Chapter 667

"But we only reached the new Safe Floor (50th Floor) last time; if by then we still haven't found the cause of the abnormal vibrations……"

Gareth looked over heavily; he didn't finish his words, but the meaning was already very obvious — he was asking whether they would continue deeper when the time came.

"We'll decide whether to continue deeper into the Dungeon based on the situation when the time comes."

Finn replied with one sentence; the Guild's Investigation Mission had to be done, but if it would let their Loki Familia take too great a risk, then he also wouldn't, for the sake of completing the Guild mission, let his own people easily step into peril.

From the Dungeon's uppermost floor down to the 39th Floor, the Loki Familia only spent two days, but from the 39th Floor to reach the 50th Floor, it took three days.

"After the 50th Floor are floors we have never reached; according to the Guild's shared intelligence, at the 52nd Floor we will face sniping from the 58th Floor Dragon Vase Dragon Species monsters that ignores floors; is everyone prepared? We're going straight down to the 58th Floor in one shot."

On the sixth day of entering the Dungeon, Finn selected First Class Adventurers from within the Familia to form an Assault Breaching Team, left the others on the Safe Floor to provide support, and personally led the team charging into the 51st Floor entrance of the Labyrinth.

On the road they encountered some Black Rhino monsters; after defeating them, they arrived straight at the 52nd Floor; however, here they did not encounter the sniping that should have been there, only encountered some high-level monsters, and after solving them they passed through the 52nd Floor Labyrinth very smoothly.

"Captain, what's the situation? Wasn't it said there would be sniping? Why weren't we sniped?"

Grasped intelligence turning out wrong is not a good thing in the Dungeon; Tiona asked.

"I don't know, but raise vigilance, continue deeper."

Finn also didn't know the situation; he chose to meet myriad changes with constancy, taking the lead, while the others followed behind him, quickly advancing deeper into the Dungeon.

With no need to mind the Logistics Team and no encounter with the most dangerous sniping along the way, as the Assault Breaching Team they reached the 58th Floor entrance in less than one hour.

"This is……"

Just after entering the 58th Floor of the Labyrinth, a group of people looking at the empty, completely monster-less 58th Floor Labyrinth were all somewhat stunned for a moment.

"Captain, is the 58th Floor also a Safe Floor?"

Tione couldn't help but ask.

"No, the 58th Floor is no Safe Floor; this place should be teeming with large numbers of dangerous Dragon Species monsters."

Finn shook his head and answered.

"I think I know the reason."

Ais pointed at the ground not far away.

"That is……"

Everyone looked in the direction the girl's finger pointed, and saw the reddish-brown mud ground slowly growing.

"The Dungeon's Self-Repair?!"

"No wonder there are no monsters here."

When the Dungeon environment is destroyed, it prioritizes repairing the environment.

And while repairing the environment, it will not spawn monsters.

Adventurers sometimes utilize this point to build safe strongholds on non-Safe Floors.

"The only problem now is when this was destroyed, and just how long the Dungeon's continuous repair like this has been maintained."

Riveria voiced everyone's inner thoughts.

"Disperse and investigate."

Finn ordered, and the Loki Familia members began investigating the 58th Floor Labyrinth's situation.

"Captain, there's a breach here."

"This side has one too."

"Captain, look at the ground in that direction; it's all in a state of slow repair."

……

The destruction Broly caused by blowing up the entire 58th Floor Labyrinth six days ago still hasn't fully repaired to this day.

Inside the 58th Floor Labyrinth, there are still quite a few places in a state of repair.

The Loki Familia and the others discovered this situation at once.

Through various traces, Finn deduced what might have happened here.

"Someone exterminated the 58th Floor's Dragon Species monsters, and incidentally destroyed the 58th Floor's Labyrinth environment very severely; if this happened six days ago, then this is probably the source location of the Dungeon's abnormal vibrations."

His words gained his companions' agreement.

"What do we do now? Go back directly and tell the Guild our investigation results?"

Gareth asked.

"We can go back, but since we've come all this way, I want to go down a bit further and see."

Finn licked his right thumb, and after not sensing danger, told his companions beside him his thoughts.

We've come all this way, and it was this easy to get down; we encountered almost no decent danger on the road; if we don't go down a few more floors of the Labyrinth, that would truly be too wasteful.

"Since Captain you've said so, then let's continue down."

The Assault Breaching Team members nodded, chose to continue downward, and soon reached the 59th Floor Labyrinth.

"Captain, shouldn't this be an ice field?"

Just as they were surprised that the 59th Floor Labyrinth environment didn't match the Guild's intelligence, some monsters that looked like large green caterpillars discovered them.

Densely packed they surged out from the woods and launched an attack at them; the Loki Familia decisively counterattacked and solved the monsters, but……

"Damn it, these guys' blood has strong corrosiveness; my weapon was corroded."

The corrosive blood inside the never-before-encountered new species monsters caught the Loki Familia members somewhat off guard; Tiona's Great Sword directly suffered, eroded and corrupted by the purple blood.

"Weapons destroyed, unfavorable to us; temporarily retreat."

