Compared to the actual Dungeon beneath the Tower of Babel, the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos was ultimately different in certain ways.
Anyone in this world knew that the Dungeon was alive, and this was common knowledge.
It gave birth to monsters, causing them to emerge from the walls, and it deliberately created various anomalies, targeting adventurers who ventured deep into its body, making them feel the Dungeon's malice and hostility.
Knossos, however, was different.
None of the traits a Dungeon should possess could be felt here, and there was not the slightest trace of the vitality a Dungeon ought to have.
Everything here felt inorganic—gloomy, silent, and dim—filling the labyrinth's interior with a heavy pressure and an oppressive sense of confinement.
Monster-shaped statues could be seen everywhere, while the walls were carved with delicate bas-reliefs of plants.
Blue magic stone lamps were embedded into the walls, providing faint light sources that told those who entered that this was, after all, a man-made structure, not a natural secret realm like the Dungeon.
Maybe the only thing similar to the Dungeon was the complex terrain and the labyrinthine layout of the paths.
Connected to the entrance was a one-way passage, but at the end of that passage were multiple forks. Beyond each fork were more forks, branching endlessly like tree roots burrowing deep underground, eventually forming a genuine maze that confused the intruders' sense of direction.
In addition, everything here was constructed in the same way as outside, made from orichalcum, adamantite, and various materials infused with Anti-Magic Stones.
Doors forged from the hardest metals, orichalcum, were also positioned throughout different locations and passageways, and within the walls were steel barriers made of the super-hard metals, adamantite.
Even though they were not as thick as the outer walls, they were likewise mixed with Anti-Magic Stones, making them capable of weakening magical energy.
The outermost orichalcum doors and adamantite walls alone had already stunned the members of the Loki Familia, yet the fact that these same things were everywhere inside left every member completely dumbfounded.
Consequently, after leading the main force into the labyrinth and arriving at Riezel's side, Finn came to a conclusion.
"No doubt, this place is absolutely not something that could have been built in a short time. Even if the builders were unimaginably wealthy and never once lacked materials, it would still have been impossible to construct such a horrifying underground labyrinth in just a few years, or even in a few decades."
Indeed, the history of this place had to span at least several hundred years, and those who built it could not possibly have done so with their own hands alone. Only through the efforts of generation after generation, accumulated over centuries, could such a monumental feat have been accomplished.
Needless to say, this place had been secretly excavated beneath the eyes of the Guild and the major familias, hidden beneath Orario for hundreds of years and never once exposed to the light.
"I kinda more or less get where the Dungeon's second entrance is at."
Loki spoke softly, her divine eyes already open, seeing through everything.
Riezel glanced at Loki with admiration, since she was indeed right.
Knossos could be said to be the second Dungeon, and also the true Dungeon's second entrance. Its scale was immense, and it was excavated underground, right beside the Dungeon itself.
In the end, numerous tunnels were dug out, directly connecting to various floors of the Dungeon, allowing passage back and forth between corresponding floors.
Daedalus had designed the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos for the purpose of creating a second Dungeon, and as such, like the true Dungeon itself, it extended downward, floor after floor.
Over several hundred years, Daedalus and his descendants had expanded this place to more than a dozen underground floors, each one equivalent to a floor of the Dungeon.
The 1st Floor here corresponded to the Dungeon's 1st Floor.
The 10th Floor here corresponded to the Dungeon's 10th Floor.
They were located at the same depths and were interconnected, with multiple entrances and exits deliberately set up between them.
Clearly, the enemies hidden here made use of this structure to evade the eyes of the Guild and Orario's major familias, freely entering and exiting the Dungeon, and even brazenly bringing monsters out from within.
And the monsters they brought out were not only the vividly colored ones, but also those bred by the Dungeon itself.
Moreover, the Evilus members hiding here apparently amassed wealth by selling these monsters to people outside Orario. At times, they also hunted on their own to obtain the materials they needed, such as the Kaenseki produced in the Deep Floors.
In doing so, they achieved self-sufficiency, becoming able to survive without ever leaving this Man-Made Dungeon, and they even possessed surplus capacity to continue expanding it further.
