Dragon Ball: Saiyan's Gourmet Journey

Chapter 678 Rabbit and Ox's First Battle: On-site Coach Broly, and Outside Spectator and Bull Chaser Sword Princess!
"If it's just this type of intelligence, 5,000 Fali is enough for ordinary members who are not members of the Divine Grace. For official members of the Divine Grace, the fee is between 10,000 and 20,000 Fali, depending on their rank."

Asphi, the leader of the Hermes Familia, quickly offered a price.

"Yes, but there are some members here who do not need to be investigated."

Hestia said, and Broly took out a small notebook, placed it on the table, and pushed it over. The notebook contained records of the people of the same clan that the little girl knew, including, of course, the six unfortunate souls who had been sold to the Ishtar Familia.

"We'll collect a deposit of 300,000 Faris. The rest will be settled after we've gathered the intelligence you need and compiled a list of the number of people to be investigated."

"no problem."

Hestia agreed, Broly paid the money, and she and her goddess left the Hermes Familia's stronghold.

"Asphi, what do you think about the Hestia Familia's attempt to secretly investigate the Soma Familia?"

Hermes stood at the window of the room, watching the departing Loli goddess and her child below, and asked the leader of his kin a question.

"Lord Hermes, if you have nothing better to do, come and help me with the work. We are just intelligence brokers; we do whatever we're asked for, regardless of what the client wants to achieve by investigating this intelligence!"

The oppressed leader of the cattle and horses resentfully complained to his own god.

"Well, normally we wouldn't care, but recently I received a letter from an old friend who said his grandson has also come to Orario to try his luck, and asked me to keep an eye on him."

"An old friend? Which deity is it?"

"You can't say that."

"Then what does this have to do with this investigation request?"

"It's related, because the family my old friend's grandson joined is the Hestia family."

Hermes answered.

"Alright, Lord Hermes, I know what you want me to do. I will investigate the specific details of the dispute between the Hestia Familia and the Soma Familia."

"Then I'll leave it to you, my lovely Asphie."

"Remember to give me a vacation after you finish."

"Oh, I have an appointment, so I'll head out now."

The god Hermes immediately said that, under the lingering gaze of the chief of the cattle and horse herd, he fled the room as if escaping.

Just kidding. If you give your super-capable team leader a vacation, how can this god be so leisurely and carefree, running around and playing everywhere?
So, all I can say is sorry, I'll definitely do it next time!

Asphi sighed, knowing her god's nature, and could only take the newly accepted investigation commission and go down to instruct her fellow members of the Familia to do the work.

Investigating basic information about alcoholics isn't difficult; all you need to do is spend some money, buy them drinks, get them drunk, and get them to talk.

The difficulty of this commission lies in the large number of people to be investigated, but this is not a problem for the Hermes Familia, which also has a considerable number of members.

"Eh, the Hestia Familia?!"

"Lorne, what's wrong?"

"I went on an adventure in the dungeon a while ago, and just when I was about to get into danger there, I was helped by a member of the Hestia Familia who happened to be passing by."

The information provided by the red-haired dwarfs surprised Asphie.

Unexpectedly, the Hestia Familia had done a favor for its own members.

"I've been busy with other things lately, and I was planning to visit them to express my gratitude once I was done with them."

"You reckless fellow, then work harder and finish the job, then treat them to a meal."

He said jokingly to his fellow members of the clan.

. . . .

As more and more information was gathered, the reason for the conflict between the two clans was also found on the desk of the god Hermes.

Initially, he was even somewhat connected to the grandson of his old friend who had come to Orario to make his way in the world. However, compared to the situation of his old friend's grandson, Hestia's first familia child was someone he paid more attention to.

"Having only been an adventurer for a short time, he can already take Lv.2 drunkards to the Ishtar Familia and sell them off? Haha, he's quite a character."

That old Zeus said his grandson was destined to become a great hero of the world, but right now he's just someone else's lackey!

Hermes looked at the intelligence on his desk and shook his head helplessly, thinking that Zeus, who had left Orario, was now getting a little senile.

What good is it if a boy from the countryside is destined to be a great hero, even if he (Zeus) personally nurtured that child in anonymity?

Do you really think everyone is like Alfia, the "incarnation of talent" from the past, who possessed the strongest potential in Orario and reached Lv.7 at the age of sixteen, a "monster of talent"?

However, what intrigued Hermes was why Hestia had commissioned an investigation into the basic information of the Soma Familia members.
[It's unlikely they're planning to unite the oppressed members of the Soma Familia to stage a coup against the current ruler, the sake keeper, and seize power.]

Hermes thought about it and realized that it was indeed possible.

"If that's the case, then I'll have to watch this show closely."

He's a fun-loving guy who never misses a good show.

. . . .

After two days of special training by Broly, Bell and Lily Luca were finally taken to the dungeon by the boy today to test their improved strength.

"I'm here today to support you. I've brought plenty of medicine and equipment, so you don't need to worry about exhaustion or injury."

