"Harvest and Provocation"
"It’s a Floating Crystal; vanguard, prepare for defense!"
The vanguard, following Finn’s instructions, formed a defensive formation, blocking the monsters’ attack.
After a night’s rest on the eighteenth floor, the expedition continued, quickly entering the lower levels—Drake’s previous highest record was the twenty-seventh floor.
The monsters here were mostly familiar to Drake: Floating Crystals launching light beams, half-mermen wielding natural weapons, and so on, appearing one after another.
There was even a group of Swift Swallows; these monsters possessed the fastest speed among lower-level creatures, moving like bullets at full speed.
However, for the Loki Familia expedition, aiming for the unknown floors beyond the fifty-ninth, they were merely minor annoyances.
To Drake’s surprise, Ais became tense upon entering the Water Maze.
The Sword Princess, a genius who reached Level 2 at age eight, the brightest star in the Loki Familia and even all of Orario... was afraid of water!
Drake found her deliberate avoidance of the water amusing; this doll-like girl finally showed some normal emotions.
The expedition quickly traversed the Water Maze, and Ais returned to her usual composure.
Finally, the expedition passed the 36th floor and reached the deep levels. Here, all of the Loki Familia’s expedition teams converged.
Finn went to check personnel and supplies with Riveria and Gareth, while others began preparing camp.
Camping in the deep levels was inherently dangerous, but rest was necessary to maintain energy for further exploration.
Furthermore, familiarity with the Dungeon’s unique mechanisms could significantly reduce the risks.
Explorers had discovered a special Dungeon characteristic:
The Dungeon possesses self-repair capabilities, prioritizing repair over monster generation.
By assigning watch personnel to continuously damage the Dungeon, monster spawns could be suppressed.
To ensure everyone received sufficient rest, watch shifts were implemented, with both Familias contributing personnel.
Drake drew the first watch shift, strongly suspecting Finn had rigged the draw, as Ais was his partner.
Sitting beside a magic stone lamp, with only the two of them, Ais’s intense gaze made Drake increasingly uncomfortable.
Just as Drake was about to succumb to the awkward atmosphere, Ais suddenly asked, "Why?"
Drake was startled; Ais’s abrupt question caught him off guard.
Ais continued, "Why aren’t you afraid of the deep levels, even though it’s your first time here?"
In the original story, Ais, when discussing the deep levels with Bell, couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth, only saying, "You’ll understand once you see it."
To Ais—and indeed, all adventurers who’ve been to the deep levels—the deep levels are like hell, dangerous and cruel.
Even those who’ve been multiple times feel a sense of dread each time they return.
But Drake was different; Ais sensed no fear from him.
Why was he so calm? Why wasn’t he trembling with fear? The girl desperately wanted to know the answer.
This question, however, stumped Drake.
His calmness stemmed from confidence in his own abilities; this level of danger didn’t cause him fear. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel✶fire.net
But he couldn’t say that! His current persona was a novice adventurer; where would he get such confidence?
Just as Drake was struggling to answer Ais’s question, he noticed the nearby wall beginning to self-repair.
Drake grabbed a nearby pickaxe. "We can talk later; I need to complete my watch duty first."
He went to the wall and began casually chipping away at it with his pickaxe.
Even without looking back, Drake could feel a surge of resentment in Ais’s gaze.
He finally endured until the shift change. Drake practically fled to his tent.
The next day, the expedition resumed. Being in the deep levels, Ais, a competent adventurer, stopped staring at Drake and focused on her surroundings.
Drake finally felt relieved; Ais’s persistence was more taxing than the dangers of the deep levels.
However, Drake was amazed by the abundance of resources in the deep levels, far exceeding his expectations.
Obsidian Soldier fragments, excellent material for anti-magic equipment—a good find!
Wolfman hides, suitable for making durable armor—a good find!
Skeleton Sheep hides, rumored to be used in making invisibility items; unfortunately, without [Mystery], it’s impossible, but still a good find!
Besides monster drops, Drake also discovered numerous rare ores along the way.
Hardened steel ore, rarely found in the lower levels, was discovered several times during the expedition.
Drake even found a vein of White Sacred Stone, successfully mining a sizable piece.
This material possesses excellent magical conductivity, ideal for crafting wand shafts.
Lefiya’s wand, Forest Tear Drop, uses a White Sacred Stone shaft and the Millennium Tree Drop gem.
While not among the top five wands, it’s still a top-tier magical item for mages.
Incidentally, Riveria, from the elven royal family, supposedly has White Sacred Stone steps in her home; truly extravagant.
This was the essence of an expedition: risk and reward. The rewards of a single expedition were unimaginable to inexperienced adventurers.
Thus, the expedition reached the fiftieth floor.
The fiftieth floor was a relatively safe level. After reaching it, Finn decided to rest temporarily before proceeding deeper.
Drake began his work, repairing the Loki Familia’s equipment.
Ais, reverting to her previous behavior, stared intently at Drake, as if trying to uncover all his secrets.
Then, a young werewolf in silver armor approached, stepping onto Drake’s anvil and pinning down the longsword Drake was polishing.
"Hey! You trash, why is Ais constantly watching you?!"
Drake released the longsword, sat up straight, and looked at the werewolf youth.
Bete Loga, 〈Vanargand〉. While Drake knew about his abrasive personality and underlying kindness from the original story, seeing him in person was still unpleasant.
In the original story, Bete’s inappropriate remarks almost caused an internal conflict within the Familia; his mouth was notoriously foul.
Looking at the enraged Bete, Drake calmly said, "Is this a confrontation born of jealousy?"
The werewolf’s affection for Ais was obvious to Drake. But being targeted for that reason irritated him.
"What?! What did you say?!"
Bete, incapable of controlling his temper, grabbed Drake’s collar.
Ais, unexpectedly seeing Bete’s attack, was about to intervene when Drake raised his hand to stop her.
"〈Vanargand〉, is it? I advise you to consider the consequences before acting or speaking."
Bete was about to retort when he saw Drake’s pupils morph into vertical slits, burning with intense flames.
He couldn’t speak, and even when Drake removed his hand from his collar, he remained frozen.
After a long moment, Bete recovered, trembling slightly, about to lash out at Drake.
Being intimidated by a random nobody was humiliating.
But before he could act, he saw Drake turn towards the distance, his expression serious.
"Ais, tell Finn; something dangerous is coming!"
Without waiting for Bete’s retort, Drake charged in the direction he’d been looking.
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