· Loki Familia

Early the next morning, Lu Qiming gently pushed aside the two cat-eared young ladies pressing down on him, carefully moved the fair, slender leg that Tiya had draped over his stomach, and slowly climbed out of bed to leave the room.

At the doorway, Lu Qiming looked at the four still fast asleep inside and chuckled. They had talked until dawn, and the four young ladies had drained him dry—not a drop left. It was fortunate that his physical constitution had increased significantly, or he really wouldn't have been able to handle these four passionate young ladies.

"Qiming, showing no restraint at such a young age; be careful you don't find yourself willing but unable in the future."

Nearby, an early-rising young lady watched Lu Qiming standing at the door and teased him.

"Pfft, Lina, you're looking down on me. Want to bet I could go another hundred rounds?"

"Is that so? Then do you want to come back and have another heart-to-heart with me?"

"Cough, cough, well, I have some things to attend to. Let's talk another day."

Lu Qiming gave a dry laugh, turned, and left the tea shop. He had to head to the Loki Familia today, and since he was already running late, if he stayed to chat with Lina, he wouldn't get away until dark.

It was definitely not because he was worried about the old saying: "To be ignorant of life's pleasures in youth, and to weep alone before young ladies in old age."

"Little rascal."

Lina watched Lu Qiming run off and smiled slightly before turning back into the room. She had also been exhausted from the night, and she was just teasing him. However, if he had really been willing, she would have gladly accompanied him for another heart-to-heart.

Outside the Loki Familia.

Lu Qiming had a steamed bun in his mouth. Before him stood a building composed of spires and lofts, yet it didn't look strange at all; instead, it appeared remarkably harmonious.

"Hey! Look, it's that guy named Lu Qiming!"

At that moment, the Loki Familia guards noticed Lu Qiming standing there in a swaggering manner.

"Lu Qiming, the guy who successfully soloed a Floor Boss yesterday and defeated our Captain!"

"What is he doing here?"

"I heard he's joining our Familia's expedition team. He must be here for that."

"That's right, Lu Qiming is here for exactly that reason. Can you let me in?"

Just as the two guards were whispering to each other, Lu Qiming had already silently crept up beside them.

"Y-you! When did you get over here!"

One guard noticed Lu Qiming suddenly standing close by, jumped back in fright, and leveled his spear at him.

"Just now. You two were chatting so intensely, I didn't want to interrupt, so I just walked in myself."

Lu Qiming looked at the nervous pair with a smile, completely unbothered by the toy pointed at him.

"Could you please tell your Captain that I've arrived?"

"Fine, I'll go report to the Captain, but don't you dare get any closer."

With that, the guard stowed his spear, shot a look at his companion, and turned to run inside.

The other guard kept his eyes locked on Lu Qiming after his partner left, as if he were afraid that if he looked away for even a second, Lu Qiming would do something reckless.

Seeing this, Lu Qiming just stood there bored; after all, he was the one asking for a favor, so he shouldn't be too casual.

Before long, the other guard returned, accompanied by a group of people.

"Lu Qiming, you're here. You're quite a bit later than expected."

Finn looked at Lu Qiming, who was standing there bored, and greeted him with a smile.

"Had some things to take care of this morning, woke up late."

Lu Qiming gave an awkward laugh and walked inside.

"Right, about the expedition team..."

Just as Lu Qiming was about to ask Finn about the preparations for the expedition, someone beside Finn suddenly lunged out, throwing a punch hard toward Lu Qiming.

"Stop, Tione!"

Finn was startled by his companion's sudden attack and quickly rushed forward.

Facing them, Lu Qiming wore a helpless expression, his left hand rising gently to block Tione's incoming fist.

"I have to say, the welcome ceremony of your Loki Familia is a bit unique."

Lu Qiming looked at Finn, who had just reached him, with a half-smile, while Tione, whose fist he had caught, glared at him with unconcealed defiance.

"I'm sorry!"

Finn apologized immediately, then turned to look at the defiant Tione.

"Tione, what are you doing?"

"This guy, the way he treated you yesterday, Captain..."

Tione glared at Lu Qiming with annoyance. Finn was the Captain of their Loki Familia, and this guy had toyed with him like that yesterday. Every time Tione thought about it, she couldn't help but want to give Lu Qiming a good beating.

"Enough. I don't mind what happened yesterday. Also, come to my room in a little while."

Finn looked at Tione sternly. Although Lu Qiming hadn't fought him seriously during yesterday's battle, Finn accepted his defeat to Lu Qiming wholeheartedly, and that was no excuse for Tione to attack him.

"Yes!"

As soon as Tione heard that Finn wanted to lecture her privately, she acted as if she had been praised. She pulled her fist free from Lu Qiming's grip, shot him one last annoyed look, and ran back to Finn's side.

"."

Lu Qiming watched speechlessly as Tione, having just ambushed him, looked positively thrilled after being reprimanded by Finn. She didn't seem to care about what happened yesterday at all. Was this the whole point of attacking him?

"Uh, Lu Qiming, I'll give Tione a proper talking-to in a moment. Come on in first."

Finn, clearly accustomed to this, gave a wry smile and led Lu Qiming into the Loki Familia headquarters.

"Finn, you guys sure know how to play it wild!"

Lu Qiming gave Finn a look that every man understood. He hadn't expected Finn, who seemed like such an honest man, to be into this kind of thing.

"Don't get the wrong idea. We have a strictly professional relationship between captain and member."

"Sure, sure, I get it. Just like the boss and secretary back in my hometown—'strictly professional'."

Seeing that Lu Qiming didn't believe him, Finn stopped trying to explain. This was the kind of thing that only got messier the more you talked about it; he'd figure it out once he joined the expedition team.

Seeing this, Lu Qiming stopped teasing Finn. He had been perfectly clear about the relationship between him and Tione back when he watched the anime. Tione actually had a decent personality, but she would lose all composure whenever Finn was involved.

He then began to observe the people around him. The blonde, expressionless elf girl walking ahead must be Ais, known as the Sword Princess, one of the top adventurers of the Loki Familia. She was currently Level 5, though she had hit a bottleneck.

One of the goals of this expedition was to help her achieve a great feat and break through to Level 6.

As for the one beside Ais, that was Tione, the Amazon who had attacked him, known as Hiryute and currently Level 5. Next to Tione was a girl who looked much like her but was flat-chested; that had to be her younger sister of the same level, Tiona, known as Amazon.

"Yo, hello!"

Noticing Lu Qiming looking at her, Tiona waved happily, completely unbothered by the fact that her sister had just attacked him.

"Hello."

Lu Qiming nodded and turned his gaze toward the others.