At this moment, Reiger had no idea that Loki had already summoned the entire clan's first-tier adventurers for him.
He was merely running through the streets, glancing at the sky that had turned completely dark, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Now I'm completely late."
With Loki's prior instructions, Reiger had originally intended to only venture up to the 7th level of the underground city, not to proceed any further to avoid delaying too much time and returning to the clan too late.
However, because his strength had once again grown, and his ability scores had been refreshed once more, Reiger visibly became stronger, to the point where even the 7th level could no longer offer any stimulation, which ultimately made him unable to resist going down to the 8th level.
That was when things became uncontrollable.
"Why did I get too excited and completely lose track of time?"
Reiger slapped his forehead, unable to resist sighing once again.
He knew this was a bad habit of his.
He had already been desperate for excitement, for change, due to hitting rock bottom, and now, due to the skill "Endless Growth" reaching the highest level of development potential, both his physical and mental energies seemed inexhaustible, no matter how much he used it didn't deplete. It was only natural for him to lose track of time if he inadvertently immersed himself in something too deeply.
If it wasn't for Reiger still being human, at least feeling hunger, then he might have just continued fighting without ever thinking of turning back.
"I hope I haven't kept Loki waiting too long."
Reiger had no choice but to quicken his pace and hurry back to the clan.
With Reiger's current speed and nearly inexhaustible stamina, when he earnestly sped up, he was naturally very efficient.
Therefore, it did not take long for Reiger to successfully return to the clan's base, back to the Hall of Twilight.
"Hey! Reiger!"
As Reiger was about to dash straight into the mansion, a voice came from above, causing him to halt in his steps.
Looking up, Reiger then noticed Loki sticking out from a window at the very top of the central tower, waving at him.
"You little rascal, finally back," Loki said with annoyance, "Hurry up and get here, everyone's waiting for you."
Upon hearing this, Reiger didn't waste words. He nodded to acknowledge, then quickly returned to his room, removed his dirty clothes and armor, set aside his weapons—one long, one short—by the bed, and after tidying up a bit, he swiftly proceeded to the chamber of the gods.
"Here, here! Hurry in!"
Before Reiger could knock, Loki, as if foreseeing the future, opened the door and dragged Reiger in.
Reiger walked into the chamber and was instantly bathed in gazes from all directions.
Turning to look, Reiger's eyebrows instantly rose.
Goodness, had all the first-tier adventurers of the clan actually shown up?
As Reiger was contemplating this, the others in the chamber also saw him.
"Is that him?"
Ais, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, was slightly startled upon seeing Reiger.
Theona also exclaimed in surprise.
"Aren't you the new guy that Ais was peeping at today?"
Theona's words, laden with substantial information, directly stupefied everyone present, including Reiger.
"The person Ais was peeping at?"
Finn and Grace both showed astonished expressions.
"So it was him Loki was talking about?"
Revilia also took a glance at Reiger.
"Indeed."
Theone, who was beside Finn, was equally surprised.
Only Bert, after being stunned for a moment, exploded.
"Stupid Amazon! What nonsense are you talking about?" Bert snarled, "How could Ais possibly peep at such a nobody!?"
"You're the dumb one," Theona snapped back, straightforwardly retorting, "Why don't you ask Ais then, she saw it with her own eyes!"
Immediately, everyone's gaze converged on Ais.
"I...."
Ais opened her mouth slightly, appearing confused and unsure of how to explain, and could only lower her head blushing, not from shyness but from embarrassment.
For what could be misunderstood from Theona's way of putting things?
Peeping... No way!
Ais didn't want to talk anymore, let alone dare to look at Reiger's expression at that moment.
Reiger, too, did not look at Ais.
Although Theona's words had also taken him aback for a moment, Reiger quickly composed himself and took the initiative to change the subject.
"Sorry for the lateness," he offered his apologies to all the clan seniors present.
"Tch."
Bert turned his head away disdainfully, seemingly too lazy to say anything to Reiger, simply glaring at Theona, irritated by her unpleasant remarks just now.
The rest of the group quieted down and turned their attention to the clan leader and patriarch.
Finn then gave Reiger a generous smile.
"So you're the newcomer Loki mentioned?" Finn's attitude toward Reiger was still very friendly, and even contained a hint of admiration, "Coming back from the underground city at this hour, it looks like you've been working hard."