For this reason, the people here also cooperated in secret with many factions, forming mutually beneficial relationships with them.
Therefore, what the Loki Familia was about to face was not only the remnants of Evilus, the servants of Enyo, and the servants of the Corrupted Spirit, but possibly also the factions that had collaborated with them.
Finn and Loki—one through analysis, the other through divine intuition—grasped this intelligence at a preliminary level and shared it with the members of the group.
While the group members were still reeling from the shock, Finn licked his thumb and, after a moment of contemplation, issued his orders.
"Our enemies are far more complex than we imagined. Where we are now is their stronghold—an extraordinary stronghold. We know nothing about this place, and we don't know what awaits us ahead."
"In this situation, we can't recklessly commit all of our combat power, or we could easily fall into an enemy trap and be wiped out, with no follow-up support or rescue."
"We must split into two groups here: an advance group to continue forward and explore, and a support group to remain on standby."
Finn immediately made the assignments.
"Gareth and I will lead the advance this time. All executives will come with us. As for the second strings, you all will be led by Raul and Aki, with half of the elite members joining the advance group. Riveria will lead the rest and remain outside on standby."
Finn was clearly preparing to form the advance group using only high-end combat power, since those selected consisted almost entirely of Second-Class Adventurers at Level 3 or above, along with the executives, who were First-Class Adventurers, and only a few healers who were below Level 3.
Meanwhile, the lower-ranked members joined the support group led by Riveria, monitoring the situation within the labyrinth while protecting Loki and remaining ready to respond to any changes.
"Looks like I ain't going in."
Loki spoke with some regret, seemingly quite curious about this Man-Made Dungeon, fully displaying the various gods' desire for the 'unknown.'
"Cut it out, Loki. If something happens to you, we're all finished."
Riveria did not oppose Finn's arrangement and even kept a close watch on Loki.
As the goddess who bestowed Falna upon them, if something were to happen to Loki, her sealed Arcanum would inevitably activate to preserve her life.
Once a god in the Lower World activated Arcanum, no matter the reason, it would be judged as losing in the game known as the 'Lower World,' and they would be forcibly sent back to Heaven.
Once a god was returned to Heaven, the Falna upon their children would lose their effect, causing those children to lose their power and become weak existences no different from ordinary mortals.
If things reached that point, unless they found another god to convert to and awaken the dormant Falna, they would forever be unable to use the power displayed on their status.
Because of this extremely fatal vital point, the god naturally became the most important target for protection.
Of course, Riezel was an exception.
He had long since discovered that by possessing Self Redemption, he was not only able to update his status on his own, but was also completely immune to physical interference, so even if Loki were sent back to Heaven, he would not be affected in the slightest and would still be able to update and use Falna as usual.
He could even convert on his own—that was, transfer to another familia.
Leaving his current familia and transferring to another familia was what conversion meant.
Under normal circumstances, if a familia member wanted to convert, they would first need to obtain the consent of their current familia's god, then have the other party use that god's blood to remove the binding of the Falna, and finally have the god of another familia use their blood to form a new contract.
That way, the member could continue using their previous Falna and continue wielding their past power.
In other words, conversion required not only acceptance from the new god but also consent from the old god.
There was only one situation in which an adventurer bearing a Falna could convert even without the old god's consent, and that was when the old god met with an accident and was sent back to Heaven.
At that time, although the Falna of the familia members under that god would lose effect, it also meant they were no longer bound by the old god, so they could choose a familia they wished to join and reactivate the status on their backs.
Riezel, however, was different.
Even if Loki were sent back to Heaven, with a skill that granted immunity to physical interference, the status on his back would still function and would never lose effect.
Even without assistance from a god, with a skill that allowed him to update his status independently, he could use another god's blood to convert on his own, without needing the old god's consent at all.
In a sense, his Falna could no longer truly be considered a god's blessing, but rather his own blessing.
Perhaps the only factor that restricted his status was god's blood, since whether updating his status or converting to another familia, he required the corresponding god's blood as assistance.
Even so, this restriction was hardly an issue.
In this world, god's blood was not difficult to obtain.
