For another expedition, the members of [Loki Familia] are gearing up.
But unfortunately, in order to prevent chaos at the upper levels, the first vanguard group only had twenty people, including fifteen senior blacksmiths from the Hephaestus Familia.
Kobayashi acted as the eyes and moved forward with the first group.
This is the 7th floor.
The chattering Amazon sisters, the irritable and crazy werewolf Burt, and Finn and Riveria talking to Xiao Lin.
By the way, Grace is in the second team.
The group of people was surrounded by the light green ceiling and walls. It was so lively that it didn't look like they were going on an expedition, and they moved forward smoothly.
…
"In other words, Captain Finn chose to take risks in order to revive the small human race?"
"That's right. So, Xiaolin, if you know any outstanding little human girls, please introduce them to me."
"……I try my best."
Kobayashi politely declined Hero Finn's request under Tiona's murderous gaze.
As a way to pass the time while chatting on the road, he took the initiative to start the topic, and then inexplicably jumped to the reasons why they became adventurers.
Let’s be honest, Finn the Brave is pretty popular.
Not only is he the leader of the largest faction in Labyrinth City, he is also a LV6 first-level adventurer, and he is also very handsome.
If he said he wanted to seek marriage, the women would line up from the entrance of the Loki Familia station to the Tower of Babel.
It's such an exaggeration.
I really want to tell him that sometimes race, gender, and age are so difficult to deal with, but the other party’s purpose is to revive the small human race, so he has to reduce the scope.
Unfortunately, Xiao Lin doesn't even know a single little human now.
So can you put away that murderous gaze, Miss Tiona?
Sudden.
Xiao Lin paused and said in a deep voice: "There is an emergency."
"...Four people."
Sword Princess Ais followed closely behind.
The two looked at each other, and in an instant all members of the Loki Familia reacted, following their gaze towards the intersection ahead.
The next second, four adventurers ran out in panic.
They looked back frequently, as if they were fleeing from some terrifying monster.
The four people at the back who were concentrating did not see the people in front and were intercepted on the spot.
"W-Who are you...ah?! No, no, it's Loki's Familia?!"
The four people who were shocked were about to yell, but after seeing who it was, they suddenly became timid.
"So, what happened?"
"The Minotaur, it's the Minotaur who appears! That Minotaur is wandering around on the upper level! It's unbelievable!"
The fleeing adventurers trembled all over, first lowering their voices, and then letting out painful roars.
It seemed like they were really scared.
Hearing the Minotaur's name, Kobayashi narrowed his eyes, and Sword Girl Ais' right hand shook reflexively.
Then, the man who looked like the adventurer captain started talking about the cause and effect with a livid face.
"We were exploring the dungeon as usual, until just now, when we entered the depths... we found the Minotaur. Then, we saw a white-haired human imp being attacked, but we were attacked by that monster Roaring in fear, I fled here...!"
White hair, human, imp!
It's Bell!
As the information continued to leak out, the appearance of that cowardly rabbit emerged in Sword Princess Ais's mind.
"Xiao Lin!"
"I saw him, follow me!"
The two of them flew away like a gust of wind along the road the adventurers had fled from.
————
LV６, LV６……
How can I improve my class?
Bell had previously indifferently thought that all he had to do was continue to gain proficiency, but he always felt that something was wrong. He touched the high wall between LV1 and LV2, and realized that he had to cross the tall and steep wall in order to advance.
——Great achievements!
This is what Xiaolin once told him.
Defeat opponents who are stronger than yourself and gain higher-level proficiency beyond a certain amount.
This is the condition for promotion.
But what to do? How on earth should I defeat a more powerful enemy?
"...Sir? Lord Bell? Lord Bell!"
"Yes Yes!"
Bell woke up from his thoughts when the shouts of his supporter Lily came to his ears.
"Lord Bell, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, it's nothing..."
Bell shook his head.
But soon, he frowned subconsciously again, feeling inexplicably uneasy.
The two of them are now on the 9th floor.
Today, in order to officially break through the 10th floor, or to cross the wall to a new height, they came to the dungeon early in the morning.
During the adventure, I didn’t see many adventurers, no, even the number of monsters was too few.
