Chapter Summaries

After spending the night with William, Haruhime woke sore and embarrassed, and William tenderly urged her to rest. The next morning, she brought towels to William and Tiona after their training, while Tiona asked her not to call her “Lady.”

• Haruhime woke beside William and blushed as she remembered their night together.
• William noticed Haruhime was sore, helped her lie back down, and went to get her water.
• William trained with Tiona, who remarked that he seemed unusually refreshed.
• William and Tiona ended training when they grew hungry, and Haruhime brought them towels.
• Tiona greeted Haruhime and asked her to stop calling her “Lady.”

William and Haruhime openly showed their growing closeness at breakfast, and William told Alicia that he had accepted Haruhime’s feelings the previous night. Alicia reacted with disappointment and continued eating in silence.

• Tiona complained that Haruhime still addressed her with an honorific, and William and Tiona reassured Haruhime that she would adjust in time.
• Haruhime linked arms with William and fed him fish at breakfast, startling the others and prompting Alicia to sit beside him.
• Alicia privately asked William whether something had happened between him and Haruhime.
• William said he and Haruhime had confirmed their feelings the previous night and that he had accepted hers.
• Haruhime quietly rejoiced at William’s frank admission, while Alicia sighed and resumed eating in silence.

Finn and Gareth approved of the young women’s interest in William and hoped he would form strong family ties within the Familia, though Alicia’s acceptance could be difficult. William left the tense dining hall for the Workshop, while Haruhime followed and apologized for worsening things with Alicia; William reassured her and told her to stop apologizing.

• Finn and Gareth watched William with Ais, Alicia, and Haruhime, and welcomed the possibility that he would start a family with someone in the Familia.
• Gareth noted that Alicia might struggle to accept sharing William, while Finn said the matter was for the young people to decide.
• William hurried out of the dining hall to return to the Workshop, unsettled by Alicia’s gloomy mood.
• Haruhime caught up with William and apologized for making things worse between him and Alicia.
• William told Haruhime it was not her fault, admitted he was partly to blame, and asked her not to keep apologizing.

William completed his experiment using Loki’s divinity-infused blood and tested the resulting purple liquid on Haruhime. The Falna-like pattern and her ability values appeared on her back, leaving the experiment’s effects to be examined.

• Haruhime hurried off to her daily magic lesson with Riveria while William went to his Workshop to finish his experiment.
• Alicia agonized over whether to abandon her feelings for William or pursue him, while Haruhime continued spending nearly all her free time with him.
• William added a drop of divinity-infused blood to blue liquid, which turned purplish red while retaining Loki’s divinity.
• William called Haruhime over to test the liquid, and she obediently lay facedown on the sofa.
• William poured the liquid onto Haruhime’s back, where a Falna-like pattern and her Level 1 ability values appeared.

William confirmed that his Magecraft potion could preserve divine efficacy for two days and successfully update Haruhime’s status. Loki planned to order the item for expeditions, but William had run out of Dragon Leaf Grass, leaving production dependent on finding more.

• William told Haruhime that his experiment had worked, and she began celebrating with him.
• William reported to Loki that the potion had successfully updated Haruhime’s status and remained effective after two days.
• Loki realized the Magecraft item could help expedition parties and asked William whether it was difficult to make.
• William said he could make one in about half an hour, and Loki promised to bring him a large order at the next Gods’ Banquet.
• William told Loki he had run out of Dragon Leaf Grass, and Loki said he might have to wait for more.

William decided to travel to the Great Tree Sea to gather Dragon Leaf Grass and see the lands beyond Orario, then registered the trip with Eina at the Guild. Eina urged him to take an unclaimed commission concerning rampaging monsters and an abnormal change in the forest, and the chapter ended before he answered.

• Loki told William that the Loki Familia had bought all the Dragon Leaf Grass in Orario, leaving Lefiya worried about finding more for his experiments.
• William rejected Loki’s suggestion to post a Guild quest and decided to gather the herb himself, partly to clear his head before leaving the world.
• Loki approved the trip and reminded William to file the proper paperwork to avoid a Guild fine.
• William registered his journey to the Great Tree Sea with Eina, who suggested he take a commission along the way.
• Eina explained that monsters near the Great Tree Sea were rampaging and the forest had changed abnormally, then urged William to accept the unclaimed commission.

William accepted Eina’s request to investigate the sudden appearance of scorpion monsters in the Great Tree Sea and the destruction of nearby villages. That night, a blue-haired woman gathered a group of girls around a campfire and thanked them for their hard work.

