"I'm leaving Miao'er in your care. I'm counting on you to look after her."
Xien's voice was careful, measured, as he faced the two figures who—at least in the story he remembered—had always been the "good ones."
If they couldn't give him a guarantee…
"We will," came the answer.
Seeing the sincerity in their eyes, Xien gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
"Then that's that. I'm about out of time, so I have to go. I won't tell anyone about you—this isn't the right moment for that anyway…"
He paused, then added as if it were an afterthought:
"By the way, are you short on anything? If you are, say it. I'll see if there's a way I can help."
Only after he was sure Miao'er would be safe did he allow himself to think about his own problem—he was already close to the time he'd agreed on with the others.
"We… lack medicine for treatment," Gros finally said.
Xien raised an eyebrow. He thought for a moment.
"Got it. Next time I come down, I'll see if I can bring a batch. Alright—see you."
He lifted a hand in farewell and turned to leave.
"Miao'er. Don't forget our promise. Next time, I'm going to test you."
Miao'er snapped her head up, her voice trembling with sincerity as she answered, "Mm. I'll work hard, Xien."
"Good. Then I'll look forward to the next time."
Xien's figure gradually vanished from their sight.
"Gros, you…"
"That human… really is different," said Rei.
Rei couldn't help but nod along. From Xien's actions and the way he spoke, they'd felt two things most strongly: efficiency and human warmth.
He'd used three questions to confirm their situation, weighed it, and then decided to entrust the newborn companion to them. And at the end, he'd asked if they needed help—no rambling, no bargaining, no probing for leverage—just a calm statement that somehow made people feel at ease: he would try to find a way.
It felt like watching a leader at work—considering their future, laying out the situation, mapping a path forward…
And most importantly: the way he looked at them wasn't the way humans looked at monsters, or the way he looked at the creatures he cut down. It was the same gaze he used on his own companions.
He treated them as beings of the same kind—living, thinking life.
That was why Gros's view of him had shifted.
"Let's go," Gros said. "To be safe, we need to leave this place quickly. We'll abandon this area for a while. We're going home."
"Mm."
"But… how will Xien find us when he comes back?" Miao'er asked quietly.
Only now, with Xien gone, did she realize how thoroughly he'd taken up space in her heart—every breath, every thought.
Rei crouched down and gently patted her head.
"Don't worry, little Miao'er. Our usual home is on an upper floor. Trust us—when he comes again, we'll know right away. This is our territory, after all."
"…Okay."
As she stroked Miao'er's hair, Rei noticed the faint glimmer around the girl's neck—a necklace, shimmering in the dark.
"By the way, that necklace you're wearing—what is it…?"
Miao'er gripped the crystal necklace hard.
"This? It's a gift from Xien. It helps me hide better."
"That's impossible. There's no way a tool like th—"
Gros didn't even finish his sentence before something shocking happened.
Miao'er vanished.
Right in front of them—gone as if she'd never existed.
"…Miao'er?" Rei's voice sharpened in alarm.
Before panic could spread, Miao'er's voice floated out, perfectly calm:
"See? If I don't speak, even you can't find me."
A moment later, her figure reappeared in the same spot.
Only then did the two of them realize: she'd been demonstrating it on purpose.
They exchanged a look, both of them unsettled.
When Miao'er disappeared, they hadn't just lost sight of her—they'd lost everything. Her presence. Her aura. Her trace. As if she'd been erased from the world.
It was a terrifyingly powerful item. With it, Miao'er could become a top-tier infiltrator.
And that human… had simply given it to her?
In that instant, the "weight" of Xien's promises climbed in their minds.
What they didn't know was that everything that had just happened was being projected—perfectly—inside a crystal ball.
Watching Xien's clean, decisive handling of the situation, the sage Fels felt a strange dizziness.
The process was completely wrong… but the result was exactly right.
By Fels's original plan, contact between the two sides was supposed to be cautious and gradual—slow probing, step-by-step trust building. And yet, somehow, that boy had forced a direct collision… then used cold, almost frighteningly clear analysis to produce the best possible outcome anyway, pushing events toward the future Fels most wanted.
"He really is special," Fels murmured. "In that case… we should provide the help he's due."
Meanwhile, with the full map now imprinted in his mind, Xien hurried back along his original route.
He was nearly out of time. If he returned too late, he'd get scolded—and the hard-won privilege to operate alone would be hanging by a thread.
After some scrambling, he made it back to the main group before their worry boiled over.
Naturally, he was the last one to return.
Aside from Ryuu, no one showed excessive concern—just visible relief.
"So?" Alise asked. "Did you find a way out?"
"Nope. Dead end. The side passage got sealed off."
"Same here. The layout changed hard this time—I nearly got guided straight into a monster pack…"
Alise immediately started a quick operational briefing. Those who'd been sent out reported one after another, filling in what they'd found.
Xien listened without interrupting. He wasn't in a hurry.
A maze like this rarely had only one exit—there was no need to butt in until everyone had spoken.
Beside him, Ryuu shot him a worried look. She'd noticed he'd come back at a run—something must have happened.
Xien returned a "don't worry" expression.
He didn't want this either. Who could've guessed he'd run into that situation?
At least he'd handled it in time.
Still… thinking back, that contact probably hadn't been coincidence. It had the scent of deliberate arrangement—like Bell, like certain "hands behind the curtain." Once someone noticed Xien was a variable, they likely wanted him to become a lever, someone to push this issue forward. The more people who sympathized with them, the easier the road would be.
