Before Airmid could think it through, the emerald green figure that walked in through the doorway immediately drew her attention.
"Lady Riveria!"
The moment Airmid saw Riveria, she instinctively scanned her surroundings, but did not find the that should have been there.In just a short while, Riveria arrived at the counter, looking down at the girl with a deep gaze.
"Miss Airmid, don't bother looking, he's not here."
Coming to her senses, Airmid looked at Riveria and pursed her lips.
"I don't understand what Lady Riveria is talking about. I am not looking for Noah."
Huh? Without my knowledge, Airmid has already started calling him Noah?
A complex feeling arose in Riveria's heart, similar to the feeling of suddenly discovering that the stray cat she had been feeding was being fed by other people outside.
No, that must be an illusion!
"Miss Airmid, I didn't say it was Noah."
Airmid's eye twitched violently. She took a deep breath, lowered her eyes slightly, and remained calm.
"I mentioned Noah simply because he is often seen with you, and I have no other intentions."
Although Airmid's acting skills were very good for her age, how could she possibly fool someone like Riveria? Just by seeing Airmid's slightly red, fair earlobes, Riveria understood what was going on, and her feelings became complicated.
Normally, Riveria would be happy to see Noah poaching outstanding members of other Familias, especially geniuses like Airmid...
The problem is, what about Ais... Although it's unclear when Noah and Ais became so close... But Ais has clearly identified Noah, and it's even manifested in her Skill! When Riveria saw that Skill, she felt an overwhelming urge to complain...
One is to surpass, the other is to pursue.
When Ais catches up, Noah overtakes her again. Let Ais chase him, and let Noah surpass her... Are you two trying to step on each other and ascend to Tenkai on the spot?
Such a convenient and useful Skill, could you give me one too?I also wants to improve!
"Is that so?"
The high elf nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly spoke.
"But Noah told me to ask you for leave, saying he can't come today. What's going on? Did he make a mistake?"
Having said all that, Airmid knew there was no point in pretending. Riveria clearly knew everything and was just there to tease her.Seeing the resentful expression on Airmid's face, Riveria felt exceptionally pleased.
It's so fun to tease her!
...
As winter approaches and several first snowfalls occur, news spreads from Orario of a festival to be held.
When it comes to Orario's winter festivals, the first thing that comes to mind is the Holy Night Träumerei, a winter celebration like christmas. However, this is just a small-scale festival, with stalls set up in the central square.
Even so, the news was still encouraging during these difficult times. However, before the people of Orario and the adventurers could even feel the festive atmosphere, they were shocked by another announcement from the Guild.
Noah Sifel, a new member of the Loki Familia and a level 1 adventurer, soloed the Goliath.
The news swept through Orario like a giant storm, plunging the city into a brief silence. Announced by the Loki Familia, one of the two major powers in the city, with testimony from the Astraea Familia, and approved by the Guild. With all three factors combined, even the strongest adventurer couldn't help but fall silent.
Some veteran adventurers couldn't help but recall the time seven years ago when the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia dominated Orario.
Has a new monster been born again? If he grows up, can he completely eradicate the darkness and turmoil currently lingering in Orario?
Countless people who had experienced sorrow and despair, and who loathed the Dark Age, could not help but feel hope rising, just like the countless lights in the central square, which gathered from sparks to form an ocean of light illuminating the night.
Deep within the dark, narrow corridor, the faint, distorted light flickered, illuminating many bloodthirsty faces.
"Hey, Valletta, are we really going to do this?"
A rough, brutal voice echoed in the darkness, originating from a gray haired man with a cruel expression.
"What's wrong? Barca, are you scared?"
Silently stroking her claymore, Valletta only gave her comrade a sidelong glance. Even Barca Perdix dared not show his ferocity in the face of Valletta..
"Tsk, is it worth going to all this trouble for a brat? Didn't they say the experiment on Ares side would need some time to adjust? And who knows what those two lunatics are up to?"
After briefly explaining his reasons, Barca realized he still couldn't convince Valletta, so he turned his gaze to the person beside him.
"Hey, Vito, what do you think? Didn't your god say he was going to look for someone outside the city? Hasn't there been any news yet?"
This was a man with dark red hair, dressed in a battle suit similar to that of a priest.
"Well, how could we possibly understand the unpredictable nature of the gods? He wouldn't even inform me, but I support this event..."
