Being wanted by the Guild made life in Orario extremely inconvenient—just ask Ryuu, who worked at the Hostess of Fertility.
Liang Yue had no intention of changing his identity. His Sword Soul template required an immense amount of experience to level up.
That meant he needed high-intensity dungeon expeditions to gain both experience and stat increases. So now, with only Lili—the last remaining member of Soma Familia—he would dive into the dungeon.
Leaving the dungeon, even once, would inevitably draw the attention of Ganesha Familia's patrols.
For a newly registered Level 1 adventurer like him, suspicion would be minimal… but Lili would definitely be questioned.
And what if it were a god doing the questioning?
You can't lie to a deity.
That was what Liang Yue had to consider. In fact, you could say that this current dungeon expedition…
Would decide the entire course of Orario's future.
"Is this the only chance I'll ever get?"
Based on how intense the previous Monster Party had been, the supplies Lili brought with her should allow them to stay in the dungeon for two full days.
Even if his stat growth wasn't lightning-fast…
As long as he fought enough battles and pushed every stat to its current level cap, Liang Yue believed it was entirely doable.
He glanced at Lili beside him, clearly distracted and anxious.
He could feel the tension in her. The destruction of Soma Familia still hung over her like the Sword of Damocles.
Liang Yue reached out and patted her head while laying out the plan:
"We'll be staying in the dungeon for two days straight, then exit in intervals."
"Even if we get stopped by Ganesha's guards, just act natural."
"…"
Lili couldn't help but feel like he was tempting fate. She looked up at Liang Yue's face, but in the end, chose to bury her doubts deep inside.
All she could do now was trust him.
They hadn't left Orario the night before—which meant they had to walk this path to the very end.
She hesitated.
"Actually… I can use my magic to change my appearance and blend into an adventurer party to escape the city."
"That would buy you more time—at least until the plan's complete. If they can't find me, they probably won't link anything to you."
"It's not that simple."
Liang Yue shook his head at her offer. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her concern—but underestimating the Guild's intelligence network was a dangerous mistake.
Besides, this wasn't even pressure to him.
If anything… it was motivation.
Exploring the dungeon alone wasn't particularly efficient. After all, he still had to walk over and pick up all the magic stones and monster drops himself.
But with a supporter like Lili, who was familiar with the dungeon and had solid exploration experience?
Liang Yue's clearing speed improved dramatically.
Using the Flowing Heart skill-enhanced sword aura slashes, the monsters on the upper floors posed zero threat.
He even revisited the wide corridor where he'd previously encountered a rare swarm of Blue Moths—and confirmed something:
Rare monsters had respawn timers.
Liang Yue wasn't focused on the experience gains from each individual monster.
After navigating through winding passageways, he once again arrived at the 10th floor, shrouded in fog created by dungeon traps.
This was the same place where he had last experienced a monster party and undergone a major stat breakthrough.
"This is where things really begin."
The white demon hand on his left arm wasn't exactly a secret, and it could be a bit of a hindrance during intense fights.
Liang Yue removed his gray-brown cloak and handed it to Lili.
Aside from the short sword Chikage had helped forge, he now also carried a similarly sized secondary weapon.
Before setting out, he'd spent the valis he had saved up at a shop recommended by Miss Eina to buy it.
"Hmm?"
Lili instinctively slipped into her role as a supporter. After folding and carefully storing the cloak, she looked up at Liang Yue, puzzled.
She understood that the cloak helped cover up his "afflicted" arm, but what surprised her was how serious Liang Yue suddenly looked compared to earlier floors.
Peering into the fog ahead, Lili's confusion turned into concern.
"Liang Yue… what are you planning to do?"
"These fog traps disappear on their own if you just wait a little…"
With her familiarity of each floor, Lili could always make the most reasonable calls.
Had she been in a normal party, she wouldn't have said anything.
But with Liang Yue…
This guy said some nasty things sometimes. Even if she didn't join his Familia, he'd probably still make her work for him forever.
Still, she didn't want to just be a passive supporter anymore.
She wanted to become someone who could give advice—a strategist, of sorts.
With that as a reason, she could assert herself more legitimately.
"If you rush in there, you'll get surrounded by monsters!"
"Worse, you'll increase the chances of triggering a monster party!"
"The fog traps do that?"
Hearing Lili's detailed explanation, Liang Yue paused for a moment and stared into the misty corridor ahead.
He didn't doubt her words at all.
But if what she said was true… who said that was a bad thing?
If this increases the chance of a monster party—
Then this fog is amazing!
"Of course it does."
"Once the fog clears, we can quickly—"
Lili's sentence stuck in her throat.
She was determined to slowly change the way Liang Yue saw her, but watching him stride forward without hesitation…
Her thoughts were interrupted.
Suddenly, memories of his previous actions flashed in her mind.
Her lips twitched involuntarily.
A bold, almost crazy idea began to form deep within her.
"Don't tell me this guy…"
"Is actually trying to use a monster party for training!?"
"You're serious?"
"Of course."
"Exploring the 10th floor while it's covered in fog should double the odds of triggering a monster party, right?"
Liang Yue sounded genuinely curious.
It was true that Young Dragons, the shallow-floor bosses, were way too rare.
So the fastest way to boost his stats was… monster party farming.
There was no helping it.
He just wanted to get stronger—
Too badly!
Seeing Lili's stiff expression as she forced herself to keep up with him, Liang Yue added matter-of-factly:
"Oh, right—I forgot to tell you. This is just part of my usual daily training routine."
"?"
The dungeon seemed like a wish-granting temptress.
With no specific target in mind, Liang Yue methodically cleared all monsters in the current zone.
Using the special properties of his sword aura slashes…
Even with limited visibility, he quickly took down a group of sneaky orcs trying to ambush them.
It was almost like he triggered a hidden dungeon mechanism.
As the fog grew denser and an ominous feeling crept up from his subconscious—
"Monster Party!"
"Finally."
Liang Yue's face remained completely calm as he drew the still-unused secondary short sword.
He turned to remind Lili to stay alert.
Silhouettes of massive monsters began emerging from the thick mist ahead.
There was no fear in Liang Yue's heart. On the contrary, he was eager to see how many monsters would spawn during this banquet.
Individually, each monster yielded little experience.
But with enough of them stacked together…
If he could raise his Sword Soul's class level to 25…
Wouldn't he unlock even more efficient combat skills?
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