Dungeon, Eighteenth Floor, outskirts of the forest.
After seeing Cain off, Hedin looked thoughtfully at Ottar.
"I did not expect you to agree. Did you see something in him?"
Ottar nodded.
"He is very confident."
Hedin: "?"
What exactly did confidence mean?
Hedin frowned slightly, somewhat confused.
Normally, shouldn't the response have been something like noticing hidden potential or unknown possibilities?
"His expression is very confident."
Perhaps noticing Hedin's confusion, Ottar spoke again.
"He believes that once he breaks through to Level 3, adventurers below First Class will become useless to him."
"Only by fighting First Class Adventurers will he be able to train himself."
"I see."
This time Hedin understood.
If Ottar's judgment was correct, then Cain truly possessed an extremely strong sense of confidence.
However...
Hedin recalled the scene of Cain overpowering Ryuu while still at Level 1.
And just now, after Cain said farewell, he had led Ais and the others down toward the Nineteenth Floor.
"That is not simply confidence."
Hedin adjusted his glasses.
"If he can maintain that unreasonable level of strength, then he truly has the qualifications to challenge Level 5 adventurers while at Level 3."
"Perhaps."
Ottar replied calmly.
Although he had agreed to Cain's request, he did not place too much importance on it.
Just a few days ago during the War Game, Cain had still been Level 1. Now he had probably only just reached Level 2.
Compared to guessing when Cain would reach Level 3, there were more important matters to handle at the moment.
Ottar looked toward the depths of the forest.
"Do you think what he said earlier is true?"
Hedin replied.
"Whether it is true or false, we will know once we investigate according to the clues he provided."
The Knossos, overlapping with the Dungeon and embedded along its outer edge.
If that information was accurate, then the next stage of their investigation would require far greater caution.
...
On the other side.
After leaving the forest, Ais glanced toward Cain several times, clearly wanting to speak but hesitating.
Earlier, before Cain exchanged information with Ottar, he had asked them to move ahead first.
Because of this, Ais still did not know what information Cain had shared.
After thinking briefly, Ais stepped closer to him.
"Are you selling information about the Dark Faction Remnants?"
Cain shook his head.
"Not for now."
Ais was slightly surprised.
"Why?"
Based on Cain's usual behavior, wasn't everything negotiable if the price was right?
Tione also approached.
"If you need a sparring partner, I can talk to the Captain and the others. He should agree."
Compared to the Freya Familia, Finn valued reputation far more.
If they could locate the Dark Faction Remnants and eliminate all those hidden rats, Finn would definitely agree to Cain's conditions.
Not to mention one month of sparring. Even two or three months would likely be acceptable.
However, Cain still shook his head.
"If they want information, let Finn come to me personally. I only shared the information with Ottar because he happened to be there."
In reality, the moment he heard about the Dark Faction Remnants from Hedin, Cain had already decided to reveal the information regarding the Knossos.
Under normal circumstances, Hedin would never have known that Dark Faction Remnants were hiding on the Eighteenth Floor.
The reason he appeared there was most likely related to Ryuu.
Because Cain had frequently asked Ryuu for help recently, Freya, who also worked at The Hostess of Fertility, had probably noticed something unusual and ordered her Familia to investigate.
Although Cain did not know how far the Freya Familia's investigation had progressed, revealing part of the information now would not accelerate their progress.
Instead, it would actually slow it down.
As for how much it would delay them, Cain would find out when he visited the Freya Familia later.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind.
Cain glanced to the side.
"Your breathing rhythm is unstable."
"Yes!"
Ais instinctively responded and quickly adjusted her breathing rhythm again.
Tione also finished thinking things through.
"Cain, can we schedule a time when we return to the surface?"
Cain nodded.
"I will rest for a few days after this expedition. I will be free anytime."
"I understand."
Keeping Cain's words in mind, Tione looked ahead toward a massive tree with an unusually thick trunk.
That was the passage connecting the Eighteenth Floor to the Nineteenth Floor.
Since the passage was two way, several Sniper Dragonflies suddenly flew out of the entrance.
As monsters that appear starting from the Nineteenth Floor, Sniper Dragonflies possessed not only long range attack capabilities but also a certain level of poison in their attacks.
Because of this, many adventurers encountering them for the first time often suffered injuries.
Just as Tione was about to explain the monster's characteristics to Cain and warn him to be careful, two sharp sounds suddenly cut through the air.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Cain, who had been standing beside them only a moment earlier, suddenly appeared in front of the Sniper Dragonflies.
In the blink of an eye, he eliminated them completely.
Watching the scene, Tiona looked curiously at Cain's katana.
"I have been wanting to ask. Cain, is that a custom made weapon?"
Cain casually swung Raikiri and struck a cool pose.
"One billion Valis."
"One billion Valis?!"
Lefiya was completely shocked.
Not only her, even Ais and Tione subconsciously looked again at the sword in Cain's hand.
One billion Valis was not a small number.
Even the custom weapons they commissioned from the Goibniu Familia did not cost that much.
Tiona sighed with some sympathy.
"I was wondering why you were always so obsessed with making money. So you are buried in debt."
Except he wasn't.
Cain glanced at the misunderstanding Tiona with a calm expression and chose not to waste any effort explaining.
He sheathed Raikiri and looked toward the path ahead leading to the Nineteenth Floor.
"Let's go. We are heading to the Water City."
...
According to the danger level of monsters, the Guild divides the Dungeon into five main regions.
The Upper Floors, the Middle Floors, the Lower Floors, the Deep Floors, and the Unknown Territory.
However, based on terrain characteristics, the Adventurers Guild also uses another classification method.
Before reaching the first safe floor, the Eighteenth Floor, the areas adventurers explore consist mostly of rock tunnels and chamber like spaces.
Starting from the Eighteenth Floor, the scenery of the Dungeon undergoes its first major transformation.
Grasslands, forests, and other natural environments begin to appear.
For convenience, the Guild refers to the floors between the Nineteenth and Twenty Fourth Floors as the Large Tree Labyrinth, based on the massive tree structures dominating the terrain.
After passing through the passage on the Twenty Fourth Floor and reaching the Twenty Fifth Floor, the scenery of the Dungeon changes once again.
"We are almost there."
Walking down the sloping tunnel, Tiona looked toward the blue light reflecting ahead.
"The Twenty Fifth Floor is just ahead."
Splash.
Along with Tiona's reminder, the sound of rushing water crashing against stone echoed toward them.
Cain and the others quickened their pace and soon passed through the tunnel leading to the Twenty Fifth Floor.
In the next moment, a magnificent azure landscape unfolded before Cain's eyes.
...
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