Vito's eyes narrowed like a fox's, and the fake smile on his lips made him look like a clown. But when his right eye opened slightly, the red iris exuded a crazy aura.
"Those insects, haven't they been holding onto hope lately? If we give them despair now, the color of their blood will be even more beautiful! A brand new kind of despair!"
"Tsk, then you guys make the decision."
Seeing that Vito didn't object, Barca knew the plan was set and said no more. The main reason was that Barca didn't want to provoke these two lunatics beside him.
Yes, Barca admitted he was bad, thoroughly bad, but his badness was still within the understanding of ordinary people...he enjoyed the pleasure of slaughtering the weak and controlling the lives of others. But the madness of the two people next to him frightened Barca.
"You haven't fought this person before, so you don't understand how terrifying he is. We absolutely cannot let him grow stronger! What if he ranks up after participating in the Loki Familia's expedition? At that point, even we might not be a match for him!"
Is it really unrelated to you being deceived by him and suffering an injury?
Vito and Barca exchanged a glance, but neither said it aloud. They also sensed a threat from the rookie in the Loki Familia. On that day, they couldn't help but recall the fear of being dominated by the Hera and Zeus Familias, and the humiliation of having to hide in the darkness.
"In that case, it's decided. But Valletta, what are you going to do?" Vito stroked the weapon in his hand, a short sword stained with blood.
"Barca and I can only create chaos on the surface to buy time, and we can't hold out for long. Once Finn discovers our intentions, he will probably send people into the Dungeon to provide support. Are you confident you can take him out?"
"If we can't kill him, can't we at least kill the girl beside him? If he saves her, he'll die..if he doesn't, then let all of Orario see what kind of 'hero' they've been waiting for!"
Valletta raised her crimson claymore. She stared at her own reflection in the blade, her eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
"Noah! I want to see if you are really the same kind of person as us...if I can dye you a different color and create a demon for Orario, then what does it matter if I die?"
Barca and Vito exchanged a glance, then got up and left together.
...
Five days later, in the Dungeon, on the 15th floor.
On a high platform, Ais, carrying a huge backpack, silently watched Noah fighting a group of Minotaurs in the distant hall.
For Noah under normal circumstances, the Minotaur would be nothing more than a matter of a single sword strike, but today was different. He did not use magic, wear armor, or even use weapons...he fought bare chested.
After several days of fighting, or rather, one sided slaughter, Noah's basic abilities had increased very rapidly and were about to reach their limit, except for his endurance, which was growing very slowly. After all, endurance, to put it nicely, is defensive capability, in layman's terms, it's the ability to withstand blows.
In the upper floors of the Dungeon, the fastest monsters, such as the Almiraj, Imps, Hellhounds, and war shadows, had difficulty attacking Noah, so his endurance was naturally hard to increase.
Although no one was demanding that Noah improve all his basic abilities, having already suffered from his lack of physical strength, how could he possibly give up the opportunity to forge himself into a well rounded warrior?
Noah then used a fistfight to shatter the arm and half the chest of a Minotaur before ending the battle and returning to the high platform.
Noah picked up a towel to wipe the sweat and dust off his body, and as he drank water, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned his head and found Ais staring at him intently. To be precise, she was staring at his naked upper body, a gaze that frightened Noah.
"Ais?"
Why do I really want to touch it?
At this moment, Ais found it hard to look away from Noah's sharply defined upper body muscles.
In the past, when she encountered a bottleneck, Ais tried almost every method to improve herself. Muscle training was naturally one of them, so Riveria asked someone from the familia to be her teacher. At the time, Ais felt that teachers muscles weren't strong enough..she should at least be as muscular as Noah.
At that time, that teacher mocked her mercilessly. "Kiddo, men's and women's bodies are different, each with its own beauty. Besides, what's so appealing about those big, ugly muscles like a dwarf's?The hottest muscles are those of a seventeen or eighteen year old men."
Can muscles even be associated with handsomeness?
Only now could Ais understand what she was saying.
The silver-haired boy in front of her was covered in a fine layer of sweat, making his bulging muscles, which had just been through a fierce battle, even more eye catching. He could be described as tall and sturdy, but still somewhat thin. However, even from a distance, Ais could almost feel the heat emanating from the blood flowing rapidly beneath that skin.
As a faint warmth rose in her own body, Ais felt a surge of strange feelings she had never experienced before.