Neither Takumi nor Riveria noticed the distance between them shrinking.
Instead, they were actively exchanging their knowledge.
Takumi suddenly realized many things about Riveria's magic research on this world.
Riveria was also greatly shocked by Takumi's magical knowledge from other worlds and his avant-garde vision.
"Can the study of the nature of magic still be possible like this?"
Just when the two were chatting heatedly, a figure jumped out from next to them.
"Riveria? Brother Takumi? What are you doing?"
Tiona looked at the two people sitting side by side, their bodies almost touching each other, and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
And her appearance also made the two people here who had forgotten themselves react.
Looking at the two people who were so close, Takumi couldn't help but feel slightly dazed.
Riveria's face instantly turned red. She stood up and took two steps back.
"I, I remember I still have things to do, let's talk next time."
As she said that, she turned around and left quickly as if running away.
She was very confused now.
This subconscious approach allowed her to almost verify her thoughts about Takumi.
Riveria felt that there was a high probability that she had fallen in love with Takumi.
This made her panic because she had never experienced love between a man and a woman. She suddenly didn't know how to face Takumi.
In addition, there was Tiona watching next to her. She didn't dare to stay any longer.
She didn't want to be laughed at by Tiona, so she chose to retreat without hesitation.
"..."
After watching Riveria disappear, Takumi withdrew his gaze and looked at Tiona, who was looking so mischievous that she seemed to be enjoying the awkwardness.
"Did I come at the wrong time?"
"What do you think?"
Takumi rolled his eyes at this girl who lacked situational awareness.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your good time."
Tiona hugged Takumi's arm and started acting like a baby, trying to pass the test by being cute.
"Don't be so misleading. Riveria and I didn't do anything; we were just exchanging magic."
Takumi raised his hand in mock anger and gave her a flick on the forehead.
"Ouch, that hurts~" Tiona cried out in pain and covered her forehead with her hands.
However, she still refused to let it go and said: "Really? I don't believe it!"
Takumi shrugged: "If you don't believe it, ask Riveria and see if she will beat you to death."
"Forget it then."
Tiona gave up decisively because she knew that if she joked with Riveria like this, she would definitely be in trouble.
"Then again, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm here to find you. The tent has been set up. I came over to tell you so that you don't go the wrong way."
Takumi's tent, the one designated for him and the four girls like Kanae, is located next to the women's tent area.
So if you go to the wrong place, it will be quite a mess.
No matter what happens then, one thing is for sure.
There would definitely be all kinds of negative rumors about Takumi among the expedition team by the next day.
After all, in such a deep floor, everyone has no way to entertain themselves, so they can only gossip.
So once someone provides material for a chat, it will soon spread into various versions.
"Okay, I get it."
Takumi nodded and started to walk towards the tent.
But after taking a few steps, he discovered that Tiona was following him slowly.
Takumi turned around and looked helplessly at the energetic girl.
"Why are you following me? I want to go back and rest."
Tiona came up mysteriously and asked:
"Do you and Riveria really have nothing going on?"
Takumi suddenly felt a headache coming on and replied to her with a single word.
"Go."
"Okay."
Tiona saw that Takumi was getting annoyed, so she hurriedly ran away.
After walking a distance away, she looked back at Takumi's retreating figure.
"Hmph! They are so close; there must be some secret. If you won't tell me, I'll find out by myself."
Riveria, on the other side, didn't know that Tiona had already started gossiping about her. After returning to her independent tent, she began to meditate, thinking about how to handle her feelings for Takumi.
"What should I do..."
Immediately, she remembered the comfort she felt when talking to Takumi just now.
She hadn't been this happy for a long time.
There had never been anyone who could chat with her so freely.
Gradually, her thoughts became clear.
Finally, she decided.
Since she liked him, she would try to pursue it!
After all, she didn't know if she would have another chance to meet someone like Takumi, someone who was recognized by her and could talk to her like that.
Riveria was afraid that if she missed this chance, she would never have another one again.
Therefore, she did not intend to back down.
At the very least, she had to try before giving up.
After making up her mind, Riveria relaxed and fell asleep soon after.
...
As for Takumi, he returned to the tent and did not start to rest immediately.
Instead, he prepared to give himself a Falna.
Although the current version had not been fully optimized yet, the normal version was still usable.
