Expedition

"Expedition"

"Welcome."

As Riezel slowly walked in through the door, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth, who had been discussing something, all turned to look at him. Their expressions resembled those of people beholding a priceless treasure, filled with satisfaction and relief.

"Captain, Lady Riveria, Old Man Gareth."

Riezel greeted the three leaders of the Familia one by one. His attitude was not excessively deferential, but he observed all proper courtesies.

"Don't be so formal. Relax."

For once, Riveria had cast aside her usual seriousness and rigor, speaking to Riezel with a smile on her exquisite, beautiful face.

"You don't need to be nervous either. We old folks only called you here for a chat. As for you running off alone to challenge the 17th Floor's Floor Master, Loki will give you a proper talking-to later. We won't play the villains."

Gareth stroked his beard and spoke with an amused half-smile, making Riezel feel a little awkward.

Naturally, he was not about to tell Gareth that Loki had already chewed him out.

After all, Riezel had told no one about going to the 17th Floor to fight the Floor Master Goliath one-on-one. He had simply sneaked off by himself. Not only Loki, but even Lefiya had some grievances over it.

If Riezel had not succeeded in the challenge and Leveled Up, diverting some of Loki and Lefiya's attention, the two of them might still have been lecturing him right now.

Ais, on the other hand, seemed to have been inspired by seeing Riezel successfully defeat the Floor Master alone. Since that morning, she had worn a thoughtful expression, making Riezel worry that this Puppet Princess might be led astray by him and do something reckless and dangerous.

Under those circumstances, Gareth's teasing really made Riezel unable to keep a straight face.

"That was truly reckless."

Even Riveria's smile faded slightly. Clearly, she was not without objections to the dangerous thing Riezel had done.

Only Finn looked at this super rookie before him, who had achieved incredible feats and risen from Lv.1 to Lv.4 in just over a month, and smiled as he spoke.

"How is it? Have you adapted to your strength after Leveling Up?"

Finn's words helped Riezel out of his predicament, and Riezel quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"More or less." Riezel answered honestly. "If I go to the Dungeon for actual combat another time or two, I should be able to adapt completely."

"That's good." Finn nodded. "The main reason we called you here this time was to check on your progress and prepare for the upcoming expedition."

"An expedition?"

Riezel froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"That's right, an expedition." Finn naturally noticed Riezel's reaction and spoke with both helplessness and understanding. "It has been over a month since we returned from our last expedition. It is time for the Loki Familia to venture into the Dungeon once more."

As one of the leading factions among exploration Familia and one of Orario's strongest Familia, the Loki Familia had always fought on the front lines of the Dungeon.

Just as exploring the Dungeon was an adventurer's duty, major Familia had to launch expeditions into the Dungeon.

However, for a Familia like the Loki Familia, whose expeditions had to reach the ultra-deep floors below the 50th Floor every time, preparations alone required a great deal of effort.

Leaving everything else aside, merely preparing the resources needed for an expedition took a great deal of time.

Food and water were secondary, since they could be obtained within the Dungeon. The preparations that usually took the most time were weapons, equipment, medicine, and special items for dealing with various situations.

Thus, a major Familia like the Loki Familia generally launched an expedition only once every month or two.

And now, the time had come.

The reason Finn and the other two had called Riezel here was also simple.

"Although you have been with the Familia for less than two months, and normally we would not have you participate in such an important Familia activity as an expedition right away, you are already Lv.4. On the next expedition, we want you to come down with us." Finn said, "The three of us decided this together, and Loki personally approved it. If you have any objections, you can raise them here."

Objections?

How could Riezel possibly object?

Expeditioning into the Dungeon's ultra-deep floors and battling high-level monsters that dwelled there, largely untouched by anyone—this was exactly what Riezel had been hoping for.

He had long been looking forward to an expedition. Now that the opportunity had finally come, of course he would not miss it.

So—

"I have no objections." Riezel answered without hesitation. "Please let me participate."

Riezel made no attempt to hide his anticipation and desire.

Finn and the other two exchanged looks, then smiled wryly in succession.

"I knew you'd be eager for it, kid."

Gareth looked rather exasperated.

"We thought you would give us less trouble than Ais and the others. Looks like we'll still have to keep a close eye on you."

Riveria sighed even more heavily.

"It is best that you have no objections." Finn shook his head with a laugh before continuing, "But an expedition is a serious matter, and it will be your first time. Think carefully. Is there anything you need to prepare?"

