Lynn knew his plan had many flaws.
Spontaneously sending Ishtar back, then later recruiting members of the Ishtar Familia into the Soma Familia to expand his own Familia...
After all that maneuvering, even if he wasn't the culprit, he'd attract attention, let alone the fact that he *was* the culprit.
But having a psychological warning was one thing; the investigation efficiency of Evilus was higher than he had anticipated.
"You've already confirmed the key is in Lynn's possession?"
Valetta: "Originally, I just thought he was suspicious. But the Intel you just gave perfectly answers my doubts. If he's LV6, he's fully capable of pulling this off."
Oh, so I killed myself.
Lynn suddenly understood.
He had previously revealed his strength, thinking it would intimidate the Evilus and make them lay low.
But it seemed Valetta was quite bold.
Knowing he was LV6, she still wasn't afraid, even itching to provoke him and retrieve the key.
"Dix, do you want to join?"
Valetta's voice sounded again. "Personally destroying the core of the God-Making Plan, shattering that false hope... that should be your favorite thing to do, right?"
Lynn nodded slightly. "Elaborate."
"With our current strength, our chances in a direct fight aren't great. I plan to call in some outside help."
"LV6 outside help?"
"That's right. And two of them. You've probably heard of the Kali Familia. Before, Ishtar was constantly contacting that Familia's goddess to deal with the Freya Familia. Yesterday, I returned to the surface and took over the communication channel."
"You're quite impressive."
Lynn praised sincerely.
Of course, he knew about the Kali Familia.
It was a Familia established in the war nation Telskyura, and one of the few major Familias outside Orario possessing top-tier combat power, famous throughout the world.
After sending Ishtar back, Lynn had once considered whether to take over Ishtar's contact with the Kali Familia.
But it turned out he was overthinking.
He searched through most of the Ishtar Familia but couldn't find any letters of communication between Ishtar and Kali.
For Valetta to find a way to contact the Kali Familia, she truly had skill.
"When will the Kali Familia arrive?"
"It's not confirmed yet, but they're leaning towards agreeing. If nothing unexpected happens, it'll be next month."
"That's quite some time."
With a bit more development, he could handle it alone.
Very good, all of them are ants.
"Dix, what do you say? Want to team up?"
"I'm busy with something recently. Kali Familia is here, so leave a message in my room."
"Sure, it's a deal then."
Valetta showed a satisfied expression.
They all operated in the Artificial Labyrinth, so they were aware of each other's strength.
With Dix, an LV5, joining, plus her and the LV6 from Kali Familia, that made four First Class Adventurers.
Coupled with the advantage of them being hidden while the enemy was exposed, it was like having a dragon charging head-on; they simply didn't know how to lose.
Victory was assured!
...
So easy to fool.
Watching Valetta disappear, Lynn, the person involved, felt no emotional fluctuation and even wanted to laugh a little.
After taking the Perfect Demon King potion, his strength could no longer be measured by mere level alone.
As long as he leveled up one more time to LV4, he could walk sideways through all of Orario.
One month was more than enough time to level up.
Humming a tune, Lynn put his hands in his pockets and continued to wander around the Artificial Labyrinth, looking left and right to familiarize himself with the terrain.
As the successor to the legendary craftsman Daedalus, Dix held an extremely high status in the Artificial Labyrinth. Even the passing Evilus had to greet him with, "Lord Dix," before making way.
However, just as Lynn was savoring the fragrance of authority, a bald, sturdy man suddenly approached him.
"Dix, you're back but didn't come find us. If I hadn't received word, I would have thought you went missing."
"It just took a little extra time during an investigation."
Lynn glanced at him: "What's up?"
Human, male, completely bald...
Oh, I remember now.
From the Ikelos Familia, an LV4.
As for the name...
"Dix, did you forget?" Gran reminded him, "Today is the day we set out to hunt in the Dungeon. The client placed an order."
"Oh, right, there was something like that."
Lynn touched his chin thoughtfully.
Walking around the Artificial Labyrinth wearing Dix's face, he had naturally made full preparations.
Besides using magic to scout the surroundings and avoid meeting any Deities, the most crucial thing was intelligence.
Relying on Freya's help, he had even extracted Dix's XP data, let alone the tasks the other was supposed to complete.
"You guys go handle the monster capture. I don't have much time recently, so I won't be joining you."
