Heading to the Fifth Level, A Two-Person Exploration

At the entrance to the Dungeon at Babel.

Liber and Lefiya walked side by side toward the Dungeon.

The two moved forward along with the flow of people. Within this crowd were various beastmen, elves, and scantily clad Amazons.

Their pairing of a human and an elf did not draw much attention.

Only occasionally did the eyes of passing adventurers sweep over Lefiya.

Those gazes, mixed with admiration and desire, were quickly hidden, replaced by a hint of fear as they steered clear of the pair.

A fair amount of space opened up around them as they moved.

Lefiya seemed somewhat uneasy in the crowd, her hands gripping her staff tightly.

When Liber tried to discuss their plans while walking, she was hesitant and stuttered, making communication far from smooth.

Once the two officially reached the first floor of the Dungeon, the flow of people gradually thinned out, dispersing into various cave passages.

Only then did Lefiya let out a soft breath, looking slightly more relaxed.

Liber watched Lefiya, who no longer seemed as tense as before.

"Then, as we discussed on the way, let's head straight to the fifth floor," Liber said, confirming the plan with Lefiya.

"Ah, yes," Lefiya replied, as if startled.

"I said, it was just crowded before. You're already a Level 3 adventurer; why are you so nervous?"

Liber looked at Lefiya, feeling somewhat helpless.

"I... I've never formed a party with anyone else before, and there were so many strangers," Lefiya said, looking embarrassed.

"So you've always adventured alone?" Liber asked, surprised.

"I started my training at the School District when I was eight. By the time I left and joined the Loki Familia, I was already Level 2. Since then, I've mostly been learning under Riveria," Lefiya explained to Liber.

"School District?" Liber repeated, the information sounding vague to him.

Even though he possessed his own secret knowledge, as time passed, some of his memories had become somewhat blurred.

"It's a place where elves can train safely. I spent a long time there. I joined the Loki Familia about a year ago, right when Ais had just promoted to Level 5."

Lefiya recounted her experiences to Liber.

"Then your Level 3 status..." Liber hesitated.

"I joined the Familia's expedition teams before, adventuring with everyone and serving as a rear-guard mage. Most of my proficiency and experience points were gained after returning from those expeditions," Lefiya said, looking down in shame as she walked beside Liber.

Hearing this, Liber stopped in his tracks with a dark expression. Lefiya walked a few steps further before realizing it.

She stopped and turned around, looking at Liber, and asked timidly, "Is something wrong?"

Seeing Lefiya's cute, pitiful appearance like a young beast, Liber struggled for a moment before sighing helplessly and catching up to continue walking.

Lefiya watched Liber's retreating figure and hurried to follow.

"We'll talk about the rest later," Liber said, pushing other emotions to the back of his mind. "There are only two of us for now. I'll take the vanguard, and you'll be the rear guard responsible for fire support. No problems with that?"

Lefiya nodded vigorously to show her agreement.

Just like the traditional "holy trinity" common in online games—warrior, mage, and healer—adventurers exploring the Dungeon usually consider three people the basic party size, even if those with magic and healing abilities are rare.

Adventurers exploring the Dungeon generally believe that it is best to explore in groups of three.

These three are responsible for attack, defense, and support, acting as vanguard, mid-guard, and rear guard respectively.

The vanguard, responsible for the main attack, is also tasked with drawing the monsters' attention, blocking the enemy's advance, and preventing harm to their companions in the rear.

The mid-guard is responsible for defense; they must watch for enemy attacks and sudden changes during combat, while also assisting the vanguard in attacking if capable, to reduce the pressure on them.

The support personnel in the back is the rear guard. As the name implies, they support the two in front while defending the rear.

The rear guard can use magic to attack or heal wounds sustained by the others. If they lack magic, they can use equipment like bows and crossbows or special items to harass and support the team.

This common and clearly defined team structure is highly effective when clearing the Dungeon.

