The Cloud-Raised Brave Man's Travels

The next second, Miracle blew into the bear's face, the bow instantly buckling. And, you know what... the feedback from hitting someone with the bow was quite strange, like the crack of a whip. If Miracle were one of those intelligent bows from epic heroes, it would have dropped pearls by now. My precious bow was being used like a club by its master. It felt wronged, so wronged!

Koya was lucky, really lucky. After breaking through the monster blockade, he came across a vertical passage around the corner. Without hesitation, Koya jumped down. It was about ten or twenty meters away, and seconds later, Koya and Hatsune landed in a pool of water.

"Rest room?! Wow, Koya, we're so lucky, aren't we?"

In a dungeon, opportunities and risks always coexist, just like the rest room that Koya and his companions are currently in. Actually, this rest room doesn't have a fixed name; it's just a general term for a phenomenon, and adventurers can call it whatever they like.

This kind of 'rest room' is usually the place where dungeon materials are produced, used to make potions or produce some magical minerals for forging. This kind of room is difficult to find because its entrance is completely hidden, and only extremely lucky can discover its existence.

Of course, this kind of room usually has a guardian monster, but this kind of monster generally does not refresh, which means that if someone has explored this place, it will be safe in the future.

Why did Hatsune immediately determine that this was a rest room? Because she saw several tents next to the pond that had obviously been there for a long time, and there was a thick layer of dust on the tents.

"Huh... Let's get some rest. Then we'll head to the eighteenth floor and see if we can buy a map to the sixteenth floor. Then we can go back."

Koya looked at the entrance they came from, a small cave hanging on the rock wall about twenty meters high. Neither he nor Hatsune could fly, so it was unlikely that they could get out from there.

"Ok!"

The transformation into a brilliant dragon was immediately lifted, and his body instantly protested like Koya's brain. The fatigue that surged like a tide made Koya's body much softer, and the soreness and swelling in his legs almost made Koya fall into the pool.

Hatsune quickly jumped off Koya and helped him out of the pool, letting him sit down against a rock.

"I'll go see if those tents are still usable. You get some rest."

"Um...thank you for the trouble, Hatsune..."

Koya's voice sounded weak. He just felt that using the Brilliant Dragon Transformation this time was more tiring than ever before. It was obvious that the duration this time was shorter than the previous times... With such doubts, Koya closed his eyes.

On the other side, Hatsune opened the tent and went in to check. The tent was not big... about the size of a bed. It was quite clean inside without any dust, and there was a layer of soft animal skin on the ground.

Hatsune quickly took off Koya's clothes and moved him into the tent to let him have a good rest. She was naturally responsible for the night watch. After all, strange things could fall from the hole above his head at any time.

·Dividing line·

Shareable Intelligence - Doomsday Five

The zombie crisis broke out without any warning. Logically speaking, there would always be a period of warning before such a viral crisis breaks out, and people in power can often see this period of warning. What's more, 80% of such a complex zombie virus is man-made. But this time, the girls' homes did not receive any warning. It broke out so suddenly... It was as if someone released a large amount of virus all over the world at the same time.

Chapter 53: Hestia's Efforts

It was six in the morning, and not many people were in the guild at this time. Only a few adventurers returning from the dungeon were waiting at the front desk to exchange their fari. A small figure ran in from the main door. She seemed anxious, her twin ponytails swaying as she ran. She arrived at the front desk, her mouth slightly open, her breathing rapid, beads of sweat on her forehead...

"Lady Hestia? What's wrong with you?"

Aegina saw the person in front of her and hurriedly walked out from the front desk, then took her to the reception room at the side. Seeing Hestia's embarrassed look, she knew that she must have something to talk to her about.

"Aina, did Koya and Miku come to the guild yesterday?"

"No, I haven't seen them since they exchanged fari with me at dusk the day before yesterday."

Hestia heard the news she least wanted to hear. She would rather believe that Koya and Hatsune exchanged Farley at Aegina's place last night and left her to go to the hotel to have sex all night than to hear that they didn't show up.

"Lady Hestia, could it be..."

Aegina guessed something from Hestia's ugly expression, but she didn't dare to confirm her judgment.

"Koya and Miku's gifts are still there. They're still alive. They might have gotten lost in the dungeon."

"I understand... Please wait a moment."

Aegina hurried out of the reception room. Her current state was similar to Hestia's upon arriving at the guild: obvious panic and fear...

About five minutes later, Aegina returned to the reception room.

"I just asked my colleagues to ask the adventurers who came to repay their money, and none of them had seen Koya and the others."

These adventurers who came to the guild to exchange money early in the morning were most likely on their way back from the dungeon last night. Most of them were on the fifth to tenth floors. Since they did not see Koya on the way back, it can be confirmed that Koya is now in the dungeon.

"Aina, I'd like to issue a mission. The reward is 500,000 faris, and the requirement is to provide information on Koya and his men's location or safety. Also, please clearly state the mission. I will personally listen to their report. Don't try to lie to me."

Five hundred thousand faris was all the savings of Hestia's family now, but for the sake of Koya Hestia took it all out without hesitation. After that, Hestia and Aegina filled in the details of the adventurer's commission together.

