Return and the Truth of the 'Golden Ring'

After obtaining the Child of the Dark Elf, a bloodline that could resist the cold in Falan's eyes,

he quickly returned to the camp on the 58th Floor.

The Freya Familia adventurers had not even noticed that he had gone missing.

After all, the expedition was about to end, and they had already built a campfire and begun a feast.

Falan soon joined them, warming himself by the fire.

Though his evolved bloodline now allowed him to withstand the cold,

the chill his body had endured before that was still very real.

Some time later, another group returned to camp.

It was Mia, captain of the Freya Familia, along with the other core members.

Every one of them was seriously wounded, yet they all looked impatient and eager.

Falan guessed that the Floor Boss of the 59th Floor had ultimately failed to stop them.

And that was indeed the case. The entire camp erupted in celebration, commemorating their breaking of history.

The Freya Familia's expedition had reached its deepest floor yet and defeated Ymir, the Floor Boss that symbolized the old era.

Half a month later, the Freya Familia returned to the surface.

Falan followed among them and received the welcome of Orario's adventurers and citizens.

Their return from this expedition had brought immense harvests and resources.

For example, the Spring of Cadmus, which the Familias related to potions scrambled to acquire, as well as materials dropped by Floor Bosses.

Among them, Ymir's drops from the 59th Floor drew the most attention.

After all, this symbolized that present-day Orario had completely broken free of the darkness that had persisted since the era of the Evils Familia.

Orario had regained its former glory, and the Freya Familia had once again stepped into the territory once reached by the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia.

Falan quietly slipped away from the crowd on his own.

After all, the people respected and admired the adventurers of the Freya Familia, not him, right?

In any case, those drops had already been handed over from his Backpack to the Adventurer Guild and those Familias.

"Hehehe~ I should go to the Golden Ring first. I haven't been back in almost two months."

As for the Soma Familia? Sorry, he had only stayed there for a little over ten days. He had probably spent even more time in the Dungeon.

Upon arriving at the Golden Ring, Falan was welcomed by everyone.

His former seniors, Luo En and Fafna, asked him about the course of this adventure.

He told them everything he had seen, including Udaeus, the Undead King that resembled hell itself.

And the incomparably freezing 59th Floor that seemed capable of freezing people to death, as well as the shining Frost Giant Ymir.

The night gradually deepened. After sobering up, Falan bid farewell to a certain boss and prepared to "return" to the Soma Familia.

Unbeknownst to him, the moment he stepped out the door, the two people inside who had been pretending to be drunk woke up as well.

"Luo En, Fafna, your acting is still as astonishing as ever."

"Lord Rao, you flatter us. In truth, your acting is no less impressive than ours. You could even imitate the light of 'return' so convincingly. That is something we could never do."

"Haha, Luo En, don't tell me you forgot. Back then, I had you capture an Evils god. When I pretended to 'return,' you killed and 'sent back' that fellow to make it seem as though my Sigurd Familia had been completely destroyed."

Fafna spoke softly. "All right, you two, stop arguing. From what little brother Falan said, he followed them all the way to the 59th Floor this time. Is that not worthy of the Freya Familia?"

Sigurd slowly said, "Probably not. Although the Freya Familia is full of lunatics obsessed with Freya, based on what I know of them, they should have sent out only part of their elite forces while the rest remained behind."

"I said long ago that little Falan was anything but ordinary. He actually managed to secretly follow them into such a freezing environment."

"Lord Sigurd, so you already knew he was extraordinary? Then why didn't you recruit him into our Familia?"

"Because there was no need." Sigurd raised his wineglass and took a sip. "From the moment I faked my death, I had no intention of managing a Familia again. In fact, the two of you knew that, which was why you acted with me, wasn't it?"

"Mm. I'll go ensure little brother Falan's safety." Luo En quietly left after saying that.

Clearly, although Luo En had cooperated with his god when Sigurd's Familia had been "destroyed," he had not truly agreed with it. Otherwise, now that the Familia was already "dead," he would not still be thinking of recruiting newcomers.

"Sigurd, should I go too? After the expedition with the Freya Familia, little brother Falan's Backpack may very well have caught the attention of the Evils. Didn't we fake our deaths to punish them?"

"Then go with him. Be careful." Sigurd closed his eyes after speaking.

How could Orario have only the current two giants, the Loki Familia and the Freya Familia, fighting against the old Evils?

In truth, before the decline of the Evils, there had first been Familias like the Sigurd Familia.

Countless Familias had succeeded one another, striving to eliminate the Evils Familia.

Quite a few Familias had also been destroyed, such as the most representative one: the Astraea Familia founded by Astraea, the goddess of justice and order. It had once been one of Orario's main forces against the Evils, yet it had also been destroyed several years ago.

Over the years, there had been countless Familias working to destroy the Evils, and quite a few had been destroyed by their counterattacks.

At the very least, with only Falan and Fafna remaining at his side, Sigurd no longer intended to establish another Familia.

"They took the bait... Valletta Grans, Baka Perdix, I never thought you really had your eyes on him... Luo En, Fafna, take them out while those two aren't paying attention..." Sigurd slowly rose to his feet as he conveyed his words through magic.

"It is also about time to send Ikelos, who personally came down to the 'lower world' for the sake of profits, back."

The world appeared unchanged, but in truth, every Evils Familia that was destroyed changed quite a lot. It was simply that ordinary people knew nothing of these matters. Even Falan, whom his former boss had used as bait, knew nothing.

[Name]: Falan

[Level]: lv.1

[Ability Values]

Strength: g299→ss1197

Endurance: f319→ss1231

Dexterity: f310→ss1237

Agility: f350→ss1279

Magic: b793→sss1338

[Development Abilities]: ???

[Magic]: Life Magic

Destruction Magic

Chant—Dark elf, incomparably mysterious, Clear everything for me! Clear!—

(Because of the Child of the Dark Elf skill, Free Chant was possible. It only required a single word: Clear.)

[Skills]: Child of the Dark Elf new

● Magic effects enhanced (dark-element effects multiplied)

● Magic recovery speed enhanced (multiplied during nighttime)

● Expanded range and area of effect for magic

● Enhanced magic power

● Resistance to abnormal environments

● Free Chant (evolved from Magic Weaving (Darkness))

Description: As the Child of the Dark Elf, as long as he wished it, he could freely activate magic with a few words—or even a single word.

Witness of History new

● All attribute values increased by an additional 5%

Equipment Slot: One bound Spirit Weapon (currently stored in Backpack)