I'm back! A chapter of about 19/20k words for you!

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And please read the endnotes :)

Three adventurers from the Soma Familia observed the boy in the fancy suit that must be worth a lot, as well as the ring he showed when he handed the papers to that woman working in the Guild. The man followed the woman into a private room while the eyes of the three adventurers watched him full of greed, until it was no longer possible to see him.

Soma Familia.

The Soma Familia is an exploration and business type familia led by the God Soma.

The Soma Familia specializes in selling alcoholic beverages, Soma wine in particular. Only the failed version of Soma is sold outside the Familia, and even then the price can be high. Because of Zanis Lustra's ambitions, the Soma Familia has temporarily become his tool to realize them, using the members of the Familia to raise money.

As the God of wine, Soma is extremely skilled at his craft. His master creation, which bears his name, can instantly intoxicate a person with just one sip. Even his faults have proven to be of high quality, easily reaching a value of tens of thousands of valis. Because of this, almost all the Soma Familia adventurers become addicted to the wine that is put up for sale, and when they take just one sip, they go crazy for more.

These three adventurers were no different.

Practically all their savings were spent to be able to buy the faulty version of the Soma wine that is put up for sale in the stores, because they couldn't wait to get the money together to be able to buy the "real Soma wine" within the Familia. Besides, even if it was called the failed version, it was still very good to them, so good that they were completely addicted, so why save more to try to buy the other one which is much more expensive?

Since they spend basically all the savings they get venturing into the Dungeon to get Soma wine, they can't invest in decent equipment. Because of this, the armor and weapons they use are only slightly better than those that can be rented from the Guild. They invested some money in weapons only once, and that was to be able to kill the monsters on the first floors more easily, so that as a consequence they could get enough money to buy wine faster.

The three adventurers started whispering among themselves.

"Hey guys, you saw it, right?"

"Absolutely. I wonder how much that ring must be worth..."

"We'd probably get plenty of Soma wine, enough to be able to raise money and upgrade our equipment without worrying about running out of Soma wine to drink."

They were talking low enough that no one but them could hear.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Their leader smiled.

"We steal his ring, right?"

"How would we do that? I mean, it can't be that easy right? If he decides to act out by talking about it, we could get in trouble," the third member looked a little worried.

"Ha, that's pretty simple. He's a complete newbie while we've been adventurers for a while. Besides, you saw the luxurious clothes he was wearing, right? I bet he's just a rich merchant or an idiot daddy's boy who decided to become an adventurer thinking he'll get money easily. We simply have to scare him enough so that he won't report us."

The leader took the worry out of him easily by saying that.

"So, when will we do that?" One of them asked.

"We'll do it today, of course," the leader replied confidently. "He came in the morning, probably for the purpose of picking up some information about the initial floors to get into the Dungeon later today. People lose track of time inside Dungeoneering, especially the first time they enter. If we are lucky enough, he will stay inside the Dungeon for quite some time, long enough that everyone has already left except for us."

"Oh, I see your point. If we scare him off inside the Dungeon, then we'll be pretty lucky."

"Indeed, after all, any and all normal laws applied here, are not applied inside the Dungeon."

Although there were still some laws, such as that law where you can't kill another adventurer's monster inside the Dungeon. Normal laws like stealing or something like that don't exist inside the Dungeon. The only real concern is if you are investigated by a God or Goddess.

As long as you were a little careful, there won't be any problems. There is also the fact that the power of the Gods over things that happen in Dugeon is extremely limited. Apart from the Falna, they can't get involved with almost anything in direct relation to the Dungeon.

"Yes. If that is not possible, then we will cautiously follow him when he is returning to his home. We will act as soon as there is no one around," the leader concluded.

"Well, I'm not disagreeing with anything, but what if he comes back sooner than expected when he has a lot of people around? How will we act?"

That was a good question pointed out by one of them.

The leader seemed to think a little. He didn't seem to have taken it into account. His mind was totally focused on taking that ring and whatever other valuable things that man might have with him. The mere thought of a large amount of Valis coming to him was enough to make him a little impatient.

He wanted to drink Soma wine soon.

After thinking for some time, he finally replied to the two who were with him.

"If that happens, then we'll just have to do it another day. Let's follow him until the moment he is completely alone so that we can act. Let's not miss the large amount of Valis that is right in front of us."

He was not going to waste the opportunity to get a large amount of money in an easy way. And judging the man, he seemed to be someone pretty rich, so losing some valuable things shouldn't be a big problem for him, right? They were in need of the money to buy Soma wine, final.

"So, we wait?"

"Yes, we'll wait for him to return and then follow him," the leader spoke.

With that, they waited for the man to return.

...

...

"What the hell is he doing?" One of them complained.

Waiting for the person proved to be longer than they expected. He showed up at the Guild at 9 o'clock in the morning. However, it was already one o'clock in the afternoon and he still didn't show up. That was very strange.

"Do you think he could have discovered us?" One of them asked.

"Don't be ridiculous. That's completely impossible. The woman certainly took him into a private room to tell him about the Dungeon," the leader said.

"However, should it really take that long for her to tell him about the initial floors?"

