Could You Train Me?

The morning sunlight streamed through the tall windows, bathing the solemn corridors of the Loki Familia's home in warm gold.

Ais had just opened her bedroom door when she sensed that something was amiss.

At this time of day, the home was usually relatively quiet. But now, people crowded the corridors. Familia members hurried past, speaking in hushed voices, their faces tinged with worry and unease.

An invisible tension hung in the air, as if some sudden incident had disturbed the morning calm.

Just as a flicker of confusion crossed Ais's pale golden eyes, she spotted a familiar figure—

The elf girl Lefiya was hurrying past with her head lowered, clutching several rolls of what looked like bandages or medicine. She seemed troubled, muttering to herself, her delicate brows knitted together.

"Lefiya." Ais called out softly.

"Ah! M-Miss Ais!" Lefiya stopped abruptly and looked up, like a startled fawn.

When she saw that the senior she admired had called to her, her cheeks instantly flushed. Her hands unconsciously tightened around the things she held, and her heart pounded like a drum.

Nervous, she stammered, "Y-You called for me?"

"What happened?" Ais asked directly. Her gaze swept over the hurried companions around them before settling on Lefiya's anxious face.

Under Ais's focused gaze, Lefiya grew even more flustered. Her mind went blank, and the words she had prepared fell apart. "Huh? Oh! It's... it's... B-Bete... he... he...!"

She wanted to explain quickly, but she was so nervous that all she could manage was "he... he..."

But those halting, anxious words—"B-Bete... he..."—reached Ais's ears. Combined with the tension in the air and the panic on Lefiya's face, they instantly suggested the worst possibility—

Bete was in mortal danger!

Ais's eyes narrowed sharply.

Without a moment's hesitation, she didn't even wait for Lefiya to finish. She pushed off the ground with her toes, and her figure shot past Lefiya like a golden gust of wind, racing toward the crowd.

"W-Wait! Miss Ais!" Only then did Lefiya realize that her stammering had caused a terrible misunderstanding. She shouted after her in a panic.

But how could anyone match the speed of Ais, a top-level adventurer at Level 5?

In the blink of an eye, Ais disappeared around the corner, leaving the distressed and frustrated elf girl stamping her foot in the corridor.

Almost as soon as Lefiya's shout faded, Ais rushed like the wind to the open doorway of Finn's office.

She didn't even have time to catch her breath before looking inside—

The scene before her made her freeze.

The gruesome sight of someone gravely wounded and near death that she had imagined was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, Bete was on display in an extremely... eye-catching fashion.

He was wrapped in white bandages almost from head to toe, with only his eyes visible, burning with fury.

He was slumped in a chair. Though he looked utterly miserable, he was clearly still alive and kicking.

Even more strikingly, the Amazonian warrior Tione stood beside him with a grin, poking his round, bandage-wrapped arm with one finger as she teased him.

"Well, well~ Our great hero Bete, that's quite a look you've got there. Trying to cosplay as a Minotaur? Too bad you're missing the horns~"

"MMMPH—!!!" Bete trembled with rage, letting out a muffled growl.

Unfortunately, most of his mouth was covered too, so all he could manage was a meaningless grunt.

Seeing Bete in such a pitiful yet lively state, Ais finally felt the massive weight lift from her heart.

Confusion soon replaced her worry.

How had he ended up like this after being out for just one morning?

She walked over to where Finn, Loki, and Riveria were gathered.

"What happened?"

Finn rubbed his temple and sighed helplessly. "He went out alone this morning. When they found him, he was already like this, lying in an alley's garbage heap."

He pointed at the bandage-covered Bete, his tone carrying a hint of relief.

"Fortunately, it's all superficial injuries and magic depletion. Nothing vital was damaged. But even with the best medicine, he'll have to lie there for at least five days before he can move."

Riveria gave a cold snort, clearly feeling no sympathy for Bete. "That's for the best. Let him reflect on his actions."

Ais immediately understood that Riveria was referring to Bete's mistake the previous night.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at Finn and Loki and cautiously asked, "So... was it that Thor who did this?"

"No!" Loki answered almost at once. "He's not petty enough to hold a grudge against Bete."

Finn confirmed Loki's judgment and added, "We've made an initial investigation. It was the Freya Familia's 'work.'"

"The Freya Familia?" Ais asked, slightly surprised.

The two top Familias were fierce rivals, but there hadn't been any direct conflict lately—certainly none that would call for such a violent response.

Why had they gone after Bete?

