We walked for about fifteen minutes until we reached the dungeon.
The area itself was a fairly quiet forest; the only notable feature was the gigantic gates placed at the front of a steep hill.
This was the entrance to the dungeon.
An interesting fact about dungeons is that they were created by the minor gods who rule this world to control the overpopulation of monsters and reduce the mana corruption that generates miasma.
Although it wasn't originally like that, those who previously took that role were the Divine Trees but you know how that turned out. That's also why there are no dungeons in the Vanaheim Forest.
In the end, dungeons were chosen to mitigate excessive mana buildup and to strengthen mortals so they could face the monsters that now roam unchecked throughout the world, thanks to the disappearance of the Divine Trees.
You might also wonder, "Why are there monsters in Vanaheim?" Well, first, the Divine Tree repels monsters; it doesn't kill them, and as the saying goes, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
In simpler terms, the monsters became so strong that the effects of the Divine Tree stopped affecting them, which is the benefit of evolution.
Alright, let's continue with what we were doing.
"Alright, everyone should be ready now, right? Let's go in."
"Yeah!"
"Tsk."
The blond dickhead, Ark, was still irritated by what happened at the city gate.
After discussing several things and planning multiple strategies, we ventured into the dungeon.
The interior was very much like abandoned ruins inside a cave, with pillars supporting the roof and some collapsed infrastructure here and there.
Although this was only the first floor, things would get stranger the deeper you went.
"??"
As we walked through the dungeon looking for the stairs to the next floor, for some reason I felt something hit the right side of my head.
"A stone arrow and it seems to be coated in poison! Hey, kids! The carrion has arrived, and they know how to use weapons!"
Upon hearing my call, everyone went on guard, while at the same time several goblins and kobolds emerged from their hiding places.
They were much better equipped than the ones I encountered the first time I left the mountain range.
Kobolds could be considered hairy goblins with dog heads, although that doesn't make them any less ugly.
"Little…"
"Kikkiki."
Everyone seemed pretty happy, well, considering most of the people here are women, why wouldn't they be? These things make their living by raping women.
"Really unpleasant."
"Then I'll go first, Lucia-sama."
"Okay, good luck. Don't kill them all at once."
"Good luck!"
After saying that, Maria kicked the ground and, with a spin of her hammer, sent every goblin in front of her flying into the walls.
Each blow was like ten goblins crushed at once.
"Whoa, is she really human? I can't believe she can exert so much strength with such a delicate body."
"Matrona, don't be distracted! There's still trouble behind us!"
"Ah, of course."
Nakiri's team also began to move… although
"Haaaaa!"
"Come on, midwife, you shouldn't be so harsh. You can also kill with love."
"Lala, stop talking nonsense and fight!"
"That's what I'm doing! Can't you see I'm diverting the archers' attention with my glamorous body?"
"Shit!"
Well, they're fine. Although they seem to be making an effort, they're really taking it easy. They're just goblins and kobolds, after all.
While the others were doing well, it was irritating but I had to admit that the blond shit face had his skills, and the same went for his members.
A few minutes later, we were finally able to clean the floor, and the door to the next one appeared.
"Well, things went well then. Shall we go?"
With that said, we continued moving forward.
From the first to the fifth floor, only goblins and kobolds appeared. Only on the fifth floor did a goblin spawner appear along with three ogoblins, but things proceeded without problems. It wasn't a very strong monster, to say the least.
From the fifth floor up to the tenth floor, the monsters became stronger and more varied.
Normal goblins stopped appearing and were replaced by ogoblins and their superior variants.
In case you're curious, ogoblins are goblins, but larger and stronger though still very weak compared to us.
Horned wolves, giant rats, the occasional orc, and giant poisonous spiders, common dungeon monsters also appeared.
And so we went on until we reached the tenth floor, where the boss of the floor was located.
Now we stood before the enormous doors that led to the boss's room, preparing ourselves beforehand.
This was necessary, because the boss was several times stronger than the one you face halfway through the route.
"Alright, this is just the first boss. We all need to stay alert, so let's go!"
At Nakiri's call, we all entered the boss room.
