Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"Sigh, as expected of the floor owner."

●

The monster that broke through the crystal first revealed itself from its head.

It appeared as if its head had sprouted from the ceiling of the 18th floor, its enormous eyes staring down at the inverted world below. The monster had already stretched out its shoulders and arms, and when half of its upper body was exposed, it opened its mouth.

"Roar! Ro ...

With a terrifying, heart-stopping cry that sent shivers down the entire floor, the giant monster "Goliath" crossed the designated 17th floor boundary and was born on this safe floor.

Goliath shattered the crystal, exposing his waist, and then succumbed to gravity and fell from the ceiling.

It was like a black meteorite. Glittering crystal fragments and massive chunks of crystal, each large enough to crush a person, rained down on the ground. The giant somersaulted in the air. With a deafening roar, its enormous feet crushed the central tree directly below.

The enormous tree emitted a deafening wail. The hollows in its roots were completely crushed; in fact, half of the tree was buried underground, and its massive trunk was deformed. Not only that, but a torrential downpour of crystalline rain then poured into the vast grassland near the crushed central tree.

The blue sky had vanished without a trace. Forced through by Goliath, the white crystal—quartz that should have held brilliance—was completely shattered, and the floor lost its light. Only the cracked blue crystal remained on the ceiling, transforming the 18th floor into a pale blue shadow, like a moonlit night.

Finally, the embodiment of all anomalies, the "Lone King of the Maze" reigns supreme in the center of the building.

He slowly raised his head and jumped down from the crushed tree.

"...Huh?"

Goliath, who landed and released an impact, was witnessed by Modo's gang at the closest point.

Having escaped from the eastern forest to this vast grassland, they unfortunately found themselves near the central tree where the floor master had appeared.

As if forgetting his original pale gray-brown complexion, Goliath's skin was now completely black. His blood-red eyes fixed on Mordo and the others.

"—Roar! Ro ...

"Wow, wow! Aa ...

Modo and his team always waited for other squads to defeat the floor master before safely entering the 18th floor, making it impossible for them to fight him here. Panicked, they fled in terror from Goliath, their heads in their hands, filled with confusion.

"What is that...!"

"The Black Goliath...!?"

Bell and his companions, who had arrived at the eastern forest exit, were astonished by the sight.

While Welf and Lily were still in shock, Goliath had already begun to ravage Mordo and the others. Even from a distance, it was clear that the giant was far more agile and stronger than the one Bell had encountered on the 17th floor.

"That monster is probably sent to... no, to kill us, the gods."

The dungeon sensed Hestia and the others' existence as "gods" and, in order to destroy them, directly spawned monsters on the 18th floor.

Bell and the others were completely out of touch with the situation, having only heard this brief explanation on their way here. Upon learning that the floor master (Goliath) in front of them was created specifically to attack the gods, everyone gasped.

Perhaps due to sudden preparation or focused enhancement of abilities (strength), its intelligence is very low, and it seems to attack any prey it sees.

"...We have to save them quickly!"

Bell was initially as surprised as Welf and the others, but after hearing the shrill screams of Mordo and the others, he immediately shook off his fear and was eager to rush forward.

"etc."

"!"

However, Ryu grabbed Bell's hand.

Beneath the hoodie, sky-blue eyes stared intently at Bell, as if glaring at him.

"Are you really going to save them? With this current squad?"

This question is so calm and insightful that it borders on ruthless, yet it is also perfectly justified.

Bell and his team's makeshift squad consisted of fewer than five high-level adventurers. Compared to the floor master (Goliath), who was presumed to possess abilities of Lv.4 or higher, the difference in strength between them was obvious.

You're the squad leader who's in charge of protecting your comrades' lives—besides, do those thugs even deserve to be saved?—Ryu was implying this to Bell.

Bell was speechless, his mind filled with distress and doubt.

However, he was only confused for a brief moment.

"We need to save them."