"I'll go get approval from higher-ups. It'll take about an hour to put up the sign, so please bear with me."

Aina was also a little embarrassed. After all, she was just a receptionist. If she wanted to entrust something like a license, it still needed the approval of the upper echelons of the guild before it could be issued. Even if she tried her best to simplify the application process, it still took time.

"I understand, please."

"Then I'll do it right away."

Aegina stood up and hurried on, while Hestia turned her back on her and ran outside. Although the commission had been issued, Hestia didn't want to sit still and wait for death. She wanted to do what she could.

Passing through the guild headquarters' gates, a spacious courtyard opened before them. The smooth, stone-paved garden was bustling with adventurers. It was peaceful here, Orario as usual, untouched by a single disappearance. Oh—if a stunning beauty like Sword Princess disappeared in the dungeon, these adventurers would surely be heartbroken. But Hestia's heart was now in turmoil, a raging storm.

She couldn't quite put her finger on what was going on inside her at the moment. Fear? Panic? She was a little confused. This was the first time she realized that a god's emotions could be so diverse.

"Hestia, how's it going?"

"No news, but the commission has been issued..."

Mih stood at the guild's entrance. Seeing Hestia appear, he immediately approached to inquire about the situation. As allies of the Poverty God Alliance, Mih and Hestia were close friends. When Hestia's Familia was in trouble, Mih immediately brought his Familia to help. Unfortunately, Mih's Familia focused on life-oriented potion-making, and their members weren't particularly strong. Only their leader, Naza, was at Level 2.

The leader of the Mihe clan nearly died in the middle level, and even after being rescued, she lost her right arm. Now, fearing monsters, she no longer dares to venture into the dungeon. Naza is well aware of the dangers of the middle level; it's a completely different area from the upper level, and even the most experienced adventurers on the upper level are at risk of death in the middle level.

"Hestia, let's go find Hephaestus and Takemikaze."

"Um!"

Mih's suggestion temporarily helped Hestia regain some sanity. She suppressed the panic in her heart. She didn't know what would happen to Koya and the others in the dungeon. If... just if, if Koya and the others really encountered danger in the dungeon, then now they could only rely on themselves!

Hestia and her group quickly left the guild and ran around the vast city.

Then, an hour later, just as Aegina had predicted, Hestia's adventurer request was posted on the guild's notice board.

When the adventurers gathered in front of the notice board to check the various commissions, one of them walked over to the newly posted adventurer's commission and read out the contents.

Finally, she snapped off the parchment and stared at it.

"This shouldn't be your masterpiece, Lord Hermes."

·Dividing line·

Koya, who was in the dungeon, had also woken up at this moment. He hadn't expected to be dragged to that dream training ground in his current state. Last night, he had been beaten up by that burly man all night. He was clearly just as strong and fast as him, but he relied on his combat experience and skills to beat him until he cried out in pain...

But to be honest, after escaping from that dream, Koya felt refreshed. It wasn't because he was beaten out of his M system, but because he finally got rid of the strong man who came up and threw him over the shoulder without saying a word.

"Who is that big brother?... Logically, the people who appeared in the dream are related to me, such as the Black Dragon and the dungeon monsters, but where did that big brother come from?"

Koya was filled with distress. These past few days, his dreams were all about that muscular big brother. If he hadn't shown his masculinity on Hestia and Hatsune every night before going to bed, he would have been beaten out of his femininity by that burly man.

"Koya~~Have you recovered?"

"Yeah, no problem!"

"Then let's go, target - safe floor 18!"

·Dividing line·

Shareable Information - Monster Gift

It was the Apollo family who gave monsters to the Hestia family, but this decision was not made by the main god Apollo, but by the leader of the Apollo family, Hyacinthus, who made the decision without Apollo's knowledge. His purpose was to let Koya die in the dungeon.

The reason was simple: jealousy. Yes, Apollo had taken a fancy to Koya and had shown an unprecedented interest in him, even stating bluntly in front of his own children, "I want Koya, I want him badly. If he's willing to join the Apollo Familia, I'm willing to give it to him. If he's not willing, I don't mind starting a Familiar War against the Hestia Familia!"

Hyacinthus was jealous of Apollo's preference for Coia, so he issued this order. The person who carried out this task was a senior Lv.2 adventurer from Apollo's family with expertise and agility attributes.

Chapter 54: Good News

Around noon, several gods gathered in Hestia's small library, including Mihe, Takemikazuchi and Hephaestus. At this moment, Hestia was much calmer than she was in the morning, because she had thought some things through. With Koya and Hatsune's strength, they were actually very safe in the middle level. As long as there were no special situations, they could handle it safely.

Furthermore, the journey back from the middle level was quite long, and staying overnight in the dungeon was quite common. Most importantly, Hestia could sense the blessings of Koya and Hatsune, which was enough to prove that they were still safe.

However, Hestia still wanted to get rid of some people to confirm Koya's situation, because she didn't want to take the risk even if there was a one in ten thousand chance.

"Hestia, have you calmed down?"