Behind the heavy doors was a nearly destroyed throne room. Several monsters lined up along the sides of the path. Seated on a ruined stone throne was a large, green skinned figure wielding a gigantic sword and wearing armor that had long since lost its luster.
This was a monster known as the Goblin King.
"If the little ones were ugly, the boss is even uglier."
"They're quite numerous; we'll have to divide them."
"Then I'll go to the front."
"Lucia-dono?"
"I haven't moved in a while, so if you don't mind, let me deal with the big guy. Maria and my daughter will support from behind."
"...Alright."
She still seemed hesitant, but it appeared she had a vague idea of my strength. There was also the fact that I looked like an ancestor, who normally possesses insane strength.
"Alright then, I'll be right back."
Saying that, I walked calmly forward, ignoring the legion of monsters that looked ready to attack at any moment.
The Goblin King, perhaps annoyed by the creature's lack of panic, gave an order with a strange shout. In the next moment, several monsters rushed at me.
With a swift movement of my scythe, they were all cleanly cut down without ever coming close.
This repeated several times until I was finally standing before the throne, face to face with the big, ugly thing.
"What's wrong, my king? Are you afraid of this MILF?"
"Grrruuuu!"
Responding to my provocation, the Goblin King drew his sword and prepared to attack.
From the top of his throne, he delivered a swift, powerful blow with incredible force that was easily blocked by my hand.
"What a weak blow! Look at a blow that hurts! That's how it is!"
With a spin of the sword he was still holding, I pulled him as close to me as possible and delivered a powerful kick to his face that sent him flying to the ground, taking several monsters with him.
He's not dead, but it's going to be hard for him to get up.
"The fight back there is also progressing well."
Maria defends and counterattacks the blind spots that are easy to damage, and Gabriela does her best to prevent the magical power from becoming too excessive. I had also asked her to stay in the air when we entered the dungeon so as not to interfere with the others.
She is skilled enough to avoid accidents, but the same cannot be said for others.
"ROOOOOARRRR!"
"The dormant rage has awakened."
Attacking with extreme violence, not caring if he destroyed his subordinates, he tried to engulf me with his entire body. It seems he is using the berserker ability, since his whole body is emitting a crazy and uncontrolled energy.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't used the scythe's abilities."
With that said, I took the scythe from my back and activated the Bloodlust ability. An ominous dark red aura emanated from the blade, and a terrible murderous intent could be felt radiating from it.
"Very good, now."
I kicked the ground beneath my feet and quickly approached the Goblin King. As I advanced, I cut down each monster in front of me, making the aura of the scythe grow larger.
"ROOOOOAAAARR!"
When I was already in front of the Goblin King, he tried to make a quick sweep with his sword in my direction, as if he were trying to hit a baseball.
But being faster than him, I lowered my scythe, releasing the accumulated energy and cutting the Goblin King in half. Even then, the slash continued forward, cutting cleanly through the walls of the throne room.
"…I think that was a bit of an exaggeration. I hadn't tested it before, so I didn't really know the extent of its power… well, it would have been worse if it had been my own power instead of the energy accumulated through the ability. Have the others finished yet?"
I turned around to see how the others were doing, only to find them all staring at me with their mouths open.
There were no monsters left, and it didn't seem like anyone was hurt either. Well, everyone seemed very surprised except for Maria, who looked at me tiredly, and Gabriela, who was flying around excitedly.
"Well… are you finished?"
"Of course. The monsters disappeared when the floor boss was defeated."
The first to recover was Nakiri, who told me that with a bitter smile.
"Well then… what's next?"
"Well, we plan to take a break here. The safe zone unlocks after passing ten floors, and it's already night. It's best to regain our energy for the next day, since from here on it will be much more difficult to continue."
"Oh, well, I have no problem with that."
"Ark-dono, is that okay with you?"
"Yes, of course. Whatever. I'd like to destress from this fight."
He said that while grabbing the butt of one of his female companions, who appeared to be a cat beast werewolf.
"I understand. Then let's move to the safe zone."
With that said, Nakiri and her team moved toward the next door, followed by the dickhead Ark.
"Gabriela, come here."
I called Gabriela, who was flying curiously around the room, and picked her up in my arms.
"How was I, Mom?"
