Three days passed in the blink of an eye and for a brief time, Noah honestly felt completely synchronized with the gods in their weird perception of time.
The real reason those eternal unchanging deities descended down to the lower world in the first place was partly due to the excessively sparse density of time up in the celestial realm, where with absolutely nothing to do, they could just sleep for centuries on end.
Since literally nothing would ever change no matter how long they slept, it posed no issue at all.
Eternity simply meant unchanging, and unchanging just meant pure, agonizing monotony.
Ever since the gods came down to the lower world, their time actually gained countless times more meaning than before, because each passing day brought fresh interactions, totally new encounters, and the beginnings or endings of completely new stories, meaning this time finally held genuine value.
Because it actually held value, they would finally feel the sting of regret over missing something.
That's right—concepts like "regret" were something those gods had never experienced back in the tenkai.
On the actual day of the expedition, Noah quietly watched as Orario gradually brightened outside his window before turning his gaze back to the messy workbench right in front of him.
Resting perfectly on the table was an entirely white, totally futuristic sci-fi creation.
"Annihilator"
Creator: Noah
Total Length: 1155mm
Maximum Range: 1.8km
Maximum Rate of Fire: 1
Maximum Capacity: 7
Empowerment Protocols: 6
Phase Observation: Marks targets via a phase array, maximum target count: 5.
Inevitable Arrow: Projectiles automatically correct trajectory toward targets during flight.
Gale Projectile: Increases projectile flight speed by 100%.
Shadow Projectile: Enhances projectile stealth.
Focused Strike: Compresses three rounds into one, effect increased by 300%, effect duration reduced by 50%.
Cluster Barrage: Fires all rounds for wide-area bombardment within a designated range.
The slender barrel itself was equipped with large diffusers on both sides and had its inner walls intricately engraved with spells directly woven by the Spell-Weaver.
Forged out of extremely heavy orichalcum and electroplated with powder made from the ground-up dragon liver of the Amphisbaena, utilizing this highest-durability material theoretically gave the barrel a crazy lifespan exceeding 400,000 shots.
Moreover, it perfectly incorporated six completely different spells, which was the direct result of Noah working tirelessly for 38 straight hours without sleep, in addition to crafting various types of custom "ammunition" and a massive backpack heavily enchanted with a "Weight Reduction" effect.
Even though he had his own personal goals for this trip, he hadn't forgotten for a second that his primary role was technically that of a supporter, so of course, he fully aimed to perform his logistical duties to the absolute best of his ability.
When the time was finally about right, Noah left the Familia base and met up with Tsubaki, who had set out at almost the exact same time.
"Hey, Noah-chan, looks like you're well-prepared," she called out.
"Of course, considering our destination is the 37th floor, so at the very least, I absolutely can't afford to hold anyone back, or else I'd make you completely lose respect."
This whole request, even though both parties were entirely willing, was still largely thanks to Tsubaki pulling strings, because at the very least, convincing them to allow a mere Level 2 like him to participate must have cost her quite a bit of exhausting persuasion.
"Not bad at all, since men who actually consider women's feelings are quite popular, you know," Tsubaki said with a wide, teasing grin.
"If there's any actual danger down there, I'll just hide right behind you immediately, so I'll be totally counting on you then, Senpai."
"Hah?! You literally want me to be your meat shield?!"
"What's wrong with that? With your completely abnormal endurance, even if a whole horde of monsters totally surround and attack you, you'd be perfectly fine, right?"
"There's also the emotional aspect to consider, you brat! Wouldn't your heart ache even a little bit making a girl block ugly monsters for you?!"
Noah instantly broke into a cold sweat, knowing damn well that of course he wouldn't do something like that to an ordinary girl, but what the hell was there to even worry about when dealing with a literal diamond barbie who, after taking his strongest resonance detonation at completely point-blank range, only walked away with slightly dirtied clothes?
He quickly noticed that this time, Tsubaki actually had her exclusive weapon hanging safely at her waist—a sleek, Far Eastern-style naginata named "Benishigure."
Actually, he was also carrying a sword of his own, but it was totally different from an ordinary one since it was tucked safely inside that huge, enchanted backpack of his.
"By the way, Noah-chan, what the hell is that long thing on your back?"
Tsubaki was obviously asking about the Annihilator, because after all, a weapon with such a bizarre, futuristic design should literally never have appeared anywhere in Orario before, considering it wasn't a sword, it definitely wasn't a spear and it had absolutely no blade.
"Oh, this?" Noah smiled slightly. "This is my staff."
In a twisted sort of way, that was indeed technically true, and if he actually started explaining the mechanics from the very beginning, the conversation would easily become endless.
"A staff?"
"Well, considering your weird skills, it doesn't seem that strange, but this shape... and I don't see any magic gemstones embedded in it anywhere, making it a really strange-looking staff."
"Yeah, well, it's totally custom-made just for me, after all."
Chatting casually back and forth, the two of them very soon arrived at the designated gathering point, which, even though it was called a gathering point, was really just right in front of the massive Dungeon entrance.
What completely surprised the hell out of Noah was the sheer, ridiculous scale of the crowd there, because there were so many people—and its not just members of the Loki Familia!
There were also a massive number of nosy onlookers totally crowding the area, making it completely different from the quiet gathering scene Noah had originally imagined in his head!
He honestly thought it would feel more like a boring school field trip where everyone just gathers at a quiet empty spot before the designated time and then boards a bus or something together, but this place was just way too lively!
Just because the Loki Familia's massive emblem banner was planted right there, countless adventurers had literally abandoned their original daily plans and completely stopped in their tracks just to watch the spectacle, making Noah wonder if this was honestly any different from spotting a rare exotic zoo animal loose on the roadside.
Noah instinctively looked over at Tsubaki, immediately noticing that she remained completely and utterly unfazed by this chaotic scene, simply using her insane physical advantage to easily shove right through the heavily obstructing crowd and brutally clear a path using her own body.
Watching her totally domineering attitude as she casually shoved people aside as if no one else was even around, Noah just dumbly followed right behind her, tightly squeezing through the gap she made.
Tsubaki... really wasn't just thick-skinned, her completely reckless actions and behavior obviously had a pretty significant impact on their Familia's overall reputation!
Finally breaking through the massive crowd, Noah locked eyes on the actual members of the Loki Familia, and among them, Ais's figure was so striking and prominent that it almost instantly occupied his entire field of vision.
But almost immediately, his gaze forcefully shifted and totally focused on the imposing figure standing right behind the Sword Princess.
A breathtakingly beautiful high elf with long green hair and sharp green eyes, completely exuding the chilling, untouchable aura of an absolute ice queen, perfectly fitting for the city's top mage!
Nine Hell.
Riveria Ljos Alf.
Level 6!
This deep-floor expedition was actually being led by Orario's strongest mage!