Chapter 153: Sparks of War
Here it is.
I hope you like it.
I'll now eat something, perhaps study more, and then attend some classes.
Once I'm back, I'll study a bit since I have my last exam tomorrow.
Wish me luck.
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/Fwoosh!/
/Crack!/
/BAM!/
'After free falling for 17ish seconds, Silver crashed on the ground near the basin of the Great Falls, causing the surrounding area to tremble.'
'Behind him was the lake where the Amphisbaena spawned, but of course, it had already been taken care of by the Loki Familia in their last monthly expedition.'
"They should be below right?" He said as he looked around
It's been around a week since they left for this expedition… They should be coming back by this point considering they take around half a month on average for each expedition.
There are many reasons why this is the case, but the main one is that diving in the Dungeon is usually easier than climbing, everyone is full of energy at the start, and if wasn't for the safe points, such expeditions would be impossible.
It can take a week to reach the Deep floors, and considering they go beyond it most of the time, it's already impressive the Loki Familia can keep such times.
/SPLASH!/
"Hm?"
'Time seemed to slow down as a large Turtle monster jumped from the lake behind him, snapping its sharp jaw toward his chest!'
/SLAP!/
'But Silver simply slapped downward, sending the poor turtle back onto the ground.'
"Crystal Turtle..."
(Image?)
A large category monster that has crystals growing from its shell.
It is sometimes mistaken for land, so adventurers attack their destination first to make sure it isn't a monster...
I must've bothered it due to the vibrations from my landing.
"This was what I get for not checking where I land."
Not a problem anyway, hunting these monsters isn't really difficult.
One of the reasons why I stuck with killing Iguazus near the Great Falls is that, yes, there are many worthy monsters to fight, especially in large groups, but on these floors, apart from the floor Boss herself, there is no worthy monster for me to take in a 1-on-1 situation.
Given these floors' size, it can also be a chore to go after monsters, as strange as that sounds.
Even if they come in bigger numbers and overall, their density is much higher than the floors above, it doesn't compare to the simplicity of hunting those birds in the waterfall.
"Anyway, I didn't come here for that…"
The Lower floors are divided into 3 regions as compared to how the Middle and Upper floors were simply divided into 2 regions.
The first region of the Lower Floors is the Water city, where the recommended Level by the Guild for the adventurers is 3 since an average Level 2 adventurer would find it hard to deal with the monsters here on their own.
Not impossible, but not recommended either.
Also, not considering some of the Unique/Special monsters that pop up from time to time like the Iguazu, for those, they can do nothing but run.
Even higher Level adventurers would run when faced with some of those.
After the 27th floor comes the 28th floor, a safe zone that has the second settlement in the Dungeon.
It isn't as developed as Rivira on the 18th floor due to the area it is located in, but thanks to its overall location, it is more than capable of sustaining itself.
So it's used as a resupply area for adventurers who work around these floors, doing commissions or simply hunting for the sake of materials.
The second zone is similar to a swamp, with many parts of it actually being dry and truly, the only ones safe for locomotion.
You wouldn't want to traverse through the Swamp areas, it is already dangerous enough to do that on the surface, much less in the Dungeon.
However, these floors are full of beneficial crops and fruits suitable for consumption, and that's where the food and wood on the 28th floor come from.
It is similar to the 19th to the 24th floor in the sense that there are many herbs for collection... Many expensive herbs.
But different from those, these are the Lower floors, adventurers that can come down here to seek herbs, and leave in a short amount of time aren't really that numerous.
And commissioning big Familias for this is often too expensive, which is why even a single specimen of Under Coral on the 25th floor can cost upwards of 3 million Valis...
The harder it is to get, the higher the price.
And for the Dungeon, it is normal for the quality of everything to increase the deeper you go.
"Speaking of money..."
'Silver looked around, spotting a few Under Corals nearby.'
'Since this was the place Amphisbaena respawned, very very few adventurers had the balls to come close, regardless if she was dead or alive.'
'And they weren't being cowardly, the Dungeon has a track record for spawning monsters ahead of their scheduled time, and you wouldn't want to be near this place when that happened...'
