Conqueror [#5]

On the 30th floor of Babel, above the dungeon, gathered a large amount of Gods- This was the Denatus, it happens every 3 months when many Gods gather to discuss and brag about their children and their accomplishments as well as discuss level-ups and give aliases to the mortals that achieved level 2 in the period between their Denatus.

"-and so we congratulate you Loki for getting two strong new children, somehow." The spokesperson rolled his eyes as Ouranos glared at the other Gods who all seemed to think the same thing: 'How do Loki and Freya keep getting the strong ones?' The next one on the line was Soma- No one expected him to actually be here, but here he was! Holding a... list? "Soma~"Loki's teasing voice echoed as she grinned sheepishly: "You finally left your cave? Got tired of making alcohol?"

"Have you gotten tired of drinking my alcohol, Loki?" Soma's voice was soft but firm, unwavering, and stern as he looked at the Goddess, making her shut up for the first time in millennia! Every single God there, however, was shocked that the sweet and polite Soma was the one to do this- "N-no! I'm not. You can keep making it, no problem, right?" Soma just shook his head before lifting his paper and reading it out loud, the contents of the paper shocked the Gods: "From my Familia, the ones who achieved level 2 are- Akan Ky, Ajax, Agathax, Silverly, Buhn, Hukkon, Gavalar, Gerrom, Vvin, Xerzus, Wakabaloshi-Ihibi, Jojo Aga, Jojo Ega, Jojo Oga, Gan, Epilax Parthenon, Hijui, and Koraidon."

"W-what!?"

"The one to reach Level 3 is Darius Adonis... And the one to reach Level 4 is Darius Adonis." Every single God there knew that Soma was telling the truth- They could feel it in their souls, and at that moment, they all had one single thought in mind: 'How!?' Someone broke the Sword Princess' record of leveling up to level 2 in a single day!? What the actual fuck!? And he leveled up to level 4 on the same day too!? What a monster this guy is! "I have already selected an Alias for my Familia's captain, and if any of you try to give him another one I will cut off your alcohol for a year." The idea of giving the new monster of the Soma Familia a bad alias was cut short and dragged out of the minds of the Gods there present- even Ouranos didn't want to intervene because who the fuck was crazy enough to provoke the God who gives them the best alcohol they drink!? "And which alias is the one you've chosen for your child, Soma?" Freya's voice broke them all out of their momentary shock, but Soma's answer gave a little shiver-

"Crimson Lion."

-Scene Cut-

Words soon scattered to the nine winds- The Soma Familia was a Familia that broke many records at the same time! They had the fastest person to reach levels 2, 3, and 4 while also being the Familia with the most level ups in the span of 3 months. This caused an uproar in Orario, with everyone wanting to know their secrets, how did they all level up so quickly!? The answer many found out was simple: Fighting.

They were separated into three subdivisions- A Long-Ranged Division called Azure Archers which was led by the Azure Devil Ajax alongside two more mages and five archers, the Support Division called Green Thumb which was led by the Green Seedling Agathax which helped everyone everywhere in the battlefield and collected the loot left behind by the monsters, and the last but largest division: The Crimson Crusaders, led by the Crimson Lion himself, Darius Adonis. This division focused on close combat and killing monsters as well as protecting the Azure Archers and Green Thumb while at the same time exploring the dungeon. The Crimson Lion was a bloodthirsty man, his red hair is said to be painted by the blood of his enemies and his fame has brought a lot of attention to the Soma Familia, bringing more business.

After that Denatus, there was an Alias given to the Soma Familia as a whole- The Record Breakers. This title was given by Ouranos himself, which made the Soma Familia attractive in the eyes of many young adventurers that want to join the Soma Familia to become stronger, all that thanks to Darius. "Men, today we are venturing down to the pits of Hell, let us all fight!" Darius spread out his arms as he let go, falling to the pits, with many others jumping after him- This became a tradition, every time they enter the dungeon they have to jump instead of taking the stairs, this is to show them that they are falling into the dungeon and not climbing down. Plus it was good training for the many that didn't know how to properly land on the ground, this helped them learn and even get hurt in the process so they can learn pain tolerance and be able to fight for longer times! Everyone was told to find their own ways to land, so the Mages would cast a spell upon the ground in the last minute, which taught them how to keep calm in stressful situations because the spell had to be timed perfectly or they'd plummet on the ground and break a few bones or even die.

The majority here were able to land smoothly, and those who didn't just get up and dusted themselves.