The moment Loki heard "Freya Familia," she shuddered and wrapped her arms tightly around herself, as if trying to ward off an invisible chill.

She remembered the woman who had sat beside Thor the previous night.

Almost instinctively, goosebumps rose all over her body. She whispered, "I've got a bad feeling... That woman... She's definitely plotting something huge!"

As a goddess, she had a premonition that something big was about to happen—something that would shake all of Orario, no, all of Heaven.

At noon, inside the Dungeon.

Several Hellhounds sprang out of the shadows.

But a flash of cold light was all it took. Ais casually swept her rapier through the air, cutting the Hellhounds down.

The flames barely had time to ignite before they were snuffed out, leaving behind several rolling Magic Stones and dissipating ashes.

The monsters of the upper floors couldn't hinder her in the slightest.

"Nicely done, Miss Ais!" Lefiya hurried forward with a huge backpack on her shoulders. Her face was full of genuine admiration as she respectfully offered Ais a snow-white towel.

Ais sheathed her sword and turned around.

She looked at the towel Lefiya offered and tilted her head, a hint of unmistakable confusion in her eyes, as if asking, "Why would I need that?"

Lefiya immediately realized what was wrong. Her fair cheeks flushed slightly, and she awkwardly took the towel back, giving a little laugh to cover it up. "Ah... haha, you haven't even broken a sweat, have you?"

"Mm." Ais nodded honestly, her cool voice even and calm. "But thank you anyway, Lefiya."

"N-No need to thank me!" Lefiya hurriedly waved her hands, then crouched down and swiftly picked up the Magic Stones scattered on the ground, carefully putting them into the pouch at her waist.

Seeing Lefiya, a mage, doing a supporter's work, Ais's eyes flickered with an apologetic look.

"Sorry," she said softly. "I've left the supporter's work to you."

Supporters were far lower in status than adventurers. Their main duties included collecting Magic Stones, carrying equipment, and handling other menial tasks.

She knew that this wasn't really Lefiya's responsibility.

Hearing Ais apologize, Lefiya immediately looked up and shook her hands emphatically.

"Please don't say that, Miss Ais! I'm already so grateful just to be able to accompany you and help you even a little! I really am!"

Ais looked at her earnest expression and said no more, merely giving a slight nod to show her gratitude.

She turned her gaze toward the dark passage leading deeper into the Dungeon and explained her next plan. "Today, I want to go down to the middle floors."

Lefiya immediately understood what Ais had in mind and asked with concern,

"Miss Ais... Are you still troubled about leveling up?"

She knew very well that the senior she admired had been stuck at the Level 5 bottleneck for a full three years.

"Mm." Ais replied softly, her gaze still fixed on the depths of the passage.

Though her expression remained calm, the slight press of her lips and the hint of worry she couldn't quite hide between her brows revealed her anxiety over not having achieved a Great Feat.

Her strength had been stagnant for quite some time.

"Actually..." Lefiya had just started to say something, hoping to comfort her or offer advice.

BOOM—!!!

A sudden, violent explosion erupted from another direction in the passage!

It seemed as if the Dungeon's rock walls themselves trembled with it. A powerful shockwave, carrying rubble and dust, crashed toward them!

Both women instantly went on alert. They exchanged a glance and reached an understanding without a word!

They rushed toward the direction of the explosion.

However, when they rounded a massive rock pillar and saw what lay ahead, they couldn't help but stop in their tracks.

Before them was an extremely abnormal scene.

The upper floor, where monsters should have appeared only sporadically, was now choked with a dense mass of them!

Goblins, Ugly Monsters, Dungeon Lizards...

There were so many that the sight made their scalps tingle!

This was completely beyond anything normal for the upper floors!

"W-What is this?!" Lefiya cried in shock. "A monster surge!? How could something like this happen on the upper floors...!"

Before she could finish, a brilliant flash and a tremendous roar erupted again from the center of the monster horde!

Another violent explosion!

Dust and fragments of Magic Stones scattered in every direction.

Through the gaps in the monsters—cleared for an instant, only to be filled again—Ais caught sight of two familiar figures near the center of the explosion!

On the fifth floor, in the middle of the surging monster horde, Thor and Bell were facing the abnormal swarm alone.

Bell darted between Goblins and Hellhounds, his blade flashing as he struck their vital points with precision. The monsters exploded into dust one after another, the booming sounds ringing out without end.

Watching from a distance, Ais wore an expression of genuine shock, rare for her.

In Ais's eyes as a Level 5 adventurer, Bell's speed still wasn't especially fast. But compared with yesterday... he was at least twice as fast!

