Once they had collected enough magic stones and completed the guild's request, they had reached the end of the 17th floor, and in front of them was a tunnel, with a height of up to 10 meters.
Walking through the tunnel, the air of the group became more serious, and after walking for a couple of minutes, Mark could see a film, very similar to the surface of a soap bubble, which separated him from a more spacious room.
Seeing Mark's interested gaze, Riveria spoke to him with a smile. - "What you see, completely surrounds the next room where the level 4 Boss Goliath is present, preventing it from going out"
"Yeah, but it looks like we're not going to face it this time. Look at the wall, is already empty. " -Following Tiona's finger, inside the room, you could see the wall with a crevasse.
"Well, that means we'll have free passage."
With the fact that the boss was missing, the group calmly entered the room and walked towards the exit.
[Hmm... host, I perceive a fragment.] -The Guide told him.
The Guide's words alone made Mark's orbits shrink, but he made it so the others wouldn't notice.
'Can you give me the direction?' - He asked as he slowed down the speed slightly.
[This is the problem, even if I can feel it, its strength is strangely very weak. I need some time for a better analysis.]
'Now what am supposed to do? I can't let them see that I'm looking for a stone identical to the one I already have. '- Being focused on finding a solution, he didn't realize he had stopped completely.
"Mark is everything okay?" -Hearing Lefiya's worried voice, the others turned around, only to see that Mark was left behind.
"If you feel tired, know that we will soon arrive on the 18th floor where you can rest." - Finn told him sympathetically.
"If you want, I'll carry you in my arms." -Tione jokingly told him.
"Ah… ah no I'm not tired, I was just curious about the room. I was wondering how a monster of that size doesn't run away "- Mark said scratching his head. He was looking for a way to give the Guide time.
"As I said before, this membrane that surrounds the room prevents the monster from escaping." -Sayed Riveria patiently.
'Still nothing?' - Seeing that the Guide did not even answer, Mark tried to buy more time.
"I get that part, I was wondering why it wouldn't destroy the floor, since it doesn't have the membrane." -Mark pointed out.
"Monsters that ... destroy the dungeon? Ptff hahahahaha! " -Tione burst out laughing, also Tiona, Lefiya, and surprisingly even Aiz laughed a little, only to turn her head embarrassed.
"Girls, Mark's question may seem silly to you, but several studies have been done on monsters behavior." -Riveria said scolding them, then turned to Mark to give him an explanation.
"You must know that the monsters in the dungeon are very particular. Although they belong to different species, they do not kill each other, although there are rare cases, but those are a type of existence that we will talk about in the future. Monsters were born to hunt humans and perhaps for a psychological reason, they wouldn't harm the dungeon. "
"Psychological?" - Mark confusedly asked, starting to show interest in the conversation.
"Exactly, do you know why the guild would remove the adventurer certificate if they find out that you are damaging the dungeon?" -Asked Riveria, while the others remained to listen.
Shaking his head, Mark was wondering too. He had read that law but wondered why, since the dungeon repairs itself.
"This is because the dungeon is alive, and when it feels it is in danger, it releases it ..." -She said with a heavy expression.
"Who?" - Tiona asked curiously. She and her sister joined the Loki Familia later, so they didn't know a lot and weren't very keen on studying.
"The Juggernaut, the defense system of the dungeon. Its strength and speed are completely monstrous, moreover, its strength varies according to the level at which it is born. Fortunately, it only lives for a short time before it disintegrates. I hope that is enough for you as an explanation." -Concluded Riberia.
"Of course, thanks for the explanation." -Mark replied with a smile.
Seeing that there were no more problems, the group resumed their departure. The reason Mark had no trouble going away, was the words the Guide said earlier.
[Host I was able to understand the reason for the lack of presence of the fragment. It's best if we talk about it in a quiet place.]
Knowing that it was not possible to take the fragment immediately, Mark decided to rely on the words of the Guide and followed the others. After making a steep descent, what Mark saw left him speechless.
"Welcome to the 18th floor." -Tione told him giving him a pat on the back.
'It's really a fantasy world' - Mark thought as he looked at the landscape.
The 18th floor was really large in size, with various forests scattered around, but what attracted the most attention were three things. The first was the giant tree that stands in the center, the second was the medium-sized village that develops from the giant tree, and finally, the domed ceiling where you could see a cluster of crystals, where the light came out.
