Chapter 100

"When is the next denatus?" I asked after contemplating for a while longer.

"Hmm, it should be this month in around a week," Bahamut replied.

"Just enough time," I muttered. I had come to the conclusion that I needed to max out my stats. If Bahamut's theory was correct, my upper limit increases with each level up, although I didn't know by how much.

Meaning that my last limit was around 1199 in stats, which I was pretty sure I didn't reach, so I had to make up for the stats that could have been.

"Why did you ask?" Bahamut asked, snapping me from my drifting thoughts.

"I decided to grind a bit more before denatus," I replied.

"I see," Bahamut muttered.

I believed that I could reach the maximum remaining stats within that time. I had also given up on the thought of testing if this was truly my current limit.

I realized that I would have to go to deeper floors to find a challenge that could potentially push my stats even further.

I only managed to achieve what I have now because the Astraea familia had my back, and I wasn't crazy enough yet to go at it alone.

Just the sheer difficulty I faced from monsters between the 19th and 24th floor was challenging enough. Going any deeper would require me to face a ton of monsters around level 3 solo, but that wasn't my greatest fear.

My greatest fear was other adventurers. People were cunning, and all it took was just one suicidal guy with a ton of monster bait, and I would definitely die in the deeper floors.

"Draco, Draco," Bahamut called out to me.

"Ah, sorry, got lost in my delusions again," I replied.

"Sigh, don't push yourself too hard. Numbers aren't everything," Bahamut said in concern.

"Yeah, I won't. Although I have to admit that I feel a bit of pressure after you told me about this phase thing. It makes me feel like I haven't been using my gifts properly," I replied.

"Well, just be you," Bahamut replied. I then drew her into a deep kiss, which lasted for a while.

Knock, knock!

A knock on the door made our little moment end abruptly.

"Draco-nii, Lysander-oji-san is looking for you!" Lili yelled.

"I will be right out," I replied, getting up from the bed.

"See you later tonight," Bahamut said seductively.

"Yeah, see you," I replied back.

Exiting the room, my familia members gathered around me.

"What's going on?" I asked in confusion.

"Well, show us," Dimitra asked.

"Show what?" I asked again.

'What's going on?' I thought.

"Your stat sheet," she replied.

"Oh, now it all makes sense. Well, I did see all yours," I said while handing out my stats sheet.

"Seriously, I thought you would level up. I heard from Neze what you fought in the dungeon," Vasileios said.

"Wow, Draco-nii, your stats are so much bigger than ours," Michalis stated in shock. The others curiously went to look.

"Seriously, what have we been doing?" Vasiliki muttered.

"Don't try to imitate what I do, just go at your own pace. I will wait for you all at the top," I replied, adding a bit of encouragement to my words. I didn't want them to be comparing themselves to me.

Suddenly Lili started giggling creepily, leaving me wondering why she was doing that.

"You all have to pay up," she announced, her tone laced with a mischievous undertone.

"Tsk, I lost," Nikolaos muttered, seemingly disappointed by the outcome of whatever bet they had made.

"You guys made a bet on it?" Eleni asked, her voice filled with confusion. I shared her perplexity, wondering why anyone would place a bet on something so random.

I wanted to address the situation, but my priority was to see Lysander.

"Is Lysander outside?" I asked Lili, hoping to get straight to business.

"Yeah," she replied. Just as I was about to leave, the thought of the unsecured chests crossed my mind. I hadn't yet stored them in the vault.

"Hey, Michalis, Nikolaos, Vasileios. I have a job for you. Are you guys free now?" I asked, hoping they would help me with the task at hand.

"Yeah, what is it Draco nii?" Vasileios responded, his voice showing willingness to assist.

"There are some large chests in the basement. Help me carry them into the new vault," I instructed.

"Sure," they all replied in unison.

"Oh, and no peeking or talking about it. It is something that should remain a secret, alright?" I added with a serious tone, trusting that they would understand the gravity of the matter.

"Okay," they replied more energetically, promising to keep it confidential.

"Good," I replied before leaving to meet with Lysander, who was likely waiting with designs for the upgrades I had requested.

"Lysander," I called out to him, noticing that he seemed lost in his thoughts.

"Ah, you're here. These are the designs we can work within the budget you gave," Lysander said, presenting a stack of papers to me.

I quickly inquired about the progress on the previous construction.

"Yeah, it's almost done. It should be complete in two days," Lysander replied.

"Just go through these and tell me your decision tomorrow," Lysander added before leaving, his obligations pulling him away once again.

With Lysander gone, I made my way to my office, dropping the papers on my desk. I knew I would need to review them later, but at the moment, my focus shifted to making plans for my date with Rose.

I needed to find out her next day off to ensure it wouldn't clash with Hephaestus and Tsubaki's schedules.

"Come to think of it, I haven't told her about my harem plans and the other girls," I pondered, realizing that honesty would be crucial. Although I cared for her deeply, I also understood that if she didn't feel comfortable with the idea, there was nothing I could do to change that.

"Sigh, a harem is stressful," I muttered, the complexities of managing multiple relationships weighing on my mind.

After taking a quick shower, brushing my teeth, and changing my clothes, I left my familia manor for the guild.

"I will have to tell Rose everything during our date," I muttered to myself, aware that the outcome could either lead to a happily ever after or the eternal friend zone.

As I walked through the city streets, I purposely avoided the route that passed by the Hostess of Fertility, intending to avoid the complications that came with encountering Syr.

Upon entering the guild, I spotted Rose engrossed in her work, overwhelmed by the recent surge in adventurers due to the city's recovery after turbulent times.

Choosing to maintain some distance until she had a moment to spare, I put on my hoodie and waited in a quiet corner. I didn't want to risk running into Ais or getting caught up in the chaos of the guild.

Growing bored after a while, I decided to occupy myself by reading through the descriptions of different floors in the dungeon. Despite having already memorized most of the information, I wanted to keep myself busy.