Chapter 80: Ikelos Familia

Lars was preparing for an expedition to the lower floors. His most intense one yet, in fact.

He was only wearing some shorts. His ankles and wrists were tied down by large adamantite chains with a ball on the end.

Even maximum security prisoners don't receive that much restraints.

He was also infusing the most intense poison in his veins. The poison from a poison Vermis.

A bug monster that has such an intense poison that only Airmid and in extension, Lars can cure.

If you got hit by its poison, it was universally agreed upon that you were on borrowed time.

"Whew! I feel fucking awful." Lars' muscles were paralyzed, twitching uncontrollably, while being melted by the poison.

"You're insane." Tione glared at him, his recklessness was too much.

"Yeah, that's insanely dangerous." Tiona agreed.

"I have the power of god and anime on my side. Have no fear, I will prevail." Lars did a guts pose.

"And you won't even use any magic, what if you get injured?" Airmid glared at him. She was his personal doctor, and everything he did scared her.

"Then I won't get injured, it's as easy as pie." Lars nodded sagely and the amazons nodded at his logic.

"Whatever... Just do your own thing." Airmid rolled her eyes.

"Oh I will, I'll grind excelia like nobody's business." Lars began to go out of Monstro. He was prepared to dive for at least a week.

"Should we follow him?" Tione bit her nail as she looked at him go.

"Don't hinder his adventure. He realized that he needs more strength, it is his wish." Alfia stopped them.

Alfia thought he was foolish. He was trying to emulate the feeling of her disease. It was one of the reasons why she gained so much excelia.

And he was going to abuse the ever living shit out of that fact.

Lars headed out towards the lower floors and at the 40th floor. Starting from there, it looks like he was in a volcano.

The walls, ground, and ceiling are colored burning red and distorted rocks lie on the ground across the floor. Along the walls are cracks that are colored black which make it seem like it is carbonized. Red light shine lightly from inside the cracks, giving off an eerie presence.

Golems roamed the floor, burning continuously; flame rocks.

They were gigantic, easily two stories tall. And there he was, bare footed.

Basically naked, only wearing shorts. His muscles getting paralyzed, his nerves firing constantly.

Poisoned to hell and back, his regeneration preventing him from croaking.

Without abnormal resistance, even Alfia cannot survive that much poison.

Humming, he breathed in the sulfuric smell od the floor. "Hah, I love the smell of the dungeon in the morning."

Lars cracked his joints and he stretched his stiff muscles.

"Let's go then!" Lars charged at the golems and they turned towards him.

With a roar that intensified their flames, the large, stone constructs punched and kicked at him with surprising speed.

The monsters rated as level 4 at least. Rolling to the side like a dark souls character, he had to get used to his bindings first.

His lungs burned due to the poison circulating in his blood. But he did not mind.

"I feel like I'm in a game. Though dodge rolls don't have I-frames here." Lars started to get used to his self-imposed restrictions.

Giving a kick at the leg of one of the fiery golems, the ball and chain on his ankle dragged him down. His balance breaking.

The supposed kick he threw at it turned out weaker than he wanted and it didn't do much to it.

"Uh-oh." Lars was hit by one of them and he flew away like a pebble.

"Urgh, this is going to be difficult as hell... I guess I can just keep going." He could feel his excelia grow.

Adventurers step closer and closer to godhood as they face more challenges.

And the harder it is, the faster they grow. "Let's beat your rocky asses." He grinned as he felt his blood pump.

__Upper floors__

At the upper floors of the dungeon. There's been a secret that has been hidden for centuries.

A man called Daedalus admired the dungeon. His mortal mind cannot comprehend how a natural labyrinth like it has formed.

Until his admiration turned into a curse. An accursed obsession towards it.

Not wanting to be outdone by the living labyrinth, he started to create his own.

A man-made labyrinth that humanity can call its own; Knossos.

Aspiring to surpass the real dungeon, Knossos was built with a variety of the highest quality materials to maximize its defensive capabilities as much as possible.