Darius kept walking toward the lower floors- The great majority (98%) were Level 2, and the only person who was Level 1 still followed them all because they were obliged to and wanted to follow them- So they did! "Let's hunt- Ikiro, you're almost there to your A rank Dexterity and Agility, better get to it! I wanna see five monsters being killed with a bow and with a dagger, now!" Ikiro, the only Level 1 nodded as he shouted: "Sir, yes sir!" without questioning his captain- They all learned how had of an idea it was anyway, and they all saw the results their training has and the things it does to them, how strong they become and how good at killing they are. They've spent many years being in the comfort of the Soma Familia that didn't go beyond the 5th floor in the dungeon, making little money for them to spend on food, booze, and sometimes in the Soma Drink many are addicted to by now, a single sip is enough to make them drunk and delirious.

But their Captain? He drank 26 bottles of Soma before their very eyes and he wasn't even drunk! When asked, he said proudly: "This is the res'lt of all the trainin' I've been givin' ya'll!" his words were a little slower but besides that, no one could tell the difference between their drunk Captain and their sober Captain.

Ikiro, in three seconds, shot three arrows that hit three different Kobolds, killing them instantly, he killed the other two with a single arrow this time- After that, he threw one of his daggers toward a goblin and dashing to get it back, it was a ravaging display of brutality, there was little technique and more brute force on his throws, mostly because he had yet to learn a technique or create one! "Good." In 30 seconds he killed 10 monsters, it would've taken his past self 5 minutes to do the same, his progress is immense! 'He should be able to level up once we go back.' They kept going further and further down, Darius even triggered a monster party by releasing the pheromones that an ant monster would, attracting other ants that he then had his men fight with no magic or skills, on pure force and their weapon of choice.

It might be considered brutal, but brutality prevails inside the dungeon, making them stronger! Everyone here knew that and they followed that.

"Let's go."

From there, the entire group went down further and further, until they reached Floor 17, where the Monster Rex known as Goliath stays. On the way, Darius had the Level 2 fight and win against a Minotaur all alone, if they couldn't they would have to do extra training and fight extra hard to compensate for their lack of strength and grow even stronger! "Now, I want all of you to kill the Goliath, do not disappoint me!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The vanguard all moved forth, weapons at the ready to taunt and get the attention of the Goliath, who broke free from the wall as soon as they got close- The battle started with Ajax holding his new staff, pointing it forward and chanting as his fellow long-ranged attackers followed suit by also using their bows and chanting their spells- "Oh wind, your majesty makes my heart soar like a free cloud, punish my enemies and bring upon them death- Whirlwind!" As he finished his sentence, a burst of wind started to spin around the body of Goliath. Beside him, two fellow mages chanted the same spell at the same time:

"Oh, flames, strike upon my enemies and set them ablaze- Flare!" This spell was specifically made to set a target on fire, and when something inside a vortex of wind gets set on fire, what happens? The answer is: The vortex of wind amplifies the flames, turning it into a vortex of flame! A Fire Storm. "Keep it up, boys!" Ajax shouted for his fellow mages while the fourth and last one chanted another spell, this time it was a special one- "Share our burdens and woes, Mind Share!" This spell was a special one because it shared the caster's Mind with another caster, making them able to cast more spells and keep the ones they want active for longer as they had a higher amount of Mind to use. The high amounts of concentration needed to keep spells active was enough to stop all four mages from moving from their spots, having to rely on their Familia to keep them safe.

The other four archers used their arrows- Metal arrows to shoot the vulnerable places of the Goliath, the eyes, mouth, throat, and any other place the vanguard was able to open! Talking about the Crimson Crusaders, they were doing a good job of making sure the Goliath would not leave its place by attacking the legs of the Goliath and the heels, the Green Thumb division also helped by attacking from afar with crossbows so they wouldn't get hurt, the Fire Storm lasted for two whole minutes, it burned through the Goliath's hide and cut through its muscles, and those openings were also burnt to a crisp and the opportunity was taken by the archers to shoot those burnt muscles with their arrows. The Fire Storm had resided above the waist of the Goliath, so the moment the Monster Crystal was exposed, it cracked by the continuous attacks from the Green Thumb division. The giant monster exploded out in black particles, making everyone relax as they fell to the ground, completely exhausted- Darius simply clapped, and that was a high praise from their Captain.

"Let's go. You can all rest inside Floor 18."

They slowly got up, and Darius himself picked the giant monster crystal so they didn't have to put effort into carrying it and tire themselves even further: "Tonight, we will spend it inside the dungeon, everyone will have to drink a bottle of Soma." There was a quiet excitement- because in the end, everyone in the Soma Familia loved to drink alcohol.