Three Things

Falan emerged from the Dungeon, dusty and travel-worn, unable to help feeling sentimental.

"A month just passed like that..."

He somewhat regretted signing that contract with Rivira Town for the sake of protecting himself.

After all, over the past month, he had traveled back and forth between the surface and the 18th Floor

more than thirty times, perhaps even over forty.

At minimum, he had made one trip every day, filling all one thousand slots of supplies each time.

He was only finally freed today because the floor boss, Goliath, had blocked the trade route.

Of course, it was said that Rivira Town's adventurers had made a small fortune because of their contract with him.

Transportation costs had been greatly reduced, along with the risks involved during transport.

Although prices in Rivira Town had been pushed down, more people were buying goods.

With small profits and high sales volumes, their profits were actually higher than they had been a month ago.

That was why the people of Rivira Town had gone crazy, insisting that Falan make a delivery run with them every day.

Rivira Town now had enough supplies stockpiled to last an entire year.

"Forget it. I only went there to take refuge anyway..."

"It's been a month. I'm probably not that famous anymore, right?"

As he walked down the street, Falan began listening to the conversations around him.

He heard that the Loki Familia's Sword Princess had defeated Goliath in a one-on-one battle and advanced to Lv. 4 as a result.

The Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, had held Orario's record for the fastest advancement to Lv. 2 before Falan.

People went wild for her because of her beauty and matching strength.

Naturally, Falan felt more gratitude toward her than anything else. She had completely

drawn away the attention he had received for advancing in just three months.

Naturally, Falan would not go around telling people that he had encountered a stupid Goliath so stupid that it had rammed itself to death.

Walking through the streets, Falan kept a low profile, though he also felt conflicted.

Perhaps people living in this world all had a little vanity in them.

For example, before he had moved into the Dungeon for a month, people had always talked about him.

Now that the people on the surface were talking about someone else, he actually felt a little unaccustomed to it.

"But maybe this is better..."

In this dog-eat-dog world, standing out too much was not always a good thing.

For instance, if someone was dashing and handsome enough that everyone turned to look at him on the street,

but had no powerful faction to rely on, then he would only become a plaything for the strong.

It was said that the captain of a small Familia had once been very handsome, only to be taken away by the Ishtar Familia's Man Killer.

No one ever saw that captain again. It was said he had been fucked to death in **

Falan could not help being thankful that he had such an ordinary face.

Only his magic was rather special and distinctive.

Otherwise, even if he walked down the street, no one would recognize him even if trouble came looking for him.

In truth, even with such an ability, only a small number of people could recognize him.

That small number included certain gods, adventurers from the Freya Familia, and some people from Rivira Town.

Moving slowly down the street, Falan took some time before finally returning home.

The moment he pushed open the door, he saw a sheet of white paper lying conspicuously on the table inside.

To my child, Falan:

I have heard from Hermes about what you did on the 18th Floor.

I am very pleased by this. Besides your talent, your methods are not bad either.

Knowing that leveling up too quickly would easily invite jealousy, you chose to sign a contract with the people of Rivira Town.

Using profit to entice them, you avoided the risk of being targeted and gained capital needed for future adventures.

By the way, Rivira Town is not merely a town built by adventurers, as it appears on the surface.

It was once built by the Daedalus Clan, who constructed the Dungeon, to facilitate the transport of supplies. Later, various Familias used and rebuilt it, and only after several hundred years did it become the Rivira Town it is today.

It represents the will of its builders, the will of the gods, and a paradise where monsters and adventurers coexist in peace.

What you did not only won the favor of Rivira Town's adventurers, but also drew the attention of the gods.

Lastly, the Soma Familia's base has been rebuilt. I will be returning there. If you come out of the Dungeon and see this letter, come to the Soma Familia base to update. Also, I made quite a bit of money selling Divine Wine, so you need not worry too much about the Familia's reconstruction expenses.

"..." How were my methods not bad?

After reading Soma's letter, Falan's first reaction was utter confusion.

Only afterward did he gradually understand what Soma meant between the lines.

"Though I was exhausted from hauling supplies, I also gained the friendship of adventurers because of it?"

Thinking about it, that made sense. His Backpack had a huge transport capacity, and there was no need to worry about risks.

The prices in Rivira Town on the 18th Floor had now become "cheap and good."

Those Rivira Town adventurers had all made a small profit. As for adventurers resting during their expeditions, they were grateful to him because prices had become cheaper. It could be said that everyone profited, and he did not lose out either.

"In other words, I successfully built connections with adventurers through this."

"I'm now regarded as neutral, similar to the Hermes Familia?"

"Plus the historical factors Soma mentioned, no one will come looking for trouble with me in the future?"

