Vergil swiftly returned to the dungeon control room, his presence immediately calming the tense atmosphere. "Give me a sitrep. What did I miss while I was on the surface?"
Anastasya didn't look away from her monitors. "Kurogami is currently in the medical bay tending to Kyumara. That nine tail fox is completely exhausted after fending off a vanguard party from the Lion Palace Clan. Right now, Izunami has rotated in and is actively fighting against a strike team led by the Guild Master of Clan Tempestus."
Vergil's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Azrael is leading the raid himself? He is stepping in personally?"
Freya looked over from her station. "Do you know this Azrael, Vergil?"
"I know of him," Vergil nodded, crossing his arms. "He is an elite adventurer who holds the Battle Commander class. It is the absolute highest evolution of the Talker class tree."
Marie tilted her head, clearly confused by the complex class mechanics. "Excuse me, but what exactly makes a Talker different from a Cleric?"
Vergil shifted into his mentor persona. "It is a matter of utility. A Cleric focuses on increasing base physical and magical stats, and their primary role is healing wounds. A Talker, however, specializes purely in maximizing the attack output of their party members. Talkers cannot cast healing magic to close physical wounds because their skill tree is strictly focused on offensive buffs and psychological manipulation."
Freya decided to simplify it for her future daughter-in-law. "Let me put it this way, Marie. Imagine your arm is heavily injured, but you are forced to unleash a massive Area of Effect (AoE) sword skill. What do you think the result would be?"
"The attack's power would definitely be reduced," Marie answered thoughtfully. "And the AoE range would likely shrink because I couldn't swing the sword properly."
"Exactly," Freya smiled. "But if a Talker uses their skills on you, they force your body to ignore the pain and bypass its natural limits. They ensure your sword skill's output and range remain at one hundred percent maximum capacity, even with a broken arm. And if a Cleric heals that arm afterward, the Talker's buff scales the damage even higher."
Marie's eyes widened in awe. "I had no idea... I am sorry for asking such a basic question."
Freya let out a soft chuckle. "There is no need to apologize. You don't have any adventuring experience yet, so it is natural you wouldn't know. But when the time comes, you will understand exactly how your own powers work in a real battle."
Marie blushed deeply, looking down at her hands.
Seeing her embarrassment, Fenrir proudly puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Marie! I will accompany you on all your adventures and protect you!"
Creed, who was casually leaning against a server rack, laughed out loud. "Actually, Fenrir, it is the exact opposite. Marie will be accompanying you."
Fenrir blinked in confusion. "Is that true, Uncle Creed?"
"It is a universal truth," Creed explained with a smirk. "Only males can sense the Wind of Calling—the instinctual pull to seek out new worlds and face the unknown. Once you are married, it becomes your wife's sacred duty to accompany you wherever that wind leads."
Freya nodded, a nostalgic smile crossing her face as she looked at her husband. "Your Uncle Creed is entirely correct. Long before you and Camilla were born, Vergil felt that calling. We traveled together to an incredibly unique, dark world, where I learned much more advanced, lethal assassin techniques to add to my arsenal."
Meanwhile, down in the dungeon's massive Safe Zone, the vanguard party from the Lion Palace Clan was already resting, observing the flow of adventurers who had successfully pushed past the floor boss and were preparing to descend into Level 6.
Not long after, Azrael and his elite party from Clan Tempestus phased into the Safe Area.
"So this is the famous Safe Zone," Azrael murmured, taking in the bustling underground economy.
Yora, the party's female Assassin, crossed her arms. "I am still incredibly curious about this infamous Level 6 everyone keeps talking about."
Adrian, a heavily armored male Knight, turned to Azrael. "Should we proceed straight to the graveyard, Guild Master?"
"No. We need to rest and resupply first," Azrael ordered, rolling his shoulders. "That Nine-Tailed Fox boss we just fought was an absolute nightmare to deal with."
Suddenly, a flash of teleportation light illuminated a quiet corner of the Safe Area. Gideon and his Rank A party materialized, all of them looking completely battered, exhausted, and covered in dust.
Minamoto, the Tempestus party's Long Swordsman, noticed them immediately. "Guild Master, look over there. It's the Vanguard party."
Azrael turned, assessing the rival party's terrible condition.
"They look awful," Yora commented. "They must have just barely survived a fight against the Nine-Tailed Fox as well."
Spotting the Star-Ranked Clan Master, Gideon offered a tired, casual wave. Azrael raised a hand, silently signaling his own party to stand down and remain calm, before walking over to greet the veteran.
