Levi undoubtedly had some ideas on how to increase his strength and earn Valis.
However, he was currently severely short on manpower.
His own strength hadn't reached the point where he could suppress all dissent.
If many of his plans were implemented, although there would be considerable profit, it was more likely that he would end up doing the hard work for other Familias to reap the benefits.
Anyway, Levi definitely wouldn't play the fool.
Even if he were to cooperate with other Familias, he had to secure enough profit for himself.
Fortunately, with the further improvement of his strength, plus the extra drop rate bonus provided by the Developmental Ability 'Luck H', just farming on the middle floors for a day and a half earned Levi over 1.8 million Valis.
300,000 of that came from magic stones, while the remaining 1.5 million came from selling five Minotaur horns.
The reason he didn't throw the magic stones and materials into the Exchange Shop was simple.
Although the Shop bypassed the Guild's exchange system to some extent, the purchase price was discounted accordingly.
Magic stones were only half the Guild's set price, and drop materials were even worse, ranging between one-third to one-quarter of the market price.
A change of hundreds of thousands, millions, or even tens of millions of Valis wouldn't cause any fluctuation in Orario's gold price for now.
Therefore, Levi wasn't in a hurry to use the Exchange Shop's function.
However, when he started exploring the lower or deep floors later, for the purpose of hiding his hand, he would need to combine the Exchange Shop with surface trading companies that specialized in acquiring materials, earning a mix of Valis and Valis Vouchers.
...
On the fourth morning after his Falna rose to Level 3.
Levi woke up early. First, he made breakfast for Hestia, who was still resting in the bedroom. Then, he went to the shopping district to restock consumables like arrows and potions.
After finishing all this, he finally arrived at the workshop of the Hephaestus Familia's captain.
He knocked on the door twice and waited for a moment. Tsubaki walked out of the workshop carrying a large backpack.
"Morning, Little Levi."
"Good morning, Tsubaki."
Considering there were many people around and walls had ears, the two only exchanged simple greetings.
Then they turned and walked towards the dungeon entrance.
It wasn't until they formally entered the first floor of the labyrinth and confirmed no one was following them that the One-Eyed Master Smith could no longer suppress her curiosity. She turned her head, her eye seeming to twinkle with excitement.
"Little Levi, have you figured out how to accumulate the Excellia for your Level 4 upgrade?"
Levi didn't hide it. "I plan to challenge the Goliath."
"Goliath?" Tsubaki showed a surprised expression. "Goliath's potential ability is indeed Level 4. Other adventurers challenging it would likely gather enough Excellia to level up. But firstly, Goliath was just taken down by the Loki Familia a week ago and is still in its respawn cooldown. Secondly, with the strength you've shown before, Little Levi, challenging that guy might barely even count as a feat, right?"
Levi nodded, then shook his head. "I'm not talking about the ordinary Goliath."
"Oh? Is there an extraordinary Goliath?" The black-haired girl with a single ponytail grew even more excited.
Perhaps because he was about to challenge a strong enemy and felt a bit nervous, Levi spoke noticeably more than usual. "Tsubaki, have you heard of the 'God Slayer', or the 'Pitch-Black Monster'?"
"I don't know about God Slayers, but Pitch-Black Monsters... the Three Great Quests issued by the Guild back then—the 'Behemoth' of the land, the 'Leviathan' of the sea, and the 'One-Eyed Black Dragon' symbolizing the end—should be the so-called Pitch-Black Monsters you mentioned, right?"
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Danmachi : I'm Surrounded by Goddesses (102 Chapters, Ongoing)
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"That's right." Levi explained slowly as they advanced towards the deep floors. "Pitch-Black Monsters are weapons specifically bred by the Dungeon to counter gods. They don't fear divine power themselves, and their potential ability is one level higher than their ordinary kin."
Tsubaki wasn't stupid. Since Levi had said this much, how could she not realize?
With a face full of astonishment, she asked, "You can summon a Pitch-Black Monster... no, a Pitch-Black Goliath?"
Levi didn't deny it, because that was exactly what he planned to do next.
"Summoning a God Slayer itself isn't difficult. As long as a god enters the labyrinth and releases their divine aura on the corresponding floor, out of disgust for the god, the labyrinth will spawn a Pitch-Black Monster."
"However, according to my test the day before yesterday, it seems not all monsters can undergo this transformation. At least among the monsters on the upper floors, only the Infant Dragon has this potential."
"Uh..."
Tsubaki clicked her tongue. The short two or three sentences from the boy beside her seemed to contain a huge amount of information.
"Little Levi, leaving aside how you confirmed this intelligence... you should be a normal human like me, right? Or are you actually a legendary 'Demigod' whose existence is debated?"
Levi glanced at the One-Eyed Master Smith beside him. "I am human."
"Then..."
Seeing Tsubaki want to ask more, he made a hushing gesture.
"You'll know when we get to the 17th Floor."
Tsubaki: "...Alright then~" ╮(′～` )╭
Tsubaki was a genuine Level 5. When Levi activated 'Mana Burst · Entangle' and added the extra stats to Agility, his movement speed could also touch the edge of Level 5.
Clearing only the monsters they ran into along the way, it took them just over 7 hours to reach the fixed spawn point of the Dungeon's Floor Boss, 'Goliath'.
"Can you show me your method now?" Tsubaki stood aside, asking with a tone mixed with excitement and curiosity.
Levi nodded. After taking a deep breath, he didn't act immediately.
Instead, uncharacteristically, he began preparation work.
"Hestia, I pray to you here, please grant me the Goddess's blessing."
The phantom of the twin-tailed goddess manifested with the boy's chant, then instantly turned into particles of light and merged into his body.
Next, he fired 'Icy Paws' (Cat's Claw Freeze) continuously for 20 times, totaling 100 projectiles, smashing them into the ground.
This formed a shield around Levi and Tsubaki that was almost condensed into solid substance.
That wasn't all.
—Mana Burst · Ice!
Surging mana erupted from his body, turning into pale-blue freezing mist that swirled around him.
Only after doing all this did Levi open his inventory and take out the Divine Blood he had temporarily sealed with 'Adeptus Order'.
"Release!"
The next second, the pressure unique to a god spread out in all directions.
Even though she was mentally prepared, Tsubaki standing next to him was suppressed by the sudden change, momentarily losing her ability to move.
As a mortal, the One-Eyed Master Smith had no way to resist Divine Aura (Arcanum).
At least, at Level 5, she couldn't do it.
But that didn't mean the Labyrinth, which was hostile to the gods and equally loathed all life on the surface, would allow a god to set foot in its territory.
Before the power of the Divine Aura could fully spread, the crystal wall in front of where the two stood suddenly shattered.
"GAAAAAEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!!!!!"
Accompanied by a shrill roar, a Goliath, pitch-black all over and even taller than the ordinary Floor Boss, was bred by the Dungeon in a short amount of time.