The Expedition Begins

The next day, the sun shone over Orario as usual, rousing its sleeping residents.

In the morning, Lu Qiming quietly climbed out of bed and gently moved the cat-eared young woman who was lying on top of him, just as she had yesterday.

"Qiming, are you leaving?"

Tiya slowly sat up, her pure, alluring body laid bare before Lu Qiming.

"Yeah, it's about time. I have to go."

Lu Qiming picked up his clothes from under the bed and got dressed, then took the potions he had left on the table last night.

"Big Sis Tia, I'm off."

"Mm, Qiming, be careful. You have to come back alive!"

"Don't worry, Big Sis Tia. I'll definitely come back alive!"

Lu Qiming smiled and pushed open the door. As it closed behind him, his figure disappeared from Tiya's sight.

"You little brat! You'd better come back alive!"

Tiya murmured, then lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.

In the plaza outside the Dungeon entrance,

the adventurers heading into the Dungeon all looked toward the same spot.

"It's the Loki Familia's Expedition Team."

"Look, that's the legendary Sword Princess."

"As expected of the Loki Familia. Every member of the Expedition Team is a top-tier adventurer!"

The adventurers gazed excitedly at the Loki Familia gathered at the edge of the plaza, their eyes full of admiration.

Just then, a black-haired, black-eyed boy with a silver-white, basin-shaped object on his head walked over and greeted a few people familiarly.

"Everyone, I'm here."

"Qiming, you're actually on time today. I thought you'd be late again."

Finn ignored the faint red marks on Lu Qiming's neck and the scent on him, then tossed him a backpack.

"Here. It has your food and camping gear."

"Thanks."

Lu Qiming caught the backpack, slung it over his shoulders, and stood beside Riveria.

"All right, now that everyone's here, I'll explain our objective. With Lu Qiming joining this expedition, we'll explore beyond the Dungeon's 50th Floor and open up new territory."

Finn went over the things to watch out for in the Dungeon, as well as the monsters and traps they might encounter on the first 50 floors. He was mostly telling Lu Qiming; Ais and the others were old hands at expeditions and already knew this information.

When he finished, Finn looked at Lu Qiming.

"Qiming, do you have any requests for the expedition?"

"As long as it doesn't put the Expedition Team in danger, I'd like to deal with the monsters on my own. Of course, I'll split the spoils with you."

"That's no problem, but are you sure you're all right with that?"

Finn knew Lu Qiming had tasks to complete, so he wasn't surprised by the request. He just felt it was unfair for Lu Qiming to split the Magic Stones from the monsters he killed with them, especially since Lu Qiming wasn't a member of their Familia.

Besides, it was still unclear which Familia he'd join in the future.

"It's fine. I joined the Expedition Team to hunt monsters, complete my tasks, and improve my abilities. As for the spoils, we're all on the same team, so we can split them evenly."

Lu Qiming had thought about this, too. He needed to kill a lot of monsters to complete his tasks, but that would leave the others with no monsters to hunt and no chance to collect Magic Stones. Even if Finn and the others didn't say anything, they'd surely hold it against him.

So they might as well split everything evenly. He couldn't carry that many Magic Stones and drops by himself anyway. And if he needed Magic Stones, he could always hire a supporter to hunt monsters for him after the expedition.

He had only one goal this time: complete as many tasks as possible and, along the way, improve his abilities.

"Good. Since you agree, Qiming, let's set off!"

With that, Finn turned and led the way toward the Dungeon entrance. He didn't ask a word about Lu Qiming's abilities or skills. Those were every adventurer's secrets, known only to them and their Familia's patron deity.

"Let's go."

Riveria smiled as she spoke, then followed Finn into the Dungeon.

The rest of the group hoisted their backpacks and followed.

On the Dungeon's first floor,

a group of Lu Qiming's old friends, Goblins, surrounded them.

"Leave them to you, Qiming."

The others stood where they were with their arms folded, utterly unconcerned by the dozens of Goblins around them. They all looked toward Lu Qiming. None of them had seen him fight before. Even yesterday, when he'd sparred with their captain, he'd stood completely still.

Lu Qiming stepped to the front of the group and raised his left hand.

Whoosh!

His left fist shot out like lightning. The air groaned under the pressure of his punch, then compressed under the terrifying force and blasted forward as an Air Cannon.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of heads bursting like fireworks rang out. The dozens of Goblins around them all turned to black ash, leaving behind one Magic Stone after another.

"Let's go."

Lu Qiming casually lowered his hand and walked to the front.

Behind him, Finn and the others stared grimly at the Magic Stones on the ground. They could dispatch Goblins without much effort, but casually throwing a punch and turning the air into an Air Cannon was no simple feat.

"So yesterday, when Qiming fought me, he really was just playing around."

Finn glanced at Lu Qiming's retreating figure and led the others forward. His desire for strength burned anew. He didn't want to fall too far behind Lu Qiming!

But none of them noticed Ais, at the back of the group, watching Lu Qiming with a strange, yearning look.

She needed strength!

And she saw in Lu Qiming a chance to grow stronger again. If she could learn that technique, her abilities would improve once more.

For someone like her, who had a magic spell called Ariel that let her control the wind, Lu Qiming's technique seemed tailor-made. If she learned to apply it to her swordsmanship, she'd gain the ability to attack from a distance.

"Ais, what's wrong?"

Lefiya noticed something was off with Ais. She'd been distracted for a while now.

"Nothing."

Ais shook her head and moved to the front of the group, intending to watch Lu Qiming's movements closely. Perhaps she could learn the technique.

"?"

Lefiya looked at Ais in confusion, unable to understand how she'd suddenly changed after seeming distracted just moments ago. She decided she'd tell the captain about it when they stopped to rest.

And so, with Lu Qiming at the forefront, the group pressed on. Every monster they encountered was reduced to ash by his fists, and they collected the Magic Stones and drops along the way.

For Lu Qiming, the monsters on the upper floors were no threat at all. He didn't need to use Divine Judgment; a light punch was enough to make them explode. He was becoming deeply fascinated by the sight of them bursting like fireworks of flesh and blood.

An hour later, Lu Qiming and the others reached the 17th Floor.

Unfortunately, the Floor Boss, Goliath, hadn't respawned yet. Lu Qiming was a little disappointed, but he could accept it.

In the original story, Goliath had been defeated by the Loki Familia's Expedition Team. It only respawned when Bell was trapped in the Dungeon. And because Hestia and Hermes had entered the Dungeon to rescue Bell, they broke the rule forbidding gods from entering. This caused the Dungeon to go into Rampage, and Goliath's strength surged. It broke through the 17th Floor and fell into the 18th Floor.