The Contempt Chain and the Arrogance of Great Familias

Before long, it was as if nothing had happened.

Orario returned to peace once more, and only then did Falan get the chance to explore the Dungeon again.

What surprised Falan, however, was how seriously Orario's great Familias took him.

For instance, the Loki Familia and Freya Familia each assigned their own Level 2 adventurers to take turns protecting him.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was hard to say...

Sneaking a glance behind him at the fully armored Freya Familia adventurer, Falan could not help but sigh.

Falan had originally wanted to try out magic in the Dungeon, but that idea was promptly abandoned.

Just like on his first day in the Dungeon, he relied on his equipment advantage to crush the monsters.

He kept killing and killing, then descended to lower floors.

Before long, he reached the 8th Floor. According to the map records,

it was the nest of an ant-type monster in the Dungeon.

These ant-type monsters generally had high attack power and low health, along with a corrosive abnormal attribute.

As ant-type monsters, they also had the ability to swarm and summon nearby companions.

This was the first obstacle that tested Level 1 adventurers exploring the Dungeon.

Perhaps this was when the benefits of having a guard became apparent...

Ordinary small Familia adventurers would retreat because they were alone or had too few gods behind them.

But he was different. He had a Level 2 adventurer protecting him at all times.

This also means I won't be limited by the floor like other adventurers.

On the contrary, I can explore the lower floors more effectively. The benefits are no different from those enjoyed by newcomers to great Familias.

As he continuously slaughtered the swarming ants, whenever he could no longer hold them off, someone beside him would silently step in.

Falan found this rather enjoyable. Adventuring no longer felt as dangerous as it had in the beginning.

Though he knew perfectly well that thinking like this in the Dungeon was dangerous,

he had the capital to court death. Even if he deliberately tried to get himself killed, that guard would probably stop him properly.

Of course, Falan would not go out of his way to court death. After all, who would want to die when they could live well?

After spacing out for a moment, he saw the armored adventurer stand in front of him and cut down the entire swarm of ants.

The other man said, "Mr. Falan, from what I can see, you're already quite exhausted today. It's about time to head back."

"After all, this is the Ant's Nest. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to keep protecting you with monsters pouring out at this rate."

"Uh... thanks." Though he had lost focus because his mind had been wandering, Falan had no intention of explaining that to him.

He simply went along with the man's words, pretending to be somewhat tired as he followed him back to the surface.

It was on the way back that he suddenly heard the man ask him,

"By the way, Mr. Falan, your 'Backpack' is truly remarkable. It automatically picks up every drop."

"Yeah. I have to admit, it's precisely because of my 'Backpack' that you all value me so much. Is there a problem?"

"I just wanted to ask: how far does the automatic pickup range extend?"

"..." Falan could not help falling silent at that, because it really was a good question.

During today's adventure, the Magic Crystals dropped by monsters he killed near him were automatically picked up. That was naturally not a problem.

But according to what Golan, this Freya Familia adventurer, had told him during their exploration today,

even the drops from the battles Golan had fought while protecting him had been automatically picked up. That was indeed a very good question.

"I haven't tested it yet, so I don't know for now. Why?"

"It's nothing. The people above asked me to look into it."

"Do we need to set aside some time for me to cooperate with your testing?"

After all, the Freya Familia and Loki Familia, Orario's two great Familias, were currently acting as his bodyguards.

Knowing how to cooperate appropriately would give him more leverage and make him safer in the Dungeon.

"For example, can you take something from the small pouch of that supporter up ahead?"

"..." Hearing Golan's words, Falan suddenly did not know what to say.

This was Orario's rule, or rather, a kind of contempt chain.

Higher-ranked adventurers looked down on lower-ranked adventurers, while lower-ranked adventurers looked down on civilians and supporters.

Likewise, great Familias looked down on medium Familias, and medium Familias looked down on small Familias.

Though Golan of the Freya Familia was only Level 2, the arrogance of someone born into a great Familia was already on full display.

"Can we pick another target?" Falan said softly, but under that scorching gaze, he could only silently call out, "Bag."

After all, this contempt chain did have its logic. As a Level 1, he simply could not resist a Level 2 like Golan.

Not to mention that Golan came from the Freya Familia, which was in no way comparable to the Soma Familia, a declining medium Familia.

Combined with the other man's tone and attitude, which left no room whatsoever, Falan had never possessed the ability to refuse from the very beginning.

"Well?"

"A Ruby Dagger was added to the Backpack."

"That's a Magic Sword," Golan said flatly, then directed Falan to "steal" more items.

After a round of testing, they concluded that the Backpack's storage range was roughly within one hundred meters of Falan.