Danmachi: The Focalors Familia Starting from the Dungeon

Early the next morning.

The crystalline ”sky” of the 18th Floor slowly began to emit a soft, comforting white light, perfectly simulating a sunrise on the surface. The brisk morning air was heavily saturated with the rich, earthy scent of vegetation; taking a deep breath felt as though it could entirely cleanse the lungs of all impurities.

A gentle breeze swept through the treetops, sending a few emerald leaves spiraling gracefully through the air. The morning dew clinging to the tips of the grass refracted the early light, scattering into thousands of tiny, glittering rainbows.

Everything was incredibly peaceful and perfectly beautiful.

However, that profound tranquility was rapidly and violently shattered by a loud, incredibly chaotic commotion rapidly approaching from the distance.

”Aiden, you absolute pervert! Stop right there!”

”I’m not a pervert! I didn’t do anything! Stop chasing me!”

”What on earth is going on?”

Startled awake by the sudden uproar, Robin, Hyacine, and the others instantly grabbed their weapons and rushed out of their tents on high alert. They had assumed they were under attack by some unexpected threat—perhaps a sudden monster ambush—but the bizarre scene unfolding before them instantly froze them completely in their tracks.

They watched in pure bewilderment as their Captain, Aiden, engaged in a desperate, high-speed game of life and death through the forest clearing. Hot on his heels was the Loki Familia’s Elf Mage, Lefiya, furiously clutching her staff. Her face was practically glowing red, and she was panting heavily as she relentlessly chased him down.

Relying entirely on his vastly superior physical stamina, Aiden was running massive circles around Lefiya through the trees, spinning the naturally physically weaker mage until she was dizzy, completely disoriented, and practically on the verge of collapsing.

”I-If you have the guts... stop running!” Lefiya roared, clutching her knees and gasping frantically for air, her usually immaculate golden twin tails now a completely tangled, messy bird’s nest.

”If you have the guts, then stop chasing me!” Aiden shot back, poking his head out from behind a large oak tree and loudly clicking his tongue.

”Now’s your chance, Miss Ais! Grab him!” Lefiya suddenly screamed at the top of her lungs, pointing directly behind Aiden while summoning every last ounce of her remaining strength.

Aiden’s heart violently skipped a beat. He instantly spun around in sheer panic.

Damn, Ais is good! To actually manage to sneak up directly behind me without me noticing at all? The Sword Princess’s stealth skills are absolutely terrifying! However, when he whipped his head around, there was absolutely no one behind him—just a few fallen leaves swirling lazily in the wind.

”Oh, crap!”

Aiden cursed internally, instantly realizing he had fallen for a massive bluff.

But it was far too late. Having pushed her body to its absolute physical limits, Lefiya violently lunged forward, executing a flawless tackle that sent him crashing hard into the dirt.

She straddled him completely, using both of her hands to aggressively pin his arms to the ground as she desperately gasped for oxygen.

”I... I finally caught you!”

”Lefiya, what happened to your noble Elven pride? That was playing dirty! You actually tricked me!” Aiden groaned in absolute frustration. ”Damn it! I was completely careless. I didn’t dodge in time.”

”Hehe. All’s fair in love and war. It has absolutely nothing to do with playing dirty.” Finally managing to catch her breath, a massively triumphant grin plastered itself across Lefiya’s face.

”I almost completely forgot you were a top honors graduate from the School District,” Aiden muttered, sounding incredibly depressed.

Right at that moment, a cold, genuinely bewildered voice drifted over. ”Lefiya. What exactly are you doing?”

This time, it was the genuine, 100% real Ais Wallenstein.

She tilted her head to the side, her brilliant golden eyes filled to the brim with absolute confusion as she stared blankly at the highly questionable scene before her—Lefiya completely dominating Aiden on the ground in a posture that looked highly reminiscent of a forced romantic assault.

”Whoa! Lefiya is acting incredibly bold today!”

Following closely behind Ais, Tiona’s eyes practically sparkled with excitement. She let out a loud, highly appreciative whistle, clearly entirely invested in watching the drama unfold.

It was only then that Lefiya truly registered just how incredibly suggestive and ambiguous her current position with Aiden was. Her cheeks instantly detonated into a furious shade of red, far surpassing the color of a fully ripened tomato. Yet, despite her overwhelming embarrassment, she gritted her teeth and absolutely refused to release her iron-clad grip on Aiden.

”Miss Ais! Miss Tiona! Hurry up and help me! I finally caught him! We absolutely cannot let him go, otherwise he’ll just run away again!”

”Ooh! You got it!”

Always eager to participate in anything remotely exciting, Tiona practically sprinted over, happily assisting Lefiya in firmly restraining Aiden’s desperately struggling limbs.

While Ais was still trying to piece together what exactly was happening, seeing her close friend desperately asking for help was enough for her. She walked over quietly and gently placed her hand firmly on Aiden’s chest, adding her strength to the restraint.

”Did Aiden... commit some sort of unforgivable crime?” Hyacine blinked her sky-blue eyes in sheer curiosity, turning to Ryuu for an explanation.

”In a certain sense... yes, he did,” Ryuu replied, nodding solemnly, fully aware of the exact context of yesterday’s chaotic disaster.

While Robin, Tifa, and the others had absolutely no idea what had transpired, they all silently agreed not to intervene. Instead, they happily stood on the sidelines, thoroughly enjoying the spectacular show. From the looks of it, their beloved Captain had clearly committed some sort of absolute atrocity that sparked public outrage, resulting in this massive, organized manhunt.