'So many resources ended up accumulating here over time, normally taken by the big Familias as they pass through.'
'Even Silver was careful when he came here for the first time, but after a few times, he got used to it, making tens of millions every time he visited…'
"~I like money...~"
'Whistling as he collected the materials, he thought:'
Beyond the Second area, starting from the 32nd floor is what I like to call, the 'Dinosaur zone'.
The environment of that area consists of Valleys surrounded by mountains, a mix of everything we've seen so far in the Dungeon.
The deeper you go, the complexity of the area increases, together with the landmarks...
Forests, caverns, lakes, and more can be found here, and with it, the complication of moving around makes maps essential.
Monsters that are literally impossible for Level 2 adventurers to take on start to appear... Of course, I'm talking about average Level 2 adventurers, not those crazy irregulars that appear every so often.
These new monsters mostly take on the appearance of ancient beasts… Dinosaurs…
Magical Dinosaurs...
And this goes on until the 36th floor, the entrance to the Deep floors.
A decent map of this area can cost upwards of 30 Million Valis, way over the price for a decent set of gear for a Level 3 adventurer, the people that would raid this zone in groups…
30 Million Valis would be enough to greatly gear a Level 4 adventure unless you wanted to be fancy and requested gear from named blacksmiths...
The Guild shares quite a lot with everyone if you ask... And pay, but they only do so for those of equivalent status.
They wouldn't give information on the Deep floors for an F-rank Familia…
But I just asked Fels and she gave me quite a lot for free…
I'm very thankful for that, there was even information about the Upper and Middle floors I didn't know.
I even asked the Xenos whenever I had the time, after all, they live in this place, and they know a lot of things even older Familias don't… You never know when it might become useful.
"And that's where I'll be going today…"
/CRACK!/
'Yet again, Silver was ambushed by another monster!'
'A large serpentine fish jumped out of the rocky walls, opening its giant mouth to devour him whole!'
(Image?)
/SMACK!/
'But Silver simply raised his leg, kicking the lower jar of the monster, making it recoil and twist in the air.'
'With a depressed expression, he said:'
"They don't give me a challenge anymore."
… No, they never did.
/Slash!/
'Making a pinching motion with his index finger and thumb, the fish was cut in two in the air!'
/Thud…/
/Splash!/
'The 8 Meter long fish was cut in two equal parts, with one falling on the ground, and the other splashing on the water.'
"Sigh."
The Lower floors are a Level 3 area after all… 2 and half months ago, when I took my first step here, I could easily take on Level 4 adventurers.
My total Stat count was over 3000, which is equal to what an adventurer that has Leveled up with 750 on their stats would have by the time they became top Level 4...
Of course, not counting the bonus they have for their Level, but that is enough of an indication of my strength as compared to these monsters.
"Usually, the Dungeon grows faster than the Adventurer, but the contrary seems to be happening in my case."
I should try harder, I'm taking this too lightly.
'Shaking his head, he finished taking the materials before turning around, the entrance to the 28th floor was over half a kilometer up ahead.'
'He had no time to waste.'
…
/At the same time on the 44th floor…/
/BOOOM!/
/BOOOM!/
/BOOOM!/
'Within a large open area surrounded by black and burning red rocks, with black gas rising from the cracks on the ground akin to that of an active Volcano, a group of adventurers fought against a series of massive, molten rock monsters.'
'Each of these monsters' steps made the entire area tremble, like war machines of God, their mere presence caused the surrounding rocks to start melting.'
/BOOOM!/
'But despite that, they were blown away by the petite foot of a small Amazoness with a cheerful smile on her face…'
"Hot!" She exclaimed as she swung her foot in the air, smoke coming out of her soles
'But while she blew some wind on her foot, many red-hot stones started to fall from the sky like fireworks… The fragments of the giant monster she just slew.'
/FWOOSH!/
'But under the precise control of wind, those rock fragments were sent far away, saving a group of adventurers carrying bags and other supplies.'
'They all breathed heavily, letting out sighs as sweat fell from their forehead.'
"Tiona! Stop playing around and deal with them appropriately!" Riveria said with a frown in a displeased tone
"Eh?! Sorry!" Tiona replied as she turned around hastily
/ROAR!/
'One of the stone monsters took this chance to slam down at her as she was distracted...'