"Come on Mark, try not to get left behind, we're going to the village." -Hearing Lefiya's words, he recovered from the scenario, following them.
As he walked, he could see how various monsters were present, but still, they did not exhibit aggressive attitudes.
"Surprising isn't it? I still remember the first time I came here. A floor where monsters are not born and where monsters show no signs of aggression. A true paradise in this hell." - Finn spoke as they arrived at the entrance to the village.
The village was not that great, it was several buildings built of wood with some, barely keeping. What interested Mark most was not the buildings, but the attitude of the people.
'People here seem worried.' - He could see the aura of the adventurers who were around and they all showed signs of anxiety and agitation and it wasn't just him who noticed.
"There is something wrong, there are too few people." -Commented Finn looking around.
"Look, two people are talking over there." -Riveria pointed out.
As they approached the duo, they were finally able to hear what they were arguing about.
"Did you hear what happened?"
"Yes, there seems to have been a murder at the main inn, it seems there are already other people."
"A murder inside the city is unusual." -He thought aloud.
"What do we do captain?" - Tiona asked, while the others also wondered the same.
"We were supposed to stay here, so we better have a look." -With those words, the group headed quickly to the inn only to see a bunch of people already present.
'BAAAM!'
"Would you please let us through?" - Tiona asked with a smile, after having created a crack in the ground with a kick.
Without a moment's hesitation, the crowd that previously blocked the entrance has now completely divided.
'it would have been nice if this method existed when I had to queue at the post office' - Mark mentally joked, as he walked in with the others, only to smell an unpleasant smell.
"It smells like blood." - Finn said seriously, making everyone frown.
After walking a couple of steps, they arrived in the room where the smell came from and when they opened the curtains they were greeted by a chilling sight.
"Uwa, they didn't go light huh?" -Tiona said with difficulty, but she wasn't the only one too, even the others showed a hardened face, with Lefiya who was in worse shape, but still resisted.
Of all of them, only Mark didn't show the slightest change, focusing his gaze on the corpse.
'The killer had no mercy, he completely destroyed his head.' - Mark thought coldly.
As Finn began to investigate along with Riveria, a man with a powerful speckling and dark hair and an eye patch came in irritated.
"Don't you know it's a private area! Why-ah, if it's not the Loki Familia, what a pleasure. " -The man who previously seemed a barbarian, completely changed his behavior, becoming more humble.
Seeing how Finn spoke to him naturally, Mark wondered who he was.
"If you are wondering who he is, his name is Bors, and he is in charge of this village. Being the boss of this place he has some strength being level 3, but he is the kind of person who drops immediately the moment he meets a stronger one. " -Tiona whispered in his ear.
"So that's what happened." -While hearing what Tiona was saying, Finn was able to gather information about what happened.
In short, the man had come fully armored to the inn, so his identity was unknown. The problem was that he was not alone, he had come with a woman, but she was covered with a robe. The man had booked the whole tavern to have an intimate moment with the woman, but when the owner returned, he was greeted by the man's corpse and there were no traces of the woman.
"Is it not possible in any way to trace the identity of this man?" -Asked Riveria.
"That's what I went to do, I have the status detector here." -Sayed Bors as he took out a bottle and smeared the contents on the back of the corpse.
"Status detector?" - Mark asked puzzled.
"It's an illegal potion, which allows you to see a person's status without the need for a god." - Riveria said frowning and she was not the only one.
The status of a person was extremely confidential, as all your skills and abilities were written there, so such an item was considered illegal.
'In the future, I have to find a way to get it.' - Mark's thinking was different, if there was a tool that gave him an advantage, he would use it without problems.
"Well, now I need your help reading the data." -Bors said making room.
Seeing that there were no alternatives, Riveria approached, as she was able to read the writing of the gods.
"Let's see, his name is Hasharna Dorlia and he is from the Ganesha Familia."
The moment Bors heard the name, he turned pale. -"OI OI OI! Let's not joke! Harshana is defined as the 'inviolable iron fist', he is a level 4! "
The moment they heard Bors's words, the expression of the others was full of shock.
'The situation couldn't have been more shitty.' -Mark thought agitatedly.
title: detected the second fragment and the murder