—Dungeon, 6th Floor. In the monster corridor.
Dozens of adventurers were clearing out the surrounding monsters. Most of them were above Lv.2, so they quickly wiped out the low-tier creatures of the upper floors.
Following behind them, Hestia looked around with curiosity.
"It feels so amazing… So this is the place where Kai-kun has always been fighting?"
"Yes, Kami-sama," Bell replied, holding a silver arm shield and a short sword in the other hand. He kept a wary eye on the Dungeon's walls, prepared for any sudden spawns, while continuing with admiration, "Senpai has been training in this kind of high-intensity environment every day… Even though it's easy for him, he still stayed in the upper floors to grind monsters with me and Lili, just to help us understand our technique."
Hearing this, Lili, who was walking on Hestia's other side, shot Bell a sharp glare.
"White-haired brat, you're not qualified to talk about Kai-sama!"
"Senpai calling me that is one thing, but… Lili, why are you calling me a white-haired brat too?"
"Hmph!"
She turned her head away and ignored Bell. But her eyes casually glanced to the back of the group, where the three members of the Takemikazuchi Familia, including the god himself, were searching for Kai.
Maybe it was because he felt her gaze—Takemikazuchi turned his head and happened to meet Lili's eyes.
He paused briefly, then gave a gentle smile and raised a fist to cheer her on, before continuing the search.
Out of respect for a god, Lili managed to force a smile and quickly looked away.
She didn't feel particularly happy about Takemikazuchi's kindness.
Because she understood very well: the reason the god of war, Takemikazuchi, had come to the Dungeon in person wasn't just out of guilt or apology toward Kai, but largely due to Hestia's influence.
Still, regardless of the motive, the participation of another god was a good thing.
Under Hestia's lead, the three members of the Takemikazuchi Familia gave their all in the search. But just like on the upper floors, aside from the heavy scent of blood throughout the cave, they found no other clues—not even a single stray hair.
This search party of several dozen people included not only the Hestia Familia and Takemikazuchi Familia, but also the Hermes Familia and a few unaffiliated adventurers.
For the gods of the upper world, entering the Dungeon was a serious taboo. Even if they sealed their arcanum and powers, becoming no more than regular humans, they still risked triggering unpredictable events.
So the fact that two gods had entered the Dungeon to search for Kai showed just how vital Hestia's influence had been.
The adventurers continued to descend floor by floor. Soon, they stopped before the vertical shaft leading to the 12th floor.
"Lady Hestia, we've reached the boundary point," a tall man at the front turned and asked, "Shall we keep going?"
"Go! We must find Kai-kun. He wouldn't die that easily."
Clenching her teeth as she spoke with determination, Hestia marched into the vertical shaft without hesitation.
Seeing her move, the others quickly followed, keeping her and the two other gods securely protected in the center of the formation.
Though she spoke firmly just now, Hestia herself didn't truly hold much hope.
It had already been a full night since Kai had been trapped in the middle levels. With so much time passed, and in such a dangerous place—even if Kai was a strong adventurer—he would have likely encountered serious danger.
After all, she had seen his status—he was still just a bottom-rung Lv.2.
No matter how much she wanted to believe, she simply couldn't convince herself that Kai could still be alive.
The only reason she insisted on continuing the search was because she wanted—at the very least—to recover his body.
Unlike monsters, which were quickly devoured by the Dungeon upon death, human adventurer corpses would often remain for several days before being consumed.
Just the thought of Kai's body lying exposed in the Dungeon made Hestia's stomach turn. Beside her, Bell's face had turned pale, and he trembled uncontrollably. He felt nauseous just imagining that Kai might have died down here.
But compared to the pessimistic Hestia and the increasingly desperate Bell, Lili seemed much more composed.
It wasn't that she was overly confident in Kai's strength, believing he could survive alone on the middle floors.
It was simply because Lili firmly believed in one thing—seeing is believing.
As long as she hadn't seen Kai's corpse with her own eyes, she would never accept that he had died.
The 13th floor… the 14th… all the way to the 16th floor, the search party still found nothing. But unlike before, Hestia and Bell now looked noticeably relieved. Lili even wore a faint smile of joy.
Nothing! They had searched thoroughly, from the 1st floor all the way down, and still hadn't found Kai's body on the 16th floor!
Which meant—Kai hadn't died on the upper sixteen floors!