/BOOOM!/
'But before they could do that, another Amazoness came flying from the side, slamming her fist in the middle of its 'eye' socket, a hole full of molten lava…'
/Sizzle…/
'As her hands burned, she exclaimed:'
"PAY ATTENTION YOU FUCKING DIMWIT!"
"Uh? Hey! I'm no dimwit…" Tiona replied as she looked at her sister, pouting
'She jumped forward and cut the giant's legs with her Greatsword, making the golem fall onto the ground with a great 'thud'!'
'To those sisters, it seemed these monsters were nothing more than a fun way to warm up rather than a true fight…'
"Urg… Those two are a pain to manage."
"I do agree with you, if the two lasses were a bit more mindful of their surroundings, I wouldn't mind letting them do as they wished." Gareth replied as he looked at Riveria
'He turned around, and checked everyone's condition, the vanguard group was okay, but the support and backline groups were on their last legs.'
"They have little gas left, should we wrap things up?"
'As he said that, he turned towards a blond child… A Pallum holding a large spear with a golden tip.'
'The man nodded and said:'
"I was about to give the order… Just waiting for those 2 to waste a bit more energy."
If I have everyone pull out too quickly they'll complain and complain...
Ever since that day...
Ever since they talked with him, together with Ais' speedy growth, everyone's been awfully focused on themselves and their growth.
Well... I can't blame them, it's the same for me, I've grown more in these last 2 months than I did last year together.
It's frightening, even...
"... We went further by one floor than planned, it's good enough as we made a new record for ourselves."
But it'll take a little while until we can proceed further, the next and last known safe room is on the 49th floor...
There's a 10-floor difference between each safe zone, and currently, the backline and support teams cannot make the way there.
We lack Second Class adventurers, if we had at least 10 more, then that might've been feasible... But we would be cutting close, and I don't like that.
Either that or a few more First Class adventurers.
'Riveria smiled as she saw Finn in deep thought.'
"Albeit this isn't the deepest we ever went, as an Expedition group, they're growing nicely."
"At this pace, in another 2 years, we'll surpass the record and step into the 59th floor."
"... Of course." Finn replied with a smile
Even if I wanted, to take only the Executives and those above, it would be impossible to reach this deep as everyone would tire themselves out on the way.
So we need the Backline and Support groups to help us and carry a portion of the burden.
However, if they're too weak, they'll only hold us down… That's why it's taking so long.
Everything is in its due time, there's no need to hasten things.
'He looked at Gareth, and the two nodded and each other.'
'So the Dwarf patted his chest and cleared his throat…'
"OI YOU TWO, GET YOUR ASSES BACK HERE!"
/TREMBLE!/
'His scream shook the area, making several of the weaker backline adventurers who were a hundred meters away cover their ears.'
…
'In no time at all, they gathered up before turning back to their main camp on the 39th floor.'
'There is a reason why such deep expeditions take so long, they can't move together all the time as that in itself is too dangerous, so instead, they have the Vanguard clear the way first before setting up camp in a safe zone.'
'Once the way is cleared, they'll pack and move to the next safe zone, rince and repeat.'
'Right now, as these were new grounds, only those above Level 4 were participating, everyone else had been left behind on the 39th floor.'
'And with them, they left a certain angry wolf to cool his head and protect the weaker members as they dove.'
'It was a very controversial choice, but one that ended up passing in the end as they weren't going to leave for long.'
'Under the condition they allowed him to participate in the fight against Udaeus, the Floor Boss located in the Middle of the White Palace on the 37th floor.'
'But that would have to wait as it took at least 3 months for it to spawn.'
'Last time, they didn't kill it, but this time, they timed their expedition just right so they could claim it.'
'Not only was it a good experience for everyone involved, but the drops from all monsters in the area were also enough to fund a great portion of their next Expedition…'
'But not all, such was the amount of money they threw into these in order to guarantee everyone's safety.'
…
/Back at the surface…/
'Inside a tower that smelled heavily of incense…'
'Siting on a stone throne, a Goddess with tanned skin gazed at her subordinates with a pleased gaze.'
