Chapter 30: Floor 18 (Rivira)

Rex stepped out of the massive arched door that led out of the 17th-floor Goliath room and into an area that looked like a forest. Trees were everywhere, green and tall, unlike anything he had seen on the upper floors. 

'Okay...' He didn't have time to admire the scenery, as he started thinking of what to do with the kids he was carrying. 'Drop them here and run? Toss them to the Loki Familia and say, 'Here, take them'? Or...'

At that moment, he heard rumbling from behind him as the Goliath began to spawn from the Wall of Grief. Then the faint sound of its roar echoed through the tunnel from the floor above, reaching his ears with a small gust of wind.

'Just in time—' A rustling sound suddenly caught his attention, and he turned sharply to see a new arrival emerging from the forest outskirts. 'Ah...'

Walking toward him was a very beautiful light skinned young woman with long golden-blonde hair, golden eyes, and a slender, athletic build. She wore a white and black battle outfit that barely reached her mid-thigh, black shoulder-length gloves, long, thigh-high blue boots. Above this she wore a breastplate, a head guard that looked more decorative than functional, arm guards, hip guards that seemed purely for style, and knee guards and a blue rapier hung at her hip.

'Enter,' Rex thought, looking her up and down, 'the female lead. Drumroll, please... Ais... whatever her last name was. Willastone? Wallenstein? Willowstone?'

The girl inspected Rex as well, her gaze lingering on the three people he carried under his arms like sacks of potatoes—one young man under his right and two his left, a small girl and a white-haired boy... Her expressionless face shifted slightly as her eyes widened. With a speed that Rex couldn't even process, she drew her rapier and pointed it directly at him.

"Woah!" Rex exclaimed, taking a step back. "Calm down! They aren't dead!" 

He was genuinely terrified. That sword pointed at him felt like a loaded Glock 17 pointed at his cranium. If she decided to attack, there was nothing he could do about it. He would die. 

'Do the Loki Familia kill?' He pushed the thought aside, focusing on the situation. "I found them collapsed, and I saved them," he explained, moving slowly as if dealing with a wild animal. 

He squatted down, keeping his eyes on her, and carefully placed Welf on the ground before arranging the other two beside him. "They're alive," he said, gesturing at their rising and falling chests—Bell's specifically. Well, you couldn't see it rise and fall, but he was sure she could hear his breathing. And they also looked better with almost no injuries due to the fact that he had been continuously using his Blue Papilio Powder magic on them while walking. 

"Now..." he said, slowly backing away. "I'll be on my way, Sword Princess." He forced a smile, his handsome face probably making her heart skip a beat, and then walked around her, past her, and into the forest. 

After a few seconds of walking without getting attacked, he released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. 'That was terrifying.' Rex took a deep breath before exhaling slowly. 'Can't believe a teenager got me this shook.'

He wasn't ashamed, though. Why would he be ashamed of being scared when a 'gun' was pointed at his head? It was a normal reaction. 'Whatever.' He decided to forget about the hero and the princess for now and finally paid attention to his surroundings.

'So this is the eighteenth floor.' Rex looked around the forest, completely untouched by humans. The canopy towered above him, with rays of sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled light onto the ground. 

Around him, clear and sparkling crystals of various sizes dotted the landscape, some no larger than his palm, while others rivaled boulders in mass. They sprouted in clusters, their tall, thin forms emitting an azure glow that illuminated the entire forest. The ground was littered with small blue crystal fragments, interwoven with patches of moss and winding tree roots.

'Interesting,' he thought as he ducked beneath a low-hanging tree branch. 'This does not feel like the dungeon at all.'

His steps halted as he looked down at a river flowing near his feet, its source unknown and its destination a mystery. The water was crystal clear, reflecting his handsome features back at him. 

'Can you drink this?' he wondered as he noticed his hair had grown even longer. 'Should I let this grow out and become one of those long hair cultivation characters?' 

He saved that thought for later and leaped effortlessly across the river, landing smoothly on the other side before continuing his journey. His path led him up a gentle slope, and soon, the dense forest began to thin. Then he emerged from the forest standing atop a hill.

