52 Lively and Heartwarming

On this expedition, Riezel truly gained a lot.

Before this, the highest floor he had reached was the 17th Floor.

There, he encountered Floor Boss Goliath and engaged in a life-and-death battle, eventually succeeding in advancing to Level 4.

Since then, although he delved into the dungeon every day, due to the need for a round trip on the same day, he typically only went down to around the 20th Floor, and anything below was unknown territory for him.

So, for these two weeks, Riezel followed the Loki Familia expedition party, delving deeper into the dungeon, and also witnessing many unheard-of wonders.

For example, from the 19th to the 24th Floor was a labyrinth-like area known as the 'Large Tree Labyrinth' which resembled an underground forest. From the 25th Floor to the 27th Floor was an area full of water known as the 'Water City', renowned as a water paradise. From the 30th Floor downward, there was the wilderness area, encountered from time to time.

These strange and amazing sights, if not seen with one's own eyes, no one would believe they exist in the dungeon.

Although Riezel knew about these wonders from the original work, experiencing them with his own eyes was an entirely different feeling. The genuine amazement and awe from the heart truly expanded his horizons, and that was no exaggeration.

Of course, compared to the dungeon's geography, what truly benefited him was the countless monsters he encountered during the expedition.

The Guild, which managed the city, classified various floors of the dungeon based on their difficulty, generally dividing the explored floors into different tiers.

The 1st Floor to the 12th Floor was the 'Upper Floors', where the local monsters were mostly classified as Level 1.

The 13th Floor to the 24th Floor was the 'Middle Floors', with local monsters mostly classified as Level 2.

The 25th Floor to the 36th Floor was the 'Lower Floors', with local monsters mostly classified as Level 3.

And from the 37th Floor onward, it was the 'Deep Floors', where the local monsters were at least classified as Level 4.

Before this, Riezel had only ventured into the middle floors and hadn't entered the lower floors.

In this situation, the fact that he was able to advance to Level 4 was already a miracle. If it weren't for encountering the monster feast and floor boss, accumulating the exploit needed to level up would be basically impossible.

Until this expedition, Riezel finally had the opportunity to enter the lower and even the deep floors.

With that reason, the number of monsters he slew and the amount of excelia he gained could be easily imagined.

Especially the subjugation of the floor bosses, jokingly referred to as the 'Four Heavenly Kings' by various gods.

The floor boss of the 17th Floor, the colossal giant monster, Goliath, was classified as Level 4.

The floor boss of the 27th Floor, the colossal dragon monster, Amphisbaena, was classified as Level 5.

The floor boss of the 37th Floor, the colossal skeleton monster, Udaeus, was classified as Level 6.

On this journey, Loki Familia encountered these three floor bosses and, as a party, embarked on a battle against them.

In the first battle against the 17th Floor's Goliath, due to the lower classification level, Loki Familia's executives always advocated 'don't make a move', leaving it to the lower-level members of the familia to handle, to accumulate battle experience and high-rank excelia.

In the second battle, against the 27th Floor's Amphisbaena, the executives still didn't make a move. Level 4 members within the familia took the lead in the main combat roles, with the rest acting as support.

In the third battle, against the 37th Floor's Udaeus, the executives finally stepped in. The main attackers were Ais, Bete, Tiona, and Tione, with the top executives leading the charge.

In these three battles, Riezel participated in all but Goliath. However, instead of taking on a vanguard role, he supported from the midfield or provided long-range magic attacks from the rear, not particularly standing out.

Though, after two floor boss battles, he still gained a considerable amount of high-rank excelia. Despite the excelia being distributed among all participating members in the party battle, as Finn and the others mentioned, exploits were still exploits. It would accumulate and make leveling up less challenging.

Along with the monsters they faced along the way and the numerous powerful fomoire they just defeated on the 49th Floor, Riezel had a hunch.

'After this, maybe I can really advance to Level 5.'

With that thought, his mood improved significantly. After all, Level 5 was the domain of 'First-Class Adventurers'.

Orario gathered countless adventurers and familia, and the distinction of adventurers of different levels was particularly evident.

Among them, Level 1, known as 'Low-Class Adventurers', comprised about half of the adventurers in Orario, with 'High-Class Adventurers', perhaps even less than half.

In this group of high-class adventurers, less than half were Level 2, functioning as 'Third-Class Adventurers'. Only a few successfully ascended to Level 3 and Level 4, achieving the status of 'Second-Class Adventurers'.

However, when compared to first-class adventurers at Level 5 and above, second-class adventurers in Orario were the majority.

Just take a look at Loki Familia.

