《Danmachi – Card Wizard》


 Chapter 1 - Ch.1 Orario

    "Finally. I should have fully recovered now." Said Aidan as he slowly got up. "Thankfully, there was food and water nearby, or I would have died." Continued Aidan as he talked to himself while looking at his surroundings.


    Stretching, the seven-year-old boy walked towards the entrance of the cave. The sun shone on the forest through the cloudless sky. Habitually going to the small river next to the shelter, Aidan took off his worn-out clothes and jumped into the river to clean himself.??


    Aidan had woken up five days prior, in the cave. His body was riddled with injuries and bruises as if he had gotten through a huge battle before being abandoned in the dark cave. The moment he woke up, he noticed how he had no memories of his past. There was only a little information in his head and the necessary basic skills to live.


    The necessary skills included reading, writing, calculating, cooking and other valuable skills for his daily life. As for the information, it only told him four things. The first one was the location of Orario, where he should be going. The second one was never to stop becoming stronger. The third piece of information was about the falna and the actual limit of the status. Finally, the last bit of information taught him how to use his innate magic, card magic.


    Getting out of the cold river, Aidan walked back to the cave, naked, drying in the process. There wasn''t anyone else in the woods to look at him anyway. Moreover, he wanted to wear his second set of clothes before leaving the forest to go to the adventure city. Previously he hadn''t been able to move very far due to injuries. As such, now that Aidan naturally healed, he had to go to Orario.


    Opening the bag in the cave, he took out the only set of clean clothes he had and wore them immediately. The cave was cold. Wearing the simple black shirt and black pants, Aidan took the bag and went outside his temporary shelter. Feeling the sun on his skin warmed him up as he continued to prepare for his trip.


    From the few items in the bag, he took his identification papers, which were necessary to enter the city. Those papers reported the name Aidan which he believed to be his name, since a picture of him was next to it. Along the documents was a pass to enter the city, ten thousand Valis and finally a deck of cards. Along with the clothes he currently wore and a black and orange longsword he found along with the bag, he had nothing else.


    The longsword was too tall for him. If he had to guess, the crafter crafted this sword for adults. However, from what he could tell, the quality of the weapon was exceptional. A few days back, after he managed to get up for the first time, he took out the sword from the scabbard since he wanted to see how it looked. It was nothing more than curiosity. However, when he slashed down to try the sword, the longsword cut straight through the bottom of the cave made of stone and only stopped due to the guard who kept the blade from disappearing into the floor.


    At that time, Aidan was shocked, and after pulling the sword out of the stone, he inserted it back into its sheath. The sword body is entirely black except for the edge of the blade, which is orange. The sheath, on the other hand, is blue. Moreover, after using the sword for the first time, Aidan noticed that it seemed to have some magic on it, which reduced its weight as he wouldn''t have been able to use it so effortlessly otherwise.


    Leaving the broken bag, which had many holes, with his previous broken and dirty clothes, Aidan left towards Orario. Thankfully, he knew the location of Orario and thus would be able to reach it easily. From what he knew, it would take about five hours of walk.


    Leaving behind the small cave which housed him for almost a week, Aidan made his way towards the city. Walking in the forest, he met a monster from time to time. Having the goal of becoming powerful, Aidan didn''t shy away from the fights as the silver-haired boy took out his sword and fought the goblins met on the way. Those little green monsters were tough to fight for the current Aidan, but he still could beat them easily thanks to the sword, which cut through the pieces of wood those monsters used as weapons before flashing their necks.


    Continuing his way to Orario, Aidan finally arrived as the sun reached its peak in the sky. Walking towards the gate, the boy waited at the end of the line to enter. There were about twenty people in front of him. Half of them were merchants as they had a carriage filled with goods, while the other half had weapons of all kinds with them. The most common weapon was the sword, while others had axes, daggers or staffs. However, what surprised him most was how all of them were male.


    Noticing this trait in the line, Aidan found nothing more intriguing as he turned to look at Orario through the gates. From what he could see, the city of Orario seemed prosperous as there were a lot of people walking on the road shopping or merely laughing together.


    As he looked at the city, the line gradually disappeared until it was Aidan''s turn to talk with the guards.


