Loki Familia Headquarters, Twilight Manor.
As the captain, Finn wasn't resting like Aiz and the others but was dealing with the losses from this expedition.
Normally, before each expedition, the Loki Familia would accept some tasks to collect materials from deep-floor Monsters.
Not many adventurers could reach the deep floors, and the materials dropped by deep-floor Monsters were of high quality.
To obtain these materials, clients often offered generous rewards of several million Valis.
By completing these tasks, the Loki Familia could maintain a balance between income and expenditure after an expedition.
But this time, the Loki Familia had stumbled.
Due to an incident on the 50th floor, they ended their expedition early and withdrew to the surface, failing to collect many materials.
Additionally, due to the corrosive properties of the worm Monster's fluid, the Loki Familia lost a large number of custom weapons, further increasing their expenses.
"What a headache," Finn said, feeling a rare sense of frustration as he looked at the string of deficits in the ledger.
After a moment of contemplation, he looked to the side.
"Riveria, do you have any extra money on hand?"
Riveria shook her head. "Aiz came to borrow money from me yesterday. I gave her my treasured magic book."
Finn's eye twitched. "..."
He didn't ask what Aiz needed the money for.
Borrowing money at this delicate time... he could guess with his little toe that Aiz was trying to gather the apprenticeship fee.
However, having witnessed the power of Ripple, he didn't have much objection this time.
Or rather, he hoped Aiz could continue paying the apprenticeship fee and learn another trick or two.
"Captain! Lady Riveria!"
Just then, an urgent voice rang out.
"Lefiya, you're back."
Finn looked in the direction of the voice.
"Why are you alone? Where are Aiz and Tiona?"
"We split up. They went to the Goibniu Familia to borrow weapons. I came back to report."
Lefiya took a deep breath to calm herself and recounted what had happened earlier at the Hestia Familia.
"An anomaly on the 37th floor?"
Riveria frowned after hearing it.
Exchanging a glance with Finn beside her, she asked,
"Is this information accurate?"
"I don't know, but that's what Lynn said."
"In other words, the source of the information is unknown."
A flicker of thought passed through Finn's eyes.
Something capable of causing an anomaly in the deep floors... its strength would be formidable even among LV6s.
Aiz and Tiona were LV5. Lynn was LV3.
Even with combat power beyond his level, Lynn could only be considered equivalent to LV5, still some distance from LV6.
But then why was Lynn still willing to lead a team to the deep floors?
Glancing at his thumb, which showed no reaction, a startling guess suddenly flashed through Finn's mind.
"Lefiya, did Lynn mention his own strength?"
"Um, about that..."
Lefiya suddenly hesitated.
Not only had he not mentioned his strength, Lynn had even demonstrated, right before her eyes, the ability to instantly defeat a First-Class Adventurer.
But the problem was, this matter involved Lynn's secret, and she had promised to keep it confidential.
Bringing it up now felt rather inappropriate.
"Alright, you don't need to say it."
Finn's voice sounded again.
Sometimes, an exact reply wasn't necessary.
Just observing the other's reaction could provide the answer.
Having roughly gauged Lynn's strength in his mind, Finn looked at Riveria beside him. "You go with Lefiya."
Riveria asked, "Aren't you coming?"
Finn shook his head. "I have some matters to attend to... As for the deep floors, don't worry. Lynn probably has a trump card up his sleeve."
Riveria remarked, "You certainly trust him."
Finn shrugged. "I trust you. Even if something unexpected happens, you can bring them back."
As partners who had grown up together, Finn was well aware of Riveria's capabilities.
With Aiz and the others as vanguards and Riveria's support, moving freely on the 37th floor shouldn't be too difficult.
After seeing off Lefiya and Riveria, Finn pondered for a moment before leaving the room to find Loki, who was slacking off.
"Loki, come with me to the Guild."
"The Guild?"
A look of confusion appeared on Loki's face.
"Did something happen?"
"I don't know. That's why I need to confirm it."
Over twenty days ago, when the Loki Familia set off on their expedition, Finn had encountered Lynn and Ottar in the Dungeon.
At the time, the two were traveling together, holding the captain of the Ikelos Familia, Dix Perdix, captive.
Combined with the information Lynn had mentioned about the Remnants of the Dark Faction, Finn knew there must be some connection between the two.
Originally, he planned to finish handling Familia affairs before extracting information from Lynn, but now an anomaly had suddenly occurred on the 37th floor.
Combining the mutated Monsters they encountered on the fiftieth floor, Finn always felt that the situation was subtly slipping out of control.
To understand the current situation, they either had to find the Freya Familia, who cooperated with Lynn, or go to the Adventurers Guild.
Finn chose the latter.
As for the reason, it was simple.
He and the Freya Familia were rivals, and he didn't want to owe them a favor in this matter.
Furthermore, the 37th floor was the starting point of the deep levels, and not many people knew about the anomaly occurring there.
Even fewer people knew about it and then passed the message to Lynn for him to handle.
