Like Rex had expected, Finn and Gareth had unanimously decided to explore the base today after relaying their find to the girls, with Rex also deciding to follow them to get a feel of this Knossos that Ishtar had claimed would be enough to bring down Freya.
He returned home to quickly prepare himself, wearing his base black long-sleeved shirt and pants with red accents, and black boots. Over that, he wore his breastplate, utility belt—filled mostly with mind potions—and his dual concealed daggers. The rest of his equipment was packed in his bag: helm, armored boots, gauntlets, dual swords, a halberd, a spear, and a few more potions.
Before heading out, he needed to inform Ishtar that Knossos had been found. But going directly to her would take too much time and risk drawing unnecessary attention. So, he decided to let Zanis handle it.
He left his room, locked the door behind him, and headed straight for Zanis's office. After a single knock, he stepped inside and found Zanis at his desk—not buried in paperwork for once, but reading a rather thick book.
Zanis looked up, eyeing Rex's gear. "You heading into the dungeon to assist with those three girls' level up?" he asked as Rex closed the door behind himself.
"Nah, got something else to do," Rex replied, pointing at Zanis. "And I need you to do something for me."
Zanis lowered his book. "What is it?"
Rex lowered his arm, eyes steady. "I need you to go directly to Ishtar and tell her this—" He paused, drawing the moment out. "Knossos..." Another pause. "Has been found."
A long silence settled over the room, broken only by the faint chirping of birds drifting in through the open window as the two men stared at each others.
"Why the unnecessary pause?" Zanis dryly asked, breaking the silence.
Rex shrugged. "Wanted it to sound more dramatic—"
"It didn't work," Zanis said flatly, cutting Rex off before he could finish. "Don't do that again."
"Ok." Rex nodded in understanding, before saying, "Just tell Ishtar the Loki Familia found Knossos and they're planning to explore it today."
"Knossos, huh..." Zanis mumbled, adjusting his glasses.
"You know about it?" Rex asked, catching the shift in tone.
"Heard the name once or twice." He replied with a shake of his head. "That's it."
"I'll fill you in later," Rex said, already turning for the door. "For now, just pass on the message directly to the goddess."
Zanis closed his book and stood. "I'll get to it."
"Adios." He waved, shutting the door behind him.
Passing through the fourth-floor commons again, Rex asked a random NPC about the three musketeers, and was told they were leaving for the dungeon with Daphne, Cassandra, Lissos, Chandra, and even Hyakinthos had joined them. It turns our they were going to level up, and with that lineup, he figured there was nothing to worry about.
'Well then.' Rex stretched. 'Let's get going.'
—✦—✦—✦—
It didn't take long for Rex to reach Daedalus Street again, and a brief walk through the sewers brought him to the stairway leading down to Knossos' entrance. As he approached the stairs, he activated tremor sense with a step from his left foot, sending out an invisible ripple of energy that spread outward in all directions—crawling underground, climbing the walls and ceiling, and even reaching floors above him.
In moments, the space within a 50-meter radius lit up in his mind with three-dimensional clarity—far sharper than any natural sense could offer. From that scan, he confirmed that no one from the Loki Familia had arrived at the front gate yet, but something else stood out.
'Seismic Sense can't penetrate the dungeon?' he frowned slightly. He hadn't used seismic sense earlier when he found this place with Finn's group, so this was news to him.
Descending the dark stairs, using echolocation to move through the darkness, he reached the massive door leading into Knossos. Stopping a few meters away, he stomped the ground with his right foot, sending out another circular pulse of energy.
It flowed freely behind and beside him, even crawling through the underground layers—but when it moved forward, the waves collided hard with the door and some sort of barrier beyond. No matter how deep the seismic waves tried to go, they were completely blocked from passing into Knossos.
'I expected tremor sense wouldn't pass through the door, but the walls too?' He thought as he stomped again. Same result. 'Don't tell me the walls are made of Orichalcum...'
Scavenger had rated that low quality, false. But since his seismic pulses couldn't penetrate the dungeon, it meant the structure wasn't made from earth-based materials—no cement or reinforced concrete. After walking through the possibilities of other materials the wall could be made of that isn't earth based, Scavenger confirmed it was made of adamantite.
'They really want this place to be impenetrable,' Rex thought as he removed his cloak's hood then placing a palm against the door. 'Door of Orichalcum. Walls of adamantite.'