    "Paper, please." Said the guards as he didn''t bother to look at Aidan.


    He looked through the information on it before lifting his head and looking at Aidan. "Where are your parents, kid?" He asked as he eyed him.


    "I don''t know, sir." Answered Aidan as he didn''t even know who his parents were.


    Frowning slightly, the guard nonetheless continued. "You see, to enter and live in the city, you need to pay a certain amount or have a pass; otherwise, I can''t let you enter."


    "Oh? Are you talking about that, sir?" Aidan asked as he showed the pass he had found with his identification papers.


    "Eum? Yeah, that''s it. Next time you can go to that line." The guard said while pointing at the other line, which had almost no one. "With the pass, you can enter the city without having to pay or be searched. As such, the other line is faster." Explained the guard gently as he was relieved he didn''t have to turn the kid around. It had happened a couple of times, and each time he felt bad about it.


    "I see. Thank you, sir." Answered Aidan with a smile as he entered the city through the gates.


    The first thing he had to do was find a place where he would stay for the night. Afterwards, from what the little information told him, he would have to go to the guild and find a familia. Now the critical point was what is the guild and a familia?


    Frowning at the lack of information he had, he decided to first find a good inn for the night, and he would move from there. While he was thinking about all of this, Aidan walked past various shops and the more he saw, the more he understood what kind of city Orario was.


    Continuing his way, he unconsciously walked to the city''s tallest building, the weird tower in the center of Orario. As he walked and took in everything around him, he side-stepped as he almost crashed into a woman wearing armour talking to her friend.


    As he left the two talking women behind, Aidan finally heard one of the words he had been confusing him. "Have you heard? The Loki familia is going to do a recruitment tomorrow. They are going to recruit a few members to be part of their battle group, but they are mostly going to recruit members as supporters for their older members." Said, one woman.


    "Yes, I heard that too. However, I don''t plan on being a supporter. Even if it''s for a familia such as the Loki familia, after all, if you can''t improve, you''ll always work as their supporter. It''s better to join a weaker familia and at least this way you will be able to fight for yourself and make money. Through their recruitment, they hope to be able to find some talented young people and at the same time replenish their supporters. I heard that they lost some of them during their last expedition in the dungeon." Answered her friend.


    "Yeah. After all, as a supporter, you can''t always defend yourself, and you must rely on the stronger member of the group. As for finding talented young people, they are not that many since the other familias are also trying to get them as soon as they appear." The woman said as the two of them left the square where they had been standing.


    ''So, I guess I''ll try my luck at the Loki familia. They said that as long as the supporter can improve, they can become members of their fighting group. Moreover, they talked about expeditions. That must mean that their familia must be working on the dungeon where the monster appears. If I go by the little information that I have, going in the dungeon is the best way to become stronger. Alright, I''ll find an inn, find the location of their recruitment and join the Loki familia.'' Aidan thought to himself as he looked around and searched for an inn.

 Chapter 2 - Ch.2 Card Magic

    A few hours later, after having eaten some cheap but delicious food from a stall, Aidan found an inn. The inn was on the side of the main street. Made of pale brown wood and with clean windows, the inn gave a welcoming feeling.


    Entering the inn, the first thing that came into his view was a few tables with clients who were most likely adventurers due to their outfits. Each table had four chairs, and they seemed pretty solid. As Aidan looked over the inn, he noticed a counter at the other side of the room. Behind the counter was a young man. He had two wolf-life ears and wore a clean white uniform with the name ''Quaint inn'' written in big letters on the front. With brown hair and sharp eyes, he seemed to see through Aidan as they evaluated each other.??


    As Aidan looked at the wolf-eared man, the worker also eyed the golden-eyed silver-haired boy holding a sword in its blue sheath over his shoulder. It wasn''t every day that one would see these colours in the eyes and hair of a person, even in a city such as Orario, who was known to have many different ethnicities. Despite the peculiarities, he didn''t bother as no one was the same in this world.


    "What can I do for you?" Asked the worker after sizing Aidan up for a moment and returning to his professional attitude.


    "Hi, I''d like a room for tonight if possible." Answered Aidan as he smiled at the young man who had two short fangs in his mouth.


