Multiverse: In DanMachi, I'm the Strongest Summoner

A small dragon wrapped in amber-colored scales burst forth from the dense fog.

With a long tail, sharp claws, and rows of razor-like fangs—

its raised neck alone stretched over four meters,

and its full body length exceeded five.

This quadrupedal draconic monster—

was one of the most powerful among the many monster species: a member of the Dragonkind.

Although it had no wings, its robust body was covered in hard, durable scales.

Just one glance was enough to tell—it possessed far greater potential than any half-orc.

When a group of rookie adventurers encountered a young dragon,

it usually meant total annihilation.

When Eina had just joined the Guild,

her very first assignment was to serve as advisor to a human girl adventurer.

And then…

that beautiful novice girl was tragically slain by a young dragon.

She became the first death under Eina's charge.

Since then, every adventurer Eina had been responsible for had died.

Even the experienced high-level adventurers she later took on—

never returned after venturing into the Middle Floors.

…

"GRRAAAHHHHHHH!!"

As the young dragon let out a thunderous roar,

everyone in the Mist Labyrinth, except for Raven,

and even a wide swath of grassland, trembled in fear.

The young dragon began its assault.

It swung its long, scale-armored tail with brutal force.

Several dead trees, the natural armory of the Labyrinth, were snapped in half.

Ogres caught in the sweep screamed in agony.

One nearby elven adventurer failed to evade the sudden attack—

and was sent flying on the spot.

In the blink of an eye,

he slammed into the wall, his eyes widened…

then his head slumped as he lost consciousness.

Cries of fear erupted from the other adventurers nearby.

"C-Captain, what should we do?!"

Cassandra asked urgently.

"Don't panic."

"You go treat the injured. Mikoto, Daphne—you two keep clearing out the monsters."

"I'll handle the young dragon."

With that said,

—Raven focused his thoughts.

From the void, the Thousand-Feathered Demon Sword naturally appeared in his outstretched hand.

Gripping the dragonslaying sword tightly—

he shot forward with the momentum of a javelin,

and cleaved straight into the dragon's neck.

The amber-colored scales sliced apart like tofu—

the neck was instantly severed in two.

A torrent of blood sprayed out violently.

Moments later…

the young dragon crumbled into ash,

leaving behind rare materials and a magic stone.

—Young Dragon Fang.

If sold to a business-type Familia, it could fetch up to 100,000 valis.

Raven picked up the rare material and magic stone, storing them into his inventory space.

"S-So strong…"

"Is he… a high-tier adventurer?"

"T-That's the Heavenfeather Demon Lord, right? From the Hestia Familia?"

"Thank the gods, we're saved!"

The low-level adventurers who had been knocked around by the dragon

cried out in awe.

Cassandra gripped her crystal staff, pressing it to her forehead.

"—O light of the heavens once denied,

be the merciful arm that saves my frail flesh."

Brilliant light rose from the staff.

Warm, radiant magic energy surged forth, dispelling the surrounding gloom.

"—Let my words, once unheard, bring salvation to my pitiful companions."

"—Oh sunlight, heed my prayer and erase all ruin."

With eyes closed in prayer, she chanted solemnly—

then opened her eyes wide, and cast her spell.

"[—Light of Sol]!"

A wide-area healing spell—

the stronger the caster's spirit, the wider the area of effect.

Gentle, healing light poured from above.

"You guys—get into the healing field and recover!"

Raven called out.

"Y-Yes!"

"Thank you, Lord Heavenfeather Demon Lord!"

"And thank you too, kind lady!"

The injured low-level adventurers quickly crawled into the

3-meter radius magic field that extended from the center outward.

In an instant—

their wounds completely vanished.

"Raven-sama, we're back."

Mikoto and Daphne hurried over after finishing off the remaining monsters.

"Captain, should we collect the magic stones from those monsters?"

Daphne asked.

Raven pondered briefly.

Magic stones from upper-floor monsters weren't worth much.

And considering his net worth was already in the trillions,

he didn't really care about small change.

However—

"Yeah, let's collect them."

"Our Familia is still strapped for funds."

Raven might be rich—

but the Familia's treasury was a different story.

Personal wealth and shared assets—

they weren't the same.

As the Captain, Raven wasn't planning to keep personally bankrolling everyone forever.

After all…

The party's weapons, repairs, and living costs—

everything needed money.

His upgraded inventory space

could only maintain his own weapons,

and gear for those he summoned via magic.

But not for his Familia members.

Their equipment, even when stored, was just… storage.

Truthfully, a Familia was basically like a company.

The god or goddess was the CEO.

The members were the employees.

And Raven…

was the veteran executive who came from a wealthy background.

That's why the Familia desperately needed more income.

Ever since winning the War Game,

the Hestia Familia had jumped from rank I to G.

That meant their taxes to the Guild increased ninefold.

…

After they finished collecting all the magic stones,

Raven stored them away.

"Seems like our lineup has a small issue."

"We need a supporter to help pick up magic stones…"

Raven sighed.

"You're right."

Daphne nodded, then added:

"I think we need to recruit more people into our Familia."

"Just four of us isn't enough…"

Picking up stones was too time-consuming.

As Raven pondered,

he suddenly thought of a certain Pallum girl.

—Liliruca Arde.

It wouldn't be hard to get her to join.

With 10,000,000 valis, he could buy out her contract from the Soma Familia.

"Alright. I'll take care of it."

"It's about time we head to the Middle Floors."

The combat power the three had displayed so far was decent in his eyes.

But—

if he brought them to the unexplored floors…

it'd be a death sentence.

"GRRAAAAHHHHH!!"

A Hard Armadillo Monster curled up and charged toward Raven.

He raised his palm.

Dreamfeather magic activated around it.

