The Weretiger instantly lost his cool and was about to attack when his companion immediately grabbed his arm and reprimanded in a low voice, "You can't do this, Sir Todd!"
Everyone was already touching their weapons, but what they didn't expect, however, was that the infamous and incredibly arrogant Todd Bunce actually immediately backed down and just clicked his tongue.
'Just my luck that this brainless idiot was the only one around when something like this happens.', thought Salvatore. They had to follow everyone else or they wouldn't be able to defend themselves if someone really defeated the Kuraokami in secret. More importantly, they couldn't give up their right to the Monster Rex that only spawned every two months since their Captain right now was at a very important juncture.
Looking around, Salvatore couldn't help but be frustrated at everyone looking at them with suspicion, 'Nevertheless, they can't really get any answers from me even if they ask. And what's wrong with us not making any trouble?'
Everyone took back their hands from their weapons, but as Salvatore thought, they were all suspicious that Todd would easily back down as they knew for sure that he was not afraid of them. However, they couldn't really ask them why and could only keep their suspicion in their mind.
"So who could have done this? All those who could are currently accounted for and I doubt that the Astarte Familia would really start this drama.", Zerelda Sawyer, a Sheep Person from the Lugh Familia, and a Level 5 asked everyone.
Everyone discussed it for a bit before a splashing sound was heard from the tunnel they came out of. Soon after, a Mercenary from the Poseidon Familia emerged and immediately went straight towards Lelalia before whispering something.
Nodding at her, Lelalia asked the Mercenary to dry herself off before facing everyone, "According to the witnesses, it seems that a group of three people came down moments before they heard the cry of Kuraokami, however, their identities couldn't be determined due to them wearing heavy cloaks."
But even before this information came to them, they already had a guess as to who they were, "Three people, huh... So chances are, it was Yoruichi Shihouin, Kuroka Toujou and the new addition to their party.", muttered Fenia while recalling their last encounter.
"If that's the case, then our initial estimations of them are seriously off. And with a new addition to their group, they could technically become another faction.", Zerelda crossed her arms and muttered in contemplation.
"Even then, we can't really point our fingers at them since we don't have any evidence. They could just as easily say that it may be other strong wandering individuals who took care of it.", added Lelalia.
"Then how are we going to solve the allocation of the Monster Rex? We certainly won't give away our rights over it in two months.", asked Salvatore.
Lelalia looked at him and replied, "We can't decide a proper conclusion to that with just us here. Let's move to the surface and discuss this with everyone else."
Zerelda looked towards the path leading to the next floor and asked, "Should we send someone to scout them?"
"I'd advise against that. We don't know their full capabilities and it'll only put the scout in unnecessary danger.", replied Yenna.
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As soon as they stepped into the 34th floor, the temperature became a lot better but the surroundings became even grimmer. With a thick mist covering the whole floor, it was impossible to see beyond ten meters. Without a good map or a guide, one would instantly get lost in this enormous labyrinth that could fit an entire city.
However, the most terrifying thing about this floor for the Mercenaries were the monsters that silently roamed throughout. A few minutes after stepping into the mist-veiled floor, they were immediately surrounded by floating translucent skeletons covered in tattered cloaks with their eye sockets filled with purple fire.
They were Wraiths, monsters that were incorporeal, which made them immune to physical attacks unless one hit its Magic Stone that was randomly placed inside its body. Their main attacks were mental disturbance and curses that made one weaker. If someone fell to their attacks without defending, they'd become mad and start attacking others or just outright kill themselves.
The only way to hurt these beings outside of damaging their Magic Stones was Magic, so without preparing a sufficient amount of Magic Swords and Magic Potions, it was just going to be suicide, not to mention that there were other stronger incorporeal being that lurked in the darkness of not just the 34th floor, but until 39th floor, too.
