Chapter 10 - Brave New World
As Ais and Bell headed into the beginning of the labyrinth on the 51st floor, their immediate goal was simple. Check on the status of the monsters. If the situation appears safe enough, then head immediately to 52nd floor to see if the valang dragons and other monsters have been harvested. They had a significant advantage with the limited invisibility from the Hades Hats, but they also thought they had the same advantage when fighting with the Black Dragon. Nevertheless, everything should probably work out alright. Flying as quickly as they could through the labyrinth, they reached the 52nd floor entrance. Without any significant encounters, they headed into the entrance...
At the same time, Welf is still working hard on his items. He has been meaning to make new armor for Bell, and he finally had the time. The rabbit armor has served Bell well, but with his improved smithing skills, he wants to make Bell something that can withstand attacks from more powerful monsters. He has been talking with Hephaestus about a new 'reactive' armor concept, but she has been skeptical if it could work. This would be his first attempt...
In Ouranos' room, a discussion is ongoing about what is going on in the dungeon. With the war concluded, Ouranos felt something was still wrong. Fels offered to make a trip down to the dungeon and investigate with the Xenos...
In the Loki familia, Loki was enjoying wine with Riveria. Loki has been torn up about Ais' transfer but Riveria laughed at her "You knew it was coming. Was there ever a doubt once the lap pillow troubles started?" Loki sighed but there was nothing she could say. Riveria then shifted the topic to more relevant issues. She asked Loki if Bell is continuing his insane rate of progress. Loki replied that Bell has slowed down, but that may be due to taking a leadership role in the Hestia familia. Thus Bell has been focusing more on protecting the lower level members in the higher levels of the dungeon. Riveria then asked if Loki thought it was the 'marriage penalty', which got Loki completely flustered. After Loki's nosebleed stopped, she replied that Freya does not think so.
In Freya's temporary apartment, Freya and Ottar were discussing Ottar's level 8 status. Ottar was wondering if level 9 is even possible. Freya answered "There is always hope, but Bell will probably beat you to it". Ottar laughed and wonder why Freya has been spending less time watching over Bell, to which Freya answer "Are you complaining?"
Back on the 50th floor, the team eagerly awaited Bell's return. They sure wish they borrowed the communication stones from Fels. Finn was blaming himself for being 'overconfident'. After about half an hour, Bell and Ais returned. They quickly reported that no dragons or any significant monsters were sighted.
With that, Finn gave the order to retreat. While his worst fears have not been confirmed, all the available evidence points to someone coming up from deep in the dungeons to harvest the powerful monsters. This appears to be a game-changer and it is a brave new world. It is a brave new world in that an opponent may have come up with something that could be superior to the Falna system. If it is Revis, she is going to be able to level up much faster than most of them, and probably even faster than Bell.
The plan is to head back to the surface and regroup with Loki and the others before making another trip down to the deep levels. With the proper preparation including level boosting, they would stand a much better chance against a level 8 or level 9 opponent, whereas the current team is simply not configured correctly. Finn is not going to allow a repeat of the Knossos tragedy.