Danmachi: The Focalors Familia — Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Speculations of the Loki Familia

Although these bizarre new species of monsters were exceptionally troublesome—and the sheer difficulty of slaying them had spiked considerably—greed remained the ultimate driving force in Orario. Many adventurers paid a bitter, bloody price for their ignorance of the creatures’ attack patterns, their lives extinguished forever within the dark corridors of the Dungeon.

However, the high-purity magic stones and exotic drop items yielded by these new beasts provided the survivors with staggering returns, netting them several times their usual daily income.

Like moths drawn to an open flame, men will gladly march toward their own demise if the promise of gold is bright enough.

The stern warnings issued by the Guild’s receptionists fell on deaf ears. Blinded by the allure of easily obtainable wealth, countless lower-class adventurers spontaneously banded together into makeshift parties, flooding into the Dungeon’s maw. The entire upper area descended into an absolute frenzy, a chaotic meat grinder defined by spilled blood and clinking valis.

At the very epicenter of this chaos was Noah. Because he remained entrenched in the Dungeon for the entire day, the localized spawning rate of the new monsters was forced to its absolute maximum, far eclipsing the natural respawn cycle of ordinary creatures. This relentless farming undoubtedly poured boiling oil onto the already raging fires of the adventurers’ frenzy.

Meanwhile, Ais and Lefiya had already descended past the chaos, venturing toward the lower depths.

As they mapped out their route, they noticed a distinctly unnatural phenomenon. The deeper they traveled, the scarcer the sightings of the new monsters became. By the time their boots touched the stone of the 13th Floor—the perilous threshold marking the entrance to the middle floors—the strange creatures had vanished entirely. It was as if an invisible barrier restricted their existence strictly to the upper areas.

“How strange…”

Looking across the desolate expanse of the 13th Floor, where only the occasional Hellhound prowled through the gloom, Lefiya furrowed her brow. “Why do these new monsters only appear in the upper floors?”

Ais stopped in her tracks. A flicker of quiet confusion passed through her golden eyes as she surveyed the empty tunnels.

Neither of them were the intellectual, analytical types. Faced with such a bizarre ecological puzzle, they could only share a mutual sense of bewilderment. Unable to deduce the cause, the pair ultimately decided to suspend their expedition. They sheathed their weapons and turned back toward the surface, knowing they needed to report this anomaly to their captain, Finn.

Twilight Manor, the grand meeting hall of the Loki Familia.

Around the massive, polished circular conference table, the core executives of Orario’s mightiest faction had gathered.

Occupying the seats of honor were the three Level 6 pillars of the Familia: the captain, “Braver” Finn Deimne; the vice-captain, “Nine Hell” Riveria Ljos Alf; and the stalwart dwarf, “Elgarm” Gareth Landrock. Flanking them were the other elite executives, including Bete, Tiona, and Tione.

In stark contrast to the dignified atmosphere, the flat-chested, red-haired Goddess Loki sat completely cross-legged right in the middle of the expensive table. She swung her legs back and forth, entirely devoid of divine grace, her eyes narrowed into their signature vulpine slits.

“…That is the situation.”

Ais finished her report, her voice maintaining its usual flat, clipped cadence. “The new monsters are concentrated entirely in the upper floors. Past the threshold of the middle floors, they vanish completely.”

Absorbing the weight of Ais and Lefiya’s findings, Finn leaned his small frame forward. He rested his chin on his steepled fingers, his blue eyes darkening as he sank into deep thought. The atmosphere in the grand hall immediately grew heavy and solemn.

“Pfft, hahaha! Isn’t it obvious?”

Loki’s cynical, abrasive laughter shattered the silence.

She hopped down from the table, her boots clicking against the floorboards as she paced around the room. A wide, knowing grin stretched across her face—the expression of a trickster who already held all the cards.

“Even though we’ve never seen anything exactly like this before, for the Dungeon to spawn new monsters so specifically on certain floors… it’s highly likely tied to a specific adventurer.”

She raised a single finger, wagging it in the air.

“I’d bet eighty percent of my stash that this little Dungeon mutation is being triggered by some kid’s rare skill.”

