After leaving Bahamut's house, Drad his familia members headed straight towards the t structure known as Babel.

  Draco had a specific purpose in mind – to visit the Hephaestus Familia stores located betweeh and 8th floors of the magnifit edifice.

  The Hephaestus familia wares, were usually quite on the expensive side.

  But Draco recalled the details from the inal series, where new and aspiring bcksmiths from the Hephaestus Familia would usually sell their wares on these particur floors.

  He was eager to have some items crafted, utilizing the precious bck dragon scales in his possession.

  However, Draco was acutely aware that he could orust such extremely valuable materials to those he deemed truly skilled and trustworthy – namely, Tsubaki, the captain of the Hephaestus Familia, or eveer, the goddess Hephaestus herself.

  He reized that their current standing, finand prestige might not easily grant them access to such esteemed individuals.

  With that in mind, he decided to shelve that pn for the time being.

  ‘I should take it slow and steady,’ Draco cautioned himself.

  ‘There is no need for that level of gear yet. Besides, such a thing might draw unwatention, and we currently ck the power to properly defend ourselves.’ he thought.

  heless, Draained hopeful.

  ‘I will eventually meet Tsubaki and the goddess Hephaestus,’ he thought, recalling Bahamut's apparent familiarity with them.

  "Perhaps the opportunity will present itself iime." he muttered.

  As they approached the t structure, Draco's familia couldn't help but marvel at its sheer scale.

  "Whoa, just how tall is this thing?" Michalis, in particur, excimed.

  "Yea, it looks way bigger now we're closer to it." Vasiliki added.

  Draco took the lead, guiding his group into Babel.

  "The Tower was built to watd take care of the dungeon," he expined as they walked.

  "It has around 50 floors, and our destination is the 4th through 8th floors, so stick close and don't separate." he tinued.

  Dimitra's curiosity iqued. "Wait, does that mean the dungeon is beh the tower?" she asked.

  "Yes, it is," Draco firmed.

  "That's crazy," Cir chimed in.

  "If the tower is 50 floors high, just how deep is the dungeon?" she asked.

  Draco pohe question for a moment before responding.

  "Well, no one really knows, but I think it might be around 100 or more floors deep. I mean, it's had thousands of years to grow." he replied.

  As they traversed the bustling first few floors, Draco had to occasionally intervene, such as when Nikoos was captivated by a some crafted works dispyed in a shop window.

  "Nikoos, eyes forward," Draco warned.

  “There is no harm in looking” Nikoos pined.

  "It all begins with looking, then desire, and the hing you know, you have bought it. Besides, most stuff put so vibrantly on dispy is just for aesthetics to draw in ers." Draco expined.

  Nikoos relutly turned away, muttering, "Oh."

  The group tiheir jouraking in the lively atmosphere within Babel.

  Draco expihat the first 20 floors were dominated by businesses and facilities belonging to promi Familias, with many items sold being oremely expensive side.

  Finally, they reached the 4th floor and began searg for shops bearing the Hephaestus Familia emblem.

  After inquiring around, they soon found a few that offered a det sele of ons and armor.

  "Wele, how I help you today?" a friendly Pallum maed as the group ehe well-stocked on and armor shop.

  Draco stepped forward to represent the group. The man eyed Draco skeptically, because Draco’s features were hiddeh his cloak.

  "We would like to sample your sele of ons and amours for beast Demi- humans. roup has a varied set of bat specialties, so we're looking for equipment to suit each of our needs." he expined.

  "Excellent, please feel free to browse at your leisure," the shopkeeper replied with a warm smile.

  He was happy to receive potential paying ers, so he paid no more mind to Draco’s attire.

  "I have a wide variety of high-quality merdise, so I'm fident you'll be able to find what you're looking for." he added.

  The group split up, each member gravitating towards the equipment that best suited their fighting style and preferences.

  ………………………………………………………………

  Cir, immediately went to the spear racks, her eyes sing the dispyed s with a critical eye.

  She ran her fingers along the smooth shafts, testing the band heft of eae.

  "Ah, this one feels perfect," she murmured, seleg a long, ash-wood spear with an expertly-crafted head, made of monster parts mixed with some traithril.

  "The weight distribution is excellent, and the reach will be ideal for dealing with rger monsters." Satisfied, she gave the spear a few practice thrusts, nodding with approval.

  Michalis oher hand, made a beeline for the knife and dagger dispys.

  He meticulously examined each bde, testing the edges and cheg the hafts for any signs of wear or weakness.

  ‘These bahrowing daggers will suit me well,’ he decided, gathering a set of the slim, razor-sharp implements.

  "They are light weight and would give me sed damage options” he mumbled.

  His lithe frame and nimble movements were well-suited to the swift, deadly strikes of the smaller bdes.

  After which, he selected a pair of daggers that he would use in melee fights.