Its composition has turned the place into a virtually impenetrable fortress either through physical or magical attacks, making it impossible to break into it.

On the other hand, its dimensions are truly colossal, each floor being the size of the entirety of Orario.

Being a labyrinth, Knossos is composed of multiple intricate paths. As soon as one enters the site the trail quickly divides into multiple dizzying directions.

Having several forks and four-way crossings makes the number of possible roads to take countless, with a wide variety of them only leading to dead ends.

Although its structure is typical of a labyrinth, its complexity is extremely high, easily surpassing that of the Daedalus Street, a place famous for being impossible to escape once one becomes lost in it.

And it has been used by evilus to be their secret base, ever since the great feud. Even after the fall of the organization.

"Tch, we have been hiding for months now, Dix." A bald man with a greatsword clicked his tongue.

"What do you wanna do? Get captured? We had to let the heat die down, Gran. People are looking for us." Dix rolled his eyes.

The leader of the Ikelos familia, a level 5 with black hair. Wearing goggles to hide his precious eyes.

As the descendants of Daedalus have magical eyes that can open the orichalum gates of Knossos.

Thick and heavy-set doors that can repel almost anything.

Even level 6 adventurers will find it hard to destroy it.

"But we can continue that now, isn't that right? Ikelos?" Dix looked to the side, where a god wearing what looks like a tracksuit.

"Hah, arrogant brats are making their patron god their lackeys now, eh?" Ikelos sighed.

"But your fun will stop if we get caught, won't we?" Dix smirked at him.

"Tch, what can I do? Woe is me, little brats that are barely a century are abusing me." Ikelos stood up with a shrug.

"There's no reports that have been made to the guild. And nobody has been asking about the familia." Ikelos grinned and Dix smirked.

"Heard that boys? We'll be eating good today. Haul your asses and start searching for prey. We'll be extra careful and use the exit to Melen." Dix licked his lips.

They cheered, bored out of their minds from doing nothing but twiddle their thumbs.

"Let's start the hunt." Dix brandished his spear that had a crimson point, looking cursed.

__Middle floors__

"Hyaah!" Haruhime finished off a bugbear with a stab through its skull and she sighed.

"How is that, Tione-sama, Tiona-sama?" Haruhime smiled at them and they clapped.

"Ohh! You can already clear groups of monsters quite easily. The guild rated the large tree labyrinth for level 3's for solo dives." Tione nodded at her, impressed.

Alfia and Lars weren't quite used to using her weapon. Alfia hasn't seen far eastern adventurers besides Kaguya.

And she hasn't copied everything needed to be proficient with it. As is the case with Lars.

So she goes to the stardust garden frequently to train with the resident sword master of Astraea's familia.

"I want to catch up to you guys immediately." Haruhime did a guts pose and they winced a bit.

"Lars-sama called it powerleveling right? Do you think he'll agree to train me like that so I can reach level 3?" Haruhime's tail wagged.

"Uhhh, sorry Haruhime. But I think Lars would definitely not use that method on you." Tiona had a wry expression.

"Huh? Why?" Haruhime was confused. "You see... The reason why Airmid is still level 4? It's because it's extremely self-desteuctive." Tione explained.

"Airmid had to cry tears of blood to level up so quickly in succession. And she has been honing her skills instead, her stats were growing too quickly for her skills." Tiona added.

"Lars made her fight monsters for hours on end. Making her use her magic to heal her wounds and lift her fatigue in a vicious cycle." Tiona frowned.

Haruhime gasped, she never expected Lars to do something like that.

"Isn't that... Cruel?" Haruhime winced and the twins nodded.

It was so bad that even the twins who were groomed as talented adventurers in Telskyura thought they would break under the extreme mental and physical pressure of that method.

"Airmid is a masochist, we don't even know how she got through that kind of leveling." Tione winced when she remembered the hell on earth called training by Lars and Alfia.

Their endurance stat increased a lot in those times. "I see... I've been asking myself why he doesn't powerlevel me. But that was the case, huh?" Haruhime went pensive.

