"Rivira, the Labyrinth Resort?" Ronan thought for a moment and understood.
It was true. Except for the outlaws who lived on the 18th floor of the Dungeon, no one had better information, especially about things happening underground.
Rivira was built on the 18th floor, in the Middle Floors of the Dungeon.
This floor was a rare Safe Floor where monsters did not spawn. Because of this, adventurers called it the Underground Resort. The town was famous like a legend. Stories said monsters had destroyed it more than three hundred times, but the people rebuilt it every single time. It was still standing today.
Rivira on the 18th floor also had a great location. The people there knew how to buy low and sell high to make huge profits.
Since it was deep in the Dungeon, Rivira was free from the laws of the surface city. This created a famous black market. They sold many illegal goods there, including forbidden medicines, suspicious magic items, and firestones.
The people who lived in Rivira were either cruel outlaws or very strong adventurers.
Because the 18th floor was a Safe Floor in the Middle Floors, it acted as a hub connecting the Upper Floors and the Lower Floors. Naturally, many information brokers from different groups lived there.
Ronan quickly sorted through the information in his head and nodded. "If it's Rivira, then this news is probably true."
Dormul sighed deeply and cursed under his breath.
"Can't those people from Evilus just die quietly? It's bad enough that they cause trouble in the city. The strong Familias can deal with that. But now they're reaching into the Dungeon too. Dammit!"
Countless adventurers made a living from the Dungeon. With Evilus causing trouble, things were becoming tense. The Guild, the Ganesha Familia, the Astraea Familia, and other Familias on the side of order could not ignore this. If the situation got worse, access to the Dungeon might be restricted. That would cut off the income of countless people.
As the saying goes, taking away someone's livelihood was no different from pushing them into a corner. It was easy to see why most adventurers hated these lunatics for causing trouble in the Dungeon.
Ronan took a sip of cold ale. He picked up a piece of garlic with his fork, ate it, and narrowed his eyes.
"They focus on making trouble, but someone else profits from it. For example, those smuggling groups and nobles are their backers, right?"
Dormul stopped drinking and fell silent. He understood what Ronan meant.
Smuggling was incredibly profitable.
Orario had a monopoly on the world's magic stone products and Dungeon items. Trade meant taxes, and the amount of money involved in large deals was enormous.
Then there were banned items, illegal goods, and even slaves. Those things made so much money that people were willing to take risks. Supporting Evilus was a small price to pay for that kind of profit.
Now Evilus was causing chaos on the front line and drawing all the attention. The sponsors were more than happy to help them. As long as Evilus kept causing trouble, the Familias protecting order would stay too busy to investigate the smugglers.
Even Ronan knew about these dirty secrets. The people at the top and the major Familias definitely knew too. They just had to decide which problem to deal with first.
Compared to greedy merchants and foolish nobles, the threat from Evilus was more direct and more deadly.
Once those maniacs were dealt with, the people hiding in the shadows would be punished too.
"Sigh, things were finally quiet for a while, and now it's all going to turn into a mess again. How many days has it been since the last riot?" Dormul stopped smiling. He looked gloomy as he kept drinking.
Ronan was not too worried. He was just a low-level adventurer who stayed above the 7th floor. Who would bother with him? Even so, he became more cautious. He decided to keep a lower profile in the Dungeon for a while.
As the old saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"Evilus is moving, so the people at the top won't just sit and watch. Have those Familias started moving yet?"
"Yeah, the Guild moves fast when it involves both the city and the Dungeon." Dormul wiped the foam from his beard. "I heard the Astraea Familia, Ganesha Familia, and Loki Familia formed an investigation team. They left earlier today."
Ronan snorted and felt a little more at ease. "Those three? Just hearing their names makes me feel safer."
Dormul grinned. His brown beard was wet with beer and shook as he laughed. "That shorty Braver is good at his job. He's been chasing those lunatics for years. I heard he even killed a lot of their leaders and key members."
As he spoke, he kept pouring beer into his mouth. He drank so fast that Ronan felt like he could not even drink water that quickly.
"Haha, that's refreshing!"
"By the way, I should tell you something. Don't spend every day by yourself in the Dungeon. You should come out and keep up with things more often. It's not good to be out of the loop!"
"Like the big news lately. Ais Wallenstein from the Loki Familia reached Level 2."
"What?" Ronan froze. He took a deep breath and stared. "No way! If I remember right... By the gods! Since she became an adventurer... has it even been a year?"
Dormul grinned and held up three fingers.
"Eleven and a half months."
Ronan's face twitched. He started sweating, and his heart beat faster.
He was not pretending. He was genuinely shocked.
It was like all those people online in his past life who loved to say, "I could do that too." Actually doing it yourself was completely different from standing on the outside and watching.
Because he knew how hard it was to level up, he understood just how incredible that was. It was not only because she had a powerful Familia backing her.
When he compared his own growth speed to hers, Ronan could only feel deep respect for her talent.
"By the gods... the gap between people is unbelievable," Ronan muttered.
Dormul nodded hard in agreement.
"Come on!" The dwarf raised his glass and shouted. "To the Order side getting stronger again, cheers!"
Ronan smiled and clinked his glass.
"Cheers!"
A crescent moon hung high in the sky. The city was covered in darkness.
"Goodbye, please come again!" Syr stood at the door with a professional smile.
Ronan watched her and felt a little strange. He could only think that women were natural actors.
"Alright. Please head back inside, miss. No need to see me out."
He walked out of the Hostess of Fertility. The cold night wind blew across him, and he felt much more sober.
Dormul used Luvis's money to pay the bill. He picked up the sleeping elf and threw him over his back. He said to Ronan, "Be careful on the way home. I'll take this idiot back first."
"Yeah, you two be careful too," Ronan said with a nod.
Dormul waved and disappeared down the street with the elf on his back.
Ronan watched them leave, stretched his body, and took a deep breath.
"Time to go home."
The next day.
Ronan woke up just as the sky was turning gray.
He checked the time. It was 4:30 AM.
He got out of bed, put on his clothes, and went into the small yard. The fresh air filled his lungs. He stretched his muscles, then picked up his watering can. He slowly began to water the plants on the windowsills and in the corners of the yard.
"This talent... maybe I really was born to take care of flowers and grass." Ronan smiled. He touched a leaf and spoke to himself. "Grow well. Don't let me down."
After taking care of the plants, he went inside to make breakfast and prepare lunch for the Dungeon.
For breakfast, he had three thick slices of bacon, two fried eggs, one piece of toast, and two small plates of pickles from the Demeter Familia. He also had a glass of milk.
For lunch, he made rice balls with the leftover rice, wrapped them in seaweed, and packed them up.