Loki Familia.
After finishing the morning meditation, Lefiya went to the cafeteria to eat breakfast with Aiz and the others.
"Tiona, are you not feeling well today?"
Looking at Tiona, who had put down her chopsticks after eating just one bowl of rice, Lefiya showed a hint of confusion on her face.
"Yeah... how should I put it..."
Tiona scratched her head: "I've been eating too much of Lynn's cooking recently. I'm a bit unaccustomed to the cafeteria food."
"Eh? It can't be that exaggerated, right?"
Lefiya's expression was somewhat subtle.
She also ate food made by Lynn frequently.
Compared to the cafeteria chefs, Lynn's cooking was indeed better, but it shouldn't have made her this way.
"Lefiya, you don't need to mind her."
Tione, who was beside her, curled her lips: "Yesterday, this girl went out sneaking food with the captain."
Lefiya tilted her head: "Sneaking food?"
Aiz also stopped her chopsticks, showing a hint of curiosity.
"Ahem~ Don't look at me like that."
Faced with everyone's gazes, Tiona became embarrassed.
"It was Finn. Finn went to negotiate something with Lynn, and I went along to freeload a meal."
"Besides, I'm serious. It's a good thing you two didn't go yesterday. That guy Lynn put poison in the food again."
Tiona sighed suddenly as she mentioned this.
They were all ingredients that were normally non-toxic or even had no toxicity at all.
She didn't know how Lynn processed them to create such deadly dishes.
"When I ate it, I didn't have any warning. After one bite, I started hallucinating within three seconds, and I almost went in standing up and came out lying down."
"What? So exaggerated?!"
Lefiya let out a gasp.
Tiona's Abnormal Resistance had been upgraded; she could even withstand the toxins of mid-level monsters.
If even a Level 5 First Class Adventurer couldn't handle it, would anyone actually order that kind of food?
Tiona: "Speaking of which, that 'Stargazing Pie' is quite delicious. When your Abnormal Resistance levels go up later, Lefiya, you all can try it."
Lefiya: "..."
Take back what she said. Someone actually ordered it.
...
After breakfast, the women walked toward the courtyard.
Today was the day the Loki Familia expedition was set to depart.
Although it was still early, many people had already gathered in the courtyard, chatting animatedly about the breaking news.
"Miss Aiz! You're here!"
Raul ran over to report:
"Did you hear? Lynn of the Hestia Familia has leveled up to LV3!"
Lefiya: "Eh?"
Tione: "Hm?"
Aiz: "?!"
Aiz and the others, who were chatting casually, suddenly fell silent.
Tione: "LV3?"
"Yes, that's the news that came from the Guild. It was just released a short while ago."
Raul excitedly shared the hot gossip.
After hearing his explosive report, Aiz and the others exchanged glances, their gazes involuntarily turning toward Tiona.
Lefiya: "Tiona, you've been running into Lynn these past two days. You didn't know about this earlier, did you?"
Tiona scratched her head: "It wasn't too early. I found out yesterday, but Finn said this was confidential information for his Familia, and we shouldn't spread it before the Guild announced it."
Lefiya: "..."
That made sense.
But...
"Why did he level up to LV3 so fast?!"
Lefiya let out a mournful cry, greatly discouraged.
She recalled the first time she met Lynn; he was still selling fried rice from a roadside stall.
At that time, she was LV3, and Lynn was LV1.
Nearly two months later, Lynn had gone from running a stall to owning a restaurant, and his level had broken through to LV3.
And she was still stuck in the same place, still LV3.
How did he even manage this! Is he cheating or what!
"LV3..."
Aiz also murmured the words.
Compared to Lefiya's mere unwillingness to accept it, the shock she received was much stronger.
They all explored the Dungeon together; why did Lynn break through while she didn't?
Could it be... Lynn pretended to return to the surface with them to rest, but was actually secretly training?
...
"We're here, it should be around this area."
On the Eighteenth Floor of the Dungeon, Ottar brought Lynn to the depths of the forest on the east side and stopped.
"Before returning to the surface, Hedin confirmed that the entrance to the Artificial Labyrinth was in this area."
"You didn't completely lock down the entrance coordinates?"
"No. Just as we were about to continue investigating, we received a summons from Lady Freya to return to the surface."
Ottar glanced sideways: "She ordered us to investigate the culprit behind Ishtar's forced return to the Celestial Realm along with Allen."
"I see. Well, that's quite a coincidence."
