Here it is.
A light chapter, not really anything else I can say.
I really wanted to make people go: O_O to his achievements, but I think that would be putting them down too much.
I think they react in accordance to where their surroundings and what they saw half decently at least.
If you're up for a small teaser...
There'll be around 5-6 more chapters with the Loki Familia before ending with the Amphisbaena.
One of those chapters will be a side chapter where it'll be all about funny character interactions and a bit of showing off.
After that, the events that'll lead to the end.
Bye!
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"You sure are full of surprises…" Gareth mumbled as he scratched his beard
'Silver could only smirk at the Dwarf's words.'
"I am well aware that I'm not really normal."
"Hm? Is that some form of bragging, boy?"
/Chuckle/
"Who knows? Aren't you pretty unordinary yourself?"
"..."
'Gareth smiled, honestly, he liked Silver's personality very much.'
'But as he turned to the side, seeing several people making their way to them, he grimaced, he felt as if these people were treating this boy as an animal in display instead of a fellow adventurer...'
'Even so, instead of asking what he was curious about, something else came into mind...'
"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked as he turned to face Silver again
Before I took him out of that pile of ash, his body was full of wounds and he was also very rough, the very same look adventurers who went through extreme times would have...
His breath was also very strong with the smell of herbs and potions...
I think I understand now, after he barely survived whatever happened here, he hid inside the ash to recover.
I remember that he had a self-healing ability, so he must've treated some of his more serious wounds first.
Despite what he is showing right now, I can tell he is very tired, but he still persevered through the pain so as to not make us worry...
'Without doing anything, it seemed Silver had gained a small bit of respect from the Old Dwarf, who was now nodding at him slightly.'
"How do I feel?"
I healed most of my superficial wounds, but there are still many other things to stitch back together...
My body is flaring and burning all around, I might still have some small fractures left to heal.
"Good enough… Albeit I'll take some time off after I'm back, thank you for worrying about me."
This should be enough for now.
Next, the biggest problem at hand… How do I collect the loot without them noticing?
Will I have to carry it all the way back? I'll do it if that's the case.
Also… Time to prepare a prop backpack, if they find out I came here without one, they'll not only question my sanity, but also my credibility as an adventurer.
Some proper gear as well...
'While Gareth let out a grunt, Tiona took this opportunity to talk again:'
"Hey! Is it true? You came here to hunt the Tyrant?!"
'No matter how much she thought, she couldn't understand it.'
"I said that before already didn't I?"
No matter how many times you ask, how am I supposed to reply?
Though it's not like I don't understand, no matter how high my stats are, this should be impossible.
If this goes on... Not to say the Loki Familia, people may want to see my Level.
I wouldn't mind showing it to them... But not now, if someone sees my stats, they'll realize what's wrong.
Once I level up, I wouldn't mind showing the 4 on my back, that'll shut them up.
The rest I'll leave it to their imagination.
"But… You know..."
Before Tiona could finish her words, she was cut off by another lady:
"How?" Ais asked with a tint of curiosity
'Her hair moving in the hot wind, the sword princess asked the rising adventurer the thing she wanted to know the most...'
'That 'How' wasn't as simple as it seemed...'
'Silver turned to face her, and only now did he realize just how many people had gathered around him…'
'The twins, Ais, the unconscious Lefiya being carried by another Elf, and a few others…'
'Now, the only ones far away were Riveria and Finn, who were walking closer, together with Bete, who despite acting as if he didn't care, was slowly approaching by the minute.'
'He would deny any sort of interest, Bete liked to say that pride was useless, but that would be a lie.'
'Right now, after what happened last time they met, Bete had been training nonstop like a machine using all sorts of dangerous methods to the point Gareth was forced to intervene.'
'And if he were to ask that as well, Bete would literally dig a hole in embarrassment.'
'Frowning, Silver asked, "What exactly do you mean by how?" as he looked at her.'
"My routes? I just took the normal path, nothing special."
"Or do you want to know something else?" He asked playfully
'He knew exactly what she wanted to know, but why not joke around?'
'Of course, giving the situation, Ais was incapable of seeing the irony in his words, taking them seriously as she went into a deep ponder...'
"?"
'As those words were pronounced, Ais entered into a never-ending cycle of questions…'
How?... What do I mean by that?
