If this were a game, Isagi would have definitely picked it up without a second thought. Who cares what it is, who wouldn't pick up something that dropped on the ground?!
But now... I can't really pick up a dung pie with my bare hands, right? Using a weapon to flick it up doesn't seem right either, and what would I even put it in?
Isagi called Lefiya over and rummaged through the large bag on the elf girl's back, finally finding a solution.
Ta-da-da-daaa!
A large pot specially used for 'liquid items'!!
The Dungeon holds all sorts of rare items. You might dig into a wall and find a rather precious ore, or the wild grasses and flowers you gather by the roadside might be raw materials for brewing expensive potions.
Besides that, there are also 'special products' that only appear on specific floors.
For example, the pearl coral only found in the Great Falls area of floors 25-27, the 'Holy Spring' of the deep levels, or the 'Crystal Sugar' in the great forest of Rivira on the 18th Floor, worth ten thousand Valis a piece...
Therefore.
Containers for all sorts of rare items are naturally essential for adventurers.
Lefiya was clearly the type to buy something first and figure out if she'd use it later.
And now, it was being put to use.
Using a fork to place the small dung pellet into the large pot, under the shocked gazes of the girls, Isagi carefully wrapped the fork in a cloth strip, ensuring that this tool would be exclusively used for picking up dung pellets from now on.
It's actually not so bad, just like taking a dog for a walk and picking up its 'droppings'.
There's no other way.
I don't want to pick this thing up either! But its description wasn't just a hint, it was an explicit statement that it would be of great use later!!
And Isagi suspected.
This was a sign of the Dungeon's affinity for him increasing.
Hmm...
Not the dung pellet itself, but the appearance of a 'dropped item' that could be picked up directly!
There was nothing like this before.
Except for the treasure chest he saw on the 2nd Floor (which turned out to be a Mimic!), he hadn't picked up anything in the subsequent maps besides story items, which was clearly not normal!
And now.
There were no monsters ambushing them, nor had any traps been triggered.
Compared to the pure hatred from before, the Dungeon was now indeed showing some warmth—don't mind what it sent, just tell me if it sent something or not.
He didn't put the large pot back into the elf girl's backpack.
Not only was Lefiya's face full of disgust—for an elf with mysophobia, a 'dung pellet' was a bit too avant-garde of an item.
Besides, the backpack also contained all the food and water for their adventure!
So.
Isagi could only have Asfi hold it.
"What?!"
The woman, originally flying in the sky, showed an expression of disbelief.
But this was indeed the optimal choice.
Because she was the one who didn't need to participate in combat much.
The pot couldn't be stuffed into his pants, so it had to be carried with both hands.
Naturally, only she could hold it.
Put that way, it actually made a lot of sense!
An extremely complicated expression appeared on the woman's face.
For a tiny moment, she really wanted to take the large pot in her hands and slam it onto her god's head when she got back.
He said it would just be following along to see, a very relaxed, even vacation-like business trip!
How is this relaxed at all!!
Especially.
After all this was done, the boy and girls climbed onto Asfi's back again in that same, somewhat 'awkward' posture.
"Take off!"
Following Isagi's command, the woman rose into the air again, carefully holding the handles on both sides of the large pot.
Then, she suddenly heard Isagi say from behind her.
"Miss Asfi, when we encounter monsters, you can fly up and drop the pot full of dung pellets on them!"
Holy crap!
A dung pellet bomber!!
She was almost knocked out by Isagi's astonishing imagination!
Listen to that, are those the words of a human being?!
The exploration continued.
Sure enough, in various corners of the town, they found dung pellet drops and scattered monster corpses.
But besides that, they also discovered a new type of pick-upable item.
[Minute Primordial Residue:
A fragment containing a certain magic power, it is the 'Darkness' itself, first perceived by the monsters of the Dungeon.
Legend has it that possessing a soul is a necessary condition to perceive the darkness.
After this, the paths to kingship diverge, guiding the monsters ever closer to the pitch-black abyss of the underground.]
On the surface, it looked like a small, black speck of coal cinder.
Lefiya could directly feel the magic power within it, something purer than the magic-containing materials that had dropped before.
Asfi was also very curious about this.
She could even feel a certain power from within...
"Let's put it away first."
This was easy to store; he just put it in the small cloth pouch used for Magic Stones.
After spending some more time exploring the entire town, they actually did make other new discoveries.
Still in the depths of a certain alley.
While Lefiya was digging for Magic Stones, Tiona suddenly ran over and asked if she had heard any sound.
At this moment.
Isagi had just picked up another dung pellet and dropped it into the large pot Asfi was holding.
Hearing what the Amazon girl said, he also listened carefully for a while, and indeed, he heard a very faint sound coming from a nearby house.
The houses in the town were all built from messy piles of blackish-gray stones, with no aesthetic sense.
The styles were not uniform either, large and small, tall and short, completely chaotic and disorderly, much like Daedalus Street.
The boy and girls soon arrived under the window of the house making the sound.
Asfi also came over curiously.
