CHAPTER 50: 050 THE FUTURE WE LOOK FORWARD TO

Before the manor at dusk, the garden.

One after another, the members of the familia had gathered here, continually moving items back and forth through the main gate, creating an unending stream of people coming and going.

Large cargo boxes filled with supplies were placed on carts, the three leaders were directing others in the final checks and inventory counts, and even the officers were helping to organize tents and other living necessities. Theona was sneakily nibbling on some emergency rations, only to be caught and scolded by Bert and Theone.

Everyone had something to do, with even Rephia helping Revilia check the item list. Ais alone stood there, wanting to help but not knowing how, truly a refreshing presence amidst the crowd.

Reiger had just walked out from the residence and arrived at the scene when he was immediately spotted by Ais.

"Reiger."

Ais called out his name with visible relief, as if she had found her organization.

Her call drew the attention of others present.

"Mr. Reiger!"

Rephia instinctively wanted to run over, then remembered her tasks at hand and stopped herself.

"Hmph."

Bert let go of Theona and scoffed, turning his head away.

The rest also looked towards Reiger, admiring the new familia member who had become a legend in Orario in just over a month—some with envy, some with awe, but none with jealousy.

After all, he was their junior, their family, their partner—the better he did, the stronger the familia, which was cause for celebration.

It must be said, though Loki might be unreliable, those he took interest in never lacked character, no wonder Allen mockingly called them a loving family.

In a little over a month, Reiger had taken notice of the behaviors of his familia seniors and engraved it in his heart.

This was something he hadn’t even experienced in his previous life in a family bound by blood.

The kinship he had never felt, ironically, was not found in a family related by blood but within this familia connected through the Divine Blood from the chief deity.

Reiger wasn’t one for many words, he simply took all these to heart quietly and stepped into the large group of his familia.

"You’re late, Reiger!"

Theona immediately leaped out, teasing Reiger with a playful smirk.

"Sorry."

Reiger looked around and realized he indeed was the last to arrive, and although it wasn’t past departure time, he apologized sincerely.

"Don’t mind her, she just wants to shift the focus away from her snacking."

Theone exposed Theona’s real motive.

Finn, Revilia, and Grace also came over.

"How are you?" Finn asked with a slight smile, "Are you ready?"

Reiger returned the smile and nodded.

He knew Finn was not asking about preparations for the expedition, but rather about the updated abilities for it.

Clearly, the three leaders had all noticed Reiger’s visit to the divine chamber before departing.

"This is truly exciting," Grace said loudly, "With the accumulation of the past days and your rate of growth, there should be considerable gains, right?"

"By the looks of it, you must have had some significant gains." Revilia observed Reiger’s expression then ventured with a smile, "You couldn’t possibly have reached Lv.5 already, could you?"

That remark made everyone around hold their breath,

especially the Lv.5 rank one adventurers and the familia officers, all of whom perked their ears involuntarily—even Ais and Bert were no exceptions.

"How could it be that simple?"

Seeing this, Reiger couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Indeed, the past days had brought great progress for Reiger.

Now at Lv.4, theoretically, it should be much more difficult to improve basic abilities than before. Still, he managed to train ’Dexterity,’ ’Agility,’ and ’Magic Power’ to S-rank and ’Strength’ and ’Endurance’ to A-rank. His growth rate was still astonishing.

But, regardless, it was impossible for Reiger to level up to Lv.5 in just those days.

"I haven’t done any great deeds to accumulate higher experience. At best, I can only go further at Lv.4; it’s definitely not enough to level up," Reiger explained, and many silently breathed a sigh of relief.

They were indeed nervous, afraid that Reiger might announce he’d become a rank one Lv.5 adventurer.

It wasn’t that they begrudged Reiger’s progress, but such a fact could be too heart-racing, potentially demoralizing.

It’s just that the familia leaders seemed eager for more excitement as they took turns speaking, shattering the subtle relief in their hearts.

"This expedition, our target is the deep levels that you’ve never reached before, even the unknown floors no one has reached," Finn said with a smile. "Along the way, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to accumulate higher experience values."

"That’s right," Grace stroked his beard and added, "Without going into other details, just those floor bosses—if defeated, the high-level experience gained would at least allow you to complete a great deal of your accumulation, wouldn’t it?"

