With that.
"Clack."
A small Magic Stone dropped by the War Shadow was casually picked up and tossed by Tsubaki, tracing an arc through the air.
Inaba Tsukuyo gently raised her hand.
Two slender fingers caught it with precision.
She didn't even tilt her head.
"..."
Watching this scene, Tsubaki couldn't help but scratch her messy long hair, the smile at the corners of her mouth finally becoming impossible to suppress.
"Speaking of which."
"I'm actually really starting to get curious about where exactly Haimer-sama dug up a group of freaks like you."
"However..."
"Since you are this capable, I can no longer continue to treat you as rookies entering the Dungeon for the first time."
"Originally, I just planned to take you around the upper ten floors to get familiar with the environment."
"But looking at it now..."
Tsubaki grinned, her mouth curving into an arc.
"That level obviously can't satisfy you little monsters anymore."
"In that case."
"I might as well take you down deeper to play with something decent."
...
After Tsubaki finished speaking.
The team set out once again.
The speed of their advance this time was noticeably faster than before.
And because they were being overly ostentatious this time, with absolutely no intention of concealing their tracks.
The moment they reached the 7th Floor.
Trouble.
It arrived.
Skitter, skitter, skitter—
A dense sound of crawling that made one's scalp tingle came from the shadows deep within the tunnel.
Immediately following that.
Over a dozen pairs of scarlet compound eyes lit up in the passage.
Red carapaces gleamed with a metallic luster, and sharp scythe-like forelimbs waved in the air, making click-clack sounds.
——Killer Ants.
They came in swarms, a full dozen of them.
This type of monster not only possessed hard carapaces that could even chip ordinary iron swords.
But once they surrounded you, their unceasing madness was enough to instantly wipe out an unprepared Lv.1 party.
They were thorny customers that generally only appeared after the seventh floor.
But.
The one leading the way was the Lv.5 Tsubaki.
Especially after witnessing the strength levels of Amou Kirukiru, Inaba Tsukuyo, and the others along the way.
Tsubaki was basically unconcerned about any accidents occurring.
She simply wanted to fulfill her duty as a leader out of habit and remind the others that the weak points of these Killer Ants were at their joint connections.
"..."
However.
Before Tsubaki could speak.
A black figure rushed out ahead of her.
Unsurprisingly.
It was precisely Amou Kirukiru.
She showed absolutely no intention of slowing down.
Facing the Killer Ants waving their scythes.
She instead lowered her center of gravity.
And slammed into them head-on!
"Clang!"
A Killer Ant's scythe chopped ruthlessly onto her shoulder.
Sparks flew.
The skin merely raised a red mark.
"Too light."
Amou Kirukiru's lips curled into a wild, mad smile.
The next second.
Instead of retreating, she advanced.
That fair palm suddenly transformed into a hand blade.
Carrying a screeching sound that tore through the air, it thrust ruthlessly into the gap of the Killer Ant's hard carapace.
"Splurt!"
Brute force erupted.
She actually forcefully tore the Killer Ant's head, along with half of its chest cavity, right off!
After the Killer Ant died, it instantly turned into black ash.
Amou Kirukiru didn't even blink; instead, she pounced toward the next one with even more excitement.
She looked like a living, breathing humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex draped in human skin.
"..."
Seeing this spectacle again.
Tsubaki still felt it was exceptionally incredible.
After all, one must realize.
She is still just a Lv.1.
To have a body this hard at only Lv.1, able to tank a Killer Ant's scythe—which can slice through rock—with her bare flesh...
If she were to achieve a [Great Feat] in the future and complete a level up...
Just imagining that scene slightly was enough to make Tsubaki feel a chill run down her spine.
If things went wrong.
This guy might become more of a monster in the future than the monsters in the Dungeon.
Thinking of this, Tsubaki couldn't help but shake her head.
Then she lifted her foot.
"Splat."
A crisp sound.
The moment her foot landed, it was like stepping on and bursting a ripe tomato.
A Killer Ant that had attempted to take advantage of the chaos to sneak attack Tsubaki from behind.
It didn't even have time to squeeze that signature hiss out of its throat.
Its entire head was instantly stomped into explosion by Tsubaki's heel, clad in a thick work boot, turning into a cloud of black ash.
A remaining Magic Stone the size of a fingernail rolled onto the ground with a clink.
Tsubaki naturally had no interest in a Magic Stone that small.
She continued to cross her arms, watching scene after scene with keen interest.
From the looks of it, these dozen or so Killer Ants, which would be fatal to an ordinary adventurer team.
Were nothing more than whetstones for this group of little monsters.
...
Meanwhile.
While the slaughter in the Dungeon was in full swing.
Orario, the surface.
The noon sunlight was just right, and the shadow of the towering Babel Tower was stretched out long.
In contrast to this.
Was Haimer's slightly helpless face.
He was carrying that silver-white long spear he had swiped from Hephaestus's place, walking aimlessly on the stone-paved road of the North Main Street.
Originally.
Since he had dumped the Familia onto that reliable Lv.5 power-leveler Tsubaki, as the main God, seeing that his Familia had already begun to develop steadily, he should have been able to take advantage of this gap to enjoy the local customs and practices of Orario. It should have been a pleasant matter.
But.
The current situation was a bit subtle.
"..."
"Whoosh—"
Haimer took a step forward, holding the silver-white long spear swiped from the Hephaestus Familia.
The originally bustling crowd.
Wherever he walked, it was like Moses parting the Red Sea; they instantly and uniformly retreated to both sides, forcefully making a passage three meters wide for him.
No one dared to approach.
The adventurers on the roadside were all silent out of fear, yet there was also a strange hint of them enjoying the spectacle.
This was not because Haimer was holding a spear.
After all, in Orario, adventurers carrying weapons on the street were as common as cow hair.
The reason was none other than this.
It was only because of the person following behind Haimer.
Finally.
After turning into a small alley proved fruitless.
Haimer could bear it no longer; he sighed and stopped walking.
Then he turned around.
"I say..."
"Captain Shakti."
"You've followed me for five streets along this way. Aren't you tired?"
Currently.
Standing five steps behind Haimer was an extremely eye-catching adult woman.
She had short deep blue hair, and her features were exquisite and regular, exuding a standard aura of awe-inspiring righteousness, like something out of a textbook.
Her figure was tall and slender. Even though she was wearing tightly sealed standard light armor, it could not conceal her body's curves, which could be called perfect.
——[Ganesha Familia] Captain, Lv.5.
——『Ankusha』, Shakti Varma.
As the head of the military police responsible for maintaining public order in all of Orario.
The deterrence of Shakti's face in Orario was simply comparable to a walking wanted poster.
Not only was she fully armed.
She was even wearing gauntlets.
Facing Haimer's interrogation, Shakti's expression did not change.
She bowed slightly, performing a standard courtesy, yet not a trace of concession could be heard in her tone.
"Haimer-sama."
"Please do not misunderstand."
"This is something Ganesha-sama specifically instructed."
"If Haimer-sama appears in a densely populated area holding a weapon, in order to prevent accidents from happening, and also for Haimer-sama's safety."
"Personnel must be dispatched to escort you."
"Escort?"
"I'd call it surveillance, wouldn't you?"
"And even if it is protection, is it really necessary to make it look like you're escorting a prisoner?"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think I was some terrorist preparing to blow up the Babel Tower."
____
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