章節 9: One Day One Night

Meanwhile, in Twilight Manor.

In the divine room, Loki paced restlessly.

'Why hasn't he returned yet?'

Watching the sky outside gradually darken, her irritation became more apparent.

'He went out last night, and it's been a whole day today. It's been one day and one night, right?'

Recalling Riezel's cold and resolute figure as he left the room last night, Loki couldn't help but bite her nails.

'Did something happen? Seriously?'

Just one day into joining the Familia, and the treasure she just got was gone like that?

'If I had known, I wouldn't have indulged him.'

Loki regretted. She knew Riezel was likely to have gone into the dungeon.

Originally, as a rookie who had just received a blessing, with abilities not much different from an ordinary person, she should have stopped him when she figured out his intention.

But because his potential was too promising, despite just receiving the blessing and having basic abilities no different from an ordinary person, with one magic and three skills, coupled with his consistently calm and composed demeanor, seeming so tactful, she ultimately chose not to intervene and indulged the newcomer once.

Little did she know that this indulgence would lead to a major incident.

'Come to think of it, even if that kid is tactful and has high potential, entering the dungeon rashly as a newcomer is a risky business.'

Leaving aside other considerations, such as the dungeon's information, Riezel didn't know much.

For instance, the map of each floor of the dungeon or the abilities and types of monsters generated on each floor.

As a rookie adventurer, he should have gathered all this information before entering the dungeon.

However, Riezel completely neglected such preparations. Wasn't it highly probable that he would encounter unforeseen circumstances?

'Could he have been injured due to not understanding the monsters' attack patterns?'

'Or maybe he got lost due to not understanding the terrain?'

'Or did he encounter an anomaly or a monster feast? But those situations hardly occur on the first few floors, right?'

Loki couldn't help but let her thoughts wander.

'No, I need to find help.'

In the end, she couldn't sit still, leaving the divine room and heading outside.

Just as she was about to send someone to the dungeon to search for Riezel, someone shouted.

"That rookie is back!"

At the entrance of Twilight Manor, the Familia member in charge of guarding called out.

"Back?"

Loki's eyes lit up, and without thinking, she rushed towards the manor entrance gate. However, when she reached the entrance, the scene that met her eyes left her speechless.

"Hey, rookie, are you really okay?"

"You don't look fine at all like this."

"Here, take this water, and this is a potion, drink up quickly."

"What the hell did you do to end up like this?"

Several members of Loki Familia gathered at the gate one after another, panicking and discussing in a fluster while constantly asking Riezel about his well-being and handing him various items.

"Thanks for the concern. I'm really okay."

Riezel thanked the seniors from the Familia, his tone was calm as ever, but his body's condition was quite poor.

His clothes were tattered, covered in various bloodstains that had turned black, making it hard to tell if it was his or the monster's. His black hair was messy and wet, giving him a disheveled appearance that was as bad as it could get.

In his hands was a short sword, stained with fresh blood with its blade curled.

Such an image was genuinely shocking.

"You..."

Loki stepped forward, wanting to scold him but held back.

"Follow me."

Loki, with an unfriendly expression, didn't care about the intimidated Familia members around, dragging Riezel away without hesitation.

He didn't resist, letting her lead him to the top floor of the central tower, and entering her room.

Without waiting for Loki to say anything, Riezel took the initiative to speak.

"Sorry for worrying you."

He lowered his head and apologized to her.

This left Loki speechless, unable to say anything at all. She could only take a deep breath, staring at him with an unchanged unfriendly expression.

"I won't ask what you've been through. I'll just ask, were you in the dungeon all day and night?"

"Yes." Riezel nodded with his eyes downcast.

"...And you stayed in the dungeon in this condition for a day and night?" Loki's mouth twitched. "On the 1st Floor?"

"No..." Riezel stayed silent for a while and then calmly said, "If my memory serves me right, I should have walked through the passage to the next floor four times."

At these words, for a split second, Loki was stunned.

Walked through the passage to the next floor four times?

"You... Did you go down to the 5th Floor?" Loki asked with astonishment, and all she got was his silence.

She rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"You've just received a blessing for less than a day, haven't even registered as an adventurer in the Guild, and you went down to the 5th Floor, alone? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Loki was on the verge of fainting.