"..." his eyes widened at the sight.

An endless great plain stretched wider than his eyes could see, painted in a rich green unlike anything he had seen on the surface. 

'This is the entire floor.' It was one of the only times a dungeon floor was completely open, without the usual labyrinthine walls obstructing the view. The floor was a simple cylinder. 'Holy shit.' 

His gaze swept across the open field, where monsters roamed freely, having wandered from both the upper and lower floors. Crystals of all shapes and sizes were scattered throughout the landscape and rivers wound their way through the plains, converging into a vast, pure-blue lake at one side of the floor. In the middle of the lake was a large island, where he believes Rivira is.

Behind and beside him, the forest stretched toward the water, merging seamlessly with the plains. But what truly captured his attention was the colossal tree at the center of the plains, and using his eyes to follow the thick trunk upward, he finally noticed the ceiling of this level. 

A vast sheet of crystals covered the ceiling, their luminescence mimicking the sky. The largest crystal, pure white, sat in the center, surrounded by countless smaller blue ones, resembling a sun amidst clouds. The entire floor was bathed in this light, and he recalled reading that when night came, all the illumination would vanish into darkness. 

"A nice place you got there," he murmured as he surveyed the scenery before him. "It would be a shame if someone burned it down."

But only an evil man will burn down such a beautiful place and he was no evil man. Still, no matter how beautiful this floor looked, there was something uncanny about it, like an angler fish's glow luring prey into its mouth. 

His ears twitched slightly, and at that moment, he heard something—soft footsteps, almost silent, but not silent enough. Before he could fully turn, a deep, guttural growl sliced through the air, followed by the rapid thud of something powerful launching itself at him. 

With a simple flick of his wrist, he sent his fist flying backward, meeting the Hellhound mid-leap. His knuckles crashed against its snout with a loud crack, sending the beast hurling backwards and off the side of the hill, falling to its death.

He paid it no mind as he stretched his arms out wide at the plain, as if embracing the scene before him. "Ahh~" 

He almost wanted to shout 'I AM HERE' at the top of his lungs, but he knew that the Loki Familia were camped somewhere close by and did not want to make a fool out of himself in front of them. 

'First, I should head to Rivira,' He thought, lowing his arm. If he was going to be spending time here in the future while mass-hunting on the lower floors, he needed to check it out first.

Next was the spawning of the Black Goliath. Tonight, if all goes well, Hestia and the others should appear. Tomorrow morning, the Loki Familia should return to the surface and that should be when the boss should spawn. 

'It was because Hestia showed her divinity, right?' He thought as he turned around. 'Well, let's forget about that for now.' 

With the help of Scavenger, Rex moved out of the forest covering the southern part of the eighteenth floor, making his way toward the lake in the west where Rivira was built on the island in the middle. As he walked across the plain, the rocky island seemed to grow larger with each step, and soon he was standing at the bank of the calm, blue lake.

'Do I have to swim across?' he thought, looking around for a bridge.

After looking around, he spotted a large tree lying across the water, connecting the island to the rest of the Dungeon floor. Stripped of all leaves and branches, it was essentially a giant log serving as a bridge. Climbing onto it, he quickly made his way across and stepped onto the island. 

From there, he followed the steep, man-made road leading up to the top of the island where the town was built. He soon reached the top of the island, and there, he saw an arch-shaped gate with the words "HELLO FRIENDS, WELCOME TO RIVIRA!" carved into it. 

Passing through the gate, he entered the town... and immediately thought, 'An ugly place.'

The 'buildings' were little more than shacks made of scrap wood and large tents with signs hanging from them, with few structures built into the cracks in the stone walls with tunnel entrances. Due to the terrane, crystal and tree stairs were necessary to navigate from shop to shop.

'But...' Stopping on a stair, he looked off the island. 'I guess the view is good.'

No matter where you stood in Rivira, the pristine lake below and the backdrop of the eighteenth floor were always in view. And due to its high elevation, the view was even better than it was on the hill, which was the only positive aspect of this place. 