Finn saw the large worm monsters continuing to surge from that dense forest and quickly issued the retreat order.

"Aria……"

Deep in the dense forest, the Intelligent Magic Beast that Broly spared six days ago let out a hoarse sound.

"Ais, what are you doing? Those disgusting monsters are coming over."

The Sword Princess girl, in the middle of leaving the 59th Floor, sensed something, suddenly stopped her footsteps, and turned back to gaze at the 59th Floor Labyrinth.

"It feels like something... no, it's nothing, maybe just my imagination."

Ais shook her head, and before the monster swarm could catch up, she caught up with her companions.

At the same time, a figure carrying a large backpack was sprinting through the cave tunnels of the Dungeon Upper Levels.

Ahead, Goblins were suddenly spawned by the Dungeon, blocking the path of the sprinting figure, but Bell drew the short sword at his waist and, with a single strike, precisely severed the Goblin's neck.

Casually scooping up the Magic Stone that hadn't yet fallen, the boy continued running forward rapidly, delving deeper into the Dungeon until he reached the Seventh Floor, a somewhat noisy cave, where he slowed his pace, walked inside, and said: "Broly-san, I'm back."

In the cave, Broly was cutting down Killer Ants; without turning his head, he praised the boy: "Hmm, progress, a few seconds faster. The drops are over there, clean them up and bring them back."

Bell nodded, immediately gathering the Magic Stones and drops on the ground, and once he had stuffed the large backpack full, the boy ran back up without stopping.

He had to make it back here with an empty pack before the Magic Stones and drops from the slain monsters piled up too much.

More monsters spawned ahead, several of them, and Bell once again gripped the short sword at his waist, mimicking Broly's sword-swinging motions.

In just an instant, several low-level monsters freshly produced by the Dungeon turned back into flying ash and returned to the Dungeon mother's embrace.

【I have to be faster, to become a qualified supporter for Broly-san!】

Holding this thought, Bell, having sheathed his sword, continued running toward the upper floors with the large backpack on his back, and during this process of rushing and hauling loot, Bell's strength was honed to a considerable degree.

Now, none of his basic abilities were below 150, and even his Strength, Durability, and Agility — these three abilities — all exceeded 230.

And compared to Bell's rapid growth, Broly, who was swinging his sword killing ants in the cavern, was growing even faster; four days after subjugating Goliath, his ability values had already reached the 3S level, and when updated yesterday, all five basic abilities had already surpassed 2200.

Hephaestus's speculation was correct: every time a break-limit ability value surpasses a threshold, the experience required for ability value proficiency increases.

After 3S, each point of proficiency already requires three times the experience of S-rank, but Broly's newbie protection period's bonus to experience acquisition is terrifying; even though the experience required for proficiency increased, it still doesn't affect his rapid growth.

However, rapid growth comes with a price, a price named "boredom from bullying weaklings."

Originally, before breaking the limit, Broly already had no pressure dealing with Lv. 1 monsters.

Now, after breaking the limit, battles that originally still required some technique have completely turned into unmatched mowing.

It was fine at first, but after mowing monster grass for four straight days, Broly no longer had any emotional fluctuation.

His heart right now was as cold as the sword in his hand that fundamentally could not ignite a happy flame.

Going into the Dungeon to fight Lv. 1 monsters in the Upper Levels was, for him, probably the feeling of entering a factory and sitting in front of an assembly line tightening screws.

Yawning while swinging his sword, he opened the Crystal Palace Panel, watching the time tick away second by second.

"Broly-san, I'm back!"

Only when Bell's cheerful voice rang out, and he looked over expectantly, waiting for his evaluation, did this somewhat boring unmatched mowing game gain a touch of enjoyment.

"Ten seconds faster again."

Broly had a feeling of raising a youth; watching Bell's strength also bit by bit become stronger, he felt that the screws he was tightening, oh no, the Killer Ants he was solving, all had value.

Like a carrot dangled before a rabbit's mouth, letting the rabbit-like boy continuously break the time limits of going up and down the Dungeon, and he himself would, upon witnessing this, produce a sense of achievement along with it.

At dusk, Broly carried the dog-tired boy out of the Dungeon, gazing at the distant sunset on the sky horizon, and said: "Update the ability values tonight, tomorrow we can perhaps try going to the Eighth Floor."

"Ah..."

"What is it, Bell, do you have a problem?"

"No, it's just that tomorrow I might need Broly-san to carry me out of the Dungeon again."

Even though I'm the supporter, my support capacity is far from matching Broly-san's monster-killing speed.

Even later on, a state of exhaustion appeared where even popping medicine couldn't replenish the stamina consumption, and this made Bell feel somewhat self-reproachful.

"Ma, no problem. On the contrary, if you exhaust your stamina and collapse earlier tomorrow, I might be able to carry you back from the Dungeon Upper Levels to rest even earlier."

Saying this, Broly set the boy down from his shoulder, and the two walked together toward the Babel Tower at the side, going straight up.

The half-elf Miss Eina was already waiting up there; upon seeing the two, she smiled and said to them: "Broly, Bell, you two's harvest today is not bad, a whole large backpack more than yesterday."