    "I see. The room costs 2000 Valis for a night. If you add 300 Valis, you''ll also have breakfast tomorrow morning." Answered the man as he looked through the register. He wanted to confirm the inn indeed had some rooms left.


    "I see. I''ll only take the room for the night." Answered Aidan as he handed over two thousand Valis. After eating the previous food at the stall, he couldn''t keep it out of his mind as it tasted too good. As such, he had planned on buying it the following day. Besides, the food at the stall only cost 30 Valis for one serving. With his appetite, he could eat three maximum, which would cost him 90 Valis instead of 300, and he would be sure of the taste.


    The young man gave him a look and nodded as he said: "Alright, your room is on the second floor, the third room on the right. Here''s the key. Tomorrow, you have until eleven to bring back the key and leave the inn unless you extend your stay."


    "Alright, thanks," Aidan said as he took the key from the young man''s hands. "Ah, right. By any chance, do you know where the recruitment of the Loki familia will be tomorrow?" He asked before leaving the counter.


    "Eum, no. I''m not following the news of the familias." He answered while shaking his head.


    Right when Aidan was frowning as he needed to know the location, a dwarf sitting at one of the tables turned towards Aidan before sizing him up. "You kid want to join the Loki familia?" He asked as he looked at Aidan seriously.


    "Yes. I want to become strong. I heard the Loki familia is strong and explore the dungeon. So, I want to join them." Aidan nodded as he looked at the intimidating man unwavering.


    "I see. You''re right about the Loki familia being strong and exploring the dungeon. After all, they are an exploration-type familia. So, if you wish to become strong, that familia is indeed good. The recruitment location is at the Twilight manor tomorrow morning at 9." Seeing the confusion in Aidan''s eyes, he continued. "The twilight manor is the headquarter of the Loki familia. To reach it, you have to go to the tower of Babel, the tower in the center of the city, and when you reach it from here, you turn right. You''ll be able to see the Twilight manor from there. The manor has high towers. You won''t miss it. Anyway, if you''re lost, you can ask any adventurers. They should all know where it is." He said before turning back to his drink.


    "I see. Thank you, mister." Aidan said while smiling at the man who answered his question before going upstairs to his room. He wanted to work a bit on his card magic before the recruitment. If he managed to use his magic, it would increase his chances of being accepted in the Loki familia.


    As he entered the room, he dropped his sword on his bed and sat next to it. He then took out the deck of cards he received along with his few items. Opening the deck, he took out all 54 cards. From the information he had about his innate magic, there were a few conditions to complete before using it.


    The first condition was to be the owner of a deck of cards, which he currently was. It was necessary since he could only use his magic through the cards. The second condition was to be able to infuse the cards with magic. According to the information he had, it meant that he had to focus on the card and imbue his magical power inside of it. Easier said than done. However, after this, he would be able to prepare his magical cards.


    So, for the next hour or so, Aidan, with his eyes closed, gave every once of his attention to the card as he tried to control his magical power to enter the card. It wasn''t easy. However, after a while, he felt a bit of heat on the tip of his finger, which was entering the card. Opening his eyes, Aidan saw as the card''s image gradually faded and instead, some markings started to appear on the card.


    With a smile, Aidan continued to pour his magical power on the card as the first stage of card magic was to transform the card and make the markings appear. The markings started to appear on the four edges of the card. They were simple lines linked together, which made various markings on each side. It all seemed very mysterious, but Aidan was aware that they only meant that it became a magical card bound to him and that he couldn''t lose them as they would find their way back to him.


    As he continued to insert his magical power in the card, the black markings became more apparent until it finally stopped changing. Thinking about the second of third stages in preparing his card magic, he turned the card around. After having received his magic, the colours on both sides of the card had become entirely white. One side had the black marking, while the other side had nothing.


    Before the second stage, he had to decide what would be the use of the card. If he decided that the card would store a ''Fireball'' spell, then, for the second stage, he would have to write the words ''Fireball'' with his magical power on this side of the card. As for the third stage, he would have to insert magical power in the card once again. However, this time, inserting the magical power wouldn''t write anything or change the markings, but it would store the magical energy to release the fireball when necessary. So, when he fought, he would only have to throw the card at the opponent, and the card would fire the spell at the target. The most astonishing thing about this magic was that once Aidan threw the card and cast the attack, the card would come back to him, albeit empty of the magic power used.


