The next day, Ais brought Finn's news to Roy.
Roy had no reason to refuse and followed Ais to a restaurant's private room booked by Finn.
As Roy entered, he saw Loki lounging carelessly, chugging wine straight from the bottle in a bold stance.
"You brat!" Loki nearly choked, slamming the bottle's base on the table.
"Loki, Roy's the guest I mentioned," Finn added with a smile.
"Him? Some guest!" Loki curled her lips, resentment toward Roy still strong—likely not fading for a month or two.
"Sorry, Loki's been since losing valis at the arena," Finn apologized to Roy.
"I forgot to introduce myself—I'm Finn Deimne, captain of the Loki Familia."
"The name Finn Deimne—few in Orario don't know it," Roy smiled, extending his hand.
"I'm Roy Flott, sort of the captain of the Hestia Familia."
Finn shook Roy's hand.
[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining 100,000 dimension points]
The system chimed pleasantly in Roy's ear.
The Loki Familia was a treasure trove!
Several key plot characters remained—meeting them could get him hundreds of thousands more points, richer than random tasks.
Loki should be worth at least 300,000 points.
"Stinky kid, what scheme you cooking?" Loki shuddered under Roy's gaze.
"Just thought of something good to share with goddess Loki," Roy grinned kindly.
"Nothing good comes from your mouth!" Loki scoffed, wiser from her past loss, distrusting Roy.
Finn shot Loki an odd look.
She always tricked others, yet Roy made her cautious.
"Ais explained the details clearly, and you know them too, so I'll cut to the chase," Finn smiled.
"Can I see your space magic?"
"Space magic?" Loki set down her bottle, squinting at Roy.
"You awakened that rare stuff, kid?"
"No problem," Roy nodded, placing his hands on the table.
The entire table, items included, vanished instantly.
"Impressive," Finn marveled.
Not just a show—it was highly practical for dungeon-exploring adventurers, a true treasure.
"Kid, reconsider my old offer?" Loki's tone softened.
Roy tilted his head. "What offer?"
"Join my Familia," Loki grinned.
"Sure," Roy nodded bluntly, unlike his prior stance.
"But I've got conditions."
"Name them," Loki's eyes lit up.
Conditions were no issue for the Loki Familia.
"I'm not young. So, I'd like goddess Loki to play matchmaker," Roy said, feigning shyness.
"Tell me, who in my Familia do you fancy? I'll help," Loki glanced at Ais, then added quickly,
"But not Ais—she's my darling, off-limits."
"What're you thinking? I'm not aiming so small," Roy showed faint dissatisfaction.
"Good—not Ais," Loki exhaled in relief.
Ais's eyes fixed on Roy, a touch of gloom and unease she couldn't place.
"Then who?" Loki pressed.
"I hear your Familia's got Orario's cutest girls," Roy said cautiously.
"Yep, my precious treasures," Loki nodded proudly.
Collecting them was her joy, making her Familia's gender balance female-heavy, unlike others.
"I should marry, have kids, spread the family line," Roy continued carefully.
"To meet that, I need more cute girls."
Roy spread his palms, clenching a fist with conviction.
"So, I want them all!"
"Get out! You scheming brat!" Loki fumed, cursing.
"I haven't touched them after raising them so long, and you want to steal my harem?"
"Scram far as you can!"
"I'm serious—think it over?" Roy probed.
"Think? No way! Dream on!" Loki's attitude soured.
Finn cast Roy an admiring glance.
Pinpointing Loki's weakness—few in Orario could rile her like that.
"Let's talk expedition," Finn interjected.
Roy nodded, returning the table with a bottle of divine wine as a gift, instantly earning Loki's smile.
Finn asked Roy sideline questions, including about Loki Familia enemies like the evilus.
Roy answered easily, holding no ill intent—just aiming to follow their route.
After finalizing expedition details, Roy left.
"Loki, how was he?" Finn asked after Roy was gone.
"Fine, sensible guy. Just too greedy," Loki replied, eyeing Ais warily.
"Ais, watch this guy—keep your distance. He's shadier than me, definitely not good."
Ais ignored Loki's nonsense.
"That's not what I meant," Finn said, exasperated.
"No need to worry," Loki sipped the divine wine leisurely.
"Hestia's a brat, but her eye's solid. Roy's trustworthy."
"Didn't explain that yesterday?" Finn spread his hands.
"Obviously. Don't forget me for jobs —I'm happy to help," Loki grinned, hugging the wine.
Snagging divine wine today was a win.
Roy explained joining the Loki Familia expedition to Hestia.
Though Hestia disliked Loki, she supported Roy's choice.
Ais and Lefiya briefed Roy on expedition details, loading supplies into his Space.
Expedition day arrived.
Roy rose early— leaving their home to meet the Loki Familia at Babel's square.
Soon, a team with a jester flag approached—over 30 high-class adventurers.
Level 2 and 3 adventurers, elite cadres elsewhere, pushed supply carts here.
"Been a while, Roy," Finn greeted.
"Just got here," Roy smiled, shaking his head.
"Long time, handsome guy!" Tiona approached warmly, grabbing Roy's arm affectionately.
"Of course, Tiona," Roy smiled back.
Eyes in the plaza turned to the Loki Familia, mostly on Ais and other Level 1s, but some lingered on Roy, puzzled.
"It's the Loki Familia—expedition time!"
"So impressive. Wonder if I'll ever join one like theirs."
"Who's that guy? Not Loki Familia. Seen him here before."
"Think he's the one who beat big shots—a Level 1 crushing Level 5. Definitely not Loki's."
Roy's arena fame had faded after half a month of silence, known only to those present then.
Seeing him with the Loki Familia now sparked surprise.
"Everyone, our goal: reach the 59th floor, the dragon vase entry in our records," Finn announced.
"In the dungeon, we'll split into three teams. Riveria and I lead one, Gareth another, Raul the third."
"Start on different routes, regroup on the 18th floor, then push to the 50th. Understood?"
With over 30 members, supplies clogged passages. Splitting avoided upper-floor chaos.
"Clear!" the Loki Familia responded.
"Follow last night's group list and move," Finn ordered.
The large team dispersed.
Roy was grouped with Ais, Lefiya, and Tiona under Raul—technically free to join any, but placed with familiars.
"Finn, I want to switch teams," Bete glanced at Roy unhappily.
From first sight, he sensed discord with Roy, worsened by seeing him with Ais.
"Denied," Finn shook his head firmly.
"Teams were set yesterday—no changes."
"Ugh!" Bete huffed, displeased.
"Let's go," Finn led his team into the dungeon.
When Finn's group vanished, Raul ordered theirs to follow.
"Tiona, let go of Roy," Ais's eyes fixed on Tiona's grip on Roy's arm, speaking after a pause.
"Ais, you're too uptight," Tiona said, dissatisfied.
"What's wrong with me holding him?"
"It's hard to walk—troubles Roy," Ais gave a flimsy excuse.
"Ais, you're not jealous seeing me close to him, are you?" Tiona eyed Ais, smiling slyly.
"Jealous?" Ais tilted her head, unsure of the term.
"He's got another arm—grab it," Tiona grinned.
"?" Ais mimicked Tiona, wrapping Roy's other arm against her chest.
Roy felt a sharp gaze from behind—Lefiya, glaring resentfully.
Gareth and Raul smiled knowingly, then led the team into the dungeon.
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200 Stones = 1 chapter
400 Stones = 2 chapter