CHAPTER 48: 048 NEXT, THERE’S FUN TO BE HAD.

In the following period, the members of the Loki Familia were surprised to find that Reiger, who had already been an early riser and a hard worker, was now putting in even more effort into entering the underground city than before.

Because of the upcoming expedition, the Loki Familia was currently in its busiest time, and even the executives were ordered not to enter the underground city anymore, but to stay at the main camp to prepare for the expedition. Rephia was also kept by Revilia to help out, leaving Reiger once again on his own.

At first, everyone thought Reiger would do the same, staying with the Familia to help gather resources for the upcoming expedition.

Who would have thought, after Rephia was kept back, that Reiger, now alone, became even more desperate, often leaving before dawn and not returning until late at night, looking haggard as if he had traveled a great distance.

Perversely, after the higher-ups of the Familia learned of this, they chose to tacitly ignore it, not stopping him at all.

"Why can Reiger abandon the expedition preparations to go to the underground city, and we can’t?"

Theona even protested to Finn.

But before Finn could open his mouth, Theone held Theona down.

"Don’t question the leader’s decision!"

The elder of the Amazon twins glared fiercely, scaring Rephia, who happened to be present, almost to tears.

In the end, it was Grace who very annoyedly shut Theona up with a statement.

"With the expedition so close at hand, even if I let you go to the underground city, you wouldn’t achieve much growth in such a short period, would you?"

The implication was that instead of wasting this time to pursue such insignificant progress, it would be better to stay with the Familia to rest and recover while also solving some of the expedition’s work.

Reiger was different, however.

"This period of time might result in minimal progress for us, but it’s different for him."

The statement Revilia added on the side took the wind out of Theona’s sails.

It was then that the executives understood why all the other members of the Familia had been assigned tasks by the Headquarters Camp, except for Reiger.

Preparing resources for the expedition, these tasks, with or without an additional Reiger, weren’t lessened, and it was better to let him continue to strive in the underground city, making the most of his inhuman growth rate.

That way, Reiger could face his first adventurer expedition in a much stronger state.

"You all should focus more on the upcoming expedition."

Seeing that everyone had grown silent, Finn finally spoke leisurely.

"Only through the expedition can you delve into lower floors, challenge more monsters, and defeat stronger enemies."

This was the true way to accelerate growth.

Without the expedition, they could only explore the middle and lower floors at best, and the monsters on those floors were ultimately too weak for the leading adventurers of the Familia.

Even if they killed many such weak monsters, it barely helped the executives of the Loki Familia.

Instead of being fixated on that negligible growth, it’d be better to focus on the upcoming expeditions and make thorough preparations.

That was the more effective path of growth for the adventurers at level 5.

Of course....

"If only this applied to the lad Reiger as well."

The words that Grace expressed with a sigh plunged everyone into a deeper silence.

Not until this moment did they realize something.

"Having only explored up to the 17th floor, what kind of growth will Reiger achieve after he reaches deeper floors through this expedition?"

He had already risen from level 1 to level 4 in just over a month by reaching only the 17th floor.

So, after entering floors much deeper than the 17th floor, how much experience would Reiger gain?

Not to mention, a single expedition, just for the round trip, would take more than a week, and with the time needed for exploration, it could easily exceed half a month.

What kind of change would occur in Reiger, who had risen several levels in just over a month, from an expedition that lasted at least half a month?

"Perhaps when he returns from this expedition, Reiger will be just like you."

After throwing out this comment, Revilia stopped speaking.

But it was this single remark that suddenly made all the Familia executives feel a great pressure.

"No way?" Theona cried out in dismay and clamored, "Is Reiger going to be level 5 when he comes back from the expedition? Can’t you let the rest of us live?"

"What a freak." Theone was speechless, mumbling, "It seems that being caught up is just a matter of time, I might as well just accept it."

Hearing Theone’s words, Rephia could only secretly say to herself in her heart.

"I’ve already accepted it."

As a witness to Reiger’s growth all the way, Rephia had gone from admiration at the start, to diligent effort, to a sense of urgency not to be overtaken by Reiger, and finally, when Reiger formally advanced to level 4 and completely surpassed her, she chose to accept it.

It wasn’t that Rephia wasn’t willing to work hard or pursue, but she simply couldn’t catch up.

If it wasn’t for being Reiger’s teammate, having witnessed his steps towards the current level up close, being moved by his desperate efforts, and after being helped and saved by him time and again, she might have started doubting life.

