I, Ritsuka, Siscon Grand Hero

The wealth gap.

According to Loki, the forging here pursued a simple and robust style. Its performance was comparable to the Hephaestus Familia, and the prices were relatively fair.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Ritsuka apologized and walked into the workshop through the half-closed door.

Inside the building, which perfectly matched the word "workshop," the interior was as dim as the outside.

Blacksmiths occupied spots by the furnace, some were carving metal with tools, and several artisans were engrossed in their own tasks.

"Hello, I'm a member of the Loki Familia, and my god has entrusted me to repair equipment."

"Excuse me, where is the god Goibniu?"

A gentle voice, amidst the roaring sounds of the forging furnace, caught the attention of an artisan.

He looked up, glanced at the weapon in Ritsuka's hand, a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes, and he then pointed towards the inner room beside him.

"Thank you."

Nodding in thanks, Ritsuka, carrying Ais's sword, walked past a group of busy artisans and directly into another short passage, which led to a separate room at the end.

Inside the room was a male deity who appeared to be an old man, the god Ritsuka had come to find.

His wrinkled face was handsome, with a high nose bridge, white hair, and a white beard that was just long enough to cover his mouth.

His robust build was free of any excess fat, with firm muscles, vaguely reminiscent of a dwarf.

"Hello, I'm a member of the Loki Familia, and I'm here to ask you to repair a weapon."

Without much preamble, Goibniu took the Despair Sword handed over by Ritsuka, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Glancing sideways at Ritsuka, Goibniu asked in his low voice, "The blade is so severely deteriorated, what did you cut?"

"Uh, during training, Ais used this sword to block a nine-stage thrust."

Ritsuka said awkwardly. This sword was a work by the Celtic god of forging, Goibniu, and possessed the Indestructible characteristic.

She could almost believe he would consider it a disgrace for her mere imitation to be cut and leave a crack.

"A nine-stage thrust?" Goibniu looked into Ritsuka's eyes. "Did you do that?"

Ritsuka remained silent, her embarrassment deepening. She didn't know whether to answer. If she told the truth and angered the god before her, it would be troublesome if he beat her with Divine Power.

She definitely couldn't defeat a god.

"Not saying? Fine, I'll repair it as soon as possible. It's severely deteriorated and will take seven days."

"Thank you very much."

Seven days was enough time.

The Familia's expedition would begin in seven days. She could pick up the weapon then, which would perfectly align the timing.

"Then I'll leave it to you, I'll be going now..."

"Wait a moment."

Goibniu suddenly spoke, calling back Ritsuka, who was about to leave.

He reached out, took two weapons from a rack behind him, a rapier and a katana, and tossed them to Ritsuka.

"Give the rapier to Ais. As for that katana, are you interested in 'Indestructible'?"

"Yes, thank you for your help."

If she could fully grasp this power, which could be engraved onto weapons in Orario, perhaps her projected armaments in the future, as long as they weren't destroyed, could be permanently retained, especially the higher-level ones.

"That katana has a connection with you, so I'll give it to you... Also, remember to bring the repair fee when you come to pick up the sword, 30 million Valis."

"...How much?"

Chapter 81 Chapter Seventy-Four: Safe Floor and Deeper Levels

Below the Tower of Babel, Ritsuka walked towards the dungeon entrance, holding the weapons she had just acquired.

Armaments with the Indestructible characteristic were rare, and their value was beyond imagination. The money from a few hundred Minotaurs wouldn't be enough.

However, in the end, the god Goibniu didn't ask for much, only charging a symbolic fee.

"When I leave, I'll project some holy swords as a return gift."

Projected Noble Phantasms had significant limitations, but for a god renowned for forging, research wouldn't be difficult. Perhaps with the help of fake holy swords, Goibniu might even develop real holy swords?

As her figure disappeared into the entrance, the scorching gaze from the top of the Tower of Babel retracted.

"This time, I will witness it with my own eyes..."

A low murmur echoed in the exceptionally luxurious room, yet no figure could be seen.

Her experience gradually grew, coupled with the combat experience against monsters gained from Ais, Ritsuka wasn't held back by the lower-level monsters.

Without even drawing her sword, Ritsuka traversed the upper levels with just her fists and feet, advancing towards her target with immense leg strength.

With the map obtained from Loki in hand, Ritsuka made her way to the passage to the next lower stratum at the fastest possible speed.

She continued to break through like this, and this time, not even the Minotaurs could stop her. After kicking apart a few Minotaurs, Ritsuka reached the eighteenth floor, the "Safe Floor," which she had only heard of in legends.

The area below the eighteenth floor was an uncharted territory, so Ritsuka didn't push further and chose to stop for a while.

"This… it's so beautiful…"

Ritsuka looked at the scenery before her with admiration.

Unlike the underground labyrinth of the first seventeen floors, with its endlessly looping oddities and harsh terrain, the eighteenth floor was practically a paradise.

Vast, dense vegetation covered the area, and various wooden structures formed the ecosystem of the [Safe Floor]. "Thriving" was the most fitting description.

The extreme brightness, as if located in the outside world, made Ritsuka involuntarily look up. This was the main reason for her gasp of amazement just now, because the ceiling of the eighteenth floor was simply too beautiful.

Crystal.

Crystal containing a transparent, azure glow, incredibly beautiful.

The top of the floor was filled with self-illuminating crystal, with a blinding white at the center like the sun, and azure crystal blocks surrounding it like a guard.