How did you hunt?... Grab your sword and… Swing it?
No, that isn't it, just that isn't enough to come down here, I learned that many years ago...
So what is it? He is alone, which means... He's Level 6?! Not that either.
If so, he's good at something else... Hunting?
In a way that allows him to come down here?...
Secret passages? Environmental knowledge?
'Words that she rarely used passed through her mind as the cogs of her conscience turned.'
But what is to hunt? How do you hunt?
How do I reply? What do I want to know?...
"Um..."
'But saving her from her own nightmare, Tione opened her mouth to blurt something rather rude…'
"She's asking how did a Level 2 like made your way here."
"PFFT"
'Raul spat some of the water he was drinking on the ground due to shock...'
"Cough... Not subtle at all..."
'Cruz's ears dropped slightly as he face-palmed, once again, the Amazon's failed to read the atmosphere...'
"!"
'Silent awkwardness filled the air as everyone looked at Tione, who was now looking at the ground with a slightly red face.'
'She had a look of, "I was just trying to help!" plastered on her face.'
'Regardless, her words were the truth, they had the same question in their heads…'
'How is he here?'
'Of course, it's not like the way is blocked, anyone can pass between floors.'
'But amidst the onslaught of monsters, much less a Level 4 adventurer, even a Level 5 would die before reaching this floor, even if they were equipped with top gear of the likes of Magic swords and Items.'
'Perhaps reach this place depending on how they fought...'
'Nevertheless, a team is necessary to reach this far and to go beyond, an expedition had to be built…'
'People aren't machines, to maximize effectiveness, a team large enough to switch positions every once in a while in order to decrease the pressure and the load on each member is necessary to raid the Deep floors.'
'To divide the burden...'
'Yet they didn't see any such people nearby, which was also one of the reasons why no one brought this up, thinking he might've lost them…'
'Losing someone wasn't easy, and no one wanted to be the first one to bring that up.'
'Of course, he could be one of those rare cases of people with special abilities... They already knew he had a unique assortment of abilities, but they never saw how far he could go with it.'
'There was once a thief that could completely erase his presence, and he used to cause mayhem in the city until he was apprehended...'
'But that isn't the only way to come down here alone, All of the Executives could, but one thing is to come, another is to go back.'
'As for Ais, she felt strange, this wasn't what she wanted, she never looked down on his ability as an adventurer, she merely asked whatever came onto her mind at the moment without putting too much thought into it.'
'It only then came to her that she was being very rude and that Tione had taken the blow for her...'
'However, she was genuinely interested in knowing the methods this supposed Level 2 used to come this far.'
'How did he deal with the monsters in the Water City? What paths did he use? What strategies? Then what about all of the floors after that?'
'What was his secret for fighting stronger monsters?'
'This was for her dream, did he know anything that could help her?'
'All adventurers dreamed of being stronger than their actual Levels but few could pull it off, and once in a blue moon, an adventurer that could go beyond even that appeared as well.'
'A top Level 4 defeating a recent Level 5 appears every once in a while, it isn't technically that rare.'
'But a new Level 4 defeating an established Level 5? This is completely different.'
'Yet right now, they were seeing a rather recent Level 2 fighting against Level 4 monsters? And even a Level 5 one?'
'From their perspective, 3-5 months is nothing, barely enough time for someone to get used to their new Level.'
'That was why it was so flabbergasting when they heard the news of someone that had become Level 2 in 2 months...'
'Not just any Level 2 mind you, but one that could take on Level 3's and even fight a Level 4, even if defeated, it was a fight to behold.'
'Just how could he have such progress?'
"Oh…"
'Listening to Tione's words, Silver's expression became a bit more serene.'
'He knew she didn't have the intent to mock him, but at the same time, she hid a bit of contempt within her tone, just a little, still much less than what the others had.'
'While Ais had no such feelings for him, Tione and Tiona had close to none while the others had their own fluctuating emotions.'
'Each had their own circumstances, and Silver wouldn't hold them accountable for being doubtful in this situation.'
'He isn't a child.'
'That would one day change anyway, and people wouldn't question him even if he were to appear much deeper... But that wasn't that day yet.'
"Guess that is indeed a bit off from your perspective."