Seeing the newcomer working so diligently, Finn, as the leader of the Familia, naturally wouldn't blame the other for a little delay.
"Thank you for your understanding."
Reiger did not underestimate Finn despite his misleadingly youthful appearance.
After all, the small person who looked like a minor human child was not only a first-tier level 6 adventurer but also a legendary figure hailed as a hero and a beacon of hope by their race.
He had single-handedly built the Loki Familia's achievements to what they were today, leading them through the decades from a newly established minor Familia to one of Orario's strongest, with countless personal epics and adventure stories to his name, truly a character renowned throughout the world.
Therefore, whether it was the royal elf or the distinct and independent members of the Familia present, all genuinely respected the seemingly unimposing halfling.
Even Loki, the chief deity, just stood by with a smile, watching everything and completely yielding the spotlight to Finn, which was enough to indicate the latter's capabilities and prestige.
Moreover, Finn might appear young but was actually 42 years old, much older than Reiger had been in his past life; there was no reason, rational or emotional, for Reiger to look down on him.
In contrast, Finn was filled with goodwill and curiosity toward Reiger standing before him.
"Loki has been singing your praises; just now, she kept talking you up in front of us," Finn said with a smile. "For someone to be praised by Loki to such an extent is unheard of throughout Orario; honestly, I am quite curious about you."
"Yeah, that's right!" Theona couldn't hold back upon hearing this, raising her hand while eagerly clamoring toward Reiger, "New guy, Loki really admires you, we've never seen her talk so much about a guy before!"
"Well, she does talk about a lot of girls," Theone added pertinently, her tone laced with sarcasm, "but what Loki praises about them are their looks and figures."
The people present immediately nodded in agreement.
"..."
The smile on Loki's face, which had been all smiles just a moment ago, disappeared.
Was this an insult to me?
You will lose my favor like this!
"Serves you right."
Bert taunted from the side, almost breaking Loki's composure.
"Alright, knock it off," Grace tapped the table, stopping the atmosphere from turning sour, then looked at Reiger and said, "I am very curious to see what skills this kid has for Loki to praise him so much."
"I heard you joined the Familia just a couple of days ago and that's when you received Megumi, right?" Revilia interjected a word to Reiger, "Loki mentioned you have a favor to ask us. Go ahead, as long as it's not too excessive, as members of the same Familia, we will surely try to help."
Revilia's attitude was the same as the others, fairly friendly toward Reiger.
Only the werewolf youth, Bert, still stood there with a look of disdain, even a hint of impatience, as if he didn't think too highly of Reiger.
"Just a newbie who received Megumi a few days ago, I don't know why you're all being so attentive."
That statement made the atmosphere tensely different.
"Bert."
Finn frowned and issued a warning, prompting Bert to snort and turn his head away.
"Don't mind him."
"He just has a sharp tongue."
The twin sisters, Theona and Theone, approached Reiger, comforting him.
Ais also returned her attention to Reiger, watching him closely.
Reiger merely glanced at Bert, showing no sign of annoyance, his expression as calm as a still well, and shook his head.
"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine and I don't mind it," Reiger pondered for a moment before saying, "But instead of that, I do have an unusual request, and I was hoping you could help me with it."
"What is it?" Finn said, laughing softly.
He was quite clear inwardly.
After all, the reason Loki gathered everyone here and introduced them to Reiger could only be for this so-called unusual request.
In other words, Loki was indirectly telling them to assist Reiger.
Considering this, Finn exchanged glances with the other two Familia leaders, waiting for Reiger to speak.
Under such circumstances, Reiger opened his mouth.
"I'd like to learn about magic from everyone here."
At that statement, everyone instinctively blinked.
"Learn about magic?"
Revilia, Orario's strongest Magic Guide, became somewhat interested due to Reiger's request.
"Yes," Reiger nodded, very calmly stating in front of everyone, "I've awakened a magic, but to use it, it requires meeting certain conditions."
What the condition was didn't need to be explicitly stated.
In short, Reiger needed someone to consult to be able to use his magic.
"What kind of magic is it?" inquired Theona, unable to contain her curiosity.
Finn, Revilia, and Grace turned their gaze directly to Loki.
Loki giggled mischievously and said something rather suggestive.
"His magic, it's somewhat similar to Rephia's 'Elf Ring'."
With just that phrase, everyone's brows lifted simultaneously, and the way they looked at Reiger also changed somewhat.