Lynn showed no awareness of being the actual culprit.
He looked around left and right, found nothing, and simply gave up thinking. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Let's just start. Maybe the entrance will show up while we're fighting."
"Alright."
Ottar took off the great sword on his back.
As an entrance meticulously selected by the Daedalus clan, this area was already close to the edge of the Eighteenth Floor.
Under normal circumstances, no outsiders would approach.
Even if there were accidental casualties, it would only be the Evilus.
As for the Evilus, there was naturally no need to show mercy, or rather, killing them directly was the best choice.
...
"Hey, hey, what is this situation?"
Thanatos stood at the entrance of the Artificial Labyrinth on the Eighteenth Floor, staring dumbfounded at the scene in the distance.
Just half an hour ago, an executive from the Evilus suddenly found him, claiming a natural disaster had appeared.
Thanatos initially thought the other party was exaggerating, but when he actually arrived on the Eighteenth Floor, he realized what they said was true.
Deafening roars continuously echoed, and massive sword auras pierced through the forest one after another.
It was as if a great hero from the ancient era was slaying a monster; sheer, unreasonable brute force tore the earth apart, turning the originally lush forest into a scene of disarray.
"I only came over to take a look after hearing the news, but I didn't expect the situation to be more exaggerated than I imagined."
A flippant voice drifted over from behind.
Thanatos turned around to see a youth wearing goggles and carrying a red spear walking out from the depths of the Labyrinth.
"Oh! Isn't this our little brother Dix? You've arrived just in time; I need your help!"
"Help? What do you mean?"
Dix raised an eyebrow: "It couldn't be asking me to stop those two monsters whose true forms are unknown from fighting, could it?"
"Bingo~ You guessed it!"
Thanatos snapped his fingers: "You saw how exaggerated the battle in the forest was."
"Attacks of that level, if they missed and hit the Labyrinth, even the Labyrinth might not be able to withstand it."
"As a descendant of Daedalus, Little Brother Dix, you surely wouldn't want something like that to happen, right?"
"That's hard to say."
Dix revealed a sinister grin.
As a descendant of Daedalus, he was different from his brother.
Compared to submitting to the bloodline curse, and completely fulfilling his ancestor's dying wish to construct an Artificial Labyrinth, he much preferred to destroy this detestable Labyrinth and break free from the curse.
But unfortunately, that was impossible.
Even if the Daedalus Labyrinth was destroyed, the curse from his ancestor would still compel him to find a way to earn Valis and rebuild the Artificial Labyrinth.
Thanatos was also well aware of this, which is why he let out a light chuckle.
"Little Brother Dix, just do it for your own sake, please go stop those two monsters."
"Shut up, you're annoying."
These hateful Gods seemed capable of reading his mind and seeing through his true thoughts.
Pouting slightly in annoyance, Dix looked toward the forest ahead, which was gradually returning to calm.
Unlike the Evilus members, he was not a wanted criminal in Orario on the surface.
It was better for him, an LV5 with a legal identity, to investigate, rather than sending members of the Evilus to take the risk.
...
"Are you stopping?"
Ottar ceased his movements.
Despite having just finished an astonishing battle, there were no scars left on his body.
Even the clothes he wore had not sustained much damage, only getting slightly dusty.
As for his opponent, Lynn's condition was similar to his own.
Relying on the self-healing ability provided by Super-speed Regeneration, he had fought with Ottar for nearly an hour without sustaining any injuries.
If they continued at this pace, both of them could fight for another day without issue.
However, ...
"Let's stop for now."
Lynn looked toward the direction to his right: "I think I found the entrance to the Artificial Labyrinth."
"Found it?"
Ottar showed a hint of surprise.
Both of them had been fighting in the forest, and even he, an LV7, hadn't discovered the entrance. How did the other party find it?
"Electric Field Perception."
As if guessing what Ottar was thinking, Lynn raised his hand and summoned a streak of golden lightning that scattered around him.
After consuming the perfect Demon King potion, Demon Slayer Lynn's Current Propulsion had been strengthened.
After the sharing, DanMachi Lynn's Current Propulsion was also strengthened.
Compared to before, Current Propulsion was no longer simply an auxiliary magic.
Besides controlling lightning to cover his body for combat, he could now disperse the electricity into faint currents to cover the surroundings, monitoring the situation in the nearby area.
Just now, he had sensed a presence comparable to a First-Class Adventurer suddenly appear in the area to his right.