"It is an honor to meet the Clan Master of Tempestus," Gideon said, shaking Azrael's hand.
"The pleasure is mine. It is always good to see a Rank A party leader," Azrael replied smoothly. He then gestured to Gideon's bruised armor. "Though, you look like you were put through a meat grinder. What happened?"
"We just barely managed to outrun a massive Skeleton," Gideon sighed, leaning against the wall.
Azrael raised an eyebrow. "Is it the same heavily armored skeleton squad from the rumors?"
"Worse," Gideon corrected. "The smaller skeleton squads are now being led by a Giant Skeleton variant. Its attack power is insane. I blocked a direct hit, and the kinetic force still launched me across the room. But honestly, I am starting to get used to the ridiculous scaling on Level 6."
The Assassin from Gideon's party chimed in, "The skeletons are strong, yes, but that isn't even the strangest rumor floating around."
Azrael's tactical mind immediately latched onto the bait. "What strange rumor?"
"Hydra's party was recently ambushed," Gideon explained in a hushed tone. "They were attacked by a rogue Assassin who doesn't belong to the Assassin's Guild. Apparently, the attacker was wielding completely bizarre, unknown weapons."
Azrael immediately glanced at Yora. "Yora, go find Hydra and ask him about this rogue Assassin. I want details on those weapons."
Without a word, Yora melded into the shadows, vanishing into the crowd to track down the Hero's party.
Gideon then looked over at Minamoto. "So, how did your party handle the Nine-Tailed Fox?"
Azrael gestured for his swordsman to answer.
"That boss is absurdly powerful," Minamoto admitted, nudging his armored companion. "I was getting overwhelmed. How did you hold up, Adrian?"
"I am just thankful my primary class is a Paladin with a Knight sub-class," Adrian grunted, adjusting his heavy breastplate. "My holy resistances were the only thing that kept me standing."
Azrael brought the conversation back to the tactical issue at hand. "Gideon, you and your party are top-tier veterans. Even with a Giant Skeleton in the mix, why is a Rank A team getting wiped out so consistently?"
Gideon let out a frustrated sigh. "Because you can't memorize the map. The layout of the entire dungeon physically changes every single night. Even Hydra and the other two veteran parties are completely lost. Every time we dive back in, the terrain and pathways have completely shifted."
Adrian frowned, noticing a logical inconsistency. "Wait a minute. If you were forced to retreat from Level 6, how did you teleport directly into this Safe Zone?"
"An excellent question," Azrael agreed, looking intently at Gideon.
"This dungeon operates on a very unique set of rules, similar to the Arudi Dungeon but far more advanced," Gideon explained. "If you physically retreat toward the exit, the dungeon will automatically eject you to the surface. But look at your dominant arm."
Azrael, Adrian, and Minamoto quickly rolled up their sleeves. Stamped onto their forearms was a glowing, magical tattoo in the shape of a beast's claw.
"What is this?" Adrian asked, startled.
"It is a waypoint marker," Gideon explained. "You get it by touching the magical crystal lantern at the dungeon's main entrance. As long as you have that mark, you can instantly teleport to the Safe Zone from a designated retreat point."
"Did you discover this mechanic yourself?" Azrael asked, highly impressed.
"By accident," Gideon chuckled. "My party stumbled upon it during our very first dive, back when we were exploring alongside Emperor Shiroi's royal party."
Azrael's eyes widened slightly in realization. "Emperor Shiroi actually dives into this labyrinth himself? No wonder this dungeon is so fascinating."
"It is," Gideon nodded grimly. "In fact, I would argue the Yuta Dungeon is far deeper and vastly more dangerous than the Arudi Dungeon."
Azrael simply nodded, his mind already formulating a new strategy for the shifting labyrinth ahead.
A few hours later, Clan Master Magnus of the Lion Palace Clan arrived in the Safe Zone with his vanguard party.
"That Nine-Tailed Fox boss was surprisingly formidable," Magnus remarked, dusting off his opulent, heavy armor.
"It is a good thing my skeleton summons were able to surround it," Claire, the party's Necromancer, noted with a smug smile. "They held the frontline and absorbed the worst of its attacks."
Magnus glanced at her, nodding approvingly. "Your undead battalion was exactly what we needed, Claire."
Maldive, the party's Druid, chimed in. "I am just glad I prepared heavy recovery and crowd-control spells in advance. I knew a beast with that much agility wasn't going to go down easily."
