He actually won.
Looking at the black-haired youth walking toward him, Fels' spirit felt a bit dazed.
As a bystander, he could clearly feel how strong that mutated Amphisbaena was.
With a single thought, it raised monstrous waves, flames burned fiercely, and venom corroded the earth.
If he had to face it himself, he probably wouldn't have lasted a single move.
But Lynn had subjugated that mutated Amphisbaena all by himself.
"Lynn, you couldn't have already broken through to LV4... No, LV5, right?"
"I wish I had broken through to LV5 as well."
Lynn shrugged: "But unfortunately, I am currently just an ordinary LV3. As for becoming a First Class Adventurer, there are still a few months of road to travel."
Fels: "..."
There were too many things to nitpick in those words; he didn't know where to start for a moment.
"Fels, why are you here?"
Lynn glanced at Rayne beside him: "And you're with the Xenos. Could it be that you received an order from that person to come and investigate?"
Because Ottar was present, Lynn did not address Ouranos by name.
But as the person involved, Fels could still understand who Lynn was talking about.
"It is indeed a mission from that lord. He said an accident occurred in the Dungeon and asked me to come investigate, and then I ran into you guys."
At this point, Fels' gaze instinctively drifted to Ottar: "Bringing a LV7 to the Dungeon and then encountering a mutated Amphisbaena, this shouldn't be a mere coincidence."
"Yeah, I was testing the effects of a new magic, but the process seemed to provoke the Dungeon. Anyway, the result is what you saw."
Lynn shrugged: "Don't worry, this should be the last time for a while. I'll restrain myself for a bit until I have enough strength."
Fels breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. If you made such a huge commotion every day, other adventurers wouldn't be able to explore the Dungeon."
Having cleared up the sequence of events, Fels' mission was partially concluded.
Seeing this, Rayne stepped forward, hesitated for a moment, and took the initiative to speak.
"Lynn, yesterday I didn't have time to apologize to you before you left. Thank you for saving me."
"I had some misunderstandings about you at the time, so my attitude wasn't very good. I hope you can forgive me."
"Don't worry about it. As I said, it was just a simple favor."
Lynn pointed at Fels: "This guy will help you pay the reward."
Fels: "..."
Although that was true in terms of the outcome, for some reason, he had an ominous premonition.
"Lynn, you're not going to open your mouth wide like a lion again and take several magic books from me, are you?"
"Relax, I have many spells now, so magic books are no longer a necessity for me."
Lynn mentioned meeting Asfi yesterday and ordering the hermes boots: "I need you to cooperate with Asfi to help me upgrade and improve the hermes boots, preferably so they can be used in conjunction with magic."
"Cooperate with Perseus?"
A hint of hesitation revealed itself in Fels' voice.
Just as Asfi felt that doing so would leak the method of crafting the hermes boots, Fels also had his own concerns, namely his identity.
He knew very well what kind of person Asfi was. If he cooperated with her to modify the hermes boots, his true identity would likely be exposed.
"Don't worry, Asfi won't dare say much. You can pass on a message for me: tell her that if she leaks your identity, I will come to her door for a settlement."
Lynn patted the weapon at his waist.
"Besides, you're not the only one with secrets. Asfi is also hiding her true strength."
"With her own concerns, she won't provoke you. Just treat it as attending a piece of academic research."
As his voice fell, Lynn tossed the snakeskin he had just obtained to Fels: "Take this as extra payment."
"Eh? Why are you suddenly so generous?"
Fels was quite surprised.
Materials dropped by a Labyrinth King are not ordinary goods, let alone this snakeskin from a mutated Amphisbaena.
If used properly, this piece of snakeskin could completely craft top-tier equipment comparable to First Class Adventurer gear, or even beyond.
Giving it away without a word was really not like something Lynn would do.
Lynn: "What are you thinking? Giving this to you is just to provide some motivation. Remember to estimate the price when you get back, add a premium, and send it back to me in the form of magic items."
Good, now it felt right.
Accepting the snakeskin with a clear conscience, Fels replied after a bit of thought: "You don't need to worry about Perseus. I issued a request to her not long ago. I'll mention this when she turns in the quest."
"A request?" Lynn raised an eyebrow: "Could it be the one with a 10 million Valis reward?"
Fels was stunned: "How did you know?"
Lynn: "Asfi mentioned it to me when I ran into her yesterday. By the way, are you that short on materials?"