"Ah? But..."
If you don't come, we won't be able to win, right?
Gran hesitated to speak.
The Xenos were not easy targets; there were quite a few LV4 and LV5 level monsters inside.
If they ran into a large group, without Dix, the LV5, to suppress the situation, people would die.
"Oh, right. Your strength is a bit lacking."
Lynn remembered this matter, looked around, found an empty room, took out a key, and opened the door.
"Come in. I'll boost your strength a bit."
Boost strength?
Gran walked into the room with some confusion.
Click—!
The heavy door, forged from super-hard metal steel, closed, plunging the room into instant darkness.
In the eerie, cold atmosphere, a strange sound of rolling flesh and blood quietly arose, stirring a sense of unease in Gran.
"Dix, you..."
Hiss—!
Before the words even fell, a whip-like tentacle suddenly sliced through the air and pierced Gran's abdomen.
"Damn it! You are not Dix!"
Gran reacted instantly.
Enduring the pain surging through his body, he gripped the tentacle with both hands, trying to pull it off.
"Help! Someone save me!!!"
"Jie jie jie, give up."
Lynn grabbed the man's throat and slammed him against the wall.
"I already checked when I came in. There is no one else within fifty meters."
"Plus the room's airtightness, even if you scream your throat raw, no one will come to save you."
Plop!
Gran closed his eyes in despair.
From that brief exchange, it was clear that Lynn was at least an LV5 adventurer.
Without external aid, he was merely a lamb to the slaughter, completely incapable of fighting back.
However, just as Gran thought everything was over, the hand gripping his throat suddenly loosened.
Thud—!
His body slid down the wall and collapsed onto the floor. Gran, feeling his breath return, coughed violently.
"You... you aren't killing me?"
"You are still somewhat useful. I'll keep you as a dog for now."
Snap—!
A crisp finger snap sounded, and a strange memory rose within his mind.
Evolution, Blood Demon Art, Immortality...
"What... Who on earth are you?!"
"I am Dix Perdux, the captain of the Ikelos Familia, a descendant of the legendary craftsman Daedalus."
As the words fell, the tentacle extending from Lynn's back broke off and merged into Gran's body through the wound.
"Go, my dear Familia member."
"Your first mission now is to summon all the LV4s of the Ikelos Familia here."
"We are a loving family, after all. We can't let you enjoy the good fortune of increasing strength all by yourself."
"Yes."
Gran dared not hesitate and quickly nodded.
Since he was going to be a dog anyway, whose dog he was didn't matter.
Feeling the power rising within him, and reading about the Bloodline Curse in the implanted memory, Gran wisely chose to submit.
Woof! This feels great!
...
"Syr, is your body feeling unwell?"
"Eh? No."
Syr, who was cleaning, tilted her head.
"Why does Ryuu feel like my body is unwell?"
"Because you've been spacing out all day."
Just as Syr would notice Ryuu's anomaly, Ryuu, as a close friend, would also monitor Syr's condition.
Since they started cleaning this morning, Ryuu had noticed Syr often zoning out, her gaze vacant as if she were lost in thought.
"If it's not your body, do you have something on your mind? You can tell me if you've encountered any difficulties."
"Oh... It's not really a difficulty. To be precise, I encountered something good."
Syr's expression was a bit strange.
The reason she was distracted was simple: she was multitasking.
Lynn had run off to explore the Artificial Labyrinth, and Bell had been entrusted to the Freya Familia by him.
To get closer to the latter, she had been remotely controlling Helen's body to chat with Bell.
It was just that, for some reason, Bell preferred clinging to Hedin rather than chatting with her, like a shadow.
"Syr, Syr, what good thing happened, nya?"
Anya, passing by, noticed their conversation and excitedly leaned in to gossip.
"I won a free coupon for Hestia Restaurant."
"A free coupon? Is that real, nya?!"
"Of course, it's real."
Syr took out a free coupon from her embrace and handed it over.
Recently, Hestia Restaurant was running a promotion where customers could enter a prize draw for every certain amount of Valis spent.
Originally, this had nothing to do with her, as the Freya Familia had its own cafeteria and top-tier chefs.
However, Ottar had gone crazy for some unknown reason, ordering a bunch of highly toxic dishes from the restaurant every day for Hedin and the others to eat, under the guise of 'training their Abnormal Resistance'—killing two birds with one stone.