In the Under Resort on the 18th Floor, there was even a black market that specialized in selling unlocking potions made from god's blood that could unlock status, as well as update potions that could refresh status.
For gods who were omniscient yet powerless in the Lower World, obtaining their blood was not particularly difficult.
Besides, within the storage space of his Dimensional Magic Cube, there was always a large bottle of Loki's blood on hand, and that amount would be enough to update his status hundreds of times.
Hence, Riezel was the only person present who did not need to worry about his Falna losing effect—though that did not mean he would sit by and let something happen to Loki.
At present, under Finn's command, everyone quickly split into groups.
Led by Riveria, the support group withdrew from the labyrinth.
As for the advance group, they finished fully equipping themselves, while others transported spare equipment, supply items, potions, and other recovery items from outside, loading heavy backpacks onto members who also served as supporters.
Lefiya, who had also been selected for the advance group, put on a backpack and followed behind Riezel and Ais, gripping her staff tightly and remaining on full alert.
Already at Level 4, Lefiya would take Riveria's place this time, filling the gap of a powerful backliner mage within the group.
However, this responsibility had apparently placed tremendous pressure on her.
"It's okay. You've got this."
"Mm, Lefiya's really amazing."
Riezel and Ais had no doubts about Lefiya's ability and spoke in turn to reassure her as she endured immense stress.
Tiona and Tione, on the other hand, were both the worrying type and instinctively offered Lefiya a reminder.
"Make sure you stick close to us, Lefiya."
"You're an important mage and supporter. Since Riveria's not here, you're basically our backbone. We got you, we'll protect you."
Tiona and Tione said these words one after another.
"You small fry better not drag me down."
Only Bete threw out a cold remark, as always.
"Alright, kiddo, that's enough."
Wearing a helmet and clad in armor, Gareth slammed a heavy hand onto Bete's back, nearly knocking the wind out of him.
"Okay, let's use this formation."
"Yeah, the executives will clear the path up front, and we'll push forward behind them like this, while keeping the mage and healers safe, since they're backing us up too."
Raul and Anakitty, who had been tasked with leading the second strings and the lower-ranked members beneath the executives, discussed things together. After obtaining Finn's approval, they finalized strategies to deal with various emergencies and sudden situations.
'Hopefully, these strategies will be useful.'
Watching everyone busying themselves, Riezel silently thought to himself.
It was not that he was being overly pessimistic, but simply because he knew how far beyond the norm this Man-Made Dungeon truly was.
It was not the actual Dungeon, yet even compared to the actual Dungeon, its danger degree exceeded that of the real one in every way.
In the original story, when the Loki Familia first entered the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, it was where they suffered their first casualties.
Loki Familia, who had not lost a single member even during expeditions to the unexplored floors, instead faced deaths and injuries inside this Man-Made Dungeon. Even Finn had nearly died, and the other First-Class Adventurers had all been pushed to the brink of death.
One wrong step and they would have fallen into hell and died outright.
Even Ais had nearly died at the hands of a Creature and had been taken away by that red-haired Creature, Revis.
Remembering this, Riezel could not help but look toward Ais.
"Hm? What?"
Noticing Riezel's gaze, Ais turned her head and asked softly.
"No, it's nothing."
Riezel shook his head and, under Ais's puzzled gaze, shifted his eyes to Finn, Gareth, Bete, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Raul, and Anakitty.
Compared to the original story, the Loki Familia's current strength was far greater.
'Finn and Gareth have already hit Level 7.'
'Aki and Raul are already up to Level 5, too.'
'Even Lefiya made it to Level 4.'
'Ais's status is also way higher than it was at this point in the original story, and she's already mastered Wind Breathing.'
'The rest are stronger too, some more than others, compared to back then.'
Riezel raised his gaze and looked toward the end of the one-way passage ahead.
"Now let's see if, going up against this lineup, you can still almost swallow us whole as you did in the original work..."
Riezel, the greatest variable within this group, murmured softly, as though even the darkness ahead were about to be dispelled.
Before long, the advance group began to move, marking the official beginning of the operation to clear the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos.
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