Due to the nature of the town, almost all the structures were shops. Of course, there were a few cramped hotels and a tavern here and there, but weapon and item shops dominated the streets. Every establishment was owned and operated by adventurers.

'Damn, this place is fucking expensive,' Rex thought as he glanced at the prices.

A simple 500-valis health potion was selling for 1,500 valis—300% its original price. Everything here was sold at 300% its original price, no matter what. It was as if that was the standard. So a 50 thousand high potion costs 150 thousand here.

'Well,' Rex smirked internally. 'I guess it's time to put my haggling skills to good use.' He wasn't going to buy it, he just wanted to see how low he can get down the price.

He held up the high potion to a level 1 adventure. "Isn't that too high for a fifty-thousand potion?" he asked. "How about we do a hundred thousand?" 

"Kill yourself." The man replied with no hesitation.

"Okay!" He placed the high potion on the table. "I will be on my way then." With that, he left the tent. 

Since he had nothing else to do, Rex found an empty spot and took a seat. He spread out his black 15,000-valis salamander wool cloth on the ground and arranged the items he had scavenged on his way down. A few weapons—mostly swords—some armor, a handful of normal health potions, two mind potions, and one high potion. He even laid out the items he'd taken from Bell and his team: Welf's greatsword, Bell's shortsword, his broadsword, his buckler, and Liliruca's crossbow. 

He leaned against the crystal behind him, watching people go by while casually checking their stats. Most adventurers on this floor were Level 2 or 3, with the Level 1s being mostly supporters, making this small town stronger than 99% of all the settlements on the surface. 

The first group to stop by was a team of three Level 3 adventurers: a male human swordsman, a beautiful female elf mage, and a male catman rogue. A powerful group and their matching emblems suggested they were from the same Familia—one Rex didn't recognize. 

The swordsman, who seemed to be the leader, stepped forward with a smirk. "I don't see any prices on these," he said, squatting to inspect the items. "Does that mean they're all free?"

"My fist and your face will make a good couple." Rex deadpanned. 

The swordsman blinked in confusion, and the elf behind him chimed in, "He's implying he's about to punch you in the face."

The swordsman looked back at her, then at Rex's deadpan expression, and nodded. "I like that," he mumbled before asking, "Do you have any more high potions?"

"No," Rex replied.

"Okay then, give me all your potions." the swordsman said, reaching for his pouch. "Two hundred percent market value, right?"

"Nah." Rex met his eyes. "Two thousand percent."

There was a long pause before the swordsman asked, "You serious?"

"Deadass."

They stared at each other for a moment before the swordsman suddenly snatched the high potion and shouted, "Go, go, go!" The group of three Level 3s bolted like thieves. 

Rex didn't even bother chasing them. He doubted he would even catch them. Besides, the potion was something he'd scavenged, not bought with his own money, so he'd lost nothing.

Time passed, and more people stopped by his stall, but no one bought anything. The prices were too high. Apart from the trio in the morning, no one else attempted to steal anything. Three hours later, the elf from the group returned. She gave a small bow. 

"I apologize for what we did earlier," she said, her head low. "So I came to repay—"

In a flash, the graceful elf snatched the two mind potions, turned around, and ran.

'!!!' Rex almost gave chase, but she soon disappeared in the crowd. He could track her smell, but he was too lazy for that. 'Damn, I got screwed over twice by the same group.' He felt stupid. 

Just then, the surroundings began to grow darker as the crystals in the Dungeon's ceiling started to fade. Afternoon in the Dungeon was over, and night was about to begin. There was no red twilight between the two; the 'sky' shifted abruptly from blue to black. 

Soon, the city was cloaked in darkness, with only the faint blue glow of crystals scattered across the ground piercing the shadows. Magic stone lamps flickered to life, and the city transitioned to nighttime. A few stalls packed up for the night, but Rex stayed, waiting patiently.

And after a few minutes, 'They're here,' he thought with a smile. This whole time, he had been using Scavenger's Treasure Pathfinder to track Hestia, and she had been getting closer. Now, she was on the 18th floor. 

'What an overpowered ability.' He gave a light chuckle. 'Now we wait for the morning.' 