And the next 17th floor… as long as Kai hadn't been foolish enough to directly fight Goliath, and had run just a bit faster, he should have been able to reach the safety zone of the 18th floor.
With a smile of relief finally appearing on her face, Hestia followed the others into the tunnel leading to the 17th floor.
The vertical shaft wasn't long. Soon, they reached the bottom—right in front of the 17th floor's entrance.
As they entered the 17th floor, the vast space immediately drew all eyes to the two figures battling within.
A humanoid monster over seven meters tall, every movement of its arms and legs causing thunderous crashes—that was the [Labyrinth's Lone King], Goliath.
And the one fighting Goliath was a darting, jet-black figure leaping through the chamber.
The moment she saw the figure, Hestia's expression changed drastically.
At first came overwhelming joy, then a deep sense of relief—but quickly, her gaze locked onto Goliath and filled with nervous tension.
Bell and Lili felt the same. Lili even couldn't help herself and shouted from afar: "Kai-sama!"
Though they couldn't clearly see the face of the sword-wielding figure, neither Hestia, nor Bell, nor Lili had the slightest doubt who it was.
After all, in all of Orario, only one person pulled off this kind of all-black—hair, eyes, clothes, sword—ensemble.
And if that wasn't enough, the sharp aura filling the entire 17th floor—an aura that felt like it could slice skin—could never be faked.
But upon hearing Lili shout "Kai-sama" from afar, Kai was briefly distracted—and the defensive line he had been holding instantly collapsed.
Goliath's enormous, yet shockingly agile body closed the distance in a flash. Its left hand knocked aside Kai's longsword, while its right palm slammed brutally into his chest.
The massive force tore through his ribs and crashed into his chest cavity.
It was like someone had crushed his heart. Even with his current nearly 60 physique stat, Kai was hit so hard his blood surged wildly. In the instant the blow landed, he felt his organs shift.
"Guh—!!"
He could only open his mouth and spit out a mouthful of thick, black blood before a violent wind exploded from his chest, launching him backward.
Flying through the air, Kai barely managed to stay conscious thanks to his pain resistance from his mental stat. As he turned midair to face the ground, he suddenly drove his longsword down.
Sparks flew as the blade scraped the floor—and finally, he came to a stop.
As luck would have it, the direction Goliath had sent him flying… was right toward Hestia and the others.
"Ugh… gah…"
As soon as he stopped, Kai collapsed to his knees, hunched over, propping himself up with one hand on his sword as he dry-heaved violently.
Damn it! He never could've imagined that as the seventeenth floor boss, Goliath's power would be this outrageous—completely beyond the rules. Just in terms of raw strength, calling it "over a hundred points" would be an understatement.
"Kai-sama…!"
"Kai-kun!"
"Senpai, are you okay?!"
Seeing Kai slammed flying, Lili, Hestia, and Bell all rushed to check on him, but he dodged away—because if he accepted help from teammates, he'd lose the 500% bonus from the [Solo Player] state.
"Wait… Don't come any closer yet."
Fighting through the burning pain coursing through his body, Kai took a few steps back, avoiding the three. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a figure standing not far behind.
The person's face was hidden beneath a gray-brown hooded cloak, but based on the slight curves of the chest and the skirt peeking out below, it was clearly a female adventurer.
Whether male or female didn't matter anymore…
"Excuse me…" Kai quickly stepped forward and got straight to the point. "Can I borrow your sword? Just for a moment?"
As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on her waist.
She carried a slender blue-green sword in a dark green leather scabbard. It had a graceful, feminine look, and even at a glance, its quality was obviously that of a top-tier divine weapon.
"…"
The woman beneath the cloak seemed surprised—or perhaps hesitant about lending him the sword—so she stood frozen, saying nothing.
And at that moment—
"AIOOOOOO!!!"
Goliath's enraged roar echoed. Kai turned his head and saw Goliath charging toward him. His pupils shrank sharply, and without time for courtesy, he reached out and drew the slender sword from the woman's waist.
The moment he grasped it, a golden skill slot in the second layer of the [Black Swordsman] skill tree lit up.
[Dual Wielding] Lv.1 (9999/10000): When holding a sword in each hand, all attributes slightly increase, gaining attack bonuses and slightly improved agility. Battle instinct is enhanced.
When injured, activates a special dual-wielding state: received damage is slightly reduced, and dealt damage is slightly increased. These effects scale with injury severity, up to a maximum of 20% reduction / 200% boost.]