Of course, it was best not to take that too seriously. Although he had built a good image among Rivira Town's adventurers, he could still be in danger if he was not careful. Since he had earned profits, he had naturally harmed the interests of some people.

Those people might only be a small minority, but one side was in the open and the other in the shadows. Falan did not even know whether they existed, much less who they were. There was no way to guard against dangers hidden in the dark.

"Come to think of it, I have to update my Falna again?" Looking at the final line of the letter, Falan could not help smiling bitterly.

After all, in Orario's general understanding, the period needed to accumulate the Metamorphosis requirements from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 was the longest.

Yet he had taken three months to advance from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2, while advancing from Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 would probably take only a month.

If that information got out, he would likely attract attention again.

For Falan, who now wanted to keep a low profile and stay obscure, that was a fatal problem...

"I should go anyway..." Taking a deep breath, he packed up the various pieces of equipment from the old Soma Familia.

Falan then headed to the Soma Familia. Some things could not be avoided forever.

Since that was the case, avoiding them was worse than facing them head-on.

When he arrived at the rebuilt Soma Familia base, he found only two or three people inside.

Falan was left speechless at the sight. It had once been a medium-sized Familia, after all.

After the previous disaster, its scale had now fallen to that of a small Familia.

"Stop!" The guard at the entrance raised his weapon and blocked Falan's path.

"..." Falan was speechless. Was this not the Soma Familia?

"I am Falan, the current captain of the Soma Familia. And you are?"

"My name is Al... I am a fourth-generation... captain. Lord Soma has summoned you."

"..." Soma had already expected him to return? No, it seemed that the Hermes Familia had learned that he had returned to the surface.

From the letter Soma had given Falan, he inferred that Soma and Hermes had a fairly good relationship.

Therefore, it was perfectly normal for Soma to receive news of his return early.

"Fourth-generation?"

"Yes, I am fourth-generation. In fact, most of the current Soma Familia are fourth-generation."

Through conversation along the way, Falan came to understand what "fourth-generation" meant.

It referred to descendants left behind by the first generation of adventurers, who had now reached the fourth generation.

Most of this group was still very young. The older ones, like Al, were twelve, while the younger ones were five or six.

As for those under four? They had been too young, and had died on the night the Familia was attacked.

Very quickly, Falan arrived before a certain room. Looking at the furnishings along the way,

he found them largely similar to the furnishings he remembered before they had been destroyed. Falan understood that this was Soma's room.

"I'll go in first. Go back and guard the door."

"Yes, Captain."

When he pushed open the door, he saw the gloomy god, as usual, seriously brewing wine.

"Lord Soma, I'm back."

"Mm, you're back."

"Did you need something from me?"

"Three things. Update your Blessing. If it is not updated for over a month, your status values can easily become stuck at a bottleneck."

"Help train the younger ones. You are already Lv. 2 and the captain of my Soma Familia. Help guide the Soma Familia's adventurers. They have all been screened by me, are still young, and have not yet been corrupted by Divine Wine."

"Lastly, the Loki Familia is organizing a joint expedition. This is part of your agreement with the Adventurer Guild. You need to confirm the expedition time and communicate with them, since the Loki Familia, Freya Familia, Ishtar Familia, and Ganesha Familia are the four."

"They are among the very few Familias in Orario currently capable of launching expeditions into the Dungeon."

"Understood. By the way, a joint expedition organized by the Loki Familia?"

"Although the Loki Familia stands alongside the Freya Familia as one of Orario's twin powers, the Loki Familia's members are all too young. Their main force consists only of Lv. 4 and Lv. 5 adventurers. Apart from their captain, the Brave Finn, their sole Lv. 6, only Nine Hell can maintain stable combat power in the Dungeon through Mage. That is why the Loki Familia always summons Familias with which it has good relations for its expeditions."

"..." So that was it. The Loki Familia used its connections to gather the main forces of various Familias for expeditions?

"So unlike the last expedition, I'm the only Lv. 2?" Falan could not help sighing. Last time, the lowest-ranked members of the Freya Familia had been Lv. 2, while he had been Lv. 1. This time, he was Lv. 2, yet he still did not meet even the minimum requirement for an expedition?

"Not quite. It is said that the Loki Familia has also sent out one of their newly advanced Lv. 2 adventurers this time. Like you, she is a magic-type adventurer, and she also chose Mage as her development ability. Her title is Thousand Elf. I assume you know of her."

"Mm... Compared to other development abilities, Mage really is absurd. As long as we have enough magic power, even if we are only Lv. 2, we can still unleash power equivalent to Lv. 5 or even Lv. 6..."

At the same time, Falan understood Soma's intent behind those words. Since he and that Thousand Elf had so much in common, they would probably have plenty to talk about, allowing him to build a good relationship with the Loki Familia?