Unfamiliar Concern

The next day, early morning.

Dawn had only just begun to break, but Riezel was already awake.

He looked around the somewhat unfamiliar room and froze for a moment before finally coming to his senses.

"I nearly forgot. I've already moved into Twilight Manor."

This was one of the rooms on an upper floor of one of Twilight Manor's many towers.

After updating his Ability Value with Loki yesterday, Riezel had been assigned this room.

This was Riezel's room in Twilight Manor, his residence within the Loki Familia's headquarters.

From now on, barring any accidents, this place would belong to Riezel and be his to use as he pleased.

Riezel got out of bed, first glancing at the faintly brightening sky beyond the window before washing up.

After he finished washing up, Riezel discovered that a set of clothes had been placed outside his door at some point.

"The goddess told me to prepare these for you."

Looking at the note placed atop the clothes, apparently left by one of his seniors in the Familia, Riezel fell silent for a while before quietly thanking them in his heart and changing into the clothes.

As for his own clothes, there was no way he could wear them again.

After fighting for an entire day and night, those clothes—covered in blood, mud, and dust, and torn beyond recognition—had been honorably sentenced to death. They could not even be mended and could only be thrown away.

With no spare clothes to change into, Riezel could only accept the goodwill of the Familia's goddess and its senior members.

However, the Familia's goodwill apparently consisted of more than just a set of clothes. There was also a heavy cloth bag filled with gleaming gold coins.

There was a note inside the bag as well.

"There are one hundred thousand Valis in here. Consider it your starting funds. Use it properly, and until you've completed what I told you last night, you are forbidden from entering the Dungeon!"

There was no need to guess. This note had most likely been left by Riezel's goddess.

It reminded Riezel of the tasks Loki had ordered him to complete after updating his Ability Value last night, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

"It seems Loki won't let me enter the Dungeon again until I finish those preparations."

So be it.

Since it was for his own benefit, he should listen to his goddess's arrangements properly.

Riezel picked up the somewhat heavy money pouch. After thinking it over, he ultimately chose not to carry it with him and instead placed it into the Dimensional Cube's Storage Space.

The third entry in the "Dimensional Cube Instructions": The Dimensional Cube came with a Storage Space that could be opened and used at any time.

Long before arriving in this world, while lying in bed recovering from his injuries in his original world, Riezel had already tried opening the Storage Space contained within the Dimensional Cube.

Therefore, he was not unfamiliar with its operation.

"Store."

With a silent command in his heart, the money pouch in Riezel's hand vanished.

It had entered the Storage Space within the Dimensional Cube and been stored by the Dimensional Cube.

The method for storing items in the Storage Space was simple. One only needed to touch something they owned and silently say "Store."

Taking items out worked the same way. First, one had to sink their consciousness into the Dimensional Cube's Storage Space, see its interior, find the item they wished to retrieve, then silently say "Retrieve."

Once one became accustomed to such operations, the Storage Space within the Dimensional Cube would bring its user tremendous convenience.

During the month he spent recovering from his injuries, Riezel had already become familiar with operating the Storage Space. Now, whether storing or retrieving an item, it took him less than a second—convenient and efficient.

Only after finishing all this did Riezel open his door, leave his room, and arrive at a corridor.

Upon closer inspection, the corridor was actually suspended in the air.

As the Loki Familia's headquarters, the numerous towers that made up Twilight Manor were clustered together.

The lower halves of several spires were connected to one another, while their upper halves extended stone corridors linking tower to tower. From the outside, it looked as though the towers were connected by a chaotic web of passageways crossing above, below, left, and right, with no order to speak of.

Riezel was walking along one such plain aerial corridor overlooking the courtyard.

"Morning."

"Morning."

Several Familia members who had risen early seemed to be busy with work. As they passed Riezel, they greeted him.

"Morning."

Naturally, Riezel did not ignore them. He returned their greetings politely before descending the corridor, leaving Twilight Manor, crossing the courtyard, and heading toward the Great Gate of the headquarters.

"Morning, newbie. Heading out this early?"

"Don't come back looking completely battered like you did last night, all right?"

The two Familia members guarding the gate recognized Riezel. They greeted him while offering a reminder.

"I won't. Please don't worry, seniors."

Riezel felt somewhat awkward and could only offer a polite smile before leaving directly.

Only after stepping onto the street did Riezel feel the gazes behind him disappear.

"The Familia's seniors are quite enthusiastic. They're kind, too."

Riezel let out a small breath, feeling oddly emotional.

