"A hidden zone?" Riveria was startled by Noah's sudden revelation, her speech quickening noticeably.
After years of exploration by various Familias, the known floors of the Underground Labyrinth totaled 59 levels.
This record was set by the Zeus Familia.
Though this only represented the Guild's documented knowledge, it was widely accepted as fact.
The Dungeon was basically categorized by danger levels into upper, middle, lower, and deep floors—but these were just the fundamentals.
Beyond this, there actually existed unexplored regions, unknown territories, and unreached floors.
Among these, "unreached floors" was the most straightforward term—meaning floors that no person or Familia had ever reached before.
Nothing in the Dungeon seemed to remain constant.
With so many unknowns, adventurers could hardly claim to have fully developed their understanding of the Dungeon.
Hidden zones referred to areas not shown on maps that required specific methods to access due to special mechanisms.
Places like the 27th floor, while considered part of the lower levels, didn't pose hellish levels of danger.
Numerous Familias came here, and every inch had long been thoroughly explored.
Discovering a hidden zone at this point?
"Can you confirm this, Noah?" Riveria wasn't particularly willing to believe that the 27th floor could still contain hidden areas.
But since the claim came from this young man before her, she felt compelled to seek further confirmation.
Noah nodded directly since his appraisal never lied.
The reason it hadn't been discovered earlier was likely due to an extremely concealment-focused barrier placed over that area.
"I'm certain, and I can guarantee there's indeed a hidden zone there," Noah stated firmly.
"I understand."
Riveria assessed the condition of her Familia members.
Stamina, magic power—both were abundant.
Those who suffered minor injuries in previous battles had fully recovered.
She found no reason not to proceed.
After all, discovering hidden zones or completing the exploration of unexplored regions would earn "achievements" recognized and recorded by the Guild.
This would bring tremendous benefits to the entire Familia and even secure their place in Orario's history.
Whether motivated by personal curiosity or duty to her Familia, Riveria decided to investigate.
Passing through the cavern, guided by Noah, the group arrived before a stalactite wall concealed by a waterfall.
Riveria examined their surroundings but detected no traces of magic.
Noah stared intently at the massive stalactite wall.
"Dead end?" Aki tentatively asked.
Though nothing appeared before them, after the battles they'd fought along the way, she now held Noah in high regard.
"Everyone, step back a bit and try not to make too much noise."
As he spoke, Noah removed his backpack and temporarily handed it to Raul.
He approached the wall and reached out to touch it.
'Appraisal.'
A stream of information flowed into his mind.
Then, Noah sighed with some regret.
The additional intelligence was scarce, lacking the specific details he most wanted to know.
Noah turned his face toward Riveria.
"It's definitely a magic barrier," he reported.
But Riveria beside him questioned with some confusion, "Yet I can't sense any magical presence here."
Noah smiled faintly. "Indeed, but the reason... I've also realized that this barrier is set up behind the stalactite. Simply put, it's a barrier that can only be opened from the inside."
Hearing this, Riveria immediately understood. "You're suggesting this is a man-made barrier?"
"No doubt about it," Noah stated decisively.
The information from the Truth Seeker confirmed the same.
Originally, he had planned to touch the barrier's anchor point to see if he could gather intelligence about its creator, but the result still showed question marks.
This situation was identical to when appraising someone whose level far exceeded his own.
'At least Level 4, then.'
Fortunately, they had a lvl 6 like Riveria holding the line, plus numerous Level 4 and Level 3 allies, making their combat prowess considerable.
Moreover, if he provided buffs without worrying about consumption, he could significantly boost their overall combat effectiveness.
With such forces, they could already eliminate some mid-tier Familias.
The remnants of the evilus was unable to update their statuses after their gods were exiled and with fewer members, stood no chance against them.
"But why... Wait, could it be!"
Their conversation had progressed so rapidly that everyone around them was completely lost.
Noah and Riveria exchanged glances before simultaneously stepping back to create distance.
Seeing his reaction, Riveria had already reached a conclusion.
'As expected, it's the evilus.'
