At the same time, a similar conversation was taking place on the other side.
"Tiona, do you know them?"
The leading high elf, Riveria, asked the energetic girl doubtfully.
Tiona smiled and said, "I know them. Not only do I know them, but you know them too."
"We do? I don't think I've seen them before."
The elf Lefiya tilted her head, indicating that she didn't recognize the four of them.
"..."
Ais didn't speak; she just watched them silently.
"Hee hee, we just talked about them a few days ago, but since you haven't seen them in person, it's normal if you don't recognize them."
Tiona stopped being mysterious and gave them a reminder.
In fact, her meeting Kanae and the others was purely coincidental.
When she went to the dungeon to earn money the day before yesterday, she saw them from a distance while passing the 18th floor. It was only when they arrived that she learned their identities from the words of passersby.
To say that both parties knew each other was an overstatement; it was just Tiona's one-sided knowledge of Kanae and her group.
"A few days ago?"
Riveria was slightly startled, and then she realized.
"Are those the members of the Hestia Familia?"
"Yes."
For a moment, Riveria, Lefiya, and Ais all cast inquisitive glances at Kanae and the others.
Then they noticed Takumi.
"Then wouldn't this person be..."
At this time, Takumi also looked at them.
"Hello, my name is Takumi, and I am the captain of the Hestia Familia."
Riveria smiled back.
"Riveria, deputy leader of the Loki Familia."
"I'm Tiona, hello!"
"Lefiya, also a member of the Loki Familia."
"Ais..."
Then Takumi introduced them to the three Kocho sisters.
After both parties formally introduced themselves, Takumi asked, "Are you also here to defeat Goliath?"
Riveria did not expect Takumi to be so direct. After a slight pause, she nodded calmly. "Yes."
Their team was there specifically for Goliath.
First, Ais wanted to challenge herself.
Second, it was to raise funds for the Familia.
The Loki Familia already had plans for another expedition, but they were still short of funds, so they decided to hunt Goliath.
Therefore, the Ganesha Familia's claim was secondary to them.
Among the truly powerful top Familias, few would yield to others in the competition for resources.
"You said it that way, so are you here for him too?" Riveria noticed the implication in his words.
Takumi nodded. "Well, I want to test my strength."
Actually, it was for the points.
"Does that mean we are going to be rivals?"
Tiona said with a smile.
Riveria didn't say anything, just looked at Takumi silently.
The same was true for Lefiya and Ais.
Takumi shrugged. "If you are only here for the magic stone, then we might be able to cooperate. If not..."
There could only be fair competition.
Although Takumi didn't finish his sentence, Riveria understood. She thought for a while, then turned to Ais.
"Ais, why don't we just forget about it this time?"
Riveria didn't mind cooperating with Takumi.
Moreover, this would allow her to better observe Takumi, see how strong he was, and collect information on him.
The only question was whether Ais would agree.
In fact, the reason they decided to take this Goliath was mainly due to Ais's persistence.
She was too anxious to become stronger, having been stagnant at Level 5 for so long. In her impatience, she had even developed the idea of soloing the Floor Boss on the 37th floor to achieve a Level 6 rank-up.
After her persuasion failed, Riveria decided to use this opportunity to let Ais fight Goliath first, hoping to steer her away from that dangerous idea.
For this reason, she also brought Tione along to support Ais, just in case something unexpected happened, like a Goliath mutation.
As for Lefiya?
The girl was just there to join the fun.
It was rare for her to take the initiative to follow them into the dungeon, so Riveria brought her along for the experience.
Ais was silent for a moment, but soon she replied seriously, "I want to try."
"Fine." Riveria nodded helplessly and looked back at Takumi.
"Mr. Takumi, thank you for the offer, but someone here wants to use Goliath as a touchstone, so I must decline."
Takumi smiled and waved his hand. "It's okay. Even if we can't cooperate, we can still be civil. Let's rely on our own abilities later. Besides, there may be opportunities to cooperate in the future."
As he spoke, Takumi smiled mysteriously, which startled Riveria.
Before she could say anything else, Takumi started walking down with Kanae and the others.
"Okay, that's enough talk. Let's go. Goodbye."
"..."
The four girls watched them leave, taking a moment to recover their composure.
"Wait! They're getting a head start!"
Tiona said in shock.
Ais reacted and rushed down instantly.
"Wait for me, Ais!" Lefiya quickly followed.
"Unbelievable."
Riveria helplessly looked at Tiona, who seemed to be enjoying the excitement.
Tiona had definitely said those words on purpose to stimulate Ais.
Seeing that she had been found out, Tiona wasn't embarrassed. She smiled and said:
"Hee hee, this is fun. It's also a good time to see how impressive Takumi is."
"Forget it, I don't have time for your antics." Riveria shook her head and followed quickly.
Tiona followed closely.
After the two parties separated, they headed toward the 17th floor via different routes.
Soon, Takumi and his party arrived at the Goliath respawn point on the 17th floor, which served as the entrance to the 18th floor.
As soon as they arrived, Takumi saw from a distance that many people were already gathered there.
When the four of them approached, several people were sent to stop them.
"Stop!"
Takumi was slightly startled, but he chose to stop to see what they wanted.
He saw the leader of the group come forward and say:
"The Floor Boss is about to respawn, and our Ganesha Familia is organizing a subjugation."
"To avoid unnecessary accidents, crowd control is currently being implemented in this area."
"We are sorry, but you cannot get closer for the time being. We hope you will cooperate."
The message was to disperse them, but the man's words were polite and lacked a domineering attitude.
It was typical of a Familia member responsible for public security; he was well-versed in professional language.
However, Takumi did not retreat. Ignoring the man, he began to look around.
Takumi's disregard annoyed the leader, who repeated in a deep voice:
"Please cooperate with our work."
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