When exploring the Dungeon, the Loki Familia generally adopted a combat approach that was cautious yet bold.
While remaining alert to the appearance of monsters, they were still able to move swiftly across passage after passage and terrain after terrain, cutting down monsters while maintaining forward momentum, which made their exploration highly efficient.
Why?
Simply because the Loki Familia possessed a deep understanding of the Dungeon.
The experience accumulated through expedition after expedition, along with comprehensive intelligence support provided by the Guild, ensured that many exploration-type familia—including the Loki Familia—would not lose their way simply by delving deeper into the Dungeon, nor be caught off guard by the Dungeon's various bizarre phenomena.
They had maps drawn by generations of adventurers who had explored the Dungeon before them, as well as intelligence brought back by numerous senior adventurers.
Unless they encountered an anomaly, modern adventurers generally did not face many difficulties beyond the inherent dangers when exploring the Dungeon.
They could proceed along the standard routes leading to the next floor without worrying about losing their bearings, deviating from the path, wasting time, or increasing the likelihood of unexpected incidents.
Needless to say, the Loki Familia benefited greatly from this kind of blessing.
For example, during their previous expedition to the Dungeon's 59th Floor, they had learned from information left behind by the Zeus Familia what kind of floor it was, what monsters existed there, what required attention, and what demanded caution, allowing them to make ample preparations.
If the 59th Floor had not turned into a breeding ground for a Demi Spirit and undergone a complete and drastic transformation, the Loki Familia's conquest of the 59th Floor would certainly have gone much more smoothly, with unexpected incidents being extremely unlikely to occur.
However, such a blessing naturally did not exist within the Man-Made Dungeon Knossos, since the Loki Familia had no map of it, nor any intelligence about it, and could only explore under completely unknown conditions.
Even Riezel was no exception.
After all, the original work could not possibly draw out the map of Knossos for people to admire, and all the structures here were made of materials other than Anti-Magic Stones, rendering surveillance magic incapable of penetrating walls and doors and making it impossible to explore the labyrinth's layout fully.
Even teleportation magic was disrupted, where even if one used the highest-tier teleportation magic, such as Gate, whether it could open a portal to a location isolated by Anti-Magic Stones remained unknown.
In addition, using overly powerful magic risked causing Knossos to collapse, so Riezel could only advance 'by the book' together with his familia companions.
'Maybe this is exactly why the captain specifically left Riveria outside?'
Riezel made a speculation.
If Orario's strongest mage were to release wide-area annihilation magic here without restraint, then with her current Level 7 status, even if she could break through the obstruction caused by Anti-Magic Stones, she would likely drag both enemies and allies into disaster-level destruction.
Consequently, within this Man-Made Dungeon, Riveria would inevitably be restricted at every turn, so it was better for her to remain outside and handle support duties.
Finn was indeed extremely cautious and did not dare to be careless.
While ordering the group to advance, he also had the beast-humans, led by Bete and Anakitty, use their exceptional sense of smell and hearing to continuously scout ahead.
As a result, Bete and Anakitty each brought back some information.
"There's nothing but monster stench up ahead. Gotta be those colorful ones."
"The smell of those colorful monsters is everywhere around here. I just don't get why they aren't showing themselves."
Bete and Anakitty reported one after another, prompting Finn to lick his thumb, which was already faintly aching.
Clearly, this was a sign that danger was imminent.
Yet along this entire route, the members of the advance group passed through passage after passage in complete calm, even traversing junction after junction without incident.
Ultimately, Bete, who was at the front, narrowed his sharp eyes toward the passage ahead and spoke with a ferocious expression.
"It kinda feels like we're being led or something. The smell from those colorful monsters is way too obvious."
Indeed.
All along the way, the scent of colorful monsters drifted out from passage after passage, as if deliberately enticing the beast-humans' sense of smell and drawing the group deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of branching paths.
It was practically saying, 'We're right here—come if you dare,' making Bete bare his fangs with a savage expression, as though he were ready to bite down on an insolent enemy at any moment.
"…Let's keep moving."
Finn calmly issued his order after a brief silence.
No matter what, they had to advance.
Even if they knew there was a trap ahead, they still had to step into it and see, or this operation would yield nothing at all, and they would only be able to watch as the enemy continued carrying out their plan until the Demi Spirits turned Orario into a sea of flames.
