After Ais, Lefiya, and Roy parted ways, the two stored the magic stones and drop items in the Loki Familia's vault at the Guild, planning to sell them to merchants tomorrow.
After all, most of the magic stones and drop items belonged to Roy, so it wasn't convenient to bring them back to the Familia.
Upon returning to the Twilight Manor, they were immediately greeted by Loki.
"Welcome back! I missed you, Ais-tan!"
In the lounge, Loki rushed toward Ais with open arms and a bright smile, her face twisted into a lecherous grin as she aimed for a hug.
Ais deftly dodged Loki and said, "Loki, I'm going to shower first. Update my status later."
"Let me hug you, Ais-tan! It's been days!" Loki whined, feigning grievance while her sleazy expression remained unchanged.
"Then I'll update another time," Ais replied, unmoved.
"No, no, no!" Loki backpedaled quickly. "Hehe, it's been so long since I felt Ais-tan's soft skin!"
"If you try anything funny, I'll kill you," Ais said flatly, her words chilling.
"Lefiya, want a status update too?" Loki asked casually, turning to her.
"O-okay," Lefiya agreed, though she doubted her status had improved much.
After all, she'd mostly followed Roy and Ais to the 37th floor, rarely fighting monsters.
Her biggest gain was grasping the basics of concurrent chanting.
For her, that outweighed any status growth.
"Ais, you're back. How was the haul?" Bete the werewolf asked indifferently as he passed by.
"Not bad," Ais nodded.
"Bete, your small talk sucks!" Tiona jabbed mercilessly. "You rushed over at news of Ais's return, just to say that? Give up on her already."
"Shut it, you lovesick Amazon!" Bete snarled. "Go chase your crush!"
"Wanna fight?" Tiona shot back, undaunted.
"Are you even qualified?" Bete sneered.
"You've got some nerve saying that," Tiona retorted. "Who goes gaga over any guy? Too bad he ignores you, huh?"
"Enough, both of you," Riveria sighed, rubbing her forehead. This wasn't new, but it was still a headache.
Especially lately—Roy's prior incident had escalated their bickering.
Though trivial, it grated.
"It's not my fault," Bete grumbled.
"Riveria, don't you have searching magic? Help me find him," Tiona pleaded expectantly.
"That's none of my business!" Riveria snapped. Falling in love and expecting help? Did Tiona see her as a mother?
"But I can't find him—I don't know where he is," Tiona pouted, dejected.
"I'm showering," Ais said abruptly, slipping away guiltily at Roy's mention, heading to her room.
Lefiya followed suit, returning to her room with a guilty conscience.
After showering, they reconvened in the lounge.
In the adjacent small room, Loki had prepared tools to update their Status.
Lefiya went first, and as expected, her basic abilities hadn't grown much.
Emerging, she saw Bete and Tiona glaring daggers again—they'd clearly quarreled during her update.
"Ignore them," Riveria said dismissively, noticing Lefiya's concern.
But soon after Riveria left the room, Loki's exclamation echoed from inside.
"Ais ranked up to Lv.6!"
Loki shouted triumphantly, her voice booming through the manor as if bragging.
The entire Familia heard her raspy cry, turning toward the source.
As Ais and Loki exited, congratulations poured in.
"Way to go, reaching Lv.6!"
Even Tiona and Bete offered envious yet genuine praise, hugging her arm or nodding.
"You've caught up completely," Finn smiled warmly.
Lv.6 held special meaning for the Loki Familia.
It signaled the new gen rivaling the old, adding another top-tier adventurer to Orario.
"Thanks," Ais said shyly.
"Ais, what did you do in the dungeon?" Riveria asked.
Others leaned in curiously.
Ais had lingered at Lv.5 for three years, her basic abilities -ready—lacking only high class excelia.
Her dungeon trip and return ranked up meant she'd achieved one in days.
Ais bowed her head, her stoic face tense, staying silent.
"Ais, did you do something dangerous again?" Riveria asked, worry flickering in her eyes.
"Not really," Ais reflected and replied.
She'd given her all against Udaeus.
But she knew Roy would save her if truly endangered.
"Hey, elf, you've been with Ais—don't you know?" Bete shifted focus to Lefiya.
"M-me?" Lefiya stammered nervously.
"Yeah, spill it!" Bete demanded.
"If it's just a challenge, that shouldn't suffice for rank up," Finn mused, pinpointing the key.
Their Familia knew Udaeus well from deep-floor expeditions.
"Ais must have at least tied—or beaten—Udaeus," Finn eyed her sharply.
"What?!" Eyes widened in disbelief.
Udaeus was an Lv.6 monster requiring their full first-tier lineup for a clean win.
Ais soloing to a draw or victory was astounding.
"Incredible, Ais!" Tiona exclaimed, gripping her arm excitedly.
"Lefiya, describe it!" Knowing Ais's reticence, they turned to her.
Delighted, Lefiya eagerly recounted Ais's heroics, embellishing for drama.
Hearing her own feats exaggerated, Ais blushed shyly—had she been that impressive?
"If that guy hadn't stopped her, Ais would've slain it..." Lefiya babbled excitedly, slipping up.
"That guy..." Bete's gaze sharpened on Lefiya.
"Someone else was there?" Finn asked curiously.
They'd returned safely, and Lefiya mentioned 'that guy' without malice—likely not a foe.
"Lefiya, who's that guy?" Tiona pressed curiously.
"I-I-I..." Lefiya stuttered, regretting her loose tongue.
"You what? Spit it out!" Bete snapped.
Ais sighed inwardly—this couldn't be hidden. With their concern, the Guild could easily uncover Roy's identity.
"It's Roy," Ais admitted.
The name from Ais's lips stunned everyone but Lefiya.
"Who?" Loki rubbed her ears incredulously.
"Roy posted an escort commission at the Guild. I accepted and went dungeon-diving with him," Ais explained calmly.
"That Hestia brat kidnapped my Ais?!" Loki wailed, her face a mix of betrayal and despair—still smarting from her two-month booze ban.
"You were with Roy these days?" Tiona griped, dissatisfied. "Ais, you're sneaky—not telling me about such a chance!"
Ais stayed silent, head lowered.
She'd joined Roy secretly; Lefiya was accidental—how could she tell others?
"Lovesick Amazon, what nonsense?" Bete fumed. "Didn't you hear? It was just an escort."
"If that Roy can beat Lv.5, why commission an escort for deep floors? Pathetic! Hahaha!"
"He could've teamed with mid-class adventurers— but no need for commissions."
"His strength must be fake—others look down on him!"
Bete mocked, finding his angle.
"Why so hostile toward Roy, Bete?" Lefiya interjected, irked by the slander. "Roy's truly Lv.5—maybe even Lv.6."
"Getting more absurd—Lv.6?" Bete scoffed.
"I'm not lying," Lefiya insisted, puffing her chest. "It's true."
"Bete, you deny without knowing. You've never met Roy—how can you call his strength fake?"
"What did you say?!" Bete's glare intensified.
"Exactly!" Tiona chimed in proudly, aligning with Lefiya.
"I've seen Roy's power—he even bested Udaeus, proving Lv.6."
"Bete, what do you know about Roy?"
Read advance chapters at:
200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter