Ren Isana planned to mass-produce a batch of weapons with the Sturdy attribute for temporary use, slowly upgrading them later when the opportunity arose. Weapons with the Sturdy attribute would be more than enough to use before reaching the 36th floor.
As long as they were properly maintained, they would be fine. Furthermore, Ren had a bold idea: when forging weapons for everyone this time, he would directly create them as base templates.
In the future, when further forging was needed, they could simply add materials to them. This would save a lot of unnecessary trouble.
Actually, the best approach would be like Bell Cranel's—forging a weapon that could grow alongside its user. However, that was far too difficult. Ren couldn't even gather all the necessary materials.
Therefore, Ren could completely treat it like laying the foundation for a house, slowly forging an alternatively upgradable weapon for everyone. It seemed he was capable of doing exactly that right now.
Asuna had no idea what Ren was thinking at the moment, but when she learned that he planned to forge enchanted weapons for everyone, her face lit up with pleasant surprise.
Such weapons were already sufficient. With a Sturdy enchantment, they would be more than enough. The two chatted as they headed back to the camp. By the time they returned, many people had already gone to rest.
Yukino Yukinoshita and Megumi Kato were still awake. Seeing them, Asuna hurried over to chat, taking the opportunity to ruthlessly complain about the filthy and chaotic state of that town.
After hearing Asuna's words, the two girls felt somewhat relieved that they hadn't gone; otherwise, they really wouldn't have been able to stand it. Yukino looked at Asuna with some curiosity and asked, "Did you get any good hauls?"
Hearing this, Asuna nodded. She didn't hide anything, listing the materials Ren had purchased and informing the two girls about the kind of weapons Ren planned to forge for everyone.
Hearing this, both of their eyes lit up. After all, their weapons had also been damaged. If they could swap them for better ones, they would naturally be delighted.
"Go get some rest. We can talk about anything else tomorrow," Ren said as he glanced at the group. Everyone else had already started resting one after another, so they shouldn't stay up chatting.
After saying that, Ren headed straight back to his own tent to rest. Seeing this, the girls smiled and didn't continue their conversation, returning to their respective tents to sleep as well.
While everyone here entered a state of rest, Aria, who had fought Ren earlier, had now returned to her Familia. When the members of the Loki Familia saw Aria wrapped in bandages, many of them were instantly filled with confusion.
What exactly happened? Was Aria bullied by someone? At this, the entire Loki Familia lost their calm. Who the hell would dare bully Aria?!
"Lefiya, what happened?!" Loki hurriedly ran up to Aria and started examining her—which was really just an excuse to grope her. Aria noticed the goddess's actions immediately.
Without hesitation, she slapped Loki's paws away, leaving the goddess terribly depressed. *I just wanted to give your body a thorough checkup, what are you doing!*
"Aria had a spar with someone... and she lost," Lefiya hesitated for a moment before revealing the truth. Hearing this, the members of the Familia were somewhat surprised.
"Lost? Who did she spar with?" A green-haired Elf girl stepped forward. She took out her magic staff and began to chant. The next moment, a green light emerged and sank into Aria's body.
The injuries on Aria's body began to disappear at a visible rate. Feeling her wounds vanish, Aria tore the bandages off her body.
"That guy from the Hestia Familia!" Bete Loga shouted, revealing the identity of the person Aria had sparred with. Hearing this, Loki was somewhat astonished.
"Is it that brat we saw before?" If it was that guy, he had actually defeated Aria. Moreover, it was too much of a coincidence that Aria managed to run into him in the Dungeon.
"Yes, it's him. And... I want to take him as my master!" Aria nodded, then looked at Loki with an incredibly determined gaze as she said this.
As soon as these words came out, the members of the Familia all turned their gazes over. Loki looked at Aria with a dumbfounded expression; she truly hadn't expected Aria to suddenly say such a thing.
Take him as her master? Was this a joke? Loki was completely stunned by Aria's words. Damn it, that guy was a member of her mortal enemy's Familia!
Wouldn't Aria taking that guy as her master be a slap to her face? She hurriedly said, "You just lost one match, and you want to become his apprentice? Are you serious?"
Loki couldn't figure out what was going through Aria's head. After saying that, she looked at Lefiya, Tione Hiryute, and the others, demanding, "Tell me exactly what happened from start to finish!"
Hearing Loki's words, the group didn't dare hide anything. They hurriedly recounted everything they had experienced on the 18th floor, including the trouble Bete Loga had stirred up.