To apply secondary encryption for disguise in such an already concealed location—such meticulous measures to hide a place could only mean it belonged to the surviving forces of the evilus!
"It seems the rumors about you defeating an evilus executive are true," Riveria suddenly remarked, surprising Noah somewhat.
Now that he thought about it, since there were other people in the Guild at that time, the news had spread quickly.
Of course, without the Guild officially confirming these rumors, most people wouldn't believe particularly outrageous claims.
Like a Level 2 defeating a Level 4.
If people believed every wild story they heard, Orario would have descended into chaos long ago.
"I had no choice. That guy was just unlucky—you could say timing, terrain, and circumstances were all on my side at that moment."
There was one thing Noah couldn't figure out.
One year ago, around the time he joined the Hephaestus Familia, Orario had just experienced a devastating incident.
What's now known as the "27th Floor Nightmare"—that major event.
The evilus had triggered an ultra-large-scale "monster parade" that wiped out a significant number of Orario's valuable mid-level adventurers in one go.
This suicidal attack was the evilus largest operation since the great conflict over two years prior.
Since then, the evilus had been constantly hiding, while the major Familias in the city had been searching for their traces to eradicate these madmen completely.
Regarding this matter, Noah actually had some clues.
The evilus should currently be using the "artificial labyrinth" as their hideout.
However, he had no memory whatsoever about the existence of a hidden area on the 27th floor.
'Can't rely entirely on memories, nor trust their accuracy too much,' Noah sighed inwardly.
Actually, thinking from the present perspective made him realize the logic behind it.
If the evilus had established... the existence of a concealed area they had uncovered provided a major premise for the success of their previous frenzied actions.
In other words, not all members of the evilus on the 27th floor had perished back then.
Some survivors had lived on, even returning to this base to recuperate...
After entertaining these speculations, Noah suddenly felt many things began to make sense.
"Noah, have we already been discovered by those inside?" Riveria's expression looked dangerous.
Noah thought that if he said yes, she might immediately begin chanting and obliterate the hidden area along with the evilus members hiding inside in one fell swoop.
'So, the rumors and records about these races were completely different from their actual personalities!'
'Tsubaki, a half-dwarf, stood at 170cm, while Mia a pure dwarf, was 180cm tall.'
'And Riveria, being elven royalty, actually had such severe violent tendencies.'
'The books were utterly fraud!'
"I don't think so. This barrier ensures concealment while simultaneously isolating itself. I've checked the surroundings and found no surveillance magic tools or familiars either."
"Noah."
"Hmm? What is it, Miss Riveria?"
The woman frowned. "Don't call me Miss or Lady. I dislike it. Like with Ais, you can just call me Riveria."
He nodded. "I understand, Riveria. Did you have something you wanted to say?"
"I'll be direct, Noah. Did you know from the beginning that remnants of the evilus were here?" Riveria asked with a sharp gaze.
Experience warned her that everything was proceeding a bit too smoothly.
While this wasn't necessarily bad, it could easily make those involved become blind and narrow-minded, overlooking important details.
The boy's responses were too matter-of-fact.
Ordinary people who experienced attacks from the evilus would likely carry shadows for life, let alone remain so composed, with every action seeming premeditated—excessively calm.
Of course, Riveria didn't suspect Noah of being an evilus spy infiltrating the Hephaestus Familia, but this naturally led her to speculate.
This boy might possess very powerful intelligence-gathering skills!
"..."
Facing Riveria's sudden question, Noah fell into temporary contemplation.
Yes.
This wasn't an interrogation or torture.
How to answer depended entirely on him.
"Well, actually not. I only made some connections when discovering the hidden area and had rough suspicions, that's all." Noah answered naturally.
It wasn't exactly lying, just selective concealment.
Riveria stared at him for a while, and Noah didn't avoid her gaze at all.
"How dark." She said this and turned around to convey the news about the evilus hiding here to the main group.
Watching her retreating back, Noah blinked, then realized she seemed to be referring to the color of his pupils.
'Or perhaps something deeper?'