After throwing out its final strike, the [GIANT GOBLIN] had no strength left to fight back. Its head was taken clean off, and it died without resistance.
Ah.
What a thoroughly satisfying battle.
"Damn… I got greedy at the end."
Evan rolled his shoulders and slid the long blade back at his waist.
He had seen that last fast-slow feint coming—but in the heat of the moment, he'd tried to force the kill… and got punished for it.
Tch.
A fatal mistake.
Next time, no matter what, he couldn't get greedy again.
As he reflected, Evan smoothly pulled a knife from inside his clothes. He stabbed it into the chest of the headless goblin on the ground and dug around, scooping out a fistful of tiny, glittering magic stones.
Only after that did the monster's body crumble away like ash and vanish.
Compared to ordinary goblins, the drops were obviously far more plentiful—but Evan knew it wasn't because this thing was some "rare monster."
It was because of his skill—
[Hated Otherworldly Visitor]
Only takes effect while inside the Dungeon
Hated by the Dungeon
The surrounding terrain may change at any time, and special monsters may appear
It looked like a purely negative skill… but it wasn't that simple.
For example, the "special monsters" it caused tended to drop an absurd amount of loot—not just more magic stones.
Evan even bent down and picked up the katana the goblin had been using.
If he took it straight to a Hephaistos Familia equipment shop and sold it for scrap, it would still fetch at least tens of thousands of valis. And if it were melted down and reforged, it could become a pretty solid piece of gear.
Among ordinary Level 1 adventurers, it was premium stuff.
Jackpot. Absolute jackpot.
But since he'd already "died" once tonight, Evan had no intention of lingering in the Dungeon any longer.
Who knew what kind of "special monster" might spawn next?
And it was late anyway. Time to go home.
It was only then—turning his head—that Evan noticed the blonde girl standing not far away.
Beautiful.
That was the honest truth.
Her features were delicate to an almost unreal degree. She stood there silently, like a porcelain doll—so out of place against the dull gloom of the cavern that it felt surreal.
Her eyes, the same bright gold as her hair, shone like tiny suns.
She wore a tight white dress-like outfit accented with blue ribbons. A light breastplate and armguards were strapped snugly over her small, slender frame. Blue knee-high boots made her legs look even longer.
A perfect ten.
Evan gave that assessment in his mind—then turned around and walked away.
After all, they weren't acquainted.
She looked like a famous adventurer, sure… but Evan had only been in Orario for a few days. He didn't recognize her at all.
If they weren't familiar, there was nothing to say.
Better to hurry back.
But then—
"Watch the corners."
From a distance, Ais heard the boy call back to her.
…Huh?
She blinked, having absolutely no idea what he meant.
Ais wasn't good at talking with people in the first place. Faced with an unfamiliar boy, she didn't know what she was supposed to do.
He'd already left.
So… should she just leave too?
With that thought, Ais turned around and headed deeper into the Dungeon, following her original plan.
But she hadn't gone far before—
She reached a ninety-degree turn.
The first through twelfth floors were a maze of intersecting caves. Corners like this were everywhere.
Ais had never paid them any special attention before.
This time, however, something unusual happened—
—!!
A gray goblin was crouched against the wall, lying in wait.
The moment Ais appeared, it lunged with a dagger for an ambush.
The monster moved without a sound, like a trap designed specifically for her.
Slash!
A flash of cold light—
In the blink of an eye, Ais cut the goblin down effortlessly. She was so fast that before its body could even fall apart and hit the ground, her sword was already returned to her waist.
…Was that a special monster too?
Ais tilted her head slightly.
The goblin that tried to ambush her really did look different from the others.
Its whole body was a dark gray, almost identical to the cavern walls. It was also much shorter than normal—yet the muscles packed into that small frame were dense and developed, nothing like the scrawny goblins she was used to.
With practiced ease, Ais took out a knife and flicked the magic stone from its chest.
So many.
Far more than what upper-floor monsters usually yielded.
She silently tucked it away and continued forward.
But after that, she didn't encounter any more corner-ambushers like the one just now.
Was it because he'd already gone far away?
Ais thought of the boy.
If special monsters were appearing… it was probably connected to him, or to his skill.
How unusual.
Loki had said it before—adventurers' skills came in all forms, and sometimes even gods couldn't interpret the rarest ones. So no matter how "strange" it seemed, it wasn't truly strange at all.
Still…
It was so interesting.
If even goblins on the upper floors could be strengthened into something like that… then what would happen if he went to the lower floors?
Or even the deep floors?
Ais suddenly felt an itch of excitement.
Fighting powerful monsters, honing her technique, raising her status and level—this was exactly what she lived for.
But then—
"Oh no!"
Ais let out a small gasp.
The slightly airheaded girl had finally remembered the most important thing of all.
She hadn't asked the boy's name.
For that matter, she didn't even know what Familia he belonged to.
With a skill that unusual… whose child was he bound to?
Which god had granted him their blessing?
…
A spring night glittered with starlight.
After returning to the surface, Evan walked straight from the Dungeon entrance in the heart of the city—beneath the towering Babel Tower—and headed toward East Main Street.
Soon, he turned into the slums of District Three, then made his way deeper until he reached Daedalus Street.
This was Orario's poorest area—its geography also the most confusing.
The roads were narrow, spreading like spiderwebs in every direction, and could abruptly end without warning. There was no order, no planning. Houses were piled on houses, stacked up and down—nothing memorable, nothing consistent.
Even so, Evan walked home as naturally as if he'd lived here for years.
He stopped in front of a small, cramped one-story home, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.
"I'm back."
Even though it was close to midnight, warm orange light still filled the room.
A tall, beautiful goddess sat at a long table, quietly mending clothes as she waited for him to return.
"Welcome home."
She lifted her head with a gentle smile. Beneath her smooth walnut-brown hair, her deep blue eyes shone like stars—bright as the sea.
Astraea.
The goddess of justice and constellations who had left Orario a year ago had, a few days prior, quietly returned to the city.
And the one responsible for all of that…
Of course—
Was Evan himself.
…
-------
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