Ep. 53 - Floor 50, Quick Trip

After half an hour, Loki came back to the table. I passed her some snacks and a cup of coffee. She had become addicted to drinking it, so who am I to stop her?

"So… Want to explain that?" She asked motioning with her head towards the archer dude, who was screaming and being continuously impaled by Weiss' knight.

"Oh, that guy…" I created a barrier between us and Ais. "That guy shot me on the way down. I ignored it since I am oh so benevolent. Then he attacked me again while coming back here. I searched his mind and determined that there was no use in keeping him alive. And he had some not-so-pure intentions towards kids. He was targeting Ais before we arrived and adopted her."

"You went too light on him." she said, looking disgusted towards the torture site.

"I can't exactly melt him in acid in front of everyone, but I guarantee that the pain he is feeling is much worse."

Anyway, I decided to ignore the archer dude since he's not getting out of here anytime soon. Since I got pissed that he was screaming so loudly, my fault, I decided to gradually lowering him on a stake. His death will be a painful and slow one.

I got a gate connected to the Familia HQ and had the majority of the adventurers going back. Riveria also went back to act as a head. A good choice. The smiths that were sent back were relieved, probably thinking they didn't have to follow a madman who would randomly start torturing people. Oh, if only they read what I wrote…

In the end, just a small group of 16 remained, excluding my gang. There were six smiths led by Tsubaki. The remaining adventurers were all veterans between quasi-Level 4's and actual Level 4's. Finn and Gareth stayed as well.

"Ok! This group is manageable. We will be descending to the 50th floor now. I guess you know, but be careful and be ready to defend yourselves. If you feel a particular need to fight, you are welcome to go with my group here." I said, then started turning around.

Then Tsubaki said: "Sorry, I've been having this question since the beginning. Who are you? I've never seen you in the Loki Familia…"

"It would be a problem if you saw me. We joined barely a week ago, after all."

"And why are you leading this expedition?"

"Seriously? Are you blind or just an idiot?" asked Nora. "You have seen the reason, so why are you asking?"

"Uhm… It's just that I find it strange. I mean, not everyday we find some madman that brings his Goddess to an expedition and treats it like a pic-nic. And the Captain is Finn, so I was just curious."

"I see. Well, we are leading because we will have the easiest time in the deepest floors, plus we have detailed maps and tactics. Finn is an excellent Captain, but having him lead will probably limit this expedition to the late 50's in terms of floors. I want to go deeper. Expedition, exploration, isn't the goal going as far as possible and discovering new things?" I said. They are Adventurers and we are adventure seekers. We all know that this is what we are meant to do. The dungeon and the expeditions are the greatest adventure we could all ask for.

Tsubaki nodded and we started walking towards the 40th floor.

It took a little over two hours to reach the 49th floor. The other Adventurers were forced to rest often due to the high temperatures on these floors. Every floor from the 40th to the 49th experiences and increase in temperature. From the 44th floor onwards, the floors become volcanoes, so the difficulty lies in the environment, not really the monsters.

When we had previously arrived on this floor, the Balor hadn't spawned yet, probably due to a previous expedition. Guess what we found now? The fucking Balor.

"Guys, let's have Finn and Gareth take care of this." I said, stopping the gang. I want to see what they are capable of. "I will buff you, so don't worry." I said to the two.

I applied as many buffs as I could. Speed, power, durability, dynamic vision, everything that could be enhanced was enhanced. "Like this, you should both reach the standards of a Level 9. Go and take care of this thing."

Finn was a very good spearman. The timing of his striked was good and his small body helped him be squishy and move to attack in all directions. Gareth on the other hand should really ditch the axe and go for a shield. He has brute strength, but he just swings the axe around. It's effective, I mean… The monsters die, so it's fine for him, but if there is a stronger opponent or someone with more skill, he will have a very hard time. His defence is incredible. It probably reaches the standards of Level 10 after being buffed.

The Balor didn't stand a chance against the two buffed executives and was soon defeated. It even left behind its horn as a drop item.

"Hey, now that I think about it, shouldn't we go to Rose at the guild? She might think we are dead after all these days…" I said, remembering the redhead fluffy girl.

"Yes, we should. We also have a lot of magic stones we need to convert. I want shiny coins, not those rocks!" said Ruby.

While we were talking among us about going to the guild after the expedition, Finn and Gareth were discussing the buffs they received and overall what had just transpired. They have Riveria and other magicians that can cast some buffs, but they just jumped four Levels in overall power. They agreed that maybe we can help them reach the end of this Dungeon. How do I know this? They decided to talk within twenty meters from me, so I just had to read their lip movements.

I decided to continue on to the safe zone, it is useless to stay here where some nuisances can spawn anytime. When we arrived there, the Dungeon again spawned another big black monster. Everytime I say that, it sounds so wrong.

This time it was a huge black Cadmus.

"Tula, buff us. We'll take care of that. I am sure we can reach Level 6 when we beat it." said Ren. I went ham on the buffs, much stronger than those I applied on Finn and Gareth. When I was done, I nodded and they were gone. Then came the explosions, then the gunshots, then the Cadmus' cries, then Ruby's laugh. Oh, maybe that was Nora.