    After thinking of the two last stages, he wondered: "Tomorrow is the Loki''s familia recruitment. They are probably going to have us fight to test us. I can''t see how they would test us otherwise. So, the fireball spell is probably a good idea right now. Since it''s a pretty basic spell, it won''t take too much magic power to make it, and it''s destructive enough. I should be able to be accepted into the familia. However, seeing the time, if I skip an hour or two of sleep, I should be able to create a second magic card for tomorrow. Alright, let''s do this." Aidan said to himself before turning back to his card and using his magical power to write the word ''Fireball.''


    Half an hour later, he had written ''fireball'' on the card. The amount of magic and concentration it took to write the word in magical power was enormous. Firstly, he couldn''t make mistakes in the word, which was not the hard part. The hard part started when he had to make the word appear the first time on the card with his magical power. He had to use the same amount of magic on each letter.


    Furthermore, after he had written the letter in magical power once, he had to retrace it flawlessly to make it more apparent. He couldn''t make a small error such as going a bit more on the right, or it would simply fail. As such, it took a lot of concentration.


    Resting for a moment, Aidan soon started to insert magic into the card once again. However, compared to before, he only had to put more magic in the card to make the fireball picture appear. It was a lot easier but also way more costly as there weren''t any maximum. He could use as much magic as he wanted to make the fireball stronger.


    Continuing until the fireball picture appeared entirely in the middle of the side with the markings, Aidan left the card on the side of his sword before closing his eyes to wait for the regeneration of his magic. He had already decided what his next card would be. He would use the word ''Shield,'' which would protect him from some attacks and easily surprise his opponent.


    Once Aidan restored his magical energy, he started again. Once he made the card turn white and the markings appear, he immediately began to write the word ''Shield.'' this time, it took him a bit less than half an hour to complete the word before he could start to put his magic in the card. Working on it until he exhausted his magic, he laid down and went under the blankets before he immediately fell asleep.

 Chapter 3 - Ch.3 Twilight Manor

    The following day, Aidan woke up at seven in the morning. The first thing he did was to add more magic in his ''shield'' card, making it slightly stronger to defend under more potent hits. Once done, the golden-eyed boy took his sword and cards before going to wash behind the inn. He was lucky since he found the previous day that his clothes were magical and could clean and repair themselves.


    ---??


    At some point the previous day, when he was walking through the woods towards Orario, he had unknowingly stepped into a small puddle that had dirtied his pants. Back then, he had been quite unhappy about it until his clothes seemingly cleaned themselves on the spot. The tiny stain completely disappeared. A bit later, while he was fighting one of those little green monsters, he had cut his shirt with a tree branch. However, a bit later, he saw that his shirt repaired itself. That day, he discovered that his clothes had a cleaning and repairable function, which made him quite happy as he wouldn''t have to buy too many clothes in a short time.


    ---


    Ten minutes later, Aidan walked back inside the inn and gave the room''s key to the same young man from the previous day, and he left the inn to go to the Twilight manor. According to the man from last night, he still had an hour and a half before the start of the recruitment. However, Aidan wanted to arrive in advance. If he was unlucky and got lost or the man was messing with him, he would have time to find the actual recruitment station. It was unlikely since he was just a kid, but he never knew.


    Walking for a few minutes towards the tower of Babel with his sword over his shoulder due to its length, Aidan finally saw the stall where he had bought his food the previous day. Walking to the man operating the booth, he got into the queue and waited for a while until the other clients were gone.


    "Oh, hello there! I take it you liked it enough yesterday afternoon?" Asked the bald man as he recognized Aidan.


    "Yes, I loved it. I want to buy four. No, five of those snacks." Aidan said as he pointed to the snacks. He had just noticed that he was starving and attributed it to using his magic power non-stop.


    "Ohoh, understood, young man. It''ll be 150 Valis." He said with a smile.