After listening to their explanation, the Familia members were all shocked. The green-haired Elf asked in disbelief, "Are you saying that when he fought Aria, he directly learned her magic?"
Was this a joke? How could such magic be learned by someone else? Wasn't magic supposed to be exclusive? Yet now they were telling her that someone had learned Aria's magic.
"Riveria, he didn't just learn my magic. He learned all of my moves as well, and... he improved them to be even stronger. Fighting him was like fighting a better version of myself," Aria added.
As soon as she said this, everyone immediately gasped, their faces full of shock. Wasn't this a bit too absurd?
"Damn it, that Dwarf really hit the jackpot!!" After hearing all this, Loki was consumed by envy, jealousy, and hatred. Why did that damn Dwarf get such an amazing Familia member?
"So that's why you want to take him as your master and have him train you?" Riveria finally understood Aria's thought process. A stronger version of herself, who could also learn and improve her moves—no wonder Aria was tempted.
"Yes." Aria nodded. That was exactly why she wanted to become his apprentice. If the other party had merely defeated her, she might not have had such an idea.
But the fact that he had used her own moves and her own magic to defeat her gave Aria hope. Perhaps she could find the opportunity for a breakthrough with Ren.
Riveria sighed. She knew this girl's mindset very well; she had probably already stubbornly made up her mind about this. She glanced at Aria and said, "Think it over carefully and calm down first."
After saying that, she gave Lefiya a look, signaling her to take Aria back to her room to rest and let her cool off.
Seeing this, Lefiya hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Aria away, taking her back to her quarters to wash up and rest. Meanwhile, the members of the Loki Familia gathered together to discuss the matter.
Discussing how they should handle Aria's situation, Loki looked at Riveria and asked, "Riveria, what do you think? How should we deal with this?"
Hearing Loki's words, Riveria shook her head. "We can't stop Aria's idea at all. Unless we lock her up and... wait for those people from the other world to leave?"
They all knew that the members of the Hestia Familia were visitors from another world. That stubborn girl would definitely find a way to go over there; stopping her was simply impossible.
Unless they locked her up, but none of them would do such a thing. She was their companion, not some criminal, so naturally, they couldn't imprison her.
"I actually think this is a good thing." At this moment, Finn Deimne, the captain, spoke up. His words instantly drew everyone's attention.
No one expected Finn Deimne to support Aria. Loki frowned, but she knew very well that if Finn Deimne said so, he must have his reasons. Thus, Loki patiently asked, "Finn Deimne, tell us your thoughts."
Finn Deimne was the captain of the Loki Familia, responsible for commanding the entire team and handling all affairs. The fact that the Loki Familia had developed into a major faction in Orario was largely thanks to his wisdom.
"Our world will eventually merge with that world, right? We can't stop this from happening. Since that's the case, why don't we seize the initiative?" Finn Deimne voiced his thoughts.
The passage between the two worlds would eventually open. In the future, as the two worlds connected, there would definitely be more interaction between both sides. And the Hestia Familia was undoubtedly the best point of contact.
"Since they sent so many people over, it's obvious they want to support a Familia in our world as their stronghold. Moreover, according to Loki's description, those otherworldly people who were sent over are far from ordinary, right?" Loki had seen Ren and the others, and she had even mentioned that every single one of them was an exceptional talent.
Coupled with the presence of those two terrifying individuals in the Hestia Familia, in Finn Deimne's view, this group of people must be highly talented individuals from that side, sent over to gain experience, and they had even been provided with two bodyguards.
In other words, the current Hestia Familia held a certain amount of weight in the other world. So, since the two worlds were going to merge, why not build a good relationship?
In the future, when they connected with that world, having this layer of relationship would make whatever they did much more convenient, wouldn't it? Since Aria wanted to become an apprentice, they should just let her.
In Finn Deimne's eyes, this was a good thing. The only downside was probably Loki's mood, but that didn't matter. For the sake of the Loki Familia, letting Loki suffer a little was fine.
Listening to Finn Deimne's analysis, Riveria spoke thoughtfully, "I agree with Finn Deimne's idea. If necessary, we can even provide some assistance to the Hestia Familia!"
Having one more friend was better than having one more enemy. Building a good relationship now would be beneficial to everyone in the future. Finn Deimne's decision was not wrong; it was highly worth doing.
Meanwhile, Loki was completely numb. She looked at Finn Deimne with an awkward expression and asked, "Are you sure we have to do this? Ally with that Dwarf?"