"Ottar, he's coming."
"Yes, I feel it."
Ottar gazed into the distance.
Under the watch of the two, Dix emerged from behind several tilted trees, carrying a long spear.
"Yo~ Isn't this Ottar of the Freya Familia? I was wondering why there was such a huge commotion."
Dix pretended to be passing by and greeted them, his gaze falling on the black-haired youth beside Ottar.
"Who is this...?"
"Ottar, grab him."
Lynn recognized Dix: "This guy is a descendant of Daedalus; he might have the Labyrinth map on him."
"???"
Dix froze abruptly.
The next instant, a dangerous aura enveloped him, and the alarm bells in his heart began to ring wildly.
But just as Dix realized what was happening, a figure radiating a terrifying aura appeared in front of him.
Boom—!
A violent roar sounded, and the battle concluded.
Even an LV5 Adventurer was no different from an ordinary person against the strongest in Orario.
Without holding back, Ottar defeated Dix with a single punch.
"Well done, Ottar."
Lynn walked over and praised him.
Only by truly fighting could one understand how exaggerated Ottar's strength was.
At least at LV3, even the cheating Lynn still had a gap compared to him.
"Cough... Damn it..."
Dix leaned against the wreckage of a tree.
Having been hit directly by Ottar, he felt as if his body had fallen apart; any slight movement brought intense pain.
"You are Lynn, Captain of the Hestia Familia."
Looking at the black-haired youth walking toward him, Dix finally recalled the other's identity after a brief respite.
"How do you know about me?"
"Because I'm me..."
"?"
Is this person insane?
"Hoh, not bad luck."
Ignoring Dix's gaze, Lynn walked over, patted him down, and pulled out a black notebook.
"Ottar, I found it."
"This is the Daedalus Notebook; it records the map and structure of the Artificial Labyrinth."
"..."
Ottar silently took the notebook and glanced at it.
Well, he couldn't quite understand it.
But it did indeed record a map inside.
Since Lynn was so confident, it probably wasn't fake.
"What are you planning to do with this guy?"
Ottar's gaze returned to Dix.
"Let's take him back for interrogation. After all, he's a descendant of Daedalus; he probably knows quite a bit of information."
Lynn broke all four of Dix's limbs and casually landed another punch on the guy's head.
The vitality of an LV5 was quite tenacious.
Just to be safe, it was better to knock him out completely.
"Ottar, you carry him. We'll return to the Freya Familia. Interrogation is something the Goddess of Beauty is most efficient at."
"..."
Goddess Freya is not used like that.
Looking at Lynn's matter-of-fact expression, Ottar hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Forget it, I'll pretend I didn't hear anything this time.
...
Carrying the unconscious Dix, Ottar and Lynn quickly arrived at the passage leading back to the seventeenth floor.
However, just as they were about to step inside, a group of people carrying clown banners walked out ahead of them.
"Hm?"
Aiz, who was walking at the front, stopped in her tracks.
"Ottar? Lynn?"
Looking at this strange pair in front of her, the girl subconsciously recalled the news she had heard not long ago.
[Lynn broke through to LV3. ]
Combining this with the scene before her, Aiz showed a look of sudden realization on her face.
Lynn really had been secretly training.
The training partner was even the captain of the Freya Familia, Ottar, whose strength was LV7.
"So, this is the secret to how you got stronger."
"?"
Lynn, who was just about to greet them, froze.
Even he didn't know how much the girl had thought in that instant, ending up with such a statement.
"Good morning, you two."
Finn walked up from behind, taking over the conversation.
His gaze swept over the peculiar combination before him, and he thoughtfully rubbed his fingers.
"I didn't expect to run into you here. Ottar, the person in your hands is...?"
"No comment."
"10 million Valis."
Two replies sounded simultaneously.
Ottar, who had firmly refused, glanced subconsciously at his temporary teammate beside him.
"Don't be so rigid, Ottar."
Lynn lectured earnestly: "You are the captain of the Freya Familia. You need to learn how to use the resources at hand to make money, even if you don't use your Familia members, you should use them."
"..."
Ottar subconsciously thought of the Battlefield Plain.
Because of his fight with Lynn, repairing the ground on the Battlefield Plain alone was a huge expense.
Furthermore, placing an order to buy Lynn's highly toxic cuisine was also a large expense, requiring a certain amount of funds.
Ottar looked towards Finn: "10 million Faris."
Finn: "..."
Do I look like a sucker in your eyes?
...