After finishing their test run with Ryota's full assistance, the trio continued deeper into the Dungeon.
Well, strictly speaking, it was actually five people.
For Ais and Lefiya, this trip was nothing short of a world-shattering experience. A complete overhaul of everything they thought they knew.
They watched the Third Kazekage summon strange weapons again and again—massive cylinders, rectangular prisms, iron walls—all constructed from iron sand.
Whenever one of these constructs appeared, entire groups of monsters were instantly ground into powder.
Ordinary monsters? Gone.
Elite monsters? Same result.
They thought that had to be the limit.
But what happened next made them realize they still didn't understand the meaning of "fully automated."
After a battle ended, Ryota snapped his fingers.
The next second, a new puppet dropped down from the shadow above him—Karasu.
It didn't waste any movements. The moment it activated, it leaped into the battlefield debris with all four arms unfurling, quickly sweeping through the aftermath.
Magic stones, materials—all methodically packed into the backpack it carried.
Any unlucky monsters still clinging to life? Karasu snapped their necks on the spot.
Ais and Lefiya watched the whole thing.
Their expressions morphed from initial shock, to dazed confusion, to full-on existential crisis.
On the bright side, though, the girls also got to experience what rapid dungeon traversal really meant.
Beneath them was a Giant Crustacean, a massive summoning beast with a thick carapace and two enormous claws.
Thanks to the beast's speed, the group quickly reached the twelfth floor.
The layout was already starting to change. The once uniform circular tunnels began to shift into varied elevations and layered platforms.
Beyond this point was what all adventurers called the middle floors—the danger zone.
From the thirteenth floor down, the Dungeon's ecosystem transforms.
Twisting vertical tunnels, labyrinthine fog corridors, sudden sinkholes and vertical drops…
The light grew dimmer. Moist air condensed along the rocky walls. A faint mildew smell lingered in the air, and with every breath came the weighty feeling of being swallowed by the depths.
This was the middle floors—the true test of an adventurer's "overall capabilities."
But for Ryota?
It made no difference.
Crush, crush, and crush again.
Whether it was being swarmed by Hellhounds, ambushed by Minotaurs, or mobbed by dozens of tiger monsters…
Under the coordinated attacks of the Third Kazekage and Ajisai, everything collapsed without suspense.
And now—
The seventeenth floor, also known as the Wall of Grief.
In an open clearing, the colossal corpse of the Goliath toppled with a resounding crash.
Its entire body was riddled with ragged holes from the iron sand needles, its chest pierced clean through, and a straight, narrow hole bored through its neck.
That was the result of the Third Kazekage's Magnet Style—Iron Sand, driven with pinpoint accuracy through the Goliath's skull.
Not far away, Ryota yawned lazily from atop the Giant Crustacean.
"Mm… guess that's about enough."
He glanced up at the blood-splattered wall, then at the Goliath's remains gradually turning to black ash.
"That's good for today."
"Beyond here is the eighteenth floor—the safe zone."
"Not much point going any further."
He had no plans to push deeper.
After all, he'd already gotten what he came for.
Real combat data for the Third Kazekage, summoning coordination practice with Ajisai, and even some special training for Ais and Lefiya.
Whether or not they could break through their bottlenecks… well, that was up to them.
All things considered, there was no need to waste more resources or stamina venturing past the eighteenth floor.
Hearing this, Lefiya, sitting to Ryota's left, held her forehead with one hand, looking dazed.
"Finally… it's over."
She felt like she'd need half a month just to mentally process everything that happened today.
Being crushed repeatedly by the so-called "Third Kazekage" was bad enough.
But then she ended up sitting on some hell-crab summon and watching a Goliath get its head punctured in one shot. Instant kill.
"This was supposed to be a Dungeon trial run… How did it turn into a live demonstration of pure destruction?"
Her face was full of confusion, helplessness, and the feeling that she no longer understood Ryota at all.
At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if the moment either of them said, "Let's go deeper," Ryota would happily lead them straight to the nineteenth floor—or even into the deep floors.
Traps? Random dungeon anomalies? Sudden tunnel collapses?
All of that was just background noise compared to "units of that caliber."
Ryota wasn't stopping at the seventeenth floor because they "couldn't handle it," or because he was "out of energy," or even because they were low on supplies.
It was simply a matter of—
Not enough time.
Lefiya understood.
Beyond here was the eighteenth floor—the safe zone.
Once you crossed that line, turning back wouldn't be so easy.
Continuing further would mean missing out on the War Game preparation period entirely.
And the reason Ryota was stopping now was simple:
"Now's not the time."
It wasn't that they couldn't win—it was that he couldn't afford to mess up the War Game schedule.
Thinking of this, Lefiya glanced over at him.
The black-haired boy sat on the Giant Crustacean's back, yawning, completely casual—like the fights today weren't nearly intense enough.
In that moment, Lefiya felt something almost unreal.
The distance between her and Ryota wasn't just about combat strength or experience anymore.
It was… a difference in dimension.
As for Ais, her clear golden eyes kept scanning the surroundings, as if looking for something.
Ryota noticed and tilted his head.
"What's up?"
Ais looked at him seriously.
"Where is it?"
"Who?"
Ryota blinked, then realized.
"Oh, you mean the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird? I sent it back. Why?"
Ais tilted her head slightly, thinking for a moment, then spoke softly:
"…I want to ride it."
"..."
"…Huh?"
Ryota was still processing when Lefiya, who'd been in a daze, suddenly shot up like she'd been electrocuted, question marks practically popping out of her head.