However, due to the matter of the Artificial Labyrinth, she had been investigating the Evilus every day lately, searching for the entrance to the Artificial Labyrinth based on the clues.
Stretched thin and truly lacking the time to gather materials, Fels had commissioned members of the Hermes Familia to help.
Looking at it this way, however, he himself was the primary reason Asfi had met Lynn and received the order.
At the thought that he had issued a commission because he didn't have time to gather materials, only for it to result in more work for himself, Fels felt somewhat helpless.
What even is this? This is just ridiculous.
After letting out a silent sigh, Fels didn't want to discuss this depressing topic any further and shifted the conversation back to the Xenos.
"Lynn, this is Lido, one of the leaders of the Xenos." Fels pointed to the Lizardman beside him.
"Hello, Mr. Lynn."
Having finally waited for an opportunity to speak, Lido stepped forward proactively to greet Lynn.
"Thank you for saving Ray and the others. If there is anything you need help with, you can come to us at any time."
"Then help me gather some ingredients."
"Ingredients?"
"Yes, I've opened a restaurant on the surface, and lately I've been researching cooking using ingredients from the Dungeon."
Lynn listed a series of ingredient names: "Since you Xenos operate within the Dungeon, if you find any of these, please set them aside for me. This is the reward."
As he finished speaking, Lynn handed over the magic stone dropped by the Amphisbaena.
Lido: "Eh? No reward is necessary. We are helping you gather ingredients simply to repay your kindness."
Lynn: "I know, but Fels has already paid the reward on your behalf. Even if you don't accept it and want to repay the favor in your own way, there will eventually come a day when the debt of gratitude is fully repaid."
"Consider this magic stone as an advance payment. Eating it will make you stronger, which will make it more convenient for you to find ingredients for me when the time comes."
"This... I understand."
Lido accepted the magic stone.
Unlike adventurers who grow stronger through a blessing, the method for monsters to grow stronger is much simpler.
With a magic stone as their core, they only need to consume magic stones to grow rapidly in a short period of time.
Of course, ordinary magic stones have a limit for strengthening. Once their strength reaches a certain level, they must consume higher-quality magic stones to grow further.
A massive magic stone like this one from a mutated Labyrinth King was of the highest grade, extremely rare even in the deep floors.
Accepting the reward from Lynn, Lido thought for a moment and then asked, "Lynn, would you like to stay at our base for a while? I want to introduce you to our other companions."
"The Xenos base? Sure."
The experiment with the Spirit Devouring Barrier had concluded, and since Lynn had nothing else to do, he nodded in agreement.
"Ottar, you go back by yourself first. I'll go to the Freya Familia tomorrow to find you for training."
Ottar: "..."
In truth, he was somewhat interested in the Xenos.
However, seeing that Lynn had no intention of taking him along, Ottar said nothing more, turned, and left.
After seeing Ottar off, Lynn and Haruhime followed Lido and the others to the Xenos base on the 24th Floor.
"Lido, you're back."
A Xenos with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a spider walked over, frowning as she sized up Lynn and Haruhime. "Who are they? Why did you bring outsiders into the base?"
"Lynn is not an outsider."
Before Lido could reply, Ray, who was following behind, jumped out to defend her savior.
"Rane, I know you have issues with adventurers, but Lynn is different from ordinary adventurers."
"He is Lynn?"
Rane paused, her expression softening slightly.
Her hostility toward adventurers stemmed mainly from the Evilus, those people who enjoyed hunting Xenos.
As for Lynn... regardless of anything else, he was the savior of Ray and the others, so she had to show him some respect.
"Everyone, let me introduce you. This is Lynn, Ray's savior. The Foxian beside him is Haruhime, Lynn's companion."
Lido called out to those inside the cave, taking the opportunity to introduce Lynn to the other Xenos present.
After that, he extended his right hand and asked, "Lynn, may we shake hands?"
"Of course."
Lynn reached out and shook his hand. "Is this some kind of custom unique to the Xenos?"
"Yes, it is a proof of friendship."
A smile appeared on Lido's face. "Though it may sound strange, the greatest dream of us Xenos is to live in peace with humans and walk freely on the surface."
"To achieve this goal, making contact with adventurers is the first step. Lynn, you and Haruhime are the first batch of adventurers to receive our recognition and be invited as guests to the Xenos base."
"The first batch?"
Lynn glanced at Fels beside him.
Fels: "I am but an undead; strictly speaking, I am an existence similar to the Xenos."
