CHAPTER 39: 039 A MIRACLE OF OVER A MONTH

Maze City Orario, the Tower of Babel.

At the very top of the vast white chalk tower that seemed to weigh heavily upon the entrance of the underground city, there was an extravagantly luxurious suite, equipped with everything one could need. It was so opulent that it could capture the entire bustling cityscape within its view. A massive shadow pushed open the door and walked in.

It was a beastman of towering stature, standing over two meters tall, with earthy red short hair and boar-like ears, possessing a body as rugged as rock.

The beastman giant entered the high-end suite he alone had the privilege to freely access and made his way to the furthest room, in front of a rectangular observation glass that took up an entire wall.

There, clad in a black gossamer nightgown that hugged her figure, which was both slender and voluptuous, was a goddess with nearly waist-length silver hair, whose beauty was so excessive it was incendiary.

"Lady Freya."

The beastman giant stopped not far from the goddess, bowing reverently to the beautiful deity like a devout follower.

"Otto?"

The goddess did not turn around, merely holding a glass of red wine, gently swirling it as she responded.

Her voice was exceedingly sweet, like ambrosia from the heavens or wine from the earth, giving one just a hint of it could make a person yearn to be intoxicated by it.

"What’s the matter? Is there something you need to tell me?"

With such a sweetly inquired voice, the beastman giant known to the goddess as Otto, clearly from the Pigman Clan, became even more respectful.

"There’s something I wish to report to you," Otto said gravely, "It’s about a newcomer from the Loki Familia."

Hearing this, the goddess somewhat retrieved her gaze from the beautiful scene outside the window.

"Loki, you say?" Goddess leisurely rocked the wine in her hand, as if recalling something, or perhaps savoring something, she casually said, "I seem to have indeed heard recently that her familia has taken in a newcomer with quite some talent."

"Yes," Otto said placidly, "I believe this newcomer deserves a certain degree of attention, and that’s why I’ve come to report to you."

"Oh?" The goddess’s interest was piqued, she smiled and said, "A child that can make you say such things? I’ve indeed become a bit curious."

With that, the named Goddess Freya turned around.

With this turn, it was as if all the light of the world had converged upon her, causing everything around her to dull by comparison.

And that was only natural.

For Goddess Freya was exceedingly beautiful.

As divine beings from the heavens, the gods generally possessed what could be called perfect appearances, and aside from a few who deliberately chose to appear as the elderly or as children, nearly all gods were graced with faces that could bring a nation to its knees.

Yet the beauty of Goddess Freya was one that stood out even among these universally perfect deities, peerlessly incomparable to any other.

There were gods of fire, gods of water, gods of war, gods of martial prowess, each presiding over various concepts, uniquely excelling in their respective realms—the pantheon had them all.

Among this myriad of gods, the concept presided over by Goddess Freya was none other than—"beauty."

She was a veritable Beauty Goddess.

"Tell me about it," Beauty Goddess Freya said, gazing at Pigman Otto with eyes as clear as autumn waters, her most powerful and loyal subordinate, "What sort of person has caught your attention?"

Upon hearing this, Pigman Otto responded with a steady and calm voice.

"His name is Reiger Brillhaut, a newcomer who joined the Loki Familia just over a month ago, of the human race, only 17 years old, yet he has caused a sensation within Orario several times and has made quite a name for himself."

A deep gleam surfaced in Otto’s eyes.

"His rate of growth is extremely astonishing. It’s been only a bit more than a month, yet he has gone from an ordinary individual who had not received any divine blessings to achieving great deeds multiple times, advancing from a lowly Level 1 adventurer to a second-tier Level 4 adventurer, prompting the guild to take notice and send representatives to the Hostess of Twilight several times for confirmation."

These words caused even Goddess Freya to be taken aback.

"From Level 1 to Level 4 in a little over a month?"

If it weren’t for Freya’s assurance that Otto would not joke about such things with her, she would have suspected her subordinate was teasing her.

Still, she remained half-doubtful despite the claim.

"Is there really such a child (mortal) that exists?"

Freya wondered in amazement.

It was no wonder.

For even the Sword Princess, who holds the record for the fastest ascent to Lv. 2, took an entire year to do so, recognized by both mortals and deities alike as the most talented among them.

Now someone was telling Freya that there was a newbie who had not long ago received a blessing and shattered that record in a bit more than a month, not only breaking it but also leveling up several times in this short period. How could the Beauty Goddess not be startled?

How absurd this development that even the gods would find incredible was beyond any imagination.

However, it was all true.

"52 days ago, Reiger Brillhaut officially joined the Loki Familia and received his blessing."