Of course, it was a different story for Kisuke's group. With a simple Kidou, Yoruichi could annihilate a group of them and Kuroka just needed to use Senjutsu and they would be destroyed from the inside. Even if Kisuke couldn't fight properly and couldn't awaken Benihime, just a slight cut from his blade would immediately purify the Wraiths.
Kisuke, Yoruichi and Kuroka didn't stop running until they reached the 40th floor, slaughtering not just Wraiths, but also Banshees and Revenants.
"That's a boring area for sure...", muttered Kisuke.
Yoruichi sighed and nodded, "I know, right?"
"Please don't say that, nyaa. It just happens that we're their worst enemy. Others could easily get wiped out if they're not careful.", Kuroka reminded them.
Kisuke then looked around at the large steaming tunnel and said, "Let's forget about that. It looks like it's a hot area this time. What're the monsters this time around?"
Since this was where he would spend the next three weeks, Kisuke didn't want it to be as boring as the previous area.
"There are many types and various monsters from this floor until the 46th floor, but generally, they are divided between two categories.", answered Yoruichi as she walked forward, "The first are obviously fire monsters and the second are poisonous monsters. Or it could be a combination of these two."
"As for the 48th floor, it's a safety point so we could set up our base there, nyaa.", added Kuroka, "Beyond that is a rainforest biome and I've heard that there are a lot of exotic fruits and vegetables over there, with some having some unique effect."
Kisuke smiled and said, "Now that's nice to hear~ Let's go set up our base first. Let's make our three weeks as comfortable as possible."
Yoruichi and Kuroka knew for sure that if not for his current state, Kisuke would probably make a modern skyscraper as their 'base' on the 48th floor. However, these two still underestimated Kisuke's enthusiasm in building 'bases' as he'd already prepared something just for the occasion.
'Now then... How tall should I make it?', thought Kisuke as he started thinking about the floor plans.
Editors:
28th00: Phis-chama learnt how to build cool ‘bases’ from Mr. Hat after all. I wonder how the mercs are gonna react to the monstrosity he ends up making?
Alexander: Behold, the full fledged seven star ‘Hotel del Kisuke’.
The group still rushed through the floors since they would have time for them later. As they got deeper, the temperature became higher and higher. From the 44th floor, streams of lava could be seen here and there, and by the 46th floor, there were rivers of them.
As for monsters, it ranged from giant scorpions to Wyverns with either fire, poison, or both attributes.
The 47th floor was also a large chamber similar to the 33rd floor, but a little bit bigger. In the middle was a pond of Lava where the Surtr was supposed to spawn in three weeks. Thanks to their fast travel, it only took them a whole day to reach this place, where it was normally reachable in five days.
Yoruichi didn't stop walking and said, "We'll show you the secret room later. For now, let's set up our base of operations first, and maybe add a teleportation site for easier access in the future."
The group went around the lake of lava and reached the staircase that led to the safety point.
The moment they stepped into the 48th floor, the temperature became a lot better as if an invisible barrier was dividing the two zones. With a pleasant tropical breeze, the safety point resembled the 18th floor of the Orario Dungeon, but without the giant tree in the middle and the floor was much wider and higher.
"Where should we place the base, nyaa? I don't think the center is a good idea since a Monster Rex variant may spawn from there," asked Kuroka.
Kisuke surveyed the entire floor and said, "The median between the wall and the center is good. It'll also be nice if it's far from the path leading to the lower floors."
Yoruichi then pointed towards the small hill on the west side of the floor, "That's a good place. Aside from a good hideout, It's also far from the exits and entrances."
"Isn't that the spot that others use to set their camps, nyaa?"
Yoruichi grinned and replied, "That's true, but that doesn't mean we can't use it for ourselves... permanently."
The group arrived at the location Yoruichi proposed and Kisuke further surveyed the area. A few minutes later, Kisuke nodded his head in satisfaction, "This is a good spot~!"
He then faced Yoruichi and said, "Please pass the purse to Kuroka."
