"Next is the ’Great Fall.’ Lili, you’ve done your howork on this floor, right?"
As soone who had reached this depth before, Daphne was fairly familiar with the monsters here.
"On the 27th floor, there’s the high-speed Iguazu, the prolific Blue Crab, the rarely seen rmaid, and the Floor Boss, the Two-Headed Dragon Amphisbaena."
Liliruca listed the more dangerous monsters found on these floors like she was reciting from a textbook.
"That’s right. Blue Crabs have bodies as hard as rock. Ordinary weapons barely do any damage to them, and the Dungeon tends to spawn these tough creatures in droves—there are nests of them practically everywhere on these three floors."
"rmaids are high-level monsters. They’re excellent swimrs and specialize in luring adventurers with their singing, pulling them into the water where they slowly lose their lives under the spell of the music."
"The ultra-fast Iguazu are another dangerous monster in the lower levels. They usually move in flocks, appearing in large swarms. Their attacks are suicidal in nature, maximizing their speed, and even Level 4 adventurers have fallen to coordinated strikes from them."
"The most troubleso and unstable of them all is the Floor Boss, Amphisbaena. If there’s water in the Great Fall, its strength is equivalent to Level 6. Without water, it’s at Level 5."
"Of course, either way, it’s not sothing we can handle right now. If it shows up, the captain and the others will take care of it."
Daphne’s tone was light. While the earlier monsters were troubleso, the last one wasn’t their problem.
Liliruca hadn’t given much thought to the Floor Boss either.
Just like Daphne said, they weren’t yet at the level to join a battle against a Floor Boss. Level 1 and Level 2 teams were usually the first to die in such fights—they were nothing but cannon fodder right now.
"We don’t need to deal with it, but organizing so intel might co in handy soday."
"That ’soday’ is a long way off."
Daphne let out a small sigh but couldn’t help admiring Lili’s thirst for knowledge.
"Still, you’re right. We can’t fight Floor Bosses yet. But we can at least record how those battles go, so when it’s our turn, we won’t be scrambling around clueless."
Liliruca shared the sa thought, though her motivations were a bit more straightforward.
She simply wanted to gather more intel on monsters—so that if she ever had to lead a Floor Boss fight, she wouldn’t be in the dark.
Daphne understood her and agreed it was worth witnessing a Floor Boss battle with her own eyes.
That brought to mind the Floor Boss on the 17th floor.
"Lili, what do you think is going on with the 17th floor’s Floor Boss?"
Liliruca, who was about to pull out so notebooks to review monster data, paused for a mont, then let her thoughts drift in that direction.
"The Goliath respawn issue?"
"Yeah. Goliath is the Floor Boss closest to the surface, and it’s a major hurdle for most ordinary Familia. If you pay attention, you can figure out its respawn timing."
"I know what you’re implying."
Liliruca’s gaze darkened slightly and her eyelids drooped, but she didn’t think the answer really mattered.
"Goliath doesn’t just vanish into thin air. Soone must have taken it down before it respawned."
"Exactly."
"But so what?"
Seeing Daphne’s curious look, Liliruca responded calmly.
She cast a glance toward the captain and the others, who were resting nearby.
"The captain and the others must know that too. But the fact that they haven’t said anything ans they don’t care."
"Mm... the Goliath issue isn’t that serious. It’s not like there’s a rule saying no one else can defeat it just because it respawned."
"No, that’s not what I ant."
Liliruca shook her head slightly. What she ant was different from Daphne’s assumption.
"I’m saying the captain and the others probably already know who did it—so they don’t see a reason to make a fuss about it."
"Huh?"
Liliruca’s words left Daphne montarily stunned, but she quickly regained her composure.
It made sense. If the captain and the others didn’t react at all, it ant either they already knew or they decided it wasn’t worth worrying about.
So whoever defeated Goliath was soone they were familiar with.
They simply didn’t have any particular thoughts or concerns about that person’s actions.
"If that’s the case, then no wonder."
Liliruca saw that Daphne had caught on, then handed her a notebook.
"Take a look. Next is the ’Great Fall.’ Let’s review what we know."
"Alright."
The two of them sat down during the break, studying the notes in their hands. They were handwritten records—things Liliruca had copied herself to help commit the details to mory.
There was a lot to review for the Great Fall. As the strategist, the most important thing was to have precise information, so she wouldn’t be blind when giving orders.
After a short rest and so organizing, the team continued forward.
Their goal for today was the 28th floor—getting through the Great Fall quickly, then spending the rest of the day resting and reorganizing.
The smooth progress up to the 24th floor had fired everyone up, especially the new recruits.
This was their last chance to train before heading into the lower levels. That made the Great Fall their final stage to prove themselves.
Once they entered the Deep Floors, there would no longer be chances for Level 1 adventurers to train. From there on, it would be the turn of Level 2 and Level 3 adventurers.
So right now, everyone was giving it their all, looking more spirited than ever.
Their energy caught the attention of the Vouivre.
"Why are they so excited?"
"Because the middle floors ahead are the last training grounds for adventurers at Level 1 like them."
"They like training?"
"That’s the drive of adventurers—just like I told you earlier."
The Vouivre started recalling what Bell had told her before. Seeing the passion and excitent in these people’s expressions, she began to understand what he ant.
They seed almost like they were being pulled by sothing invisible. That was the ’motivation’ driving them forward.
Bell wanted this girl to take a mont and reflect.
"Just rember what I told you earlier. That knowledge won’t help your companions directly, but it’ll help you better understand what fuels an adventurer’s character and behavior."
"Your people aren’t welco in the Dungeon, and adventurers see them as enemies to eliminate. So they’re more united than you’d expect. Their motivation is probably to survive—so that more of their kind can live."
Those words hit ho for the Vouivre. Ever since she was born from the wall, she had only been thinking about how to stay alive. Hiding and running for so long, she hadn’t even had the chance to think beyond that.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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