Although she strongly agreed after hearing Finn Deimne's analysis, the moment she thought of that Dwarf, she felt extremely reluctant. After all, that was her mortal enemy!!
"You don't need to step forward for this matter, Loki. You can interact with Hestia however you want. Just leave the underlying matters to us to handle," Finn Deimne glanced at Loki, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly as he gave her an out.
After all, in his view, Hestia probably didn't have the final say in that Familia's affairs. The people from the other world might not necessarily listen to her; Hestia being sent over there was likely just a coincidence.
Then, the other side took the opportunity to send her back while simultaneously establishing a Familia. Even without Hestia, the people from over there could have easily cooperated with any other Familia.
Therefore, Loki didn't need to get involved. As long as their subordinates built a good relationship, it would be fine. The relationship with the otherworldly people was far more important than the relationship with Hestia.
Hearing Finn Deimne say this, Loki's expression became less awkward. She nodded and waved her hand, saying, "Fine, then I'll leave it to you guys to handle. I don't care anymore."
This was for the best. This way, she could still mock Hestia just as she always did. Otherwise, if she had to step forward and form an alliance with her, she was afraid she would end up getting into a physical fight with that woman.
After all, if she did that, the other party would definitely mock her first, and then she wouldn't be able to endure it and would start tearing into her on the spot. That bitch was no saint either!
"I'll go talk to Aria." With the matter settled, Riveria said this and left to inform Aria of everyone's decision.
Naturally, no one had any objections. After she left, Finn Deimne's gaze turned toward Bete Loga, and he said in a gentle tone, "Bete Loga, it's your turn next."
As soon as these words were spoken, Bete Loga was so frightened that his fur stood on end. The gentler the tone, the more serious the situation! He had thought that even if Tione Hiryute tattled on him, Finn Deimne wouldn't take the matter to heart.
He hadn't expected it to actually be brought up now. At this moment, Bete Loga felt extreme terror in his heart, while the people around him couldn't help but gloat a little. There was going to be a good show to watch next!
The scene returned to Ren's side. They spent another night in the Safe Floor, and no blind fools came over to cause trouble for them.
As everyone's alarms rang, they emerged from their tents one after another. Today was the day they were heading back, so after getting up and gathering for breakfast, they packed up everything in the camp.
Once all of this was done, Ren began to count the numbers. After confirming that everyone was present, he led the group and set off toward the 16th floor.
There was no one else heading back today, so Ren and his group were the only ones on the path leading up from the 17th floor. Everyone was quite familiar with this route by now. It was relatively safe before entering the 16th floor, so everyone was in a very good state of mind.
Everyone followed Ren into the passage of the 17th-floor Floor Boss. Walking through the corridor, Sora couldn't help but say, "It's a pity we didn't run into the Floor Boss, otherwise I would've chopped its neck!"
Everyone had gained quite a lot on this trip. If there was anything regrettable, it was probably the matter of the Floor Boss. This was a boss monster, after all—who wouldn't want to hack at it?
"You can't fly, so even if it spawned, you probably wouldn't be able to reach it anyway. So stop dreaming," Ren was truly speechless upon hearing her words. She was thinking way too simply.
"Hmph, I might not be able to fly, but I can jump, hehe!" With her [Lightness Technique], she could just jump up and slash. It wasn't a big deal. However, she still needed to learn Ren's [Geppo・Moonwalk]; otherwise, she had too few means of moving in mid-air.
Chatting idly, everyone stepped into the 17th floor. It was no different from yesterday, remaining completely dead and silent. The group didn't linger for long, heading straight for the 16th floor.
However, just as they reached the middle of the room, a series of sudden cracking sounds echoed out. The noise was extremely abrupt. Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Ren's eyes, and he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
The others heard it too. Everyone's eyes instantly lit up as they hurriedly looked around, eventually spotting an anomaly in the massive walls.
Seeing the monster slowly being born from the wall, the corners of Ren's mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly. "Well, looks like we get to fight the boss after all. Isn't this quite a coincidence?"
Who would have thought that just as they were about to return to the city, the boss would actually spawn? This was truly too much of a coincidence. With this, everyone would have no regrets left.
Hearing Ren say this, none of the classmates felt any fear. Instead, every single one of them grew excited. They all drew their weapons, readying themselves for battle.
Seeing that everyone's spirits were so high, Ren immediately declared, "Then let's treat this boss as our team raid. Everyone, please spread out in your squads, and keep the distance between each squad under thirty meters!"