Finn's words made Riezel fall into thought.

There really was not much he needed to prepare.

Someone else might need to service their equipment and stock up on medicine, but Riezel basically did not need to.

The Development Ability Light Armor meant Riezel no longer needed defensive equipment. The less equipment he carried, the better, and the lighter his load, the better. Thus, after reaching Lv.2, Riezel had already abandoned armor.

Riezel did not need much medicine either. Whether it was stamina or Mind, thanks to the Endless Path skill effect and his highest-level Healing Power and Spirit Healing, he had never been exhausted so far. Combined with his highest-level Abnormal Resistance, which made him unafraid of abnormal conditions, Riezel had little need for medicines other than High-Grade Elixirs and panaceas that could heal injuries.

During an expedition, the Familia would also handle the preparation of most medicines, so Riezel did not need to go out of his way to stock up.

With that, the preparations Riezel needed to make were basically nonexistent.

No, that was not right.

There was one matter he really needed to deal with.

Thinking of that, Riezel unconsciously turned his gaze toward his waist.

A sword hung there, carried at his side.

Finn noticed it.

"I see. Is there a problem with your weapon?"

Finn immediately pinpointed Riezel's situation.

Riveria and Gareth exchanged a glance, yet neither seemed puzzled.

"Is it because of Ais's magic?"

Riveria spoke up.

"Yes." Riezel nodded and sighed. "Because of that magic, the weapons I have on hand really cannot keep up with my current combat intensity."

Riezel's current weapon had been specially forged for him when he reached Lv.2.

In the battle against the Crocodile Dragon, Riezel's main weapon, a rapier, had shattered on the spot after bearing too great a burden from Wind Spirit Sprint being unleashed at maximum output.

Afterward, Riezel found a reputable weapon shop and designated the Crocodile Dragon's claws, which Lefiya had helped retrieve for him, as the materials. He entrusted the shop's smiths with forging him a new weapon.

In the end, for the price of eight hundred thousand Valis—funded with the friendly assistance of a certain elven girl—Riezel successfully obtained a Third-Class Armament, the weapon he currently used.

Ordinarily, a Third-Class Armament was more than sufficient as the main weapon of a Second Class Adventurer.

At least, for an ordinary adventurer, it could still barely be used even at Lv.4 and would not hold them back.

But for Riezel, who possessed a broken-tier magic like Wind Spirit Sprint and could place excessive strain on his weapon at any time, the Third-Class Armament forged from the Crocodile Dragon's claws was already proving insufficient.

Even before reaching Lv.4, using it had been somewhat dangerous.

For example, when they encountered the Monster Feast on the 16th Floor, Riezel had once again unleashed Wind Spirit Sprint at maximum output in order to break through and protect Lefiya, leaving a crack in his weapon.

When he fought the Floor Master one-on-one on the 17th Floor, Riezel similarly unleashed Wind Spirit Sprint at maximum output. This time, there was not just one crack, but several, and the weapon had nearly shattered outright.

Both instances of damage had cost Riezel a considerable repair fee afterward.

Now that Riezel was Lv.4, his strength had surged once more, and his magic's power would inevitably be greater than before. If he used Wind Spirit Sprint in battle again, he feared that he would not even need to unleash it at maximum output. So long as Riezel got even slightly serious, he might damage the weapon.

That would affect combat far too much.

Especially now that Riezel had obtained the Development Ability Swordsman, whether he had a sword in hand would greatly affect his strength.

Therefore—

"If there is anything I need to prepare properly, then I probably need to find a weapon that is tough and sturdy enough."

After thinking it over, Riezel felt that this was probably the only thing he currently needed to put effort into preparing, as well as the most urgent matter.

"A weapon?"

Riveria and Gareth nodded together.

"All right." Finn pondered for a moment, then said to Riezel, "In that case, come with me to the Hephaestus Familia."

The Hephaestus Familia.

It was one of Orario's foremost Familia of smiths.

Orario had Familia of every kind imaginable. There were exploration Familia whose primary purpose was exploring the Dungeon, and commercial Familia that conducted business activities. The Hephaestus Familia belonged to the latter.

This Familia's main business was selling all kinds of weapons and equipment. Its members were basically high-level smiths, people who had learned the Development Ability Smithing.

"I have a batch of orders to place there. Since you need a good weapon, come with me."

Finn extended an invitation to Riezel.

"Okay!"

Riezel nodded firmly.

Not long afterward, the two left the office together and departed Twilight Manor.

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