Bell made his decision almost immediately, and Liu narrowed his eyes.

"You are not qualified to be the squad leader."

If it were someone else, it wouldn't be so bad, but Ryu's accusatory words and gaze hurt Bell's heart the most.

The very next moment after he was defeated by the sharp pain—she smiled.

"However, you did nothing wrong."

Bell's eyes widened. Ryu smiled at him and then rushed out of the forest where everyone was standing. She made her cloak flutter and rushed ahead to Modo and the others.

A surge of heat welled up in Bell's heart, and then he suddenly turned around to look behind him.

Lily, Welf, Mikoto, Sakura, Chigusa, and Hestia.

No one objected; they all nodded with smiles on their faces.

"I'm sorry—thank you everyone." He silently thanked them in his heart.

Bell shouted.

Let's go!

Seven figures raced across the grassland through the forest.

The destination was the central area of ​​the building in front of us, where screams and bombing sounds were erupting.

Bell and his companions plunged into the battlefield where the giants roared and unleashed their power.

Volume 5, Chapter 6: Ode to Heroes

The white crystal on the ceiling has been removed, revealing the desolate twilight of the 18th floor.

That scene can also be clearly seen from the town of Rivera, located on a western lake island.

"What the hell is that...?"

On the vast grassland near the center of the building, a pitch-black giant was wreaking havoc. Its terrifying screams could be heard even in the town, assaulting the ears of the adventurers gathered in the cliffside plaza, staring blankly at the scene.

The floor master was born on the safe floor. Faced with such a major anomaly, even adventurers like Rivera, who should be good at staying put, were unable to take action for a long time.

"—Perth! Perth, are you there?!"

"An, Andromeda! Where did you come from?! You mean, a little thing just jumped out of the sky...?"

"That doesn't matter! Perth, gather all the adventurers in town and all the weapons you can find. We're going to take down that floor master!"

Asifi, already somewhat resigned, gave instructions to the highly skilled merchant owner of the trading post in Rivera Town. The tall, blindfolded owner panicked, spitting as he shouted incoherently:

"Stop talking nonsense, Andromeda! Why should we pay out of our own pockets to deal with that floor master (the big guy)?! We should run away as fast as we can when we encounter a monster like that!"

"Our escape route is cut off! The cave to the south has collapsed; there's no way we can escape this floor!"

Asphie yelled back at him, forbidding him to talk back. Startled by her outburst, the eyepatch shopkeeper turned and looked towards the dusty south, utterly shocked.

"If we can buy enough time to dig open the cave, it's not impossible to escape..."

"That's a really bad joke. You can see from this far that the entire cave has collapsed. How long would it take to dig it back through? Half a day, or a whole day? I'd like to see whether the cave is dug through first, or whether those people you're trying to buy time get chased away by the floor owner!"

"...We don't really need to send our entire force, it's just a floor master (Goliath), we can just bring our elite troops..."

"Do you think that person looks like a typical floor owner?"

Asphie's gaze flew toward the black Goliath, who seemed to have merged with the darkness. The giant swung his thick arms, causing the ground to rumble constantly, and the threat could be felt even from afar.

"Based on my conjecture (intuition), the current claustrophobic state of this floor is probably connected to the floor master (Goliath). There's no way to escape without defeating that guy. You can forget about outside rescue."

"...Damn bastard."

After hearing Asifi's explanation, the burly man seemed to give up and looked dejected.

He didn't remain depressed for long before he raised his ferocious face, waving his arms and shouting at the top of his voice:

"Did you all hear that?! We're going to fight that monster! Anyone who dares to run away now will never set foot in this town again!"

Once the order was given, the others seemed to have decided to go all in. The adventurers who were staying in the town also rushed out, weapons in hand, and charged forward toward the vast plains.

Seeing that everyone around was busy preparing, Asifi walked to the railing of the square.

"I'll go over there too..."

