Chapter 679

"If it's just this type of information, five thousand Valis is enough for ordinary members without divine favor; for Official Members with divine favor, the fee is ten thousand to twenty thousand Valis depending on rank."

The Hermes Familia's Regiment Leader, the Omnipotent Asfi, quickly gave a quote.

"Fine, but some members inside don't need to be investigated."

Hestia said, and Broly took out a small notebook and placed it on the table, pushing it over; the notebook recorded the members of the same Familia known to the Little Person girl, plus those six unlucky ones already sold to the Ishtar Familia.

"We'll take a deposit of three hundred thousand Valis, and once we've found the information you need, we'll tally the exact number of people investigated and settle the bill."

"No problem."

Hestia agreed, Broly paid the money, and then he and his Goddess left the Hermes Familia's base.

"Asfi, regarding the Hestia Familia wanting to secretly investigate the Soma Familia, what do you think?"

Hermes stood by the room's window, watching the Loli Goddess and her child leaving below, and asked his Familia's Regiment Leader.

"Lord Hermes, if you have nothing to do, come help me share the workload; we're just Information Brokers, we take paid commissions and do them, who cares what the Employer actually wants to do with this information?!"

The exploited ox-and-horse Regiment Leader shouted at his own deity in dissatisfaction.

"Uh, normally we don't care, but I recently received a letter from an old friend; he said his grandson has also come to Orario to make his way, and asked me to keep an eye on him."

"Old friend? Which deity?"

"That can't be said."

"Then what does this have to do with this investigation commission?"

"It does, because the Familia that my old friend's grandson joined is the Hestia Familia."

Hermes replied.

"Alright, Lord Hermes, I know what you want me to do; I'll investigate the specific dispute between the Hestia Familia and the Soma Familia."

"Then I'll leave it to you, my cute Asfi."

"After it's done, remember to give me a vacation."

"Ah, I have an appointment, I'm heading out first."

The deity Hermes immediately said that, and under the regretful gaze of his Familia's ox-and-horse Regiment Leader, he fled the room.

Joking aside, giving his incredibly capable Regiment Leader a holiday—how could this deity still be so carefree, running around and playing everywhere?

So he could only say sorry, next time for sure!

Asfi sighed, knowing her deity's nature, and could only take the latest investigation commission she'd accepted and go downstairs to tell her Familia companions to get to work.

Investigating some drunkards' basic information isn't difficult; just spend some money, treat those guys to drinks, get them drunk, and pump them for information.

The difficulty of this commission is that there are quite a few targets to investigate, but for the Hermes Familia, which has just as many members, it's no problem.

"Eh, the Hestia Familia?!"

"Lorne, what's wrong?"

"I went adventuring in the Dungeon not long ago, and when I was almost in danger in the Dungeon, a passing member of the Hestia Familia helped me out."

The information contributed by the red-haired Little Person made Asfi somewhat surprised.

Unexpectedly, the Hestia Familia had actually done a favor for her own Familia's member.

"I've been busy with other things lately; I was planning to go thank them in person once I was done."

"You reckless fellow, then just work harder, and after you finish the task, treat them to a meal."

A companion from the same Familia said teasingly.

As information gathering increased, the deity Hermes also had on his desk the reasons why the two Familias had come into conflict.

And at first, it actually had a certain connection to the grandson of an old friend who came to Orario to make his way, but compared to that old friend's grandson, Hestia's first Familia child instead drew more of his attention.

"Not long after becoming an Adventurer, he could directly take Lv. 2 drunkards and sell them to the Ishtar Familia? Haha, what a remarkable person."

"That old man Zeus keeps saying his grandson is destined to be this world's future great hero, but now he's completely someone else's little lackey~"

Hermes looked at the information on his desk and shook his head helplessly, feeling that Zeus, who had left Orario, was becoming rather senile these days.

Saying some country boy was a future great hero—even if that child was personally cultivated by him (Zeus) under a hidden name, what good would that do?

Does he really think everyone is that past 【Incarnation of Talent】, the 【Monster of Talent】 Arfia with Orario's strongest aptitude who reached Lv. 7 at sixteen?

But what made Hermes curious was what exactly Hestia wanted to do by commissioning an investigation into the basic information of Soma Familia members.

【It surely couldn't be that she wanted to unite the exploited Familia members within the Soma Familia and stage a coup to seize power from the current ruler of the Soma Familia, that Wine Guardian, right?】

Hermes thought so, and felt there really was such a possibility.

"If that's really the case, then I'll have to take a good look at this lively scene."

The God of Merriment never minds a big fuss when watching the excitement.

Bell and Liliruca, after being specially trained by Broly for two days, were finally taken by the boy to the Dungeon today to verify their progress in strength.

"Today I'll be your Supporter; potions and equipment are all brought, so you don't need to worry about running out of stamina or getting injured."

"Freely use the techniques you've learned from me these past two days in actual combat; target the last floor of the Upper Floors, let's set out now!"

Bell wore light armor with a long sword at his waist, while Liliruca wore skirt armor and a short sword; the two looked like Adventurers today, while Broly, in contrast, carried a Support Backpack on his back.