"Yeah, so… Let's set up camp. They got this." I said to the rest of the group.

"Yeah, I've heard that." said Loki.

"Oh, Loki. You look so exasperated. Come on admit that this is a pretty nice change of pace."

"I admit that this is a change of pace, but the walking makes this much less enjoyable."

"Then, do you want to try a flying, comfy armchair? Or maybe a throne?"

"Deal, where is it?" She said immediately after I finished.

I just started creating an armchair and enchanted it with as many defensive and comfort-related spells as I could. I then applied an enchantment to make it fly. Pretty easy.

"There you go. One flying armchair ready to go!"

Loki smiled and head patted me. I will admit that, if I had a tail, I would be wagging it right about now. Now that I think back to it, l also enjoyed Yang's belly rubs that day before taking a dip in the Grimm Pools. Eh, feels nice, so who cares?

I was currently in the tent I made for my group and Loki. Then, I thought of something that might pose a challenge to me.

I like this universe, though it is too low-level for me now. It wasn't a problem when I was in the RWBY universe or Potterverse because they were still 'human' level universes. The DanMachi universe can instead be considered a 'super-human' level universe. I am at the top of this place and will always stay on the top due to the fact that I produce excelia myself. To put it simply, it's boring to me. I love my wives and friends and I absolutely adore Ais, but I kinda want to see if I can go further and find a more interesting world for when we want to leave this place.

"Hey, guys… Would you survive if I left you for around a day, possibly even less?" I asked, ironing out my plan.

"Hm… Sure… Wait, what are you planning?" asked Weiss.

"Always so perceptive, my dear. I'm planning on some scouting. If Loki starts suppressing her God power again, the dungeon will even stop spawning those black monsters, making it easier on you. I've had this idea cooking up for a while. If I leave now, before nighttime, I might even be back before morning comes." I said.

"Sure, go ahead. Don't have too much fun without us though, otherwise you'll hear me!" said Yang

"Sir, yes sir! Pfft! God, how much I love you. Well, good night. I'll be back in a day max. If anything goes wrong you can always contact me through the communicator. I will be taking the ship, but I will place a beacon in the mansion, so you can get out quickly if needed." I said and opened a gate to the surface.

Back in the tent, Loki asked: "Does he do this often?"

"If you mean ditching us, then no, it's the first time. If you mean changing universe as he pleases, then yes. This is the fourth universe we visit." said Ruby, sad that they were left behind, though she found comfort in the fact that it would only be a day.

"I still can't believe that you guys are from another universe entirely. Come on, tell me more!"

I was currently in the ship. I quickly stopped by the mansion to apply a few hundred thousand enchantments to guarantee the safety of the gang in case they had to escape there. I also placed a hidden trasmat beacon, so that their Ghosts could bring them out of the dungeon.

Now, you might be wondering, why did I suddenly decide to switch universes, alone? Well, let me tell you. I've been cooking up the idea for a while. I want to try a cultivation universe. How does it work? Is it a type of energy other places don't have, is it some kind of meditation exercise? Will I cheat my way up again? Can I become a fully fledged God?

All sorts of questions that I can answer and knowledge to gain… Now, why so suddenly? Easy, it's because the expedition has reached a 'plateau'. If it was only me and the gang, we could have blasted through the dungeon, but we have some dead weight with us. We will have to spend some days going through each floor from now on since other Familias have explored only up to the 54th floor. This means I have nothing even remotely interesting to do for a while. I won't leave them for more than a day, but I want… Something.

It's a problem, you know? Cheating I mean. It does give a 'high' when you first do it. I liked it when I got infinite Light, Aura, and Magic. Excelia? It ruined the feeling. This universe could have been fun for me, but now I am literally the strongest person in the universe, at least a hundred thousand times stronger than a normal human. I need something to distract me, something that tells me 'Hey, there's more. Just sit tight and wait.'

That's why I flew outside of this world, dropped a waypoint satellite, and activated the UJD.

Inside the cockpit, I was looking through hundreds of scans, trying to decide how to find a decent cultivation universe. There are several things that can be cultivated: body, mind, soul, 'energy' of some sorts, etc. The ones I read about or have at least heard mentioned are Tales of Demons and Gods, which cultivates the soul, Martial God, which I don't really know much of but just what some friends said, Martial God Asura, which is a bit iffy to me, Against the Gods, which is a comparatively 'low-level' cultivation world. To be honest, I am just testing the waters here, so any universe would be good: just need to find a cultivator, search their minds, rack my brains a little and find a way to cultivate. I don't even need to reach a high level, I just want to know that there is something more.

'To be honest, Against the Gods would be best since it has a little bit of everything. The 'Heart of Snow Glazed Glass', from what I understood, should also strengthen my soul and other things. It might be a solution to my MPH's curse. It has formations, which can strengthen my runes and rituals. The profound veins should also be compatible with me since I have immaterial veins already. If I can get material veins, I should 'evolve' again… The more I think about it, the more it seems like a good idea.'

