Over the next few days, Adam stayed home instead of venturing into the Dungeon, conserving his energy and maintaining his vitality in preparation for the upcoming expedition.
During this time, he briefly met with Liliruca Arde and Welf Crozzo, exchanging only a few words.
What Adam didn't expect was Bell's bold move!
Bell sought out Ais, requesting her help with training his skills. To everyone's surprise, she agreed.
This made Hestia incredibly jealous.
Yet despite her unhappiness, she didn't interfere. Instead, she encouraged Ais to train Bell thoroughly and even joined them for meals at the tavern.
The days passed quickly until the expedition arrived.
To avoid exposure, Adam made up an excuse to leave the Familia residence, keeping his deal with Ouranos secret from Hestia. He headed to the predetermined meeting point.
When he arrived, he found all members of Loki Familia fully prepared, with even the Hephaestus Familia blacksmiths in attendance.
This showed just how seriously they were taking this expedition.
"Hey, Adam, you're here." Finn said, coming over to greet him.
As the Familia Captain, he knew an Adventurer from another Familia would be joining the expedition.
Loki had specifically instructed him to watch this person during the expedition for any signs of trouble.
As his Goddess's command, Finn had no choice but to comply.
Yet when he learned the person was Adam, he couldn't help but smile wryly. After all, Adam's strength matched their own — if he wanted to cause trouble, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
"What a mess Loki's dumped on us." Finn thought to himself.
But since the God had given the order, as a Familia member, he couldn't refuse. He would do his best to ensure no Familia members were lost during this expedition.
"Hello, Captain Finn." Adam nodded, "Please guide me during this expedition."
"Guide you my ass!" A rough, rude voice cut through their friendly exchange.
They turned to see a werewolf with silver-white short hair and a distinctive lightning-shaped tattoo on his face, wearing standard adventurer gear.
What caught the most attention were his metal boots, which gleamed in the sunlight, hinting at their extraordinary nature.
Bete Loga, The Fenris.
Known for his arrogant personality and venomous speech, he looked down on weak novice Adventurers, belittling them with harsh words. His terrible reputation preceded him.
"Who's this nobody trying to join our expedition? Our Familia doesn't need weaklings — trash like you should crawl back to wherever you came from!"
Sure enough, Bete, this fierce wolf, went straight for the bite with language harsh enough to crush any ordinary Adventurer's spirit.
Unfortunately for him, he was facing the master of passive-aggressiveness. When it came to throwing shade, Adam feared no one.
He immediately activated his skill —〚Passive Aggressive〛
He turned to Finn, "Captain Finn, isn't it dangerous to bring pets on an expedition? Especially such an aggressive one — while it might be good for warning against enemies, what if it accidentally bites back?"
"You bastard!" Bete exploded with rage.
He was always the one trash-talking others, but now, finding himself on the receiving end of such disparaging remarks—
To be degraded to a dog?! His hot temper wouldn't allow such an insult.
He immediately moved to throw a punch at Adam.
But before he could even raise his arm, his Captain's shout stopped him.
"But—!" Bete started, but Adam cut him off.
"Honestly, I don't understand your motivation."
"Look, Finn must have told you about me joining your expedition, yet you still came to provoke me... trying to show your dominance?"
"So what?!" Bete tilted his head, glaring at the man who irritated him, "I hate weaklings the most! They're just in the way — cowardly as mice, completely useless in the Dungeon!"
"Then what makes someone strong?"
"Someone like me, of course!"
"Heh, someone who mindlessly mocks others can hardly be called strong."
Adam's mockery was like a spark hitting a powder keg — Bete exploded instantly.
With rage clouding his judgment, he charged forward recklessly, throwing a punch at the seemingly defenseless man.
A light sound — the collision of palm and fist.
A powerful gust of wind burst forth, making Adam's cloak flutter and the trees rustle behind them. He had caught the powerful punch effortlessly.
"Sneak attacks aren't the mark of a strong person, Mr. Adorable Puppy."
"What did you say—?!" Bete tried to pull back his fist, but couldn't budge it despite his strength, "You!"
"Well, as Mr. Adorable Puppy said, we should indeed verify my strength. The upcoming expedition is dangerous, and not knowing your companion's capabilities is a major taboo in the Dungeon." Adam continued, completely ignoring Bete's furious expression.
Bete bared his teeth, revealing the sharp fangs unique to werewolves, his fierce expression matched by his agitated tail swaying back and forth.
Yet despite his struggles, he couldn't break free from Adam's grip.
Adam turned to the wryly smiling Finn, "Captain Finn, I think Mr. Adorable Puppy would be perfect for this role, what do you think?"
In that moment, Bete had unwittingly become a training dummy.
What nerve! The absolute nerve!
Not only was he getting beaten up, but he was being mocked too. Though Bete had started it, and this was merely self-defense — if he got beaten, he'd have no one to blame but himself.
You couldn't really call that evil, could you?
"Please go easy on him." Finn said, not rejecting the proposal.
He had two goals in mind: to gauge Adam's true strength and to teach the impulsive Bete a lesson.
Killing two birds with one stone — a captain had to consider such things.
"Finn, is this okay?"
Both Ais and Riveria watched with concern.
But seeing Finn shake his head slightly, they fell silent and chose to observe.
The truth was, while Bete had a rough attitude and said vicious things, his actions often contradicted his harsh words.
In other words, he was a classic tsundere through and through.
Adam understood why Bete had come to provoke him — it was simply to test the newcomer's strength while helping them integrate into the group.
His intentions were good, but his foul mouth was too much to bear. Even though Adam considered himself a righteous person, he couldn't let such taunts slide. A lesson was in order.
Well, he'd do Finn a favor and end this in one move.
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