How could he have grown so much?!

At that moment of astonishment, the situation changed again!

"Whoosh—!!"

Several dark figures shot out from the passage leading to the sixth floor, moving far faster than ordinary monsters and trailing the sound of tearing air!

The instant she recognized their shapes, Lefiya cried out, "War Shadows! Those don't appear until after the sixth floor! Why are they on the fifth?!"

These monsters, whose bodies looked like flowing shadows and whose limbs stretched unnaturally long, were Rookie Killers that struck fear into the hearts of novice adventurers!

Not only were they incredibly fast, they could also briefly merge with the shadows and move in strange, unpredictable ways. For the inexperienced, they were an absolute nightmare!

The War Shadows had a clear target: Bell, who was fighting fiercely!

"That man's in danger!" Lefiya, a Level 3 mage, instantly recognized how dire the situation was.

Before she had finished speaking, the most nerve-racking sight of all unfolded.

One War Shadow had already crept silently behind Bell like a wraith. Its sharp claws, imbued with the power of shadow and gleaming with an ominous black light, stabbed toward Bell's unguarded back!

Ais's heart leaped into her throat. Her fingers instinctively tightened around her sword hilt, and the wind magic within her was on the verge of bursting forth as she prepared to rush to his rescue!

But just as the claws were about to touch Bell—

Swish!

Bell's figure vanished from where he stood without warning!

No afterimage, no trace of movement. It was as if space itself had erased him in an instant!

Ais's thoughts went blank for a moment.

Her dynamic vision was sharp enough to catch most high-speed movements, but now she had completely lost track of him!

In the next instant, a white blur appeared behind the War Shadow that had attacked him, like lightning tearing through space!

Thud!

The dull sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out clearly.

The dagger in Bell's hand pierced the War Shadow's core with deadly precision!

This sudden counterattack had been as fast as lightning!

The remaining War Shadows seemed shaken by the impossible movement, freezing for the briefest moment.

Bell didn't waste the precious opening.

The explosive increase in his Agility reached its peak. His body spun like a top, and his blade became a deadly storm of silver!

"Slash! Slash! Slash!"

Precise, efficient, and utterly effortless!

The remaining War Shadows had only just recovered from their shock and tried to merge into the shadows. Before they could react, the lightning-fast blade had cut them all to pieces, leaving drifting ashes and rolling Magic Stones behind.

Having done all that, Bell abruptly turned toward Thor, who stood calmly nearby, his face filled with unrestrained joy and excitement.

"Lord God, I did it!"

He had finally managed to use the miraculous Flash Step!

Ais stared at the white-haired boy in the center of the battlefield in disbelief.

Was that really the same novice adventurer who had been chased so miserably by a Minotaur on the fifth floor of the Dungeon yesterday?

One day!

Just one day had passed!

His speed, reflexes, and battle sense had all changed as if he'd been reborn!

Even more astonishing was the way Bell had vanished and reappeared right before her eyes, moving in a way that defied belief—

It was clearly the "teleportation" Thor had used yesterday!

How was this possible?

Could a skill like that really be taught and partially mastered in just one day?

Ais felt that everything she had long believed about improving one's strength had been shaken to its core.

Ripples stirred deep in her usually calm golden eyes, and for a moment she forgot where she was.

While she was still reeling, the battle had already ended.

Bell and Thor had worked together seamlessly.

In just a few minutes, the chamber that had been packed with monsters was suddenly empty, with only Magic Stones scattered across the floor, still waiting to be collected.

The battle was over.

"...Phew..."

Thor let out a soft breath and wiped away his sweat.

He currently had only two Stardust.

The prolonged, fierce battle had indeed placed too great a burden on his strength, which had yet to recover.

As he steadied his breathing and prepared to remind Bell to collect the Magic Stones, he heard the faint sound of footsteps.

He glanced to the side. Ais had somehow crossed the Magic Stones scattered across the floor and arrived silently right in front of him, only three steps away.

Noticing something unusual in Ais's gaze, Thor was just about to nod in greeting.

"Miss Ais—" he began, but the words never left his mouth.

Ais's body suddenly pitched forward!

Her slender frame bent nearly ninety degrees, her silky golden hair falling beside her ears as she gave Thor a deeply respectful bow!

Every sound in the empty chamber seemed to hang suspended in the air.

The girl pleaded, "Would you train me?"

The unexpected request landed like a thunderbolt!

It shattered the brief silence in an instant.

"Huh?!!!!"

"Huh?!?!?!!"

Bell and Lefiya both cried out in shock.