Through Eina Tulle's detailed introduction, Keare thoroughly grasped the monster distribution in each floor of the original Dungeon, which wasn't very clear in the source material.
On the 6th floor, he still had to face the War Shadow, known as the "rookie killer."
He already had experience dealing with this type of monster when he first started exploring the Dungeon; it was simply a matter of finding their weaknesses and defeating them one by one.
But starting from the 7th floor, the variety of monsters began to increase.
First, there were small Purple Butterflies that spread poisonous scales everywhere, with a chance to drop Purple Butterfly wings upon defeat.
Also known as "rookie killer," the Murder Ant is an insect-type monster with unusually hard armor.
Its characteristic is that it will call for its kind when in danger.
As for the Blue Butterfly, as a rare monster, encountering it in the Dungeon means the Adventurer is lucky, and defeating it will drop precious Blue Butterfly wings.
With this specific intelligence, Keare was undoubtedly full of anticipation for today's Dungeon exploration.
More threatening monsters meant that his overall ability value could be enhanced to a greater extent during combat, along with the added exploration benefits.
"Starting from the 10th floor, the Dungeon will have traps…", "Given my current ability value, even with the 'Optimization' skill, encountering new monsters will be very difficult, not to mention special events…"
Haste makes waste.
Maintaining a steady exploration attitude as much as possible is key; only by surviving can one appreciate the scenery at higher levels!
With this thought, Keare arrived at the central plaza in front of Babel Tower.
It was early morning, and looking around, there were quite a few Adventurers gathered there.
He naturally blended into the crowd.
Just then, a Supporter with a large backpack and a light gray cloak, noticing Keare's highly recognizable face, followed him.
Even though part of the girl's cheek was covered by the light gray cloak, her slightly childish face, not concealed by the 'Cinder Girl' magic, was still stunning, completely different in style from Hestia's appearance.
It carried a sense of determination and a hint of heroism.
Noticing Keare's slightly puzzled gaze, the girl's lips curved into a rare, sweet smile: "Good morning, Mr. Keare."
"Do you need a Supporter?"
If it were their first encounter, Keare would have kept his distance, but given yesterday's unexpected interlude and the fact that he held her secret, there was no need to avoid her like the plague.
He shrugged his shoulders lightly, his attitude casual: "Do I look like someone who can afford a Supporter?"
"I can do it for free."
"Consider it… thanks for taking me out of the Dungeon yesterday?" The girl's smile remained, as if she would follow him even if rejected.
After finishing yesterday's Dungeon exploration and returning to Soma Familia, Lily certainly wasn't idle.
She focused on the hints Keare gave her, and the result before her was very realistic.
When she mentioned to Chanis, the Familia Captain, that she was close to saving enough money to leave the Familia, several Familia members silently began to follow her.
Their goal was very clear: they were definitely after the money she had saved.
This truly made Lily realize that Chanis, who could control Familia members with divine wine and condone the chaotic environment of the survival of the fittest within the Familia, would definitely not let members leave easily.
Are there any other options?
Lily, who had struggled to survive in the chaotic environment of Soma Familia until now, was clearer-headed than anyone else, and her last hope could only be placed on Keare.
He clearly knew her past, even easily seeing through her 'Cinder Girl' magic.
Perhaps he really could solve the problem of leaving Soma Familia, and she believed it was worth paying any price for.
"Also," the girl added, "I… am very interested in what you said yesterday!"
Upon receiving the girl's final answer, Keare did not refuse, though he was somewhat surprised, not expecting Lily to make such a complete decision so quickly.
He glanced around; this was definitely not the place to discuss such matters.
"Today's Dungeon exploration target is before the 9th floor; the collection of magic stones and dropped items will be left to you."
—
As for how to solve Lily's problem, it completely depended on whether her 'Cinder Girl' magic was exposed, as the trouble with Soma Familia wasn't just about the chaotic Familia environment.
It was definitely related to the Xenos in the Dungeon!
If it wasn't exposed, he only needed to distract Chanis, the Captain of Soma Familia, and meet Soma, the God of Wine, alone.
As long as Lily could resist the addictiveness of the divine wine with her will, leaving Soma Familia would be a matter of course!
Of course, Keare did not tell Lily the solution so quickly.
Without experiencing hardship, his salvation would seem meaningless to her, after all, this was a transaction.
He needed to consider how to maximize his own interests!
"Increase strength."
"Proceed as planned."
After these days of Dungeon exploration, Keare could completely overwhelm the monsters encountered on the first 5 floors just by relying on his own practical combat skills.
Where were the stat monsters? It was all his hard work and effort!
Goblins, Ugly Goblins, Underground Lizards—no monster could withstand Keare's advance, and with a Supporter joining the exploration team, the effect was quite significant.
He had to handle the trivial matters, and there was an assistant to help observe the surroundings, taking only half the time compared to a few days ago.
Even when encountering a large number of War Shadows, they could quickly make a single-point breakthrough.
The team smoothly arrived at the 7th floor.
The Dungeon environment had noticeably changed, becoming darker, more akin to a primitive cave.
Fluorescent fruits couldn't fully illuminate it, and the air was permeated with a hint of coldness.
"…"
Upon first arriving here, despite having 'Optimization' as a fallback, Keare remained vigilant, maintaining respect for the new monsters about to appear.
Although the weapon he used was a product from Hephaestus Familia, it was primarily designed for rookie Adventurers.
Whether it could penetrate the armor of the insect monster, the Murder Ant, was still an unknown to him.
As the team advanced in an orderly fashion, a subtle sound caught Keare's attention.
He looked to his front-left, where cracks appeared on the wall.
Loose stones fell heavily to the ground.
"Something's wrong."
He hadn't experienced the monster regeneration process in the Dungeon before, but his subconscious told Keare that this movement was definitely not as simple as he thought.
"Bang!"
As the wall stones fell, a monster passage suddenly appeared before him.
After the ground dust gradually cleared, what finally met Keare's eyes was a gigantic ant monster with a massive body covered in thick armor.
The sharp claws on its back and its distinct features provided information: "Murder Ant."
And a large number of rookie killers were continuously pouring out along the passage!