"You were also too young when we rescued you. By the way, are you fine with Belnas and Elnea now?" Tiona asked her anxiously.

The two transported her to Melen in order to sell her after all.

"I believe they were just doing their job, there is no problem when I thought about it. I was mad at first, betrayed even. But now, I understand." Haruhime smiled.

"Such a good kid you are!" Tione hugged her and Haruhime giggled.

"Anyways, your level situation might change soon, why? Because Lars is starting to focus on powerleveling himself again." Tiona looked serious.

"That's right, he has been focusing on Monstro and the mountain fortress outside of Orario in case we have to evacuate. But now, he's extremely motivated." Tione nodded.

"I've seen Airmid-sama prepare for an expedition... Do you think she's going for a level up?" Haruhime remembered her polishing her armor, sword, and shield.

She never does that unless they're going for an expedition.

"Take a guess." The twins smiled at her critical thinking.

"Udaeus would be too much for Airmid-sama... Ahhh, the Amphisbaena? But that monster rex is rated as level 6 due to the environment..." Haruhime gasped.

"Her stats are almost maxed out, that's what she needs to level up." The twins approved of her methods.

"We're going to prepare to fight Udaeus too, it's time to get super 1st class adventurers in the familia besides the Alpha and Omega." Tiona grinned.

The two undisputed rulers of Monstro ought to have a bit of relief from their responsibilities.

"Hmm?" Haruhime's ears twitched and the twins brandished their weapons.

The bushes rustled and they suddenly saw a humanoid monster with blue skin and scales on its face.

(Pic)

"A vouivre? Wait..." Tione raised her arm. It was wounded, and it had a confused expression on its face.

She was crying as well. Her eyes held clarity, unlike the monsters of the dungeon.

"A xenos, this girl's definitely a xenos." Tiona remembered the identifying features of the xenos.

"H-help." She croaked out in a small voice. Her leg was busted and she was being chased by a fire bird.

"Shut up!" Tione threw one of her throwing knives and it tore through the bird, along with multiple trees on the knife's trajectory.

The vouivre froze in terror as she stared at Tione who had a fierce expression on her face.

"You scared the shit out of her!" Tiona took off Haruhime's salamander wool and put it on the xenos.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Tiona grinned at her as she poured an elixir on her.

"Not hurting?" The vouivre looked at her wounds that steamed for a moment.

"We have to get her to Monstro, quick." Tione decided.

Tiona carried her, but they were suddenly met up with a group of adventurers that were looking for something.

"Hey, seen a vouivre around?" A bald adventurer asked as they looked around the area frantically.

"No, haven't seen one." Tiona shrugged, as cool as a cucumber.

While Haruhime was getting a bit nervous due to the number of adventurers that were definitely looking for the xenos in Tiona's arms.

"Tch, okay." The bald guy started barking orders immediately to find it.

But before they left, he saw a glimpse of the vouivre's leg that was blue.

"Whatcha got there?" He asked and they all turned towards them.

"What we got here, is none of your fucking business. Our party member got poisoned, got any problems?" Tione snapped at them.

"Yeah, how about you show her then?" They were on to them.

"You're wearing my patience thin." Lightning started to crackle around Tione.

"Gran... That's the lightning empress... She's a 1st class adventurer. And the girl besides her is the crimson lord." One of his lackeys informed him.

"Ha? Who the hell is that?" Gran who hasn't been to the surface for some time now did not know who they were.

"Lightning crash!" A thunderclap resounded as lightning fell down from the ceiling. She stomped on the ground and the earth exploded.

Dozens upon dozens of trees lighted up in flames and arcs of lightning crackled around the area.

"That's why they call me lightning empress baldie. Shut the fuck up and move along." Tione glared daggers at them and they immediately ran away.

"Tione... Those are probably members of the Ikelos familia. No way they didn't notice little vouivre-chan's anomaly." Tiona reminded her.

"Yeah, that's why I'm calling for the ANBU." Tione made a call and the Ikelos familia was none the wiser.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.