouka arrived in front of the box containing the bait, leaned over, and pulled out a piece of raw meat covered in yellow seasoning from the box!
"Mikoto! Your—*gag*... your turn!"
Perhaps having already adapted to the stench, Sakura handled the bait much better this time.
Under his urging, the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia were forced forward; not a single person escaped taking a piece of bait.
For a moment, the sounds of vomiting rose one after another within the cavern, and the strange odor in the air grew even more concentrated.
Watching this scene, Lili, whose mood had been somewhat heavy, retreated to the wall.
"Lyn... Lord Lynn, Lili shouldn't have to take that bait, right?"
"No need."
"That's wonderful."
Lili breathed a sigh of relief.
Happiness is born from comparison.
After seeing the miserable state of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia, Lili's mood instantly improved significantly.
She considered it as spending money to avert disaster; at least she didn't have to touch that lump of stuff that smelled ten times worse than shit.
"Lynn, we're heading out."
A moment later, the Take-Mikazuchi Familia, having emptied their breakfasts, split into two teams and entered the tunnels to the left and right.
As the only two Level 2s in the Familia, Sakura and Mikoto each walked at the very front, their expressions calm.
After adapting to the smell of the bait, they had entered a special sort of 'sage mode,' their hearts unprecedentedly tranquil.
Without any verbal communication or hand gestures, everyone seemed to understand exactly what they needed to do, tacitly spreading the scent of the bait into every corner of these two tunnels.
Attracted by the bait, seven Unicorn Rabbit soon scurried out from the depths of the tunnels.
"Monsters are coming, retreat!"
Sakura immediately raised his shield, blocking the first wave of the Unicorn Rabbit's assault.
The remaining members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia said nothing, clutching the bait as they ran back the way they came.
Sakura followed closely behind, ensuring these Unicorn Rabbit didn't touch his companions while returning to the cavern.
At this moment, Mikoto's team from the other tunnel had already returned early, and a large number of monsters had gathered in the cavern.
Four Hard-armored Rats curled into balls, zipping around the cavern like cannonballs.
At the edges of the corners, five Hellhounds had flames flickering at the corners of their mouths, ready to strike.
As Sakura's team returned, the seven Unicorn Rabbit joined the fray, making the situation in the cavern even more chaotic.
"Don't be afraid! I'm here to help!"
Noticing that the Sakura team's return path was blocked, Lynn leaped forward.
With Thunder Breathing fully activated, he swiftly killed the Hard-armored Rats blocking the way, one strike per beast.
The path was opened, and the members of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia successfully returned to the rear.
As for Mikoto and Sakura, they remained behind according to the plan.
The three of them launched an attack with Lynn as the core, quickly clearing the first wave of attracted monsters.
"Continue."
Under Lynn's command, the Take-Mikazuchi Familia set out again, beginning the next round of monster luring.
...