"That depends. It certainly shouldn't take that long, but he may have asked for additional information. Considering his delay, he asked for quite a bit of additional information by the looks of it. That proves that he will be quite cautious about the Dungeon."

"Most people don't even pay attention to the shit the counselors talk, they want to go to Dungeon right away to get money."

"That just proves that the man is very afraid of death," the leader smiled. "Scaring him will be easier than I initially thought."

After they exchanged a few more words, the man finally left with the woman. He said goodbye to her, but she didn't say anything, and then he walked out through the Guild doors.

"Let's go," the leader commanded.

The three of them left the Guild and began to follow the man. They were keeping a good distance from him, but they didn't need to be too cautious. The man was going into the dungeon along with several other people going in the same direction. It's impossible for him to realize that he is being followed.

He was walking with his hands in his pockets, which proved that he was afraid that people would see the ring full of precious stones that he possessed. This only made the leader's smile widen. If the man was being so cautious like this, it meant that he had no confidence in his own abilities. He also seemed to be unarmed, although the leader didn't think it strange that he picked up some small weapon from the Guild. He would be an easy target.

For a moment, he stopped walking and looked up, specifically at the top of the Tower of Babel. He stared for a few seconds before walking back toward the Dungeon.

The three of them followed him.

♬♡♢♤♧ �����ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 ℍ𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟����� ♬♥♦♠♣

The very moment I entered the dungeon I felt a strange sensation.

I didn't know what the hell it was, but I started to feel a little uncomfortable. I looked around a little and was a little impressed by the dungeon walls. I have not yet entered the first floor of the Dungeon, but just by stepping in here the atmosphere changed completely.

In the center of the room is a ten meter long hole that leads straight into the dungeon. Inside the circular room are several columns at equal intervals and above is a beautiful blue sky painting that resembles the real sky. Along the circle are gentle stairs that spiral down into the dungeon.

Although it is faint, I could still feel Freya's gaze on me. Would she really watch me inside the dungeon? That could be a bit of a problem, but I can't change my plans. I need to take care of the three who follow me today, otherwise a lot of trouble might come my way.

"But in the Dungeon things are different, so be careful."

Rose's words entered my mind.

"Different, huh," I muttered.

I didn't have much information about the Soma Familia, but from what little Rose said, they seem to be troublesome people. According to the little information she gave me about the three of them, they have only been adventurers for a few months. So they were still at level 1.

With the little glance from before when we were still inside the Guild, I immediately noticed that their equipment seemed to be quite cheap. The equipment also seemed to be quite worn out. This is a bit strange, after all, it seemed that they hadn't changed their equipment in a few months.

Considering that they also became adventurers only a few months ago, it's as if they hadn't bought any new equipment. Maybe they only did it once. With their time as adventurers, I doubt that they didn't get enough money to buy much better equipment. All this makes only one thing clear, they were spending their money on something else.

They were clearly interested in my "fairy steps", considering the fact that they think it is just a normal valuable ring. But why were they so interested in the money like this?

After some thought, I came to a conclusion.

The name of their God...

Snapping out of my thoughts, I finally reached the staircase leading to the first floor of the dungeon. There were a few other adventurers around.

I didn't think about it too much and went down the stairs.

Step. By. Step.

As I descended, the strange feeling from before came back much stronger.

I could feel it.

After the feeling got stronger, I came to a possible conclusion.

"The Dungeon is alive."

Those words that Hestia said hit me hard.

The Dungeon knew about me.

♬♡♢♤♧ �����ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥 ℍ𝕦𝕞𝕒𝕟����� ♬♥♦♠♣

The three adventurers watched the man as they reached the 1st floor.

There were a few other people who would probably be going to the next floor soon, but the target of their attention was the man who still had one hand inside his pocket.

"What the fuck is he doing?" One of them whispered as he watched the man approach the Dungeon wall.

He stared at the walls with some interest as he brought his hand to touch the same walls. It was a strange thing.

However, that would stop soon.

The monsters finally appeared.

Kobold, a dog-headed monster, was right in front of the man. A Goblin was also present, next to the Kobold.

The three adventurers prepared themselves when other monsters came towards them. They all drew their weapons.

The leader had the appearance of a man in his 25s, brown hair and green eyes, a scar on his face, he was tall and had very visible muscles. His main weapon is a long sword.

The second also used a sword, but it was a shorter sword, thus lighter as well.

The third one used two small knives.

"Well, what do we have here. A bunch of bugs," the leader spat as the Goblins approached them. "Guys, kill everyone who comes at us, but don't forget to watch our money source."

With that order given, the three began a small massacre with the Goblins and Kobold that approached them.

On the 1st floor of the Dungeon only three monsters can be found. Goblins, Kobolds and Jack Bird. Although this last one was almost impossible, as it took a lot of fucking luck to be able to find it.

They often looked at the source of their money in the small intervals. The man had only a small knife and showed great difficulty in dealing with the monsters that came at him. The three smiled slightly at this, the guy was a complete novice without any fighting skills.