And as they got closer, they could more clearly hear a 'gu... gu... gu...' sound coming from inside from time to time.
What the hell?!
"Ah, it's outsiders!"
There was indeed an NPC in the house. Judging by the voice, it seemed to be an old Goblin.
"What's it like outside? It was full of crazy Kobolds before, so this old man had no choice but to hide here... Ah... I don't even have anything to eat anymore."
"Outsiders, can you help me find something to eat? This old man is so hungry I have no strength left."
He wants something to eat?
Isagi thought for a moment, then took out a dung pellet with the fork from the large pot Asfi was holding.
"Want to eat this?"
Isagi's natural demeanor once again shocked Asfi, who was standing beside him.
No way, even for a Goblin, they wouldn't eat a dung pellet, right?
Could it be that my worldview is wrong?!
No... maybe it's really possible... after all, the current Dungeon has a worldview of its own... Goblins who have built a kingdom might have dung pellets as their staple food...
"Who would eat something like that!!"
Eh?!
So they really don't eat it?!!
"This old man wants to eat the tough and chewy tongue of a frog, and the protein-rich larvae of a moth. The leg of a Killer Ant isn't bad either. If you can get the vomit of their queen ant, that would be an unparalleled delicacy..."
"That's no different from a dung pellet, is it?"
"How is it not different! Outsider!! Listen to this old man properly!!"
He sounds pretty energetic, not like he's about to starve to death.
"In any case, bring back the food, and this old man will tell you a secret."
"Alright."
Isagi tried the window and found it couldn't be opened—he wondered if a blast of magic from Lefiya could blow the house to bits.
But since it was a quest, there was no need to do such a thing.
As for where to find the things the old Goblin wanted.
It had to be the 7th floor's [Hybrid Zone].
Didn't the little gold-armored Goblin, Akshi, say that was where various other races, especially insects, lived?
The Goblins called it the [Garbage Pit] and usually didn't like to go there.
Confirming that they had completely looted the entire town, Isagi and the girls returned to the large hole in the central plaza.
Using the elevator, they swayed their way down to the bottom of the pit.
The exploded, mountain-of-rotting-flesh-like body of the Meat Cup Queen was still there.
Stepping on this sticky, soft 'slope'.
They entered the clean tunnel behind it, then navigated through the large and small pits and tunnels from memory.
During this time.
They picked up quite a few more dung pellets and those small 'Primordial Residues'.
Isagi was even more certain that these dropped items only appeared because his new skill had increased his affinity with the Dungeon.
Because when they walked through here before, there was nothing of the sort.
A long time later.
They finally arrived at the previous [Management Layer].
After pushing open the familiar large door, the fireplace inside was actually lit with charcoal, and a warm aura dispelled much of the cold.
The tables and chairs in the room, which had been in disarray, had all been set upright.
Apart from the bloodstains still remaining on the floor and walls, there was no sign of the previous chaos.
At a glance, he saw Akshi sleeping on a long bench.
The little gold-armored Goblin had an ancient-looking book covering its beak-like helmet.
With the crackling of the fireplace and its snores, this guy was quite relaxed.
On the table was a pot of steaming mush, a kind of sticky liquid inside.
Asfi and Tiona took a look and confirmed it was the nutrient solution produced by the Dungeon's 'granary'.
Isagi and Lefiya had never seen it before, so they looked on curiously, thinking this was probably what normal Goblins ate?
That old Goblin from just now was definitely not normal!
"Ah! Adventurers, you're here!!"
As he was woken up.
Akshi almost jumped in fright. This guy's courage was as small as ever.
Hearing that they were now heading to the [Hybrid Zone], it climbed up from the long bench and carefully put away that ancient book.
Isagi glanced at it and found he couldn't understand the text on it at all. Was it the Goblins' or monsters' own language?
Or to put it more bluntly.
The Dungeon simply didn't want him to understand.
Akshi cherished this book very much.
After carefully putting it away, he placed it in a small room to the side.
It looked like a study, with a bed and a desk. It seemed he usually lived here.
On the desk, there were several similar ancient books.
"The King does not value knowledge, because the inheritance of knowledge cannot be turned into power."
"So there are very few books in the kingdom. These are the ones I managed to collect. They contain history recorded by other scholars of the kingdom, as well as observations and research on the other races..."
"So, you don't agree with your king's methods?"
Faced with Isagi's question, Akshi fell silent for a moment before finally saying.
"The King cannot be right forever."
Wow, quite philosophical.
Are those words a Goblin can say?
However, the current Asfi would no longer be surprised by this.
The Management Layer was actually very large, but many areas were inaccessible—according to Akshi's explanation, it might be due to the previous Meat Cup Queen, which caused cave-ins in the tunnels and passages above.
Of course, in Isagi's view, it was just a game setting.
The [Management Layer] should be a 'Safe Zone' of sorts, not just for them, but also for NPCs like Akshi.
Soon.
Led by the Goblin, they pushed open a stone door that was clearly much thicker.