Pinned down securely by three incredibly strong girls, Aiden entirely abandoned any thought of resistance. He instantly surrendered, helplessly pleading his case that yesterday’s events were caused by an absolute, uncontrollable force majeure, and he genuinely had no bad intentions.

”Don’t you dare say another word!” The sheer memory of the previous day caused Lefiya’s beautiful face to flush to the point of practically dripping blood as she glared at him with absolute venom.

”Fine, fine, it’s my fault. Torture me, kill me, do whatever you want,” Aiden sighed, adopting an attitude of total resignation, fully prepared to accept his fate.

”Lefiya, it’s time. We need to get going,” Ais suddenly stated.

”Yep! Time to head out! If we don’t hurry back, the Captain is going to send a search party to drag us back by force,” Tiona agreed with a nod.

”...Fine!”

Looking deeply unwilling, Lefiya finally climbed off of Aiden, hastily smoothing out her heavily wrinkled clothes. ”I’m letting you off the hook for today! But just you wait until we get back from our expedition! We are absolutely going to settle this score properly! Don’t even think you can just easily slip away!”

Lefiya wasn’t truly acting out of pure spite. The Loki Familia was on the verge of launching a massive expedition into the deeper floors. Using the brief window of free time before departure to hunt Aiden down was mostly just an excuse to drop by and say hello, while simultaneously getting a little bit of petty ”revenge.”

After bidding farewell to the girls of the Loki Familia who had come for a ”friendly exchange,” Ryuu was also forced to make her departure back to the surface. She had only managed to secure a single day off from the Hostess of Fertility. If she was late, facing the wrath of that terrifying Dwarven manager, Mia Grand, would honestly be far more horrifying than facing a Monster Rex.

Consequently, the Focalors Familia officially became the single most relaxed, entirely carefree group within the temporary camps on the 18th Floor.

”Well, since we’re already here...” Aiden stretched his arms lazily over his head. ”It would be a massive shame if we didn’t go check out the legendary Town of Rivira. Let’s just treat it as an official Familia team-building exercise.”

Naturally, nobody voiced any objections to the idea. After taking a brief moment to rest and organize their gear, the group set off eagerly toward the massive lake. Passing through the dense forest in the southern region of the floor, they eventually arrived at the colossal body of water dominating the western sector.

In the distance, the distinct outline of the town built atop the massive rock island was perfectly visible.

”We saw that island earlier,” Hyacine noted with evident curiosity. ”But how exactly are we supposed to cross this lake? We can’t just walk straight across the water, can we? That would draw way too much attention.”

Her comment served as an excellent reminder. Every single member of the Focalors Familia possessed the [Divine Protection of the Water God], making walking on water as effortless as breathing. However, the Focalors Familia had already made quite a massive name for themselves in Orario—perhaps even a bit too much of a name. Right now, it was vastly more strategic to keep a low profile rather than publicly flaunting their incredibly rare, divine abilities.

”Don’t worry, there’s a bridge right over there.” Daphne pointed toward the edge of the forest directly ahead of them. ”Look. It’s made from a bunch of massive trees chained together.”

Following her finger, the group easily spotted a colossal wooden log extending far out across the surface of the lake, acting as a natural, single-plank bridge. As they drew closer, the sheer, imposing majesty of the rocky island became increasingly apparent.

Stepping onto the natural wooden bridge—which consisted entirely of massive tree trunks smoothed down by the countless footsteps of passing adventurers—it went without saying that basic safety features like handrails were entirely nonexistent. The uneven, jagged bark, combined with the perpetually damp and slippery surface, made crossing the bridge a genuine challenge.

Acting entirely naturally, Aiden reached out and gently grasped Robin’s hand to ensure she wouldn’t lose her footing and plummet into the lake.

”Be careful.”

”Mhm.” Robin smiled softly in response, happily allowing him to lead her.

It was currently ”morning” on the 18th Floor. Although the light wasn’t nearly as intensely bright as it was during ”midday,” the gentle glow cascading down from the crystal ceiling was still incredibly warm and comforting. The deep, sparkling blue surface of the lake acted as a perfect mirror, flawlessly reflecting the group as they cautiously navigated the bridge.

”Listen to me closely. Whatever you do, do not buy absolutely anything once we get into the Town of Rivira,” Daphne warned as she carefully picked her way forward, acting exactly like a highly experienced tour guide lecturing her naive tourists. ”If you do, you will be ruthlessly scammed. The prices they charge in that place are so absurdly evil they could make a Goblin cry.”

Crossing the long wooden bridge was merely the beginning; the true trial was what lay beyond. The Town of Rivira was situated at the very peak of the rocky island, and the path leading up to it was incredibly steep and treacherous. It felt less like hiking and much more like violently scrambling up and down sheer cliff faces.

Navigating through the bizarre, breathtaking scenery composed entirely of vegetation sprouting from rocky crevices and massive blue crystals, the group finally arrived at a highly elevated plateau that offered an incredibly expansive view.

”Wow, the scenery here is absolutely beautiful.”

”Oh my, this is truly spectacular!”

Robin, Hyacine, and the others couldn’t help but gasp in pure awe. Standing at this specific vantage point, the absolute majesty of the 18th Floor’s entire landscape was perfectly displayed before their eyes.

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