However, they noticed something strange. The man didn't seem to be collecting the magic stones from the monsters. This only served to make the leader more confused. Didn't the imbecile know that the monsters' stones were used to get Valis? Or did he simply forget a bag to collect them? The second option seemed more likely, as he doubted that his advisor hadn't warned him about something basic like this, especially with the time he had spent talking to her.

The fact that he wasn't carrying something to store the magic stones also helped reinforce that idea. However, he didn't look like he was going to leave the Dungeon for the sake of it. He also showed some interest as he watched the monsters being generated from the walls and ceilings of the Dungeon.

He seemed quite cautious about the robes he was wearing, as he was doing his best not to get blood on them, which meant that the clothes must have been quite valuable, although that was not so important in the leader's view.

As much as he was showing great difficulty in taking care of the 1st floor monsters, he didn't seem to be getting tired.

'Well, whatever. After I scare the idiot, I'll get those stones myself. Or maybe I won't need to, after all, that ring full of gems is probably worth a few million valis. I wonder how many bottles of Soma wine we will get. And who knows if he has other valuable things with him. Hehehe, easy money!' The leader thought with a smile as he cut off a Goblin's head with ease.

This routine continued for quite some time. Several hours passed and the people on the 1st floor descended deeper into the Dungeon. After that, people on lower floors began to appear on the 1st floor in order to get out of the Dungeon.

The magic stones that were on the floor were carried away by other adventurers who picked them up as they were leaving the Dungeon. As nobody complained, they saw no problem with this.

And finally, after a long time, there were only the three of them and the man on the first floor left.

They decided to wait a few more minutes just to be sure. One person went to look at the stairs leading to the 2nd floor, as well as another went to look at the Dungeon entrance. After confirming that there was no one else around, they finally decided to act.

There were no more monsters present on the 1st floor, that man had just killed the last Goblin with difficulty, it would take a while for more monsters to appear because of the killing. That was the perfect scenario. With a smile, the leader looked at the other two who nodded their heads.

They slowly began to approach him.

"Hey," the leader called out, in a strong voice.

"Huh?"

The man turned to them. Incredibly, his clothes were completely intact. There was not a drop of blood on his clothes. His face was also quite calm and inexpressive. The leader noticed that the man also had the same face the whole time he was killing the monsters with difficulty, but he didn't care much about this detail.

In fact, looking closely, he seemed to be much younger than he thought. He was probably at most 18 years old.

The leader cracked a bigger smile as he introduced himself.

"I am Zekrom, these beside me are Varion and Lupez."

"Kiyotaka Ayanokouji."

The man introduced himself in an indifferent voice.

"Kiyotaka, then. Well, how can I put this? I would like you to give us the ring that is in your hand, as well as anything else of great value that you possess," Zekrom spoke bluntly.

"..." Said man said nothing.

"You know, I think it's good that you listen to our leader. We don't want to cause you any harm, so how about we do this in a friendly way?"

"...Are you robbing me?" Ayanokouji's question was simple.

"I wouldn't call that stealing," Zekrom shook his head with a smile. "I mean, we need the money, you're already someone pretty rich, if that outfit and that ring say anything. So how about you share some of it with those who really need it?"

Ayanokouji's answer was frank and direct.

"I refuse."

"Huh!?"

Zekrom just stared at Ayanokouji with deadly eyes. He was met by indifferent eyes.

"And here I thought we could settle this peacefully," Zekrom shook his head. "You really have no idea of the situation you're in, do you?" Zekrom and the other two braced themselves.

Resolving it peacefully is a lie, after all, even if things were resolved in such a way, he still needed to scare Ayanokouji enough that he wouldn't mention anything about them. Of course, even if he did mention something, the chance of them being punished is almost nil. They would just sell the ring quickly and get rid of any possible investigation, however unlikely.

"My situation you say? I just see veteran adventurers leaving on top of a complete novice. Are you guys that weak and cowardly?"

Ayanokouji's response seemed to enrage all three of them.

"What the fuck did you say!?"

"Who are you calling weak and cowardly, you son of a bitch!?"

"Calm down," Zekrom, although he was also angry, was still trying to talk calmly. "Kid, the way you talked about us made it sound like you could beat us if it was 1 on 1, am I wrong?"

"I didn't imply anything, it is you who are drawing conclusions."

"Is that so?" Zekrom took a step back. "In that case, allow me to explain a little about the situation you find yourself in, since it seems you haven't figured it out yet."

After saying this, Zekrom took his long sword and pointed it at Ayanokouji. The other two did the same with their respective weapons.

"Do you understand now?" Zekrom's voice spoke. "In case you are still confused, allow me to say it in clearer words. Hand over to me what we want or we will kill you."

"...That would be murder. You would be investigated at some point and soon find out about."

Zekrom's response was a full laugh. He laughed. He laughed for several seconds before looking directly into the boy's eyes that were still indifferent. Whoever this fellow named Ayanokouji Kiyotaka was, he seemed to have some kind of problem. Zekrom would put fear in those indifferent eyes.

"Murder you say? Indeed, you would be correct. However, there is something you have forgotten. Didn't your advisor tell you anything? The place we are in. We are inside the Dungeon. These stupid rules don't apply here!" Zekrom exclaimed with a