    Smiling back in return, Aidan gave the Valis to the man as he packed them up and gave them to Aidan, who was waiting for his snacks. "Right, mister. Do you know where is the Twilight manor from here?" He asked as he wanted to be sure that the man last night hadn''t fooled him.


    "Yes. Go to the tower of Babel and when you reach it, turn right. It will be a big manor with a few towers. It''s the biggest building on that side. You won''t miss it." He answered as he started to cook some more food for the other customers. "Alright, thank you, mister." He answered before leaving towards the tower.


    A dozen minutes later, Aidan reached the tower and was surprised by the number of adventurers walking inside it. However, by listening to their conversations, he understood that the dungeon, located under the tower and that adventurers usually entered early in the morning to earn their income.


    With this new piece of information, Aidan turned right towards the Twilight manor of the Loki familia and just as the man at the bar and the bald man selling snacks said, he immediately saw the estate from a distance. It wasn''t challenging. There were towers higher than the other buildings around and a large manor in between the four towers. It looked like a small modern castle.


    Walking in that direction, he saw a few more adventurers also making their way towards the manor. If he had to go by what he knew, there was a great chance that most of these adventurers were going to the Loki familia to join as either supporters or fighting members.


    Not bothering about them anymore as he only had to do his best to join, he walked towards the Twilight manor. By the time he arrived, there was still one hour to wait until the beginning of the recruitment. From what he saw while walking, the other adventurers who should have also come for the recruitment stopped at various bars or stalls to talk with each other or to eat and drink.


    Aidan, however, didn''t bother to stop anywhere. First, he didn''t know anyone and second, he wanted to see the Loki familia estate. As he approached the recruitment ground, which was on the training ground of the Loki familia, he saw that there was a stand which was for registering their name and age before the start of the recruitment.


    Seeing that there was no one yet, Aidan walked towards the recruitment stand to register. Behind the registry was an adventurer. He could tell as he was wearing metal armour and had an axe on his back. The man had black hair and eyes and a scar on the left side of his face. With his muscular stature and his towering height, Aidan did not doubt that he was powerful.


    While stature meant nothing in this world since the level and parameters represented your strength, he did not doubt that he was strong by the aura he released. However, Aidan never looked away as he started talking. "Hi, I would like to register for the recruitment."


    "Oh? And do you think you have what it takes?" Asked the man as he increased his presence, trying to scare Aidan.


    "I want to become strong." Said Aidan with unwavering enthusiasm in his voice as he looked directly at the man.


    "I see." Answered the man as he showed a slight smile, which immediately disappeared from his face. "Fill this form." He continued as he handed over a pen and a form.


    As Aidan looked at the form, he wrote his name, age, and as for ancient familia, he didn''t write anything as he had never joined one before. Looking at the form and seeing that it was only this, he returned it to the man before the man shooed him away to wait until the recruitment started.


    Walking back to the side, he took out his fireball card and started injecting more magic into it. His magic had only this use currently. So, even if he used it all to improve his cards, it wouldn''t change his performance at all. However, he decided not to go and release magic over his limits as it would give him a headache and lower his chances of passing the test.


    Concentrated on the card, he spent about ten minutes filling his magic into it, strengthening the fireball spell inside of it. If previously his fireball card could only hurt the weakest adventurers of level one, then now, it would be able to damage stronger ones.


    Taking back his attention from his fireball card, Aidan looked up and saw that adventurers had started coming into the recruitment ground. However, it seemed as if they were disinclined to write on the form. "Hey, they want us to write our information on those forms. I''m amongst the strongest in the level 1 adventurers and will surely become level two within the year. I''m already a genius to be able to level up before I''m twenty-five years old. Why should I do the same as the weak?" Said an arrogant guy with a sword strapped to his waist.


    "Yeah! I am now level two, already a high-class adventurer. With our group, we will reach Rivira on the eighteenth floor within the year or when you level up. We are already heads and torso above the other adventurers. Why should we have the same treatment as them?" Said his friend with an arrogant expression as he looked down on the other adventurers around.


    As Aidan looked at those group of people, refusing to register because of pride, he shook his head. What was pride if you didn''t have the strength to back it up? As Aidan was looking around, he took out his previous snack, which was still hot, thanks to the bald man''s packaging. Taking a bite out of it, he exhaled a breath as he confirmed that he loved the taste.