"Haha! Don't say that, Fels! It's thanks to you that we've been able to make it this far!" Lido patted him on the shoulder and let out a laugh.
In the past, Lido had indeed encountered adventurers, but without exception, those adventurers would draw their blades and attack the moment they saw him, offering no chance for communication.
Making formal contact with adventurers like today, and even shaking hands to form a friendship, was a historic breakthrough for the Xenos, an experience they had never had before.
"Everyone! It's time to entertain our guests!"
"Ohhh—!!!"
A deafening cheer erupted.
Goblins and Hellhounds flipped the switches on magic stone lamps, while half-human, half-bird monsters pulled back curtains to reveal quartz blocks.
As the light sources rose, the once dark cave instantly brightened, and the scene inside came into Haruhime's view.
"So... so many monsters."
The Fox Maiden's eyes widened in surprise.
Goblins, Unicorn Rabbits, Hellhounds... these monsters, which should have belonged to different floors, were all gathered together.
Looking deeper, there were even Fomorians several meters tall and Tree Dragons over ten meters long lying on the ground.
After these monsters skillfully opened magic stone tools, they brought out alcohol from the corners.
Within moments, a banquet belonging to the monsters was underway inside the cave.
Sitting beside Lynn in a daze, Haruhime looked around, unsure of what to do for a moment.
But just then, a fiery red figure approached her: "Hello, Miss Haruhime."
"H-hello."
Haruhime became a bit nervous. "Um... you are Miss Ray, right? Is there something you need?"
"Nothing much, I just wanted to chat with you."
With fiery red hair draped behind her, the girl, whose human resemblance was much higher than that of the other monsters, glanced at Lynn nearby with a look of curiosity on her face.
"Miss Haruhime, how did you and Lynn meet?"
"Lord Lynn? He commissioned Miss Ryuu to rescue me from the Ishtar Familia."
"Rescue?" Ray became curious. "Can you tell me more about it?"
"Of course."
At the mention of Lynn, Haruhime instantly perked up and began telling the story of how she and Lynn had met.
At the same time that the two girls with similar experiences were talking, Lido was also chatting with Lynn.
"Lynn, although I've said this many times, I must thank you again for your help."
Lido pushed a jug of wine over. "You might not know, but the situation for the Xenos is not good; we often encounter various dangers and accidents."
"Even with new companions joining, the number of Xenos has always hovered around forty or so; our total population isn't very large."
"This time you saved six Xenos, including Ray. In the words of you humans, that's already one-seventh of our population."
"When we received word yesterday that Ray and the others had been rescued, even that fellow Gros was happy for a long time."
"By the way, you might not know who Gros is. He's that one over there."
Lido pointed toward a massive Stone Dragon in the corner with a pair of huge wings on its back.
"Because of things in the past, Gros has always had a great deal of hostility toward humans. Today is the first time Gros has been able to remain calm and refrain from making sarcastic remarks after seeing a human."
"Lido, you talk too much."
Gros, who had been silently observing from the corner, gave a cold snort and stood up to walk over to Lynn.
"Is there something you need?" Lynn asked.
"I've been observing you from the side for a long time. You are different from the humans I've seen before."
Gros looked at the youth before him. "In the face of us Xenos, there isn't a trace of fear or hostility in your eyes. Can you tell me why?"
"The reason?" Lynn thought for a moment. "If I had to say, I don't have any deep-seated hatred for the monster race. I became an adventurer primarily to get stronger, not for revenge."
"But existences like you among humans should be the minority," Gros said solemnly. "Lynn, do you think we Xenos really have a chance to live in peace with humans?"
"That depends on your definition of peace."
Lynn held up a finger.
"Absolute peace does not exist. Never mind peace between humans and monsters; even among humans themselves, there are countless conflicts. Every year, national-level wars break out, resulting in countless casualties."
"Then, if we don't seek absolute peace but rather relative peace, do the Xenos have a chance?"
"Of course, you do. You just need to get stronger."
"Get stronger?"
"That's right. Power is everything."
Lynn set down the wine jug and met the eyes of the Stone Dragon before him, a vast aura emanating from his body.
"Gros, in my homeland, there is a saying: dignity exists only upon the edge of a blade, and truth only within the range of cannons."
"Without power, you will only be beaten. Only when you possess sufficient power are you qualified to talk about rights."
"If the Xenos want to go to the surface and move freely in the human world, power is necessary."
"The simplest example is the Black Dragon. It has been able to run rampant on the earth for so long simply because it is strong."