She paused, making sure she had her children’s full attention. “The Dungeon is alive, you know. That overgrown basement often makes targeted adjustments when adventurers pull off ‘Irregular’ stunts. Hell, if a deity like me accidentally slipped inside and let my divine aura leak, the Dungeon would notice and trigger a massive riot just to kill me.”

Loki shrugged, her grin widening. “As for adventurer skills, there are some weird ones out there that even we gods can’t fully decipher. We can only guess their effects based on intuition. So, I’m guessing some fellow down there has a rare skill that’s actively provoking this change. And I’m definitely not the only one who figured it out; that dusty old man Uranus over at the Guild has probably already connected the dots.”

Stopping her pacing, Loki planted her hands firmly on her hips and proudly declared her final conclusion.

“The target demographic is crystal clear: it’s a lower-class adventurer, and they’ve been grinding heavily in the upper floors for the past few days.”

As immortal beings who had observed the world for hundreds of millions of years, very few deities were genuine fools. They might occasionally lack the raw, tactical brilliance of a natural-born mortal genius like Finn, but when it came to sheer accumulated knowledge, their eons of experience eclipsed the fleeting lifespans of the Lower Realm.

In other words, if they simply filtered through the massive roster of lower-class adventurers who had entered the Dungeon over the past forty-eight hours, they were practically guaranteed to find the one holding the rare skill.

“Oh, oh! A rare skill user!”

Tiona immediately shot up from her chair, her eyes sparkling with uncontained excitement. “Then let’s go find him right now! I wanna see what kind of person he is!”

She harbored no ill intent; her reaction was driven purely by a childlike thirst for adventure and novelty.

“It is not that simple, Tiona.”

Riveria shook her head, her calm, measured voice instantly dousing the Amazon’s fiery enthusiasm.

“The lower-class adventurers make up the absolute vast majority of Orario’s population. The sheer volume of novices and supporters who venture into the upper floors every single day is staggering. Even if we used our influence to have the Guild investigate them one by one, it would be a logistical nightmare. Worse, such an aggressive sweep would incite resentment and mass panic among the populace.”

“I don’t care, I don’t care! I wanna find him and play!”

Loki completely ignored Riveria’s pragmatic counsel. As a deity whose entire existence revolved around chasing amusement, this kind of unmatched anomaly was exactly the sort of entertainment she craved.

“Listen up! If any of you bump into the owner of that rare skill, you tell me immediately. I want to see this kid with my own eyes.”

Even among the divine, encountering an adventurer with a truly unique, world-altering rare skill was an incredibly infrequent treat.

As the executives fell into an animated debate over the logistics of a potential search, Ais remained seated in quiet stillness.

Unbidden, a specific memory surfaced in her mind. She thought back to the duo she had crossed paths with on the 6th floor earlier that day—two figures who had left a striking impression on her.

She remembered the white-haired youth. His fighting style had been incredibly versatile, blending fierce, kinetic swordplay with heavy, domineering magic.

And beside him was that silver-purple-haired young woman. She had coordinated with him flawlessly, moving with a quiet grace, possessing a delicate beauty that could easily rival the goddesses of Orario.

‘Could it be them?’

Ais pondered silently, keeping her expression perfectly blank.

However, she let the thought dissolve just as quickly as it had formed. It was nothing more than an unfounded guess, and voicing it aloud would undoubtedly bring a catastrophic amount of trouble down upon the pair’s heads.

She knew better than anyone just how meddlesome, chaotic, and relentlessly exhausting her patron goddess could be when she found a new toy. Ais refused to drag unrelated people into Loki’s crosshairs over a momentary suspicion. She kept her mouth shut.

By the time Noah and Robin dragged their exhausted, aching bodies back to their residence, a brilliant silver moon was already hanging high in the night sky.

Despite the physical toll, the sheer volume of their haul—far exceeding the already impressive profits of their first day—brought genuine, satisfied smiles to both of their faces.

Inside, Furina had been waiting anxiously for hours. The moment she heard the door creak open and saw them return safe and sound, she practically sprinted forward to greet them, her eyes shining with relief and excitement.