The Cloud-Raised Brave Man's Travels

"I must conduct this secret meeting quickly and without anyone noticing. I also anticipated that you and your followers would be wary of me, Hestia."

Did he mean that he didn't want anyone else, including his own people, to know that Hestia had been summoned to this prayer hall? Hestia had been brought here by force because he had anticipated everything.

At the same time, Hestia had a hunch that she was being tested.

Uranus must have thought the same as Hestia, and he knew it from the moment Koya and the others brought her out of the dungeon.

Including the mandatory missions, they had been observing until today. Observing the movements and reactions of Hestia and the others. Seeing if Hestia was qualified enough to warrant a meeting between the two main gods like this.

"I was called here—about the dragon girl, Albion, correct?"

Hestia didn't waste any time, directly bringing the topic to the point of injury that both sides were most concerned about. She fixed her eyes on the imposing god seated at the altar.

"What is she? Do you know anything about her, Ouranos?"

"..."

"What exactly is happening in the dungeon now? What are you hiding?"

She asked Uranus, who remained silent.

Hestia let her voice echo in the dark altar and asked:

"What exactly is your divine will?"

The flame of the torch seemed to be blown by the wind, making a burning sound, but where did the wind come from in this enclosed underground?

Uranus's majestic features were illuminated by the firelight, and he spoke quietly. His eyes, reminiscent of the heavens, gazed directly at Hestia.

"—'Heretic'?"

At the altar lit by torches, Hestia murmured.

Uranus, who was sitting on the throne, nodded in response.

"That's what we call them... those monsters with reason."

Hestia heard about the little dragon girl from the old god who knew everything.

Heretics, alien elements excluded from orthodoxy, are indeed very suitable for these intellectual monsters. They are attacked by monsters in the dungeon and hunted by adventurers on the ground. There is no place in this world that can accommodate them.

"Are you saying Albion is also that 'heretic'?"

"Exactly. They share a common trait. These beings possess a high degree of intelligence compared to ordinary monsters...intelligence, and more importantly, a heart. It's a combination of will and emotion, no less powerful than humans."

"Wait...how many of them are there?"

Uranus didn't answer this question, but continued to introduce the existence of heretics to Hestia. However, Hestia knew from his attitude that there were many heretics...

"Uncontrolled by the urge to destroy and kill, a group of 'monsters' who are beyond the norm..."

Uranus added that as far as humanoid monsters are concerned, many "heretics" have appearances similar to those of the inhabitants of the underworld.

"We're not sure when the phenomenon of 'heretic children' began, but ever since we clearly observed their existence and made contact, we've been assisting them in the name of 'protection'."

"Assistance...!? As the guild's god, you're actually assisting monsters!?"

What are you thinking about? Hestia was about to yell, but she gave up the idea because she found that she didn't seem to have the right to blame him. After all, the Hestia Familia also brought a monster back from the dungeon.

After spending a few days with Albion, Hestia almost forgot that she was just a monster in the dungeon a few days ago. Yes... these heretics have the same minds as humans, and it is unfair to simply regard them as monsters.

Uranus was not shaken by Hestia's emotions at all. He continued with a calm expression like a mountain:

"The purpose of this mandatory mission is to return a 'heretic' that unexpectedly appeared on the surface to its companions. Hestia is the dragon girl you and your followers are protecting."

"I won't ask you when you found out. So, my children are now..."

"I guess they're heading to the 'heretic' residence, their 'secret place'."

The real purpose of the mandatory mission was to escort. Perhaps Uranus had intended to issue the mandatory mission long ago, but there was no reason to assign it to a family of moderate strength and no criminal record. Koya's concealed level became the excuse.

At this point, Hestia had almost understood what she should have understood, but she still had one last question.

"Uranus, why did you specifically entrust us with this? Why not just snatch Albion away and take him to the dungeon? Why did you tell us about the existence of the 'heretic'?"

"There are several reasons, including your unexpected acquaintance with a monster that can speak human language. However, the main reason is..."

Uranus paused for a moment, and her eyes suddenly brightened as she looked at Hestia.

"You really can't guess why I'm looking for you?"

"From a monster to a human?"

"Exactly."

Ouranos nodded.

"I understand that humanity's hatred for them is deep-rooted and unchangeable, but you've given me hope. The heretic you rescued has actually become human and joined the Familia. My original plan was for you to become a bridge between humans and them, but now you've given me a new option."