The two were in front, he was in back, just watching the two ahead fight the monsters they encountered, and they cleared the first ten floors almost without pressure.

After reaching the tenth floor, some pressure arose because large monsters began to appear, but compared to some combat pressure, Bell and Liliruca felt more surprise.

Because after experiencing actual combat slaughter with monsters, the two truly felt how terrifying their own strength had improved.

This wasn't an improvement in simple numerical values like Ability, but a huge improvement in combat technique and combat consciousness.

Although they still made many mistakes, Broly was right behind them giving guidance at all times; they occasionally suffered injuries, but it was nothing serious, because every time they were injured, Broly's Healing Magic would be thrown over in time, very timely.

【Is this combat, combat like Broly-san?!】

After his long sword slashed the Small Dragon's neck and he solo-killed a powerful rare monster of the Upper Floors, Bell had this feeling.

"So I really can become this strong, huh?"

While Bell was dueling the Small Dragon one-on-one, Liliruca held off the other monsters that had heard the sounds of battle and surrounded them.

Her petite figure clad in the fine equipment (total cost exceeding 5,000,000 Valis) custom-made by the Hephaestus Familia, she weaved freely through the horde of large monsters.

Wherever her blade passed, monsters lost limbs; although her combat technique was still insufficient to one-shot every monster, she could still carve a path in and out of a pack of large monsters.

Compared to the Pallum girl who could only loose arrows from behind adventurers before, the current Liliruca wearing skirt armor looked more like the fictional Goddess Fiana from Pallum legend, the one with the ancient hero archetype — Fiana, captain of the Fiana Knight Order.

Of course, aside from the difference that she uses a sword instead of a spear.

"Equipment shouldn't just be practical; it also needs to amplify presence. That's why I referenced the style of Pallum Legendary Hero Equipment for the appearance.

Naturally, the actual protective effect varies by material, but a 5,000,000 Valis armor set is enough to last through the Middle Floors, as long as you don't challenge the Floor Boss."

The One-Eyed Craftsman Chun said this when she entrusted this imposing skirt armor set to the Pallum girl.

After getting her hands on this equipment last night, Liliruca could hardly believe it was prepared for her, and her Happiness Value rose considerably.

Unfortunately, Liliruca's battlefield valkyrie stance didn't last long; exhausted of physical strength, she had to be covered by Bell as she retreated from the monster horde.

Physical strength is still a major issue, but fortunately, before her stamina ran out, the Pallum girl's combat strength, while equipped, was already no worse than a Lv. 1 adventurer capable of exploring the Labyrinth below the 10th Floor of the Dungeon.

Even more so, because the swordsmanship of the Six-Faced World develops toward fighting people (PVP).

Theoretically, Liliruca would be stronger than adventurers in this world who are more accustomed to fighting monsters (PVE).

With Bell joining the battle, the surrounding monster horde was quickly cleared; the two, somewhat tired, drank Physical Recovery Potions and looked at the loot dropped by the monsters covering the ground, their faces showing the happiness of experiencing their own power.

"Two days. We only received Broly-san's training for two days and gained this much strength. If we trained for a longer time, wouldn't we become many times stronger than now?"

Bell was quite excited, as if he could already imagine himself soloing the 17th Floor Boss Giant Goliath before long.

"Bell, don't get lost in fantasy. Your strength is rising fast right now because your foundations in combat technique and combat awareness were originally very poor.

Once you hone your combat technique to a certain phase, you'll be trapped by so-called talent and hit a bottleneck; combat awareness is the same."

Going from zero to a passing score of sixty is easy, but going from a passing sixty to a perfect score gets harder the further you go.

In the Six-Faced World, Broly saw plenty of guys limited by talent whose strength stagnated, eventually suffering Dao Heart collapse and no longer pursuing the pinnacle of their own technique.

Reminding them now is also because he worries that when they hit a bottleneck later and can't raise their strength quickly, they might be crushed by that kind of setback.

"Mm, we understand."

Bell and Liliruca nodded together, thinking this was Broly teaching them from his own experience, unaware that besides being a stats monster, the boy was also a combat talent monster.

In the Six-Faced World, Broly raised three schools of swordsmanship to God Level and never encountered anything resembling a decent bottleneck.

Now, the 【Swordsmanship Pinnacle】 skill in his first ability Panel alone proves that his current swordsmanship level is the highest peak among all swordsmen in this world from ancient times to present.

"Broly-san, then next, are we entering the Middle Floors?"

Standing before the entrance to the 13th Floor of the Dungeon Labyrinth, Bell asked; he really wanted to go down and test his limits.

"No. With your current strength, going to the Middle Floors would be a bit too reckless."

However, Broly shook his head.

Of course, he didn't think the current Bell and Liliruca couldn't beat Lv. 2 monsters.

It's just that Dungeon monsters don't reason with intruders or play fair with one-on-one duels.

Once surrounded by a whole herd of Lv. 2 monsters, he'd have to step in.

