"[Fusillade Firebolt]!"
The deafening explosion and gunpowder smoke almost shook the entire chamber. On the smooth, crystal-like walls, traces of scorched red and black, caused by the searing jets of fire, were smeared messily like colorful paint.
The giant, nearly ten meters tall, howled as it crashed to the ground.
As a massive cloud of dust rose up, the green cloak behind the Elf girl snapped violently in the wind.
"Tiona, you handle the Goliath's left hand, I'll take the right!"
A piercing sword flashing with starlight, accompanied by countless deep green orbs of light, exploded against the giant's arms, riddling them with holes. On the other side, a deep crimson blood aura surged and exploded thunderously, as if to drown out everything.
At this moment, the Amazon girl, whose eyes had long since turned red, actually used only her bare hands to smash the giant's arm into an indescribably bizarre, twisted angle.
"It hurts!"
The recoil force made Tiona's small face immediately crumple in distress.
Fortunately, Lefiya, who was in the distance, quickly chanted a healing magic. Specks of pale green light surrounded the girl's hands, which were seeping lines of blood, suppressing the intense pain slightly.
"Go for it, Cecil!"
"Oh!"
The blue-haired girl holding an iron hammer finally snapped back to reality.
She didn't have much experience fighting Monsters.
Since coming to Orario, she hadn't entered the Dungeon. Previously in Solingen, although she occasionally encountered Monsters in the forest, Isagi and the Goddess were always by her side, so she practically never needed to do anything.
At this moment.
Looking at the massive giant lying before her with disheveled hair, its mouth wide open as if it wanted to howl.
Almost subconsciously.
Cecil raised her left hand and activated the "Legion Prosthetic" she had forged earlier—"[Divine Thunder]".
Blinding lightning exploded abruptly. The azure electric current converged, and after pausing for a second or two, it violently detonated inside the giant's large mouth.
"!!!"
The lightning sizzled, noisy and ear-piercing.
Accompanying it was the girl holding the large iron hammer, screaming indiscriminately as she swung it down toward the giant's head!
It was about the same as Isagi had predicted.
With Ryuu-senpai, Tiona, and Lefiya together, they didn't need any other adventurers at all; they were sufficient to subjugate the Monster Rex, estimated to be Lv. 4.
This was the norm in the Dungeon; powerful adventurers could usually defeat Monsters above their level.
And when facing guys of the same level, they could win easily.
Even if the Monster Rex was an existence with [Endurance] exceeding ordinary Monsters by several hundred times, subjugating it was only a matter of time.
"Ah—"
Unknowingly, the battle had already ended.
Lefiya patted her small face, wondering, Is this what the Dungeon is like?
Why does it feel like something is wrong somewhere!!
Hmm...
Amidst her thoughts, her body moved almost instinctively, running to the giant's corpse to retrieve the Magic Stone inside, as well as the dropped materials.
It wasn't worth much money.
Because the Goliath respawned every two weeks, it was practically killed and subjugated by adventurers on a daily basis.
This resulted in the dropped "Goliath's Tooth" being dirt cheap, worth ten-odd thousand Valis at most, but if there was one, they definitely had to take it!
The surrounding adventurers were also somewhat disappointedly preparing to return to Rivira.
For the guys in the Adventure Town, having high-level adventurers subjugate the Goliath on their way through was a daily occurrence, not worth making a fuss about. Some adventurers had originally planned to run over and leech some [Excelia].
But they didn't expect the girls of the Astrea Familia to be so formidable, giving them absolutely no chance to intervene.
However, they at least got to watch the excitement.
Satisfied, they prepared to go back and brag about what they had seen and heard today to others in the taverns.
As for the girls, they didn't plan to return to the surface so early.
Ryuu and the others had arrived at the [Wall of Grief] on the 17th Floor just as the Goliath respawned, so they entered combat immediately.
Now that it was over, Lefiya and the others were thinking of going to Rivira to take a look.
It was like a vacation.
Since they had made the effort to come here, naturally they wanted to see the legendary "Under Resort."
Cecil was also very interested in this, so the girls quickly tidied up a bit and continued downward along the passage connecting the 17th and 18th Floors.
Not long after.
What unfolded before Lefiya and Cecil's eyes was a vast, lush mountain forest bathed in a faint silver glow.
Amidst the sound of flowing springs.
Looking up, one could see the incredibly massive crystal clusters above the chamber, resembling the sun or the moon.
They emitted a faint radiance, glowing softly alongside the giant crystals that appeared occasionally in the forest and lined the sides of the road, indicating that the time here was currently "night."
And in the distance of this quiet, deep mountain forest.
Inside the Adventure Town located halfway up the mountain slope, warm Magic Stone lamps were also emitting light. Even from a great distance, one could hear the noisy clamor coming from within.
