After helping Lia, Rio left that place and headed to the place where the protagonist should be completing his hidden mission.
Yeah, Fade got that fruit by completing a hidden mission in this dungeon. It's a mission you will get if you enter the desert area.
In the middle of the desert area, you can trigger that mission by standing near the oasis.
To get that fruit, you have to reach the middle of the oasis which is protected by a D-rank monster.
How did Fade get that fruit when there's a monster of D-rank? Oh, come on, just shut down your brain for a while and start thinking with your knees for a few seconds; you will be able to understand how he got it.
Some people came before Fade near that lake and got attacked by that monster and Fade got the fruit amidst all this, then other students started to pursue him and got face slapped by him.
In the end, that D-rank monster was left there without any care in the world.
'I am going there to test my sword on that monster...'
'I wonder how many strikes can that monster take from me...'
...
After 15 minutes of running at full speed, Rio was already standing near that place behind a huge stone. Observing all the plot happening in front of him as written in the novel.
After Fade ran away with the fruit, all the students ran after him, and the snake-shaped monster was left alone It stood there for a few minutes, continuously looking in the direction the students left, but it did not chase.
'Hmm, so it's true that D-rank and above monsters generally don't leave their territory.'
Then Rio left his hiding place and walked towards the monster. The monster instantly got wary. Unlike other monsters, it didn't rush to fight because it could sense the aura of a D-rank.
Unlike humans, monsters are sensitive to the aura of other creatures.
Rio did not delay anymore and unleashed a sword slash on the snake.
[Elemental Sword Art: Wind Type: Raging Wind!]
He took his stance, placed the sword beside his waist and swung it in a horizontal manner. A massive arc made of condensed wind elementals launched at the snakes head at an extremely fast speed
*BOOM!*
Just the air pressure from that attack cracked the ground and made the air in the surroundings tremble like crazy, the sword broke through the sound barrier, and a loud sonic boom rang out in the area loudly.
The snake seemed to have sensed it's 'Death' in that moment; it's pupils dilated, and it used all it's might to dodge the attack at all costs.
The attack caused a huge wound on its head but it did not die but just got wounded.
'Hmm, kinda weak... looks like I cannot kill D-rank monsters in one strike yet; I should train more after going back.'
Rio glanced at his sword and felt a bit disappointed in his own strength, as a training maniac, he can't accept this outcome.
Seemingly frightened, the snake tried to escape, but with another slash, Rio sliced its head off before it could even move.
Rio looked at the dead body of the snake with his usual expressionless face and his emotionless eyes. If someone had witnessed him do this, they would have been frightened by his cold-blooded nature.
'This was surprisingly easy and boring; where is the thrill, Where is the sense of adventuring in this?... is this thing really a hidden boss monster... tch, pathetic sh*t...' (Bro is a menace!!)
'Well, whatever... it's not like I care about it that much...'
Without him knowing, Rio's had a huge change in his mentality; nowadays he has become very selfish and he doesn't even care about the deaths anymore.
After contemplating for a while, Rio decided to leave the place.
After a few minutes of wandering, Rio found a stone; he sat on the stone and started to meditate. The mana density inside the dungeons is high so he just spent the rest of the time meditating.
Later, a white light covered him and teleported outside of the dungeon.
...
Outside the dungeon.
There were few students here compared to the number of students who entered the dungeon.
"Good work, everyone. We have recorded your kill count through your wrist clock, so the results will be released in a few days until then you can rest. The students who got injured or fainted have been taken to the healer's office. You can leave now."
'Let's head back; it's good that I didn't reveal my strength, The teachers can only figure out the kill number or the health of the students through the wrist clocks but they can't see the process. So, I can ignore being seen easily.'
After a while, Rio was already in his room. He changed his clothes, took a bath, and laid down to sleep.
He kissed his palm, then slapped that palm on his own head.
'Good night to me!... I mean the world to me! and I love myself a lot...'
...
The next morning.
When Rio was training in the gravitational training room, an uninvited guest visited him and invited him to a café. As he had nothing better to do at the moment and he was free, he decided to accept the invitation.
Rio went to the nearby café and sat down on an empty seat, the uninvited guest also sat down directly opposite him.
Due to this, Rio and Lia were inside a small café and sitting in front of each other.
While Rio was just sipping his tea, Lia was staring daggers into his face.
"Say, what do you want in exchange for saving me."
"Transfer money to my account" (Rio spoke in a calm tone)
"Don't you need anything else?"
"If you are unsatisfied then transfer even more money in my account." (Rio)
"O-Okay then."
After saying that, Lia left her seat and walked away. Rio continued to sip his tea until the bill was given to him.
'Damn it! She didn't pay for her tea' (Rio)
Rio left the café and started to head back while taking a stroll.
'If I remember correctly, Lia's personality was a tsundere type.' (Rio)
Lia is the only daughter of an S-rank Awakener.
Her father is the guild master of the guild named Silver Shadow. It's the second-strongest guild in the world; several S rankers work in that guild. Lia's father is the strongest S rank in that guild.
The first strongest guild belongs to Link's father, who is an SS-ranker.
'Now that I think about it, it won't be a bad choice to join her guild in the future, I can stay there until I become SS rank myself, I don't want to get entangled with that Link's guild.'
Not to mention that bastard will cause trouble for me; he will also end up getting killed by Fade together with his guild. Although I don't care about Fade, it's better to let Fade end that villain himself; it will help him in developing his strength.
'But if Fade tried to go as far as becoming an enemy of mine, I wouldn't mind destroying him and his system both myself and then I will make a cup of wine from his skull...'
'That sounds like an interesting idea actually... hehehe...'
There's no absolute in this world; as long as you have enough strength, you can do anything you want.
'Now it's time I look for that thing which will help me block Fade's appraisal. It's time to start the second round of stealing protagonists' chances.'