Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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Morning arrived in Orario. Inside the old church safe house, August and Lili sorted their gear. Now that August had reached Level 3, heading back into the Dungeon made perfect sense.

After saying goodbye to the Xenos near the base, August and Lili stepped outside and walked toward the city center, heading for the Dungeon entrance under Babel.

As soon as they walked down the main street and entered Adventurer Plaza, people began to whisper.

"IT'S AUGUST."

"THAT'S HIM. HE ACTUALLY SHOWED UP AGAIN."

"WONDER WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN THIS TIME!!"

People stared at them, and gossip spread quickly. August was the talk of Orario. His fighting skills left other Adventurers amazed. Everyone wanted to know what he would do next. Would he defeat a new kind of monster? Would some reckless Familia get in his way and lose?

The crowd wanted excitement.

"..." August and Lili ignored the stares they got.

As they neared the Dungeon entrance, a young boy called out to them.

"Wait, wait a second."

They stopped. Lili knew the voice right away. It was Luan Espel, another Pallum and a former member of the Apollo Familia.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. What did he want? Wasn't he worried she might just beat him up?

"This is for you. I'm just here to deliver a letter."

Luan took an envelope from his bag and handed it to her. It had Lili's name on it.

She looked at the envelope. Who would send her a letter? If it was Lord Soma, he could find her whenever he wanted. She checked the letter for traps or magic, then opened it, read it quickly, and frowned.

Finn Deimne. Captain of the Loki Familia.

Why was he writing to her?

As she read, she was surprised. It was an invitation. He wanted to meet her at a tavern called the Secret House. Lili knew the place, but meeting him there alone felt strange. Her first thought was to say no.

A private meeting like that always had a reason.

"What is that, a love letter?" August leaned in, curious.

"Basically," Lili sighed.

She understood why Finn Deimne wanted to meet. There was only one reason the Braver would ask to see her alone.

August wasn't worried.

"I'll text Lady Hestia," Lili said.

She wrote a message explaining what was happening. She already had her own plan. After sending it, she adjusted her backpack.

"We can head out now, Lord August." Now that she was Level 2, she could keep up with a faster pace.

"Let's go." August took the lead, and together they went down into the Dungeon.

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Meanwhile, Hestia was busy settling into their new Familia home. Seeing the Goibniu Familia add more and more fancy upgrades to the base put her in a great mood.

Ding.

Her phone chimed. She took it out, tapped the screen, and read Lili's message.

"Oh? Now this is a pleasant surprise."

She didn't expect drama so early in the day.

"Hey, you guys. I need you to make something for me," Hestia called out to the Goibniu blacksmiths working nearby.

"What do you need, Lady Hestia?"

The blacksmiths stopped working and leaned in, curious about what she wanted.

"Get me some fireworks. I need them for tonight."

Hestia took a stack of Valis from her pocket and handed it to them.

"No problem, Lady Hestia. We'll get it sorted."

The Goibniu members thought she wanted fireworks for a big housewarming party. They were professionals, and as long as they got paid, they worked quickly.

Hestia grinned, impressed by how fast and reliable they were. She liked working with people who took the money and finished the job without asking questions.

"Tonight is going to be a real show," she giggled, full of excitement.

She couldn't wait to see the drama happen. Only she knew what was really coming.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Far below, August had no clue about the excitement above. He had his own problems to handle.

As soon as they reached the sixth floor, monsters rushed at them like they wanted to die.

August, tired of the upper levels, called a spear from the void and swung it in wide arcs—cutting down the monsters.

Lili followed with the industrial vacuum, picking up the Magic Stones. They worked quickly and kept going until they reached the eighteenth floor.

With his new Level 3 stats, August was ready to take on the nineteenth floor again. After a short break to rest and eat, they moved forward.

The familiar forest area spread out in front of them.

This time, sunlight filled the space, with no sign of the strange mist from before. As soon as they arrived, the monsters in the woods went wild and attacked.

"THEY'RE HERE," Lili called out.

She glanced at the receiver in her hand. The Xenos had set up sensors all over the nineteenth floor just for them, and the signal showed a huge, organized horde charging right at their spot.

"Let's see if your numbers can outlast my ammo this time—" August said, raising his hand.

He skipped the usual carpet-bombing. Instead, he pulled a high-powered sniper rifle with a scope from his spatial backpack.

August grabbed Lili and quickly climbed the huge ancient trees, finding a good spot high up.