A moment later, a golden Magic Barrier shimmered into existence.

"[—Shinra Tensei]."

The spinning monster was violently repelled into the wall.

The impact left a deep crater.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread in every direction.

The monster crumbled into black ash,

leaving behind a magic stone.

Hard Armadillos first appeared on the 11th Floor.

They had the toughest defenses of all Upper Floor monsters.

Their armor could rightly be called an iron fortress.

In close combat—

Level 1 adventurers stood almost no chance.

These monsters were the main reason

why the 11th and 12th Floors had such steep difficulty.

…

Dungeon, 15th Floor.

Rock Cavern Labyrinth.

"GRRAAHH!!"

"Zetsuei! More Hellhounds and Crystal Mantises!"

Daphne called out.

"I know."

Mikoto rushed forward, blade flashing.

Daphne's short sword cleaved a crystal mantis in half.

Then—

"SKREEEEE!!"

A new wave of monsters screeched overhead.

A massive swarm of Evil Bats had appeared on the ceiling.

Walking beside Cassandra, Raven looked up with a frown.

"Anomaly…?"

Then—he immediately began chanting.

"—Light of the strongest order, greatest of elements."

"—With my mana, I call upon the hope within a warrior's heart."

"—Let fear vanish and courage awaken. Grant them strength from within."

"—Unleash your shining wings and shield the world from evil."

"[—Dreamfeather]"

As the spell ended,

countless glowing golden feathers enveloped the group,

forming shimmering Magic Barriers.

The next instant—

"SKREEEEEEEEE!!"

"SKREEEEE!!"

"SKRRAAAHHHH!!"

A deafening, chaotic chorus echoed across the floor.

It was the Evil Bats' signature move:

disruptive sonic waves to hinder movement.

All around, the cavern walls cracked loudly.

Monsters were breaking through, emerging from every direction.

"Stay calm, everyone."

"With my strongest magic barrier, nothing can harm you."

Raven spoke calmly.

It wasn't just the walls—

even the ceiling began vomiting bats by the hundreds.

Two, maybe three hundred in total.

The 15th Floor seemed on the verge of collapse.

As the ceiling caved in,

a massive landslide swept across the entire dungeon.

The whole Rock Cavern began shaking violently,

rumbling as loud as crashing thunder.

The Dungeon roared.

Deadly falling debris smashed toward the party—

but all of it was deflected by the Magic Barrier.

After the chaos settled,

the Dungeon finally quieted.

But the path back to the surface

was completely blocked.

Still—

it didn't matter to Raven.

"Let's go."

"It's about time for lunch."

"Let's rest on the 18th Floor."

Upon reaching the 16th Floor—

"GRRRAAHHH!!"

"GRROOOAAARR!!"

Minotaurs, Sabertooths, and Dungeon Worms poured out nonstop.

Mikoto and Daphne had to expend significant energy.

Cassandra, the rear guard and healer,

could only treat their wounds—

she wasn't much help in combat.

As for Raven—

now Level 4,

these monsters gave him almost no growth.

He didn't even bother fighting,

so he gained no experience.

According to party system rules—

only active participants share EXP.

"GRROOOAAARR!!"

A Mad Bull suddenly locked onto Raven

and charged like a missile.

"[—Gospel]."

A holy bell rang.

A sonic blast exploded outward.

The ground was torn apart.

A massive hole punched into the rock wall.

The bull—

instantly exploded.

Even its core magic stone turned to ash.

"S-So strong…"

Even seeing that spell for the second time,

Cassandra remained stunned.

After clearing the monsters,

the party reached the 17th Floor—

the domain of the Goliath.

But it hadn't respawned yet.

Still, there were plenty of monsters

that had trickled down from above.

Mikoto and Daphne cleaned them up.

Finally, they reached the 18th Floor safe zone.

It was already 2:00 PM.

This was incredibly fast progress.

Raven sighed inwardly.

Thank goodness for Teleportation Magic.

Otherwise, he'd have to climb up and down manually each time.

They arrived at the western side of the safe zone,

but didn't enter Rivira.

"Here—your lunches."

He took out four bento boxes Mikoto had made that morning,

along with a special one from Hill.

While they gathered to eat,

Raven spoke:

"Thanks for your hard work, everyone."

"After lunch, let's rest for about thirty minutes."

"Then we'll continue."

"Captain… are you really planning to bring us into the Lower Floors?"

Daphne asked between bites.

"C-Captain… what floor is our goal?"

Cassandra added.

"Hmm…"

"I was originally aiming for Floor 30—the Forest Canyon."

"But at this pace…"

"We probably won't make it today."

Ais, who was Level 5,

could make a round trip to the 24th Floor in one day.

As for his team—

even reaching 24 in a day was impressive.

Although all three were Level 2,

only two were combat-capable.

It would be too harsh on them.

"F-Floor 30?"

Mikoto looked shocked.

Daphne nearly fainted on the spot.

"Captain…"

"Please tell me you're joking?"

That was practically a mini-expedition level.

"What's the big deal?"

"I used to solo the Deep Floors and return in a day."

Raven shrugged as he dug into Hill's numbing pepper pork ribs.

That shut them up.

A true powerhouse always had their own way.

Fast leveling wasn't free.

All three admired their captain deeply.

"Mikoto, your growth's looking good."

"How did you know?"

She looked surprised.

"Just one of my rare magic abilities."

Raven smiled, dodging the truth.

Things like Inventory and Data Eye—

to others, he'd always claim they were rare magic.

"My goal's simple—

make our Familia the strongest in Orario."

"Then conquer the entire Dungeon…

and finally slay the legendary Black Dragon."

He revealed his ambition.

"B-Black Dragon?!"

Daphne gasped.

Their captain…

hadn't sobered up from last night's drink, had he?

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