When Finn returned to the Loki Familia, he awkwardly faced his fellow members and Loki. Their concerned looks only made it worse. His toes were practically curling into the floorboards, as if he could dig out a three-bedroom apartment and hide inside.
"Finn, don't worry about it. That child is completely different from the rest of you."
Loki could tell Finn was embarrassed. Having lived for billions of years, she gently comforted him, hoping he wouldn't let what had just happened get to him.
"Great God, are you saying Lu Qiming is different from us?"
Finn looked at Loki in confusion. He admitted that Lu Qiming was stronger than him, but he hadn't noticed anything especially different about him. If Lu Qiming was stronger, then Finn would just work harder to become stronger himself. One day, he'd catch up.
"Mm. That child might just fulfill the wish the gods have held for billions of years."
After saying that, Loki turned and left. She already knew Lu Qiming's decision, so she'd wait until he finished his mission before inviting him to join her Familia. Still, things wouldn't be that simple by then.
After all, every god now believed Lu Qiming had the potential to become a god. They certainly wouldn't let him join their Familia without a fight, even if hers was one of Orario's top Familias.
But it was only one of the top Familias. Other Familias had their eyes on Lu Qiming too, and the gods of the weaker Familias wouldn't give up easily either. After all, it was the Familias that were weak, not the gods!
Nearby, the other gods smiled and greeted Lu Qiming before leaving with their Familias. They had to start preparing for the "Qiming Scramble" that would begin once Lu Qiming finished his mission.
As Goddess Freya left, she clung to Ottar, her cheeks flushed as she stared fixedly at Lu Qiming in the distance.
On the other side, Apollo watched Lu Qiming with an expression much like Freya's.
"Brr!"
As Lu Qiming picked up the backpack he'd just set down and slung it over his shoulders, he suddenly felt a chill on his backside and shuddered. His exceptional senses told him that a pervert was staring right at him.
"Damn it!"
Lu Qiming turned around, Divine Judgment in hand, and glared furiously behind him. But he couldn't see which pervert was staring at him—only the large crowd heading out.
"Don't let me find you. I'll cut you down for sure!"
Muttering to himself, Lu Qiming put away Divine Judgment. He knew that only that pervert Apollo would stare so intently at his backside. Too bad there were too many people around to spot him. Otherwise, Lu Qiming would've gone over and slashed him a few times.
"Senior, who are you cutting down? Let's go together!"
Aili heard Lu Qiming and hurried over, looking curious. From the way she acted, all he had to do was say the word, and she'd be ready to go cut someone down with him.
"Nothing. Just some pervert. Don't worry about it."
Lu Qiming patted Aili on the head, hoisted his backpack, and headed for the Adventurer Guild.
He didn't want to tell them he'd just been planning to cut down Apollo. Adventurers who cut down gods in this world would be scorned. Lu Qiming was only passing through. He could always cut Apollo down, run into the Dungeon, grind until he completed his mission, and then leave for another world. But Aili and the others couldn't do that.
"Oh."
Aili followed behind Lu Qiming with a pout. Since he wouldn't tell her, she decided to secretly follow him. If he went to cut someone down, she'd rush in to help.
Before long, Lu Qiming and the others entered the Adventurer Guild.
Because of what had just happened, most of the adventurers had left with their respective Great Gods. Only those who'd just returned from the Dungeon to exchange their Valis remained.
As Lu Qiming and the others entered, a party of adventurers approached from a corner.
"Sir! We've done what you asked. All the Valis are with Miss Eina over there."
The burly party leader pointed to the bags beside Eina at the counter.
"Good, thank you. Oh, wait here a moment."
"Yes, sir."
The burly leader and his companions exchanged glances, then sat down at a nearby table to wait and see if Lu Qiming needed anything else. They also hadn't properly thanked him yet, so they couldn't just leave.
Lu Qiming nodded, walked past the burly man, and went over to Eina.
"Miss Eina, I'm back."
With a smile, Lu Qiming set all the backpacks on his back down on the counter. He also put Aili and Ailin's backpacks up there; the two little girls were too short to reach the counter.
Behind him, the others also set their backpacks on the counter, watching Eina excitedly.
They remembered Lu Qiming promising to give them one percent of the proceeds when they got back.
"Mm!"
Eina looked at Lu Qiming with a complicated expression. She hadn't expected him to cause such a commotion after only two days as an adventurer. Before, she'd been worried that, without a Falna, he'd be overwhelmed by the terrifying monsters in the Dungeon.
But now, this guy had become Orario's strongest adventurer. After Lu Qiming and Finn fought just now, the gods and all the adventurers had acknowledged him as the strongest adventurer in Orario—and as the strongest adventurer of the future, too.
Even Ottar, the former strongest adventurer, hadn't objected. He'd accepted it without a word.
"Eina, are you feeling unwell?"
Lu Qiming noticed her odd expression. He leaned over the counter toward her and looked at her with concern. Eina was his second friend in this world, after all, and he cared about her.
"I'm fine."
Looking at Lu Qiming, who clearly had no idea what he'd done, Eina helplessly sighed and called over a colleague to start estimating the value of the Magic Stones he'd brought back.
"Oh, good. I thought your period had started. I was going to tell you a really good remedy."
"You're the one on your period!"
Eina looked up at Lu Qiming, her face burning red. What a jerk. Didn't he know that a young woman's private matters shouldn't be discussed in public?
"I don't get periods, but I still drink lots of hot water. You should remember to drink some too, Eina."
"Drink some yourself!"
Eina glared at Lu Qiming, fuming, then lowered her head and got back to work, ignoring him. She felt like she'd die of anger if they kept talking.
Lu Qiming watched Eina ignore him, clicked his tongue in boredom, and opened his panel.
Quest Progress: 73000/10000000 Quest World: 362 days 5 hours 36 minutes Name: Lu Qiming Lv31 (177700/200000) Spirit: 18.1 Strength: 18.1 Agility: 23.1 Vitality: 18.1 Class: Assassin Skill Points: 3
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