A full-scale manhunt was launched against the adventurers.
Within the Soma Familia, this was nothing unusual. Relying solely on exploration income was simply not enough to sustain the high cost of divine wine consumption, so they could only make money off passing adventurers.
After quickly investigating the upper floors, Ganu and the others failed to find any trace of Ron.
However, upon entering the seventh Floor, the situation suddenly became clear.
Compared to the environment as remembered, the traces of the surrounding walls having been corroded by strong acid were extremely conspicuous—this was under the condition that the Dungeon would normally regenerate itself.
What exactly had happened here?
"Lord Ganu…"
"Is this really still the seventh Floor area? Why does the atmosphere feel so strange? If I remember correctly, Killer Ants shouldn't be able to cause this kind of disturbance!"
"Nonsense."
"You're asking me—then who am I supposed to ask?"
Ganu glanced toward Wald. A hint of doubt arose in his heart at the scene before him, but when he thought of Ron's equipment—worth at least five million Valis—he felt that this kind of side episode could be ignored.
The key point was that he had already confirmed with the supporters at the Central Plaza that there was indeed an adventurer with outrageously extravagant equipment who had entered the Dungeon shortly before the pursuit began.
That person had to be his target.
In the upper floors, Ganu had already ordered the adventurers to split up and track him down, yet they found no trace of Ron. Meanwhile, the current Floor bore obvious signs of combat.
At this thought, Ganu had already formed a simple conclusion: "Continue the search."
"I don't believe this guy can just vanish into thin air inside the Dungeon!"
And the final result did not deviate from his expectations. As a member of the werewolf race, hearing and smell were precisely what Ganu prided himself on most.
After detecting the sounds of battle ahead, Ganu led his Familia members and quickly moved toward the suspicious location. As they passed a bend in the cave, the battle scene unfolding in the distance came into their view.
Immediately after, they saw Ron engaged in combat with several giant ants.
That figure was wielding an enormous black greatsword, exaggeratedly large even compared to his own height. Under normal circumstances, most adventurers would never choose to use such a weapon.
It was simply far too unwieldy.
Yet Ron's combat style completely shattered that preconceived notion.
"Agile."
That was the adjective Ganu wracked his brain to come up with. In this man's hands, the greatsword—towering even over Ron's own height—was wielded with dazzling finesse.
He skillfully made use of rolling, leaping, thrusting, and other techniques…
While evading the giant ants' attacks, the black greatsword—imbued with a brutal aesthetic—moved in a manner that was genuinely pleasing to the eye, and with every strike,
he was able to inflict effective damage on the monsters surrounding him.
"Wait…"
"If I remember correctly, are the Killer Ants on the seventh Floor really this huge?"
Ron's combat style was simply too flamboyant, to the point that Ganu had indirectly overlooked the fact that the monsters fighting him at that moment were giant ant-type monsters.
After realizing where the problem lay, Ganu's eyes filled with confusion. Even though it had been more than half a year since his last Dungeon expedition, it couldn't be that he had become unable to recognize monsters, could it
"I don't know…"
Wald had not experienced the Dungeon's "abnormal situation."
Shifting the blame for Bruno's death onto special monsters had been a helpless move on his part, but once he truly saw the colossal killer ant in the distance ahead, a strong sense of danger instantly enveloped his heart.
The size was simply far too enormous. Even placing a normal adult human's stature in front of this killer ant would make it seem no larger than a little girl by comparison.
Extremely heavy armor.
And the sharp spike covering the giant ant's tail, gleaming with a cold light, all proclaimed the monster's extraordinary nature.
However, after clearly seeing Ron's side profile, Wald spoke with extreme certainty: "Lord Ganu, I can be sure—it was this guy who killed Bruno."
"It's just that…"
"It seems we've encountered an abnormal situation in the Dungeon. What should we do now?"
Even if they were mutated monsters, Ganu believed that at most they were simply tougher to take down. But encountering a fat prize like Ron inside the Dungeon was the rarest opportunity of all.
Moreover—
He himself was here carrying out a mission assigned by the captain.
This battle was about to come to an end. Taking advantage of the moment when that guy's stamina was exhausted, he could let Ron truly experience the cruelty of the adventurers' world!
"What does an abnormal situation have to do with me?"
Ganu calmly removed the long spear from his back, making no effort to conceal the greed in his eyes, as he proactively advanced toward the spacious tunnel ahead.
At the same time, he did not forget to give orders: "You go block the other corners. Don't let this guy get away!"
"No problem."
…
If the "giant killer ant" possessed an explosive crop capable of delivering a first-encounter kill to inexperienced rookie adventurers, then after fighting it once, one could basically grasp how to deal with it.
Before the monster's dying counterattack, severing the connection to the giant ant's crop was enough to neutralize it.
Ron naturally did exactly that. Just as he was about to finish off the last giant Killer Ant, the sound of footsteps coming from the distance instantly put him on alert.
Passing adventurers?
He was just about to survey his surroundings when he heard the other party's casual words.
"So it was you who killed Bruno of our Familia, along with a few of the adventurers traveling with him, right?"
There was not the slightest trace of sorrow over the deaths of his Familia companions.
The ones now arriving at the battlefield
were Ganu, a Lv2 adventurer, and the naked greed in his vertically slit pupils—greed that could not be concealed in the slightest as he stared at Ron's black greatsword.
A weapon that could so easily shatter a monster's defenses was definitely not cheap!
"Members of the Soma Familia?"
Ron suddenly abandoned the idea of severing the Killer Ant's crop—he wanted to test whether soul-transformed monsters still retained their original traits.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
One after another, adventurers of the Soma Familia sealed off all the cave passages.
It could only be said that they had come well prepared. For now, it was just unclear whether there were any stragglers left. Ron decided to stall for time. "Why do you think it was me?"
"The answer isn't important anymore."
"All I know now is that the equipment on your body is extremely valuable." Ganu had no intention of leaving anyone alive, to prevent this guy from returning to Orario and causing complications.
He swung his long spear and pointed it at the black-haired youth in the distance.
"Don't even think about running. I'm a high-level adventurer."
"…"
What kind of nonsense was he babbling on about?
Compared to the beastman adventurer standing in confrontation with him, Ron's gaze swept over the adventurers present. In the end, he asked with curiosity, "Is everyone here?"
"Of course."
"For you to make us go to such lengths, you really should feel honored."
Ganu's tone was frank as he admitted it outright.
Yet for some reason, he saw not the slightest hint of panic on Ron's face. Instead, after learning the answer, there was… relief, and that faint trace of excitement.
"Hey, a bottom-tier adventurer without even a 'title'—you don't seriously think you can defeat me, do you?"
"First of all, I have a name. It's not 'hey.'"
Ron could feel his body yearning for battle. He corrected him. "Second, when you're in the Dungeon, you should call me Tarnished."
"…"
"Lastly, I also have a surprise prepared for you all!"
The moment his words fell, the surrounding walls began to collapse at a speed visible to the naked eye. After receiving the pheromones signaling injuries to their companions, swarms of Killer Ants continuously poured out from the passages at high speed.
"I sincerely hope you'll enjoy my daily exploration."
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