A Day and Night of Fierce Battle

Twilight Manor, top floor of the Central Tower.

Inside the God's Chamber, Loki paced about anxiously.

"Why isn't he back yet?"

As she watched the sky outside gradually grow dim, the irritation on Loki's face became even more obvious.

"He ran off last night and hasn't come back all day today. It's been a full day and night, hasn't it?"

Remembering Riezel's back as he had left the God's Chamber last night, that figure filled with coldness and resolve, Loki couldn't help biting her nails.

"Did something happen?"

Please, no.

He had only joined the Familia for one day. Was the treasure she had stumbled upon through sheer luck already gone?

"I should never have indulged him."

Loki regretted it.

She knew that Riezel had most likely gone to the Dungeon.

Normally, as a newcomer who had only just received Falna and whose abilities were not much different from an ordinary person's, Loki should have stopped Riezel after guessing what he intended to do.

But Riezel's potential had simply been too outstanding. Though he had only just received Falna and his basic abilities were practically no different from an ordinary person's, he possessed one magic and three skills. On top of that, he had always seemed so calm, so composed, as though he understood his limits well. In the end, Loki had chosen not to stop him and had indulged the child who had just joined the Familia, just this once.

Who could have expected that this indulgence would lead to such a serious problem?

"Come to think of it, no matter how sensible that child is or how great his potential may be, rashly entering the Dungeon when he's just arrived is still an extremely risky thing to do."

Setting everything else aside, Riezel knew almost nothing about the Dungeon's intelligence.

For example, the maps of each Dungeon floor.

Or the abilities and types of monsters that appeared on each floor.

As a fledgling rookie adventurer, he should have learned such information beforehand before entering the Dungeon.

Yet Riezel had made no such preparations at all. Wasn't an accident highly likely?

"Could he have been injured because he didn't understand how the monsters attacked?"

"Could he have gotten lost because he didn't understand the terrain?"

"Or did he encounter an Abnormal Situation or a Monster Feast? But those hardly ever happen on the first few floors, do they?"

Loki couldn't stop herself from imagining all sorts of possibilities.

"No, I need to find someone to help."

In the end, Loki could no longer sit still. She left the God's Chamber and headed outside.

Just as Loki was about to send people into the Dungeon to search for Riezel, someone shouted.

"That newcomer is back!"

At the Great Gate of Twilight Manor, a Familia member on guard shouted those words.

"He's back?"

Loki's eyes lit up. Without a second thought, she rushed toward the Great Gate.

However, when Loki arrived at the Great Gate, the sight before her left her speechless.

"Hey, rookie, are you really all right?"

"You don't look all right at all."

"Here, have some water. And this is a potion. Drink it quickly."

"What did you do to end up like this?"

A group of Loki Familia members who had remained behind gathered around the Great Gate. They discussed things in alarm while fussing endlessly over one person, handing him various items.

"Thank you for your concern, everyone. I'm really fine."

Riezel thanked the many senior members of the Familia. His tone was as calm as ever, but his condition was quite terrible.

His clothes had become tattered, covered in all kinds of bloodstains. Some of the blood had even dried black, making it impossible to tell whether it belonged to him or monsters. His black hair was messy and damp, and he looked as bedraggled as could be.

In Riezel's hand was a shortsword drenched in blood, its blade chipped and curled from use.

With such an appearance, in such a miserable state, it was enough to give anyone a fright.

"You brat—"

Loki stepped forward, wanting to scold him, but stopped herself.

"Come with me."

Ignoring the Familia members around them, who had been cowed into silence and no longer dared to speak carelessly, the ill-tempered goddess grabbed Riezel by the hand and dragged him away.

Riezel did not resist, allowing Loki to take him to the top floor of the Central Tower and into her God's Chamber.

Yet before Loki could say anything, Riezel spoke first.

"Sorry for making you worry."

Riezel lowered his head and apologized to Loki.

That made all the countless words in Loki's chest catch in her throat, leaving her unable to say a single one.

Loki could only take a deep breath and glare at Riezel with the same displeased expression.

"I won't ask what you went through," Loki said. "I'll only ask you this: were you in the Dungeon for that entire day and night?"

"Yeah." Riezel nodded with his eyes lowered.

"You stayed in the Dungeon for a full day and night in that condition?" The corner of Loki's mouth twitched. "On the first floor?"

"No." Riezel was silent for a moment before calmly saying, "If my memory isn't wrong, I passed through a passage leading to the next floor four times."

For a moment, Loki was stunned.

He had passed through a passage leading to the next floor four times?

