As Lucas hurried downward, he pulled out his notebook and quill.
By habit, he licked the tip of the pen, then began writing with a soft scratch, recording every bit of data from the recent experiments, along with his impressions and summarized insights.
There was an old saying: a bad pen beats a good memory. Even with an ability as powerful as Heart of a Scholar, Lucas had never abandoned pen and paper.
What's more, deep down he carried a dream. One day, he would fill his Familia's future grand library with notes written in his own hand and the Grimoires he collected.
As a natural hoarder, having a bit of a collecting habit was perfectly reasonable, right?
---
Floor 6, skipped.
Floor 7, skipped.
Floor 8…
Boom, boom, boom…
Deafening explosions thundered endlessly from a certain corner.
It was a spacious cavern. The ceiling soared nearly ten meters high, dispelling any sense of oppression. With an area almost the size of a basketball court, it was the perfect stage for a Mage like Lucas to unleash his full power.
"Fireball!"
Firelight illuminated Lucas's indistinct face beneath his hood, while deep blue light trailed behind his movements like streaks in the air.
A fireball streaked forward with a blazing tail, shooting straight toward the oncoming Killer Ants.
In the blink of an eye, a thunderous explosion erupted. The fireball detonated, and violent flames mercilessly swallowed two nearby monsters.
Blue light flooded Lucas's eyes, reflecting the raging inferno within them.
Under this brutal suppression from long-range magic, the monsters charged forward one after another like fools rushing to their doom, yet none could break into the ten-meter radius around him.
It was true that his accuracy with magic still needed improvement. For example, Scorch carried a risk of missing once the range exceeded five meters.
Fireball was different.
Its large size and the wide-area damage from the explosion meant that even with slightly off aim, Lucas could still deal effective damage with ease.
"Fireball, fireball, fireball, fireball, fireball!"
Boom boom boom boom boom!
The monsters were engulfed by flames, burned to nothing in an instant, and finally reduced to ash by the lingering shockwaves.
A chain of explosions erupted from the ground, scorching heat spreading outward with each shockwave, making it hard to breathe.
The intense heat made Lucas tug his mask up slightly. He smiled.
"So damn good. What kind of Mage doesn't have AOE? Compared to that weak Scorch, this large Fireball really hits the spot!"
After a period of focused training, Lucas's body had gradually adapted to short bursts of high-output casting, what people commonly called rapid-fire magic.
The last time he'd suffered against an Orc, it was simply because he'd had no experience with that kind of intensity. He'd never fought at such a high level before. But lacking experience didn't mean he was incapable.
With targeted training, not only could he quickly raise his magic-related Stats, he could also widen the pipeline of his output, increasing his burst power in a single move. Two birds with one stone.
Now that Fireball was in his hands, this kind of explosive tactic would become one of his standard options in the foreseeable future, something he'd use frequently.
---
Bathed in firelight, Lucas bared his teeth and let out a low, breathy laugh. Even after every monster in the cavern had been wiped out, there was still a hint of lingering excitement in his fervent gaze.
People often said that when someone got carried away, they tended to overlook certain things.
He hadn't noticed that the ever-present malice had already turned its attention toward him.
As if responding to his arrogant provocation, the great mother Dungeon decided it was time to teach this guy a lesson.
Creak, creak, creak…
Without warning, countless cracks split open across the cavern walls. Dense swarms of monsters poured out as if they cost nothing at all, descending right in front of Lucas.
There was no time to mourn the charred remains. What followed was a Monster Rex.
Lucas: "..."
The joy ended abruptly. The smile slowly faded from his face.
"Oh boy… this doesn't look good…"
Staring into countless crimson eyes, Lucas fell silent, sweat soaking his back.
Under the crushing pressure rushing toward him, he backed away slowly, expression blank.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The next second, he spun around and sprinted at full speed.
"Screeeeeeeeeech!"
---
By now, it was past working hours. Along the official routes, small groups of adventurers passed by from time to time.
"I'm telling you, hasn't the Dungeon been a little too lively these past few days? The investigation results from that Floor 7 Monster Rex still aren't out, and now this again. Don't tell me someone's pulling crap again."
"Damn it, give me a break. Can't we just explore peacefully? Is it really that hard to let us earn money in peace?"
"You should take that up with those Evilus brats. Though chances are, you'll be disappointed."
"I know you're anxious, but calm down. Look, aside from the explosions, nothing's happened yet. What are you panicking for?"
"Wait, do you feel that? The ground seems to be trembling."
"Could it be an earthquake?"
"This is the Dungeon!"
"Then what else could it be? Some abnormal monster frenzy, probably."
Then they saw it.
At the end of the passage, a cloaked figure came running toward them, with a massive horde of monsters chasing close behind.
"Does anyone else feel like that guy has bad intentions toward us?"
"Damn it, you jinxed it!"
The adventurer who cursed stared in shock at the cloaked figure bursting out of the corridor. Before he could even react, the person flashed past him at high speed.
"Have a nice weekend, guys."
As he brushed past, the cloaked man glanced at the Familia emblem on the other party, narrowed his eyes slightly, and tossed out those light words before disappearing down the passage in a blink.
"???"
The group of adventurers who had been chatting a moment ago froze like crows with their throats grabbed, completely dumbfounded.
"What are you standing around for? Run!"
Lucas's figure vanished quickly at the end of the corridor, while curses from behind still echoed in his ears.
"Soma Familia? Heh, looks like old enemies really do meet sooner or later."
Lucas's lips curled upward in a cold chuckle.
The Soma Familia was a chaotic faction that would stop at nothing for the sake of divine wine.
Lucas was all too familiar with the scum's way of doing things. To earn money for that so-called divine wine, they would do anything in the city. Because they constantly caused trouble and disrupted order, they'd been disciplined by the Ganesha Familia and the Astraea Familia countless times, yet they never changed their ways.
If they acted like that on the surface, there was no need to even mention how they behaved in the Dungeon. Backstabbing and black-on-black dealings were routine for them.
---
More than half an hour later, Lucas quietly returned to the plaza.
Thinking back on the adventurers he'd just treated to a Monster Pass, a sinister smile crept onto his face.
Those guys had probably taken a serious hit. And among them, there seemed to be a few old acquaintances.
As he walked toward a corner of the plaza, he recalled past events.
Soon, his thoughts drifted back to not long after he'd first arrived in Orario.
Back then, he'd only just settled in and become an adventurer for a few days. One day, luck smiled on him and he obtained a Drop Item.
He'd been completely inexperienced at the time, a total newbie.
After earning a small sum, Lucas left the exchange office, only to be lucky enough to be targeted by some thugs from the Soma Familia. He'd been cornered and bullied in an alley. It was the first time in both his lives that he'd ever been bullied, so the memory stuck with him vividly.
Although less than a day later, Demeter's Familia leader Persephone had taken him along to get revenge, Lucas was the kind of person who held grudges.
That was why he felt absolutely no guilt about gifting a Monster Offering to these people who mingled with Evilus and had old grudges with him.
Back then, he hadn't had the chance. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, there was no reason to hold back.
Causing them a bit of trouble could be considered doing the public a favor.
Of course, he knew his limits. Expecting the monsters on that floor to wipe them out completely was pure fantasy. What adventurer didn't have a few trump cards?
But injuring them, making them spend more on repairs and maintenance, or forcing them to burn through magic swords, all of that was excellent.
Letting them die quickly would be too merciful. Draining their coins and leaving them unable to drink divine wine was far more cruel.
To them, that kind of punishment was worse than death.
---
Hiding in an inconspicuous corner of the adventurer plaza, Lucas quietly observed.
Sure enough, just as he'd expected, those members of the Soma Familia came stumbling out of the passage in a miserable state.
They looked terrible, but there were no casualties.
Many adventurers were gathered in the hall, and they had all noticed the Soma Familia group.
"Look, it's Soma's lot. Did they screw up? That's hilarious."
"They've been arrogant for so long. About time they got what was coming."
Judging from the reactions of other adventurers, the Soma Familia was truly despised by everyone.
Compared to their previously flashy appearance, the group now looked pitiful. Nearly all of them were injured, their equipment badly damaged, and one of them was even coughing up blood.
"Damn it… I've been hunting geese all year and finally got pecked in the eye. Don't let me find out who that bastard was."
"Cost me a magic sword. Months of work down the drain, damn it!"
They cursed the instigator furiously, anger boiling over.
Lucas, however, noticed that among the brainless, hot-headed fools, the bespectacled one looked far more sinister than the rest.
After giving him a long, hard look, Lucas quietly returned to the surface.
A few pieces of trash weren't worth wasting brainpower remembering. Their greatest contribution was simply providing him with a bit of emotional satisfaction.