"Bell worked very hard hauling things today."

Broly replied with a sentence, then opened the rented room.

Inside it was packed full, piled with today's harvest.

"Miss Eina, have you tallied all of these?"

"Mm, already tallied. If you're worried, I can count them once more right in front of you."

"No need, I trust you."

Broly waved his hand, then handed over the large backpack he had brought up again; the half-elf Miss narrowed her eyes as she accepted the heavy backpack, she was clearly quite pleased by Broly's words, and she herself was also quite satisfied with Broly.

Four days ago, after the boy realized the danger of the Middle Floors, the things they fought for today were all Magic Stones and drops from Upper Levels monsters.

This kind of behavior that cherishes one's own life might seem a bit cowardly from some adventurers' perspectives, but from Eina's perspective, it is taking one's own life seriously and responsibly; the half-elf Miss especially appreciates this kind of adventurer who treats their own life as a serious matter.

After finishing tallying the value of the last large backpack's drops, Eina asked: "Broly, will you still go explore the Middle Floors afterwards?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"I have the day off tomorrow, so I want to invite you again to come take my Dungeon Knowledge class."

The half-elf Miss stated her purpose, then added another sentence.

"Of course, and Little Brother Bell, you come too."

"Eh, Miss Eina, but I'm not an adventurer."

Bell reminded her.

"But you also go down into the Dungeon adventuring with Broly, don't you? And the more Dungeon knowledge you know, the safer you'll be when adventuring in the Dungeon; likewise, you'll be able to support Broly better. Little Brother Bell, so, you don't want to take my class?"

"Ah, if possible, please let me take Miss Eina's class by all means."

Bell answered honestly.

"Broly, what about you?"

"Does Miss Eina's class cover monster ability intelligence?"

Broly asked.

"Of course."

Eina gave an affirmative reply.

【If before going to subjugate Goliath, one could understand Goliath's capabilities in advance...】

Broly thought about it, then nodded and agreed: "Then I'll go attend as well."

"Very good, you two are both good children. The class location is at the Guild Headquarters' Library. Tomorrow at eight in the morning, I'll be waiting for you at the Guild's front door."

The Half-Elf lady finished speaking, then took the two to the money exchange's office, signed her name in the handler column of the Guild voucher documents, and neatly handed over eleven vouchers of the same face value (200,000 Valis).

And besides the 2.2 million Valis in Guild vouchers, there were also over 30,000 in coins as the remainder. Today was another day of a full harvest.

Bell looked at the increased 220,000 Valis deposit, the happiness in his heart almost overflowing onto his face. Broly watched from the side at the boy's blissful expression, somewhat pitying that the boy wasn't a girl; otherwise, inviting Bell to join the Crystal Palace, he might have been a good hand at producing Happiness Points.

After showering in the Babel Tower second floor shower room, the two walked together toward the Hephaestus Familia's base.

Upon returning, Broly learned from Hestia that their Familia's base would be finished construction in a while.

"Broly, I went to see it this afternoon. That's a grand mansion!"

Hestia's face was full of excitement, as if she couldn't wait to move into the new house.

Of course, excitement aside, the Loli Goddess still properly helped the two update their status.

After a day of effort monster farming, Broly's status increased by a total of nearly 1000 points.

And Bell, although not comparable to him, also had an increase of nearly 170 total points.

Hephaestus came to observe the update as usual. Upon learning the boy still only got this magnitude of increase by doing errands as a boy, she felt injustice for those adventurers who adventure painstakingly yet can only get a total increase not exceeding 50 points.

The boy single-mindedly yearned for a skill. Although still not comparable to Broly's absurd skill set, among Orario's adventurers, he also belonged to the rarely encountered genius type. Not to mention if in the future he could comprehend even a move or two of skill or magic from Broly, this skill's gold content could continue to rise.

Hestia's current two children were both terrifying growth potential fellows. It's just that Hestia still worried that between the first child and the second child, some relationship that shouldn't develop might develop, and was vigilant about this point.

"Broly, eat chicken leg..."

"Broly, I'll peel shrimp for you..."

The close friend completely lacked the bearing of a Familia Main God, just like a newlywed little wife, caring for the boy with the attitude of caring for a husband.

That partial attitude made even Hephaestus a bit unable to watch. She gave the boy a chicken leg too, then said: "Bell, don't be reserved either. Eat whatever you like."

"Ah, thank you, Lady Hephaestus."

But unfortunately, these words had no effect at all. When dining with a deity, Bell still couldn't help but maintain a restrained posture.

After eating and drinking their fill, Bell bid farewell, carrying his empty large backpack toward South Avenue. He no longer lived in the inn now, but had found a house with decent conditions to rent in that South Avenue place, only needing to pay 15,000 Valis per month, about the same price as the inn before, but the living environment was a bit better.

"You useless fellow, looking for a beating?!"

However, halfway there, Bell encountered a rude adventurer. The other party struck at someone also carrying a support backpack on the street.

"Stop."

The cry of pain sounded like a woman's. Bell subconsciously rushed over to stop the rude adventurer, preparing to kick the foot about to land on the fallen person.

(Chapter End)