And he didn't have to worry about not being able to upgrade it later.
Because this kind of Falna was exclusive to Takumi, he had absolute control over it.
He could even invalidate a Falna bestowed by him with a single thought.
Modifications and upgrades were even simpler.
At the same time, this also meant Takumi had to worry less about betrayal from those he gifted.
Because as long as Takumi wanted to, he could deactivate their Falna and seal the power they gained from it.
Yes, Takumi's Falna was more absolute than the common version in the DanMachi world.
In the universal version, if someone turns their back on their god, they simply cannot update their status or improve their strength.
But the one Takumi provided could seal away all the power, causing the betrayer to instantly fall back to being a mortal.
Of course, this only applied to the strength gained through the Falna itself.
If they obtained power through other means, or if they already had it, he could not interfere, which was a small downside.
The reason why Takumi wanted to bestow a Falna on himself was very simple.
In addition to making it easier to organize his own ability information, he also liked the idea of becoming stronger through grace.
Mainly due to his current shortcomings in physical strength, he needed a way to accelerate his growth.
Therefore, the upgrading and strengthening mechanism of the Falna entered Takumi's sight again.
It just so happened that they were currently on an expedition and had reached the depths of the dungeon.
Next, they would continue to conquer deeper floors, which would allow Takumi to gain significant achievements.
That being the case, why not take advantage of it?
He decided to try the effect first and then think of other methods if it didn't work.
Thinking of this, Takumi raised his hand and put it on his chest, granting himself a Falna.
Then, a layer of golden light appeared on Takumi's body, as if he had been plated with gold, but it soon returned to its original state.
Then Takumi willed it, and a status bar appeared in his field of vision.
But in the eyes of the four girls beside Kanae, there was nothing.
Because this status bar was displayed directly in Takumi's visual nerves, outsiders could not see it at all.
The content was also very simple.
First was Takumi's name, followed by a row of zeros.
Among the three magic slots, [Magic Creation] occupied one.
The skill bar at the back also contained other abilities besides the system.
For example [Perfect Body], [Omnipotent Instrument], [Kendo Genius], [Heir of the Curse], [Chef's Heart], and the like.
But there were no other new skills.
This result left Takumi speechless.
It was obvious that Kanae and the others each had innate skills or magic.
When it came to him, there wasn't even a single new skill, which felt a bit underwhelming.
As for the content of the existing skills, there was nothing more to say. Takumi already knew what he needed to know.
Afterward, Takumi closed the status bar and stopped worrying about it.
The evolution of the perfect body that he was originally looking forward to was not triggered.
Takumi ate something and then lay down to rest.
...
A night of silence.
The large army was stationed safely, and after a night's rest, Finn quickly summoned everyone in the first echelon for a small meeting.
The main point was to arrange the next course of action.
As a member of the first echelon, Takumi naturally also participated.
At the meeting, Takumi saw Riveria, who also looked at him, smiled, and nodded.
This caused Takumi to be slightly startled.
Not because of anything else.
The main thing was that Riveria today looked a little different from yesterday.
She seemed to have carefully groomed herself.
Although there was no makeup, as there were no such conditions in the dungeon.
But the whole look was much more refined, not as messy as yesterday after the battle.
Also, the look in her eyes was a little different.
There was more warmth and emotion than yesterday.
This made Takumi a little confused. At the same time, he was unsure what had changed with her.
However, since Hestia, Takumi had a new understanding of himself.
His emotional intelligence was decent, definitely above the average line.
But sometimes it was easily influenced by his logical thinking, causing his response in this area to become a bit slow.
For example, when others are talking to him about feelings, he might be thinking about practical gains and losses. They weren't on the same wavelength at all.
Although this situation usually improves once the relationship is confirmed.
But until then, that was just how he was.
Hestia had complained about this more than once.
Before she took the initiative, when she first moved into Dimension City, Takumi had failed to notice her hints many times. In the end, she had no choice but to be very direct.
With this lesson learned, Takumi had to wonder now.
Did he miss something again? Did he not notice Riveria's hint?
However, he really wasn't sure.
"She likes me" is one of the three major misconceptions in life, often leading to embarrassing situations. He had seen too many of those in his previous life.
These cases increased the difficulty of Takumi's judgment, making it impossible to be sure in a short period of time.
Ultimately, Takumi was too lazy to overthink it.
