Bell didn't waste time admiring the familiar sight of the 18th floor—he wasn't here for the view today.
He jumped down from the stronghold, landing at the entrance to the 18th floor.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
As he walked forward, the passage connecting the 18th and 17th floors was sealed off completely by a cascade of massive boulders.
He had no intention of letting anyone interfere mid-battle.
Upon reaching the 17th floor—the Floor Boss's domain—Bell found the area just as he expected. No monsters aside from the Floor Boss could spawn here, making the terrain flat and open.
If not for the Boss, this would be one of the safest spots before the 20th floor. But since this was the Floor Boss's spawning point, it was also the most dangerous area prior to the deeper levels.
'Hasn't spawned yet?'
Bell looked around, confirming the Boss hadn't appeared. Still, that worked in his favor—it gave him time to seal off the passage between the 16th and 17th floors as well.
Was it really necessary?
Bell believed it was. Better to eliminate unnecessary trouble before it starts.
He approached the staircase leading down, raised his hand, and triggered a spatial ripple. A mass of stone surged forth, completely sealing the tunnel.
'Now, we wait.'
With everything in place, a smooth stone surface rose from the ground. Bell sat atop it quietly and waited.
Realistically, even if he hadn't gone to all this trouble, no one was likely to come and challenge Goliath in the next few days.
The Loki Familia always made a spectacle of their expedition prep. By the time they were ready, the whole city of Orario would know they were heading out.
Part of it was to raise their Familia's profile, attracting talented newcomers. The other part? Just Loki being Loki—she loved putting on a show.
She was a god, after all. Was it so wrong to show off in front of other gods now and then? It was her little indulgence.
Everyone in the Loki Familia knew it. Even so, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all agreed that this kind of showmanship worked in their favor, promoting the Familia's reputation. So whenever an expedition rolled around, they launched it with full fanfare.
It stroked Loki's ego and served the Familia's interests—no reason to object.
But because the Loki Familia never kept their plans secret, word of their expeditions spread across Orario before they even departed. They would even shout openly:
[Hey! The Loki Familia is heading out on an expedition!]
Their style was flamboyant, but their overwhelming strength meant Evilus would go into hiding during these expeditions. Any encounter with the Loki Familia could mean total annihilation.
At best, Evilus had two or three Lv.5 members. Meanwhile, the Loki Familia was full of Lv.5s and even Lv.6s—squashing Evilus elites was a trivial task.
So to avoid a clash and getting wiped out before they could even stir trouble in Orario, Evilus would lay low and stay quiet.
In short, as long as the Loki Familia was out on expedition, peace would reign in the Dungeon until they returned.
Because of this, few Adventurers would bother organizing teams to take on the Floor Boss before a Loki Familia expedition.
There was no real need.
And more importantly, no one wanted to offend the Loki Familia.
After all, Floor Bosses weren't going anywhere—why pick a fight when you didn't have to?
So before the Loki Familia set out on their expedition, the Dungeon was always unusually quiet. Even if the Floor Boss on the 17th floor had spawned, the people in "Rivira Town" wouldn't pay it much attention—after all, the Loki Familia would take care of it. No need for them to waste the effort.
"Clack, clack!"
Bell, seated in meditation, lifted his head slightly. It had arrived.
His calm eyes met the malicious gaze peering through the shattered crystal.
"Aaaaaaah!"
The ceiling's crystal lattice exploded, and a towering giant—easily as tall as several dozen floors—began crawling through, half of its massive body already emerging.
"Dong!"
A deep bell rang out through the 17th floor.
"Dong!"
With a quick ten-second charge-up, Bell's right hand glowed with white light as he traced a single character into the air.
At that moment, the giant slammed into the ground with a crushing presence, just as the glowing word materialized beneath its feet.
"Boom!!!"
A pillar of flame shot skyward, engulfing the monstrous giant in a blazing inferno.
Bell had struck first.
He rose from the stone he had been seated on, watching the giant burn. The sound of flames crackling filled his ears—but there was no roar from the monster.
Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared within the fire.
Bell, already on high alert, leapt sideways without hesitation.
"Boom!!!"
A strange sonic burst echoed out, causing a portion of the ground to cave in.
Bell frowned and immediately dulled his auditory sensitivity. Had that soundwave struck directly, he would have completely lost his sense of balance.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Heavy footfalls thundered as the giant burst through the flames.
Its massive body was scorched red in many places, but the injuries were only superficial.
'It's huge, but not slow at all.'
'It has some resistance to magic—its thick hide deflects most of the damage. The durability is monstrous.'
'So this is Goliath, a "Monster Rex of the Labyrinth."'
With just a few rapid strides, Goliath closed the distance. He raised one massive foot high, preparing to strike.
"Whoosh!"
The sheer force of the kick whipped up a violent gust. Bell dodged swiftly to the side, but even so, the wind pressure hurled him several meters away.
Goliath wasted no time—he adjusted his stance and charged toward Bell again.
But just as his foot hit the ground, thick vines erupted upward, tightly binding his leg.
Perhaps due to the vines' overwhelming strength, even though many snapped under the strain, the momentum was enough to throw Goliath off balance, sending him stumbling forward.
As he was about to crash to the ground, a massive stone fist surged upward from the earth. It struck Goliath square in the face, then kept rising, pushing against his body and lifting him.
The colossal form—dozens of stories tall—was sent flying backward.
At the same time, a figure launched into the air alongside the falling Goliath. Just as the giant was about to hit the ground, that figure was already descending toward its neck.
"Clang!!!"
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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