She asked nervously, wondering if she had been able to properly control her powers.
"You're not used to it yet, but you're improving. As your level increases, the output will become more violent, so while we're here, you'll learn to manage that force as it increases."
"Yes! You're the best!"
Gabriela struck a brave pose as she said that… cute.
Even though I told her to learn while leveling up, Gabriela still needs about ten times the amount of experience normally required to level up.
Most likely, I'll only manage to level up two or three times in this dungeon.
Then I'll see how much her stats have increased.
"Lucia-sama, that attack from before seemed to be quite outside the established limit. Will it be alright like this?"
Maria approached and reprimanded me for the accidental outburst of power.
"Well, hee hee! I know. If anyone asks, I'll just say it's a skill of the scythe. That's practically not a lie."
"…Will they believe it? Many of them hold you in very high esteem, Lucia-sama."
"Well… let whatever happens, happen! What does it matter anyway?! Come on!"
"Let's go!"
"Sigh."
Putting my worries aside, we headed toward where the others were.
It's worth emphasizing that Matrona and Nakiri asked me many questions, but I was able to get away unscathed thanks to the excuses I had prepared.
......
It was night.
How do I know? Well, because I have a watch.
Most of them were already resting in the large space that was the safe zone.
It looked like a very beautiful temple compared to the gloomy atmosphere emanating from the dungeon.
Gabriela was asleep in my lap while I talked with Maria in a spot far away from the others.
"Maria, I don't know if you've noticed, but on the lowest floor of the dungeon, there's a familiar energy that shouldn't be here."
"Energy? What kind of energy?"
"Normally, the type of energy that dungeons emit from their core is natural mana generated by the earth by default. But in this case, there is an external energy that is different from that of the dungeon, and it's far too large to be from a monster in a C-rank dungeon."
"So what is it?"
"I have an idea, but we'll have to go and verify it for ourselves."
"I suppose that would be the best course of action, but with the group we have with us, we have to lower ourselves to their level."
"Hmm, if it were just the three of us, we would have reached the top floor in just ten minutes. If we gave it our all… well then, I'll go alone right now. Anyway, regardless of what happens, I don't think anything will happen to me."
"If I were a normal person, I would think you were crazy, but coming from a goddess, it's impossible to argue. I will take care of Gabriela until then. Good luck to you."
"Very well then, I'll go by myself. It will be faster."
Using [Dimensional Movement], I forced my way into the top floor.
The floor was very different from the ones I had seen so far. If I didn't know it was a dungeon, I would have thought I had been teleported outside.
Well, the place wasn't very pretty, to say the least. It was a swamp, with a lake of poison spreading across the entire floor.
"Even so, the energy I feel is not on this floor, but much lower down."
I wonder what's hidden beneath a dungeon.
"SIIIIIIIAAAAAAAKKK!"
In the midst of my thoughts, I heard the loud hissing of a snake.
When I turned around, I saw a giant two headed cobra with horns. This was the boss of the dungeon I was in. Its name was Devil's Cobra.
A fearsome monster whose body radiated scorching heat, and whose venom was so corrosive it could even consume mithril. It would take an entire party of adventurers to subdue such a creature… but
"SIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAKK!"
"You make a lot of noise."
With a single movement of my hand, the heads of the Devil's Cobra separated cleanly from its body.
The terrible monster was eliminated without even feeling the slightest hint of pain.
"These things were bigger in the Forest of Vanaheim."
The Devil's Cobras within the mountain range were literally demons, six headed cobras whose bodies were made of hellfire.
"I'd better start digging if I want to find the power source. I don't want to leave Maria alone there. I don't think anything will happen to her, but that bastard has been giving her the eye, and I don't want to see him getting too close just because I'm not there. Unlike Maria, she's shown strength that could be considered on par with the others, so that guy won't be too afraid to approach her."
With that said, I began pounding the ground, trying to reach my goal as quickly as possible.
(POV Ark)
"It's irritating."
Ark was sitting in a corner with the members of his group, lying in sleeping bags. He really wanted to spend some happy time with the toys he had at hand, but he couldn't find the moment.
This was because of that damn brat who, every time their eyes met, responded with icy stares as if she were looking at garbage.