They could not retreat and could only move forward.
Just as Finn had said at the very beginning, although the initiative seemed to be in the Loki Familia's hands, in reality, it still lay with the enemy.
Everyone understood this and continued forward with firm resolve.
"!!!"
When passing by a branching path, Ais's expression suddenly changed, and she came to a stop.
"Miss Ais?"
Lefiya, who was walking behind Ais, hurriedly stopped as well and spoke in surprise.
"What's up?"
Riezel, who was walking at Ais's side, also stopped and looked toward her.
Likewise, the others turned toward Ais one by one, their eyes filled with questions.
Ais did not look at them, instead staring at the branching passage as the hand gripping her sword tightened.
"...It's ahead."
As if suppressing something, Ais spoke, her stare never leaving the branching passage.
"What?"
Everyone was momentarily taken aback.
Only Riezel and Finn seemed to understand something—one looked toward the branching passage, while the other's eyes flickered.
"It's right ahead," Ais said in a wavering tone, lowering her gaze. "I can feel my 'blood' stirring."
Clearly, what she meant was the spirit bloodline within her.
In that case, there was no need to think about what lay ahead—either it was an avatar fetus split off from the Corrupted Spirit, a Jewel Fetus, or it was a servant of the Corrupted Spirit, a hybrid of human and monster, a Creature.
"So it's this way?"
Finn immediately directed his gaze toward the branching passage.
In that moment, however, Bete at the front, along with the beast-humans such as Anakitty, twitched their noses slightly before suddenly shouting.
"Tch, I smell someone up ahead!"
"Over there!"
Bete and Anakitty simultaneously pointed toward another branching passage, causing stunned expressions to appear on everyone's faces.
"B-Both sides have something going on?"
Lefiya questioned, growing flustered.
"What's this supposed to be?"
"Is this another trap?"
"Did the enemy just come out on their own?"
Speaking one after another, the expressions of Tiona, Tione, Raul, and the others gradually turned grim.
"…Finn."
Gareth seemed to understand something and looked toward the familia captain.
"Yeah, I know..." Finn said calmly, his expression grim. "Apparently, the enemy is trying to split us up."
Even so, he had no intention of changing this situation, simply because the critically important Jewel Fetuses were not only their targets, but also because the remnants of Evilus and Enyo were likewise their targets.
Finn had no intention of letting either side go.
If even one side were spared, they would continue to pose a threat to Orario.
Hence, from the very beginning, he had aimed to wipe them all out in a single sweep.
"Let's split into two groups."
Finn quickly made his decision.
"I, Gareth, Bete, Raul, and Aki will take part in the group going down this route."
Finn pointed toward the passage where Bete and Anakitty had detected the scent of someone, making his assignment clear.
As for the rest...
"Riezel, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya—you'll take part in the other group and go down this route."
Finn turned toward the passage where Ais's blood was stirring and looked directly at Riezel and Ais.
"Is that all right?"
Finn's question was answered by Ais almost immediately.
"No problem."
Ais replied with a hint of impatience, which clearly showed that she could no longer wait to find the other side and settle things once and for all.
In response, Raul and Anakitty could not help but voice their reactions.
"Shouldn't we just send Uncle Gareth over to the other group?"
"Are we sure this is actually okay?"
Raul and Anakitty voiced their doubts about Finn's assignment.
Admittedly, Riezel's side had a full four Level 6 adventurers, so their combat power was by no means insufficient, but compared to Finn's side, the gap was still obvious on paper.
Because Finn's side had two Level 7s, and two Level 7s alone were already enough to surpass four Level 6s.
Add to that Bete, a Level 6, and Raul and Anakitty, both Level 5s, and even with Lefiya—a genius mage whose attack power and abilities far exceeded those of a normal Level 4—Riezel's group was still at a noticeable disadvantage compared to Finn's, a disparity that caused quite a few people, including Bete, to frown.
However, Finn's distribution was not without reason.
"My thumb hurts even more now. It's telling me that what's ahead is dangerous."
Finn stared at the passage his group was about to enter, his tone low.
Everyone knew about Finn's thumb, which seemed to act as a mysterious, almost supernatural sense. Whenever danger appeared, it would bring him varying degrees of pain, where the greater the danger they were about to face, the more his thumb would hurt.