Chapter 201: The Secret of the Twentieth Floor

The twentieth floor is still the area of the tree maze. In addition to the original monsters on the upper floor, there are several more poisonous plants on this floor. Hatsune's auxiliary ability has many uses, but it does not have the effect of detoxification. In addition, the four people in Hatsune's group were indeed embarrassed by these hidden plants.

"Koya, I need an antidote..."

"Be careful, by the way, what's the scene this time?"

"There are several colorful little people dancing in front of me..."

Hatsune leaned on Albion and said weakly to Koya that she had just accidentally stepped on a mushroom on the ground, and the mushroom exploded like a bomb. The scattered spores enveloped Hatsune Miku and Albion beside her like smoke.

Koya took out a bottle of green potion from his portable warehouse and handed it to Hatsune. Thanks to the preparations for the expedition a few days ago, there were enough potions in the portable warehouse. However, after today's mandatory mission was over, he would have to go to God Mihe to buy a new batch of potions.

"This mushroom bomb is hard to defend against... The green cap matches the ground, and it's so small it's easy to step on it."

"It's quite troublesome, but we're pretty lucky. We didn't encounter any extremely poisonous plants. I heard from Aina that a Lv. 3 adventurer stepped on five or six poisonous mushrooms while retreating from the th floor and died from the poison before he could even leave the dungeon."

"Well, that's scary."

"But my husband and Albion seem completely unaffected by these poisonous mushrooms."

The Great Tree Labyrinth differs from the other floors in its environment. Unlike the other floors, where direct monster combat is required, monster spawns are less frequent in the Great Tree Labyrinth. The main source of trouble for adventurers is the poisonous plants. While the nineteenth floor's "entrance" doesn't offer this, on the twentieth floor, Koya and his companions experienced the Great Tree Labyrinth's welcoming atmosphere. However, among the four-person team, Koya and Albion never stepped on a single mushroom. Even the mushroom poison from Hatsune and Haruhime had no effect on these two dragons.

"Well, after this upgrade I must go for the development ability of [Abnormal Resistance]."

"Calm down a bit now, but Abnormal Resistance is a really good ability to develop. Next time, it won't just be about poison. Things like paralysis, burning, and mind control will also require Abnormal Resistance as a backup."

The group chatted and laughed, feeling nothing like they were exploring a dangerous dungeon, but rather like they were on a picnic. And if you took away the dangerous monsters and the venomous plants, the tree maze would indeed be quite picturesque.

"Speaking of which, how far are we from our destination?"

"We're very close. Turn left at the next fork in the road, and then take the middle road at the next three-way intersection to reach your destination."

There were still thirty minutes until midnight. If nothing unexpected happened, Koya and the others could even reach the mission location early. However, the Hestia Familia knew they still had no idea what their mission was. Should they just go and take a look at the designated location? Or should they wait a while? Never mind, they could just get there first and figure out the rest later.

"Come to think of it, we were followed again after reaching the 20th floor."

When they were about to reach the fork in the road, Koya came to Hatsune's side and told her what he had sensed. This time the tracker's methods were not very sophisticated, at least much rougher than those of the Daedalus family.

"Um?!"

"They're not from the Daedalus clan. To be honest, I'm not sure if they're following us, because the monsters that appeared in the cameras I left behind are just monsters that look no different from the ordinary monsters on the 20th floor."

"Koya, do you think... could it be the same existence as Albion?"

"We'll see when the time comes."

After that, the four-member team fought against the monster several more times, with Albion still taking action and Koya sweeping the battlefield for her.

The team climbed over the dense tree roots under their feet, climbed up the slope, and pushed aside the lush vegetation.

Shortly after.

"arrive……"

They arrived at the destination of their mandatory mission.

It was a rectangular, open space, over ten meters wide and the same height overhead. The ceiling and walls were also made of tree bark, covered in luminous green moss.

Although not covering the entire ground, there are beautiful flower beds of green grass and small white flowers everywhere.

However, even more eye-catching than the flower beds is...

"crystal?"

Deep green crystals, reminiscent of emeralds, grew throughout the cave. Each of these crystals shone faintly. Quartz of varying sizes, growing through the bark ceiling, walls, and floor, made Haruhime and the others sigh in admiration. However, this magnificent scene reminded Koya of the appearance of the Eighteenth-Floor Goliath. Along the far wall of the cave, piles of quartz formed clusters resembling small icebergs.

“We’re here, but…”

"Nothing, no one..."

