Just as Charles unleashed his Dragon Slayer's secret art on the corrupted fairy, the red-haired woman took advantage of Ais's momentary distraction to retreat.

Still, Charles was slightly dissatisfied—the corrupted fairy this time wasn't as generous as the one on the 59th floor. Once purified by his flames, it vanished without leaving anything behind.

With Valleta slain, the corrupted fairy clone subjugated, and the red-haired woman having retreated, the battle came to a close.

All the monsters in the food storage area vanished. Only a few black-robed figures remained—and they had already fled.

The group began cleaning up the battlefield. Charles, holding a cursed weapon in his hand, was examining its crafting method.

He already knew these weapons were forged by Baka, a descendant of Daedalus.

Charles didn't know much about this [Mystery] bearer.

A thousand years ago, the famed craftsman Daedalus realized that building a man-made labyrinth as vast as Knossos was impossible with his own power. So he condensed his obsession into a curse and carved it directly into his bloodline—essentially pulling off a version of the Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains myth in Orario.

The result: generations later, his last descendant allied with the Dark Faction, providing them with shelter and a base of operations.

Dix even tried to rid himself of the curse and ended up a sadistic psychopath. (Clearly, not everything is suitable to embed into DNA.)

Unlike Dix, Baka submitted to the curse, dedicating himself to the construction of the man-made labyrinth.

Six years ago, he even made a deal with Njord, the sea god of the port city Meren, to fund his work through monster smuggling.

His level is unknown, and his accomplishments as an adventurer remain unclear.

But Charles suspected Baka was at least Level 3, not only because he possessed [Mystery], but likely also the development ability [Forge].

Constructing the man-made labyrinth required orichalcum and adamantite—materials ordinary smiths couldn't handle.

Baka had not only crafted specialized weapons for the Dark Faction, but also modified the labyrinth itself.

Daedalus's legacy to his descendants wasn't just a curse—it likely included vast knowledge as well. Honestly, just looking at these cursed weapons made Charles a bit envious.

But without a way to obtain the key to the man-made labyrinth, there was no entry for now. Still, he was confident there would be opportunities later.

Finn asked, "Any way to determine the origin of these cursed weapons?"

Charles nodded. "There aren't many [Mystery] holders in Orario, and only the Daedalus bloodline could make equipment like this.

It further proves that the man-made labyrinth has indeed become the Dark Faction's stronghold."

Finn nodded in agreement and then handed the Sure-Hit Spear back to Charles. "Here's your spear. Thanks again—without it, this would've been a lot worse."

Charles accepted the spear and said, "Glad it helped. This was a good chance to gather some user feedback, too."

Finn looked reluctantly at the spear. "Are you planning to sell it?"

Charles looked at him. "Why? Interested?"

Finn nodded. "This spear's ability pairs perfectly with my magic. Of course I'm interested."

Charles's smile turned a little dangerous. "Then let's talk price, shall we?"

Finn's face twisted in pain—it hurt more than any wound on his body.

After cleaning the battlefield, the party returned to the 18th floor.

They reunited with Riveria's search team and decided to head back to the surface.

Compared to the fierce battle faced by Finn's team, Riveria's side had a smooth and uneventful expedition—completely fruitless, in fact.

The 18th floor was enormous, covering half the area of Orario, and its forest maze made thorough searching difficult.

Still, after the battle on the 24th floor, Finn needed to reassess their investigation strategy.

But when they reached the upper floors, they noticed something strange—there were very few adventurers around.

Puzzled, they soon encountered a bloodied adventurer.

Raul of the Loki Familia stepped forward and helped him up. "What happened to you? How did you get hurt?"

The adventurer, after swallowing the healing potion Raul gave him, recovered some strength and spoke with a trembling voice, almost in tears. "It's a Minotaur! A Minotaur with a greatsword made it to the upper floors—so many people were killed!"

Finn stepped forward. "Do you know where it is now?"

"You're… the 'Brave' from the Loki Familia?"

"Yes," Finn replied calmly. "We're from Loki Familia. Stay calm. I promise—we'll defeat that Minotaur."

"It's just up ahead in the corridor. There's a white-haired rookie adventurer's party over there too."

Charles slapped his forehead. What timing—they ran into this moment?

...

In a rocky cavern, Bell was locked in battle with the greatsword-wielding Minotaur, Hestia's Knife in one hand and a short sword in the other.

Nearby, two people were watching. One was Welf.

He was holding back a small girl's backpack while she kicked and struggled to get free.

"Stupid blacksmith! Let me go! You won't help Bell-sama with a magic sword, you won't fight yourself, and now you won't even let Lili help him—what the hell are you thinking?!"

Welf winced with every kick but said, "Calm down, Lili. This fight… it's Bell's own adventure."

"What are you talking about? That's a strengthened Minotaur! Bell-sama is in real danger!"

"Exactly—that's what makes it an adventure!"

A new voice cut in, causing Lili to freeze and look toward the speaker.

Welf turned as well, surprised. "Charles? What are you doing here?"

Charles, who had just arrived, waved a hand. "Just got back from the middle floors. Heard a strengthened Minotaur showed up in the upper levels, so I came to check it out."

Hearing "middle floors," Lili realized he must be a high-level adventurer. She immediately turned to him. "Adventurer-dono, please help Bell-sama!"

Charles shook his head. "Girl, if Bell still dreams of becoming a hero, then he must face this kind of battle someday.

And if you truly want to follow him in the future… you need to learn to trust him."

Lili stopped struggling and turned to look at Bell, still locked in combat.

"Bell-sama… I believe in you. You can win—just like a hero."

Behind Charles, the rest of the Loki Familia arrived.

"What's going on?" Tiona asked curiously.

Charles replied, "A rookie adventurer… is experiencing his first real adventure."

Bete scoffed, "Another newbie. Don't come crying to us later, begging to be saved."

Lili glared back at the werewolf, already deciding in her heart that Bete was the worst.

Finn, watching the battle, said, "Bete, watch closely. This rookie is no ordinary one."

Bete turned his gaze to the fight—and one look was all it took to silence his mockery.

Gareth stroked his beard. "Still a bit raw. Definitely a newbie."

Riveria added, "But his form is clean and efficient—quite skilled!"

Bell danced through the Minotaur's attacks, short sword and dagger striking with precision at weak points.

"His technique's not bad, but still shallow," Tione noted. "But for a Level 1, it's impressive."

Tiona agreed. Bell's attacks only cut through skin and a bit of muscle—the short sword and dagger lacked enough power.

If he were stronger, that last strike could've severed the Minotaur's tendon, disabling its arm.

If this kept up, Bell would simply run out of stamina. But despite knowing that, he showed no signs of giving up.

"Firebolt!"

A fireball erupted from Bell's hand, exploding in the Minotaur's face.

"No chant?!"

Everyone around was shocked—chantless casting was extremely rare. A boy with such a spell had earned their attention.

But then… their focus shifted.

Skills, magic—none of it mattered anymore. What now captured everyone's attention was something else entirely.

In legend, the first hero, Argonaut, slew the Minotaur and saved a princess—his one and only great feat.

Now, as they watched Bell fight bravely against the odds, it was as if they were witnessing that tale come to life.

------------------

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