    As he was eating his snack slowly, he heard a grumble not far from him. Turning around, he saw a girl of his age with golden hair and eyes just like his own, staring at him, or more specifically, at the snack in his hand.


    -----


    (Author note: I''ll go like this in the future for the card strength: The strength of the fireball is level 1. It''s equal to the weakest adventurers of level 1. 1.1 means level one with approximately 100 points in all stats. 1.9 means the top of level 1 with about 900 points in stats, and then it increases to level 2, which is level 2 adventurers, well you get it. The higher the spell''s strength, the more magic is needed to strengthen it, and the magic is compared to perfect adventurers with 900 stats or more before they level up. Adventurers in danmachi need at least one stat in the D-rank (600 stat point) to level up, equivalent to 1.6 in the spell. If they level up, they get an overall boost (in this novel, it would be about 20%), so 1.7 to 1.8 would hurt the weakest of level 2, who were the lowest in level 1. well, you''ll understand somehow eventually.


    As for the 20% in levelling up, it''s because they seem always to have a power boost every time they level up, so I decided to make it as some refinement of their physique and soul or something which gives the +20% of their parameters when they level up although not written in their stats. )

 Chapter 4 - Ch.4 Ais Wallenstein

    As he stared at the girl who had the same eye colour as him, she also stopped starring at the snack to look at Aidan with an expressionless face. She was wearing a green dress that showed her shoulders as her golden hair went down to her lower back. On her waist was a thin sword with a circular guard in a blue scabbard. Waiting this way for a moment, as they both stared at each other, her stomach growled once again.


    Aidan, hearing this, looked at her for another moment before taking his third snack. He had already eaten the first and was currently eating the second one. As he handed it over, she looked at it for a moment before coming closer and taking it. She then nodded at him as thanks before she sat next to the only person of her age.??


    Aidan, looking at the girl who didn''t talk much, relaxed as he turned back to his snack. As they were both waiting for the recruitment event to start, they looked at the adventurers talking together and bragging as some of them from time to time looked at the two kids and scoffed at them. However, nothing of it made a reaction appear on the two as the girl didn''t seem to care while Aidan couldn''t be bothered by such a thing. He only focused on his own goal.


    As they ate their snacks in silence, the time passed slowly as more adventurers appeared on the training grounds. However, as more adventurers appeared, fewer people bothered to register at the recruitment booth. As Aidan looked at the man, he didn''t seem to care as he only waited for another adventurer to come and write their information.


    Five minutes later, as the both of them finished their snack, their stomach once again grumbled as the girl looked at Aidan, this time with a tinge of red on her doll-like face. Taking the container the bald man had given him for his snacks, he opened it to reveal the two remaining Jagamarukun, which was spiced mashed potatoes. Taking the both of them out, he handed one to the girl while taking the remaining one for himself. Anyway, with at most twenty minutes before the recruitment started, he would digest the food and not consume another. At most, he would go and buy some more after the recruitment if he managed to get accepted.


    As they both went back to eating, another ten minutes passed until Aidan remembered to ask: "Did you register at the booth over there?" Only to receive a nod in response from the girl who sat next to him. Nodding back to her, he turned back his attention to the adventurers who were showing off all around.


    As he thought he would have to wait in silence until the test, he heard the girl talk in an almost silent voice: "Why do you want to join?"


    Turning to her: "To become strong. You?" He asked after answering her question. "To become strong." She responded as Aidan felt as if she saw him in a new light. "I''m Aidan." He said while looking at the girl. "Ais." She answered back as she showed a flash of a smile before she returned to her usual indifferent attitude.


    Unknowingly to the two, while they were exchanging a few words, from a window of the Twilight manor, a pallum and a dwarf were looking at both Ais and Aidan.


    "Do you see the kid I was talking about, Finn? It''s the kid holding a sword almost as tall as him, next to the girl." Said the dwarf as he pointed towards Aidan.


    "What is it that caught your eye so much?" Asked the blue-eyed pallum as he eyed Aidan from a distance.


