CHAPTER 834: CHAPTER 651: THE FOOD STOREHOUSE

The so-called food storage refers to the supply spaces given to the monsters by the underground city.

Although monsters are born from the underground city, they are also life.

Life means they will thirst, hunger, and want to drink water and eat.

Most monsters in the underground city need to drink and eat, only non-living entities like Earthborn can avoid this need.

Thus, the food storage was born.

There, monsters find the nutrition and food they need, allowing those who need to drink and eat to survive on these resources.

Monsters generally consume the liquid provided by the underground city’s mother body from there to fill their stomachs, although some monsters hunt adventurers for food or engage in cannibalism, eating the flesh of other monsters.

Such food storages exist on every level of the underground city, with more than one, but they are all located on the outer edges of their respective levels, so few adventurers deviate from the main route to visit those food storages.

Asafi informed Reiger that there was a problem in the food storage of the 24th level.

"This was told to us by that mysterious magician," Asafi said to Reiger, "He mentioned that a similar incident occurred on the 30th level in the past, but since the 30th level is a lower level, only a handful of adventurers can reach it, so the news was controlled by the guild and didn’t spread widely."

"At that time, the surge in monster numbers seemed to be related to the food storage on the 30th level."

"That magician also said that the Ganisa Clan member he commissioned found a suspicious item there and took it to the 18th level."

If that’s the case, the monster surge phenomenon on the 24th level might be similar to what happened on the 30th level, with the problem lying in the food storage.

"So... shall we go to the food storage?"

Ais confirmed with Asafi.

"That’s right." Asafi nodded, "Since the problem is very likely originating from the food storage, naturally, we should start investigating from there."

With that said, Asafi changed the topic.

"The current issue is, there are three food storages on the 24th level, located in the southwest, southeast, and north respectively. From which one should we start our investigation?"

This is because the 24th level is very large.

The deeper we go, the higher the level number, the farther from the surface, the larger the floor area in the underground city becomes.

The 24th level is a mid-level, but its area already accounts for half of Gorari’s total area.

In such vast space, investigating all three food storages, considering the time spent on encountering monsters, would take a lot of work.

Moreover, levels 19 to 24 are known as the "Big Tree Maze" area, with not only complex natural scenery but also intricate paths. Sometimes, one might even lose their sense of direction here, not to mention investigating the three food storages located at the edges.

If one wants to investigate all three food storages, it will certainly take a long time.

Asafi plans to avoid this issue, thus preparing to choose one of the three food storages to investigate.

If chosen correctly, a considerable amount of time, labor, and even resources can be saved.

If not, it may take a long time.

"That’s the problem we face right now, and all the information we have," Asafi looked at Reiger, "What do you think?"

Ais also looked at Reiger.

In response...

"We’ll go to the north food storage."

Reiger answered without any hesitation.

"...May I ask why?"

Asafi was speechless for a while before asking.

"No reason." Reiger shook his head, "Just intuition."

Intuition?

Everyone present, except Ais, including Asafi, was speechless.

That answer is really unreliable, isn’t it?

Thinking that way, everyone didn’t know that Reiger wasn’t unreliable, but had directly grasped the most optimal answer.

No help for it, he was familiar with the original plot.

He clearly knew that the problematic food storage on the 24th level was the one in the north, and he even knew what was happening in that food storage.

Therefore, Reiger made this decision directly.

"After all, you have no ideas, so just follow my intuition."

His composed words made Asafi sigh again and again.

... It always feels like the [Omnipotent] usually seems very stressed, already used to sighing.

Seeing this, Ais felt slightly off-track, thinking such things.

"Since you say so, let’s start investigating from the north food storage," Asafi said resignedly, shrugging, "For this commission, you are our main combat force from our side, and our position is to assist you."

Hearing this, Ais cautiously interjected.

"Are you okay with this?" Ais softly asked, "The 24th level is already quite close to the lower levels..."

Levels 1 to 12 are the upper levels of the underground city.

Levels 13 to 24 are the mid-levels of the underground city.

The 25th to 36th floors are the lower levels of the underground city.

Above the 37th floor are considered the deeper levels of the underground city.

In such circumstances, although the 24th floor is a middle layer, it is the closest to the lower level.