And that would defeat the purpose of practical combat training for the two of them.

"Let's take a different route back. Counting the time, heading back to the surface should put us right around noon; we can eat lunch up there."

"Uh, alright then."

Bell was a little disappointed but obediently chose to head up; and just as they were fighting their way back to the Fifth Floor, dull, heavy footsteps suddenly came from the tunnel behind them.

"What sound?"

Turning back, the three saw a Minotaur — a powerful monster that shouldn't appear in the Upper Floors, only emerging below the 15th Floor Labyrinth — charging at them from the other end of the tunnel.

"Broly-san, please leave this Minotaur to me!"

Broly was about to draw his sword and instantly kill the charging Minotaur, but Bell stepped forward, volunteering eagerly as if pumped up on adrenaline.

"Just be careful. This thing is fiercer than a typical Lv. 2 monster."

Broly sheathed Fire Joy, which had already left its scabbard, and pulled the Pallum girl beside him aside, giving the boy and the soon-to-be-upon-them Minotaur enough combat space.

The Minotaur counts as an elite monster even in the Middle Floors; its traits are great strength and speed that isn't slow, at most its agility is somewhat lacking.

"Rest assured, Broly-san. I properly remembered the Dungeon monster knowledge Miss Eina taught us earlier; it included the Minotaur's attack habits."

Bell replied, sidestepping to dodge the Minotaur's initial charge, and swung a sword at the bull-headed monster's neck, but it was blocked by the Minotaur's raised bull horn.

Long Sword and bull horn collided with a clang.

And just as Bell and the Lv. 2 Minotaur were locked in combat inside the cave, another group of people was also running up quickly.

"Ais, you chase that Minotaur over there; I'll take this one."

The werewolf Bert shouted to the blonde girl beside him and took off first toward a tunnel; they were precisely the Loki Familia returning from completing an investigation quest in the Dungeon Labyrinth's deep floors.

Originally, the Loki Familia should have returned earlier, but when passing the 24th Floor they encountered an attack by those new species of monsters they'd run into on the 60th Floor, which delayed their return schedule.

They'd finally made it up to the 15th Floor today, only for a herd of freshly spawned Minotaurs to appear and get scared off by them, forcing them to chase the Minotaurs fleeing up toward the Upper Floors Labyrinth.

However, the Dungeon Labyrinth terrain is fairly complex; after catching up and killing most of the Minotaurs, they still let a few escape to the Upper Floors.

"Okay."

The Sword Princess girl acknowledged and pursued down the other tunnel; however, lacking her werewolf companion's keen sense of smell, she hesitated at a new fork in the road, unsure which branch to chase down.

*Clang—*

*Moo—*

But soon a cow's bellow came from one of the forks, giving the hesitating Sword Princess girl immediate direction.

【Hope nothing goes wrong.】

Thinking this, the Sword Princess girl quickened her pace; she had to arrive before the Minotaur caused casualties and deal with that fleeing bull-headed monster.

However, after the cow's bellowing became clear, the girl's footsteps gradually slowed down, only because she saw the situation at the tunnel entrance — someone was fighting the Minotaur.

【Is it a high-level Adventurer?】

Ais thought this, but quickly dismissed the idea because of the battle scene inside the cave.

【No, that boy's speed isn't fast, his strength isn't enough either; he looks like just an Lv. 1 Adventurer with not low stats.】

The Sword Princess girl made an evaluation, just as she saw the boy's sword collide with the Minotaur's horns, his figure revealing some openings.

The Minotaur prepared to pursue, and she also prepared to rush out to solve the monster, when a voice rang out: "Right foot one and a half steps, left spin one circle diagonal slash."

Bell didn't hesitate at all, following the words exactly, and dodged the Minotaur's impact by a hair's breadth.

The sword moved with his body, and as he brushed past the Minotaur, he fiercely draped it across the bull-headed monster's back.

The blade cut through the cowhide, fresh blood sprayed and dyed the brown wool red; with a moo, the Minotaur let out a pained scream.

The Sword Princess who was preparing to rush out stopped her steps, poked her head out from the rock edge at the tunnel entrance, and only then saw that besides the white-haired boy fighting the Minotaur inside the cave, there were two other people's existences.

Judging by height, they should be Pallum, and the one wearing Skirt Armor next to them is a girl; that is to say, the one who spoke was that Supporter Outfit Pallum boy.

【Are they companions of the white-haired boy fighting the Minotaur, but why aren't they going to help fight?】

The Sword Princess was somewhat puzzled, then saw the white-haired boy inside the cave start a new round of battle with the Minotaur which had gone into a frenzy from its injuries.

The gap in stats made this battle look extremely dangerous, but every time the boy made a mistake and was about to be counterattacked, the Supporter boy watching from the side would speak up to remind or command.

After several times, Ais also understood the other party; it seemed they were using the Minotaur to temper that white-haired boy's Swordsmanship.

And that incomparably precise reminding and commanding that compensated for the white-haired boy's mistakes or judgment errors made her subconsciously immerse herself in it.

(Chapter End)