Orichalcum is the master ingot, the highest-grade material known in the world, even stronger than Dungeon-mined adamantite. Its method of production, like mythril's, dated back to Ancient Times, when monsters pushed the surface races to unite. The absolute material as the crystallization of that bygone era as well as the limitless potential of the mortal realm.
Breaking through this door would be impossible. Rex had never even considered trying—like a regular person thinking they could punch through a reinforced wall. No matter how many times you hit it, nothing would change. Not even Ottar at full strength could do more than scratch or maybe dent this door.
Then there was adamantite, one step below Orichalcum. According to Scavenger, breaking through pure adamantite would require someone at least high Level 6. Meaning with Vasavi Shakti—Overgrowth + Firebreath = Fire Sword + Berakh HaKele = Vasavi Shakti—he could blast through a wall if needed. So entry wasn't technically an issue.
'I guess that's how they'll get in,' he thought, placing his hand on the wall beside the gate. A quick seismic pulse told him there was only a meter of false stone between his palm and the hidden adamantite wall of the 'dungeon.'
'I don't see any other way in.' He glanced back at the sealed door to the side. 'Unless someone opens that on purpose... but I doubt it,' he thought, pulling his hand back and stepping away to observe the gate again.
'This place is seriously impressive.' He sighed. 'Too bad the Guild's probably gonna confiscate it after this.' It would've made a great base, but he wasn't stupid enough to challenge the Guild for ownership.
"What do you think?" a voice called out.
Rex turned to see Finn approaching, dressed in a yellow vest over a purple long-sleeved shirt and trousers, with his spear held at his side. He could hear the others behind him.
'God, this is going to be awkward,' Rex thought, already mentally bracing himself. He hadn't met—or even spoken to—most of the Loki Familia before and now he will be meeting a majority of them at once. 'Should've come later.'
Maybe then, they would've already been inside, and he could've just explored alone. Now, he was about to face the full brunt of their attention. Keeping his nerves hidden, he replied calmly,
"Impenetrable." He turned back to the gate. "Door of Orichalcum and wall of a—"
"Rexy~!" came that high-pitched, cheeky voice, causing him to sigh internally.
"Good morning, Goddess Loki." He greeted as he turned around to face her, not having time to react when—
*Smack!*
A body collided full-force with his chest, but instead of flesh meeting flesh, Loki's forehead slammed into the curve of his armored breastplate. The impact sent her tumbling backward with a yelp, her legs flipping up before she landed flat on her back.
"—damn—owww," she groaned, holding her head like it was cracked. "Whyyy the hell are ya wearin' armor?!"
"…I'm about to explore the base of a super-secret evil organization trying to conquer the city," he said, walking over and extending a hand to help her up.
"But Bete don't wear no breastplate!" she huffed, grabbing Rex's hand like a whiny kid.
"We have different fighting styles." Rex hoisted the goddess to her feet. "He is more agility based and I am an allrounder, so I need this when I decide to go tank." He said which caused Finn to nod just as Loki pulled his cloak and peeked inside with a defeated sigh.
"Ugh… cold 'n metal," she whined. "I miss the squishy ones."
'...' FInn strained a smile at his goddess. Having heard from Bete on how she was found, he knew exactly what Loki was talking about.
'Does she have no shame?' Rex thought, staring down at the goddess with an unreadable expression. Just then, a new voice called out to him.
"Mr. Rex!" He looked past Loki to see the voice belonged to Tiona, who was walking toward him with a bright, cheerful smile—like a child who had just spotted their favorite toy.
Like most Amazonesses, she wore revealing clothing: a tube top that barely covered her modest chest and a pareo tied around her waist. Balanced casually on her shoulder was a massive double-bladed sword, longer than she was tall, but what truly caught Rex off guard was the fact that she was... barefoot.
'We're in the sewers!' Rex screamed internally. 'She's rawdogging it in the sewers!'
"I finally get to meet you—!" Tiona chirped, her eyes sparkling with excitement. But she stopped mid-step when she caught sight of Rex's expression—pure, undiluted disgust.
"Don't talk to me," he said coldly, glaring down at her with sharp amber eyes as a dark shadow covered his face.
"Eh?" Tiona uttered as a heavy silence settled over the group, all eyes shifting to Rex in surprise—even Loki raised a brow at his reaction.
"I'm shy," Rex added stiffly, trying to salvage the moment.
'He is shy???' The thought echoed through everyone's heads.
"That's not what shy looks like," Lefiya whispered to herself. Disgust on his face, eyes narrowed like she had offended his entire bloodline—he wasn't even trying to hide his emotions!
