Rivira Street.
By the time Eiji and Ais returned, the place had already been reduced to ruins by fire.
"You're back. How did it go?"
On the narrow mountain path outside the street, the surviving adventurers had all gathered. Although their numbers had significantly dwindled, the remaining ones had already started rebuilding the town.
Seeing the two return, Finn, Riveria, and the others immediately approached them. Noticing that neither of them was seriously injured, they sighed in relief and inquired about the results.
"The armored man was actually that woman in disguise. She's now hiding in the lower floors, so there's no way to track her down for now."
Eiji explained with some regret.
Around the 24th floor, he and Ais had encountered dozens of carnivorous flower monsters, making it impossible to break through. They had no choice but to retreat. By that time, the woman had likely already gone deeper into the lower floors.
"But we've figured out her objective, and we severed both her arms. She shouldn't be coming back here to stir up trouble anymore."
Without arms, she wouldn't even be able to hold a weapon, much less continue as an adventurer.
"That's good enough."
Finn sighed in relief.
"Thanks to your efforts, this incident has been resolved. Rivira Street won't need to be abandoned."
Hearing this, the surrounding adventurers also breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as their ability to make money wasn't affected, that was all that mattered.
Eiji could read that sentiment clearly from their faces—truly a bunch of people who valued money over their lives.
"What happened here?"
"Ah, shortly after you left, a large number of carnivorous flower monsters appeared. We fought for a long time…"
The creatures had extremely tough outer shells, to the point that even a Level 5 adventurer's fists couldn't break through. The town's adventurers, unaware of this at first, suffered heavy casualties.
In the end, Lefiya used up all her magic power to cast a large-scale spell, firing countless arrows to wipe out the monsters. However, this also burned the street to the ground.
As a result, she collapsed from exhaustion.
It was precisely because of how troublesome these carnivorous flowers were that Eiji and Ais had to return empty-handed. Otherwise, they would have still been chasing that red-haired woman.
"Who exactly is that woman? She can control monsters, and that jewel she had was also suspicious…"
Eiji was perplexed.
Not only that, but when she mentioned the name "Aria," Ais had lost her composure entirely. The whole situation was shrouded in mystery.
"She's probably a tamer, someone who can control monsters. There are quite a few tamers in Ganesha's Familia."
"There's such a profession?"
"This world is full of wonders. The longer you stay in Orario, the more unbelievable things you'll see."
"Oh, right, Finn. Here, take this."
Eiji took out a multicolored magic stone from his pouch and handed it to Finn.
"I've been an adventurer for so many years, but I've never seen a magic stone like this before…"
Finn examined the stone, which emitted a shimmering multicolored light, his expression filled with deep confusion.
He bit his thumb, his face showing a hint of concern.
"Looks like we've stumbled upon something truly unusual… In any case, let's head back to the surface first and report to Loki and the Guild. We'll figure out our next steps later."
***
==========
[Eiji Nangou]
[LV·3]
[Strength: I·57 → H·199]
[Endurance: I·43 → H·169]
[Dexterity: I·76 → G·259]
[Agility: H·113 → F·357]
[Magic: I·18 → I·98]
[Skills: Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword, Sword Heart's Valor, Charm]
[Magic: None]
[Development Abilities: Hunter (I), Spirit Healing (I)]
==========
"Hoh, another major improvement!"
Loki clicked her tongue in admiration. "I heard you even fought a Level 5 this time. You weren't the main force, but the growth is still impressive!"
She covered her eyes, blindly imprinting Eiji's updated stats as if she was determined not to look at his bare upper body.
"Say, if I ask Tiona to help me train, how many days would it take for me to reach Level 4?"
"I don't think Tiona-chan would go all out against you. You wouldn't be able to gain enough proficiency."
"Just a hypothetical. What about someone else?"
"Hmm… If you fought someone like that red-haired woman, who had intense hostility toward you, maybe ten days to half a month? But there's no way a Level 5 would train with you every day!"
That was true.
Training with Eiji would only benefit him. For Level 5 adventurers, it would be a waste of time. At most, they might agree to a few days of sparring, but keeping them occupied for half a month would be unreasonable.
Getting their help occasionally wouldn't be a problem, but constantly taking up their time would be inappropriate.
If he used his Charm skill, everything would be much easier.
But he had promised Loki that he wouldn't use Charm on Familia members, so he couldn't go back on his word.
Should he go to Freya instead?
No, that wouldn't work either.
The Freya Familia and Loki Familia were rivals. If the others found out, he'd be in big trouble. Besides, he didn't know how Freya's Familia members viewed him. If they all wanted him dead, he'd be in real danger.
"Finn and the others are planning to train in the deeper floors. You could join them, you know?"
Loki whispered.
Honestly, she didn't want to tell him. This was supposed to be a small-scale training session for the senior members—Raul wasn't even included. But for some reason, she ended up blurting it out. The moment she did, she wanted to bite her own tongue in regret.
"So that's why they went to the 18th floor—to head to the deep floors for training?"
Eiji's eyes lit up.
That explained why they gathered five senior members just for an 18th-floor trip.
And they didn't even tell me? How rude!
Eiji immediately left Loki's room, eager to find Finn.
"You want to join our training party?"
Finn rubbed his forehead, looking troubled.
Figures.
He knew that given Eiji's enthusiasm for training, the moment he found out about this, he'd come running.
"Isn't this great? Just let him join, Finn!"
Tiona cheered excitedly, immediately suggesting it to Finn.
"…His strength is sufficient. He can keep up."
Even the usually silent Ais spoke up in support.
"We do need a few supporters. Might as well bring him along."
Even Riveria chimed in.
This was the Familia's office.
Those involved in the 18th-floor incident had gathered here to compile a report, which Finn would then submit to the Guild.
"You guys…"
Finn let out a long sigh.
Was it thanks to his Charm skill? It felt like many of the Familia's senior members were overly biased toward Eiji—even the proud Riveria wasn't immune.
"Fine, you can come. But deep-floor battles aren't something you can just handle on a whim. If I assign you as a supporter, you can't refuse."
"Deal!"
Eiji patted his chest confidently.
When it came to important matters, he knew how to act appropriately. He wouldn't just mess around.
"By the way, Bete isn't coming, right?"
Eiji suddenly hesitated before asking.
"Bete and Gareth are staying behind."
"That's a relief."
Eiji let out a breath.
If Bete had joined the training party, things would have been much more troublesome.
"Meet up tomorrow morning. You just got back from the lower floors, so restock your equipment and supplies."
"Got it!"
***
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