章 49: The plot
The Dungeon's floors transformed dramatically as adventurers descended. From simple caves to vast forests and even deserts, the environments grew more surreal and dangerous, with the deepest levels becoming awe-inspiring.
The Loki Familia, now on their way back after an unsuccessful expedition ending at the fiftieth floor, found themselves on the seventeenth floor.
Weary from battle, they traveled through a cave-like maze where jagged rocks and narrow paths tested their caution.
As they advanced, the familiar banter between Tione and Tiona resumed, with Tiona lamenting their retreat. Tione scolded her sister, pointing out the damage their equipment had sustained and how they were in no condition to continue. Even Tione's successful retrieval of an odd, jewel-like magic stone during their battles couldn't cheer Tiona up.
Their group arrived at a wide room.
The passageways up here were much narrower than in the Deep Levels, so the Loki Familia had split into two groups before arriving on level seventeen.
It was much more difficult to coordinate a large group in close quarters should they get swarmed by monsters. Riveria was at the helm of the forward group. Including the Amazonian twins and Aiz, there were almost twenty adventurers traveling together. Finn and Gareth were with the second group.
They were on their way home and everyone was tired, but none more so than the lower-level supporters who had been tasked with carrying the surviving baggage.
"…Linne, want some help?"
"Huh? N-no no. I'm fine?!"
Aiz approached another human girl and offered her assistance. The supporter rejected the offer immediately. She couldn't allow a top-class adventurer to do something as mundane as carrying the bags.
"Don't bother with 'em, Aiz. The runts ain't worth it." Bete growled amusedly.
He kicked the supporter lightly on the side of her hip as a way to shoo her away before coming up next to Aiz.
"Even as strong as ya are, ya don't know squat, yeah? Just talkin' with weaklings is a waste'a time, much less helpin' them out."
"…"
"Look down on 'em. It's yer right as someone who's strong."
Aiz listened quietly as Bete cocked his head back and laughed drily through his nose.
"No, Aiz, don't listen to a word Bete says. That's the real waste of time!" Tiona shouted from behind.
"Go to hell, woman. You should be helpin' the runts! Yet there ya are, empty-handed! Move yer ass!"
"Shut up already!"
Throwing even more verbal jabs, the werewolf and the Amazon glared at each other. A heartbeat later…
Their argument didn't matter.
"—UoOOoo!"
An anxious air filled the room as far-off howls started to echo. It wasn't long before the unmistakable grunts of heavy breathing joined them.
This particular room might have had many exits, but monsters were being born just outside each one of them.
"UUOooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
Roars that were strong enough to shake the rock under their feet.
There was enough power behind the howls to make the average adventurer run out of their boots in fright. The monsters started to appear.
First, their incredibly thick arms and meaty shoulders were illuminated by the lights far above. Then, sturdy, hoofed feet emerged from under their own shadows, cracking the ground as they came closer.
Rusty brown fur–covered bodies built like brick walls.
It was a herd of Minotaurs: massive man-shaped beasts with bull-like heads that embodied the term monster.
"See, Bete! These Minotaurs came here to shut you up!"
"Yeah, right, dimwit! Tsk, sure are a lot of 'em, though…"
More Minotaurs kept coming into the room from each of the exits every second and formed a ring around the group of adventurers.
Their bloodshot eyes flicked from person to person, chests heaving with excitement as they chose their targets.
"Riveria, there's a lot of them, so can we join in?"
"Yes, that's fine. Raul, take command for this battle. Finn believes you are ready to gain some experience."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
These monsters were rated by the Guild as the strongest and most dangerous of the Dungeon's middle levels. However, Loki Familia's top-class adventurers didn't bat an eye. With each stroke of their weapons a minotaur fell headless to the floor. It was akin to ants fighting elephants, and even that particular matchup might have been a tad fairer.
"UooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Then, the flow of battle turned in a direction that one should have predicted.
"UooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!"
It happened when almost half the Minotaur herd lay dead on the floor.
One Minotaur must have noticed the unfathomable difference in power between themselves and their supposedly "prey" and turned its back to the battle.
That caused a chain reaction as every other beast turned away from the adventurers and took off in all directions at the same time.
The great escape had begun.
"Huh?!"
"Heey! Ya call yerselves monsters?!"
The thunderous retreat caught Tiona and Bete off guard. More and more of the beasts were disappearing from the room, running for their lives.
Aiz's golden eyes widened as she watched in disbelief.
"After them, all of you!"
Riveria's shrill voice cut through the chaos.
Top-class adventurers were frozen in place for only a moment before launching themselves in pursuit of the Minotaurs.
"And we were almost home…!"
"Um, I'm not good with hand-to-hand combat!"
"Whack 'em really hard with that stick ya got! Do it!"
"S-sure…!"
Tione clenched her fist as she took off. Bete snapped at Lefiya. There wasn't a calm face among them.
It went without saying that there were other adventurers in the Dungeon.
Most crawling the Middle Levels were nowhere near as strong as Loki Familia's top-class adventurers. Seeing a stampede of Minotaurs would be their worst nightmare.
Should even one adventurer be unable to return home due to the Minotaurs that they let escape, the Guild and other familias would be quick to find out and levy the penalties against them. At the very least, they would lose a lot of sleep from the guilt.
"Wait, that's…?"
A large group of Minotaurs hurtled down the passageway leading up to the sixteenth floor. By the time Tiona noticed, they were disappearing up the stairwell.
"This is gonna be one hell of a pain in the ass!"
Following the chorus of footsteps and howls, the top-class adventurers bounded their way to the next floor.
Aiz led the charge as they caught up to the panicked Minotaurs.
One floor up, another floor up, and another floor up.
The giant bull monsters broke down any obstacle standing in the way of their panicked stampede. The pack ran to the closest corner, turning right and left randomly in a desperate attempt to elude their pursuers. Individuals would occasionally peel away from the other Minotaurs in a desperate attempt to save themselves.
Whenever that happened, one of Loki Familia's adventurers had to chase it. What was extremely unlucky for the pursuers was that the monsters kept finding the passageways that connected to the upper floors.
What was left of the herd arrived on the twelfth floor. Aiz and Bete were hot on their tails, but the rest of their allies were gone.
"Holy shit!"
"Outta the way!"
A Minotaur was one second away from smashing its fist into an unlucky
adventurer when Bete slammed his bladed foot into the creature's head, bringing it down in one blow.
The Upper Levels were the closest floors to the surface. The monsters in this area were low level and physically weak. Therefore, these floors were filled with lower-level adventurers learning how to fight and gaining excelia. Should any one of them come face-to-face with the Minotaur, they wouldn't stand a chance. Casualties could start piling up at any moment.
With a split second understanding passing between them, the Sword Princess and the Werewolf split up in pursuit of the last minotaurs.
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