Rather than demanding an apology or financial compensation from Finn, there was something else Noah was much more concerned about.
"What happened to Jura after that?"
The state of that cat-person after he swallowed the Lambton's magic stone... it was truly too bizarre.
Even after losing his heart and having his head sliced completely off, he could still somehow forcibly control the Lambton to launch a frenzied ambush on them.
"He died. Just like a monster, his body completely turned to ash," Finn sighed.
Recalling that crazed, mutating enemy made the braver feel like this was going to be a very troublesome matter.
Putting the man's physical strength aside for a moment, the fact that a human could physically mutate like a monster after swallowing a magic stone was terrifying.
Whether it was an isolated, unique case or a repeatable experiment, it could stir up immense panic in the city.
Therefore, Finn had decided to keep Jura's final horrific transformation a strict secret from the Guild for the time being.
"By the way," Finn added, "for you to have randomly run into the Astrea Familia of all people down there... that was quite a blessing in disguise."
"Yeah, I think so too."
For adventurers, exploring the Dungeon was just a daily routine.
Countless adventurers in Orario entered the Labyrinth every single day, so it wasn't strange to run into other people.
Just like in a video game, farming zones with high returns always attracted large crowds of players.
But not many of those people would be willing to lend a helping hand to a stranger.
Some might even try to rob you or drive you away from their farming spot.
With his Level 2 stats alone, Noah didn't know how many deadly difficulties he would have encountered trying to return to the surface from the 30th Floor.
If he had run into an Irregular monster spawn, he might not have had the chance to escape unscathed.
He still had far too little information about the Lower Floors.
It was highly likely he would have accidentally fallen into a trap, just like the one he faced on the 23rd Floor during the expedition.
"Hey, Noah-boy. Has that 'thing' of yours recovered yet?" Tsubaki asked.
She seemed to have noticed his relaxed posture and quietly whispered to him.
Noah realized she was subtly asking about his Truth Seeker and Spell-Weaver skills, so he gave a small confident nod.
"Phew, that is great." Tsubaki showed a deeply relieved expression. "Actually, when we arrived down here on the 18th Floor to look for you, we happened to run into a freshly respawned Goliath. To save time, we just left it alone."
"So?" Noah asked.
"So, now the folks from Rivira are in a huge argument with Finn, demanding that the Loki Familia help them eliminate the threat of the Floor Boss."
So that was it.
He had heard that the rogue adventurers living in Rivira periodically cleared out the Goliath to keep their town safe.
Whenever they lacked the combat power to do it themselves, they would request reinforcements from the strong Familias passing through from the surface.
So this time, it was just a coincidence that the Loki Familia search party had arrived at the exact same time the boss spawned.
"I am fine now. I can participate in the boss battle normally," Noah assured her.
He had plenty of explosive ammunition stored in his spatial ring—more than enough firepower to support a Floor Boss subjugation.
"Oh, that is good to hear."
At that moment, Finn finally managed to break free from the pestering Rivira adventurers and walked over to Noah.
He gestured for Noah to follow him, his expression turn serious. "Noah, sorry to bother you. I heard from the girls of the Astrea Familia about what you encountered on the 30th Floor. There is something I want to ask you in private."
"I understand."
Finn found a quiet, empty spot near the edge of town.
Right in front of the braver, Noah raised his hand and directly sketched a glowing soundproofing magic circle in the air, creating an invisible barrier around them.
Watching this casual display of chantless magic, the Pallum hero sighed in amazement.
"No matter how many times I see it, your unique abilities are always so incredible."
From the first time he met this boy until now, the variety and sheer potency of the abilities he had displayed were nothing short of omnipotent.
Whether it was before, during, or after a battle, he could always pull out some extraordinary, rule-breaking trick.
And on paper, he was still only a Level 2.
Noah smiled slightly, not being overly modest. "I have just done everything I can to develop my own abilities to survive. Perhaps one day, when you truly understand exactly how my magic works, you might find it boring instead."
"I highly doubt that," Finn chuckled.
"But let's get down to business. Do you think Evilus's actions today were just a coincidence?" Finn asked, cutting straight to the point.
In Finn's view, Jura's insane actions inside the prison were likely an unexpected factor in Evilus's grand plan.
Perhaps Jura originally had a much more elaborate escape plan, but it had gone terribly wrong because Noah had expertly framed him.
Jura's final, suicidal actions were clearly born from a desperate desire to take everyone down to hell with him.
Just by looking at the cat-person's shocked reaction, Finn could easily guess that Jura had never actually said a single word about the man-made labyrinth.
The fact that Noah knew such a massive hidden secret made Finn guess that it was related to the boy's personal abilities.
Riveria had previously reported that Noah possessed extraordinary intelligence-gathering capabilities, suggesting he possessed a powerful, rare information-type skill.
Finn assumed that Noah, not wanting to expose the secret of his own skill to the Guild, had simply used Jura as a convenient scapegoat to reveal the truth.
Up to this point, Finn felt he had a solid grasp on the truth of the entire prison incident.
But he had absolutely no clue about anything that happened on the 30th Floor.
That was precisely why this private investigation was necessary.
"It probably wasn't a coincidence," Noah answered. "The people who set the explosive trap on the 30th Floor and the people who helped Jura escape were likely acting on two separate, coordinated fronts. Originally, Jura was probably supposed to use the Lambton to quickly reach the 30th Floor after escaping the prison, allowing him to safely rendezvous with his Evilus forces in the Deep Floors."