• William analyzed the Guild’s unlimited reward and agreed to investigate the Great Tree Sea.
• Eina told William that scorpion-shaped monsters had suddenly appeared and swallowed several nearby villages.
• William questioned why the monsters had gone berserk, why only scorpions had emerged, and how their numbers had grown so quickly.
• William asked Eina to prepare the paperwork for his investigation.
• At night in the Great Tree Sea, a blue-haired woman sat with a group of girls around a campfire and invited them to eat.

Artemis and her Familia continued investigating the Great Tree Sea’s secret realm while waiting for reinforcements from Orario. When Lanti asked Artemis to lift the Familia’s ban on dating as a reward, Artemis refused, leaving the women disappointed.

• Lanti asked Artemis when reinforcements would arrive, and Lethsa scolded her for being rude.
• Artemis explained that the Guild’s help should arrive soon and asked her Familia to keep investigating.
• Artemis apologized for interrupting their rest, and the Familia members assured her they considered the investigation their duty.
• Lanti asked Artemis to lift the ban on dating, and the other women watched hopefully.
• Artemis said she could not understand romance and did not want to understand it.

Artemis reassured her Familia that they could leave if they fell in love, but her members vowed to stay and secretly planned to make her fall for a man. They picked a promising Loki Familia rookie as a candidate, then turned their attention to the dangerous mission ahead.

• Artemis told her Familia members they could transfer Familias if they found love, though she hoped they would keep visiting her.
• Lethsa and the others assured Artemis they would not leave her, while privately deciding to make her experience love.
• The catgirl proposed a handsome Loki Familia rookie who had reached Level 2 in less than a month as a candidate for Artemis.
• The members planned to arrange a meeting between Artemis and the rookie after they returned to Orario.
• Lethsa called the group back to discuss the next day's plan, and a member pointed out that they could not get through the scorpion swarm to reach Elsos.

Artemis’s group welcomed William, the Loki Familia’s new recruit, as unexpected reinforcement for their stalled investigation of the Elsos ruins. Artemis doubted his strength could make a difference, while Hermes and his captain appeared in a separate scene before their own mission.

• After a week of being unable to get past the scorpions surrounding the Elsos ruins, the Artemis Familia agreed to wait for reinforcements and explore with them.
• Artemis warned that the supporting Familia would probably be around their own level, since the Guild would not send high-level Familias far from Orario without reliable information.
• William arrived from the forest, and Lethsa recognized him as Swift Thunder, a new Loki Familia recruit.
• Artemis welcomed William after realizing he had come to reinforce them, but she felt disappointed because she believed his Level 2 strength would not be enough.
• Hermes’s captain teased him for sneezing and asked whether he had caught a chill at the Pleasure District, where he had overindulged the night before.

Hermes told Asfi that William would support their unusual mission, easing her concerns despite her bad feeling about it. At Artemis’s camp, William asked for details after discovering that the scorpion-like monsters attacking villages were all peak Level One.

• Asfi urged Hermes to take the dangerous mission seriously, and Hermes assured her he had never failed.
• Hermes revealed that William, Swift Thunder of Loki Familia, was providing support, and Asfi welcomed the news because of his strength and record.
• Hermes told Asfi that William possessed Mystery, like her.
• William arrived at Artemis’s camp and asked her to explain the situation.
• William recounted rescuing villages from scorpion-like monsters and revealed that they were all peak Level One.

William learned that Artemis suspected the ancient monster Antares was behind the swarms of scorpion-like monsters near the Elsos ruins. Artemis Familia had been unable to reach the ruins during their week-long investigation, leaving William to assess their capabilities.

• William noticed that the monsters outside Elsos were unusually uniform in level and suspected a source was creating them.
• Artemis explained that the ancient monster Antares, the Scorpion of Calamity, might be producing minions as its seal weakened.
• Artemis reassured William that Antares remained sealed and that the Familia only needed to investigate before withdrawing.
• Lethsa told William that Artemis Familia had not reached the ruins in a week because swarms of monsters exhausted them on the way.
• Lanti complained about the swarms, and Chtholly sighed over failing to clear a path with her wide-area magic.
• William observed Artemis Familia and formed a rough idea of their strength.

Lethsa welcomed William and expected his help to lead the Artemis Familia to the ruins. Hermes and the Hermes Familia arrived to join the expedition, and Hermes approached William after noticing his reaction to Asfi’s hidden level.

• Lethsa explained that her Familia was strong and said William’s help would let them reach the ruins the next day.
• William assured Lethsa that the group would reach the ruins safely.
• Hermes arrived and received a cold welcome from Artemis, Lanti, and Chtholly.
• Lethsa happily welcomed Asfi and the twenty-five members of the Hermes Familia.
• William judged that Asfi was secretly Lv. 4 despite her Guild registration showing Lv. 2.
• Hermes excused himself from Artemis and told William that he had long looked forward to meeting him.

