"So… so amazing…"
The elven girl, Lefiya Viridis, covered her mouth, her blue eyes brimming with astonishment.
Today, she had merely accompanied the person she admired most—Ais Wallenstein, into the Dungeon to clear her mind.
Because Ais was concerned about the newly emerged monsters, the two of them had come together to the Upper Floors.
With their strength, they could practically stroll sideways through these levels.
Even the newly appeared Rockshield Hilichurls, whose combat capability was already comparable to the upper range of Level 1 adventurers—could not withstand a casual swing of Ais's sword.
Yet as the frequency and variety of monsters increased once more, the two of them pressed forward and, without realizing it, reached the Sixth Floor.
And there, they witnessed that battle.
To Lefiya, it was no longer merely a fight—it was a flawless duet.
The white-haired boy faced what could only be described as a monster platoon, yet remained utterly composed.
At times he dispatched enemies with precise, lethal swordplay. At others, he unleashed that unheard-of, brutally destructive sonic cannon to suppress distant threats. His transitions between offense and defense flowed like water—no wasted motion, no hesitation.
And the silver-violet-haired girl who had just revealed her true face—
Every one of her actions was perfectly timed.
Whether eliminating ranged threats or forcing aerial enemies to adjust their trajectories, her support attacks always landed at the most critical moments, creating ideal openings for her partner.
Lefiya found it hard to believe these were supposed to be newcomers confined to the Upper Floors.
Even the elite members of Loki Familia, back when they had been rookies, could never have achieved such seamless coordination.
Moreover, a monster formation like that—any seasoned adventurer party would have found it extremely troublesome.
And yet these two clearly weren't Level 2 adventurers.
No Level 2 would idle around the Upper Floors; there would be no training benefit and virtually no experience to gain.
Then there was the silver-violet-haired girl's beauty…
Lefiya glanced at Robin in the distance, unable to suppress her amazement.
Within Loki Familia, Ais's beauty alone rivaled that of a goddess. Their vice-captain, the royal elf Riveria Ljos Alf, was equally breathtaking.
Yet the girl before them, whether in appearance or in her calm, elegant bearing—did not fall short in the slightest.
Such a stunning beauty remaining completely unknown in Orario could only mean one thing—
They had arrived in the city recently.
Beside Lefiya, the Sword Princess Ais remained silent, but her golden eyes were fixed firmly on Faen's figure. Clearly, she had taken a deep interest in his fighting style.
As high-ranking adventurers, both of them could see that while the battle looked intense, the rhythm had been firmly controlled by that white-haired youth from start to finish.
There was an unwritten rule in the Dungeon: unless an adventurer called for help, others were not permitted to steal their prey.
Thus, the two merely observed from afar, making no move to interfere.
When the fight ended and Faen began collecting the magic stones, his gaze naturally shifted toward the shadows in the distance.
Realizing they had been spotted, Lefiya smiled awkwardly, her expression apologetic. She gently tugged at Ais's sleeve, signaling it was time to leave.
Ais withdrew her gaze, nodded slightly, and the two departed silently.
Only then did Robin take the time to pull her hood back up, concealing her overly eye-catching beauty.
"…Our fight was seen," she said softly, a trace of concern in her voice. "Will that cause trouble?"
She had revealed her appearance, and given how humans pursued appearance, she worried it might invite unnecessary attention.
Being too beautiful could be troublesome in its own way.
"It's fine. They're from Loki Familia," Faen replied, shaking his head reassuringly.
He remembered Ais and Lefiya from his past life's memories.
Both were fundamentally kind and upright individuals. As for Loki Familia, though their patron goddess Loki had once been known as a mischievous trickster, under her children's influence she had long since "settled down." She was considered a fairly decent deity now.
Among Orario's two great king-class Familias, compared to Freya Familia, which acted domineeringly and placed their goddess's whims above all else, Loki Familia was far easier to get along with—and would likely become a good partner in the future.
Given the special nature of his own skill, [The Abyss That Gazes Back], Focalors Familia was destined not to recruit adventurers in large numbers like other Familias.
At least for now, Faen only intended to allow companions he personally summoned to join.
That meant their numbers would always remain limited.
However, exploration-focused Familias, once they reached a certain level, would be required by the Guild to undertake expeditions—venturing into the Lower Floors and even the Deep Floors.
Expeditions had never been feats achievable by just a handful of people.
The massive supply transport and the handling of loot along the way required manpower.
When that time came, forming joint expeditions with other powerful Familias would be inevitable.
And Loki Familia was undoubtedly an excellent candidate for cooperation.
Of course, Focalors Familia had no such standing yet. Loki Familia would hardly consider them worth attention at their current strength.
But in the future—
That might change.
They could, in theory, abandon loot and treat expeditions purely as training and adventure.
But watching those gleaming magic stones and rare drops—
Faen found that far too wasteful.
...
Though their status growth had skyrocketed within a single day, and Faen wielded magic beyond conventional standards, they were well aware of their limits.
The monster formations on the Sixth Floor had already forced them to go all out.
Going deeper would only multiply the risks.
Thus, for the rest of the day, Faen and Robin remained on the Sixth Floor, refraining from further descent.
And their harvest was astonishing.
The otherworldly monsters spawned by Faen's [The Abyss That Gazes Back] not only dropped higher-quality magic stones than native Dungeon monsters of the same level—the value of their materials far surpassed them as well.
More importantly—
Their drop rate was shockingly high.
Almost every monster they defeated left behind loot.
By day's end, the large sack they carried for materials was already more than half full.
This secret had not gone unnoticed by other adventurers.
When another party, after great difficulty, managed to kill a Rockshield Hilichurl and discovered beneath its fading remains a magic stone nearly a size larger—and of noticeably higher quality—than those of ordinary monsters, the spark of greed was lit.
The news spread like wildfire through the Dungeon entrance and the Guild hall.
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