Sensing the difference between the physical swaying of the monster's mouth and the violent vibrations of it digging through the bedrock, Noah loaded a Bombard spell into the Annihilator and gently placed his finger on the trigger.
When moving freely through the open air of a Dungeon floor, this monster's speed was about 90 kilometers per hour.
But the moment it burst through the ceiling and started free-falling, its speed would increase to around 130 kilometers per hour.
The time it remained stationary between floors was roughly between 3.8 and 4.2 seconds.
'I have to find the exact right moment.'
'This world is a trash game where a single failure means being buried alive under thousands of tons of rock, with absolutely no second chances!'
Through his Spell-Weaver skill, he could sense that the monster's glowing magic stone was located directly above him, buried deep inside its skull.
'Aim right here.'
'Fire the exact moment it breaks through the floor!'
"Bombard!"
BOOM!
Blinding flames erupted from the rifle's muzzle.
The concentrated stream of fire pierced straight up through the monster's internal tissue and shattered its frontal bone.
Explosive flames filled the Lambton's skull, instantly incinerating its magic stone.
The violent death-throes of the monster forced Noah to grip the Annihilator tightly.
Even so, he was thrown around inside the massive jaws until he was completely dizzy and disoriented.
Suddenly, the Lambton's massive body exploded with a deafening roar, turning entirely to ash.
Noah, who had been trapped inside its mouth, was violently thrown out into the open air.
He forced his eyes open and saw the new floor rushing up to meet him. Before he could even react, he plunged hard into a rushing, icy river.
The freezing water quickly cooled his overheating mind.
Noah used his magic to freeze the water immediately around him, creating a thick cushion of ice to slow his descent.
Then, he froze the entire surface of the river in one go, cutting off the rushing current and bringing himself to a complete stop.
He climbed onto the rocky riverbank, coughed up a couple of mouthfuls of water and then pulled a live fish out from inside his wet shirt before collapsing onto his back.
Looking around, Noah realized the environment was very different from the Water City he had visited during the Loki Familia expedition.
'Thank goodness.'
'When I first fell into the water, I thought I had been dragged down to the 25th Floor. If that were the case, climbing back up would have been a real pain.'
"What floor is this, anyway?" Noah muttered, ringing out his wet shirt.
"Tsk, that Jura guy... pulling a suicidal attack like that. Do all the members of Evilus share a single brain cell like stone golems?"
They were just as ruthless to themselves as they were to their enemies.
They were a bunch of total lunatics!
Noah noticed there didn't seem to be any monsters in the river; instead, there were just some ordinary animals, like normal fish and shrimp.
He set up an invisible alarm barrier around the area, then gathered some wood and lit a warm bonfire by the riverbank.
After using his magic to suck the moisture out of his clothes and placing them by the fire to finish drying, Noah suddenly had the strange, peaceful feeling that he was just out camping.
So, he simply caught a few more fish and shrimp from the river and started roasting them over the open fire.
His 'rich experience' as an adventurer actually came in handy at times like this.
He found five or six types of wild plants nearby that could be used as spices and, without hesitation, sprinkled them all over the meat.
Before long, a mouth-watering, fragrant aroma drifted far and wide across the floor.
Pop.
The moisture trapped inside the firewood evaporated, making a quiet popping sound.
Noah stared lazily at the flames, using his Spell-Weaver skill to casually shape the fire into various little animals.
"If only souls were this easy to manipulate," he sighed.
Suddenly, the invisible alarm he had set up was triggered.
Noah shot to his feet.
He instantly unleashed his Raven Feather gauntlets and deployed the Annihilator into its floating, remote-turret mode.
He stood on high alert, ready for a fight.
Then, he heard the voices of several girls chatting.
"Hey, hey, you guys smell that too, right?! It smells so good!"
"Be careful. What if it is a monster that emits a delicious fragrance to lure starving adventurers into a trap?"
"Huh? What kind of monster would do something like that?"
"Are you trying to say someone is actually cooking down here? That is even more impossible."
'These voices... they were all girls.'
'And they all sounded very familiar.'
Noah stared in the direction of the voices, listening as the footsteps drew closer and closer.
Finally, a flash of fiery red hair appeared in his vision.
"You! You are—!"
The red-haired girl stepped out from the trees and pointed at him in utter shock.
"Huh?! Noah?! Isn't that you Noah?!"
"Hahaha!" The girl flashed a bright, sunny smile and ran over to him.
Noah noticed the unique, crimson magic sword hanging at her waist—it was the Crimson Guardian blade he had personally forged.
'Looks like it really is her.'
"Alise! What a coincidence to run into you all down here."
Dragged into the Dungeon by an Evilus worm, dropped into a freezing river and less than an hour after getting ashore, a familiar girl had just appeared right in front of him.
His luck seemed to rival even Bell's!
"Wait, Alise!"
A golden-haired elf, her long hair tied into a high ponytail, quickly stepped in front of Alise.
Ryuu drew her unique wooden sword, blocking Alise's path.
"Get a hold of yourself! How could Noah-san possibly be down here at a time like this?! This must be some kind of shapeshifting monster in disguise, or we have fallen under a powerful illusion spell without realizing it!" Ryuu said, nervously pointing her wooden sword at Noah as she voiced her sharp suspicions.
Kaguya, who never got along with the elf, just sighed.