Tiona, unfazed, smiled again. "Aww, don't be shy," she said as she reached out to tap Rex's shoulder. "We can be friends—"
But Rex subtly shifted his stance, dodging her hand entirely. And flowing from the motion, he pointed at the door. "Look," he said. "A door made entirely out of Orichalcum." It was as if he was talking to a child, which he technically was.
Tiona blinked, momentarily confused, then followed his finger—and immediately lit up.
"Damn! So this is that Orichalcum door, huh?" Tiona gasped, her eyes wide as stars. She rushed forward in awe, practically bouncing on her heels as she craned her neck to take in the full height. "It's huge! You could fit a Goliath through here—maybe two!"
Loki strolled up beside her, hands in her pockets, grinning ear to ear. "Yeah, if we're starin' at a goofy-lookin' door like that, we've gotta be sittin' on somethin' juicy, huh?" she said, eyes gleaming. "Looks like their top-secret hidey-hole~"
"But how're we s'posed to get this thing open?" Gareth asked, stepping up for a closer look at the door."No keyhole. No handle. Nothin' mechanical. Sealed up tight as stone."
Just then, as if to answer him, the massive door creaked.
"!!"
Slowly, the Orichalcum gate rolled upward into the rock. Everyone watched in bewildered shock as the way before them was opened to the dense blackness of the passage beyond—magic-stone lanterns illuminating the path with blue light, trembling like will-o'-the-wisps in the shadow
'Ain't no way!' Rex screamed internally. 'They really opened the door for us??? Then what was the point of making it impenetrable?!' It was obvious this was a trap but at lest make it less obvious!
Gareth whispered, "Finn…"
"Yes, I saw it too," Finn replied, his eyes narrowing. "It's our masked friend. The one who opened the door is that creature."
Just before the door had opened, Finn's sharp gaze had caught a glimpse of a figure disappearing into the shadows—a bluish-purple robe and a bizarrely patterned mask. He recognized it from their encounters in the 24th-floor pantry and on the 53rd floor.
Their enemy was inviting them in.
'Who?' Rex thought, glancing at the two whispering executives. He hadn't seen anything because senses increased mostly with level-ups, not Falna boosts. So, while he had the stats of a Level 5, his sensory stats were still around Level 3 or maybe 4.
"Whew~ ya caught all that in a blink?" Loki whistled, squinting into the dark with a hand over her eyes. "Damn, you got hawk-eyes! I ain't seen nothin'!" Similarly, the rest of the second-class and below adventurers hadn't seen anything either.
Rex glanced at Loki before looking at the other Familia member stats. 'Next time I see this person, I should look at their stats and try to find—' His mouth fell open as his eyes locked onto a black-haired elf. "Eh?" he muttered.
Ais, who had somehow appeared beside him without a sound, glanced up at him with her usual expressionless face. Her golden eyes landed on his face as she tilted her head slightly, clearly puzzled by his sudden shift in demeanor.
Rex waved her off. "I saw something," he said, and she nodded with perfect understanding. With that, she returned her attention ahead as Finn sent Bete and a Level-4 chienthrope, Cruz, to scout ahead.
'Haah.' Rex placed his palm over his face and sighed, peeking through his fingers as he stared at the elf—Filvis. 'What an interesting girl.' He thought.
Sometimes, you saw something in someone and simply wanted them—not for who they were, but for what you saw in them. For example, when Freya sees an interesting soul, she takes them for herself even if they are a mass-murderer or something.
Rex couldn't blame her anymore—he was experiencing the same thing. He had seen a status that seized his attention, one that surpassed anything he had seen before, maybe even rivaling his own. And... he wanted her in his Familia, no matter what it took.
'A Level Seven… with a magic that splits her in two?' he thought, stunned. 'How the actual fuck is she even a Level Seven…?'
His eyes widened behind his palm. '...Monstrum Union?' he read. 'She was turned into a hybrid—part monster, part elf—by a demi-spirit? Is that why she's Level Seven and uses her skill to act as a Level Three?' The more he studied her status, the more intrigued he became.
'What is this feeling?' He placed his other palm over the breastplate covering his chest. 'Is this…
'love?'
Scavenger answered instantly: definitely not.
'...Then what is it—?' he quickly averted his gaze.