"Y-You went down to the fifth floor?"

Loki's astonished question was met by Riezel's silence.

Loki pressed a hand to her forehead.

"You had received Falna less than a day ago. You haven't even registered with the Guild as an adventurer, and you went down to the fifth floor by yourself...?"

Loki nearly felt dizzy.

She was furious.

A rookie adventurer who had just received Falna would normally only explore the first floor during their first Dungeon expedition, even if they formed a three-person party.

As newcomers, their abilities were still immature and unremarkable. In such circumstances, simply overcoming their fear and trepidation enough to enter the Dungeon took considerable effort, let alone fighting monsters and exploring a labyrinth.

That was why ordinary newcomers needed a fairly long period of time to properly adapt before considering heading to lower floors.

And even then, a rookie party would generally only explore the first four floors. They would absolutely not enter the fifth floor.

Or rather, the senior members of their Familia would definitely stop them from entering the fifth floor.

The reason was simple.

Starting from the fifth floor of the Dungeon, not only did the types of monsters in the labyrinth become more numerous and stronger, but the Dungeon's structure also became more complicated.

The frequency with which monsters appeared increased sharply, and from the fifth floor onward, the Dungeon underwent a drastic change. Its area alone was larger than Orario's Central Plaza, raising the difficulty of exploration to an entirely different level.

If rookie adventurers had no guidance from their predecessors and had not learned beforehand about the fifth floor and the monsters that appeared there, it would not be strange for them to die on that floor.

For that reason, the fifth floor was considered the first deadly threshold in the Dungeon where obvious casualties could occur. Compared with the first four floors, it was undoubtedly far more dangerous.

Yet Riezel had charged into the fifth floor alone on his very first trip into the Dungeon?

Without a single piece of defensive equipment on him, and without his Ability Value having undergone even one instance of growth, while his basic abilities were practically no different from an ordinary person's?

He was practically courting death!

"I really want to know how you managed to survive until now."

The way Loki looked at Riezel became exceedingly angry.

Seeing that, Riezel offered no defense. He merely said in confusion, "Actually, I find it strange too. I originally planned to come back once I was exhausted, but for some reason, my stamina seemed inexhaustible, and I stayed in good spirits the whole time. I only realized I had spent an entire day and night in the Dungeon after I kept killing and killing."

That was the truth.

Riezel truly had planned to return once he was exhausted.

Though he had fallen into an abnormal state of excitement and could not pull himself free, killing with such enthusiasm that he had no desire to stop, he was not stupid. Once he truly reached his limit, he would naturally calm down and turn back on his own.

The problem was precisely there.

Riezel had not felt exhausted at all. His stamina and mental strength truly seemed inexhaustible. No matter how he fought, killed, ran, or pushed onward, he simply never felt tired.

As a result, Riezel failed to judge the right time and extent for turning back. Under the control of his soaring emotions, he carelessly pressed all the way down to the fifth floor.

If his stomach had not suddenly begun to grow hungry, Riezel would never have realized that he had stayed in the Dungeon for so long.

In response, Loki could only speak in exasperation.

"That's because of Development Abilities."

Loki's words made Riezel pause slightly.

"Development Abilities?"

Riezel frowned.

"They're the extra abilities I mentioned yesterday, the ones you only have a chance of obtaining when you Level Up."

Loki's tone was still far from pleasant.

However, Riezel knew what Development Abilities were.

Just as Loki had said, they were special abilities with a certain chance of being obtained only when one leveled up. Different from the five basic abilities of Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic, they were similar to extensions of basic abilities—additional personal attributes.

Unlike basic abilities, while Development Abilities were also divided into ten ranks, S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I, they had no proficiency and were extraordinarily difficult to improve. However, Development Abilities could grant passive benefits.

For example, after blacksmiths in this world received Falna and advanced to Lv. 2, they had a chance to gain a Development Ability called Smithing. Those who possessed it could add special properties to equipment they forged, creating high-grade gear similar to magic equipment.

There were many Development Abilities like that, including quite a few that were useful in combat.

And the effect of Riezel's skill Endless Path was to grant him three Development Abilities.

"The effect of Healing Power is to automatically restore stamina. Even without resting, you can recover quickly while fighting."

"The effect of Spirit Healing is to automatically restore mental strength. You can recover during battle without needing deep rest."

"The effect of Abnormal Resistance is to resist abnormal conditions, such as poisoning."

Loki let out a sigh.

"The reason you were able to fight in the Dungeon for a full day and night without feeling tired lies in those Development Abilities."