"MoonRay... we need to find a world with yet another type of energy. It should more or less be a combination of Light, Aura, and Magic. The laws should also be abundant, less so for laws like 'nothingness', 'void', 'everything'. Don't worry about the danger-rating you expect, just give me the list." I said. MoonRay is basically acting more and more like a secretary for my travels.

"Guardian, why are the others not here? Oh, here you go, the list." she asked.

"This time we are just staying a little. It's basically scouting." I said while checking the enormous list. I immediately eliminated those that had more than two types of energies since those would most likely be the universes with 'warrior' cultivation, 'mage' cultivation, and so on. Not my cup of tea, to be honest. That left me with a more manageable list.

Problem is, they are all exactly the same to me. I can't say that one is better than the other or distinguish the novel associated with it. So I went about it the 'good-old way': random.

"MoonRay, give me a number between 1 and 259."

"3."

"Ok then, bring me to the third portal on this list."

MoonRay brought me to the portal and I finished going through it as always. Nothing spectacular here. I asked her to check the time dilation and was informed that a day in the DanMachi universe was a whopping 10 years here. I will definitely go back before morning.

I found myself in front of a sword, so I trasmated it directly to my armory. Why wouldn't I? It's free real est- free loot. I meant 'free loot'.

"MoonRay, any ideas?"

"A scan maybe? I don't know how big this universe is, but it's surely bigger than the previous one." she proposed.

I activated the scanners and kept the UJD nice and ready just in case some old ancestor (read as 'old fuck') decided to come here and mess with me.

"I found a few planets that seem to be inhabited."

"Set a course to the one with the least amount of laws. That should be a safe place to start." Seeing that MoonRay was already on it, I went to the armory to catalogue the sword. Why would someone throw a perfectly fine sword in space? Fucking cultivators not enjoying material possessions or some shit because of their 'Dao Heart'. I'll give you the 'Dao Heart': the heart of plundering for good, taking everything that can help you or interests you without remorse! Heh, fuck you.

Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. Cataloguing. What can I say? This thing is absolutely crazy. 'The first sword to have existed in this universe with unimaginable powers that can make even Gods and Devils thirst for it? Sounds familiar… Against the Gods. Cool'

Yep, I think I am in Against the Gods. Now, two problems: this sword is just a walking time-bomb and at what point in time did I get thrown into? Since the sword is in space, it's either just after it reappeared after Mo E's death, or before he got it. I know absolutely nothing of this time. I barely read like, what? A couple hundred chapters? Maybe.

'Oh, I'm so screwed.'

"MoonRay, activate all shields, all cloaking devices, everything that can make us undetectable, and let's hope that no one finds us."

Anyway, the sword is cool, strong, excellent material. Its energy is basically every kind of law mixed and mashed so that it can do basically anything. Pretty cool and it actually gave me an idea on how I can improve myself yet again. What bullshit though… Since the edges of Primal Chaos are too thin, this sword can cut through the dimension. I can totally make something better.

I applied all sorts of enchantments to the sword and the corner in which I threw it in the hopes that no one would ever notice it while I am in this universe.

At any rate, I arrived in front of a very big planet, which, at this point, should be Blue Pole Star. I found a city and trasmated in a remote alley. I quickly found a drunk and dragged him to the alley. I mind searched him and discovered that he was a normal person, living in the Divine Phoenix Empire. We are currently in a relatively strong city with some cultivator clans. I also copied his knowledge on the language they speak and geography, just in case I needed it. Now, my guess is that I arrived 700000 years after old man Mo E died and that I seriously changed history by taking the sword. Well, no crazy old fuck came and asked me for the sword or erased me from existence, so I guess it's fine.

Now though, it's time to start formulating a plan: from this universe I want knowledge on cultivation, formations, and, if possible, medical knowledge. 'I should be able to find most of the knowledge on cultivation in this city. I could scan the formation in Frozen Cloud Asgard and be done with that, though I might try to infiltrate the libraries in this world. Medical knowledge might be found in the capital. I will have to visit it when I can.'

I searched this unfortunate drunk's pockets and found a nothing. Then I noticed a ring on his hand. A quick look with my semblance told me that it was a 'space ring', one of the cheapest ones. Good thing I would be able to make one that can contain an entire solar system, at least.

I'm digressing. I found some money and some other random stuff that I didn't need, so I dumped it next to him. I found a sword, which I will keep since it is the first from this universe and also has a trace of profound energy. Speaking of profound stuff, I inspected his body and found a second set of veins. I couldn't directly see them, so I had to cut his arm a little, in the name of my enjoym- science! I definitely meant to say 'science'. Well, good thing is that I can replicate them with a ritual. I also checked those profound entrances and, to out it extremely simply, they were something like accumulation points in the profound veins. A weak, pitiful, fleshy human body can only contain 54 of these points. I? I can probably fit in a few thousand of these bad boys. Hurrah for science and magic!

Bad news is: this guy isn't a cultivator, so he only knows that you somehow stuff your body with ethereal energy then grow super strong.

It will be a long couple of days here.