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The vice-captain of the Riveria Ljos Alf of the Loki Familia was an elf.
And the waitress of The Hostess of Fertility, Ryuu Lion, was also an elf.
Right now, Ryuu Lion was secretly watching Anos.
She was somewhat curious about the man who gave her a strangely comfortable feeling, but not to the point of actually stalking him.
She was only here because a friend had asked her to observe him.
That friend's name was Syr Flova.
Since only Freya knew that Anos had defeated a Level 5 adventurer from the Loki Familia, Ryuu still considered him nothing more than a somewhat unusual person.
"It looks like they're heading to the Dungeon…"
Ryuu frowned as she watched their direction.
She could follow them easily here because they were outside, where crowds and buildings provided cover.
But inside the Dungeon it would be different.
In the upper floors especially, silent tracking would be nearly impossible.
"Forget it, I'll head back."
She made her decision.
She had only come to take a look anyway.
After one final glance at Anos, she turned and walked back toward the Hostess of Fertility.
"She left?"
The moment she departed, Anos immediately noticed.
Following someone unnoticed required skill.
But noticing someone following you without revealing that you noticed required skill as well.
After obtaining his sage techniques, Anos had begun heavily modifying them.
Just as he once modified magic circles, he had also expanded the sensing capabilities of his sage arts.
In a city filled with gods who were essentially transcendent beings, staying sharp on every level was necessary.
"Hm... Bete, you can already go into the Dungeon?"
Anos noticed a heavily bandaged figure nearby.
It was Bete Loga.
"Hahaha... This guy's tough as nails!"
Tiona Hiryute laughed as she slapped Bete's back.
Bete's fur stood on end instantly.
He still had enough strength to protect himself, but that was about it.
"...Tch."
He clicked his tongue and stayed silent.
After all, he already understood something important.
There were people you could provoke.
And people you absolutely could not.
Especially now that the "rabbit" had shown up wearing high-end gear.
After chatting briefly with the Loki Familia members, Anos and his group finally entered the Dungeon.
The Dungeon lay beneath Babel Tower.
Long ago, it was a place where endless monsters climbed to the surface, bringing disaster to the world above.
Back then it could only be described with one word.
A hellhole.
Then came the age of spirits.
Spirits granted blessings to talented humans, giving them the strength to resist monsters.
But that resistance alone was not enough.
The true turning point came when the gods descended.
The gods granted their blessings, unlocking the heroic potential within humanity.
There had even been an era when Level 9 adventurers existed.
But due to certain events, the strongest adventurer in Orario now was Ottar.
With divine blessings, heroes gradually pushed monsters back into their source.
The Dungeon itself.
That was why Babel Tower stood directly above it.
Since then, monsters on the surface had almost disappeared.
Most wandering monsters across the world were merely descendants of those that once invaded from the Dungeon.
Anos, however, was careful whenever approaching this place.
Because the Dungeon hated gods.
It hated all gods.
If a god entered directly, the Dungeon would erupt in fury.
And Anos carried divine power.
Not pure divine power, but power deeply connected to divinity.
He had already calculated the result.
If he entered the Dungeon, it would react violently.
Not as violently as if a god entered directly But the number and strength of monsters would increase.
Fortunately for him, that level of difficulty meant very little.
It was easy enough that he could casually watch Bell train.
Once they entered Babel Tower, many adventurers noticed the strange trio.
The attention, of course, was mostly directed toward Ais Wallenstein.
As a prodigy who reached Level 2 at nine years old, Ais was already famous throughout Orario.
The two people beside her, however, were unfamiliar faces.
"Who's that guy? Why is he walking with the Sword Princess?"
"And why does it look like he's the one leading?"
People quickly noticed something odd.
The boy stood at the center of the group.
Even Ais seemed to subtly give him the lead.
But that wasn't the biggest issue.
"Damn it! That guy next to the Sword Princess is way too handsome!"
That was what most adventurers were actually upset about.
"Well, the Sword Princess is at the age where girls start dating…"
Someone muttered bitterly.
"He must be a kept pretty boy!"
"No, He probably tricked her!"
The jealousy spread rapidly.
Pure, concentrated envy.
If this had been somewhere with more female adventurers, like the pleasure district run by Freya, the reactions would have been very different.
"Anos… what are they saying?"
Ais noticed the strange looks around them.
It felt different from the usual attention she received.
"They're saying Ais is beautiful."
Anos smiled.
And technically, he wasn't lying.
Without her incredible strength and striking beauty, she would never attract this much attention.
Reality was simple like that.
"I see…"
Ais lowered her head slightly.
Being told she was beautiful directly like this…
It was a first.
And strangely enough…
It felt nice.
"Alright, Ais, let's go. We have work to do today."
Anos chuckled.
Then he did something that shocked everyone watching.
Right in front of the entire crowd, he grabbed both Ais and Bell's hands and casually walked away.
"Holy hell! They're already that close?!"
One traveler stared in disbelief.
"I'm reporting this to Loki! There's no way she'll allow this!"
Another shouted, fully aware of Loki's possessive attitude toward Ais.
Anos, however, ignored them completely.
In a world where strength ruled.
Inside the Dungeon, Bell was already struggling.
"Ais… something feels wrong about the monster numbers today!"
She barely dodged the attack of a giant ant.
Occasional monster groups were normal.
But constantly encountering them?
That was not normal at all.
"Bell... Behind you."
Ais calmly warned her.
Anos had asked her to protect Bell.
And she would fulfill that responsibility, but protection didn't mean helping unnecessarily.
Unless Bell was in real danger, Ais wouldn't interfere.
Right now was Bell's training time.
Ais's own training would happen deeper in the Dungeon.
After teaching Bell a few things, Anos had gone ahead to gain farm experience himself.
When adventurers leveled up, their stats reset But their accumulated strength remained within their bodies.
That was why leveling up gave such a huge advantage.
Meanwhile, Anos had another goal.
Research.
In just a short time, he had already collected a large amount of Dungeon soil.
"Hmm?"
As he finished clearing monsters and prepared to return, he heard something nearby.
A voice.
It sounded like shouting.
And hitting.
He had deliberately chosen a hidden area to hunt monsters alone.
If word spread about how fast he was clearing monsters, he would become famous in Orario overnight.
But now…
From a hidden corner nearby…
Someone was clearly being beaten.
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~Support with 300 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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