He just hadn't expected the connection to deepen this early.
How many secrets has that 'big shot' already set in motion…?
Whatever. That wasn't a problem for the current him to solve.
His system could track that necklace, so finding them later would be easy. But he'd promised medicine—so he'd need to take it seriously.
His family's finances were better than before, but still not enough. Even with the money he'd saved during that earlier run with Ryuu, buying a large batch of medical supplies would drain him fast.
The most cost-effective answer was obvious:
Make it himself.
He was a healer. A healer who couldn't make medicine was only half a healer.
The books everyone had prepared for him did contain some pharmaceutical knowledge, but the formulas were basic—and incomplete. He'd need to buy more advanced references from Orange Cat. It should have them. With what he already knew, he could probably develop a specialized potion line.
That would cover gaps he couldn't reach in time. After all, he was only one person—he couldn't be glued to everyone, cleansing and restoring them every second.
If the familia had its own distinctive healing potions, their safety margin would jump. And who knew—maybe it could even become a stable source of income…
He was in the middle of mapping out future plans when he heard Alise call his name.
"Xien. What about you? Did you find an exit?"
Her voice carried a hint of helplessness. So far, they'd only found one place that might be an exit. If Xien couldn't provide a solid answer, they'd have to gamble on it.
Xien's response made her eyes light up.
"Yeah. I found one."
"Really?"
The girl asked again, still not daring to believe it.
"Of course. Lailah—can you toss me some paper and a pen?"
"Sure thing, little Xien. Catch."
He lifted a hand toward the back. In less than two seconds, something sailed through the air to him.
The pallum girl understood what he was about to do immediately.
Xien caught it, unfolded it, and spread it flat on the ground.
Ryuu, understanding as well, quietly took out a magic stone lamp and nudged it forward to illuminate the page.
Then Xien's hands moved.
Fast—absurdly fast.
He drew what the system had scanned: a clean, detailed map.
Everyone watching couldn't help but click their tongues in disbelief.
No one questioned its authenticity—because inside it, they could find the corridors they'd personally explored.
To Xien, it was a small feat.
Even in his previous life, he'd had some amateur interest in this kind of thing. And with his enhanced bodily control now, this level of precision and speed was simply efficient.
Before long, a polished map lay before them.
Xien pointed to a location.
"This is where we are. The exit is here. We'll need to pass three narrow paths and seven forks. The monsters along that route are mostly cleared—at this time, not many should've respawned yet…"
As he indicated each fork and branch, the surrounding faces grew more and more stunned.
"How did you do this?" Kaguya blurted. "That's… absurd."
Even with a strong memory, drawing something like this in so little time was almost impossible.
Xien had an explanation ready.
"A vague sensory awareness. Even with my eyes closed, I can still 'feel' the area around me. Ryuu knows—like last time, when we used that feeling to detect the bombs. After leveling up, it got stronger."
"Yes," Ryuu confirmed. "Last time, Xien found the problem through that faint sense of danger."
Everyone had the same thought, nearly in unison:
That's ridiculous.
With senses like that, who could hide anything from him?
Alise stared at him.
"I've heard mages can do something like this… but yours is way beyond the line, Xien."
Xien smiled and tossed the question back at her.
"But as a teammate, it helped, didn't it?"
"It did," Alise admitted. "It helped a lot. Alright—everyone, we move."
"Got it!" the group responded as one.
They set out again. With Xien's precise map, they found the new route quickly.
And now, the enemies were the kind you had to face with full focus.
Lamia—half human, half serpent. Better-equipped skeleton soldiers. Giant beavers and walrus-like beasts in the river. Water horses that lashed their manes and charged in berserk fury…
Level 3 at minimum, with reinforced variants appearing often, in endless numbers—grinding away at stamina every minute.
Xien's steady healing never stopped. Thanks to it, the team's injuries and fatigue recovered faster than they had any right to.
Even so, no one dared relax.
They had to keep moving. Stopping in place only made the sense of danger swell.
But not a single person suggested retreating.
If anything, the risk only fanned the fire in their hearts.
With Xien as an example, none of them held back.
Even the two elves who were usually calm and detached had been subtly pulled into that feverish, hot-blooded rhythm.
And while they pushed deeper underground, far above them—outside the Dungeon—another drama was already taking shape.
Olario's largest circular arena—the Amphitheatrum—had been completely taken over.
The Loki Familia and the Freya Familia had sealed it off. The surrounding area was packed tight, yet every unrelated person had already been cleared away.
It was obvious something big was about to happen.
Inside the vast arena stood figures whose names alone could make any adventurer's hair stand on end.
From the Loki Familia:
Finn Deimne, the Braver
Riveria Ljos Alf, the Nine Hell
Gareth Landrock, the Heavy Tank
From the Freya Familia:
Ottar, the Mighty One
Hedin Selland, the White Fairy's Staff
Mia Grand, the Little Giant
Six people.
A lineup that represented the strongest force in Olario—setting aside the long-gone Zeus and Hera Familias.
And yet they stood fully armed, fully geared, as if waiting for a terrifying enemy to appear.
Time ticked by.
And with every passing second, the pressure in the air only grew heavier.
They had gathered here because of a single letter—
A challenge letter.
Or perhaps… a warning.
....
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