'!!!' Filvis, who had been standing quietly next to Lefiya, suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
She turned instinctively toward the source and her crimson eyes landed on the cloaked outsider—the Chienthrope—who stood off to the side, one hand over his face, the other pressed to his chest. Ais stood beside him, leaning in curiously to see his expression as he looked away.
Filvis narrowed her eyes. As an elf, she was used to stares. But his… his gaze had felt different. It was extra...
Unsettling.
She looked away immediately.
Her instincts told her one thing: avoid him. Though she didn't know him or even remembered his name that was mentioned earlier, she knew not to ignore her instinct. That Chienthrope needed to be avoided.
As for Rex, a lot was still running through his mind after what he had just seen. 'Creature, creature…'
Finn had mentioned it earlier, but glossed over the details—either because he didn't know much or didn't want to spend too long explaining. Still, from what Rex understood, she was definitely part of the enemy. That girl, Filvis Challia, was a member of the super-secret evil organization trying to destroy Orario.
'An insider?' he thought, lowering his palm from his face. 'Why is she even here?' She clearly wasn't part of the Loki Familia.
To answer his question, earlier, after Loki had reported their findings to Dionysus off screen, Filvis had decided to follow them. That's why she is here.
"Ais," Rex called, glancing at the curious blonde who was still trying to 'understand' what was wrong with him. "Pay attention," he said, gesturing toward Finn and the group of executives discussing their plan. Ais nodded silently and turned to face forward.
'Even if you don't participate, the least you could do is pay attention,' he thought, pretending to pay attention too, but his thoughts remained fixed on Filvis and her status.
If there really was an insider among them, entering Knossos was starting to feel like a terrible idea. Not only that, this insider was actually a level 7! Was Ishtar actually right about this place killing the Freya familia…
'No...' He frowned slightly. 'Ishtar hadn't mentioned her, nor even hinted at this level 7. Ishtar never knew about this creature.'
Things were starting to get a bit jumbled up in his head, and he wasn't too smart to try to connect all these pieces even with the help of Scavenger. But before he could dwell on it longer, Finn made a decision.
"We'll split into formations—front line, back line, and a dedicated healing unit. Gareth and I will lead the attack." His eyes swept over the group. "Riveria will stay behind in case of an emergency, and Loki, along with the rest, will wait here until we've confirmed a safe path ahead."
As soon as his orders were given, the group moved without hesitation, everyone falling into place and moving to their assigned tasks. Rex, already prepared, remained still, quietly observing everyone—but really, only Filvis.
"Lefiya…"
Lefiya had been named to the advance party, and she busied herself preparing a cylindrical pack that looked a lot like a duffel bag, she heard someone call her name.
Turning towards the voice, she saw an Elf standing beside her. "Miss Filvis?" She asked, looking up.
The dark-haired elf had a serious look on her face. "You're…going, too?" Filvis asked, her crimson eyes locked onto Lefiya's. "While I hate to side with that werewolf…I feel it, too. Something's not right. If something were to…happen…" Her voice trailed off.
Lefiya felt a small wave of happiness at the concern in Filvis's words, but she kept her reply composed. "Yes, I will go," she said with a soft smile. "I want to protect everyone…Miss Ais, too."
Her gaze wandered to Ais, only to catch her standing… beside that DOG???
"…I see," Filvis's voice brought her back. The elf closed her eyes briefly, then placed a hand over her chest before meeting Lefiya's gaze. "Then I shall go, too. To protect you."
'CRINGE!' Rex almost shouted, shuddering at the scene he just experienced. 'What is this? An anime?'
"Oh-ho-ho! Whadda we have here, huh?" Loki snickered from the side, one hand covering her mouth with a gleeful, creepy grin. "A forbidden elven romance?! Ooh, spicy~! What a treat!"
"Good grief…" Gareth let out a heavy sigh at Loki's words, then asked,"That really all right? Gettin' chummy with an elf from another Familia—and bringin' her along, no less?"
"Eh, she helped us out down on the twenty-fourth floor. Plus, I might've done a lil' pokin' around—nothin' serious, just casual interrogatin'—and turns out she's flyin' solo. grape-bastard Dionysus ain't got nothin' to do with it," Loki said, waving it off like it was nothing.
"That so?" Gareth mumbled.
"She ain't lyin', that's for damn sure," Loki cackled. "Lefiya's gone and nabbed herself a real shiny knight~."
"…"
Ais's ears twitched as she caught bits of the conversation between her goddess and Gareth. She glanced toward the two elves, a small smile tugging at her lips. But it didn't last. The expression faded quickly, and she turned away without a word.