Magnus smiled at the Druid. "Your root binds were crucial, Maldive. Without you ensnaring the fox, we would have been chasing it around the arena all day."
"We are all lucky Maldive was here to lock it down," Clara, the female Priest, added with a heavy sigh of relief. "Otherwise, I would have really struggled to keep up with the healing output."
Magnus placed a reassuring hand on his cleric's shoulder. "Your healing magic was the foundation that kept us all alive, Clara." The entire party laughed, the lingering tension of the intense boss fight finally washing away.
Scanning the massive Safe Zone, Magnus spotted Azrael resting comfortably at a nearby table. The Tempestus Clan Master waved casually while enjoying a hearty lunch with his squad. Magnus walked over to greet his rival.
"Did you and your clan just arrive?" Magnus asked.
Azrael swallowed a bite of his food. "We've been here for a while, actually. I'm just resting while we wait for the rest of our clan members to catch up."
Magnus laughed heartily. "We just finished our boss run. The queue to fight that floor boss is getting ridiculously long."
Azrael chuckled. "That's to be expected. The rumors about the skeletons on Level 6 are completely true, which is creating a massive bottleneck for everyone."
Magnus narrowed his eyes, noticing how pristine Azrael's gear looked. "Why do you look so relaxed? Did you not fight?"
"My vanguard and several other Tempestus parties actually teleported back to town to shop, then came back here to rest and repair our equipment," Azrael explained casually.
Magnus blinked in surprise. "There are repair and maintenance services down here?"
Azrael and his party members simply pointed toward the bustling commercial district of the Safe Zone, where merchants were loudly hawking potions and blacksmiths were hammering away at portable anvils.
Magnus looked utterly baffled. "Wait... if you left the dungeon to go to town, does that mean you had to fight the Nine-Tailed Fox boss again just to get back into this Safe Area?"
Azrael shook his head, looking highly amused.
"Are you serious?" Magnus asked in disbelief. He looked at the other resting Tempestus members. "Did you all have to fight the fox again?"
The four other Tempestus parties shook their heads in unison.
"Is Clan Tempestus using some sort of cheat?" Magnus accused playfully.
"We don't need to cheat," Azrael said. He paused, then pointed across the room just as another independent adventuring party materialized in a flash of teleportation light.
Magnus stared in shock. "How are they teleporting directly into the Safe Zone?"
Yora, the Tempestus Assassin, spoke up. "Check the dominant arm of your party members. There is a magical tattoo. You can use it to instantly teleport back into the Safe Area as many times as you want, Lord Magnus."
Magnus checked his arm, seeing the faint glowing claw mark for the first time, and let out a rich chuckle. "Fascinating. I will have to test that later. For now, I need to wait for my 1st Captain, Samael, and the rest of my clan to arrive."
With a polite nod, Magnus left Azrael's party to their meal and began searching for a suitable encampment to set up the Lion Palace Clan's forward operating base.
Mina casually observed the interaction between the two Clan Masters, meticulously jotting down the final details of their conversation before snapping her notebook shut. Her intelligence-gathering mission complete, she turned away from the bustling Safe Zone and began making her way toward the descent path leading down to Level 6A.
A few resting adventurers noticed the lone rogue heading toward the graveyard floor and quickly called out to warn her. "Hey, miss! You shouldn't go down there alone! Level 6 is an absolute death trap for solo players!"
Mina paused and waved them off with a confident, carefree smile. "Don't worry about me! I am actually pretty used to dealing with skeletons. In fact, I might just breeze straight through Level 7 and hit Level 10 today!"
The adventurers simply shook their heads, muttering to themselves as they assumed she was just another arrogant, overconfident rookie rushing to her doom. "Alright, suit yourself," one of them sighed. "Good luck down there!"
Mina descended the stairs, stepping into the gloomy, fog-filled graveyard expanse of Level 6A. Instead of following the main pathways where the undead mobs spawned, she swiftly navigated through the shadows, moving toward a secluded, overgrown alcove that the regular adventurers had completely overlooked.
Reaching out, she pressed her hand against a specific, hidden rune etched into the solid rock face. A secret stone door seamlessly slid open, revealing the brightly lit, high-tech maintenance corridors of the dungeon.
Mina quickly stepped inside and pulled the heavy door firmly shut behind her. The locking mechanism clicked silently into place, ensuring the wall looked completely undisturbed from the outside, keeping her true identity as a Yuta Dungeon Manager safely hidden from the players.