In short, the monsters rampaging there are not of a low level.

The guild recommends that the level for tackling the 24th floor should be at the highest standard of Lv.2, meaning at least one basic ability must reach the C-S phase.

Also, because the speed at which monsters emerge in the middle layers far surpasses that of the upper layers, and because the monsters appearing in the "Big Tree Maze" from the 19th to the 24th floors are famously diverse, with all sorts of strange and bizarre creatures, the guild strongly advises that adventurers who meet the standard capability for exploration should preferably form a team before venturing in.

If all team members can meet the recommended standard capability value for exploration, then it’s best to form a team of three.

A vanguard, a mid-guard, a rearguard... There must be an adventurer responsible for each position.

But the leader of the Hermes Clan is only Lv.2, and the highest level among the members of the clan is also only Lv.2, with most being Lv.1.

Can such an adventurer team manage to explore the 24th floor?

Ais subtly expressed concern about this point.

However...

"Don’t worry about them."

Reiger dropped another bombshell from the side.

"Every member of the Hermes Clan has reported an official level falsely, so their levels are much higher than what’s announced, especially the omnipotent one herself, she’s not Lv.2, but Lv.4."

As soon as these words were spoken, the adventurers in the entire tavern immediately stood up again.

They looked shocked and bewildered, appearing lost.

Ais too blinked, and the gaze in the eyes of the adventurers changed.

"How do you... how do you know...!?"

Asafi also lost her composure and became agitated.

Obviously, what Reiger said was true.

The Hermes Clan indeed falsely reported their official levels.

Just like Reiger and Ais, each time they leveled up, they had to report to the guild, and the guild would announce it. To set the strength benchmarks for each faction, the guild has the right to know the levels of all adventurers in Orario, and the adventurers also have the obligation to disclose their level information to the guild, so that the guild can issue adventurer commissions or mandatory tasks to safeguard the safety of the city in case of emergencies.

Of course, only the level is made public; other details such as basic abilities, development abilities, magic, and skills are not required to be reported to the guild.

Detailed personal abilities are confidential; let alone being made public, within the same clan there is a need to hide them to a certain extent to avoid being targeted and putting oneself at risk.

The only thing that must be reported is the level; there must be no carelessness.

This is also to collect taxes from the major clans.

As the official management institution of Orario, the guild naturally has the right to tax the major clans residing in the city.

Taxes vary, some more, some less, all depending on the clan’s level.

Yes, clans are also divided by levels.

The guild evaluates the major clans based on a comprehensive set of factors such as the clan’s scale and activities, grading the clans residing in the city into ten levels, like the ability projects of god’s grace: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I.

The higher the level, the higher the clan’s status in Orario, and while enjoying various privileges, they must pay more taxes.

For this reason, some clans intentionally falsify member levels to reduce the clan’s level and avoid paying more taxes.

Of course, some clans choose the same approach for other reasons.

The Hermes Clan is one of them.

In other words, regardless of the purpose, by falsely reporting member levels and intentionally lowering the clan’s level, the Hermes Clan’s actions amount to tax evasion.

If the guild were to find out, they would surely face punishment, at least a fine, or at worst, they might even be expelled from Orario.

The Hermes Clan is clearly the type that falsifies to an extreme degree.

Leader Asafi publicly claims to be Lv.2, but in reality, she is Lv.4.

The members of the Hermes Clan present are also like this, most of them are actually Lv.3.

"This is probably why you got griped by that mysterious magician affiliated with the guild, asking you to assist us in this mission, right?"

Reiger ignored Asafi’s agitation and the adventurers’ chaos around them, giving a faint smile.

"Actually, it doesn’t matter; just as you said, the main force this time is us, you just need to assist from the side."

"Ais and I will handle the battles."

"As for investigating the reasons, leave it to you guys, okay?"

Faced with Reiger’s words, Asafi was silent for a long time, eventually letting out the nth sigh of the day.

"I understand."

Asafi regained her composure, found her rhythm again, nodded, and agreed to Reiger’s proposal.

"Then, let’s set off."

Reiger seemed to see the magic book he wanted flying towards him, with a smile on his face that was no longer indifferent.

"Target, the 24th floor."