Across Orario… no, strictly speaking, across the entire Lower World, there was a festival known as the Holy Moon Festival.
It was said that over a thousand years ago, before the gods descended one after another into the mortal realm, the Dungeon had not yet been sealed. Monsters could freely emerge to the surface and spread outward, making life for mortals unimaginably harsh.
During that era, besides the rise of numerous ancient heroes, ordinary people also tried to hold onto the last flickers of hope in their hearts.
Among their customs, the Holy Moon Festival was created, people worshipped the moon as a divine being and offered prayers, hoping that neither they nor their families would fall prey to the monsters.
Time passed…
After the Age of Gods began, a thousand years came and went. The Dungeon was sealed by the Tower of Babel, and the once-famous heroes of old faded from reality into ink and myth, transformed further into legends through endless retellings.
But unlike those lost tales, the yearly tradition of the Holy Moon Festival endured and survived to the present.
And it was precisely that festival…
"If I remember correctly, the timeline for the Danmachi movie, Arrow of the Orion, takes place around the Holy Moon Festival."
"But right now, there's still more than five months before this year's festival."
At the Tower of Babel's front plaza, Aether stopped wandering aimlessly, sat down beside a fountain, and began reflecting quietly.
In his memory…
As one of the three great unexplored domains, equal in fame to the Dungeon, the Large Tree Labyrinth's monster riot was most likely caused by the loosening of an ancient seal.
In this world, alongside the famous ancient heroes, there also existed terrifying ancient monsters.
Among them were the targets known as the "Three Great Quests":
The Land King: Behemoth
The Sea Tyrant: Leviathan
The One-Eyed Black Dragon
And far to the extreme south of the continent, in a place called the Elsos Ruins, another existence equal in threat to those three was sealed away.
Its name,
The Scorpion of the Forbidden Expanse, Antares.
This ancient monster possessed a mother-form capable of infinite reproduction and infinite evolution.
What made it far worse, if Antares devoured a god, it could ignore the celestial rules and use Arcanumin the mortal world.
In the original timeline of this world, the goddess Artemis was devoured by Antares and nearly unleashed the strongest divine arrow, an attack that could erase the entire Lower World.
In desperation, she could only summon the divine weapon Orion's Arrow within the limits of the rules, barely allowing the world a chance to survive.
As for when this was supposed to happen,
"…Originally, it shouldn't be anywhere near this soon, right?"
Aether felt something was off.
He knew the information he had before crossing over, anime, novels, mobile games, was only a story.
But this was a real world.
Which meant, even if the story aligned, the details might not. And considering the butterfly effect caused by his existence…
If Antares really is awakening early, where am I supposed to find that red-eyed rabbit boy who amplifies divine power?!
Aether felt utterly helpless.
However, once signs of trouble appear and the situation is likely to escalate…
"Well, I originally planned to challenge my Great Achievement soon anyway."
"Since this happened, no point waiting."
"As the saying goes, no day like today. I'll make my first attempt now."
There was no doubt, Aether could feel real pressure for the first time in a while.
Right now,
"Good, it's still early. I'll head to Sis, Freya, to update my ability stats."
"Then I'll gather the necessary supplies and head into the Dungeon to locate a suitable target."
Having decided, Aether moved toward the Tower of Babel's upper floors.
About ten minutes later,
Inside that familiar private chamber with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking all of Orario, Aether met the goddess who rarely left this spot, Freya.
To be honest,
"I'm telling you, Sis, your lifestyle feels even more shut-in than Hestia's. And that woman freeloaded in Hephaestus's home for three whole months."
At Aether's teasing, Freya's expression stiffened ever so slightly.
"You think I don't want to sneak out in person?"
The sheer resentment in her tone was palpable.
True enough.
Even ignoring how troublesome the upper floors of Babel were to traverse, previous attempts Freya made to 'go for a walk' had almost triggered an all-out war between her Familia and Loki's.
It was said that one of Loki Familia's Big Three, the Nine Hells, nearly died that time. When Loki learned it was all a misunderstanding, she flicked Freya on the forehead in the middle of the street. Hard.
Anyway,
Sometimes, it really was a double-edged sword.
And now,
"So? You came so early because something happened?"
Freya asked, skipping the pointless complaints.
Aether nodded.
"Give it a moment. I want to update my stats, one last time before leveling up."
Freya immediately understood.
"You're planning to advance?"
"Yes."
Aether exhaled.
"Something unexpected came up. It hasn't reached the worst possible stage yet, but with my current strength… handling it is too risky."
Artemis Familia had twenty members. Including their goddess, twenty-one in total.
Except for their captain, Letoza, who was Level 3, the rest were all Level 2.
A force with no Level 4s, yet capable of fighting past the armies of Rakia.
And still, they were annihilated.
Even the goddess was devoured.
And Artemis herself, a goddess of purity and the hunt, was already stronger than a standard Level 3 without using divine power.
Even she was helpless.
Meanwhile, Aether:
Including his direct embodiment of the Traveler Twins, he had a total of nine combat bodies, each at the absolute peak of Level 2.
During bursts, they could briefly rival an average Level 4.
But due to mana limits, their active duration was short.
Against Antares?
Nowhere near enough.
Therefore,
Upgrading his main body was the only path forward.
Seeing his resolve, Freya simply pointed to his usual small stool, her meaning unmistakable.
At that moment,
"Lumine has reached the 39th Floor."
Aether sensed the deep layers of the Dungeon.
"The second teleport anchor is set."
"So then…"
He drew a deep breath.
"Let's update my stats for the final time of Level 1."
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