"Though group combat will divide the experience, it’s safer that way," Revilia stated, looking at Reiger. "This time you can’t be reckless as before; you must cooperate with the team’s actions, and not be like some naughty child always rushing forward impulsively."

As Revilia said this, her gaze subtly shifted to Ais.

"..."

Ais felt exceedingly awkward and turned away in an unnaturally sheepish manner.

Reiger too felt somewhat at a loss for words.

He really couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t lose control and dash out on his own.

On this point, student Rephia really felt she had a say.

After all, when Reiger was on her team, he’d often dash out without so much as a warning.

"Oh dear, it looks like our team will have another Ais," she thought.

Theona reveled in Schadenfreude.

"Hey, you guys, don’t cause any trouble for the captain, okay?"

Theone even shook her head in warning.

"Small fries will always be small fries, better not hold me back."

Even Bert threw over a cold comment.

Reiger and Ais suddenly looked at each other, completely clueless as to why they had suddenly become targets of everyone’s arrows.

But neither dared to say anything, only standing there, one scratching their face, the other trembling with fear.

"Alright, that’s enough, let them be."

Finn couldn’t help but chuckle, then turned his head to look in the direction of the central tower.

There, in the highest chamber of divinity, the irreverent chief deity continued his usual routine of leaning on the window, looking over this way with a slack, unraveling smile on his face.

However, for some reason, everyone could sense that within the chief deity’s gaze towards them, there was encouragement, vigilance, and a hint of imperceptible tenderness.

"Go forth."

It was as if the group heard such a faint murmur carried by the wind.

That whisper, though soft, ignited a flame in everyone’s heart.

Reiger was no exception.

"Okay!"

Finn’s youthful face began to turn serious and authoritative.

From this moment on, the petite race member was no longer the amiable and approachable clan elder, but the leader of the strongest familia in Orario, the captain of the Loki Familia.

And the captain’s order was singular.

"Depart!"

At Finn’s command, a neat and thunderous cheer erupted, filling the entirety of Orario.

It was a battle cry.

It was the call to arms.

Everyone busy in the market district, whether commoners or adventurers, were drawn by that heroic cheer in an instant, turning their heads to look in the direction of the Loki Familia.

Soon enough, many saw a fully armed, formidable team passing through the streets toward the Babel Tower.

"The Loki Familia has embarked on an expedition!"

"It’s the Loki Familia!"

"The Loki Familia is entering the underground city!"

People hurried to inform each other, and pedestrians along the way naturally parted to the sides, yielding the road to the Loki Familia.

At that moment, what people saw was the mightiest adventurer group in Orario, a sight of countless renowned warriors whose eyes almost couldn’t hide their envy, admiration, and awe.

Reiger, amidst them, was also the focus of many gazes, scrutinizing and watching.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Reiger keenly felt, amid the numerous glances from all directions, there seemed to be one unlike the others.

He was intrigued by that look, and unconsciously turned his head to see where it came from.

And so, Reiger saw him.

He saw a boy among the gathered crowd.

The boy had a head of white hair that seemed too aged for his years, his face still carrying traces of youth and innocence, likely only around 13 or 14 years old.

In the crowd, the boy was particularly inconspicuous.

But in those red eyes of his, there was an envy, a reverence, and... an aspiration stronger than anyone else’s.

Then, as if having made some decision, the boy gave a longing look in this direction, then squeezed out of the crowd, heading towards what appeared to be the entrance to some familia’s headquarters.

Watching this scene, Reiger was almost instantly certain, the boy was off in search of a familia to join.

"What are you looking at, Mr. Reiger?"

Rephia, who was walking beside him, noticed Reiger’s unusual behavior and voiced her curiosity.

Reiger then came back to his senses, seeing Rephia’s puzzled eyes and also noticing the look from Ais not far away.

"It’s nothing."

Reiger shook his head and suddenly smiled, a smile so radiant it caused a missing heartbeat in both Ais and Rephia, who had never seen Reiger smile like that before.

Then, they heard Reiger speak.

"I am just looking forward to the future."

"To my future."

"To his future."

These words, except for Reiger, no one could understand the full meaning behind them.

But that no longer mattered.

The gate of the Tower of Babel began to loom into view.

Reiger eyed the towering edifice of chalky stone, feeling the flame inside his heart blaze even fiercer.