"Let's go, Loki, we're going to find Royman. If even he doesn't know, you might have to go see that Creator God."
...
On the other side.
After leaving the Familia, Lefiya and Riveria rushed to gather in front of The Babel Tower.
Although they departed relatively late, the Goibniu Familia's headquarters were not far from the Hestia Familia's.
Coupled with the fact that Aiz and the others were First Class Adventurers, they arrived here first.
"Riveria, you're here too."
Tiona waved at the two.
"Since we're going to the 37th floor, it's safer to have an LV6," Riveria replied, looking to the side.
Besides Aiz and Tiona, a Fox Maiden stood beside Lynn: "Who is this?"
"I am Sanjono Haruhime, a member of the Hestia Familia," Haruhime introduced herself proactively.
"Sanjono Haruhime? I think I've heard your name before," Riveria mused.
She really did have some impression of this name.
A while ago, the Freya Familia and the Ishtar Familia had a dispute. Ishtar took the matter to the Guild, stating that a member of her Familia had been snatched away by the Freya Familia.
Later, Ishtar was ambushed by an unknown god and sent back to the Celestial Realm, and the matter was dropped.
However, Riveria still remembered that the Goddess of Beauty had mentioned that the snatched Familia member was a Fox Maiden named Sanjono Haruhime.
Judging by the name and appearance, it was undoubtedly the person in front of her.
But the problem was, wasn't the other party LV1?
What was Lynn doing taking an LV1 to the deep levels? Wasn't that sending her to her death?
Riveria looked at Lynn beside her.
Understanding her thoughts, Lynn replied, "Don't worry, Haruhime's self-preservation ability is no worse than Lefiya's."
Lefiya: "?"
How did she get caught in the crossfire just by standing there and watching?
"If there's no problem, then let's go." Riveria's attention shifted from Haruhime.
Although she didn't know where Lynn got his confidence, there was no need to waste too much time on such matters.
Whether Haruhime had the ability to protect herself would become clear when they traveled later.
Led by Lynn, the six-person team rushed towards the depths of the Dungeon.
...
At the same time, Daedalus Labyrinth.
Revis was cultivating new Jewel fetus.
To blow up Orario, the Jewel fetus she cultivated were divided into two batches.
The first batch of three Jewel fetus was used to test the effects and collect data.
The second batch of seven Jewel fetus was used by Revis to blow up Orario.
Currently, the first three Jewel fetus had matured and entered the development stage.
What she needed to do now was to collect data and use it to cultivate the second batch of Jewel fetus, allowing them to develop as perfectly as possible.
However, just then, the sound of a door opening echoed.
Revis temporarily stopped her movements and looked at the masked figure behind her: "Is something wrong?"
Filvis pulled out a letter written by Dionysus: "Enyo told me to tell you to find time to go to the 37th floor to improve your strength."
Revis took the letter and glanced at it, raising an eyebrow.
Dionysus's letter indeed mentioned going to the 37th floor to consume magic stones to increase strength.
However, unlike Filvis's message, the letter mentioned Olivas in addition to her.
"What kind of look is that?"
Filvis frowned.
She didn't know why, but she felt that Revis's gaze suddenly carried a hint of pity.
"Nothing, don't mind it."
Revis casually put away the letter.
Although their goals were the same, and Filvis, like herself, was a Monster transformed by a Corrupted Spirit.
But Revis understood that there were still some differences between Filvis and herself; the other party still retained some humanity.
Because of this, Dionysus, disguised as Enyo, had met with her privately and mentioned the grievances between Filvis and Olivas, asking the latter to hide his presence.
Three people, three different group chats.
This was the current situation of Revis, Filvis, and Dionysus; everyone had a certain information gap.
Of course, Revis didn't care about these things.
As long as Dionysus didn't betray her and still aimed to blow up Orario, she didn't mind cooperating.
"Go back and tell Enyo that I've received his message, and I can give you one of the extra Jewel fetuses."
..."Then I'll wait for your news."
Filvis stared at Revis for two seconds, then turned and disappeared from the room.
After seeing off Filvis, Revis casually picked up a weapon from the side and walked towards the lower levels of the labyrinth.
Calculating the time, the first Jewel fetus should be almost fully developed. She might as well eat some magic stones when she goes to retrieve it.
...
One day later, Dungeon 37th floor.
Led by Lynn, the group, after successively completing actions, such as drilling through holes and jumping off cliffs, arrived at their destination.
"We're here. This is the agreed-upon location."
"Agreed-upon location?"
Riveria stopped: "Besides us, will anyone else be participating in this operation?"
Lynn: "To be precise, not people."
Riveria was startled: "Not people?"
"Yes, don't make a move when you see them."
Lynn first gave Riveria and the others a heads-up.
After that, he called out to a nearby corner.
"Come out, they're not enemies."
Boom—!
As Lynn's words fell, the corner wall suddenly collapsed, and a deep passage emerged.
Under the astonished gaze of Riveria and the others, a group of Monsters emitting powerful auras slowly walked out.
"It's been a while, Lynn."
...