Yoruichi reached out to her vest while asking, "The one that Serafall sent to you before we went to the Dungeon?" She found the said purse and tossed it to the confused Kuroka.
"A space bag?" asked Kuroka, not looking inside until she got permission.
Kisuke nodded and said, "Yep. Please take out a portion of its contents."
Since it's an incredibly compressed space, Kuroka closed her eyes to concentrate so that she wouldn't break the 'container'. Once she was able to insert her consciousness within the bag, she immediately opened her eyes back in shock, "W-what is this, nyaa!? Where did you get all of this!?"
Inside the purse was a hard to count amount of processed Orichalcum, Adamantium, and some other materials that could be used for constructing a building.
"I had Sera-tan get a bit of it from our good neighbor," Kisuke replied with a large grin.
"Neighbor?" mumbled Kuroka before a certain place came to her mind, "The Knossos?"
"Yep~ And we can certainly get more in the future since they're very good neighbors~!"
Kuroka couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of pity for them, 'A thousand years of effort, only to be dismantled by this hoodlum.'
Kuroka then took out a small portion of the Orichalcum and Adamantium alongside the other necessary materials. Even then it still formed two small hills.
Kisuke excitedly approached the pile and said, "I'll probably need a lot of Magic Stone to construct the base since I can't use my reserves. Conveniently, there's an almost inexhaustible supply of it upstairs~!"
Yoruichi and Kuroka looked at each other before sighing. It looked like they wouldn't be able to stop this maniac from building something that sticks out like a sore thumb. Leaving their luggage, the two of them returned to the previous floor to hunt.
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Three days later, Kisuke had finally finished their base. While Kisuke looked at his own creation with satisfaction, Yoruichi and Kuroka could only have to twitch their mouths in shock. They were already expecting something that didn't suit the place, but they never thought it's going to go beyond that.
"It's a completely different genre, nyaa!!!" Kuroka retorted on top of her lungs.
Since Kisuke covered his 'project' with invisibility magic so that he could surprise them. Yoruichi and Kuroka had no idea what he was trying to create nor had they pried beyond the cover of the magic.
The base that Kisuke built was actually composed of two parts. The first one was a 400 meters tall skyscraper and the second one is a 150 meters wide dome. But that isn't the problem as they were already expecting something like this when they saw the amount of materials that Kisuke had. What they didn't expect, however, was the overall aesthetics of the buildings.
With a white theme, the windowless building was shaped like the tip of a single-edged sword with streaks of blue lights. On its base was a complicated structure with a single large entrance that would overwhelm everyone who came close to it.
As for the dome, it had a simpler structure but still follows the same aesthetics of the skyscraper with transparent hexagonal panels as its roof.
"It looks like a sci-fi spaceship rather than a building, nyaa! Anyone who looks at it would definitely say 'aliens'!" Kuroka added.
Kisuke then looked at her with a stunned expression, "What're you talking about? We're aliens."
Kuroka made the same expression and said, "Ah... You're right."
Yoruichi, on the other hand, could only mutter with a defeated expression, "You really pulled out all stops, huh?"
Kisuke chuckled and started walking towards their new base, "Come with me~ I'll give you a tour~"
Reaching the base of the building, Yoruichi and Kuroka came to a very sci-fiesque lobby, complete with monitors that could be used for announcements and some other information.
Kisuke continued, "This is the lobby and where all the general use teleportation stations. Each floor has two teleportation circles that are connected here for fast travel. Of course, there are also elevators but I doubt those are going to be used much."
"General use, you say. Are you planning to rent out the place?" asked Yoruichi.
"Yep. There are a total of 69 floors and more than half of them could be used for residential purposes. It'll be a shame if we can't use all of them."
"It's your fault for making a stupidly large building that is capable of housing at least a thousand people, nyaa. But 69, huh... I see that it's done on purpose."
Editors:
28th00: They’re really just a travelling band of overpowered trolls. Honestly. Even they’re not safe from their own antics! Time to make this Dungeon Business, literal!