'Silver had to think deeply before replying to her question.'
Well…
The question is, do I play this safe and make an excuse…
Or do I brazenly admit to what I did?
Perhaps something in between?
I'll admit and say that if I didn't have my pocket space to bring items with me, and my ability to teleport, getting this far would be tiring, I might not even be able to do it.
It takes around 2 weeks to come this far for a normal party and expedition, and at most, I would cut that time to around a few days as I can fly throughout the floors and maintain my invisibility, avoiding as many monsters as possible.
But every time I come, I always jump all of the previous floors with just a single ability, and I can then replenish what I lost with a potion from the pocket space.
My starting point is completely different from theirs which is always stuck on the first floor...
I can always train where I'm supposed to, fighting stronger creatures than I'm supposed to, and whenever I need, I can retreat... It's obvious I would grow much faster.
In fact, how long has it been since I actually stepped into the Upper floors...?
Ironically, I have been training on the Lower floors for weeks, and I haven't touched the first floor even once...
'He looked all around at the destruction he had caused, although they didn't know that.'
'Or you could say... They didn't want to believe it.'
"How do I put it?..."
"Things happened, the monsters on the Water city weren't enough anymore, so I came further down, eventually reaching here."
"... What a trashy answer." Bete said on the side as he approached them
'He had a dark aura around him, his eyes said it all, he was displeased with seeing Silver here, for many reasons of course, but most of all, he felt conflicted.'
'Bete felt this once already, it was during the time he saw Ais, how she quickly leveled up and overtook him, and he came to fall for her.'
'Despite not having any such feelings for Silver, Bete felt something similar to that time... But only he and his distorted emotions could tell that in the end.'
'He approached Silver and looked at him with a ferocious look.'
"If you came here on your own, or through some other method, just say it, why blabber so much?"
"Just say it already!"
"..."
'But Silver didn't seem that intimated, only staring down at the Wolf boy.'
'From his perspective, Bete's outburst looked more like a cry for help than an attempt of acting tough.'
'He sought strength, he wanted to know more than anyone else, perhaps even Ais, what made him this strong.'
'Bete's senses already made him capable of distinguishing what happened in this place...'
'An intense battle of the likes he only sees in the Deep floors where monster armies are the standard.'
'And at the center of it all was this bastard... There was no one else on the 36th floor, no smells, nothing, only him.'
'Gritting his teeth and seeking another answer is a waste of his time, so he needed to confront it now!'
"This isn't the place for that man." He replied with a shrug
This guy has anger issues, but I don't think he means any harm for the most part.
Still, the way he speaks makes me want to beat him up... But not here, not in the Dungeon...
"He's right, shut up Bete!" Tione said as she looked at Bete, taking this opportunity to pass all of the shame to him
'Bete became infuriated as he pointed at Silver and exclaimed:'
"What?! I'm right though!"
"Don't tell me you buy his weak words?"
'But before the situation became went out of control, Finn and Riveria intervened as they arrived from the backlines.'
"Bete, enough, other Familia's businesses isn't something we should pry into." Riveria said as she pulled the Wolf man's ears
Especially one we are technically indebted to.
'He became infuriated, he couldn't take it anymore, every time they met, it was the same thing, no answers, only these shallow words that explained nothing...'
'Like being teased endlessly.'
"AHH! Not you too, old hag!"
/Thunder!/
"Oh no…"
'Everyone turned to look at Bete, their expressions dark…'
'Out of every word he could've uttered…'
"Ah? N-No! I meant…"
'Bete tried to explain himself, but it was already too late, Riveria was now gazing at him with an emotionless smile.'
"Looks like you need some counseling."
'The thing she hates the most out of everything is being called old, and if you dare to add something like 'single' in the same phrase, it's over for you, not even Loki can save you anymore…'
'No, if Loki saw you say that, she would be the first to leave the room out of fear of being dragged into Riveria's wrath!'
'Praying for her child, she would leave without looking back.'
'The strength of this 100-year-old Level 6 Elf wasn't something that can be overlooked.'
'As the wolf was dragged by the elf, screaming all sorts of things, begging for forgiveness and cursing the heavens, a blond Pallum approached Silver with an apologetic smile...'
'Enough of being impressed, this wasn't the place, nor the time for it.'
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Notes