As one of Orario's strongest familias, there were only four Level 5 members in the entire Loki Familia.

Freya Familia was the same, having only four Level 5 members.

In other words, all in all, Level 5 adventurers in Orario added up to just a handful, maybe not even thirty. This meant, as long as one became a Level 5 first-class adventurer, they qualified to be considered a top-tier expert in Orario.

If Riezel could successfully reach Level 5 after this expedition, he would also have the confidence to deal with troubles in the main world.

'Too bad, Balor didn't show up.' Riezel lamented.

On this matter, he was quite disappointed.

The floor boss of the 49th Floor, Balor, was classified as Level 7.

As the leader of the so-called four heavenly kings, Balor was confirmed to be the strongest floor boss so far.

No familia, including Loki Familia, which had reached the 58th Floor, had encountered a floor boss stronger than Balor.

If this Level 7 floor boss appeared, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth would probably have to personally join the battle, going all out, and coordinating with the support of everyone to have a chance at defeating it.

And if such a monster were successfully defeated, the high-rank excelia obtained would undoubtedly be massive. Even if it were distributed among the party members, it could help most adventurers below Level 5 to level up.

Riezel was a bit regretful that he didn't get the chance to encounter this rumored strongest floor boss. If they managed to defeat this floor boss, he would surely level up this time, right?

Just as he casually pondered such thoughts, a disgruntled voice awakened him.

"Hey, Riezel, are you even listening to us?!"

Tiona's voice sounded like an angry child, bringing him back to reality. He immediately saw her staring at him with puffed-up cheeks.

"What are you thinking over there? You look so absorbed!" Tiona complained.

Tione, Lefiya, and Ais were also watching him, making him shake his head to dispel his wandering thoughts.

"Sorry, got a bit lost in thought there." Riezel apologized to everyone.

"Are you tired?" Lefiya asked, not minding his behavior, and spoke somewhat worriedly. "Well, it's understandable since it's your first expedition after all. Not everyone can adapt to the environment and combat intensity here. Mr. Riezel, you should take care of yourself."

"Yup." Tione nodded in agreement. "Humans are naturally fragile, and this is a floor that normal Level 4 adventurers can't even reach. It's normal to feel out of place."

"Hey, in that last battle, you weren't pushing yourself too hard to keep up with Ais, were you?" Tione asked, suspiciously. "If you were, I'd suggest taking a good rest. Not many in the familia can match Ais's pace, you know. Heck, even we sometimes struggle. But you? You were right there with her, slaying monsters left and right without missing a beat. Just be careful not to burn yourself out, okay?"

Riezel didn't respond to her words because Ais spoke up first to deny it.

"Riezel isn't forcing himself." Ais shook her head. "Riezel is really strong."

Others might not see whether he was pushing himself, but does Ais really not see it?

She and Riezel had practiced together countless times, knowing exactly how he looked when he was pushing himself and how effortless he appeared when in control.

Although his performance against the fomoire surprised her, just looking at his face, unflushed and unbreathless, she knew that kind of battle didn't even make him break a sweat.

In other words—

"Riezel's current strength is really no less than Level 5."

After saying that, Ais fell silent and didn't say anything more.

Not just Ais, even Lefiya and the two amazoness sisters fell silent. They just stared at Riezel as if he were a bizarre creature.

Under the scrutiny of the girls, Riezel quietly took a step back.

"I'm going to find something to do."

Leaving those words behind, he turned and ran.

"Hey, stop!"

"Don't run!"

Tiona and Tione, without thinking, immediately chased after him.

"Ehh?" Lefiya blinked, still not comprehending what had happened.

However, soon, a gust of wind blew by again. It was the wind kicked up by Ais, and surprisingly, she also chased after Riezel.

"Wa-Wait! Miss Ais!" Lefiya, no longer dazed, hurriedly caught up.

Several beautiful girls were chasing a boy in the camp, making everyone else in the camp bite their fingers.

"Don't fool around! You bunch of idiots!" Bete, almost hit by Tiona, hastily protected the pile of firewood he had just painstakingly collected with a furious expression.

But Tiona and the rest paid no attention.

"C'mon! Obediently strip yourself!"

"Just let us have a look! What's the big deal?!"

"We just want to see your back."

"Eeeeh?! So, chasing Mr. Riezel was for this?!"

The girls' screams and exclamations echoed one after another, turning the entire camp into chaos. It wasn't until the three top executives appeared that the commotion stopped.

"Alright, enough playing around, it's time to eat!" Riveria shouted toward Riezel and the four girls.

""Yes!""

Their panicked response finally came, yet the atmosphere remained lively and heartwarming.