Unless the conditions for forming a party cannot be met, the Guild and most Familias explore the Dungeon in three-person teams.

Earlier, when entering the Dungeon, aside from adventurers acting alone, most of the crowd consisted of groups of three or more.

As the two were talking and clarifying the team details:

"There's a sound ahead," Lefiya said, alerting Liber as he walked and spoke to her.

Hearing this, Liber turned his head to look forward.

The ground in the passage ahead was gradually rising into small mounds, and there was some movement within them.

In the quiet corridor, a crack suddenly appeared on a mound of raised earth, the sound of the fine fissures ringing out with startling clarity.

A strange, faint purple light seeped from the gap.

Thump-thump...

The sound of a heartbeat gradually began to echo from within the crevice.

A grayish-green arm suddenly thrust out from the mound, followed by the head of a Goblin as it pushed its way out.

The two watched as the monster slowly crawled up from beneath the ground.

Neither of them felt surprised by this sight.

In the Dungeon, this was not an uncommon occurrence.

Any adventurer exploring the Dungeon had witnessed this phenomenon to some degree.

This was the very reason why the monsters in the Dungeon were inexhaustible.

They were not living beings that existed in the Dungeon from the start; rather, they were entities gestated and hatched by the Dungeon itself.

This was how the monsters in the Dungeon were born.

Like plants breaking through the soil or birds hatching from shells, monsters would "emerge" from the walls or floors of the Dungeon at regular intervals.

This resulted in the monsters of the Dungeon being impossible to wipe out, their numbers never truly dwindling.

This massive underground labyrinth was considered by the world to be a living entity, possessing a life and consciousness of its own deep beneath the earth.

This was also the reason why the types of monsters on each floor remained relatively fixed.

Because they were species born specifically within certain floors, they would, barring any accidents, only wander and congregate where they were spawned.

Just as Lefiya prepared to raise her wand, she saw an arrow fired from in front of Liber, striking the newly born Goblin directly.

Lefiya watched as the Goblin, pierced by the arrow and suffering a fatal wound, began to fade away.

"An arrow?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

"My storage magic isn't just for keeping things; I can also launch the items stored inside. I prepared some arrows to make dealing with enemies more convenient."

As he spoke, Liber used his space magic to retrieve the Magic Stone and the arrow dropped by the monster.

"That's truly a convenient and amazing magic. I thought you had to pick things up and gather them before you could store them."

Lefiya watched with a hint of envy as Liber collected the items without needing to move.

Liber turned to look at her, his expression devoid of any arrogance.

"Well, it is convenient, but it doesn't seem to have any direct lethality. As far as magic goes, it currently feels more like a handy tool."

"The people in my Familia say that your magic power far exceeds that of adventurers at your level, so I imagine I'll be able to see it for myself soon."

He spoke to Lefiya with a touch of curiosity.

"Is that what everyone says? Hehe, that's a bit embarrassing."

Lefiya replied shyly.

"It's just that the magic consumption is quite high, so I can't use it too frequently. Will that be a problem?"

She asked Liber with a hint of worry.

"Is that so? It's fine. Today is mostly about us getting to know each other."

Liber replied with a smile, "Since we've formed a party, I'll be able to see the true power of your magic later."

"It might end up disappointing you, so please don't put so much pressure on me," Lefiya responded, lacking confidence.

Young lady, you really need to have more confidence in yourself.

Looking at Lefiya, who always fell into a negative headspace, Liber sighed inwardly.

During their conversation, Liber once again launched stored arrows from his space, eliminating two or three approaching Goblins from a distance.

Along the way, the two chatted as they walked, dealing with the monsters they encountered. Any dropped items were swept by Liber's gaze and then stored away into his personal space using his magic.

When they officially crossed the stairs of the fourth floor and arrived at the fifth floor of the Dungeon.

"From this moment on, our two-person exploration officially begins," Liber said seriously.

"Right!" Lefiya also turned serious.