The sun climbed over the horizon, casting its light across Orario's streets.
Beneath the shadow of Babel Tower, after having breakfast from their provisions, the five quickly crossed West Main Street to reach Central Park, where several Adventurer parties had already gathered.
Kael looked up at the towering white chalk tower before diving into the Dungeon entrance below.
Following the spiral corridor of the Entrance downward, they soon entered the narrow confines of the cave interior.
In Kael's memory, this wasn't his first time entering the Dungeon. Yet it was the first time for his previous life, and his not-yet-fully-merged soul gave him a sense of unfamiliarity.
He stopped in his tracks.
"Hey! What's wrong? Don't waste time, keep up!"
With a whoosh, Kael dodged sideways as a kicked stone flew past, hitting his backpack with a thud.
The massive impact made him stumble backward, his ears ringing from the near miss. A direct hit would have split his head open!
He narrowed his eyes, coldly staring at Link, the ranger who had thrown it.
"Well, with aim that bad, maybe you should quit being a ranger and be my supporter instead?"
Very well, you've chosen death.
"Sorry, sorry, force of habit. I'll be more careful next time." Link raised his hands in surrender with a playful grin.
After this small test, he was convinced that Kael was all talk and no substance, revealing his true nature.
"Who told you to walk so slowly?" Emma chimed in.
"Hurry up! Your useless parents got eaten by monsters because they were too slow!" Sven said with a caring smile, though his words were ice-cold, "You wouldn't want to follow in their footsteps, would you?"
Kael brushed the dust off his shoulders.
The difference in Falna's power was overwhelming — even between E and I rank, the gap was too great to bridge.
He couldn't let them continue testing him like this. He needed to cause trouble for Zanis.
Only when Zanis faced enough problems would there be a chance to prove who truly deserved his trust.
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Dungeon, 5th Floor.
Kael quietly followed the four, relying on memory as he skillfully harvested magic stones from defeated monsters.
They would often slip back into their old habits of humiliation and manipulation:
"You're too slow — we're leaving you behind!"
"Ah, sorry, the monster escaped! Hang in there, Kael!"
"Too many monsters! Kael, distract them for a bit!"
"Sorry about those tough monsters. You okay?"
Kael drank his potion, activating skills to boost his endurance and damage resistance. As he did so, he recognized one of his major weaknesses.
'I lack martial arts training. I'm decent at American Iaidō (zip zap the pants), but weapon handling isn't my strong suit.'
Against the charging Frog Shooters, he frequently ended up slime-covered. If not for his enhanced endurance skills, he would have lost limbs by now.
Kael crouched down, skillfully digging out magic stones and collecting loot.
'Combat techniques like these take over ten years to learn and master.'
He furrowed his brow, understanding why before Ais, all Adventurers' Rank Up records had taken over three years.
'There's no time to think about this now. I can follow Bell's example and stack my stats first, then work on improving techniques later. This life's body has natural agility, so it shouldn't be too weak without excessive training. For now... Just need to get through the growth phase.'
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While Kael was dealing with the Frog Shooter's corpse, Sven and Gannu exchanged glances with the others.
"Did you notice?"
"In the past, he wouldn't have been able to stand after taking hits like that."
"Yeah, must be some defense-boosting Skill."
"Heh, a tougher punching bag is still just a punching bag!"
"Hahaha, I think he could be more than a punching bag — he could be our shield too!"
Along the way, Kael's displayed abilities had made Gannu and the others let their guard down.
They had thrown Zanis's orders to the wind, their minds filled only with thoughts of making money. To them, Kael's ability was just one more worthless Skill, not worth their attention at all.
Sven sneered, "What's the boss thinking?"
Gannu leaned on his axe, stroking his beard, "Hunting monsters one by one is too slow for making money. Why don't we have the kid lure monsters to us? We could explore deeper floors too. I remember the Guild is always buying Blue Papilio wings, if we're lucky enough to find some."
Link, "Blue Papilio? Those monsters only appear near the Pantry. What if we get surrounded?"
Gannu snickered, "Then we'll let the kid take the fall! Heheh, with his new Skill, he should last longer!"
The group exchanged glances, cackling maliciously.
After finishing their discussion, the four beckoned to Kael, who had fallen behind.
The female ranger Emma bent down, patting his head, "You haven't been hiding any loot, have you?"
Kael responded righteously, "You misunderstand me! You're all my beloved family, my brothers and sisters! How could I ever hide familia property?"
The group was satisfied with his attitude, but then his tone shifted.
"These all belong to Zanis! I'll hand everything over to him without missing a single piece!"
Everyone's faces darkened.
"Zanis wouldn't care about these trivial things."
"Is that so?" Kael stroked his chin, "Indeed, the fifth floor's spoils are beneath Zanis's notice. Then let's go find rarer drops!"
Gannu and the others exchanged wary glances.
Wait, we were just about to trick you — why are you walking right into it? Could something be wrong here?
Kael's reverse psychology made the four hesitate.
Sven probed, "Well, little brother, what kind of gift do you think we should look for?"
Kael thought for a moment, then clapped his hands, "I've got it! The Blue Papilio wings! Zanis would surely appreciate drops from such a rare monster! You'll all pledge your loyalty to him, right?"
Blue Papilio. These butterfly monsters appear on the Dungeon's 7th floor. They possess four transparent blue wings, their flight graceful as luminous scales drift from their wings — so beautiful that even adventurers can't help but stop to admire them.
The Blue Papilio has a beauty unlike other monsters and is famous for being an extremely rare encounter. Its drops are the main ingredient for high-grade potions and can even be used in brewing!
Gannu's mouth twitched — one Blue Papilio wing usually sells for over V$2000, and they typically appear in groups of at least five. In other words, with good luck, they could earn an extra V$10,000 in one go.
That's a day's income for an experienced Level 1 Adventurer Party!
Thinking about this...
"Let's go!" Unable to resist the temptation of money, Gannu led the way toward the 7th floor.
That was about as deep as this party could barely manage originally. Though with the Soma Familia's aggressive style, what they considered "barely manageable" was probably quite safe already.
Kael silently pondered as he followed behind the four.