"—Luminous Wind!"
At Roy's command, the elven girl began chanting without hesitation. Her graceful golden figure darted swiftly through the swarm of monsters, cutting down great numbers as she moved.
As her clear voice fell silent, countless emerald spheres of light materialized and shot forward. Every monster that touched one of the orbs was instantly blown apart.
A clear path was blasted open.
"Move!" Roy shouted.
The four of them broke into a sprint, rushing through the cleared passage and diving into a corridor beyond. The monsters behind them halted, then finally turned and dispersed.
Upon entering the Eighteenth Floor, the group let out a collective sigh of relief.
"I thought we were going to die…" Daphne and Cassandra clung to each other.
Roy and Ryuu exchanged a glance, faint smiles appearing on their faces. Against a Monster Party of that scale, any ordinary Level 2 squad would have been wiped out—or at best forced to retreat to the surface.
And yet they had forced their way straight through it.
"What's next?" Ryuu asked.
Roy felt as though he had truly become the elf's external brain. "We'll rest for a day. Set up camp in the wild—lodging in town is too expensive."
He and Ryuu still had stamina to spare, but Daphne and Cassandra were already exhausted to the point of collapsing.
Moreover, since they were already here, they couldn't possibly leave without offering flowers to their fallen comrades. Ryuu's gaze toward Roy carried a trace of gratitude—he had clearly noticed.
Roy had stored twenty days' worth of food, water, tents, and supplies in his ring.
Their expedition schedule was more than sufficient.
After setting up camp in the wilderness, they passed through the forest and arrived at the equipment grave of Alise Lovell and the others, laying down a large bouquet of flowers.
Daphne and Cassandra wore solemn expressions. The fallen members of that Familia were worthy of respect—countless people in Orario had once received their aid.
Sensing the heavy mood, Roy smiled. "Let's take a look around the town. I've never been."
"Yay!"
For some reason, girls seemed to have an innate attachment to shopping. Daphne and Cassandra, who had nearly collapsed moments earlier, straightened their backs at once, their steps suddenly light.
Ryuu could only follow behind them.
The Eighteenth Floor—Rivira—was a town built by adventurers. Located on the eastern side of an island facing the lake, it stood atop cliffs over two hundred meters high, surrounded on all sides by walls constructed from crystal and rock formations—sufficient to repel monster assaults.
Roy and the others arrived at the town gate.
Beside it stood a stone monument engraved in the common tongue with the number "315."
This was the number of times Rivira had been rebuilt.
Though it was a safe floor where monsters did not spawn, it was still part of the Dungeon. Whenever abnormalities occurred, Rivira inevitably suffered destruction.
Once adventurers sensed danger, they would immediately abandon the town and retreat to the surface.
After everything was wiped out, they would return and rebuild.
Three hundred and fifteen reconstructions—meaning it had been destroyed just as many times.
Entering the town, tents, wooden shacks, and street stalls filled their vision. There was scarcely a single structure worthy of being called a proper building.
As for food and supplies, the prices were outrageous—ten times, even dozens of times higher than on the surface. The two newcomers stared in shock.
No wonder Roy preferred camping in the wild rather than staying at an inn here.
Anyone daring to do business in a place like this possessed considerable strength. High-level adventurers rarely seen on the surface were commonplace here.
Level 2 was the average.
Level 3 adventurers were not uncommon either.
Rivira, built through the combined efforts of adventurers from many Familias, had no lord and no order—a lawless town where the law of the jungle reigned supreme.
Power equaled status.
"Hey! Looks like someone's gone missing again!"
Suddenly, Roy and the others noticed adventurers hurrying toward the same direction.
Roy exchanged a look with Ryuu. Both saw the gravity in the other's eyes.
They couldn't be that unlucky—encountering trouble on their very first expedition, could they?
"Let's take a look," Roy said.
The other three nodded and followed.
In the Dungeon, gathering intelligence was critical. Otherwise, when an abnormality struck and everyone else fled, they would be the only fools left behind to die.
They arrived at an open area where over a hundred adventurers had already gathered, packed so tightly there was barely room to move.
"Gale Wind—and Righteous Bud."
Roy's group immediately drew attention. The War Game had been broadcast citywide; anyone who didn't recognize them was a rarity.
"Good timing," a muscular man approached. His face was fierce, his left eye covered by a black eyepatch. Broad shoulders and defined abs were exposed, radiating an imposing presence.
Bors Elder.
Level 3. A powerful adventurer who ran a purchasing station in Rivira. Well-connected with captains and members of various high-ranking Familias, he held the authority to command the town in emergency situations.
Roy's mind flickered through the information he knew. "What's the abnormality?"
"Glad you catch on quickly," Bors replied.
"There's a strange monster on the Twenty-Fourth Floor. More than a dozen high-level adventurers have already gone missing. We suspect it's an Enhanced Species."
A wave of commotion erupted.
An Enhanced Species.
For adventurers, encountering such a creature was never good news.
Enhanced Species possessed unique abilities unlike ordinary monsters—their danger rivaled that of a Floor Boss.
The most infamous example was the Bloody Giant, said to have rampaged in the Dungeon for over ten years.
By the time the Guild became aware of it, many high-level adventurers had already been killed. A subjugation force composed of Level 3 and Level 4 adventurers was dispatched, only to suffer over fifty casualties.
In the end, the Guild requested the deployment of the Freya Familia to eliminate it. It was estimated that the Bloody Giant's abilities exceeded Level 5.
"We're preparing a subjugation party," Bors continued. "You'll be joining as well. Your expedition target is the Twenty-Fourth Floor too. Unless we deal with that Enhanced Species, your expedition won't proceed smoothly."
Ryuu, Daphne, and Cassandra all turned to Roy.
The surrounding adventurers wore strange expressions. The two newcomers aside—even Gale Wind, a Level 4, seemed to defer to Righteous Bud. That was unusual.
Roy lowered his head in thought. "Agreed. However, we just encountered a Monster Party on the Seventeenth Floor. Our stamina and mental state aren't at full capacity. We need to rest for one night."
"What a hassle. Fine—five hours, maximum," Bors grumbled, scratching his head.
The group returned to their campsite in the wilderness.
Roy pulled out an expensive pillow made of heavenly silkworm silk from his spatial ring and tossed it to Cassandra.
"Go on. Sleep."