Since arriving on the 9th floor, this floor has been surprisingly quiet.
This is the deep part of the upper level. I haven't encountered a single monster. At most, I have spotted some goblins running around.
What is this, this feeling of dissonance?
It's like being forced to unearth something you don't want to remember.
That's right.
It was the same at that time, and there was a dead silence in the dungeon.
"Lord Bell..."
"Let's go to the 10th floor."
Bell's weak mood welled up in his heart. The timid part was telling him to leave quickly, but the brave part was urging him to go down quickly.
It was the feeling of wanting to break through the wall and get closer to the person I admired.
Lifting his feet, he was about to step into the entrance to the 10th floor.
The next moment.
"Oh oh oh!!!"
A huge howl came from the depths, and the extremely familiar voice made Bell's feet freeze. He didn't even hear what Lily said.
The cry engraved in his mind burned every nerve in him.
Like a rusty machine, Bell turned his head behind him for a moment, his pupils blurred as he looked at the source of the sound - which happened to be the depth of the road they had walked.
"Lord Bell?"
Next to her, Lily noticed that Bell's breathing had become rapid and his body was shaking slightly.
The atmosphere of fear was contagious, and Lily couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva and stare intently.
"Oh oh oh!!!"
As the roar continued to approach, the floor trembled with the towering figure and obvious horns. Bell didn't know how many times he had dreamed about it, how many times he had overlapped that figure with other monsters, and he didn't know how many times he had been afraid of that guy.
Minotaur!
Lily subconsciously hid behind Bell and said in a trembling voice, "Why is there a Minotaur on the ninth floor?"
Bell wanted to know too.
But he knew more about this helpless and unreasonable situation, this indescribable feeling of despair, and the tauren who pushed him into the abyss arrogantly.
This tremor is the same as that time.
The roaring Minotaur in front of him was still frightening, and Bell no longer knew what his face looked like.
So scary, so scary, so scary!
Escape!
Just run away!
Tears oozed from the corners of Bell's eyes, and his lungs almost began to sob. His upper and lower rows of teeth were slightly colliding, and his feet were constantly shaking. His survival instinct was constantly giving warnings, and he could only run away now.
The symbol of fear that had been accumulated in his mind expanded in his body in one breath.
"It's better to run away now. Lord Bell? Lord Bell?!"
Lily's cry woke him.
no!
Can't escape!
If he runs away now, Lily will definitely be hurt!
The Minotaur turned into a projectile, and it rushed through the passage at a terrifying speed, biting into the distance between it and Bell.
Bell's eyes widened involuntarily. Even though his heart kept telling him to run away, as long as he ran away, he would survive, but he still suppressed the strong warning in his heart.
The giant bull approached in the blink of an eye, raised his sword over his shoulder, and slashed it down with a diagonal slash!
[Forget the fear and look ahead. 】
"--Ah ah!"
The moment Lily wanted to push Bell away, Bell grabbed her by the collar first and threw her to the side.
He didn't pay attention to what happened to his petite body.
Instead, he bit his trembling lip with his teeth and bit it open.
【Go forward, never stop. 】
Before the slashing sword could kill Bell, he stretched out his right arm almost reflexively and shouted:
"——Fire Lightning!"
Oh oh oh! ! !
The crimson thunderbolt deflected the Minotaur's approach, but was no match for the power of the blooming flame petals, and the fierce head retreated.
[Retreating will only lead to aging, and timidity will lead to death! 】
Bell's eyes were opened to the extreme, igniting a glimmer of hope that was far from a chance of victory.
Can win!
I can win!
No, we must win!
As if possessed, he began to use magic.
————
On the other side, Xiaolin and Aisi were running fast in the dungeon. Since Xiaolin knew what Otta was doing in the dungeon, the two rushed straight towards the hinterland of the ninth floor.
Then, just as he was about to rush into the last passage before the target area.
"stop."
A voice stopped the two of them.
Nothing, just a sentence.
However, the two of them stopped at the same time.
In the spacious rectangular space, where there were no monsters or adventurers, he stood there quietly alone.
No one could ignore the surging presence emanating from him.
Wearing armor, a huge body like a giant rock, and strong limbs made of steel-like muscles.
The pig ears in the short red hair announced his origin.