After glancing at the giant, she braced herself on the railing and jumped off the cliff without hesitation.

●

The vast grasslands, now a battlefield, presented a hellish scene.

The group of Modo, targeted by Goliath, screamed in agony. Those who couldn't escape were sent flying into the air by a powerful blow from his thick arm. Even if they dodged the direct hit, it was to no avail; their bodies flew away like scraps of paper.

"Ughhhhhhhh!" The group screamed in agony, but Modo and the others were only concerned with their own escape and had no energy to care about others. Everyone had their backs to the giant, focused solely on creating distance between themselves and the giant.

It was like a defeated army fleeing in disarray, a group of people scattered and running away in panic.

"……Whoa whoa……"

Goliath's expression twisted as he saw Modo and the others running around aimlessly.

The giant monster's physique is similar to that of a pig-headed human (orc). It has short legs, and its strong upper body accounts for about 60% of its total size. It often maintains a forward-leaning posture, with long hair hanging down its back.

Watching the countless tiny figures scatter, Goliath gave up trying to catch up. His blood-red eyes gleamed fiercely, and his back tilted slightly back.

The giant monster then triggered a massive explosion inside its mouth.

“—Huaaaa!”

Accompanying the loud noise was a shockwave.

The shockwave struck the adventurer furthest away, blasting the grassland apart. He was thrown back before he could even scream. Seeing him rolling around on the ground like a broken puppet, Modo and the others were terrified.

"Roar! 'Bowl'...!"

It wasn't a typical intimidation that evoked fear or bound people's hearts; rather, it was a long-range weapon imbued with magic by a giant, releasing pure impact force. Its effective range far surpassed that of the flames of the Hellhound, and its power was ridiculously strong.

"Hoo ...

Immediately afterwards, Goliath raised his head and roared to the sky. The floor master's roar echoed in every corner of the floor, summoning—hordes of monsters.

"What!"

From forests, from grasslands, from wetlands.

A large number of monsters dwelling on the 18th floor were summoned to Goliath's command. Seeing the various monsters gathering in droves, the adventurers were truly stunned.

Monster waves roared and attacked from all directions.

"Eek, eek ...

Modo and the others had no choice but to draw their weapons to fight back, while Goliath coldly approached them again. It roared wildly, sending its prey and the summoned scouts (monsters) flying as it closed in on one of the adventurers.

The enormous beastly shadow easily swallowed him whole. The orc adventurer, terrified and unable to move, was stared down at by its crimson eyes.

Goliath roared as he swung his massive iron hammer, his fist gathering power from behind—a blow that would instantly kill any adventurer or monster.

"——!"

However, in the blink of an eye, an adventurer came rushing in like a gust of wind.

It was Ryu, her cloak billowing in the wind. She launched a surprise attack from Goliath's blind spot, adding speed and unleashing a powerful strike—her wooden sword piercing the enemy's left knee. The crisp sound of the blade gliding over his eardrums echoed around him. Goliath's supporting leg was struck with such force that the attack missed its mark, failing to strike the orc adventurer.

The shockwave from the shattered ground sent the adventurers flying. Sakura and Mikoto, oblivious to the danger, suppressed their fear beneath their excited expressions and followed Ryu into battle.

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

"Drink it all!"

They each attacked the left knee with their respective weapons—an axe and a katana—but the next moment, their eyes widened in surprise.

The hard texture made their wrists numb. Sakura's battle axe was chipped, and Mikoto's katana was broken in two.

The floor owner's skin was tougher than sturdy metal armor, and could only cause abrasions.

"Get out of here!"

Ryu's sharp cry pierced the ears of the two still-shaken individuals.

Sakura and Ming were startled and turned around—Goliath's gaze followed Sakura and the others as they ran from its left to its right, its eyes wide open, glaring at them with gritted teeth. The giant twisted its waist and swung its extremely thick arm violently.

"Ugh, Ooo ...