This was ridiculous.

Just after receiving a blessing, rookie adventurers, even in a three-person party, usually only explore the 1st Floor for their first time in the dungeon, assuming nothing unexpected happens.

As rookies, their abilities were still immature and unremarkable. In such circumstances, simply overcoming the fear and timidity of entering the dungeon already took considerable effort, not to mention fighting monsters and exploring the labyrinth.

So, rookies usually need a significant amount of time to adapt before considering going to lower floors.

Even in such cases, a rookie party would typically only explore the first four floors and never venture into the 5th Floor.

In fact, seniors in the Familia would absolutely prevent any rookie from entering the 5th Floor.

The reason was straightforward.

Starting from the 5th Floor of the Dungeon, not only did the variety of monsters increase and become stronger, but even the structure of the dungeon became more complex.

Not to mention the significant rise in the frequency of monster appearances, but starting from the 5th Floor, the dungeon underwent a complete transformation. Its size alone surpassed the central square of Orario, and the difficulty of exploration suddenly reached another level.

For rookie adventurers without guidance or prior knowledge of the conditions on the 5th Floor and the types of monsters that appeared there, it wasn't surprising if they met their end on this floor.

Given this, the 5th Floor was considered the first significant death line in the dungeon. Compared to the first four floors, it undoubtedly became much more dangerous.

And yet, Riezel, on his first dungeon delve, decided to charge into the 5th Floor alone?

Without any armor on his body and his status not having experienced any growth, in a state where his basic abilities were no different from an average person?

It was as if he were asking to die!

"I really want to know how you've managed to survive until now, kiddo..." Loki said while looking at Riezel with a furious expression.

Seeing this, Riezel didn't offer any defense; he only expressed his confusion.

"To be honest, I'm also curious. I initially planned to return after pushing myself to exhaustion, but for some reason, my stamina seems inexhaustible, and my mind remains sharp. Before I knew it, I had spent a whole day and night in the dungeon."

That was the truth.

Riezel had indeed intended to return once he felt exhausted. Even though he was caught up in extreme excitement, enjoying the thrill of battle and unwilling to stop, he wasn't foolish. When he reached his limits, he would naturally calm down and retreat.

The problem lay here.

He didn't feel exhausted at all. The energy of body and mind seemed genuinely endless. No matter how much he fought, killed, ran, or explored, he just didn't feel tired.

As a result, he couldn't gauge the time and extent of his retreat properly. Under the domination of his heightened emotions, he unintentionally pushed all the way to the 5th Floor.

If his stomach hadn't suddenly growled and felt hungry, he wouldn't have realized he had been in the dungeon for so long.

"This must be because of your development abilities..." Loki could only speak with a hint of irritation.

Her words made Riezel pause for a moment.

"Development abilities?" Riezel furrowed his brow.

"Yeah, the ones I mentioned to you yesterday. They're additional abilities you have a chance of gaining only when you level up." Loki explained with a less-than-pleasant tone.

Despite her tone, Riezel knew what development abilities were.

As Loki described, they were acquired with a certain probability during leveling up, distinct from the basic abilities of STR, END, DEX, AGI, and MAG. They were special abilities, an extension of basic abilities, introducing extra personal attributes.

Unlike basic abilities, development abilities were only divided into S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I ranks but lacked proficiency. Improving them was extremely difficult, but they offered passive benefits.

For example, in this world, a blacksmith who received a blessing and leveled up to Level 2 had a chance to gain a development ability called 'Blacksmith'. Holding this ability allowed them to add special attributes to the equipment they forged, creating advanced equipment akin to magical equipment.

There were many such development abilities, including some useful ones for combat. Riezel's skill called 'Endless', granted him three development abilities.

"The effect of 'Healing Power' is the automatic restoration of stamina. Even without taking a break, you can rapidly recover while fighting."

"The effect of 'Spirit Healing' is the automatic restoration of mind. You can get recovery during battles without the need for deep rest."

"The effect of 'Abnormal Resistance' is the ability to resist abnormal status, such as poisoning."

Loki explained the effects of each development ability and sighed wearily.

"The reason you can spend a day and night in the dungeon without feeling tired is because of those development abilities."