Chapter 231: Two Choices
Speaking from the elevated perspective of a deity, she offered a broader piece of advice.
"The Laurus Fuga is absolutely right," Astrea said. "Back in the day, my children also championed the elite system. But even then, Alise's core team consisted of eleven members. And still, they often found themselves stretched thin when facing the Dungeon's challenges."
Her gaze drifted, turning distant as if she were reminiscing about the glory days of the past. "Undertaking expeditions with too few people is undeniably strenuous. There are really only two ways to solve this. The first is exactly what the Laurus Fuga suggested."
"The other path," Astrea continued, looking between Aiden and Robin, "if you don't want to rapidly expand your Familia and take in a flood of newcomers you can't entirely trust, is to find allies. You look for other Familias you're on good terms with, who possess comparable strength, and conduct joint expeditions. Alise and the others used to operate alongside the children of the Ganesha Familia all the time."
The two options were laid out clearly before them.
Aiden and Robin exchanged a glance, both recognizing the same hesitations mirrored in the other's eyes.
"We appreciate your guidance, Lady Astrea," Robin replied with a polite nod. "As for continuing recruitment... we will just have to leave that up to fate."
Aiden sighed, his voice dropping an octave. "With the Focalors Familia's current reputation, if we seriously opened our doors to recruitment, they'd probably trample our threshold."
"But if we do that," he continued, "too many people means too many mixed intentions."
"More importantly, with that many people, it would be impossible for me to protect everyone."
In the cruel depths of the Dungeon, casualties were an unavoidable reality. Even for the strongest factions in the city right now—the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia—there was never a guarantee that everyone would return alive from an expedition.
"I don't want to see a single one of our names carved into a cold monument."
Those words caused the atmosphere to grow slightly heavy.
Daphne and Cassandra fell silent. They knew better than anyone how incredibly rare it was to find a powerful Captain willing to lay his life on the line to protect his members.
"Therefore," Robin said, summarizing their stance, "rather than expanding blindly, the Captain and I lean toward the idea of joint expeditions. Until we find allies who are absolutely trustworthy, we will rely on our current roster and take a more measured approach."
With that, the broad strokes of the Familia's future were essentially decided.
Daphne let out a sigh, a wry smile touching her lips. "Alright, since that's the case... I should state upfront that if we are truly heading into the deep floors, my experience isn't going to be of any use. The furthest I've ever been is the 20th Floor. The environments, monster types, and bizarre floor characteristics down there—they're all unknown to me. From this point on, we'll be entirely reliant on your on-the-spot commands and judgment, Vice-Captain."
All eyes turned back to Robin.
The normally poised and elegant Vice-Captain broke her usual composed demeanor, rubbing her temples with a rare look of helplessness.
"To be perfectly honest, with our current lineup, pushing into the deep floors right now is actually a bit too early."
There was a trace of exhaustion in her voice. "My original plan was to wait until the Captain reached Level 4, and for Tifa and Hyacine to hit Level 3. Once everyone's stats and equipment had moved up a tier, then we would officially begin our exploration of the deep floors."
She shifted her gaze to Aiden, then over to Astrea. "However, since we've accepted Lady Astrea's commission, and the Captain just wants to take a look around rather than launching a full-scale exploration operation... I won't completely oppose it."
A confident smile crept back onto Robin's lips, restoring her effortless grace.
"After all, our Captain is no ordinary Level 3."
Her words brimmed with absolute trust. "Not to mention... I happen to be hiding a trump card of my own."
Though Daphne didn't know exactly what Robin meant, her powerful confidence was contagious, dispelling the last traces of anxiety she felt toward the unknown road ahead.
. . .
The campfire, fueled by Magic Stones, cast a serene, deep, and ethereal blue glow that was entirely different from mundane flames.
The entire temporary campsite was bathed in its light, making them feel as though they were submerged in a tranquil sea.