"I see... so a massive pincer attack was their original objective after all," Finn nodded.
"Actually…"
Noah hesitated for a moment, but he ultimately decided to tell Finn about Dix Perdix and the Ikelos Familia's involvement in the ambush.
After a moment of slight shock, Finn's expression turned incredibly grave.
"Noah, there is a complete lack of physical evidence for this claim. But... I believe everything you have just said. Unfortunately, even so, there is absolutely nothing we can do to the Ikelos Familia right now. What a massive headache."
It was easy to understand why with a little political thought.
The people secretly connected to the Daedalus family were surely not just one or two small Familias.
To build something as massive as an artificial labyrinth without the Guild ever noticing, it would require colluding with Evilus, but it would also require the financial support of many wealthy, "legal" Familias living inside Orario.
Engaging in such treasonous collusion while avoiding the Guild's eyes and ears was undoubtedly a severe violation of the city's rules.
But as long as it brought sufficient profits, there would be no shortage of greedy Familias who would be tempted to join.
The Ishtar Familia, for example.
Noah knew that the Goddess of Beauty was definitely colluding with Evilus in secret, while also engaging in illegal black-market transactions with merchants outside the city—namely, the horrific slave trade.
The Ishtar Familia actually had a secret, heavy Orichalcum door leading straight into the man-made labyrinth hidden deep within their own Pleasure Quarter headquarters.
Although he didn't know all the specific locations, Noah knew that the secret entrances to Knossos numbered more than he could count on both hands, there were dozens of deliberately hidden doors scattered throughout the slums of Orario.
"Then I will leave it to you to figure out the politics, Braver-sama," Noah smiled, getting up to leave.
Finn teased him gently. "Do not talk like this has nothing to do with you. Don't tell me you haven't realized it yet, but you are quickly becoming a key figure right at the center of this vortex."
After several brutal run-ins with Evilus, the young blacksmith had long since drawn their serious, murderous attention.
Noah scratched the back of his head and played dumb. "I am still just a weak child! I do not understand complicated adult matters! If anything bad happens, the great braver will definitely protect me, right?"
Finn watched the boy walk away with a wry smile.
Sometimes, he really wondered if this boy was actually a Pallum in disguise.
Otherwise, how could a 10-year-old child have absolutely no childishness in him at all?
He acted more like an ancient weary monk who had completely seen through the illusions of the mortal world.
But Noah was still a bit too paranoid for his own good.
It seemed his eyes could only focus on the darkness, constantly ignoring the light.
His overly cautious personality—acting as if he were constantly on guard against a knife in the back—was because he focused way too much on the dark corners of society, and thus had lost his faith in the world.
"Honestly, having a junior who is far too mature for his age is also a major cause for concern," Finn sighed.
...
Noah arrived at the tunnel leading to the 17th Floor ahead of schedule.
He found that a massive forward camp had already been set up.
Inside the camp, dozens of rogue adventurers from the town of Rivira were anxiously inspecting their weapons and armor.
They were all seasoned, hardened adventurers.
However, standing out like a flock of majestic cranes among a coop of ordinary chickens were the elite adventurers from the Loki Familia.
When Noah saw those familiar faces, he took the initiative to casually walk over to them.
His relaxed attitude caused the surrounding Rivira adventurers to break out in a cold sweat for him.
Not just anyone could walk up and strike up a casual conversation with the executives of the Loki Familia!
If the elites took it as a sign of disrespect, the kid would be in for a brutal beating.
"Ah! It's Noah! Are you done talking with the Captain?" Tiona was the first to spot the boy, and she immediately greeted him with a happy wave.
Hearing her, Bete, Tione, Ais, Raul, Aki, and the others all turned their heads.
Raul proactively grabbed his personal water flask and handed it over to the boy.
Noah smiled and thanked him. "Thank you, Raul."
"It is no problem at all! I would be very happy if you could give me some of your magical support during the Floor Boss subjugation, Noah-san!"
Aki brutally chopped her hand down onto the back of Raul's head.
"Don't put an extra burden on him, you idiot!"
"Haha, I definitely could buff you," Noah smiled. "But if I did that, wouldn't your unique persona completely change, Raul?"
"Huh? Persona?" Raul rubbed his head.
"Your 'Novice' persona," Noah teased him, using the painful title Raul had earned after finally leveling up to Level 4.
After painfully reaching Level 4 with not a single magic spell and not even one unique skill to his name, Raul was basically just a super-powered minion.
However, his complete lack of special features had, ironically, become his greatest defining feature in the Familia.
"No way! Why are you saying that too, Noah-san?!" Raul cried anime tears. "But forget it! As long as I have your overpowered support magic, I can be completely reborn on the battlefield!"
"Five hundred thousand valis per buff session. Thank you for your patronage," Noah held out his hand.
"Ehhh!!!"
Seeing a young child acting so incredibly familiar with the high-level executives of the Loki Familia—and even showing a natural tendency to become the center of attention among them—the rogue adventurers watching from the sidelines were all completely shocked.
"That kid... what is his background?"
"I don't know."
"But looking at him joke around with the Sword Princess... I feel like I have heard rumors of someone exactly like him recently..."
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