"The fierce one."
Ace whispered hoarsely.
The man narrowed his earth-red eyes, first stared at Xiao Lin who raised his head to look at the ceiling and counted the lights, and then looked at the princess of the Loki Familia who was running towards her in a hurry.
The warrior Ota stands solemnly in front.
The only passage leading to the target area was behind him, and he blocked it with his huge back. Seeing his posture was obviously telling Sword Girl not to think about going there.
Ais silently pulled out the thin sword from her waist, and Ota also tore open the bulging package on her back and took out the big sword.
"Come on, Sword Lady."
"Step aside!"
The girl's golden eyes widened suddenly, and she waved the sword in her hand and charged towards the enemy.
Swordswoman and fierce warrior.
The two first-level adventurers, known as the strongest, forcefully started a battle.
Xiao Lin was eating melon and watching a show.
I've mispoken.
It’s about learning, learning how the strong fight.
Swordswoman Ais quickly approached Otta and used a cassock slash that caught him off guard.
That is, a sword technique in which the opponent's shoulder is used to cut diagonally downward.
Fast and hard.
but--
"Too tender."
Otta used his big sword to easily deflect this full-force slash.
The strong arms knocked back Ais. She stood unsteadily and stared, but she immediately raised her eyes and used the force of being deflected to perform a roundhouse slash.
Being able to change moves quickly is already outstanding.
Unfortunately, he was blocked again.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Ais forced her whole body to speed up, and struck continuously without mercy. A large number of sparks were scattered, and countless swords were killed in one blow, and she bared her fangs towards Ota one after another.
This is the ability to upgrade to LV6!
She poured all her strength and speed into this blow, slashing the man blocking the way with silver light.
"This skill——I see, has it reached a new peak?"
Ota admired softly.
During this time, he had been training monsters in the dungeon and didn't know what was going on above.
Then, block the attack again.
All slashes were deflected.
Complete defense.
Facing the whirlpool with nowhere to escape, Otta intercepted them one by one.
The strongest man in Labyrinth City stood there without moving a step, but the sword held in his right hand, with the accuracy and skill of a flying needle, coupled with the courage of a mountain, made all Sword Queen's attacks ineffective.
Ais gritted her teeth and tried her best to increase her speed.
The Sword of Despair, which is said to never wear out, is slightly twisted due to the violent friction in the air. It can be so powerful despite squeezing its own potential.
Otta nodded with exclamation and appreciation——
subdued her.
The strong sword blade, strong enough to cut the air in half, knocked the swordswoman out of her arms.
“————!!!”
Aisi was forced to retreat with the force of bursting the embankment, and her feet carved two deep grooves on the floor.
After finally stopping, Xiao Lin, who was eating melon and watching a show, was exactly next to her. Looking at the distance they were forced to retreat and the distance between them before her eyes, Ais was stunned.
He has obviously tried his best to defend, and has obviously adjusted his body shape.
But with just one sword, he was able to repel him from a distance of more than ten meters, and even the distance was controlled perfectly.
Is this the difference between LV6 and LV7? !
This man is so strong!
However, the swordswoman was only confused for a moment, and then she slashed at Otta with her sword again.
No matter how strong the enemy is, she will never hesitate.
Attack boldly!
First time, second time, third time!
Every forward thrust will be repulsed, every breakthrough will be intercepted, and every attack will be neutralized.
It has nothing to do with class, Ais bit her lip.
She knew that this was the strength gained by Taketo's honest and thorough training.
Normally she would definitely get it, but now she is really in a hurry.
"Well."
With a loud noise, Aisi was knocked back to Xiao Lin's side again, exactly where she was before.
The two sides once again distanced themselves.
This is already the fourth time, and when converted into time, it’s not even a minute.
The sword and hands that Ais used for defense were numb with shock.
But the equally honest girl still didn't give up, and adjusted her posture again, wrapping a stronger air flow around the sword to rush forward again.
"That's it!"
Snapped--
A crisp slap echoed in the silent space, forcibly interrupting the two men who were about to fight again.
"Yeah, Otta."
An easy-going voice came from behind, and the brave Finn appeared in front of the three people.
It turned out that reinforcements had arrived.
(End of chapter)