He still couldn't remember the exact reason the Black Goliath spawned, but with all of them now on this floor, he'd have to wait and see if things went according to 'fate' or if the butterfly effect messed everything up.

Packing up, Rex went to the 17th floor for his final round of farming before the Black Goliath spawns, but it turned out that the boss hadn't been killed yet by the Loki Familia, so he just found some high tree to enter reverie. Nothing happened in the night, and soon 'morning' came, the light from the faintly glowing crystals on the ceiling casting a warm glow on the dungeon.

Stretching, Rex got down from the three. 'I feel like a real adventure now.' He smiled, looking up at the rays of sunlight coming through the gap in the canopy. 'My first overnight stay in the dungeon.' It was not as bad as he thought. Apart from the constant moving of the monsters below him, nothing else happened. And the tree was also rather comfortable.

Taking his bag, he went to the town, picked a new spot, and spread out his items like before. He decided to sit and wait for the Goliath to spawn. No need to run around and interact with the main character group. A few hours passed and like yesterday no one bought anything from his stand, and thing was going well until—

"YOU!" A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. 

He turned to see the tiny Liliruca, disguised as a Chienthrope without her cloak and wearing a small beat-up green adventurer bag on her back, pointing at him. Rex glanced behind him, then pointed at himself with a question mark appearing above his head.

"Yes, you!" she shouted, stomping toward him. "You were the one who passed the Minotaur to Lili and Mr. Bell on the eighth floor!" She stood over him, glaring.

"You must have the wrong person," Rex said, shaking his head. "This is my first time meeting you."

"Liar!" she shouted, her voice sharp. No one around them paid any mind. "Lili remembers your ugly face!"

"Don't lie." Rex met her eyes calmly. "I am handsome."

She growled, her tail sticking up as she was about to shout something, but Welf, who had followed behind her, interrupted. "Wait a minute," he said, walking up and looking down at the items. "Is that my sword?!" he shouted.

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Is it really yours?"

"Yes, it is!" Welf said, picking up the sword. "This is my sword."

Liliruca also spotted her crossbow on the cloth. "And Lili's bowgun!"

"That's crazy," Rex said casually. "I found them on the 16th floor. You want them?" he asked.

Welf nodded. "How much is it?"

"Four hundred thousand," Rex replied.

Welf stared at him for a few seconds as if trying to process the price and then asked. "What?"

"Four hundred thousand," Rex repeated. "You want it or not, lil bro?"

"This thing doesn't even cost fourty-thousand to make." Welf said, confused. "What the heck do you mean it's four hundred thousand?"

Rex picked his ear with his pinky like a hooligan. "I mean, if you're poor, just say it."

"This is exactly why Lili hates adventurers!" Liliruca growled at Rex. "They're so obsessed with money that they'll jump at any opportunity to take advantage of someone else."

'Like you are one to talk, Liliruca Arde of the Soma Familia.' Rex didn't say that but instead said, "Go somewhere else if you're broke," He blew his pinkie. "No one's stopping you."

"Lili, what's wrong?" a voice called out.

'Oh, no.' Rex glanced over at the new approaching group. 

Bell was walking quickly toward them, followed closely by a seemingly angry Hestia, a stoic Ais, and two others he didn't recognize. A quick glance at their status revealed one was a god—

[God: Hermes]

—and the other was a Level 4 girl named Asfi Al Andromeda.

'Nooo, I just wanted peace and quiet before the Goliath spawned!!!' Rex groaned internally, cursing his luck.

[Authors Note: What? You miss me? You actually want to send your precious love message to the author? (Shy~) I...I mean I don't want it but you can send it if you want( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I didn't post a chapter yesterday because I wasn't done with the chapter. This chapter and the next one is actually a single 6500~ word chapter I split in two. Didn't want to post the first half without the second half as it would feel like filler without both of them combined. 

I know, I know. I should have done a timeskip straight to when Goliath spawns, but... I didn't feel like to, you know. I needed the protagonist to interact with the main cast on screen. Either way, I think this chapter was good, hope you liked it too.

Enjoy the next one.]