Now, Rephia held more respect and admiration for Reiger, rather than feelings of unwillingness.

After all—

"Mr. Reiger and Miss Ais are becoming more and more alike...."

The elf girl’s pretty face flushed unnaturally as she sneakily glanced towards the corner of the room.

There, Ais was sitting with her knees hugged, staring blankly at the silent observers, lost in her thoughts.

Meanwhile, outside the door, just as Bert had prepared to come in and protest, he silently turned and left after hearing the trio’s conversation and witnessing Theona’s protest outcome.

All these scenes were observed by Loki.

"Things are about to get interesting."

Loki, seeming to take pleasure in the chaos or something else, leaned out of the window, watched the faction members bustle in and out of the Headquarters Camp, chuckled to himself, and returned to his room.

...

Time flew by swiftly.

As the days passed, Loki’s family began to transport box after box of supplies back to the Headquarters Camp from various places in Orario.

Among these supplies were previously ordered spare weapons, various special use items and tools, and whole boxes of Spiritual Medicine packed and brought back, including all sorts of recovery items.

Some faction members were busy with various tasks while others, during their rest time, headed collectively to Loki’s Divine Room, forming a long line in front of it.

All of this was in preparation for the impending expedition, as the members wanted to update their capabilities one last time.

After the expedition, adventurers would not have the opportunity to update their capabilities in a place like the underground city, so naturally, they seized the moment to boost their strength as much as possible.

For this reason, Loki had not left the Divine Room recently and could only faintly hear her own shouts from within.

"Doesn’t anyone ever get a break here——!"

Loki wanted to cry but no tears came, yet determined to help the children increase their strength as much as possible, striving for a higher survival rate in the underground city, she joyfully endured the pain, doing the only job she could do.

Reiger understood that during this period, Loki’s place must be crowded with people.

"Then I’ll wait."

After contemplating, Reiger decided not to seek out Loki to update his capabilities.

After all, experience points do not disappear, even if he didn’t update his capabilities right now, they would accumulate, so there was no need to rush it.

Since his senior family members had already opened the door of convenience for him, allowing him to venture into the underground city freely, Reiger naturally did not want to compete with his seniors for the timing of an ability update that could be done sooner or later.

In this manner, Loki’s family had their own tasks, and Reiger had his matters to attend to, and as if by an unspoken agreement, they did not interfere with each other and quietly awaited the day of the expedition.

One day, when Reiger was preparing to head to the underground city, he received a summons from Finn.

"Your sword is ready."

Finn, who had summoned Reiger, simply said this with a smile.

Reiger’s eyes immediately lit up.

...

In Chuns’s workshop on the northeast street, Reiger and Finn arrived hand in hand, visiting once again as they had before.

Upon entering, Reiger saw Chun.

"You’ve finally arrived."

Chun greeted Reiger with a refreshing smile as he entered, not wasting words, and pointed straight to his side.

"Come and take a look at your sword."

Upon hearing this, Reiger first glanced at Finn.

"Go ahead."

Finn also wore a smile on his face and nodded at Reiger, indicating for him to step forward.

Reiger then approached Chun’s side.

There, a long box for holding weapons was casually placed on the table.

The box was open, allowing Reiger to almost instantly see the weapon it contained.

It had a slender body, a dusky silver-gray throughout, and a thin blade as transparent as crystal. At first glance, it didn’t seem like a sword made for slaying, but more like the short sword Reiger had requested from Loki when he first joined her family, resembling a collectors’ piece designed for display.

Just then, Chun’s voice, tinged with satisfaction, reached Reiger’s ears.

"Mainly made of Mountain Copper, blended with Mithril, and adding the teeth of a wind beast, it took seven days to finally craft this weapon."

Mountain Copper, a highly valuable and rare precious metal also known as orichalcum, is universally recognized as the hardest metal in the world, and indestructible weapons are primarily made from it.

Mithril, a refined metal with excellent Magic Power conductivity, is the favored material for adventurers who are proficient in magic.

The wind beast is a rare species known for its strange speed, lurking on the 40th floor of the underground city, classified as not high in rank, but exceedingly difficult to hunt.

Each of these three materials was exceedingly expensive and rare; ordinary adventurers might not see even one of them in their lifetime, let alone come into their possession.

Now, Chun had used such materials to forge this sword.

"Now, it is yours."

Hearing Chun’s satisfied voice, Reiger’s gaze upon the sword also began to shine brightly.