In the mountains outside the town, one could occasionally spot corners of campsites set up by adventurers themselves.
"Let's stay outside too."
The living environment in the town was not only expensive but also hard to describe.
In those inns partitioned by wooden boards, all kinds of strange sounds would always be heard late at night—Amazons from the Pleasure Quarter, and even fairly high-level "Combat Prostitutes," would occasionally run here specifically to do business with adventurers, or treat it as "extra income" while adventuring.
There was no helping it.
The adventurer profession was just like that. Not knowing when they might die, the majority of guys were the type to "indulge in venting." It was also for this reason that the Pleasure Quarter was one of the liveliest districts in Orario.
Ryuu couldn't help but remember the words her former friends had said to her.
[If Lion meets a guy she likes, remember to pounce on him immediately, okay~]
[Alive in this world, for adventurers, parting in life and death is the norm. That's why you have to enjoy it to the fullest, enjoy every minute and every second together, otherwise you'll regret it.]
[Kaguya is right!]
Alise had spoken very seriously.
[Lion being too old-fashioned won't do, be careful not to fall behind! What if the boy gets snatched away by someone else? That would be too pitiful!!]
[Then just open a harem!]
[Kaguya has a point too. The masters in your homeland, it's normal for them to marry several girls, right?]
[There was such a thing—]
[Quick, tell us, tell us!]
The topic had quickly shifted to distant palace secrets. The girls giggled over the gossip, not knowing if it was true or false; anyway, it didn't matter.
And herself?
Ryuu remembered that she had flushed red with indignation at the time, completely unable to join her friends' topic, and finally could only flee in embarrassment!
Ugh—
The boy's back inexplicably surfaced in her mind.
Why am I thinking of Isagi?
Does that even need to be asked!
Ryuu bit her lip lightly, hurriedly shook her head, and threw such unreliable thoughts out of her mind.
Skillfully.
She found a good spot to set up camp at the edge of a lake in the mountain forest.
Just like camping, they planned to rest here for the night. However, Lefiya and Cecil both wanted to stroll around the Adventure Town.
Tiona volunteered to act as the tour guide.
Ryuu, thinking of visiting the place where her friends were buried later, did not go with them.
Knowing the thoughts of their Familia senior.
The girls soon parted ways. Tiona walked a bit in front, skipping along the familiar mountain path, passing through the woods and streams, and those giant crystals standing on both sides of the road. As she walked, she looked at the ground from time to time.
She was looking for something!
The Under Resort was not just a Safety Floor; it also produced quite a few rare "items." Among them, a fruit known as "Crystal Candy" could sell for several tens of thousands of Valis for just a single bottle.
"But it doesn't have much taste."
Cecil remarked.
Because Mama Demeter had once treated everyone to it. Although it was novel, it indeed tasted average.
The Goddess liked to purchase these things simply because she wondered if such "specialties" from the Dungeon could be cultivated on the surface.
But the results didn't seem very promising.
Just as Monsters were not beasts, all the "medicinal herbs," "forest trees," and "fruits" in the Dungeon were not plants in the normal sense.
Everything here.
They were creations "gestated" by the Dungeon, a brand-new world completely different from everything on the surface.
Not long after.
They arrived at the bustling Adventure Town.
Tiona clearly had some "prestige" here. Those rough-looking adventurers, upon seeing the Amazon girl, all revealed resentful expressions, and absolutely no one dared to come over and pick a quarrel.
Quite a few of them had truly been dealt with (beaten up) by her or her sister. This allowed Cecil, Lefiya, and the others to be practically unimpeded in the town, going wherever they wanted.
So many people.
The town surrounded by mountains was simply packed with people.
Whether in the taverns, the restaurants, or on the roads outside, figures of adventurers were everywhere.
The majority were male.
Even Tiona was puzzled; why were there so many people?
Did something happen recently?
But, aside from the Freya Familia having already launched an expedition a few days ago, there were no major events in the city. And what relationship could a Goddess Familia's expedition to the Deep Floors have with the increase of adventurers in Rivira?
Just as the girls were baffled, amidst the clamorous crowd, Lefiya suddenly spotted a familiar figure—
"Filvis!"
The beautiful compatriot with long black hair appeared particularly eye-catching in the crowd.
"Ah, Lefiya!"
The Elf girl also wore a surprised expression, then, seeming to think of something, she looked left and right before quickly passing through the crowd and running over.
"Why are you guys here?"
"We came to subjugate Goliath, and stopped by to take a look."
"Oh..."
Filvis nodded, feeling that the girls before her had come at just the right time.
Dionysus was preparing to "start a decisive battle" with the city's adventurers in the Artificial Labyrinth. There were quite a few arrangements involved, and she was just thinking about how to secretly inform Lefiya and the others of the news.
And now—
Seeming to think of something, the aloof Elf girl quickly came up with a rather good idea.
____
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