This scenery, unlike any other in the Dungeon, made Ritsuka pause, quietly admiring it.

Not just the very top, but the forest was filled with crystals everywhere.

There were small crystals growing at her feet, and others like short swords of giants, and large crystals that could swallow her whole.

They came in various shapes, scattered in every corner of the forest, breathtakingly beautiful.

She looked around. In the silent forest, clusters of crystals irregularly reflected the faint sunlight, dyeing the entire forest a pale blue.

The roots of the large trees dividing the ground were also covered with moss and azure fragments.

A mysterious and fantastical landscape.

"The eighteenth floor, is it a miracle of the labyrinth?"

Ritsuka mused, then headed towards the other end of the forest, towards the human settlement she had seen from above.

The trees gradually thinned out, opening into a semicircular exit at the edge. An overflowing white light obscured whatever was outside, as if only by stepping through could one see the reality.

Without a moment's hesitation, she crossed the boundary of the dim forest and was immediately enveloped in dazzling light, instinctively closing her eyes.

"Wow."

[Riviera Town]

This was the name of the town. Ritsuka inquired a little and learned it was named after the great adventurer who first opened up a safe floor.

Based on its nature, Riviera Town consisted mostly of temporary huts that served as shops.

Weapon shops, item shops, cramped inns, and a few taverns – these establishments catered to adventurers.

The only people walking the streets were adventurers and a small number of supporters.

High-level adventurers would usually make a brief stop here before venturing out, and most of them traveled in groups, as exploring alone was quite risky.

Their equipment was all heavy and of good quality, and everyone was fully armed, ready to fight at a moment's notice in an emergency.

Everywhere, there were people carrying greatswords, axes, and even wearing full plate armor.

This was a cumbersome weight that Ritsuka found hard to accept.

For her, conventional weapons could be avoided with the Divine Beast's Fur if she wished, and she didn't need heavy armor to evade threats.

She hadn't used the Divine Beast's Fur all this time to train herself.

Compared to the [Adventurer Street] above, this place had an unusual, somber atmosphere, as the areas above and below the eighteenth floor were crawling with monsters.

Under the vast, crystalline sky, Ritsuka walked through the intricate, rocky narrow alleys. The town's terrain was varied, with lush vegetation and crystal pillars present everywhere, both up and down. Light always filled this underground town.

"So expensive."

Glancing at the price of a high-grade potion, Ritsuka found it was at least one zero more than its outside price, making her sigh.

Furthermore, the buy-back prices were also reduced by at least half. This town was quite exploitative, but doing business here was indeed not easy.

Whether it was transporting supplies to Orario or bringing goods to be sold here, it was inherently risky.

Not every seller had the strength of a first-class adventurer capable of dominating the first to seventeenth floors.

But even so, it was still ridiculously expensive.

"I guess it's the value of water in the desert."

Putting down the goods she was looking at, Ritsuka, who also carried items like high-grade potions, went to a corner to check the Crystal Dice. The internal stock of goods was quite abundant.

The sword commissioned by the god Goibniu for Ais was also lying there properly.

From the town square, one could overlook the magnificent landscape of the entire 18th floor. Beyond the railing was a cliff that dropped straight down to a lake far below. The consequences of falling would be unimaginable.

Surely no idiot would dare to jump straight down, right?

After another sarcastic thought, Ritsuka decided not to waste any more time and set off.

She had woken up early today and intended to grind her Ability Values in the Dungeon, aiming to reach the peak of Level 1 before the expedition, or even Level 2.

Level 2 would be even better, because then, if she went to the deeper floors with a Familia, her growth speed would be terrifyingly fast, and reaching Level 3 wouldn't be impossible.

Leaving the eighteenth floor, Ritsuka swept through, entering deeper floors.

The twenty-fifth floor.

From here on, this was the exploration depth for Level 3 adventurers, as all the monsters were Level 3, capable of bringing Ritsuka significant Ability Value increases.

Ritsuka recalled what Loki had said about the so-called deep-level 'Monster Tide'.

The Monster Tide had another name in the Dungeon—a Monster Feast.

Just as if the monsters were holding a banquet, the sight that greeted them was a dense mass of monsters: green-skinned, orc-like creatures, giant bees, and human-sized mushrooms, all bustling and gathered together.

A preliminary estimate put the number at least in the dozens, if not hundreds, and all of them were Level 3.

Ritsuka felt that such a Monster Tide should be extremely rare; otherwise, ordinary solo Level 3 adventurers would be unable to face such a lineup to train in such a Monster Tide.

However, solo Level 3 adventurers rarely came to this floor anyway.

The long sword hanging from Ritsuka's waist was slowly drawn, and Ritsuka advanced slowly, azure patterns spreading along the blade.

This sword was a creation of Goibniu, and after successfully wielding it, Ritsuka naturally perceived its characteristics.

Not only did it possess the Indestructible trait, but it also had extremely strong energy conduction and amplification capabilities. Its own sharpness was not outstanding, but with the enhancement of Magic, it was quite formidable.

Even if Ritsuka had a Magic Release with an attribute, it could be added to the blade without damage.

Furthermore, it could absorb external energy attacks...

"Sweep through—Wind Spirit Dash!"

The wind magic covered the blade through the hilt, and a gentle breeze surrounded Ritsuka.

Section 82, Chapter 75: Dungeon Anomaly

Ritsuka, holding the sword with one hand, weaved through the monster horde, a figure like a gust of wind, directly tearing through the tide of monsters vertically.