The space perfectly evoked the imagery of a nocturnal forest. The Blue Light Moss they had gathered and placed at the bottom of transparent containers radiating an aquamarine brilliance that was far more distinctive than standard oil lamps—mysterious, yet laced with a wondrous warmth.
Under the flicker of that dancing light, faint shadows swayed gently against the rough, rocky walls and floor, matching the silent rhythm of the glow.
Following a lavish dinner, a forest-like tranquility finally settled over the cavern, replacing the hustle and bustle of the day.
Listening closely, one could clearly discern the steady, faint breathing of Robin and the other girls drifting from the tents.
To sleep so soundly within the Dungeon was the ultimate expression of absolute trust in the one keeping watch.
And the bearer of that trust—Aiden—was thoughtfully leaning against the cold wall of vegetation, resting his eyes in a posture that allowed him to spring into lethal action at a moment's notice. He hugged the Fire Spirit Sword tightly to his chest, the warmth of the scabbard seeping through the fabric into his palm, bringing him a sense of peace.
Awooo—
From deep within the tunnels, the long, drawn-out howl of a beast echoed faintly.
It sounded like some kind of animalistic monster, though the way the sound reverberated suggested it was still quite a distance away.
After dinner, Aiden had sent Jeanne back to rest, taking over the night watch himself.
He was the strongest among them, boasting the highest level and an utterly absurd amount of stamina. Going a day or two without sleep wouldn't significantly impact his combat performance.
After all, his Endurance stat had never been a weak point.
Ever since receiving his Falna, every time he leveled up, his five basic attributes invariably reached SSS-rank—representing a total breakthrough of his limits.
Jeanne's Endurance growth was actually even more exaggerated, but her current level was lower; purely in terms of raw numerical values, she couldn't match Aiden just yet.
Therefore, the role of night watchman naturally fell to him.
At his feet sat the glass bottle filled with Blue Light Moss. The faint blue light faithfully illuminated the dim entrance and exit of their camp.
Aiden's gaze swept his surroundings. This cavern, which they had forcibly carved out for a temporary shelter, was slowly being repaired by the Dungeon's own will at a visible rate.
The cracks and craters they had intentionally caused were filling in with newly generated rock and crystal.
Just to be safe, aside from keeping an eye out for wandering monsters, Aiden would occasionally stand up and use his longsword to carve fresh wounds into the freshly healed walls.
The night passed without incident.
By the time their biological clocks signaled the arrival of dawn, everyone had packed their gear and was ready to move out.
Their objective was clear: push straight down to the deepest part of the 24th Floor.
After several hours of trekking, they finally reached their destination—a cavern so massive it defied imagination.
Having worked together to clear out several Wood Dragons and swarms of Flash Swallows nesting in the area, the party gathered in front of the cavern's far wall.
There, sitting alone, was the sole entrance leading to the next floor.
It looked like a tree hollow that had been encased in solid ice.
The walls surrounding the opening weren't made of rock or wood, but a bizarre, translucent crystalline substance. The layers overlapped, refracting the light from their Magic Stone lamps into a dizzying array of colors.
Robin reached out, lightly brushing the surface of the crystal. The freezing sensation caused her to frown.
The crystal cave seemed to swallow her voice whole, failing to produce even the slightest echo.
The entire tunnel was shrouded in a thin veil of darkness, and a gentle downward slope stretched silently into the unknown.
A cool, refreshing breeze blew up from the depths of the cave.
This current of air was vastly different from the muggy, humid atmosphere they had trudged through in the Large Tree Labyrinth. It brushed softly against their hair, acting as an indisputable harbinger of the drastically different stage that awaited them.
Aiden glanced back at Robin and the others. Upon receiving their affirmative nods, he didn't hesitate. Taking the lead, he stepped straight into the uncharted darkness.
He walked at the very front of the formation, carrying a portable Magic Stone lamp in his left hand to light the way as he guided them down the slope.
Inside this impossibly smooth cave—where the floor, walls, and ceiling all seemed to be carved from a single, massive block of ice—every step they took was meticulously calculated.
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