Thanks to him, Syr had accumulated quite a few points at the restaurant, and coupled with good luck, she had won a bunch of coupons.
"Ryuu, Anya, let's go eat at Hestia Restaurant tomorrow. I heard they recently introduced a new cuisine."
"Okay, nya!"
Anya agreed excitedly.
"I can go too."
Ryuu nodded as well.
"Speaking of which, Syr, the reason you were spacing out earlier, were you thinking about when to invite us to eat?"
"Oh, something like that."
Syr and Freya were two different identities.
Regarding encountering Bell, Syr ultimately decided not to reveal it, choosing to keep it hidden.
Click—!
Just then, the tavern door was pushed open.
"Sorry, we're already closed for the day... Lynn?"
Ryuu instinctively stepped forward to greet the customer.
However, mid-sentence, she suddenly realized that the person walking in was an acquaintance.
"Long time no see, Ryuu."
Lynn nodded slightly and then took the opportunity to wave at the two people behind her.
"Good evening, Syr, Anya."
"Good evening, nya!"
"It's practically the middle of the night by now."
"Small details, small details, don't worry about it."
Lynn waved his hand and looked back to the front.
"Ryuu, I brought you some good news."
"What good news?"
"I can't tell you yet."
"?"
Then why did you come to find me?
Ryuu's eye twitched, feeling like she had been teased.
"Ahem, I just came to notify you."
Lynn's expression turned serious: "Are you free tomorrow? I need you to accompany me to the Eighteenth Floor."
"Tomorrow?"
Ryuu instinctively looked to the side.
"Go, Ryuu."
Syr seemed to realize something: "We can talk about the meal next time; taking care of business is more important."
Anya: "Yeah, yeah, Ryuu, you should go on a date with Lynn. Syr and I will go have a big meal, nya!"
"It's not a date."
Ryuu delivered a chop to her head.
This stupid cat doesn't know what's wrong with her.
She had just been meeting with Lynn more often and chatting for longer periods recently.
As a result, for some reason, in Anya's eyes, it had become a date, and she would ask about their progress in private every day.
"I'm free tomorrow. Is the evening, okay?"
After dealing with the cat who loved to spread rumors, Ryuu looked back at Lynn.
Lynn: "Of course, just come find me at the Hestia Familia when you're ready. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."
...
After setting the meeting time with Ryuu, Lynn didn't stay long.
It was late at night. Walking under the pitch-black night sky, Lynn soon returned to the Hestia Familia.
"Lynn! You're back!"
"Lord Lynn, good evening."
"Lord Lynn, have you had dinner?"
"...Why are you all in my room?"
"Of course, we're waiting for you."
Goddess Hestia pushed over the mahjong tiles in front of her: "No more playing, no more playing. Let's call it a day."
"Lord Lynn, Lili will give you a massage."
The Palum Girl took the opportunity to push over the mahjong tiles as well.
"Huh? Is it over already?"
Haruhime looked at her hand in confusion.
Thirteen Orphans; she was just one step away from defeating Lili and the others, and winning the rights for tonight.
However, seeing Lili and Goddess Hestia trying to sneak away, she had no choice but to abandon her great position and run toward Lynn.
"So you all didn't sleep in the middle of the night and came to my room to play mahjong just to decide who gets to spend the night in my room?"
After hearing the whole story, Lynn's expression became subtle.
"It's all because you're flirting around outside, Lynn. It used to be just me."
Goddess Hestia sighed.
After yesterday's Haruhime 'eating chicken' incident, she had pulled Lili and Haruhime aside to talk while Lynn was away.
And the result of that discussion was that the three of them would rely on their own abilities to see who could win the exclusive right to Lynn.
"Actually, my bed is quite big."
"I have no objection."
"Lili is fine with it too."
"Four... four people! That's too lewd!"
"But Goddess Hestia, you had the fewest points just now. If you don't accept it, you'll have to go back to your room."
"Wuu... alright then."
Goddess Hestia suffered a crushing defeat.
Seeing this, the corners of Lili's mouth curled up slightly, and she was in a great mood.
As a Palum who knew her place, she knew very well that she couldn't monopolize Lynn.
But if she wanted more time with Lynn, Goddess Hestia was a hurdle that had to be overcome.
Being able to make her concede was the first step to victory.
...