  Daggers were the perfect tools for his hit-and-run tactics, allowing him to dart in and out of bat with deadly efficy.

  Eleni, ran her fingers along the edges of the longswords, searg for the perfect blend of cutting power, durability and maneuverability.

  "Aha, this one has just the right heft and bance," she said, seleg a finely-crafted longsword with a broad, double-edged bde.

  "Its length is just perfect, it will give me the reach I need, while the weight distribution will allow for fluid, precise strikes." She muttered to herself.

  Nikoos, as a heavy hitter, made his way to the two-handed hammer dispy.

  He hefted a few, feeling the power in his arms, testing their swing and impact, a grin spreading across his fabsp;

  "This one has the power I require," he decided, choosing a grotesque-looking maul with a spiked skull head.

  "Hehehe, this will do nicely" he mumbled while caressing the head of the maul softly.

  Dimitra as an archer, carefully ied the bows, plug the strings and analyzing their draw weights.

  She also tested the smoothness of the release, and the bance of the arrows.

  Soon she found ohat she liked, it was a bow made of an a looking wood.

  It still carried the subtle smell of the forest, which was to her liking.

  ‘This one is oddly light and has excellent power and range. Just what exactly is it made from?’ she wondered.

  After seleg her bow, she then walked around looking for some quivers and a crossbow that would go well with her bow design.

  Vasileios in another se of the store, examihe various shields and short swords on dispy.

  He tested the band weight of each shield, seeing how they felt on his arm.

  ‘This tower shield feels sturdy and provide excellent ce and prote, too bad that it doesn’t have any spikes on it,’ he thought, moving on to look for ohat fit his preference.

  He soon stumbled upon a short sword and a round spiked shield made out of Damascus steel which he found to his liking.

  Finally, Vasiliki, made her way to the magical staff se.

  She ran her fingers along the ented craft, p her mind into it and feeling the flow of energy within eae.

  ‘Aha, this staff has the smoothest flow so far. I have no idea what it is made of nor do I know what gems are embedded at the top, but this one just feels right’ she noted, seleg the staff.

  Draco observed everyone, pleased to see them each find the ons that resonated with their individual strengths and fighting styles.

  He didn’t find any spiked clubs iore so he po either visit aore or issioo be made at a ter date.

  Seeing as things were progressing smoothly, he turned his attention to the task of seleg their armor, knowing that it was crucial to their survival in the dungeon.

  "Alright, let's see what we have here," he murmured, running his fingers along the supple leather and gleamial.

  For the lightly-armored members – Michalis, Vasiliki and Dimitra– Draco selected sets of high-quality leather armor, providing prote without hampering their mobility.

  He prioritized speed and agility over raw defensive power for them.

  As for Vasiliki, Draew she needed specialized attire to enhance her magical abilities.

  So he wanted a set of robes infused with the ice attribute, allowio el her elemental powers more effectively.

  Sadly such a thing couldn’t be found iore and he reasohat the ohat existed were way beyond his budget.

  So he decided that a set of light armour was best for her till they could ission magic robes to be made for her.

  For the medium-armored fighters – Nikoos, Eleni, and Cir – Draco chose sets of sturdy, well-crafted scale mail.

  ‘These should provide a solid bance of prote and freedom of movement, perfect their front-line roles.’ he thought.

  Finally, for Vasileios, he had a hard time finding any armour iore that would work well with him.

  Most adventurers didn’t use full body armour because it was heavy and hindered mobility.

  Additionally certain monsters in the dungeon could easily shred armour, so wearing heavy armour was a ive for them.

  So Draco decided to get him a set of medium armour for now, until he could ission a bcksmith to craft some special heavy armour for Vasileios.

  He had a lot of designs in mind that could be used as referenbsp;

  ‘He would look quite good in a knight outfit. Weird why did I just think of ‘Griffith from Berserk’’ Draco questioned himself.

  He meticulously went through each item, ensuring a perfect fit and that everyone was fortable with their new equipment.

  He uood the importance of finding the right baween form and fun, as their lives would depend on the quality of their gear.

  Finally satisfied, Draco approached the ter, ready to plete their purchase.

  "We're ready to finalize the bill for these items," he said, his voice calm.

  The Pallum shopkeeper nodded, "Very good, let me tally that up for you." He began carefully calg the total cost, his experienced fingers moving with practiced efficy.

  Draco waited patiently, his mind already pting their steps.

  'Based on our current strength, skills, equipment and magic, robably manage diving till around the 12th floor. But we should take it easy till we get used to things – monsters aren't the only enemies in the dungeon,' he mused.

  He couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappoihat Welf Crozzo, had not yet arrived in Orario.

  The Crozzo family's legendary ons would have been a valuable asset, but Draew they would have to make do with the quality items avaible in the shop.

  As the shopkeeper fihe calcutions, Draco braced himself to hear the final cost while trying to vince himself that-this was a crucial iment for their survival and success in the dungeon.