Is It Wrong to Abusing Cartoon Tropes in Dungeon?

The astonishment over Altair's skill only lasted a short while. After Altair distributed the defensive gear and everyone was properly equipped, the team resumed their expedition formation, quickly advancing toward the entrance to the next floor.

Although there were some troublesome enemies in the intermediate floors, they were all reduced to ashes under the assault of the main team. Altair and Saeko, positioned in the middle of the formation, didn't participate in the fighting.

Altair, having traveled to the Campione world and gained the powerful Campione cheat, was now stronger than anyone here in terms of combat ability. Even without the Campione cheat, his actual combat prowess was superior. Given enough time, he could single-handedly take down everyone present.

Therefore, he wasn't in a hurry to gain experience for leveling up. Saeko, on the other hand, needed to level up more than Altair did.

As the team advanced rapidly, occasional straggler monsters would appear and attack the middle of the formation, but they were quickly dealt with by the Level 5 adventurers. Watching these Level 5 fighters in action, Altair thought it would be a good opportunity for Saeko to gain some experience.

"Saeko, follow Miss Ais and assist her in defense."

"Altair, do you want me to gain some combat experience?"

Saeko understood Altair's intentions. She was someone who enjoyed fighting, and joining this expedition, she had hoped to venture into deeper floors and face stronger, more challenging enemies. However, due to the Loki Familia's arrangements, she hadn't had the chance to fight, which wasn't what she had expected.

Now that Altair was letting her participate in combat, it was perfect.

"Yes, join Miss Ais's team. Although you're Level 2, your lethality with Murasame and your special skills make you comparable to a Level 4. Miss Ais and Miss Lefiya are a fixed team, and your joining won't disrupt their balance. You know your strengths."

Altair held Saeko's hand and gently encouraged her.

"Besides, I'll be watching over you the whole time. Don't worry."

"With you behind me, Altair, I have no problems at all!"

Encouraged by Altair, Saeko smiled and nodded, then gripped the hilt of Murasame and walked over to Ais.

"Let me help you."

Saeko approached Ais and simply said those words.

Ais turned to look at Saeko, who responded with a smile and a nod. Ais didn't object but gave a cool nod in return. Saeko had interacted with Ais before and understood her personality.

Thus, Saeko joined Ais's team.

Finn, at the front of the formation, also noticed Saeko's actions. However, since Altair didn't say anything, he didn't either. Finn didn't think Saeko lacked self-preservation skills. Altair had given the Loki Familia members so many new skills, so it was natural that he would have given Saeko some as well. Those skills were incredibly powerful, and sometimes even Finn felt a bit envious.

In reality, Altair hadn't given Saeko any skills. He was waiting for Saeko to develop her own combat style. Once her level increased and her style solidified, Altair would tailor a set of skills for her or provide her with something even better.

But for now, even without Altair's skills, Saeko would be fine because Altair was watching her closely. He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

After joining Ais and Lefiya's fixed team, Saeko entered combat mode. The expedition team continued to advance, and with each deeper floor, they followed the known routes to the next floor's entrance.

Generally, the entrance to the next floor was located at the farthest point from the current floor's entrance, diagonally across. Therefore, the team had to traverse almost the entire floor from one side to the other.

Below the 30th floor, Saeko, Ais, and Lefiya's support made dealing with stray monsters relatively easy. However, once they passed the 30th floor, Saeko began to feel the pressure. Even with a Level 5 adventurer assisting her and a mage providing ranged support, the monsters' strength increased significantly. Saeko's attacks became less accurate, and she even missed critical hits several times in a row.

But Saeko wasn't anxious. She enjoyed this feeling—the pressure that pushed her but didn't overwhelm her. It was the kind of challenge that allowed her to grow quickly.

The pressure wasn't just on Saeko. Everyone in the team began to feel it, especially from the 37th floor onward, where the difficulty spiked again. Saeko's attacks against the monsters started to feel like mere scratches.

The Dungeon's floors were categorized as follows: Floors 1–12 were the upper levels, 13–24 were the middle levels, and 25–36 were the lower levels.

It had to be said that Altair and Saeko's ability to level up on the 27th floor was entirely due to their cheat-like abilities. Every monster there had the strength of a Level 3 adventurer. The fact that Saeko hadn't been killed by them was a testament to her terrifying combat instincts. As for Altair, well, let's just say he was cheating.

Floors 37–48 were known as the deep levels, 49–60 were the super-deep levels, and anything beyond the 60th floor was uncharted territory, never before explored.

Leaving aside the 49–60 floors, even reaching the 37–48 floors was a rare feat in Orario. Only the largest familias with Level 5 adventurers could venture this deep. Starting from the 37th floor, every monster here had the strength of a Level 4 adventurer. Even a Level 4 adventurer had to be extremely cautious when facing these monsters. A single careless mistake could lead to severe injury, and without timely support, it would mean certain death.

Moreover, there were the Dungeon's unique anomalies, such as monster feasts and monster proliferation, where the spawning rate and number of monsters suddenly skyrocketed. Even the largest familias couldn't handle this. No matter how strong your team of dozens was, even if they were all Level 5, they couldn't defeat hundreds of Level 4 monsters. And if a mutated floor boss spawned, even the Loki Familia would face annihilation.

The Loki Familia's strategy for dealing with these deep floors was to carry a large supply of Elixirs, potions that could heal various injuries. Each expedition required a massive investment in supplies, followed by exploring and farming monsters in the Dungeon. The deep-level monsters dropped higher-quality magic stones, which could be used to recoup the costs. Sometimes they made a profit, sometimes they suffered losses, but the adventurers' abilities improved in the process.

After entering the 37th floor, Altair stopped being a spectator. He decided to take action because he wanted to find some rare materials in the deep levels of the Dungeon to forge a new weapon.

The Plasma Cutter was a good weapon, made from Holydite and a super-strong alloy he had crafted himself. However, it was still just an ordinary weapon, and its lethality against high-level opponents was limited. Altair planned to forge a weapon capable of withstanding cursed energy!

That's right—he intended to create a holy sword capable of slaying gods!

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