In the days that followed, Liang Yue devoted all his energy to dungeon exploration — after all, the upcoming Familia Expedition would last quite some time.
During that period, it would be impossible to update his status.
He acted alone, choosing to explore the 11th–12th floors of the dungeon. Thanks to his familiarity with the environment, everything went smoothly without pushing the dungeon to its limits.
Using the probability event "Monster Feast" for training, he found that only such long, high-intensity battles produced noticeably greater improvements in his abilities.
As the number of such encounters increased…
His growing experience allowed him to handle things with increasing ease — evading the charge of tire-shaped, armor-plated "Iron Shell" rodent monsters.
Even these creatures, tougher than young dragons when it came to defense, fell easily before him. With the stacking boost from the "War Fervor" magic, even a casual slash from his sword shattered the Iron Shell's once-impenetrable defense.
"...Phew."
After confirming that the Monster Feast was finally over, his level-up and magical enhancements left him in good shape, conserving stamina.
But the downside of overusing mental strength was obvious — fatigue.
This wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental weariness that could only be eased through rest or certain potions.
After collecting all the loot, Liang Yue found a safe spot to check his Sword Soul template. Monster EXP was fixed — it didn't decrease as he leveled up.
Thanks to sheer monster count, the past two days of dungeon dives had advanced his job level.
"Feels like I can wrap it up here for today…"
[Liang Yue]
Level: 27
EXP: 53.7%
Skills: Three-Stage Slash (Lv5), Moonlight Slash (Lv4), Backstep Slash (Lv4), Flowing Heart (Lv2), Flowing Heart: Thrust (Lv1), Limit-Break Blade (Lv1)
Masteries: Inner Demon Swordsmanship, Weapon Discipline
SP: 120
Though he hadn't updated his basic stats yet, his EXP gain was impressive. With a slow advance toward the middle floors, he figured that in another two days he could bring his Sword Soul class to Level 30.
Many skills had a + sign beside them, signaling they could be leveled up. Considering tomorrow's expedition, it was better to allocate points now rather than in the middle of danger.
His eyes lingered on two priority skills — Flowing Heart and Limit-Break Blade, both of which offered strong buffs.
"Limit-Break Blade… only a saint could resist leveling this up!"
It increased weapon durability consumption in exchange for much higher combat performance. Decision made, he poured his points into them.
[SP -60] Flowing Heart (Lv2) → Flowing Heart (Lv5)
[SP -40] Limit-Break Blade (Lv1) → Limit-Break Blade (Lv3)
"That leaves 20 SP for later… just enough for a new skill."
With his skill points distributed, his battle-honed danger sense allowed him to rest briefly — even outside safe floors — without fear.
Once confident he could return to the surface safely, he joined other familias heading back to Orario, exiting via the upper floors and Babel Tower.
As expected, it was nearly dusk when he reached the city. Before returning to his familia home, he needed to stop by the Guild to exchange the past two days' loot for faris.
Just the thought of the warm, kind half-elf there made him feel complicated. The forced expedition was something he couldn't hide, and given Eina's personality — someone who carefully explained the dangers of each floor — her reaction was easy to imagine.
Still, Liang Yue went to the Guild. The evening crowd was thick with adventurers finishing their dives, and he easily blended into the exchange line.
Before he could reach the counter, Eina — dressed in her neat guild uniform — spotted him. Her expression was a mix of emotions, most of all the lingering shock she still hadn't processed over the past two days.
"Breaking Ais Wallenstein's world record for the fastest Lv2 promotion."
Misha had whispered the news to her. Not only had Liang Yue broken the record, but he had shattered it — achieving the feat in one-thirtieth the time: just 10 days.
Eina had been there since the beginning — registering him, giving advice, watching him fell a Minotaur on his first dive, blitz through floor after floor, and even defeat swarms of Killer Ants.
She knew he had outstanding talent, but compared to the miracle he'd just pulled off, all of that felt like minor details.
And now there was the expedition — Hestia Familia's new member, Lili, had even come to her for advice on floor dangers.
"Liang Yue."
"Do you have a moment?" Eina's soft tone ignored the curious looks from other adventurers as she approached.
"I do."
———
They sat in the Guild's lounge area, the usual fragrant tea between them. The atmosphere, however, was not quite the same as before.
With the expedition looming, Liang Yue hadn't had the chance to see Eina for the past two days.
"Eina—"
Before he could speak, the seriousness on her face melted into joy. Her brilliant eyes shone as she pressed a finger to her lips, signaling him to listen.
"Though I'm a bit sad I wasn't the first to hear about your level-up, I still have to congratulate you."
"You've performed a miracle!"
"These past two days must've been exhausting, preparing for the expedition. I don't have any other reason for calling you here — just… please take care of yourself. Don't make the people who care about you worry. I hope your expedition goes smoothly…"
She paused, lifting her gaze to study his reaction before adding, a bit shyly:
"And when you get back safe… I still have some… vacation time to arrange."
[The other party has extended a date invitation.]
It was more than Liang Yue expected. Looking into Eina's gentle eyes, he nodded seriously.
"I'll do my best."
"You have to stay safe!" she corrected firmly, frowning slightly before fetching some pre-prepared defensive gear from a cabinet and placing it on the table.
With a playful wink, she added, "I've seen your miracles firsthand… so no matter what, please keep this legendary story going."
"Thank you."
He accepted her goodwill, tucking the sentiment deep into his heart. As she left to return to work, he smiled and called after her:
"I wanted to ask — for our next date, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
"…Hmm."
She paused briefly, then replied without turning around:
"As long as it's not a weapon shop treating me like some kind of tool, anywhere's fine!"