"You useless elf, your idea is even more bizarre. Even the Dungeon wouldn't spawn something so strangely specific."
"Kaguya!!" Ryuu glared.
"Um, could I say a few words first?" Noah raised his hand and waved at the girls of the Astrea Familia.
He was currently wearing a casual pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with his heavy combat gear hanging off a rock to dry.
He had thought this was a relatively safe floor, but he suddenly noticed something concerning.
Alise, Kaguya, and Ryuu were all top-tier Level 4 adventurers.
But right now, they were all injured.
Even though they were only minor cuts and bruises, if this was just the Middle Floors, a squad of Level 4s getting injured should have been completely impossible.
Could this place be much more dangerous than he thought?
"Oh, go ahead, Noah!" Alise smiled, dropping her guard and talking to him as naturally as ever.
Noah felt a lot more relaxed seeing her friendly attitude.
He asked, "What floor is this?"
"The 30th Floor. Why?" Alise replied matter-of-factly.
"..."
Noah silently sat back down by the fire.
He blinked as his brain slowly processed this shocking, horrifying fact.
'You have got to be kidding me.'
'Damn you, Lambton!'
In just that short, bumpy ride through the earth, the monster had dragged him all the way down to the 30th Floor!
It had directly shattered his personal record for the deepest floor he had ever reached.
During the Loki Familia expedition, his deepest floor was officially recorded as the 27th.
And now, he had been dragged straight down to the 30th!
"Noah, are you down here alone, or did you get separated from your companions?" Alise's spoke in a worried tone, but her bright eyes were glued to the delicious roasted fish over the fire.
Noah casually picked one up and handed it to her.
Alise's eyes immediately lit up. She quickly said thanks and began to happily dig in.
"Alise! Do not eat that!" Ryuu tried to stop her captain from eating a potential illusion.
But Noah simply handed the elf a skewer of roasted mushrooms as well.
"Miss Ryuu, you should have some too. Do not be polite."
"Eh? Ah, oh—thank you."
The usually strict elf dazedly took the roasted mushrooms and sat down dumbly beside Alise.
Then came Kaguya and Lyra.
And just like that, Noah found himself sitting around a campfire, surrounded by a group of beautiful hungry girls.
As they ate, he told them how he had been on the surface just an hour and a half ago.
He explained how he had fought Jura alongside Finn and how he had been dragged into the depths of the Dungeon by a frenzied Lambton Worm.
Hearing his wild story, the girls looked at each other, their faces painted with total shock and bewilderment.
They had never even dreamed of such an insane unlucky experience.
However, they suddenly bowed their heads and began to apologize.
"We are so sorry, Noah! We are partly to blame for what you went through, since we were the ones who saved that man's life! We are truly sorry!"
"Huh?" Noah blinked.
He hadn't even thought of it that way.
But seeing the girls' deeply sincere apologies, he smiled and shook his head.
"It is okay."
Ultimately, no one could have expected that Jura was hiding two Lambtons beneath the prison floor, or that he had accomplices lying in wait.
There were strict limits to the number and range of monsters a tamer could control.
For those two Lambtons to reach the bedrock beneath the Babel Tower, there must have been other Evilus tamers helping him in secret.
Someone else must have been responsible for transporting the Lambtons close enough for Jura to connect with them, then releasing their control to transfer it to him.
And this must have happened very recently.
'The tremors they felt on the 18th Floor the other day were probably related to this exact plan!'
'After all, the 18th Floor was directly connected to the Evilus secret base.'
"I cannot believe you went through something so terrifying, Noah-san. How incredibly unfortunate," Ryuu said softly.
She was seemingly trying to comfort him, but Noah felt the stiff elf wasn't exactly suited for this kind of emotional support.
Compared to her cold awkward comfort, he much preferred the idea of resting his head on her soft lap.
"What about you all? Why did the Astrea Familia come all the way down to the 30th Floor?"
"Well, um... it is actually for a Guild request," Alise explained.
"A request?" Noah was a bit surprised.
He had thought they were down here for a Familia expedition or some other major combat reason.
But it was just for a request?
"Yeah. The client is super generous! They asked us to come down to the 30th Floor to transfer some goods with a contact."
'A delivery request?'
It felt a little strange.
Even though the 30th Floor was incredibly dangerous, if the payment was that high, it meant the goods being delivered were even more important.
But why would such highly important goods be exchanged down on the 30th Floor instead of a safe zone like the 18th Floor?
It was incredibly suspicious no matter how he thought about it.
Kaguya saw the dark look on his face and knew exactly what he was thinking.
After all, she also had serious doubts about this shady request.
"Just as I thought. You find it incredibly strange too, don't you, Noah-kun?" Kaguya sighed.
"Yeah... it feels very suspicious."
Hearing the two of them agree, Alise threw a cute little fit.
"Aaaah, it couldn't be helped! I owe you so much money for our new weapons, I couldn't possibly refuse a high-paying job! If I didn't take it, I would really have to sell myself to you to pay off my debt!"
"Sorry, Alise, but you alone are not worth that much," Noah said, teasing her with a completely flat tone.
"Really?! Isn't a beautiful girl like me enough?!" Alise panicked for a second before pointing at her friends.
"Then add Ryuu and Kaguya to the deal! Or even Lyra! All four of us together should be enough to pay you back, right?!"