"Put the skills you've learned from me these past two days into practice in actual combat. Target: the final level of the upper area. Let's go!"

Bell, clad in light armor and carrying a longsword at his waist, and Lily Luca, in skirt armor and a short sword, both looked like adventurers today. Broly, on the other hand, carried a large supporter's pack on his back.

The two walked in front, and he followed behind, watching the two in front fight against the monsters they encountered. The first ten floors were cleared with almost no pressure.

Upon reaching the tenth floor, they began to feel some pressure due to the appearance of large monsters, but compared to the slight pressure of battle, Bell and Lily Luca felt more of a sense of surprise.

Only after engaging in actual combat with the monsters did the two truly realize just how terrifyingly their own strength had improved.

This is not a simple numerical improvement in ability stats, but a huge improvement in combat skills and combat awareness.

Although they would still make many mistakes, Broly was always there to guide them. They would occasionally get injured, but it was nothing serious, because Broly's healing magic would come right away after each injury.

[Is this what battle is like? A battle like Broly's?!]

Bell had this feeling after slicing the dragon's neck with his longsword and killing the powerful rare monster in the upper area.

So, I can be this powerful after all?

While Bell was fighting the little dragon alone, Lily Luca held off the other monsters that had gathered around after hearing the sounds of battle.

The petite figure, clad in exquisitely crafted equipment tailored to her by the Hephaestus Familia (costing over five million falies), moved freely through the horde of large monsters.

Wherever the sword passed, monsters suffered severed limbs. Although his combat skills were not yet sufficient to kill every monster with a single blow, he was still able to fight his way in and out of a group of large monsters.

Compared to the little girl who could only shoot arrows from behind adventurers before, Lilyluka, now wearing a skirt armor, is more like a fictional goddess in little legends, with an ancient hero prototype, like Finana, the leader of the Finana Knights.

Of course, aside from the fact that they use swords instead of guns, there is a difference.

"Besides being useful, the equipment should also enhance one's aura. Therefore, I referenced the design of the legendary hero equipment of the Dwarf race for the equipment appearance."

Of course, the actual protective effect varies depending on the materials, but a set worth five million Faris is sufficient for the mid-level areas, as long as you don't challenge the floor master.

When the one-eyed craftsman Chun handed over the imposing skirt armor to the little girl, he said these words.

After receiving the equipment last night, Lily Luca could hardly believe it was something prepared for her, and her happiness level increased significantly.

Unfortunately, Lily Luca's Valkyrie form didn't last long. Exhausted, she had to be pulled back from the monster horde by Bell. Stamina remained a major issue, but thankfully, before her strength was completely depleted, the little girl's combat power, when equipped, was comparable to that of a Level 1 adventurer capable of exploring dungeons up to level 10.

Furthermore, the swordsmanship of the Six Worlds is developed in the direction of fighting against people (PVP).

In theory, Lily Luca would be stronger than the adventurers in this world who are more accustomed to fighting monsters (PVE).

With Bell joining the battle, the horde of monsters that had surrounded them was quickly cleared out. The two, who were somewhat tired, drank stamina-restoring potions and looked at the spoils of war left by the monsters in front of them, their faces showing the happiness of experiencing their own strength.

"Two days? We only received two days of training from Brother Broly, and we already have this much strength. If we received training for a longer period of time, wouldn't we become many times stronger than we are now?"

Bell was quite excited, and could almost imagine that soon he would be able to solo the 17th floor boss, Goliath.

"Bell, don't get carried away with your fantasies. The reason you're improving so quickly is because your original combat skills and combat awareness were very poor."

"But once you've honed your combat skills to a certain level, you'll be trapped by so-called talent and start to hit a bottleneck; the same applies to combat awareness."

It's easy to get from zero to a passing score of 60, but it's increasingly difficult to get from a passing score of 60 to a perfect score.

Broly had seen many people in the Six Faces of the World whose strength stagnated due to their limited talents, eventually leading to the collapse of their Dao heart and the abandonment of their pursuit of the pinnacle of their skills.

The reason for reminding the two now is out of concern that they might encounter a bottleneck in the future and be unable to improve their strength quickly, which could discourage them from such setbacks.

"Yeah, we get it."

Bell and Lily Luca nodded together, assuming that Broly was teaching them from his own experience, unaware that the boy was not only a numerical monster but also a combat talent monster.

In the Six Faces of the World, Broly elevated the swordsmanship of three schools to god-like levels without encountering any significant bottlenecks.

Now, the [Peak of Swordsmanship] skill in his primary ability panel is enough to prove that his current level of swordsmanship is the highest mountain among all swordsmen in this world from ancient times to the present.

"Brother Broly, shall we proceed to the middle level next?"

Standing in front of the entrance to the 13th floor of the dungeon labyrinth, Bell asked, eager to go down and test his limits.

"No, it would be too much of a stretch for you to go to the middle level with your current strength."

However, Broly shook his head.

