Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
On a bright, clear day, the long-awaited War Game finally arrived. All of Orario turned its attention to the two familias.
Roy checked his equipment.
Gale Boots — He had used their special effect so many times that even he had lost count. Combined with normal wear and tear, their durability was down to 29%.
Village-Quality Sword, his most frequently used weapon — durability 46%.
Frostblade (Magic Sword) — usable one more time.
Giant Killer (Greatsword) — the larger the enemy's body, the greater the damage. Against ordinary humans, however, its damage dropped to roughly the same level as the village-quality sword.
What remained were bottles of potions, and his most important trump card—
The Giant Summoning Card.
Roy took a deep breath. Everything would be decided here.
When Roy, Miss Ryuu, and Goddess Astraea arrived at the Dungeon entrance beneath Babel Tower, the area was packed solid with people, layers upon layers deep.
There were civilians who loved excitement, adventurers who had spent enormous sums on gambling, and a small number of people who had once received help from the Astraea Familia, their faces filled with concern.
Because of the special nature of this War Game, Ouranos and the Guild had forbidden the use of the Divine Mirror—a citywide live broadcast. Whether it was a righteous familia being defeated or the two sides slaughtering one another, neither was something that could be shown publicly. The impact on Orario would be far too great.
Everyone could only wait for the result on the surface.
Many adventurers nearby were filled with regret. They had been inside the Dungeon earlier and only learned about the War Game after returning to the surface. By then, it was too late to go back in—they had missed a rare spectacle.
But looking at it another way, even if they had been inside, they might not have wanted to stay. The Dark Faction was like a pack of rabid dogs; they might just turn around and bite them as well.
Several gods of the same faction gathered around Goddess Astraea.
"Astraea, do you have confidence?"
Astraea wore a gentle smile. "I believe in my children."
"Children?"
The surrounding gods looked surprised. The Astraea Familia should have only Gale Wind left.
Could it be that they had powerful reinforcements? After all, the Astraea Familia had good relations with many familias—borrowing a few high-level adventurers temporarily shouldn't be difficult…
But when they saw Roy, he looked fairly handsome and clean-cut, yet unfamiliar. After learning his background, their expectations fell—he was only Level 1.
They couldn't understand Astraea's thinking. How could a Level 4 plus a Level 1 stand against more than a hundred opponents?
In truth, Roy and Ryuu had been acting mysteriously all this time, and even Astraea didn't know what they were planning. She had only gone along with it out of unconditional trust and support, letting things progress this far.
If she said she wasn't worried at all, it would be a lie. But as a goddess, she couldn't show hesitation or doubt in front of her children.
Above Babel Tower.
Seated high upon her throne, Freya's eyes glimmered faintly.
"They're here."
"Ottar, you must find it strange—why I didn't let you help that child," Freya said as she lifted her wine glass, gently swirling the red liquid inside.
"No. Everything follows the Goddess's will," Ottar replied, standing behind her like a steel tower.
"I don't dislike that obedience of yours," Freya smiled.
Her flawless face, as if crafted by the heavens themselves, was enough to charm even other gods at a glance.
Freya continued softly, "Don't forget—the one who proposed this War Game was that child himself."
Only a very small number of people still remembered that fact. Most saw only the overwhelming difference in numbers between the Astraea Familia and the Rudra Familia.
High-level adventurers didn't lose their heads so easily. If they lacked confidence, they would choose assassination, poisoning, or bounties—
Not a direct confrontation.
"What a shame," Freya murmured.
It was far too conspicuous. Even secretly using the Divine Mirror would create ripples that other gods could detect. Being sent back to Heaven would ruin the fun.
"Ottar, could you knock out all those boring gods?"
"If that is your wish—"
"Never mind."
At that moment, the crowd parted to either side.
God Rudra arrived, leading his familia members in a vast procession—over a hundred people.
This was the entire Rudra Familia.
At a glance, vicious smiles covered their faces. Although they hadn't received help from the Thanatos Familia, they were still brimming with confidence.
Looking closer, most were Level 1, but there were also seven or eight Level 2 adventurers. Their captain and vice-captain—two dark-skinned men—were both Level 3.
They had once defeated the Floor Boss of the 17th Floor, Goliath, so even when facing Level 4 Ryuu, not a trace of fear appeared on their faces.
The citizens looked upon these thugs with disgust and fear, yet there was nothing they could do.
Roy noticed the elf girl beside him trembling slightly with rage, her beautiful face tightly drawn. He lowered his voice.
"Just wait a little longer."
Only then did she suppress the fury in her heart.
A Guild staff member announced,
"The War Game between the Astraea Familia and the Rudra Familia now begins. The challenge is the Dungeon floors reached within one day. The supervisor will be Shakti Varma, captain of the Ganesha Familia!"
A blue-haired woman in fitted combat attire stepped forward.
A Level 5 adventurer, bearing the title 'Elephant God's Staff.'
The Rudra Familia adventurers had no objections. Shakti Varma might be friends with Gale Wind, but would she dare openly interfere?
As long as even one of them escaped alive, the Ganesha Familia's reputation would be ruined.
That would be gambling with the future of an entire familia.
Shakti let out a quiet sigh; the helplessness in her eyes already revealed her stance.
Ryuu whispered, so softly it was barely audible,
"Shakti, don't go to the tenth floor. Stay on the ninth."
Shakti looked at the elf girl before her and inexplicably felt a chill. What exactly were they planning?
Following Ryuu's gaze, Shakti noticed the boy beside her.
So this was the real trump card?
Under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers, both sides began entering the Dungeon, walking along opposite paths. The contrast was striking—on the Astraea Familia's side, there were only two solitary figures, making them look pitiful.
Gods, adventurers, and citizens alike shook their heads inwardly.
The difference in numbers and strength was far too great. No one believed the Astraea Familia had any chance of winning.
Both sides arrived at the branching point on the first floor.
Shakti said,
"We'll split up here. The Astraea Familia will head to the right, the Rudra Familia to the left. I will certify the floors each side reaches."
In name, it was still a War Game.
Even on the surface, many people were craning their necks to peek inside. If slaughter was going to happen, it would be on deeper floors.
"So pitiful—only two people."
"Don't secretly run away, okay?"
"Hahahahaha!"
The members of the Rudra Familia laughed loudly at Roy and Ryuu.
No matter how you looked at it, this War Game was—
152 versus 2.
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