He decided to let nature take its course and observe for a while.
From then on...
Riveria looked at Takumi from time to time, and Takumi also looked at her.
The two made silent eye contact.
Finn, on the stage, was still talking about various precautions for the upcoming expedition. The others were also listening carefully and did not notice the small movements between Takumi and Riveria.
Only Tiona, who had long suspected the two were having an affair, took all this in.
Hmph! And they said there was nothing, yet they are flirting so blatantly. If this isn't a secret romance, I'll write my name backward!
However, she did not make a sound, but chose to watch in silence.
She wanted to see how far these two could go.
It didn't take long for the small meeting to end, and everyone began to prepare for the floors below.
Takumi was also there during this period, and he essentially confirmed Riveria's thoughts.
There was a high probability that this elven lady was really flirting with him.
The main reason was that Riveria was too proactive today. It was difficult for Takumi not to notice the looks and small movements.
In fact, Riveria also felt a little frustrated.
Because she had also discovered that Takumi was either slow or very cautious in this regard.
As a result, Takumi hadn't understood the hints she had made several times before.
Helplessly, she had to repeat them until Takumi finally understood what she meant.
If possible, she really didn't want to do this.
After all, it made her appear a bit too proactive.
Well, in the eyes of outsiders, it might seem a bit bold.
This was indeed the case. Tiona, who was watching quietly from the side, was shocked by Riveria's initiative.
She didn't expect Riveria, who was usually so serious and dignified, to be so bold.
But Riveria couldn't help it. She had already decided on Takumi.
And since he was the only one she wanted, Riveria had no choice but to commit.
As a result, Tiona was nearly overwhelmed by the gossip she was witnessing.
At the same time, this also made Takumi very happy.
After all, he did like Riveria, who was so beautiful.
Well, it was the kind of attraction that appreciated her physical presence.
Yes, it was that straightforward.
There was nothing he could do about it. To say he had deep romantic feelings for Riveria—it was true that he didn't yet!
In this case, apart from this kind of attraction, what else could it be?
Even Takumi didn't expect that Hestia's words at that time would actually come true!
He was unknowingly making progress with the Loki Familia.
Just thinking about it made Takumi feel a bit excited.
He just hoped that when the time came, other members of the Loki Familia wouldn't hold too much of a grudge against him.
Well, Takumi was already planning to pursue Riveria.
After all, in addition to her beauty, Riveria was excellent in other aspects.
Not to mention her strength, she also had experience in managing Familia members. She even came from a royal family and had an understanding of governance.
What Takumi lacked most now was someone with that kind of ability.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have set his sights on Hermione early, planning to train her.
It was true that there was a lack of management talent in Dimension City.
Even Hestia could only represent the group at most.
But if she were really allowed to take over the management, she would probably be overwhelmed.
Especially after the two hundred immigrants were accepted, the management pressure increased instantly.
Fortunately, they were self-disciplined enough and didn't cause problems; otherwise, Takumi might not have been able to handle it.
And Riveria—wasn't she a perfect talent in this field?
Therefore, the more Takumi looked at her, the more satisfied he felt with Riveria, and the more he liked her.
However, now was obviously not the time to focus on romance.
After sorting out their equipment, the expedition team of more than a dozen people set off.
"Move forward carefully, always pay attention to movement under your feet, focus on evasion, and try not to disrupt the formation."
Finn took the trouble to remind everyone loudly and directed the team to move forward.
Not long after the team began marching on the fifty-first floor, the dungeon began to greet them.
Boom!
As the ground shifted, the area began to shake. The ground beneath their feet shattered, and a pillar of extremely high-temperature fire spewed out.
Even if they could avoid it in time, the heat made everyone sweat profusely.
Except, of course, for Takumi. In addition to feeling a heat wave at the beginning, he had no reaction.
The adaptive effect of his perfect body was activated, allowing him to adapt to such high temperatures. In the end, it only felt like being caressed by a gentle breeze.
Fortunately, this kind of fire breath did not last forever. Although it caused the team some trouble, it did not stop them from moving forward.
Moreover, Takumi played a key role again.
Every time he encountered a monster, he would kill it with slashes or magic.
This greatly reduced the battle pressure on the team and allowed enough reaction time to avoid the fire.
But it was still a bit difficult to move.
But at this moment... an accident happened!