Of course, he didn't think that Bell and Lilyluka were no match for a level 2 monster.

However, the monsters in the dungeon don't reason with or fight with people who come in.

Once surrounded by a large group of Lv.2 monsters, it will be his turn to act.

This negates the purpose of providing practical combat training for the two individuals.

"Let's take another route back. If we fight our way back to the ground, it will be around noon by then, and we can have lunch up there."

"Uh, okay then."

Bell was a little disappointed, but he still obediently chose to go up. Just as they returned to the fifth floor, heavy footsteps suddenly came from the tunnel behind them.

"what sound?"

Turning around, the three saw a powerful monster, the Minotaur, which shouldn't have appeared in the upper area, but only below the 15th floor of the labyrinth, rushing towards them from the other end of the tunnel.

"Brother Broly, please leave this Minotaur to me!"

Broly intended to draw his sword and instantly kill the charging Minotaur, but Bell stepped forward and volunteered as if he had been injected with adrenaline.

"Then you'd better be careful, this thing is much more powerful than a regular Lv.2 monster."

Broly withdrew his Fire Joy, which had already been drawn, and pulled the little girl beside him to give the boy and the Minotaur, who was about to rush forward, enough space for a fight.

The Minotaur is considered an elite monster in the middle layer, characterized by its great strength and speed, though it is somewhat lacking in agility.

"Don't worry, Brother Broly, I've taken good notes of the knowledge about dungeon monsters that Miss Eina taught us before, including the attack habits of the Minotaur."

Bell answered, dodging the Minotaur's charge, and swung his sword at the minotaur's neck, but it was blocked by the Minotaur's raised horns.

The longsword clashed with the bull's horn, producing a clang.

While Bell and the Lv.2 Minotaur were battling it out inside the cave, a group of people were also rushing up.

"Ais, you go after that minotaur over there, I'll go after this one."

Bert the werewolf called out to the blonde girl beside him and ran ahead into a tunnel. They were the Loki Familia returning from an investigation mission in the deepest part of the underground labyrinth.

The Loki Familia should have returned much earlier, but when they passed the 24th floor, they were attacked by the new monsters they had encountered on the 60th floor, which delayed their return journey.

They finally made it to the fifteenth floor today, only to be scared away by a group of Minotaur monsters that spawned. This forced them to chase after the Minotaur group as they ran towards the upper levels of the maze.

However, the dungeon's labyrinthine terrain was quite complex, and even after catching up with and eliminating most of the Minotaur, a small number of them still managed to escape to the upper levels.

"it is good."

The swordswoman responded and headed towards another tunnel. However, lacking the keen sense of smell of her werewolf companion, she was unsure which path to take after encountering the new fork in the tunnel.

"Qiang~"

"Moo~"

However, the sound of cattle mooing soon came from a side road, which made the hesitant swordswoman take action instantly.

[Hopefully, nothing bad will happen.]

With that thought in mind, the swordswoman quickened her pace, determined to deal with the fleeing minotaur before it caused any casualties.

However, as the mooing of the bulls became clearer, the girl gradually slowed her pace, simply because she saw what was happening at the tunnel entrance: someone was fighting the Minotaur.

Are they high-level adventurers?

Ais thought this way, but quickly dismissed the idea because of the battle scene in the cave.

[No, that boy isn't fast, nor is he strong enough; he seems to be just a Lv.1 adventurer with decent stats.]

The swordswoman made her assessment just as she saw the boy's sword collide with the Minotaur's horn, revealing some openings in his form.

As the Minotaur prepared to give chase and rush out to finish off the monster, a voice rang out: "Take one and a half steps to the right, then spin one circle to the left and slash diagonally."

Without any hesitation, Bell did as he was told, narrowly avoiding the Minotaur's impact.

The sword followed his body, and as it passed the Minotaur, it struck the monster's back hard.

The sword sliced ​​through the hide, and blood splattered, staining the brown fur red. With a moo, the Minotaur let out a painful cry.

The swordswoman, who was about to rush out, stopped and peeked out from the rock at the tunnel entrance. She then saw that besides the white-haired boy fighting the Minotaur, there were two other people in the cave.

Judging from their height, they should be Lilliputians, and the person next to them wearing a skirt armor is a girl. In other words, the one who spoke was the Lilliputian boy dressed as a supporter.

Are they companions of the white-haired boy fighting the Minotaur? But why aren't they helping him in the battle?

Sword Maiden was somewhat puzzled when she saw the white-haired boy inside the cave begin a new round of battle with the Minotaur, who had gone berserk due to his injury.

The numerical difference made the battle seem extremely dangerous, but whenever the boy made a mistake and was about to be countered, the support boy watching from the sidelines would speak up to remind or give instructions.

After several attempts, Ais figured out that the other party was using the Minotaur to train the white-haired boy's swordsmanship.

The incredibly precise reminders and instructions that corrected the white-haired boy's mistakes or misjudgments made her subconsciously empathize with him.

(End of this chapter)