"..."
'She said nothing, but under her faint smile, her mind was constantly moving.'
Things have been progressing well, better than I initially expected.
Amazons are truly a strong species, despite all of their shortcomings when it comes to their overall intellect...
'She looked at her wine glass, at the red liquid inside it... Like the blood, she spilled to be here today.'
'Her expression did not change even as she thought about them.'
This time, I'll take things slowly, one step at a time.
Not solely rely on myself, I'll use them as well... This is why I invested in them so much.
I poured almost all of my riches this time, into the best equipment available, the information…
At this rate, the preparations will be completed within another month, the last Berbera will have passed through their Trials, and they'll have enough time to adjust to their new strength.
I can extend this adjustment period by 2 months, as to give the Berbera that failed another chance since not all are ready to Level up yet.
As for that bitch... Even if she knows, so be it, I'll have her attention fall onto this, and keep the rest under covers.
Her arrogance… I'll use it against her.
'Her expression soured as she thought about someone.'
But all of this is useless without that little girl...
"What about the task?" She asked as she looked forward
'One of the amazons took a step forward to say:'
"We are currently investigating all Major Familias discreetly, but so far, no signs of her have been found…"
"On another note, we are sure she's still within Orario, the chance of her having left without no one noticing is too small."
"She has to be within Orario."
"..."
'Ishtar didn't say anything, she simply looked at the windows and thought:'
As long as she isn't here, I won't move on with this plan.
But I can't take too long with it, the opportunities to perform the ritual come and go, and if I lose one, it wouldn't be unlikely for me to be forced to postpone things.
Getting a new Killing stone took little to no effort, albeit finding a decently large one has been difficult.
The bigger the stone, the higher the number of fragments I'll be able to acquire.
Lastly, I'll have to silence the people that know about her ability, once I take Freya down, I can't let the rest of the world know about it, at least not immediately.
Especially that narrow-eyed rat...
She wouldn't hesitate at all to move on me once I exhaust myself on Freya.
I won't commit the same mistakes and under prepare myself, I'll only move when I have everything at my disposal.
Even if that in itself is unnecessary.
'She turned her gaze from her wine and back onto the Amazons on the hall.'
"What about him?"
'One of the Amazons tensed, but she didn't say anything.'
"We can proceed to capture him at any moment."
"Good. But until we find her, there's no point in causing excessive unrest, so leave him be."
Freya may know what I'm doing, but there is no point in provoking her into attacking us ahead of time.
Besides, with his current reputation that has been rising recently, if he suddenly disappears, some trouble would occur, which may lead to unforeseen variables.
I want a clear and overwhelming victory, to have her break in front of me…
That should be the minimum for her arrogancy and sins.
There were also some rumors about his ties to the Loki Familia... That requires some further investigation.
'Ishtar never considered Silver a threat to her plans, only a tool to be used and then discarded, perhaps he would make a nice trophy, as he was indeed quite handsome.'
'She was surprised when he escaped last time, but she already knew he was somewhat special to have Freya's attention.'
'But she attributed her failure not to him, but to whoever helped him.'
'After several months, she had yet to find conclusive evidence of their existence, so she decided to stop wasting time and start moving her own plans forward.'
'There was no meaning in being on edge all the time, instead, she should prepare herself for when they reappeared...'
'And give them hell for messing with her!'
'As for the rest…'
There is also... The traitor.
I slowly checked everyone one by one, but I found no conclusive evidence even after 3 months.
This person... You played me really well...
Yet for how long? You may keep your lips sealed...
But can you keep them close if I decide to open them?
"Continue with the preparations, inform me as soon as you find her."
'She smiled seductively as she got up from her throne.'
"Phryne, I'll leave it to you to continue training them."
"Kekeke, I'm on it." Phryne replied as her eyes sharpened
'Turning towards everyone, she said:'
"Didn't you hear her? Move it!"
'The Amazons silently left the room in a hurry, before they became the targets of this fat toad.'
'The sparks of war were starting to appear, ready to burst this gunpowder barrel that was Orario!'
…
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Notes
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone