Chapter 113: [BONUS] - Arriving at the Safe Zone

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Meanwhile, on the 18th Floor.

The artillery shell detonated.

The explosion rocked the whole cavern. This floor was more than just a safe place from monsters. It was a permanent outpost for Adventurers.

"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?"

Bors, who managed the town, knew right away that something was very wrong. The cavern walls shook hard. This felt much worse than any Floor Boss rampage...

"It's the seventeenth floor!"

"Someone is fighting up there. They killed Goliath!"

"There are so many dead monsters!"

Adventurers hurried back into the settlement. Some had seen the chaos above with far-sight magic or tracking skills. A huge group of monsters had been wiped out at the Big Wall of Grief.

Even the monsters lurking around Rivira became uneasy, startled by the aftershocks. They could feel a heavy, strange pressure coming from above.

"What?" Bors muttered, his single eye widening. "Who the fuck is hunting the Floor Boss right now?"

Wait...

"Isn't Goliath supposed to spawn in a few days? Why is it early?"

The timing made no sense. Floor Bosses always came back on a set schedule. Familias planning to rank up had to plan their raids around that. So what was going on up there?

Nobody had an answer.

Then, a booming roar tore through the illuminated cavern.

A helicopter burst through the upper passage. The steady beat of its rotors resounded across the Safe Zone. Every creature in the cavern looked up at the machine.

Yet, the local monsters hesitated.

Instead of attacking, the monsters pulled back. The helicopter still carried the stench of the Floor Boss and the pressure of fresh slaughter. The monsters stayed hidden in the shadows.

The Adventurers simply stared at the iron bird, stunned.

What was that?

The helicopter swept over the wooden structures of Rivira and touched down smoothly on the outskirts.

The Adventurers made a wide circle as the helicopter's rotors slowed. Two people got out of the cockpit. Most of the crowd didn't know who Liliruca Arde was.

But when August took off his helmet and sunglasses, everyone suddenly realized who he was.

"The Monster Rookie!!"

The Adventurers looked at him with a combination of awe and fear. This was the famous rookie.

Bors took in the sight, stepping toward the front of the crowd.

"I wondered who was tearing up the floor above us. Should have known it was you," Bors said warily.

Bors was in charge of Rivira, but he always listened for news. The Adventurers nearby had heard stories about August wiping out thousands of monsters on the Upper and Middle Floors. Even the toughest veterans here would have lost many people against a horde like that. But August had beaten them alone.

"Hello." August stored the helicopter in his spatial void and surveyed the crowd.

The Adventurers in Rivira were tough, either searching for rare items or hiding from bounties on the surface. Reaching the eighteenth floor took real skill. Everyone here was at least Level 2 or a maxed-out Level 1. No one here was weak.

"Congratulations, rookie," Bors grunted.

He looked at the young man. August was calm and steady, not rough like Bors. He didn't act proud, just quietly confident. If Bors had achieved those feats at that age, his ego would have been insufferable.

Taking down Goliath and shaking two entire floors wasn't something Bors could pull off. The kid was a force of nature.

"Just clearing the path," August smiled, brushing off the praise.

"The passage up to the seventeenth floor is still open, but it's a mess right now. If anyone plans on heading to the surface, I suggest waiting until tomorrow."

He gave the warning without holding back. It was safer to wait for the Dungeon to fix the damage first.

Bors understood what that meant: the seventeenth floor was now a ruined wasteland.

Bors sighed and rubbed his scarred face. It was obvious this was the rookie's first visit to the Under Resort.

"Since you're here, is there something you need?"

The local monsters were no longer a real challenge. Bors needed to know what brought a predator like him into town.

"Just looking around. And hunting down a specific Familia," August answered bluntly.

"..." The Adventurers standing around started to sweat with nerves.

Some of the newer residents from the surface looked at each other, worried.

"Is he hunting the ones who put out the hit?" a Pallum Supporter whispered.

The news of last night's assassination attempt had already reached the deep floors.

Bors frowned. He hadn't heard about a hit.

"Ann," Bors looked at the Pallum, a long-time Rivira resident.

"Boss, it went down last night," Ann explained eagerly. "Someone posted a 10 million Valis bounty on the underground board. They marked every member of the Hestia Familia for death, excluding the Captain."

Ann glanced at August, his eyes wide with awe.

"Then, Lord August tracked down one of the broker hideouts and blew the entire building to ash. The Ishtar Familia mobilized to stop him. Not only did their Captain Phryne get beaten down, but Goddess Ishtar herself got publicly humiliated by Lady Hestia."

Ann shared the gossip with the energy of a tavern bard, clearly enjoying the excitement.

"Even Ishtar got taken down?" Bors muttered, genuinely stunned.

The Pleasure Quarter belonged to Ishtar. Ann said August had just walked in and destroyed it. Bors realized calling him 'Monster Rookie' wasn't enough.

The man was like a natural disaster. He'd only had a Falna for two weeks. It made no sense.

"We have rules down here. If you're looking for a specific target, we aren't talking," Bors stated firmly.

He had no intention of giving up information. Rivira was full of outcasts and veterans, and nobody betrayed their neighbors.

August paused. He hadn't expected Bors to stonewall him so quickly.

But it made sense. He could force answers out of people, but breaking the town's trust would destroy the Safe Zone. Surviving alone deep in the Dungeon meant the Dungeon would eventually wear him down with endless monsters.

"That's fine. I understand," August said evenly. "You manage this town. You have an obligation to protect the people staying here."

He respected the main rule that kept Rivira running.

Bors blinked, surprised by the easy concession.

August was surprisingly reasonable, which made him even more dangerous.

Bors had expected to face an arrogant tyrant and could have rallied the town against a bully. But August was well-mannered and respected his authority. Bors almost wished he was dealing with someone arrogant.

"Mr. Bors, how much do you know about Adventurer disappearances down here?" August asked, his voice projecting across the crowd. "Or rather, do you think it's possible someone is trafficking Adventurers?"

The question made even the toughest veterans uneasy.

Dying in the Dungeon was part of the job. But human trafficking—forcing people into the deep floors—was something else entirely. That was too much.

"Impossible," Bors snapped, his pride wounded. "I helped build this town. If human trafficking was happening under my nose, I would know."

Bors kept watch over everything. The Ganesha Familia officially captured live monsters, and that was strictly controlled. But smuggling people? The entrances were always guarded. He just couldn't believe it.

"It is possible."

Lili stepped forward and raised her hand. Now it was the tactician's turn. "Don't forget, the Dungeon has uncharted areas, places where monsters don't appear. Smugglers could use those paths to avoid the main tunnels. I'm sure there's a secure, hidden tunnel right here on the eighteenth floor."

Lili smiled up at the towering town boss.

The Adventurers around them gasped in surprise.

A hidden, safe tunnel leading straight to the surface would be priceless. If such a route really existed, every Adventurer in the city would want to find it. Skipping the dangerous upper floors was worth everything.

"So it's just a theory... You have zero proof!!" Bors challenged.

"But what if it isn't?" Lili countered, her smile widening. She had him on the hook.

"If a specialized tunnel exists, it would provide a guaranteed safe extraction route for injured or low-level Adventurers. Bypassing the monster spawns is the difference between life and death."

She knew exactly how to work the crowd. The idea of a safe route to the surface was enough to excite everyone. Rivira was a valuable safe haven, but it was also a prison deep underground. If an Adventurer was too hurt to climb back up, they died here.

"It's run by remnants of the Evilus," August dropped the bombshell.

The news shocked the crowd. Just mentioning the Evilus changed everything.

"Those psychotic bastards are still breathing?" Bors growled, his hand drifting toward his weapon.

Regular Adventurers could be ruthless, but the Evilus were like monsters pretending to be human. They enjoyed torture and luring innocent people into deadly traps.

Many veterans in Rivira had lost friends to them.

"Clearly..." August said. "They had enough capital to put a 10 million Valis hit on my crew. I'm just curious how they've been surviving all this time. Did they scatter and hide inside other Familias? Or did they sell their souls to the Dungeon itself? Who knows."

The Adventurers nearby exchanged worried looks. Things were getting out of hand fast.

"But here is the best part. Once we locate this tunnel, the Hestia Familia won't claim it," Lili stated clearly, laying her cards on the table. "We have zero interest in managing a toll road. If any of you want to seize control of the access point, be my guest."

The Hestia Familia wasn't interested in controlling territory. Giving away a safe, monster-free path to the surface was the best possible offer. It let the town avoid Goliath's boss room for good. No one could turn it down.

"I need to discuss this with the others. I don't run this town alone," Bors grunted, buying time.

But he didn't say no. Honestly, he wanted that route more than anything. A safe, monster-free way to the surface would change Rivira forever.

"Take your time," August smiled, gesturing casually. "We'll start running recon in the meantime."

After making their offer, August and Lili turned and walked away. Bors watched as they vanished into the cavern.

"Boss, why didn't you agree on the spot?" a veteran Adventurer hissed, visibly anxious. "That tunnel is a goldmine. We need to secure it."

"You think I don't know that?" Bors muttered, rubbing his scarred face. "But wanting it and being strong enough to keep it are two very different things."

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