Standing in the empty cave, looking around, everyone was a little surprised.

At first glance, there were no humans, not even monsters. The expanse of quartz looked dreamlike, but nothing special enough to warrant a mandatory quest destination.

This is also a dead end, and the only entrance and exit is the passage that Koya and his friends came through.

"Is this really here?"

"No mistake, it's... here."

Hatsune took out the map and compared it with the floor map that came with the mandatory mission, and discussed it with Haruhime in confusion.

The caverns, lit by quartz, were brighter than the paths they had traveled to before. To prevent the sudden appearance of a monster, the team huddled together, searching for any clues related to the mandatory mission. However, their search proved fruitless.

"So what's the mission?"

Koya couldn't help but complain a few times. Even if a few people from the guild came out to attack them, it would be fine. Standing here in confusion would make the Hestia family look stupid!

After a while, when the pocket watch pointed to the early morning, Keya seemed to hear singing in his ears. It was a voice like the singing of a siren, elegant and ethereal, not a sound that a human could make.

Soon the sound became like singing in the ears of Koya and the others. Hatsune, Haruhime, and Albion all heard the song. The sound gradually grew louder, and the clear melody lingered in their ears. It was a song they had never heard before.

"Koya..."

"Albion, what did you hear?"

"This voice...is calling us."

Albion opened his eyes and his gaze drifted toward the sound of singing. The melody came from deep within the cavern, from a corner of the crystal cluster covering the wall.

The group looked at each other and took a step forward, gripping their weapons tightly, and stopped in front of magnificent piles of quartz - lush dark green crystal pillars.

At first glance, it was just a piece of crystal without any special features... But Koya was sure that the sound came from behind it. Albion acted decisively. While Koya was still thinking about whether to go and take a look, the spear in Albion's hand had already shattered the crystal in front of them.

There was a crackling sound like glass breaking, and the crystal shattered into pieces, revealing the hole that was originally blocked.

“…No wonder I couldn’t find it.”

This was a hidden tree hole, fused with the rock wall and hidden behind a crystal. Within the self-repairing dungeon, the shattered crystal had begun to mend at a visible speed. Now that Albion had made his choice, Koya and the others hesitated no longer. They lit their magic stone lamps and entered the cave.

As all four entered, the entrance behind them quickly disappeared.

“…Let’s go.”

The singing stopped as if its mission had been accomplished. No matter what, the road was indeed revealed to Koya and the others, and they could only continue walking.

At first it was very narrow, but then it became passable. After walking a few dozen steps, it suddenly became open.

"...There's a spring."

Walking out of the passage, we came to a cave slightly smaller than the previous one. Upon reaching this point, we could see a pool of clear spring water. It was about five meters long and wide, and the depth was unknown, so it could be called a pond.

With the magic stone lamp in his hand, Keya quickly searched the surroundings. Good... there was no way out again.

"According to the storybook, we're going to pass through this pond next. There must be a path underneath it."

"Albion, reality can't be compared to a storybook."

"I think what Albion said makes some sense. After all, we haven't found the source of the singing yet."

Koya stretched his muscles, and then with a whoosh, he was like a stone hitting the pool of water. The splashing water jumped two or three meters high, just like frying fish.

The spring water was icy cold, the bottom was clear and the view was sharp. At the bottom of the ten-meter-deep pool, there was indeed a two-meter-high hole. Koya swam through the hole. The magic stone lamp had gone out in the water. Koya could only rely on the crystals on the rock wall that emitted a faint glow to grope his way through the underwater tunnel. After about three minutes, the tunnel began to rise. After another two minutes, Koya's head emerged from the water and breathed the air.

After confirming the route, Koya returned and brought Hatsune and the others over. As for holding their breath, it was easy; with the gift, even a Level 1 Haruhime could stay underwater for about ten minutes. The problem was that Haruhime couldn't swim, so Koya had to have her lie on his back to carry her. Albion, however, had never learned to swim before, taking to the water like a fish, effortlessly at ease.

“—Puha!”

Koya and his companions emerged from the water one after another. The sound of the water lapping against the surface was particularly noticeable in the dark cave. When Koya and his companions reached the shore, Koya quickly turned on the magic stone lamp, illuminating everything around them. A cavernous room, resembling a stalactite cavern, a stark contrast to the overall style of the tree maze, came into view. It was composed of black bedrock, with only the quartz growing on the ceiling and walls still glowing.