Hermes watched William with interest while Asfi warned him against reckless schemes, and the group prepared to resume its mission. Armed with his newly forged spear Marduk, William joined Artemis’s force as they headed into the forest, where Artemis insisted she did not need protection.

• Hermes observed William and called his story legendary, while Asfi asked him to avoid reckless moves during the mission.
• At dawn, William revealed Marduk, the powerful spear Goibniu had forged for him, and Lanti immediately remarked on its value.
• Artemis’s assembled force packed up camp and set out into the forest, with William and Lethsa behind Artemis and Asfi guarding the rear.
• William questioned Artemis’s forward position and compared her to Hermes, prompting Artemis to declare that she did not need protection.

William urged Artemis to stop charging at the front and consider how her Familia would fare if she died, prompting her to realize her actions had worried Lethsa. The group then halted before the Elsos ruins, which Artemis said were surrounded by monsters across the kilometer ahead.

• William advised Artemis to stay among her Familia members so they could protect her and avoid losing their abilities if she died.
• Artemis reflected on William's warning and noticed Lethsa looked relieved when she moved back into the group.
• William and Lethsa stopped the party and readied their weapons as they watched the woods ahead.
• Asfi ordered the Hermes Familia to prepare for battle, and Hermes moved behind William while Artemis followed him.
• Artemis told Hermes that monsters surrounded the Elsos ruins, despite the map showing them a kilometer away.

Hermes revealed that Asfi’s Helm of Hades could make its wearer invisible, but he had only five helmets. William then demonstrated his own invisibility magic, which concealed not only his appearance but also his scent and other traces.

• Hermes had Asfi put on the Helm of Hades, and she vanished from sight.
• Hermes said he had five helmets, disappointing Artemis, who had hoped for enough to equip many people.
• William reminded Artemis that he had offered to clear out the monsters and argued that his magic could help the group approach invisibly.
• William vanished and explained that his magic erased scent and other traces as well as blending with the surroundings.
• The Dog-man girl sniffed where William stood and confirmed that she could not detect him.

William demonstrated that his magic could affect everyone, then used it to call down a devastating storm of lightning on the scorpion swarm surrounding the Elsos ruins. The monsters were wiped out, leaving the landscape devastated, and Hermes loudly praised William.

• William assured Hermes and Artemis that he had enough magic to cast his spell safely on everyone.
• Artemis agreed to let William try, and he stepped forward alone to face the scorpions surrounding the Elsos ruins.
• William clapped his hands and drew in the elements, forming dark clouds over the monster swarm.
• William released a minute-long barrage of lightning that destroyed the scorpions and scorched the surrounding landscape.
• Hermes celebrated William's power and praised him as a true hero.

After unleashing a devastating barrage, William confirmed that his recovered magic power made him far stronger than anyone expected from a Level 3 adventurer. Artemis and the others prepared to leave the battlefield and head for the Dungeon entrance.

• William savored the destruction caused by his magic and decided he was better suited to being a mage.
• Lethsa and Chtholly questioned whether William was a monster or concealing his level after seeing his immense power.
• Hermes praised William and claimed he could defeat Antares, so Artemis punched him into a tree.
• Artemis called William a remarkable newcomer and said Loki would be delighted to have him join her.
• William pointed out that monsters were emerging near the Dungeon entrance, and the group prepared to move on.

Artemis opened the ancient ruins sealed by her lineage, and the group entered to find walls that produced Black Scorpions. With monsters continuing to gather inside, William and the others faced a dangerous new obstacle.

• William, Artemis, and their companions fought through the scorpion-like monsters and reached the pyramid-shaped ruins.
• Artemis explained that the temple seal bore her lineage’s symbol, then released divine power to open its stone door.
• Artemis assigned Chtholly and several adventurers to guard the entrance while the rest moved inside.
• The group found fleshy growths covering the walls, and egg-like bulges opened to release newborn monsters.
• William watched the Black Scorpions emerging from the walls, ceiling, and floor as the group realized the situation was dangerous.

William used his Railgun to clear a passage through the Black Scorpions and their incubation chambers, leaving the group a direct route to Antares. Meanwhile, injured adventurers poured out of the Dungeon into a panicked Orario.

• Asfi ordered the group to protect the two gods while Black Scorpions surrounded them, then helped William defend his flanks.
• William drew Marduk and unleashed Railgun, destroying the Black Scorpions, eggs, flesh walls, and rock in his path.
• William realized his magic power had recovered to around eighty percent and that its circulation grew faster as his power increased.
• William's attack opened a direct passage toward Antares, and the group continued through the earthen corridor with Black Scorpions pursuing them.
• Orario fell into panic as medical Familia members carried wounded adventurers out of the Dungeon for treatment.