"45 days ago, Reiger Brillhaut defeated an aberrant Croco-Dragon on the 6th floor and officially leveled up to Lv.2,"

"30 days ago, Reiger Brillhaut, along with his sole teammate, encountered the Monster Banquet on the middle floors of the 16th level during an exploration. After a prolonged battle that lasted hours, he successfully vanquished all the monsters and officially leveled up to Lv.3,"

"And today, it has been confirmed that Reiger Brillhaut went alone to the 17th floor, awakened the Floor Boss Goliath by himself, and ultimately succeeded in subduing it, officially leveling up to Lv.4,"

Otto listed these illustrious achievements one by one, his voice still deep.

"These deeds have all been notarized and recognized by the guild, and have been announced publicly by the guild."

Upon hearing this, Beauty Goddess Freya fell silent.

Because the feats Otto spoke of were enough to astonish the world.

Naturally, there’s no need to mention the aberrant situation that emerged on the 6th floor 45 days ago. After an investigation by the guild, it was confirmed that the Croco-Dragon that had appeared was a Lv.2 dragon-type monster. Being able to defeat such a monster at Lv.1 was absolutely astonishing.

Similarly, the Monster Banquet is also considered an aberration, a phenomenon commonly witnessed starting from the 10th floor.

Generally speaking, the number of monsters that appear on each floor of the underground city is fixed.

They won’t increase beyond a certain number, and when they decrease, new monsters will break through the city walls to be born. During this period, the interval before the next monster appears will vary depending on the floor, but it won’t take longer than about a day.

However, the Monster Banquet is different.

It’s a phenomenon where a large number of monsters are born instantaneously in the same area.

Once this phenomenon occurs, even a location that was empty a second ago will suddenly be swarming with monsters, instantly surrounding the adventurers and leading them into a deadly predicament.

Such a predicament, especially occurring on the middle floors where Lv.2 monsters are common, for Reiger, who was only Lv.2 at the time, to fight alongside his sole teammate until the end and eventually vanquish all the Lv.2 monsters, was nothing short of miraculous.

As for a Floor Boss, that’s an entity even more fearsome than aberrations.

Among the monsters that are born approximately once a day, some require a certain cycle to emerge.

These monsters only appear once every few weeks or even months, and only show up on specific floors. They not only have a body size far surpassing large types, known as super-large types, but they also possess strength unmatched by other monsters on the same floor, making other creatures pale in comparison and daunting for adventurers.

The guild officially names these creatures — "Maze Lonely Kings."

The adventurers refer to them as — "Floor Bosses."

Their power is said to be two levels higher than the anticipated level of each floor.

That is to say, if the other monsters on the floor are classified as Lv.1, then the Floor Boss would have the strength of Lv.3. If the other monsters are classified as Lv.2, then the Floor Boss would be Lv.4 in strength.

These are creatures that require adventurers to form large-scale teams to challenge and conquer. To use gaming terms, they’re called Bosses.

The very first Boss-level creature to appear in the underground city, the inaugural Floor Boss, is a super-large giant species on the 17th floor, known to people as "Goliath."

Though Goliath is classified as a Lv.4 Floor Boss, its colossal size makes it a giant that’s specialized in "endurance."

In other words, purely in terms of "endurance," this Floor Boss could very well compare to Lv.5.

For an adventurer who is merely Lv.3 to subdue such a creature alone is unthinkable without leveling up.

All these achievements culminated in the creation of a monster-level newcomer that caused a sensation in Maze City Orario, prompting the guild to be alarmed and necessitating them to send someone to the Loki Clan for confirmation.

"Reiger Brillhaut?"

Beauty Goddess Freya murmured softly, a mysterious gleam in her eyes.

"Loki is as lucky as ever, to have found such a child. I wonder how his ’brilliance’ is?"

Freya’s murmur did not waver Pigman Otto’s resolve.

Otto simply gave a factual report, and then asked a question.

"How should we respond to this situation, Great Freya?"

Otto had come for this very reason.

After all, the Freyja Clan is one of the strongest clans in Maze City Orario, known along with the Loki Clan as the Dual Monarchs of Orario.

Therefore, the Loki Clan is not only a competitor of the Freyja Clan but also a formidable foe that wouldn’t be surprising to engage in battle at any moment.

That’s why Otto, upon receiving the news, had come to Freya right away to report.

Freya extended her slender finger and tapped her cheek, thoughtful.

After a moment, Freya spoke.

"First, have someone keep a close watch on this child and report any news to me immediately."

Upon her exquisitely beautiful face, suddenly there appeared a stunningly entrancing smile.

"As for me, I’ll find an opportunity to assess him personally."