Danmachi: The Focalors Familia — Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Secret Realm Dungeon

Noah stared at the swirling blue-purple vortex suspended in the cavern air. A heavy sigh escaped him. A vague suspicion had already taken root in his mind, blossoming quickly into a helpless certainty. He cast a sidelong glance at Robin. The intelligent vice-captain was already looking back at him, her beautiful features caught in an expression of deep disbelief.

Clearly, they had arrived at the exact same conclusion.

“If I am not mistaken,” Noah murmured, rubbing the back of his neck, “this is entirely my fault.”

He stepped forward, raising a hand toward the spatial anomaly. The moment his fingertips brushed the glowing halo, a gentle, magnetic force seized him. The blue-purple light flared, washing over his vision, and a massive stream of crystalline information flooded directly into his consciousness.

[Secret Realm Dungeon: Midsummer Courtyard]

[Secret Realm Type: Artifact Secret Realm]

[Secret Realm Introduction: As the ancient civilization was lost, the once magnificent Summer Palace garden has been buried underground; perhaps only the ancient trees and bricks within still remember the scenes of the past.]

[Number Limit: 1-10 people]

[Monsters: Lv.1 Hilichurl x20, Lv.1 Cryo Slime x10, Lv.1 Electro Slime x10, Lv.1 Hydro Slime x10, Lv.2 Mutant Electro Slime x3, Lv.2 Large Cryo Slime x3, Lv.3 Cryo Abyss Mage x1, Lv.3 Fatui – Electro Cicin Mage x1.]

[Clear Condition: Annihilate all monsters]

[Entry Condition: Offer Magic Stones]

[Clear Limit: Three times]

[Drop Restriction: The higher the Rank, the more people, the lower the drops.]

[Secret Realm Dungeon appears randomly, disappears after three clears]

Simultaneously, the Falna inscribed across Noah’s back flared with a sudden, searing heat. It was a visceral reaction, the divine hieroglyphs responding to the anomaly before him. The connection was absolute. This was the hidden manifestation of his skill, The Abyss That Gazes Back. It had forcibly warped the Dungeon’s architecture, spawning a Secret Realm that defied all logic of this world.

“To actually force the Dungeon to spawn something like this…” Noah exhaled, shaking his head as he processed the overwhelming data. He took a step back, gesturing toward the swirling rift. “You should all touch it. It is easier to understand once you see it for yourselves.”

Robin, Tifa, and Hyacine exchanged uncertain glances. Despite the bizarre nature of the vortex, their trust in Noah’s judgment was absolute. One by one, they approached the rift, tentatively reaching out to brush the glowing threshold. The exact same flood of systemic information cascaded into their minds.

“To think something like this could even exist.” Robin pulled her hand back, her elegant brows knitting together. She pressed a hand to her forehead, letting out a breath that was half-laugh, half-sigh. “Monster rosters, drop lists, entry conditions… this feels entirely like the mechanics of a game.”

Tifa, however, remained fixated on the martial implications. Her chest rose and fell with a deep, steadying breath, her tone laced with absolute gravity. “The difficulty is completely absurd. Over fifty monsters, including Level 2 variants, and… two Level 3 entities? Are these enemies that have any business appearing on the upper floors?”

Every Adventurer present understood the grim reality of those numbers. The strength required to clear this Midsummer Courtyard far exceeded the capabilities of anyone currently roaming the upper floors. A standard party of Level 2 Adventurers would be marching to their absolute deaths if they dared to cross that threshold.

Yet, the transparency of the Dungeon was a double-edged sword. It served as a stark warning to deter the ignorant from throwing their lives away, but it also dangled an irresistible, world-shaking temptation.

The Artifact sets were mysterious enough, but the true prize was the Adventurer’s Experience book.

The ability to bypass innate potential entirely. A consumable item that could directly grant an Adventurer an increase of one to one hundred points in their basic ability values. To those who had ground their stats to the absolute limit, desperately seeking the required Excelia to Rank up, this was a mythical treasure. More terrifyingly, this growth had no Rank restrictions. The apex Adventurers of Orario, those legendary Level 6 captains who had been stagnant for years, could theoretically use this to shatter their bottlenecks. At their heights, a single point of stat growth was as difficult as scaling the heavens.

If the existence of this Adventurer’s Experience book ever leaked, it would incite absolute madness. It would shake Orario to its foundations and draw the greedy eyes of the entire world. The major Familias would tear each other apart, drowning the city in blood just to secure these three limited entry opportunities.

“We are going in,” Noah declared, his voice cutting through the heavy silence.

His confidence stemmed directly from his own strength. The sheer volume of monsters and the presence of two Level 3 anomalies did not invoke fear; rather, it stoked the quiet, burning embers of his fighting spirit. He understood the precarious nature of their discovery. He may have triggered the Secret Realm, but the entrance was physical and visible. If they hesitated and word spread, securing a peaceful entry would become impossible. They had to claim the first clear immediately.

Robin and the others recognized the urgency. Their expressions hardened into absolute resolve.

“Understood.”

Without a second thought, the four of them began unfastening their pouches. They retrieved every single Magic Stone they had harvested during their descent from the first floor down to the twelfth. One by one, they tossed the crystalline cores into the blue-purple vortex.

The halo greedily devoured the offerings. The rotation of the vortex accelerated by a fraction, humming with latent energy, but the gateway remained firmly shut. They had just dumped an accumulated fortune of over one hundred thousand valis into the rift, and the result was an incredibly awkward silence.

The blue-purple vortex simply floated there, mocking them with its inactivity.

Not enough Magic Stones.

“This Secret Realm is an absolute glutton.” As the one managing the Familia’s finances, Robin pressed a hand to her temple, letting out a long, weary sigh. “Over a hundred thousand valis worth of stones, and it did not even make a sound.”

Noah felt a sharp ache throbbing behind his eyes. His Intertwined Fate System was already a bottomless pit for Magic Stones, and now he had spawned a Secret Realm with an equally ravenous appetite. The looming financial pressure was going to be astronomical.

“We cannot afford to wait,” Noah said, his tone shifting into cold, pragmatic command. He looked at the three women. “Hold this position and keep watch. Do not let any other Adventurers approach the area. I will go hunt for more Magic Stones. It will be much faster if I move alone.”

They had already sunken a massive cost into the vortex. If they abandoned the site now and a rival party stumbled upon it, they would lose everything.