Joining the Loki Familia Expedition Team

"Yeah. Then get ready. Here I come."

Once Finn had confirmed Lu Qiming was all right, he flicked his spear and lowered into a stance, one leg forward and the other back.

Whoosh!

He vanished from the spot in an instant. His sharp spearpoint gleamed as it appeared before Lu Qiming's throat, stabbing down with all its might.

Clang!

Lu Qiming raised his left hand and knocked the spearpoint away from his throat. Without hesitation, he swung his right hand at Finn's neck.

Faced with the incoming blade, Finn didn't panic at all. He tapped the ground with his toe, turned the spear he'd just had knocked aside, and brought its shaft up to block the attack. At the same time, he kicked at Lu Qiming's stomach.

Somehow, Lu Qiming had already kicked out at Finn, too.

Boom!

Finn flew through the air like a cannonball and slammed into the ground. The tremendous force drove him straight into the earth.

"Captain Finn, that move wasn't too wise."

Lu Qiming drew back his foot and smiled at Finn as he climbed out of the crater. Finn was a Pallum, so his legs were much shorter than Lu Qiming's. Before he could land his kick, he'd already been sent flying.

"Cough, cough. I let my guard down."

Finn used his spear to pull himself upright, rubbing his chest as he coughed a few times. He felt a little better after that. He'd assumed Lu Qiming was just a novice and, as a top-level Lv6 adventurer, hadn't taken the fight seriously. He'd paid for that carelessness.

"Now I'm going to get serious, so you'd better survive!"

Finn's face stretched into an excited grin. Surging Magic Power emerged around him, and a fierce fighting spirit filled his body, greatly enhancing his physical abilities. Flames of Magic Power ignited along his spear.

'Hell Finegas'

Finn's finishing move. It was magic that stoked his fighting spirit and raised most of his abilities, at the cost of his ability to think clearly.

"Spear Thrust!"

Finn turned into a streak of light and charged at Lu Qiming. His spear moved like a gale, stabbing rapidly at all the vital points on Lu Qiming's body: his heart, throat, and brain. Finn was moving so fast that he vanished from sight, leaving only countless spear thrusts surrounding Lu Qiming.

His speed and strength were so terrifying that even an ordinary thrust carried immense force. The ground beneath Lu Qiming began to disappear, and a huge crater gradually formed.

At the edge of the plaza, Hestia tugged on Loki and pointed at the two fighters.

"Loki, aren't you going to stop Finn? What if he really kills that boy, Lu Qiming?"

"Shorty, take a good look! Finn's the one on the defensive right now."

Loki watched the fight nearby with a grave expression. Behind her, the Loki Familia's top adventurers were already prepared to rush in and save Finn if he couldn't hold on.

"Finn's on the defensive?"

Hestia froze at Loki's words. She took a few steps forward and looked closely at the two fighters.

Finn's spear stabbed at Lu Qiming as fast as a rainstorm, but Lu Qiming had his eyes closed as he dodged. He easily evaded most of the incoming thrusts, and when he couldn't, he only had to raise a hand slightly and deflect the spear with one of his twin swords.

The ground around him kept disappearing, but the spot where he stood remained completely untouched.

"This..."

Hestia stared blankly at Lu Qiming. She'd never seen a child this strong. Even against a Lv6 adventurer fighting with all his might, he was so relaxed, as if he were just playing with a child.

That was exactly what it looked like: he was playing with a child. Hestia had already noticed that Lu Qiming had launched only one attack since the start of the fight. The rest of the time, he'd just stood there as if playing around.

"This child might just fulfill the gods' ultimate hope!"

Freya had joined Hestia by then. Her gaze at Lu Qiming grew ever more dreamy. She wanted him more than ever and longed to drain him dry every day.

"Our ultimate hope?"

The gods nearby were startled by Freya's words. Then they took another careful look at Lu Qiming. It really did seem possible that this child could reach that level!

In the distant past, when the gods descended to the Lower World, they bestowed Falna upon their "children" and helped them grow. Their ultimate hope was for a child to grow, with the help of Falna, to become their equal. A god!

"I must have this child!"

As Freya spoke, she placed a hand on her chest and pressed her legs together, rubbing them against each other. Her body seemed to lose its strength as she leaned against Ottar, the Boaz man behind her.

"Yes, Great God!"

Ottar didn't mind Freya's state. He gazed steadily at Lu Qiming. Even he, the strongest adventurer in Orario, a Lv7, wasn't confident he could handle Lu Qiming. But if his goddess asked it of him, Ottar wouldn't hesitate to do it, even if it meant dying.

In the plaza, Lu Qiming nimbly dodged Finn's incoming spear. Only now did he realize just how powerful he'd become after defeating the Floor Boss. If he'd fought Finn before entering the Dungeon that morning, he would have needed to activate Musou to beat him. But now, with his already powerful reflexes enhanced even further, Finn's attacks seemed as slow, weak, and powerless as a child's.

He could even close his eyes and dodge every attack by listening to the incoming spear and feeling the movement of the air. In his perception, Finn's figure—completely invisible to everyone else—was merely hopping around him.

At first, he'd kept his eyes open. But when he saw Finn, a Pallum, hopping around beside him with that battle-ready look on his face, Lu Qiming had almost burst out laughing.

To spare Finn some dignity, he'd had to close his eyes. Otherwise, he didn't know if he would have laughed in the middle of the fight.

Ten minutes later.

The effects of Finn's skill wore off, and his lost reason gradually returned. He had been attacking relentlessly, but now he stopped awkwardly. At that moment, he would have loved to find a hole to crawl into.

He'd given it everything he had against Lu Qiming for so long, yet Lu Qiming hadn't suffered so much as a scratch—and he'd fought with his eyes closed.

Thinking back to his opening line, "You'd better survive," Finn was so mortified that he wished he could travel back in time and give his past self a good spear thrust!

"Um, Captain Finn, can I join your Expedition Team now?"

Lu Qiming looked at Finn, who was standing there awkwardly, and spoke first.

"Y-yes, of course."

Seeing Lu Qiming take the initiative, Finn hurriedly nodded and walked toward Loki with his spear. He was afraid that if he stayed there any longer, he'd be so embarrassed he'd want to stab himself.