It was neither a skill nor magic, not even some kind of development ability, but a unique trait belonging to Finn alone.
And so far, his thumb had never been wrong in predicting danger.
At this very moment, sharp pain pulsed through his thumb again and again, telling him that the danger ahead might be no less than what they had faced when conquering the 59th Floor.
Trusting the intuition of his thumb, Finn did not dare to split up the only two Level 7s in the group.
Of course, Finn had no intention of sending Riezel's group to their deaths either.
"Even without a Level 7, as long as Riezel is there, if necessary, his group will end up with even more Level 7s than ours."
Finn's explanation immediately eased everyone's expressions.
Indeed.
With Riezel there, what did it matter if their group had no Level 7?
As long as he cast that level boosting magic, the four Level 6s in his group would instantly be elevated into four Level 7s, and even a Level 4 like Lefiya would become a Level 5.
By that calculation, Riezel's group actually possessed greater combat power than Finn's, and by a significant margin.
"I haven't forgotten that the Jewel Fetuses split off from the Corrupted Spirit are the real danger that could turn Orario into a sea of flames," Finn said plainly and bluntly. "So the combat power over there has to be stronger than ours, strong enough to deal with Creatures, and even to resolve the threat posed by Jewel Fetuses."
For that reason, even though he sensed great danger on his own side, Finn still sent Riezel—the greatest variable—to Ais's side.
Yes, Finn also believed that in this operation, Riezel was the greatest variable of all.
Setting aside the decisive change brought by the level boosting magic, Riezel himself had already been able to contend with the 'Orario's strongest' when he did not even use magic or skills, back when he had not yet reached Level 6.
Now that he had officially advanced to Level 6, how much weaker could he really be compared to a Level 7?
He was a monster rookie capable of fighting across levels, a future hero whose new alias, Liberator, had even been acknowledged by various gods.
In Finn's heart, he was already treating Riezel as a Level 7—or rather, as the greatest source of combat power in the current Loki Familia. He even had a feeling that, whether it was himself, Gareth, or Riveria, all of them had likely already been surpassed by Riezel.
At the very least, he admitted that he could not replicate that single strike which had shattered a door made of orichalcum.
"Riezel, you'll be in charge of commanding your group," Finn said solemnly as he handed over full leadership of the other group to Riezel. "Is that all right?"
Hearing the same question Finn had thrown to Ais before caused everyone to turn their gaze toward Riezel at once.
Under their stares, seeing the trust and recognition in their eyes, Riezel suddenly smiled.
"No problem."
Finn's question received the same answer.
However, unlike Ais, who had answered with barely concealed impatience, Riezel's answer was calm and composed, instilling a great deal of confidence in his group—Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya.
Bete, Raul, Anakitty, and the others felt somewhat dazed.
They had never imagined that the boy before them, who had been nothing more than a Level 1 rookie just over four months ago, would now be entrusted with such a major responsibility by the familia captain, capable of leading and commanding even executive members of the familia.
Time really did pass quickly...
"Do your best, kid," Gareth said with a grin as he patted Riezel on the shoulder. "I believe in you."
Everyone nodded heavily.
"All right," Riezel said while nodding back, then swept his gaze over everyone. "In that case, I'll help you guys out first."
As he spoke, he spread his hands.
"Follow blindly the sun in the sky."
"Blossom, armor of laurel, so that all will flee from thee."
"Raumure!"
As the magic circle unfolded, a deep green film of light spread over everyone's bodies, and they immediately felt it—their END had risen significantly, and their AGI had increased even more, to an almost absurd degree.
But Riezel's chant was not over yet.
"Assemble, breath of the land - my name is Alf."
"Veil Breath!"
A green cloak of light flowed over their bodies like shimmering streams, enveloping everyone present and granting them a layer of resilient defense.
"I poured most of my mind into these two magic spells, so their effects should satisfy you, and they'll last a long time."
Riezel dismissed the magic circles and spoke to the group.
"Everyone, be careful."
Hearing this, and looking at the light film and light cloak covering their bodies, everyone smiled, as if they could feel Riezel's intentions.
"Hmph."
Bete snorted softly and turned his head away, but he still accepted Riezel's gesture.
"Alright, let's move out."
Finn did not delay any further and gave the order.
""YES!""
Everyone responded in unison.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]