Military analysts on Earth had watched his past battles and agreed: the horde on the nineteenth floor must have commanders!!

Without leaders—the Dungeon couldn't send such a big swarm after one target. After facing the Infant Dragon before, they knew smart monster commanders were a real danger.

If they killed the commanders and broke up the front lines, the rest of the horde would fall apart and run.

"Found one of the leaders. It's a Lizardman!" Lili reported.

She watched the sensory network's feedback.

The receiver caught certain sounds—the roars and screeches the monsters used to talk to each other. By picking out those command signals, they could find the leaders. If the monsters used roars to rally and organize, taking out the command post would leave the rest confused and lost.

"Northwest quadrant. There's a group of monsters circling that specific Lizardman, relaying orders. Looks like the analysts were right on the money."

Modern armies often used targeted strikes like this. Using the same approach on fantasy monsters in an underground maze was a deadly change in tactics.

"Got it."

August shouldered the sniper rifle, peered through the high-powered optics, and locked onto the target buried deep within the horde.

BANG.

The gunshot rang out through the forest. The nearby monsters heard it and rushed toward the noise, but August was hundreds of meters away and didn't miss.

The bullet went right through the commander's skull, killing the Lizardman on the spot.

This Lizardman was nothing like Lyd or the other Xenos. Its eyes were wild and empty, without a hint of thought behind them. August had not expected an ordinary Lizardman to lead a squad, but that hardly mattered.

One armor-piercing round through the skull reduced it to ash, leaving only its Magic Stone behind.

As soon as the commander fell, panic spread among the nearby Lizardmen. They had been ready to fight, but when their leader died from a hidden shot, their courage broke.

Run!!

The Lizardmen broke ranks and ran.

Why did they run instead of fighting? August's overwhelming killing intent filled the forest—and the monsters' instincts to survive were stronger than the Dungeon's urge to fight, so they fled.

The other monsters in the horde saw the Lizardmen running away. They paused, confused, but then kept charging blindly toward August.

BANG.

August ignored the charging monsters and kept aiming at the commanders in the back. He fired again and got another kill. Each shot was precise. Some leaders wore heavy armor, but it didn't help against his powerful rounds.

One by one, the commanders fell, leaving broken Magic Stones on the ground.

"Think you can ambush me? You don't have the weight class for it. We did our homework this time." August smirked, chambering another round.

If he let them push him into a retreat like last time, he might as well hang up his rifle for good.

A sniper rifle was deadly in a forest. The bullets hit so hard and fast that targets fell before they even heard the shot. The Dungeon's monsters didn't have the armor to survive. All they could do was stay in formation and hope not to get picked off.

August kept firing round after round into the distance.

With their leaders gone, the horde fell apart.

August stayed out of reach, denying the monsters any chance to press their advantage. With their commanders gone, the formation fell apart and they charged him in a blind, disorganized rush.

"Lord August, we've reached the target zone."

They reached the clearing. Lili took out a shield and put on her Kevlar helmet. August put on his headset and visor.

They were still in the forest, but this area was wide open—a perfect spot for an ambush.

"Open all ports!!"

"Fire!!"

August pushed his spatial void to the max. He was ready to settle the score with the nineteenth floor right here. If he wiped out the horde in this clearing, they would finally conquer the floor.

Dozens of modern mortars appeared out of nowhere, locking onto their targets. Once August gave the order, a steady stream of explosive shells flew through the air, raining down on the charging monsters.

The monsters caught in the kill box didn't even have time to stop.

The bombardment swallowed the battlefield. Blast after blast shook the nineteenth floor, tearing monsters apart and carving deep craters into the Dungeon's stone.

The Dungeon struggled to repair the damage, but the shells destroyed it faster than it could recover. By the time the barrage ended, the monster army had been wiped out.

Monsters felt pain like any other living creature. They bled, suffered, and knew fear. Inside the blast zone, none of that mattered. Every monster caught in the barrage burned to ash, and not a single one escaped.

Only a few stragglers at the rear survived. After watching thousands of their own disappear, they broke and fled into the darkness as though Death itself were chasing them.

...

"We did it! We actually did it! We cleared the nineteenth floor!" Lili shouted as loud as she could. At last, they had conquered the floor that once sent them running.

August watched the smoke drift over the ruins.

"Yeah, we did."

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BULK UPLOAD OF 5 CHAPTERS IF WE HIT 900 POWERSTONES THIS WEEK!!

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~ Every 200 Power Stones = Bonus chapter!

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