A deep and dark cavern immediately appeared before them.
At Isagi's signal, Tiona, as always, tied up Akshi with a rope and fastened him to her [Blade of Roland], using him as a sort of 'hammer' weapon!
To this.
The little Goblin had completely stopped resisting.
On the other side, Lefiya first chanted her magic, [Elf Ring].
"I wish in the name of Wishe, ancestors of the forest, noble compatriots. Heed my voice, come to the plains, the bond of connection, the promise of the feast. Dance in a spinning circle, come, circle of the fae! I beseech you—lend me your strength!!"
The long magic chant finished, and a brilliant golden halo bloomed above the elf girl's head.
After buffing herself, allowing her to cast the magic of her compatriots at any time, Lefiya also entered a 'complete state'!
And so.
After a simple replenishment of water and food, the adventurer party of the boy and girls formally stepped into the area before them—
[Goblin Kingdom · Hybrid Zone].
...
This should be the 7th Floor of the Dungeon.
It was still a cavern of connected chambers and passages, but the terrain had changed quite a bit.
For example, the ceiling became higher, from the original three or four meters to five or six meters, or even more than ten meters.
The walls on both sides narrowed and widened, and irregular forks in the path would always appear...
For a tiny moment.
Asfi and Tiona both thought they had returned to the familiar Dungeon.
It was just that there was no light here.
The chambers in the Dungeon would have a faint fluorescence to serve as illumination.
Although very faint, it was enough.
But the chamber before them was completely pitch black.
Fortunately, Asfi was flying, so the light from the Magic Stone lantern in her hand could illuminate a large area around them.
Because they had to be ready for battle at any moment, Isagi and the others didn't have the woman carry them, but walked forward on foot.
As they went deeper, the rustling sounds that occasionally came from the darkness always seemed a bit scary.
Before long.
Some remains began to appear on the ground.
They looked like insects that had been eaten.
Besides that, deep green slime and inexplicable filth began to appear on the walls and ground.
This could be imagined.
Just from the things the old Goblin's quest required him to eat, the monsters in the [Hybrid Zone] should be the various insects that originally appeared in the Dungeon, like Killer Ants, Purple Moths, and so on.
And Akshi at the side also started chattering.
"The [Hybrid Zone] is very complex. Many monsters from other races are here, but you adventurers don't have to worry, none of them have given birth to a [King]."
"The first to be born, the [Meat Cup Queen], had no intelligence, just a beast that devoured everything around it, including its own kind. So even before the King arrived, the Goblins of the past could contend with it."
"And when the King arrived, the kingdom easily conquered the Kobolds and their Queen, raising them as livestock."
"As the conquest continued downwards, defeating the Lightless King and the Iron Queen of the beastmen, the kingdom achieved its current prosperity. As for those other races that didn't give birth to a king, they were all thrown over here."
The kingdom didn't care about the life or death of these other races, so it forgot them in the [Garbage Pit].
"So, it's actually safer here?"
Never mind Isagi.
Even the two girls, Lefiya and Tiona, began to doubt the truth in Akshi's words—could it be that this place has no BOSS?
"I don't know..."
Akshi said resentfully.
After all, so many anomalies had happened above, who knew what had happened here.
The sudden rebellion of the Lightless King; the Meat Cup Queen recalling all the Kobolds.
All of this indicated that a major disaster had occurred in the kingdom, and it had clearly affected the [Hybrid Zone] as well.
As they went deeper.
The terrain of the cavern also gradually became more complex.
Large and small, circular slopes that sometimes went down and sometimes up began to appear, and they were very narrow.
One careless step could lead to a fall into the deep, dark pit, with no way of knowing what awaited below.
And from time to time, in some corners, Isagi could still pick up those dung pellets and 'Primordial Residues'.
However, the dung pellets had changed from Kobold's to various kinds of insects and frogs and...
There it is, a giant frog!
In the darkness, the massive body of a monster suddenly appeared!
The giant frog before them was over three meters tall.
In addition to its immense size, its striped eyes were oozing some kind of black slime.
Asfi, flying in the sky holding the pot full of dung pellets and the lantern, was also stunned.
Because the monster's appearance was very sudden.
It was when the team had just reached the end of a slope.
As soon as they looked up, they saw it was already right in front of them!
"..."
"..."
To this.
Tiona went up and kicked it!!
But the full-power kick of a peak Lv. 3 adventurer, landing on the monster's fat belly, only made it tremble slightly.
Huh?
No damage?!
As Tiona froze, she saw the giant mouth of the frog monster lower its head, about to eat her in one bite!!
Instantly, a flash of cold moonlight streaked past.
Isagi, holding his longsword, used a [Full Moon Slash] two-hit combo plus [Glimmer Echo]'s repetition, instantly carving four long gashes on the giant frog's belly.
And Tiona was very clever.
Facing the downward bite, she raised the Blade of Roland with Akshi tied to it and shoved it into the opponent's mouth.
Then with a flurry of stabs with both hands, she directly mangled the frog monster's large mouth!
___
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