Although he hadn't planned on going far today, that damn brat always ruined his mood, and this continued until it was finally time to rest and recharge.
That was why he was so irritated now.
"If it weren't for that damned witch, I would have kicked that brat far away a long time ago. Who does she think she is, bringing a damned child to a dungeon?"
Ark remembered the moment of their first meeting. He couldn't believe that such a small child could exude so much murderous intent, even if she was a Majin. The witch she had for a mother must have been the cause.
But for the same reason, he couldn't complain. That damn witch was very strong. She tore a goblin king in half by herself.
One of the girls he brought with him also warned him not to provoke them, because she was an ancestor and ancestors had mysterious powers, were respected by the races, blah, blah. He really wasn't interested in her boring talk.
That girl… he didn't even remember her name. He had only accepted her because she had a good figure and was very pretty. Anyway, after enjoying her body for a while, he dumped her somewhere and easily found a replacement.
Since awakening a unique ability, he had progressed very actively as a mercenary and quickly made a name for himself in the capital. Although he didn't compare to the great leaders of mercenary clans, he still held a high position.
At first, he thought about becoming an adventurer, but they had too many rules of conduct, so he passed on it.
"I'm strong enough now to compete with C-class adventurers! If I can't do what I want with my strength, then what's the point? Women, money, and prestige will come on their own!"
Even so, all the other bastards looked down on him, claiming he was just lucky and treating him like human garbage.
"Are those here the same…? Where did the old witch go?"
Ark raised his gaze slightly and looked around, noticing that Lucia herself was not in the far part of the room where her group was supposed to be.
Upon seeing that, Ark broke into a malicious smile.
He had been interested in Maria from the first time he saw her. They had never spoken; she didn't talk much to begin with.
Even though she had a beautiful face, a glamorous body, and large breasts, he couldn't stop thinking about wanting to see her naked in his bed at that very moment.
"Unlike that witch, she seems like a C-class based on physical strength. Perhaps she doesn't possess any magical defense… I don't think she can withstand this."
Unique Ability: Seal of Control
Description: An ability capable of taking control of the body of an opponent equal to or weaker than the user. It also works on opponents with low magical defense, but the time limit is ten minutes.
"If that doesn't work, I can use that little shit to threaten her, hehehe. I'd like to see that cold expression cry in despair."
And so, Ark prepared to make the worst decision of his life.
Unfortunately for him, Maria was not asleep and clearly heard everything he whispered, even from that distance.
(POV Lucia)
A few minutes passed, and I finally reached my destination.
It was a dead end underground cave with a door bearing a strange engraving.
"…A divine seal."
Yes, the engraving on the enormous door in front of me was the formation of a divine seal something only gods could create.
"What is a divine seal doing here? Is what's behind this door so dangerous that the other gods sealed it? Judging by the strength of the seal, it was made by one or two minor gods."
I didn't know the reason, but since the seal wasn't strong enough to limit my vision or senses, I could tell that there was nothing dangerous behind the door… it was something else.
"It seems this door is meant to hide something and prevent it from escaping. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a goddess, probably no mortal would have found it. And if it's beneath a dungeon, luckily the seal isn't linked to an owner, so it's easy to remove… at least for me."
Placing my palm on the door and channeling my rarely used divine power, I broke every lock on the seal. In seconds, it disappeared.
"Very well then, let's see what's behind it."
Pushing the doors open wide with both hands, I saw a room filled with blue crystals emitting magical power. These were magic stones, and some of them were very large.
"I really didn't think I would find her in this place."
In the middle of the room was a crystal larger than all the others. Inside it was a beautiful woman who appeared to be about twenty years old, with long silver hair and long ears similar to those of elves.
At first glance, one might mistake her for an elf, but those large breasts large enough to rival mine instantly dispelled that notion. She was wearing very revealing white garments that left almost nothing to the imagination… and she wasn't wearing underwear either. She was pale pink, in case you're wondering.
Putting that aside, there was a very big problem here.
I knew her well, having used my multiversal Google skills to learn a few things about her in the past.
"So here you were… Levia, queen and goddess of spirits."
What was sealed in this place was a goddess.
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