"Um...I'm sorry for dragging you here without your permission, Hefei."

"It's alright, but I'm sorry I can't help you much. The children strong enough to explore the middle level have already gone on the expedition with Loki's family."

Just then, the door of the bookstore was pushed open, and Aina came in with a man dressed as an adventurer.

"Good news, Goddess Hestia. This is an adventurer from the Ganesha clan. He just returned from the eighteenth floor. Koya and the others are already on the safe floor."

"Excuse me, could this adventurer please repeat it in front of us?"

"Of course, Lady Hestia."

The adventurer from the Ganesha family also understood that lying before the gods was forbidden, and of course, he hadn't lied. He was a Level 4 adventurer, returning from the dungeon today. Because of the last Hero's Festival, this Ganesha family member had memorized Koya. When he went to the guild to redeem his Fari, he saw the quest on the notice board and mentioned it to the front desk staff.

"Goddess Hestia, I'm a member of the Ganesha family. I remember this young man, Koya, from the last Hero's Festival. I ran into them today when I passed by the 18th floor security area. They looked fine, their armor intact, and they didn't seem to be in any danger."

No lie! The four present instantly made their judgment, and Hestia's heart, which had been hanging in the balance, was finally at ease. With a hint of tears in her voice, she spoke sincerely to the adventurer from the Ganesha clan before her.

"Thank you, thank you so much for bringing this news."

"Don't be so kind, Goddess Hestia. This is really just a piece of cake."

"Aegina, I've confirmed it. Please give the reward to this adventurer as soon as possible. Thank you very much."

Aegina's face was also filled with smiles, and the two of them left quickly. At this moment, the atmosphere in the small library instantly became relaxed.

"Hestia, it looks like it will take a while before you can pay me back the money you owe me after spending the five hundred thousand."

"Hehe~ Sorry, Hefei-chan."

"It's okay, let's go. We haven't gotten together for a while. I'll treat everyone to a drink. Ajian, Mihe, are you all okay?"

"Hahaha, it's okay. Let's go!"

Just as the four of them were chatting and laughing, the door was pushed open again, and this time it was an old acquaintance of theirs who walked in—

"Hestia, I heard that Koya is in danger in the dungeon. Do you need my help?"

"Hermes? You're too late. Koya is safe."

"what?"

"Hahaha, you came at the right time. Let's go and have a drink."

In this way, Hermes, who looked confused, was taken to drink.

·Dividing line·

On the other side, on the 18th floor, Koya and Hatsune met an unexpected acquaintance.

"Lefiya?! Aren't you guys going on an expedition?"

"Koya, why are you here?"

Both sides were very surprised that the other would appear on the eighteenth floor. They met in the trading area on the eighteenth floor. The biggest feature here is that the goods are expensive, but there are plenty of them. Koya came to this trading area to see if there is a map of the sixteenth floor. Hatsune is resting in the hotel on the eighteenth floor at the moment. She was very tired after guarding Koya all night last night.

Lefiya came here to sell off supplies. The remaining whetstones and cargo carts of Loki's family had to be sold on the 18th floor, otherwise it would be too troublesome to bring them back.

As for why Lefiya was sent here, it was probably to hone the socially anxious and tsundere little elf's abilities. The items Lefiya had to sell were actually very few, a drop in the bucket compared to the remaining supplies from the expedition. She was probably sent here just to hone her social skills.

"I was maliciously sent to a monster and escaped here from the fifteenth floor. I'm planning to buy a map for the sixteenth floor."

"Oh, you actually made it to the safe floor safely. Your luck and strength are pretty good. You're much stronger than a few days ago. Back then, you were beaten by Ai Si and had no chance to fight back."

"I guess I still have no power to fight back now. Forget about me, what about you, Loki's family?"

The matter of buying the map was no longer a big deal. After taking a look at the supplies in the cart behind Lefiya, Koya roughly guessed that the expedition of Loki's family might not have achieved the expected goal. Maybe he could get a ride.

"The expedition failed. We encountered unexpected monsters on the new floor. We suffered heavy losses of weapons and armor from the front lines, so we returned immediately. The clan had a lot of supplies left that would be a burden on the return journey, so they asked me to come and sell them."

Lefiya's answer was similar to what Koya thought. The expedition had indeed failed.

"Koya, don't you need a map of the sixteenth floor? Come with me. Our clan has prepared quite a few maps of the middle floors."

Koya followed behind Lefiya and asked her with some surprise.

"Why did you, the Loki clan, specially prepare a batch of mid-level maps?"

"Because we will be bringing some of our clan's potential Lv.2 and Lv.1 adventurers to the th floor, and then letting them team up to adventure in the middle floors. Naturally, we'll be bringing a lot of middle-level maps. Oh, and Bell is here too. He's supporting the Amazon team."

"Is Bell being entangled by Amazon?"

"Hey, maybe."

The two chatted and laughed as they arrived at the Loki Familia's camp, which was actually just a few large tents put together. The Loki Familia had separate tents for men and women, so Lefiya naturally brought Koya back to her own tent.

"Eh? Miss Ais and the others aren't here? Where did they go?"