…Ride??
Who? What? Miss Ais, could you clarify that please?!
Ais, completely oblivious to how suggestive her words sounded, just calmly repeated:
"I want to ride it."
Lefiya completely exploded, pointing at Ryota, grinding her teeth.
"Y-y-you—you're a pervert!!!"
"You even dragged Miss Ais into this—"
"Wait! Hold on! How is this my fault?!"
Ais calmly added,
"Flying… feels good."
"Ohhh, I thought you meant you wanted to ride—"
Before Ryota could finish, Lefiya let out a furious shout:
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!!!"
The trip back went surprisingly smoothly, as if the whole Dungeon was politely stepping aside for them.
Ryota satisfied Ais's "little hobby."
The golden-haired girl sat cross-legged on the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird's back, her usually stoic eyes shimmering with a rare glint of happiness.
She almost never showed her emotions openly.
But right now, her gaze said it all.
Meanwhile, Ryota rode the Giant Crustacean with the grumpy elf girl sitting behind him.
Lefiya's eyes were still brimming with murderous intent.
Looks like that half-finished joke really pissed her off.
After passing through layer after layer of corridors, they returned to the familiar first floor.
Ais landed gracefully from the sky, her golden eyes lingering as she watched the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird circle above, reluctant to say goodbye.
Ryota smiled slightly, then gave a mental command.
Poof!
The Third Kazekage's body trembled and dissolved into white smoke.
Ajisai followed, bowing slightly before vanishing in a puff of mist.
All the summoned beasts disappeared too, fading into smoke as if they had never existed.
No footprints. No magic residue. Not even a speck of iron sand left behind.
"…Back to reality, huh."
Lefiya murmured, patting her forehead.
A few seconds later, Ais whispered,
"It was nice."
Ryota turned and chuckled.
"If you like it, I'll have the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird take you flying again next time."
His tone was casual, but there was a hint of fondness in it.
Ais nodded obediently, softly answering, "Mm."
Just as the atmosphere was starting to get a little… complicated—
"W-wait a minute!!"
Lefiya crossed her arms, cheeks puffed out.
"I'm telling Lady Loki when we get back!"
"I'm gonna tell her you've been flirting with Miss Ais!!"
Ryota shrugged, hands out in an innocent gesture.
"I didn't do anything."
"Y-you—you're a huge pervert!!"
Lefiya stomped her feet, practically fuming, while Ryota just watched her with a quiet smile, not bothering to correct her.
"Alright, let's head back to Twilight Manor!"
...
After leaving the Dungeon, night had fallen.
Ryota swung by the exchange counter at Babel Tower to cash in the magic stones.
When the staff handed him a bag filled with 100,000 valis, he nodded in satisfaction.
Perfect day.
But just as he turned to speak to the two girls, they shut him down instantly.
"No."
Ais spoke first, calm as ever.
"Yeah, yeah! We were just tag-alongs this time!"
Lefiya chimed in, openly admitting it—though her tone still had a bit of tsundere bite to it.
"We were basically spectators. We don't deserve a share."
Ryota looked at them, chuckled softly, and didn't push it.
After all, in the entire Loki Familia, he was probably the only broke one anyway.
Leaving Babel Tower, the three of them made their way back to Twilight Manor.
The moment they walked through the door, Lefiya and Ais both went upstairs.
According to them, they had a strange feeling in their bodies and wanted to check in with Loki to update their Falna and see if anything changed.
Watching them disappear up the stairs, Ryota didn't think too much of it and headed straight to his room.
The door closed. He flopped onto the bed.
Staring at the ceiling, Ryota rubbed his temples, his mind still spinning.
"Feels like… something's missing. But what?"
He turned his head, looking out over Orario cloaked in night.
The streets glowed with lanterns, and Babel Tower's silhouette shimmered beneath the stars.
"…One more day left."
"The second round of the War Game is coming."
He exhaled, ready to close his eyes for a quick nap, let his thoughts drift—
Knock knock knock!
Suddenly, there was a rapid, urgent knock at his door. Not the casual kind of knock, but the kind that said something big just happened.
Ryota raised an eyebrow, got up, and opened the door.
And froze.
The hallway was packed. Absolutely packed.
Finn, Riveria, Gareth—all of the Loki Familia's core members were there.
Loki squeezed through the crowd, stared straight at Ryota, and said,
"Ryota, spill it. What the hell did you do?"
"Why did my Ais and Lefiya suddenly level up at the same time?!"
"!!?"
Ryota blinked, completely stunned.
"Level up?"
His eyes went blank for a second. He blurted out,
"Huh? But they barely did anything today."
"…Wait, is it because I didn't give them any money? They got that mad? No way, right?"
Everyone: ...…
Riveria narrowed her eyes at him, speaking slowly.
"Loki just updated Ais and Lefiya's Falna."
"Lefiya advanced to Level 4."
"Ais advanced to Level 6."
"They've both been stuck at their bottlenecks for a long time, so…"
Ryota cut in, finally catching on.
"So you're asking me how that happened?"
Riveria nodded, her eyes sharp as ever. The whole group stared at Ryota like he was some kind of human-shaped cheat code.
After two seconds of silence, Ryota said,
"I really didn't do anything…"
"I just had Ais and Lefiya hit a sandbag, and Ais rode the bird twice…"
Loki's eyes bulged as she interrupted,
"R-rode what?!"
"What the hell did you do to my Ais?!"
----
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