The entire 18th Floor had neither a labyrinth nor walls, only a single, vast, spherical space. The rocky ceiling above was covered with white and blue crystals.
The white crystal was massive, positioned in the very center like a sun, emitting a dazzling white-hot light that illuminated the entire floor as if it were daytime.
Surrounding it were the blue crystals, varied in size and appearing as though they were stars orbiting the sun, but currently, they were all dark and unlit.
"It's daytime right now, so the white crystal shines like the sun. When night comes, the white one dims and the blue crystals light up like stars."
As they walked down the street, Lefiya enthusiastically explained to Ryoji.
This place was Rivira Street, built on a lake island located on the western side of the 18th Floor.
Calling it a "street" was generous; it was crude and no more than two or three kilometers long. The buildings were all made of simple wooden planks, and the area was dirty and disorderly, resembling a slum.
The inn they stayed in last night was also built this way; it merely used a natural cave on the lake island as a base, without even decent furniture.
"There's no helping it. Dungeon terrain can't be altered, so it's impossible to build comfortable structures."
Any damage to the Dungeon's terrain would be automatically restored by the Dungeon itself.
That meant advanced buildings couldn't be constructed here; laying a foundation would just be undone, making it completely pointless.
"There's also the chance of monster invasions. Even if you build something, it'll just get destroyed, so people settle for wooden huts."
"Exactly! That's another reason!" Line chimed in from the side, with Lefiya nodding repeatedly in agreement.
"But I thought the 18th Floor doesn't spawn monsters?"
"This floor doesn't generate monsters, true. But monsters do migrate here."
After thinking for a moment, Line pointed toward the eastern edge of the town.
"You'll see better from there."
The entire Rivira Street was built along the mountainside.
To the west was the jagged hill at the heart of the lake island. There were large gates to the north and south, while to the far east was a cliff overlooking the lake.
Upon reaching the cliff, a breathtaking, clearly divided view of the 18th Floor unfolded before them.
First came the vast forest to the south, bathed in soft, reflected crystal light that gave it an ethereal glow. At the far southern end of the forest was a stone slope connecting to the 17th Floor, the same path they had used to descend the night before.
Next was the large central grassland, so expansive it could only be called majestic. At its center stood a towering tree, its peak almost touching the white crystals on the ceiling. According to Line, the path to the 19th Floor lay in a hollow at the base of that giant tree.
North of the grassland was a sprawling wetland, where many dark shapes could be seen darting about.
"Those are all monsters that migrated here from the 19th Floor."
Line pointed to the moving shadows in the northern wetlands, explaining to Ryoji.
Ryoji squinted his eyes.
A Blessing/Falna enhances a person in all aspects, not just physical strength and magic power, but also sight and hearing, pushing them beyond human limits. Even from kilometers away, Ryoji could faintly make out many monsters roaming the wetlands.
Among them were giant white bears, gray deer with blade-like antlers, and even huge falcons flying overhead.
Just then, a monster emerged from the hollow at the base of the giant tree. It briefly surveyed its surroundings, and upon confirming the terrain, immediately dashed toward the northern wetlands.
The deeper into the Dungeon one went, the more intelligent the monsters became. If they instinctively sensed they couldn't win a fight, they wouldn't hesitate to flee.
Once a monster's awareness grew sharper, it wouldn't stay confined to the area it was born in, it would begin roaming the floor, and some would accidentally enter the floor above or below.
All the monsters currently in the northern wetlands had migrated from the 19th Floor, and without exception, they were Level 2.
This kind of behavior even raised suspicions that somewhere deep in the Dungeon, intelligent monsters might exist, though so far, there was no solid proof. It remained nothing more than a rumor.
"Boss, give me a few high-grade recovery potions."
After taking in the full view of the floor, the group returned to the town and stopped at a small street stall.
"100,000 valis per bottle." The stall owner lazily lounged on a wooden chair, quoting a price that made Ryoji wince in pain.
"Damn, that's not just two or three times more expensive than on the surface!"
Not only that, but the vendor's attitude was a far cry from the friendly shopkeepers above ground. He showed zero intention of welcoming them, his face full of disdain like:
"Buy or get lost."
Surface shopkeeper: "My lord, welcome!"
18th Floor vendor: "You punk, buying or not? If not, beat it!"
"It's just like this down here."
Even Line looked helpless, her face twisted with pain as though her heart were bleeding.
She was only Level 2, and her ability to earn money was currently quite limited. A high-grade recovery potion that usually cost 30,000 to 40,000 valis was now suddenly 100,000 each, a huge expense for her.
"How many do you have?"
"Five."
"I'll take them all."
The stall owner immediately perked up and cheerfully handed over a parchment document.
It was an IOU, already filled in with the amount: 500,000 valis.
Line took it, filled in her name at the signature line, and drew a jester symbol next to it before handing it back.
"Loki Familia?"
The stall owner muttered in surprise, then handed over all five high-grade recovery potions to Line.
This was how transactions worked on Rivira Street.
Using valis (coin currency) here was impractical, carrying a huge sack of money back to the surface was extremely labor-intensive, and on top of that, there was the constant risk of monster attacks. It simply wasn't worth the trouble.
Instead, stall owners would issue IOUs. Buyers would sign their name and Familia symbol, and then the vendor would go claim the money from that Familia once back on the surface.
And because transporting goods was so dangerous, prices here were sky-high, two to three times higher than on the surface. Even ordinary food could be sold for outrageous prices.
"Hey! Porus says everyone needs to gather at Crystal Plaza!"
"What's going on?"
"No idea!"
Just as Line began treating Ryoji's injured right wrist, someone ran by and started shouting at everyone on the street.
"You guys too, get over there!"
The man barked at Ryoji's group before hurrying away again.
"A gathering?" Lefiya's face was full of question marks.
"Could it be a monster assault? But there's no sign of that happening…"
A monster assault referred to when the number of monsters in the northern wetlands grew too large, and they started rioting and attacking Rivira Street.
Thanks to incidents like this, Rivira Street has already been destroyed over a hundred times. The current Rivira, they say, is the 334th version.
(End of Chapter)
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