While Levi was busy strengthening himself, the atmosphere outside in Orario grew increasingly tense as the War Game approached.
As the captain of the Apollo Familia, Hyakinthos Clio, the 'Emperor Favored by Sunlight,' was half-coercively brought to the Freya Familia's 'Folkvangr'.
Every day, he was forced to endure grueling training against a large number of Lv.4, Lv.5, and even Lv.6 adventurers.
On the verge of death from his injuries, he would be healed back to health by the 'Well-Fed Cinder Ellas' using recovery magic.
Twenty-four hours a day, aside from time for meals and rest, was spent almost entirely on increasing his ability scores.
It had been several years since Hyakinthos had reached Lv.3.
Now, catalyzed by the Freya Familia, his combat strength was improving day by day.
Four days ago, personally escorted by Ottar, he fought against the 17th Floor Boss, Goliath, whose respawn cooldown had just ended.
In Orario, most who could become high-class adventurers were not lacking in aptitude.
As the captain of the Apollo Familia, Hyakinthos, whose Falna had reached Lv.3, was no exception.
He was also a man with a rather twisted possessiveness towards his patron deity. After hearing from Ottar that Levi had single-handedly defeated a variant Floor Boss, he erupted with a level of power even greater than usual.
Not only did he successfully kill Goliath, but when he returned that night to have his Falna updated, he even awakened a skill called [Jealous Malice].
Its effect was that the stronger his malicious intent towards the target of his attack in battle, the greater the boost to his own ability scores.
Because of this skill, despite having only just crossed into Lv.4 a few days ago, Hyakinthos leaped to become a high-tier combatant at his current stage.
Apollo himself had only chosen to move against the Hestia Familia after being induced by Freya. However, after discovering that Levi's potential might indeed be quite good, he said nothing but secretly planned to intercept the prize for himself.
He went so far as to open the Familia's treasury, purchasing a considerable number of high-quality magic swords capable of injuring Second-Class adventurers in a short period.
Because of his actions, the price of magic swords during this time rose slightly by about five percent.
This implicated many small, exploration-focused Familias whose finances were already unhealthy.
Outside of the various festivals, the War Game was considered a day of carnival for Orario.
And any similar event was bound to give rise to gambling.
Unlike Apollo and Hyakinthos, who knew Levi's 'true' situation through Freya, the casino owners, no matter how well-informed, could only guess from Hestia's words at the previous Denatus that Levi Bright was likely stronger than Lv.1.
But they didn't dare to make a rash judgment about the specific level this Hestia Familia captain—who usually stuck to a three-point routine of the Dungeon, the Guild, and his base—had reached.
Coupled with the fact that the Apollo Familia was indeed numerous, they set the initial odds relatively conservatively.
However, gamblers know no reason.
The vast majority of them believed the Apollo Familia's victory was certain, with only a few hoping to get lucky with an upset.
Thus, in just three days after the War Game betting officially opened, the odds for both sides had changed dramatically.
"A 1 to 0.2 payout versus a 1 to 2.15 payout..."
Listening to the chatter from a few drunkard gamblers at the next table, Alise couldn't help but sputter.
"These guys are as crazy as ever."
"It's normal." Compared to Alise's sigh, Gojouno Kaguya seemed calmer.
As a former official assassin from a country in the Far East, she had seen plenty of darkness.
She never believed in the supposed brilliance of humanity; she only chose to become a champion of justice because her friends were all upholding it.
"Greed combined with a lack of judgment. They are ultimately just lambs to be slaughtered by the Familias behind the casinos."
The two didn't deliberately lower their voices as they spoke, yet the drunkards around them, especially the table of gambler-adventurers, seemed not to hear a thing.
...Alright, they truly didn't hear.
Since Levi had been staying home this whole time, he found Alise and Gojouno Kaguya to be something of a third wheel and decided to give them a holiday.
However, before sending the two of them out of the base, he stuffed an iron bracelet engraved with a 'Low-Rank Perception Dampening' effect into each of their hands.
Low-Rank Perception Dampening, as the name implies, when activated with magical power, would cause ordinary people and low-level adventurers to subconsciously ignore the wearer.
Unless one got within two or three meters of them.
High-level adventurers who were further away would also be affected to some extent.
When she first received the iron bracelet, Alise aside, Gojouno Kaguya was actually somewhat skeptical of its effects.
It wasn't as if she hadn't seen magic items before.
Weren't they all masterfully crafted?
Compared to those pieces of equipment that could be called works of art, the thing Levi gave them was far too crude, as if it had been casually carved.
—Well, in a sense, the girl's feeling wasn't wrong. From engraving the Runes to assembling them, the two bracelets had taken Levi a total of less than three minutes to make.
However, the experiences of the following day soundly slapped Gojouno Kaguya in the face.
Because the girls had exchanged all their wages for internal Familia points, they didn't have a single cent on them.
However, since both were high-level adventurers, they planned to go to the first 18 floors of the Dungeon to farm Magic Stones for some spending money.
Normally, even with a Falna of Lv.4, Alise and Gojouno Kaguya would have been attacked by Lv.1 monsters like Goblins and Kobolds the moment they entered the Dungeon.
But after putting on the bracelets, it was as if they had become invisible to the Lv.1 and Lv.2 monsters.
They often had to get extremely close to the monsters before they would react to the presence of adventurers.
But by then, they were already on the verge of death.
Thanks to this property, Alise and Gojouno Kaguya had earned quite a lot these past few days.
Of course, compared to Levi, who dealt in sums of tens or hundreds of millions, the Valis in their purses was undoubtedly insignificant.
"What's next?"
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Gojouno Kaguya looked at her friend.
Alise thought for a moment and replied, "I want to see Ryuu. Of course, just a glance from afar, to check on her recent situation."
Because Levi's strength was now more than sufficient, and because he had re-transcribed the contract using Runes, he didn't say it out loud, but he wasn't particularly concerned about the identities of Alise and Gojouno Kaguya being exposed.
But the two women from the Astrea Familia, whether subjectively or objectively, clearly had no intention of violating their verbal agreement with him.
With the mindset of not revealing themselves unless necessary, they hadn't contacted their former friends during this time.
But people, well, they can't control their emotions.
Just like Alise, after thinking about it for a few days, she ultimately couldn't hold back any longer.
She wanted to see the companion she had protected with her life, to see what kind of life she was living now, and whether that child had awakened from her terrible nightmare.
____
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