[Daily Quest: Reach the 22nd Floor of the Dungeon!]
[Progress: 22 / 22]
[Reward: Diamonds ×20]
The quest was complete.
Twenty diamonds were added to his account, and a bright smile appeared on Cao Ye's face.
For someone with a gambler's mindset, gacha draws were extremely addictive.
Especially since his last ten-pull had produced two rare rewards.
If he still had diamonds at that moment, he definitely wouldn't have been able to resist pulling again.
Bzzz— Bzzz—
Just as Cao Ye was enjoying his success, a buzzing sound echoed around them.
Following the sound, he saw a swarm of hornets.
But Cao Ye's gaze moved past them and fixed on something hanging from the tree branches behind them.
A Bloody Hive.
It was one of the most troublesome monsters in the Great Tree Labyrinth.
The reason was simple—
It wasn't a normal monster.
It was a special swarm-type monster.
The hive itself was the main body.
As long as the hive remained intact, it would continuously spawn a type of monster called Deadly Hornets.
Their incubation speed was extremely fast.
Even if adventurers killed one group, another batch might hatch moments later.
Although the Bloody Hive was troublesome, it could also be considered a kind of special event.
The hive itself resembled a giant pinecone hanging high in the branches.
When someone approached, the hornets would spray a thick sticky fluid to restrict movement.
If a victim was caught in it, the hornets would immediately swarm them.
Just like real hornets in the outside world.
A massive group attack.
As the saying goes—
Enough ants can kill an elephant.
Even Level 3 or Level 4 adventurers could easily be overwhelmed if they were careless.
Because of this, most adventurers in Orario preferred to use wide-area magic to clear them out.
Although Deadly Hornets were dangerous, individual hornets weren't particularly strong.
Under magical attacks, they were especially fragile.
Bzzz—
Now that Cao Ye had entered their territory, the hornets immediately reacted.
The swarm rushed toward him.
"Gem Magecraft: Flame!"
Boom—!
Another gemstone was sacrificed.
Flames erupted instantly.
The swarm of hornets was burned to ashes in seconds.
"Projection… begin."
Shing—
A long spear gradually formed in Cao Ye's hand.
However, instead of using it directly, he took a throwing stance.
The next moment—
He hurled it with full force.
Then he shouted:
"Broken Phantasm!"
BOOM—!!!
A violent explosion erupted.
The Bloody Hive hanging from the branches was caught directly in the blast.
Just like that—
A monster that caused headaches for countless adventurers was easily destroyed.
And Cao Ye had only used:
One gemstone containing stored magicA small amount of magic to project the spear
Beside him, Haruhime had already gotten used to it.
Earlier she had been shocked several times.
But after seeing more and more of Cao Ye's abilities, she gradually stopped reacting so dramatically.
Magic cast through gemstones.
Weapons created from thin air.
Each ability was something she had never even heard of before.
Yet Cao Ye possessed all of them.
"All done. Haruhime, let's head back."
"Eh? Already?"
Haruhime blinked in surprise.
They had only just reached the 22nd Floor.
They had barely done anything except clear one group of monsters.
And now they were leaving?
"We've already gained plenty today."
"Reaching this floor was just a milestone."
"Oh…"
Haruhime didn't have much experience in the Dungeon anyway.
For her, simply following Cao Ye was enough.
As for Cao Ye—
The entire reason he had come here was to complete his quest.
Now that it was finished, there was no reason to stay longer.
His next priority was making money.
Once he had enough funds, he could begin the second phase of his plan.
Under the pretext of "research," he intended to collect large amounts of magic stones.
Gathering them through personal dungeon exploration was far too slow.
But with enough money, he could simply buy them in bulk.
However, magic stones had long been controlled by the Guild.
If he wanted to collect them in large quantities, he needed a legitimate reason.
Otherwise, it might attract unwanted trouble.
That was also why Cao Ye wanted to establish cooperation with the Hephaestus Familia through the spatial ring business.
"Cao Ye? Is that really you?!"
Just as Cao Ye and Haruhime prepared to leave, an excited voice called out.
Turning toward the sound, Cao Ye saw several figures approaching.
The person who spoke was someone he recognized.
Tiona, an executive of the Loki Familia.
Her alias was "Great Cut."
A Level 5 first-class adventurer.
They had met before when Cao Ye received training from Finn.
Because of Tiona's lively personality, the two had become acquaintances.
"Miss Tiona, long time no see."
"I thought I was mistaken at first!"
"But it really is you!"
"Wait—weren't you Level 1? What are you doing on the 22nd Floor?"
"I'm Level 2 now."
"Level 2?! Seriously?!"
"You just arrived in Orario not long ago!"
"And you're already Level 2?"
"Maybe I just got lucky."
"When I leveled up to Level 2, it took almost two years."
As they spoke, the others in the group approached.
There were three more.
One of them looked about 80% similar to Tiona.
Another Amazon.
But her figure was far more mature.
Tione, Tiona's older sister.
Also a Level 5 adventurer, known as "Angry Snake."
Next was a blonde elf holding an elegant staff.
A Level 3 adventurer with the alias "Thousand Elf."
And the last one—
Cao Ye was extremely familiar with her.
Ais Wallenstein.
The princess of the Loki Familia.
A Level 5 adventurer known as the "Sword Princess."
She had previously held the record for fastest level-up in Orario—
A record that Cao Ye had now broken.
"Tiona, who is this?"
Tione asked curiously.
"Oh! Tione, this is Cao Ye from the Freya Familia."
"He even received training from our captain before."
"Training from the captain?"
Tione looked surprised.
The Freya Familia and Loki Familia had decent relations, but not close enough to exchange training sessions.
Especially not personal guidance from Finn, their captain.
Even within the Loki Familia, very few people received that kind of treatment.