"If you possessed power on the same level as the Black Dragon, you could easily establish a nation for the Xenos on the surface."
"Similarly, if you possessed power that surpassed the gods, you could even take the Xenos to live in Heaven."
"..."
Inside the grotto, the boisterous sounds of celebration suddenly vanished.
The Xenos, who had been paying attention to Lynn, seemed to have had their mute buttons pressed upon hearing his conversation with Gros, falling into a long silence.
"Power is everything..."
After a long while, Gros broke the silence, lowering his head toward the black-haired youth in front of him to offer his thanks.
"Thank you for your guidance, Lynn."
"Don't take it so seriously. I'm just stating some grand principles; many people know these things."
"But I did not know them, and that is enough."
Though he had been born over ten years ago, Gros had spent most of his time living in the Dungeon; in terms of experience and worldliness, he still lagged behind true humans.
Having received Lynn's guidance, he felt a sudden, profound realization and clearly understood his next goal.
That's right, there was no need to think too much.
He just needed to get stronger.
As long as he possessed enough power, he could protect his companions from harm and lead them to live on the surface.
If he couldn't do it, it simply meant he was not yet strong enough.
The banquet celebrating Rayna's return and the arrival of Lynn and Haruhime ended successfully.
Lynn, Haruhime, and Fels bid farewell to the Xenos and set off on their return journey.
After watching the three leave, Lyd walked over to his old friend.
"Gros, you seem a bit different than before. Is it because of what Lynn said?"
"That's right, Lyd. Strength is everything. Don't you think what he said makes a lot of sense?"
"It makes sense, but with our current strength, if we want to get stronger, we have to hunt in the Deep Floors. It's very dangerous there."
"I have to go, even if it's dangerous. I've had enough of losing companions," Gros replied in a low voice.
As one of the first Xenos to be born, Gros had witnessed the passing of countless kin.
Every time he lost a companion, he would be heartbroken; a massive amount of pressure had accumulated over a long time.
Now that there was a way to solve this predicament, he naturally wouldn't back down just because of a little danger.
"Lyd, I will lead a portion of our people to the Deep Floors to hunt Monsters and get stronger."
"As for you, stay in the Middle Floors and continue to lead the remaining Xenos. They need you."
"...I understand."
Lyd fell silent for a moment before handing the magic stone he had received from Lynn not long ago to Gros.
"This is the magic stone from the mutated Amphisbaena. Take it and eat it."
"Alright, then I won't be polite."
Gros took the Amphisbaena's magic stone.
He had been to the Deep Floors with Lyd and the others before, so he knew how dangerous it was.
Becoming even a little stronger was worth it; only with enough strength could one return alive.
As for this magic stone, he would find a way to repay it once he became stronger.
...
On the other side, after saying goodbye to the Xenos, Lynn's group of three soon returned to the surface.
Fels went to report the situation to Ouranos, while Lynn and Haruhime returned to the Hestia Familia.
"Lord Lynn, I will return to my room first."
Haruhime bid farewell to Lynn and walked toward her room alone.
From jumping off a cliff on the 25th floor to the 27th, witnessing the birth of the mutated Amphisbaena, and going to the Xenos' stronghold for a banquet with Lynn...
Although Haruhime didn't do much during this Dungeon trip, the process was still very exciting.
Especially the Xenos—it was Haruhime's first time encountering Monsters with human intelligence, and she needed some time to calmly process it.
After watching Haruhime leave, Lynn went to Hestia's room for a look.
"Hmm? Did she go out?"
Not finding the familiar figure in the room, a look of surprise appeared on Lynn's face.
He knew Hestia's personality quite well; she was a standard shut-in.
When she wasn't short on money, she rarely went out unless something major happened.
"Forget it, I'll update my blessing later."
Dismissing the idea of updating his blessing, Lynn prepared to return to his room to study some recipes.
However, just then, an inexplicable throb came from the depths of his mind.
Knowing what this represented, Lynn stopped and sat directly on a nearby chair.
His consciousness slowly sank, and he soon arrived at the Mist Plaza.
In the center of the plaza, a Lynn wearing a white martial arts uniform was looking around.
"Oh? A newcomer?"
DanMachi Lynn's eyes lit up, and his figure blurred as he appeared beside the other person, raising a hand to pat his shoulder.
But at the same time, a palm reached out from a blind spot and accurately grabbed DanMachi Lynn's hand.
The next second, a massive number of memories swept in.
...