Rex overheard the exchange as well. Since Loki hadn't picked up on any lies from Filvis, it meant the supposed insider genuinely wanted to protect Lefiya—which was odd. But then again, even villains can have friends.
'...What's up with her?' Rex only now noticed that the blond elf was glaring at him like he was her father's killer while clenching the hand of her duffle bag.
Confused by her sudden hostility, he decided to return it with a smirk. His smirk seemed to catch Lefiya off guard, but it only made her glare harder... if that was even possible.
'She has an interesting magic too.' Rex thought as he looked away from her just as Loki and Gareth approached. 'If I take it, I won't need to Scavenge any other elf because all their skill will become mine.' It was tempting, even more so than Filvis magic.
"Oi, you comin' too?" Loki casually asked, fingers laced behind her head. "Or you hangin' back and lettin' the rest of us have all the fun?"
Rex considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm interested in what's inside." He said before adding, "Just know I'll be running if things get too out of hand. I like my life more than I like others. I hope you understand."
"Coward," Bete scoffed from somewhere behind him.
"Nah, I getcha," Loki said, giving his arm a pat. "Ain't your job to throw your life away for my brats. Just keep an eye on 'em, yeah?"
"I would." Rex smiled at the short goddess. 'You're cool when you're not not cool.' He thought that sounded redundant but no one is there to grammatically correct his thoughts so who cares?
"So, what position d'you prefer?" Gareth asked, arms folded."If I recall right, you were more of an all-rounder, yeah?"
"Yeah." Rex nodded. "Support, carry, main attacker, roam, scout, healer, jungle, tank—whatever you need."
The two stared at him. Though they didn't understand some terms he used, it sounded like a lot of specialty. Gareth glanced at Loki for confirmation, the goddess grinning.
"Tch, you're the whole damn package~" she said with a sly grin and narrowed eyes. "Makes me real tempted to snatch ya right out from under that wine-sniffin' weirdo."
'That's your husband you're talking about.' Rex thought as he gave a small laugh. "So, like I said—anything works."
Gareth gave a slow, thoughtful nod. After a short pause, he said,"You'll guard the mage unit—stick to the middle line. That sit well with you?"
"No problem," Rex nodded. 'This way I can stay close to Filvis.'
The black-haired elf shivered.
Time passed as the party of over thirty quickly organized. It included all first-tier adventurers except Riveria, plus Raul and the second-tier Level 4s, along with the remaining lower-tier members, mostly Level 3s. As last-minute additions, Filvis and Rex were added to the formation.
"Everyone ready?" Finn called out as the group lined up. "Bete, Tiona, and Tione take the front. Aki and Nik, watch for traps. Raul, mark our path with chalk. Rakta, map our progress."
"That's a big responsibility," Rakta, the green-haired Level 3 rabbit girl, muttered to herself.
Nik patted her shoulder. "Hey, relax," he smiled. "I hate that you're better at mapping than me."
"I don't like it though…" she mumbled, drawing Rex's attention.
'Didn't Kaede mention her before?' He remembered Kaede bringing up her name one too many times.
Back when they first met on the fourth floor, Kaede had sarcastically introduced herself as 'name's Rakta Haze, a mighty Level Three from the Loki Familia.' He didn't know why that conversation stuck with him more than what he ate yesterday, but...
'Guess she's Kaede's inspiration to be strong.' He concluded. Afterall, there aren't that many bunny adventures, and level 3 was pretty high. 'She might even be the strongest bunny alive.'
Rakta, who looked more like a boy than a girl, noticed him staring. Their eyes met like two lovers' eyes meeting amongst the crowd of people. They held eyes for a few seconds then she blushed and quickly looked down while Nik kept talking, not noticing what had transpired.
'Yeah, you're not my type.' Rex looked away as Finn continued his command.
Finn wrapped up his orders and gave the final command. "Advance team—forward!"
With that, Bete stepped into the dungeon, leading the way. Rex followed, stepping through the massive Orichalcum door—and frowned.
'I want to take a shit.'
[Author's Note: Took a while but here is the chapter. Quite long but I feel it's right because it took so long.
Also, I was wondering about creatures. Do you think the MC would get any real advantage by becoming a creature? I was thinking about it and just wanted to know my reader's opinion. Same thing for Demi-Spirit. I don't really know how Demi-Spirit works though, so I will have to research them more.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Hugs and kisses ~(づ ￣ ³￣)づ]