Man, you think you have an idea on how you want to portray things, and then you actually have to write it.

Changed a few things as I wrote and researched for this chapter. As some people will likely guess as they read, drew quite a bit from Monster Hunter for this. Otherwise, big struggle of this chapter was trying to find how much to write. Could have skipped quite a bit, but goes a bit against the Dungeon Exploration angle I hope to establish since I'm not running on canon stuff.

This is still the experimental phase, so don't hesitate to say 'you could have skipped half these fights without losing anything' because how much is interesting for you readers can be different from all the monsters I want to write fights with.

Otherwise, just want to state my view on food in the Dungeon here. Kind of necessary, since this chapter has monsters eating monsters. Humans cannot eat monsters. The bodies remain unless their magic stones are destroyed, and dismembered parts can remain if removed before the stone is destroyed. They are poison to mortals though. If someone tries, they suffer anima degradation. Or damage to the soul. Even Zald merely converted it into energy he had to expel or use through falna. He couldn't actually eat monsters and subsist on them. Monsters can eat each other though, and while the magic stones are the 'best' part for them, eating the rest is preferable even if most monsters don't have that innate urge or instinct.

Now, that over, here is the chapter.

Hello, readers of knowledge.

Also – sorry, readers of knowledge. I am not sure how much I can actually give you. Not only due to familia restrictions on our knowledge of the Hidden Floors, but also simply due to belief some things belong solely to those adventurers who reach them. Still, the Guild is trying to insist on at least something, and I…

I, unfortunately, possess a good half of our familia's collective score of brain cells.

The Hera familia would be the better choice. After all, they take the greater share in the support aspects of our joint expeditions and they actually have a Level 5 supporter as one of their executives, while the Zeus familia is more the 'go here and punch hard' type. Yet not even the Guild or Ouranos have the chops to make demands like this of that crazy goddess or captain.

So, here I am. Dedethelion, known as Pholus by the gods. Half-elf. Level 7 Magic Swordsman. Executive of the Zeus Familia for going on fifty years now. Here to explain something about the Glacier Territory, which is arguably the sole playground of the Zeus and Hera familias after Osiris' final challenge to us.

Basics first. The 59th Floor is the start of the Glacier Territory, although it's the subset of said Territory we have come to refer to as the Polar Seas. The name is rather self-explanatory.

I'm not here to talk geography or talk maps though. In fact, I'm not even here to write about the monsters specifically. If I had to impart any knowledge on the Hidden Floors, it's the unique nature.

Now, smarter adventurers than me who have not reached these floors have likely noticed something. Goliath – Two weeks. Amphisbaena – A month. Udaeus – Three months and some change. Balor – Five months and some change. There are other indications, to the sharp of eye and wit. The quicker growth in monster strength on the early floors. The lessened growth and escalation of higher-tier threats after the 37th floor. Zeus even claims that old records, from both the early Age of the Gods and before during the First Tower of Babel, seem to indicate greater intensity on dives. That the deeper the exploration of the Dungeon, the lesser its activities on the early floors. This actually holds up in modern times. Expeditions deep into the Dungeon have been noted by the Guild, if quietly, to correlate to less monster parties, irregulars, and Dungeon 'traps' happening at the same time on the early floors.

What does all this mean? That the Dungeon is limited.

Now, that is still relative to an unimaginable degree, but it is true. While potentially partly due to Ouranos' efforts, the reality is that the Dungeon does not have unlimited energy. Even beyond the theory that the strength of monsters it can spawn are relative to the distance from its 'core' or 'heart', it appears to be limited by overall energy and attention. The energy it uses to spawn hundreds of monsters in the Labyrinth Territory is energy at least partially taken from hordes it could spawn in the Great Tree Labyrinth, and its ability to scale up is not perfect even with descending floors.

The Dungeon cannot simply spawn Level 6 monsters on the 54th floor in the same way it can spawn Level 3's on the 24th. Its ability to escalate monster strength is better on early floors. That's why it switches to weaker monsters after the 38th floor safe point. Why the Monster Rex's grow stronger, but taking longer and longer to spawn.

Even without Ouranos' prayers, that mortals capped the Dungeon at all in ancient times is proof that the dungeon cannot release hordes of higher-level monsters without limit.

It might seem obvious, but the Dungeon is such a great unknown and adventurers spend years delving into a seemingly endless and undaunted Dungeon that it can slip the mind.

Now, why does this matter? Because the 59th floor has a shift in the Dungeon's strategy. Or, a necessary expansion in its strategy.

The 59th floor…is an ecosystem. You will not see many, if any, spawning of monsters the same as you do in earlier floors. No, monsters just live there. Whether adventurers reach there or not, they live. They eat. They fight. They grow. They reproduce.

Yes, I did say reproduce. This might create a sense of derisiveness in some. After all, it is well-known that monsters on the surface are weaker due to the necessities of monsters reproducing. The Dungeon produces the magic stones at the core of every monster, and reproduction innately involves the parents weakening their magic stones to create a child. Both parents and child are weaker for it. Now, monsters eating and killing allows them to regenerate some power lost in reproduction, but the rule is that a newly born monster from the Dungeon is stronger than any born through reproduction except in the case of irregulars.

Forget this seeming 'rule' once you reach this deep. The Dungeon does not create monsters by this point. It supports and empowers an ecosystem of monsters. The number of pantries increases drastically, but they are also smaller and more spread out. In addition to killing and consuming each other, monsters also feed from the pantries to grow stronger.

This drastically changes monster growth and behavior. Monsters have likely had generations since they were born from the Dungeon, and they behave like it. That murderous impulse imparted by the Dungeon is diluted. They've learned how to survive. There are seemingly herbivorous monsters traveling from pantry to pantry. Herds of monsters that behave like it. Predatory monsters that hunt on their own. Many will also run when wounded too. You can group them into lineages or species of monsters, but in reality, lifetimes and generations of growth and evolution have allowed subspecies, mutations, individual variants, and more.

With what we have come to refer to as Alphas being the cumulation of this competition and growth.

The apex predators of these ecosystems. Not necessarily because they were just created of a stronger species, but because this was a particular monster that hunted more successfully, fed more, evolved more. They rule over their local area, imposing a forced stability. Some are lone beasts; others lead groups of lesser members of their species. Every floor will generally have anywhere from four to six of these Alphas.

These are the enemies most adventurers will most take note of. The floor bosses. The true outliers of the monsters that offer that challenge and danger so many of us crave. Even the 'Monster Rex' on the 69th floor is more an Alpha than something just spawned into existence by the Dungeon. Just a more consistent one. A perfectly laid out chamber that when a monster of a particular type successfully lays claim to, allows it to grow to a level beyond any other on these floors.

A ritual to grow a transcendent monster.

Note, however, that these are still ecosystem. The Dungeon does not replace anything instantly here. If you kill an Alpha, it can take anywhere from days to months for the subsequent chaos and competition among nearby monsters to fill the resulting gap to result in a new Alpha. When you wipe out every monster in an area, you need wait for monsters elsewhere to migrate over. The Dungeon will replace them if necessary too, it can still spawn monsters of these floors, but these monsters are merely standard. The resulting ecosystem is also less sophisticated, dynamic, and robust than one that has had generations to develop.

The Zeus and Hera familia's have very much dealt with the tedious result of wiping out these ecosystems wholesale.

It's an interesting thing. Almost a shift. As if the Dungeon has been forced to acknowledge its limits, and is no longer in full control of the floors. It's led to some wondering if this is halfway down. Or if we're approaching the limit of what the Dungeon has created. The Dead Floor has led to some further support on the latter. Either way, I can offer no more answers on that.

There are some other interesting little notes though, like…

Day 1 in Glacier Territory

The 59th floor reminded Ottar of old memories of the 1st floor.

Not for any obvious reason, to anyone else. The environment was entirely different, after all. The stark cave-like structure of the first floors, arrayed into hallways could not be compared to the raw environment of the Glacier Territory. Here, Ottar was forced to traverse a landscape he could not imagine humans living in outside of the Dungeon. Islands formed solid bases from which pure ice grew out of, creating pathways and floating ice platforms over a sea that extended beyond the sight of his eyes.

No. It was the monsters. Or more accurately, the size of the monsters.

Relative to Ottar.

The Glacier Territory felt like stepping into a land of giants. Most everything was larger. The Dungeon was not averse to throwing large monsters at adventurers. He's also had yet to see anything as large as the Monster Rex's. Most tended towards relative human size, however. Here, most everything he saw was at least human sized. It did not take long to note that anything of real worth would prove far larger.

It brought to mind when Ottar was seven, and faced a War Shadow for the first time.

Or being eight and looking up at the looming form of an orc.

Naturally, size was not enough to bother him.

He twisted out of the way as the monster lunged forward, it's thin sharp full of teeth snapping shut right where his head had just been. He struck back at the same moment. A hand rose up to grip right onto its jaws the instant they closed, strong fingers holding it closed. Wrenching its head down, his other arm wrapped around its neck, and a quick jerk let out an audible crack as its neck was broken. The monster collapsed, but seemed to at least have the final will to try and collapse its bulk onto him.

It did not work, and he instead used his grip on it to lift and swing its body. This allowed him to use it to block the ranged spit attack one of its fellows let out, the spit freezing upon impact in a way that could have immobilized a limb or a smaller adventurer. Another swing then sent its ice-covered corpse into two that lunged to try to flank Ottar.

Those ones knocked away, he let go as he moved forward himself a hand rose to the handle of one of his blades. He moved right around another spit attack, flipped over the one that lunged for him, and slashed right at its back. Its scales were no match, and it collapsed with a cry as its spine was cut right through. Ottar didn't stop at that, instead eying the other that had launched the ranged attack.

He did stop when a force lunged at him.

Caught in midair, his eyes turned towards the larger form and merely grunted, "Hmph."

His sword lashed out, and its face was split before its jaws could latch onto him. The larger monster of the group recoiled, crying at its ruined face. Yet, it remained alive.

Its cry also forced the remainder of the smaller ones to all lunge together.

They died as they threw themselves against his defense, and his blade then slashed out to deflect the spit attack of the larger one. He met its eyes. Despite face split open and blood dripping, it spat with a furious bestiality and lunged.

His sword thrust went right into its mouth, and sprouted from the back of its head.

He shrugged its corpse off his blade and took a moment to look at the pack that had attacked him.

Ottar did not recognize them. Although…that was the point. If he had desired, he could have looked up any records in the Guild to prepare himself for the monsters he would find in the Glacier Territory. He had purposefully decided not to.

Once, Ottar had explored the Dungeon with new eyes. While he hadn't ever purposefully avoided knowledge of the new dangers the Dungeon offered with new floors, he also hadn't sought to learn of them. A dangerous habit for newbie adventurers, but one that he had still developed. At least, till he had discovered everything the Dungeon had to offer in the floors he was able to access.

The new drops of the Udaeus and Balor had been bright spots, but arguably for the past fifteen years Ottar had been confined against old foes with little surprises.

This time, once again, he was exploring.

And that meant learning everything with his own body and experience.

So, he kneeled down and started examining the monsters he just killed. Their form wasn't totally new. He had seen similar in the Dense Forest Ravine, which contained a number of 'dinosaur'-like monsters. These resembled the raptors, although these ones were larger and colored white and blue to create some camouflage in this icy landscape.

"Pack hunters like others, but these ones are cannier," he muttered to himself, eyes shifting to the larger one. "Led by a far larger leader that directly ordered them."

The smaller ones were still large. Roughly two meters at the back and shoulder, and over five meters from mouth to tail. The leader was more three by seven. It also had a very notable blue crest on the head.

Preliminary name: White Raptors. Pack hunters of more sophisticated tactics. Ranged spitting attack that freezes. Seemingly endemic. Smaller packs of three or four, while larger packs of six or more have larger leaders. Weak defense. Low risk except-

Ottar jumped to avoid the far larger form that slid down the nearby slope in a tackle, lashing out with a drawn blade to dig a line in its back as it passed where he had just been.

Remarkably silent. Especially considering its size. Which was revealed further as it managed to rise to its fit, and then to its hind legs. It was now clearly twice as tall as Ottar.

It was vaguely bear-like, but with rabbit ears and an odd beak. Its stomach was also covered by a blue shell compared to its thick fur elsewhere. Not the most intimidating thing…if one didn't account for sheer size.

That size compounded with a roar it then sent at Ottar…

He rushed it. Too fast for it to even react. Drawing his war hammer, he kicked at its shelled stomach. Not only to get a feel for its defense there – thick and strong – but also to jump him up close to its head.

His hammer swung out, connecting with its beak, and a crunch rang out as its beak shattered.

The monster let out a bewildered and pained cry, looking at Ottar.

Then it turned, swiped one of the White Raptor bodies, and started fleeing.

Ottar stared, caught off guard for a moment. Then he frowned, and drew his small hatchet. He threw it at the fleeing monster while starting to close the distance.

Preliminary Name: Hare Beast. Lone monster. Thick fur, fat, and shell on stomach provide it moderate defense. Surprisingly agile, especially when sliding on stomach. Sheer brute force allows it to pose some threat to a Level 6 if its attacks land, and is capable of launching large snow projectiles with magic. Of low risk despite this.

Cowardly, seemingly avoiding attacking except when hungry or able to ambush.

Day 2 in Glacier Territory

That would be far from his first experience with the previously rare behavior of a monster fleeing. In fact, most monsters he found seemed to be so. Most clearly just migrating, little different from beasts on the surface besides their size and strength if provoked.

There were herds of reindeer-like monsters.

Preliminary Name: Crowned Elk. Large horns that they'll use as weapon, but otherwise attempt avoidance. Herbivores?

Ottar spent half a day following one group. It allowed him to find that they were traveling between what appeared to be Dungeon Pantries, feeding there before moving on. He was also in place to watch as a pack of White Raptors took one of the herd, consuming it.

It had led him to jumping in to wipe them out, since monsters eating monsters were a sign of irregulars.

It also allowed him to confirm that the Crowned Elks did have a magic stone that proved they were monsters, despite their behavior being so off.

Yet, more time on the floor proved it to be a usual occurrence. More monsters attacking other monsters. Eating them. Plenty that seemed devoted entirely to subsisting off the Pantries and whatever little vegetation the monsters were seemingly able to eat, then serving as food for predators.

Penguin-like monsters that lived between the sea and the ice surface.

Preliminary Name: Metal Penguins. Their fur has metallic spines hidden inside, which they can pull up to point outwards as protection. Weakest monster yet found in this Territory, but extremely fast swimmers and of great numbers.

All of these were at minimum Level 5 monsters, but it was vaguely disappointing for Ottar that the floor seemed more populated by…prey monsters than anything further.

…Especially because Ottar's instincts were telling him that there was something on this floor that was capable of drawing his attention.

Ottar dipped his hand in the ice-cold water of the sea where the ice ended, commenting after a moment, "…it's warm."

Potentially an exaggeration, but true. The unfrozen water was naturally warmer than the frozen landscape, but that was still relative. It was still saltwater on the very edge of freezing.

And this water was at least slightly warmer than it should have been.

"A warm current…from that direction," he said as he stood back up.

An arguably minor discovery, but one he was intending to follow. Primarily as his instincts were telling him whatever he was feeling was in that direction. The only flowing water had been around the Pantries. One large enough to actually create a warmer current in the sea could house exactly what he was seeking for.

A true opponent.

Ottar was soon moving. Running across the ice bridges between the islands. Great leaps taking him from island to island when there was no such pathway. When the islands were too far apart, he simply harnessed his speed to run across the surface of the water. Dual blades lashing out to cut apart the stray monsters close and quick enough to try and attack him.

Yet, he kept traveling without arriving.

Eventually, it was that alongside his honed instincts as a beast-person which made him come to a halt. Landing on an island, he looked around. Checked the position of the nearby islands. Then even looked upwards, where the Dungeon ceiling was so far that even his eyes could not pick it out. All that could be seen was a white and even cloudy sky that at night seemed to fade to form stars.

"I got…turned around?"

Impossible. One did not survive as a solo adventurer in the Dungeon without keeping your positioning in mind. He might not have been able to travel a straight line due to the positioning of the islands, but he could not have been turned around. Also…

"I have not found the Dungeon walls," he added, absorbing this information and how it fit into this.

The Dungeon got larger as one descended, but it was not consistent. The 40th to 50th floors did not widen much at all, but the 51st to 57th were wide enough that, together with the labyrinthian stricture, exploring the edges was all but pointless. Mathematically the estimation was that the 59th floor would likely be three times the size of Orario, and rumors state the 59th floor included a massive jump in size. Even by the wildest possibility though, Ottar should have hit the walls after this far.

Is there some bewildering effect on the walls that trick the senses so one ends up heading away from them?

An area that adventurers can't leave?

He could only frown though. Ottar was not a smart man, and his curiosity didn't tend to extend to such mysteries like this. He would leave this to others better equipped for such investigations.

As what he was clearly sensing was further beyond though, potentially even using this to hide from him, it was displeasing to have to turn around.

It was enough for Ottar to climb down to the 60th floor when he found the staircase, leaving this oddly lacking floor behind.

…

On the 60th floor, Ottar experienced what it was like to be eaten for the first time.

Day 3 in the Glacier Territory

The cold of these floors was a challenge that every adventurer to reach this far would have to deal with.

Ottar decided to simply endure it. Maybe he would have done otherwise if he reached here as a Level 6 or 7, but at this point he had no excuse. While he had packed a cloak that could offer some protection, he ventured forth without it. Simply his usual adventuring outfit, thick skin weathering the freezing wind.

It was unpleasant, but far from more than he was willing to endure.

Just another way to test himself and build resistance…no matter how he disliked the cold and the memories they brought back.

It did mandate some odd circumstances though, even for him. The fruit he was subsisting on stole plenty enough heat already. That also eventually combined with a need to sleep – at least an hour or two – after two full days of going without.

To sleep in an arctic landscape without freezing, when one wore only light clothing, required some strategy. He chose against digging a hole in the rock or building an igloo. Each would likely require as much time as he needed to sleep. Something rougher and more makeshift was fine with Ottar.

So, he slaughtered a number of nearby Metal Penguins, piled them up, and crawled inside to use their bodies as an impromptu shelter.

He had expected some interruption after an hour or two of sleep, but that was all he needed.

He had not expected said interruption to be the entire pile being swallowed in a single bite.

Ottar woke but several instants before the 'attack' came. Airborne enemy – less noise. He felt the presence approaching fast enough that he defended over trying to dodge. Even inside the pile, he got his feet beneath him and a hand on one of his blades.

Then a great maw engulfed the entire pile of bodies alongside a good chunk of the ice beneath. Ottar had to raise a hand to catch on one of the rows of teeth that attempted to crunch down on its meal, feet forced to find purchase on the teeth now coming from beneath through the ice too. Even as the teeth tore through the monsters to unleash blood, Ottar's body strained as he halted the closing of its mouth. Arm trembling as it held the monster's upper jaw, blood spilling as the tooth cut into his hand, he drew his sword out in a draw to slash at the roof of the mouth.

A noise came from the throat, and the attempt by the monster to close its jaws to shred him intensified. He also felt his momentum shifting even more, the monster throwing its head around even as it climbed back into the air. Ottar held it regardless, and this time he thrust his blade up right into the roof of its mouth. The thrashing intensified, and Ottar felt his blade hit thick bone.

Grunting, he stood up as much as possible till he pressed his shoulders up against a groove between the teeth. The teeth still were close enough to dig into his back, but he ignored it. Removed his other arm to press it against hilt of his blade as well.

Another thrust then slammed it through the bone it had ground against, and the thrashing of the monster stilled.

…and then Ottar felt as he started falling.

Ottar wasn't able to orient and get out before he felt a great impact. He was well protected inside the monster's corpse, but even still he could feel it. He also felt as it started to sink further.

…it appeared the monster landed on and broke through some ice.

He tried to get out before what he knew was coming arrived, but here he failed too. As he got right to the mouth and opened it, a flood of ice-cold water met him head-on. Lacking any sort of firm footing, he found himself caught in it and flowing backwards down the monster's throat.

Fighting through it, another wave came to meet him. This time, however, of monsters. Shark-like monsters with front limbs and huge mouths surged inside. While maybe the size of a human torso, they swarmed like piranha with a fierce hunger. Many didn't even go for Ottar, instead consuming the remains of the Metal Penguins or latching onto the flesh of the monster's mouth and throat. Enough still charged at Ottar though that he had to cut his way through them, strength pushing his blade through the water as if it was air. Cutting anything that dared to get close to him, Ottar swam forward.

Finally bursting out of the charnel house he'd inadvertently created; he drew the other dual sword even as he spun to survey his surroundings. He was underneath the ice covering the sea, but his sharp eyes still allowed him to see the light peeking through. As well as all that was around him in the water. He first turned towards the large monster that had tried to eat him.

It was a dragon. A massive black dragon that wouldn't lose out to a Valgang Dragon in size. The sort of thing he'd have gladly fought properly.

Yet now it was serving as a feast for every monster nearby. Shark monsters were swarming it, even if the ones trying to get through its thick scales were struggling far more than those who went at its insides. Larger, dark shapes were also appearing in the distance.

Ottar started to kick upwards, but was ready as his movements caught the attention of more of the monsters. His arms lashed out, cutting them all in half as they approached. Only a few that he'd coincidentally hit the magic stone of turning to ash. The ones remaining drew the attention of others approaching, who started to each the corpses that remained.

Ottar didn't have time to consider that, sensing a form approaching. He spun and stabbed a sword without even checking what it was. A black and white whale monster was impaled through the head, momentum pushing him back even as its movements ceased.

Feeling even more monsters about to arrive, Ottar spotted the next whale monster that approached. It was far larger than the shark monsters, but the straightforward attack made him pull back from killing it right away. He instead sheathed a blade to free a hand.

Focusing, he waited till the whale monster tried to take a bite of him. A quick kick of his legs put him above its mouth, and his palm pressed against its nose. Using this, he flipped his body around to realign right on top of it. His hand now gripping its head, allowing him to stab his blade into its head. It started to thrash and swim faster, but that was exactly what he wanted. Using his blade, he pulled at its head to guide it upwards. Swimming up at full speed till…

The whale monster slammed right through the ice atop the water, ending up suspended in midair.

Where Ottar smoothly shifted off it, spinning as he fell, blade lashing out before his feet landed on ice.

The monster split in half. Its bottom half falling right back into the hole to sink back into the depths, even as its top half slammed into the ice. Failing to break through, it rested there as it took its last breasts before passing.

And Ottar finally had a moment to consider that rush of activity upon waking.

That moment then passed when the shark monsters burst out of the hole. Eyes locking onto him with a veracious hunger despite all the food they'd just had. Or maybe because of it, considering how they were clearly larger than the ones that he'd initially encountered. Either older ones had arrived or these monster grew fast from food.

They also had limbs now.

…

The original ones had front limbs, but now they were more developed and he could see hints of hind legs poking out.

…

Ottar did not hold back, and brought his full power to bear killing all of the ones that had surfaced. It made it a quick affair. No doubt more yet remained in the water, but that was unpleasant to think about.

He looked in distaste at the corpses, and was about to kick them back into the water.

A tentacle reached out of the water to slam down onto the ice. At least five meters long, the tentacle did not break through the ice. It did proceed to swipe and gather up the corpses on the ice to pull them into the water.

Ottar jumped over the tentacle, but then took a moment to consider after it disappeared.

Looked at the large, dark shapes in the water.

The moment passed.

He dived back into the water.

…

Preliminary Name: Kraken. Massive water monster. Tentacles can reach ten meters, but their main bodies are smaller. Teeth in a large mouth. Release ink that blinds and smells. Strongest monster yet encountered on these floors, pending discovery of another dragon. Not more than a Level 6 monster, but the water makes it a proper challenge to even the strongest Level 6.

…

It turned out Ottar had erred in his earlier thoughts. He had failed to consider the water. It hadn't proven an issue for him, but that was only natural. A lone Level 8 traveling was an entirely different thing to an expedition toting Level 4's and 5's alongside wagons of supplies. The ice and depths would offer much more dangers to them.

There were dangers on land, as proven by Ottar having missed a dragon, but at least here they might pale in comparison to what the frozen sea offered.

Despite his past experience, Ottar still used a pile of Metal Penguins to sleep.

He was more wary this time though. Enough so that he detected the approach much earlier this time. He was on his feet in a flash, weapon drawn and looking at the approaching monsters.

The three monsters froze, eyeing him even as he eyed them.

They were bear monsters, with white fur. Each had a thicker stripe of white fur that wrapped around their necks like a mane. Small ice spikes also had formed on its neck and around its snout, and its paws were all but covered in ice that ran halfway up its legs to form formidable claws. The two larger ones were approaching four meters tall even on all fours, and thickly built.

The third however was just two meters tall.

A juvenile.

The two monsters growled at Ottar, and shifted position to cover the young one. They didn't approach though. It made Ottar not move either.

Eventually tilting his head, he climbed out of the pile of monster corpses, and started walking away even as he kept eying them.

The monsters waited till he made a distance, but then approached as a group and started to eat the monsters.

"Hmmm," Ottar hummed out.

The way not all the monsters attacked and had young was rather odd to think about. Troubling. Not only because he would have liked to fight those two monsters either. He could find others though.

So, he turned and started away to do just that.

The monsters Ottar found got better from the 60th floor on. Not only from realizing the frontier the water provided. It was clear that there were plenty of large predators subsisting on the numerous prey species that wandered or the smaller predators like the White Raptors. Plenty as aggressive to any intruder or source of food as monsters from elsewhere in the Dungeon.

Even if they did sometimes run or have a juvenile that required some getting used to.

It still proved short of what he wanted, however.

This was a great place for many to train and fight monsters. Enough so that he was soon lamenting that he didn't have access to these floors when he was Level 6 or 7. He could have easily cut by years the time needed to build himself up. If this region was as accessible as the 30th floor, the difficulty jump between Level 5 and 7 would not be near as great as it was.

It was still no place for a Level 8 to push themselves.

So, he chose to push on quickly. Not his usual modus operandi in not taking any shortcuts and thoroughly using every opportunity available to him, but Ottar was willing to bend this time. Years and years of being stuck on the same floors made him willing to rush. Feel excitement at being able to proper delve again.

To push the limit of what he's reached and break new ground.

This was an adventure, and he had been far too bereft of those for years.

The 60th floor passed.

Then the 61st. The 62nd. 63rd.

They were not without some memorable monsters that would have been worthy foes Ottar would have relished facing before he broke through to Level 8.

The 62nd floor had Ottar stumble across a monster that might have been the strongest he had faced yet.

He parried the bladed tail that was whipped at him. His arms were jarred, however, and his feet dug through the ground as he was pushed back. The tail was stopped, but the parry failed and Ottar spotted the notch made in his blade.

Frowning, he grabbed onto the tail itself. He then started pulling. The monster struggled, even flipping itself, but Ottar's strength was unyielding. He managed to swing it in a circle till crashing it into a large ice spire.

The monster quickly stood, however, and Ottar switched out his weapon for his war hammer.

He also started chanting even as he looked at the monster.

"Sterling compassion, golden plains."

The monster greatly resembled a blue version of the Bloodsaurus of the Dense Forest Ravine. Almost like a wingless dragon, but with strong hind legs supporting it and all but pointlessly short front limbs. A long, powerful tail and a vicious bite. In some ways it was like the White Raptors scaled up several times, but it seemed more than that. The Bloodsaurus was basically the largest non-Monster Rex the Dungeon offered before this, at five meters tall, and this one was certainly not smaller.

"It is my fate to serve as a brute of war."

Although, comparing it to a Bloodsaurus felt dishonest even beyond that this monster was already showing capabilities more in line with a Level 7.

As if to show it, the monster opened its mouth and a beam shot out is mouth with a roar.

"Run through, carrying the divine will of the goddess."

Ottar merely raised the war hammer to block it, however. He felt himself be pushed back, the ground cracking underneath his feet. Ice formed not only on the weapon, but all around Ottar. He was standing in the face of an attack ready to freeze anything before it in solid ice.

Ottar didn't care.

"Hildis Vini!"

His chant finished, golden magic flowed into the hammer.

A swing shattered the ice covering it, the ice surrounding him, and the shockwave extended to split the beam till it connected with the monster.

It took several steps back, shaking its head, before looking back at Ottar. He was encased in golden energy, and met its gaze. Despite the display, the beast showed no cowardice and merely roared. Its bladed tail slammed into the ground, and came up with ice sticking to it in a way as to form an even larger ice blade. It roared again.

Ottar nodded at its defiance, before striding forth to beat it back.

Ottar was less bothered by how the monster burst out of the ice in an attempted ambush as what he found when he looked at it.

It looked like the previous shark monsters. Just fully grown. Massive in that growth too. The torso-sized beasts were clearly but larval forms for this four meter tall monster, The spike on the heads of the juveniles was gone, although the way it slammed its head into the ground and came up with an ice blade soon solved that.

It looked strong.

It also had limbs though, almost frog like.

Ottar was not amused, even if it did prove a fight not inferior to the one the dinosaur-monster had given.

Ottar stared at the second monster that had attacked from the sea before climbing onto land.

It was the same killer whale he'd experienced before when fighting in the sea on the 60th floor. Like the shark monster though, this one on the 63rd floor seemed more developed. A horn had sprouted on its head like a unicorn, and it had grown larger. Its chest was all but bursting with new muscle.

Mainly as, like the shark monster, it now had arms.

Ottar started chanting.

He was ready to leave the 63rd floor.

Day 6 in the Glacier Territory

So, he descended another staircase to the 64th floor.

He exited, and immediately could tell there was a shift in the surroundings. The cold was just as fierce. Wind still blowing to chill the blood. Yet, his beast person senses picked up the minor differences.

He circled to see what was different. He exited near a sea once again, and the frozen landscape there was the same. In the other direction though was proper land. Buried in snow, but still land. In fact, in the distance there were even trees and hills.

This was less an iceberg covered rock sprouting out of the ocean, and a proper island.

The Arctic Tundra of the Glacier Territory.

Fun Fact of the Chapter

Ottar: Secretly finds fish with arms and legs very creepy.

Now, just a scattering of scenes. Some I hope were worthwhile, but I didn't want to skip too much. As I am altering the nature of the Dungeon on these floors (as I feel it very queer if the Dungeon can just spawn waves of monsters as powerful as the Udaeus without limit), I wanted to show some of it over just having internal monologue. At times wondered whether I changed a bit too much, but we'll see. Honestly, I will say that I hope Ottar reaches the 'next' part of the Dungeon after two expeditions. This is more the area that the rest of the Freya Familia, Loki familia, and limited Ganesha familia will be exploring. So, some unseen monsters and exploration will happen with them.

Now, this did end up longer than expected (which in itself is somewhat expected). Wanted some actual social interaction to round out a relatively solitary combat chapter. Near 7000 words is enough though.

But I have the Shakti part partially written, so I am putting out right after this for a small double update.