In his previous life, the people around Riezel had mostly harbored ulterior motives. They would smile brightly before him, yet their hypocrisy was unbearable. Very few had cared for him or looked after him sincerely like the members of the Loki Familia did.

That was why Riezel still found it rather unfamiliar.

Even Loki's sour expression all night because he had been out for an entire day and night was something Riezel was unaccustomed to. As a result, he had been quieter than usual.

Of course, he only found it unfamiliar because he knew these people genuinely cared about him.

It was something he had rarely experienced. It was only natural that he would not be used to it.

Fortunately, Yuri had treated him well during the month he spent recovering in his original world, so Riezel was not completely unable to handle it. Otherwise, he might truly have been at a loss.

Overall, the atmosphere within the Loki Familia made Riezel feel quite comfortable.

"Although I already knew a fair bit about the Loki Familia from the original work, and their friendly internal atmosphere was one reason I chose to join them, experiencing it personally is still different."

That was all Riezel could think before shaking his head and casting aside the thoughts in his mind.

Still, his mood had inevitably improved considerably compared to usual. Even his steps were more forceful than normal. He silently remembered everyone's help and concern, promising himself that he would repay them someday if given the chance.

That was simply the kind of person he was. He always remembered and placed great importance on the kindness and favors others showed him.

Perhaps it was because he had encountered so few people in the past who held only pure goodwill toward him?

Thinking of this, Riezel mocked himself slightly.

"Forget it. I shouldn't think so much."

He had already decided to leave the past behind. Thinking about those things would only bring him more trouble.

Riezel swiftly shifted his thoughts and began handling the important matters at hand.

"There's quite a lot to do today."

Last night, Loki had given him several strict orders that he had to complete.

"First, I need to prepare a new weapon and a set of armor suitable for exploring the Dungeon."

"Second, I need to finish the books I found in the headquarters library last night and memorize the terrain and maps of the Dungeon's Upper Floors, as well as information on the monsters that appear on each floor."

"Lastly, I need to visit the Guild and register as an adventurer."

Those were the three instructions Loki had given Riezel.

Only after completing them would Riezel be allowed to enter the Dungeon again.

Rather, normally, anyone wishing to enter the Dungeon would make all these preparations before considering going in. Riezel had completely reversed the order, entering the Dungeon first and only then coming back to make the preparations. It truly left people speechless.

If Riezel had not awakened one magic spell and three remarkably effective skills, and if the Ability Value he updated last night had not nearly driven Loki mad, she might have ordered him to find companions and forbidden him from venturing into the Dungeon alone.

Now, Loki was only asking him to make these three preparations. She was already being very lenient with Riezel.

"As for the books, I read almost all of them last night. At the very least, I've already memorized the information on the first few floors of the Dungeon."

With his naturally exceptional memory, Riezel had not been troubled by this task at all and had completed it last night.

Two tasks remained: registering at the Guild and using his starting funds to buy weapons and armor.

"I'll register at the Guild first."

Having made his decision, Riezel recalled the city map he had memorized last night and headed northwest.

The streets in this area were already bustling early in the morning. Not only had many shops opened, but stalls were being set up one after another on both sides of the road.

Many people moved back and forth along the streets—humans as well as all kinds of demi-humans. Quite a few were fully equipped, and one could tell at a glance that they were not to be trifled with.

Riezel entered the street and continued deeper within. Eventually, along with many others headed for the same destination, he arrived before a magnificent temple.

It was a building constructed from white pillars.

Inside the spacious entrance hall of white marble, countless fully armed people were moving about, crowding the hall until it was packed.

This was the Guild, the official organization that managed Labyrinth City Orario.

Most of those who appeared here were adventurers, people whose profession and purpose was to conquer the Dungeon.

Riezel blended into the crowd and arrived at a counter.

"Hello. Please help me register as an adventurer."

Riezel addressed the young woman working behind the counter.

"Certainly. Please wait a moment."

The receptionist immediately took out a sheet of parchment with practiced ease and began registering him.

"Name?"

"Riezel Brihaut."

"Race?"

"Human."

"Age?"

"...Seventeen."

Riezel had originally wanted to give his age from his previous life, but doing so with this body's appearance would have felt somewhat strange. Thus, after a slight hesitation, he gave his age in this life.

"Which Familia do you belong to?"

The receptionist did not notice Riezel's complicated feelings and continued asking.

"The Loki Familia."

Riezel answered directly without much hesitation.

However, in that instant, the entire hall fell briefly silent.