Although these new monsters were exceptionally troublesome—raising the difficulty of exploration dramatically, and many adventurers had paid a heavy price due to their unfamiliar attack patterns, with some even perishing in the Dungeon—
The high-value magic stones and materials they dropped still granted surviving adventurers returns several times greater than usual.
People will risk their lives for profit.
The Guild advisers' warnings were treated as little more than background noise.
Faced with wealth within arm's reach, countless lower-class adventurers spontaneously formed parties and flooded into the Dungeon.
The entire Upper Floors descended into a frenzied carnival of blood and valis.
As the source of it all, Faen, who had remained inside the Dungeon the entire day—had inadvertently pushed the spawning probability of new monsters to its peak.
The rate at which special monsters appeared far exceeded that of ordinary Dungeon monsters.
This only poured fuel onto the already raging fire.
---
Meanwhile, Ais and Lefiya had descended further down.
As they continued exploring, they noticed something strange.
The deeper they went, the fewer of the new monsters they encountered.
By the time they reached the thirteenth floor, the entrance to the Middle Floors—the new monsters had completely vanished, as if their existence were confined solely to the Upper Floors.
"…That's odd," Lefiya muttered, looking around the mostly empty thirteenth floor where only Hellhounds prowled. "Why do these new monsters only appear in the upper levels?"
Ais stopped as well. A flicker of confusion passed through her golden eyes.
But neither of them were the analytical type.
Faced with such a complicated mystery, all they could feel was bewilderment.
In the end, they decided to return to the surface and report this crucial discovery to their captain, Finn.
---
Twilight Manor – Council Chamber of Loki Familia.
Around the massive circular table sat the core members of Loki Familia.
At the head were the three pillars of the Familia:
The captain, "Braver" Finn Deimne.
Vice-captain, "Nine Hell" Riveria Ljos Alf.
And the mighty "Heavy Knight" Gareth Landrock.
All three were Level 6 elites.
Seated nearby were executives such as Bete, Tiona, and Tione.
And perched cross-legged atop the table without the slightest decorum was their red-haired goddess, Loki, swinging her legs casually.
"…That's the situation."
Ais reported in her usual calm tone. "The new monsters only appear in the Upper Floors. They completely disappear starting from the Middle Floors."
After listening, Finn leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on his hands, sinking into deep thought.
The atmosphere in the hall grew heavy.
Then—
"Hahaha! Isn't that simple?"
Loki's carefree laughter shattered the silence.
She hopped down from the table and began pacing around it, wearing a knowing grin.
"Even though we've never seen something like this before, if the Dungeon is spawning new monsters so selectively on certain floors, it's probably related to some adventurer."
She raised a finger and wagged it in the air.
"I'd wager this is the result of some adventurer's rare Skill triggering changes in the Dungeon."
She continued:
"The Dungeon is alive, you know. It reacts to certain actions by adventurers. Sometimes it causes what we call 'Irregularities.' And if a god like me sneaks inside and it notices? It'll cause an outright riot."
"As for adventurers' Skills, some of those things are beyond even us gods' full understanding. We can only make vague guesses based on intuition. So I'd say some rare Skill-holder triggered this phenomenon. And I'm not the only one who can figure that out. That old man Ouranos at the Guild has probably already come to the same conclusion."
Loki stopped walking, placed her hands on her hips, and triumphantly declared her deduction.
"And the target range is clear: a lower-class adventurer who's been active on the Upper Floors recently."
Gods might not always rival geniuses like Finn in raw intelligence or strategy—
But with billions of years of experience, their perspective was unparalleled.
In other words, by investigating the lower-class adventurers who had entered the Dungeon over the past two days, they might very well identify the rare Skill-holder.
"Ooooh, a rare Skill user!"
Tiona's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Let's go find them! I want to see what kind of person they are!"
She meant no harm, she simply found the idea fun, her curiosity childlike and genuine.
"It won't be that simple," Riveria said calmly, pouring cold water over the enthusiasm.
"The lower-class adventurers are the largest group in Orario. Every day, countless lower-class adventurers and supporters enter the Dungeon. Even if the Guild attempted a full investigation, it would be an enormous undertaking—and it would likely cause widespread dissatisfaction and panic."
"I don't care, I don't care! I wanna find them and have fun!"
Loki waved off Riveria's reasoning entirely. As a goddess who thrived on entertainment, she was fascinated by anything unusual.
"If any of you find that rare Skill-holder, you must tell me immediately! I want to see them with my own eyes!"
Even for gods, encountering someone with a truly rare Skill was uncommon.
...
While everyone discussed possibilities, Ais, who had remained silent—suddenly recalled the pair she had encountered earlier that day on the Sixth Floor.
The white-haired youth whose fighting style was versatile, whose swordsmanship was sharp, whose magic was overwhelming.
And the silver-violet-haired girl whose coordination was flawless and whose beauty rivaled that of a goddess.
Could it be them?
The thought flickered through Ais's mind.
But she didn't voice it.
It was only a suspicion, lacking evidence.
More importantly—
She understood better than anyone how troublesome her own goddess could be when chasing excitement.
She would not allow a baseless guess to bring unnecessary trouble upon others.
---
When Faen and Robin returned home, dragging their tired bodies behind them, the moon was already high in the night sky.
Their income for the day far exceeded that of the first day, and joy lingered on both their faces.
Furina had been waiting impatiently.
The moment she saw them return, she rushed forward excitedly.
=====================
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