    "He has the determination and the will to become strong. I could see it in his eyes yesterday when I tried to intimidate him when I asked him questions. I''m sure of it." He said as he drunk from his flask.


    "I see. Then, let''s hope the boy can pass the two phases of the test." The pallum said as he frowned, looking at the two seven-year-old kid who stuck out like a sore thumb in a training ground full of grown men and women.


    "I''m sure he will, hahaha." Answered the dwarf laughingly as the both of them made their way to the gates of the manor.


    As Aidan and Ais were getting to know each other by asking a few questions one after the other, the gates of the Twilight manor opened as two men got out. One was a blond-haired pallum as he led the way, with a brown-haired and bearded dwarf following behind him. As Aidan looked at the two of them, the training grounds gradually quieted down.


    Aidan was looking at the dwarf behind the pallum. He hadn''t expected that the one who had told him the location of the recruitment of the Loki familia was a member of the Loki familia. However, it didn''t change anything as Aidan believed in himself to succeed in the recruitment process.


    "Alright. Orba. Who succeeded the first stage?" Asked the pallum as he looked at the big man who had been giving the registration forms.


    "Aidan, Ais, Kalos, Liza, Dain...". He continued until he named about sixty people. As the tall and muscular man talked, some of the previously bragging adventurers had their brows tightened as they couldn''t hear their names. "That is all, captain." Said Orba as he finished reading the list of people who passed the first stage.


    "Alright. Those who have passed the first stage come closer. For the others, thank you for your time. However, I''m afraid we won''t be able to accept you into the familia. You are welcome to try again next time." He finished as the sixty or so people started to walk towards the pallum as he had instructed. Aidan and Ais followed suit as they went together.


    "Hey! Why aren''t we called as well? Why do two kids succeeded in the first stage while we, who are in the strongest of level 1 and people in the level 2, failed the test?" Shouted the man that had been bragging that he was different from the weak level 1 despite being a level 1 himself.


    "Simple." Answered the dwarf as he looked at the pompous young man. "There was an instruction to fill the form upon arriving, and you didn''t do it because you think you''re better than others. We don''t need such a thing in this familia." He said as he turned around again, walking to the training ground''s center with the pallum.


    "Euh? I only didn''t have time to sign up yet since there were too many people. Why do you disqualify us because of your mistake of only leaving a single person to offer the forms?" Shouted another man as his face turned red from the shouting.


    "Me too!" Shouted a couple of other adventurers as they weren''t ready to accept their loss.


    "That only means that you came too late. Now leave before I make you." Said the dwarf back as he turned around threateningly, scarring the young man who had no courage.


    As he said so, the adventurers finally turned around while holding grudges since they knew that no matter what they said, they wouldn''t accept them in the familia.


    Aidan and Ais shuttled between the other adventurers as they tried to follow despite their small frames. As they finally arrived at the center of the training ground with the other successful adventurers, the two children found themselves behind everyone as they couldn''t see anything due to their small frames.


    Frowning slightly, Aidan patted Ais on her shoulder while pointing to the side. They then walked to the crowd''s side to have a good view and understand what the second stage was. When they arrived, they saw that the two small men, the pallum and the dwarf were on the scene and were waiting for everyone to calm down before he started speaking.


    "Firstly, congratulation on succeeding on the first stage. The second stage will be a battle in a team of two. You are a total of sixty-four people. You have two minutes to make your team." He said as he turned silent, looking at the adventurers who immediately searched for someone strong to become their partner. No one considered the two seven-year-old kids as they didn''t want to have a burden added to them.


    The moment the captain of the Loki familia finished talking, Aidan and Ais turned to look at each other, upon which they both nodded and turned back to look at the two supervisors of the recruitment process.


    During the selection of their fighting partner, the two executives of the Loki familia looked at the adventurers. They were both amazed when they saw that both Aidan and Ais only needed a look to confirm their willingness to team up. They did not bother to think about whether the other would hold them down as they believed they would be able to win either way if their determined look was anything to go on.


    Soon, the two minutes went by as some of the adventurers still hadn''t found their teammate as they were looking for a powerful adventurer to become their partner. However, time waited for no one as the pallum started speaking again. "Alright, every team will select a captain and the captain will come and report their name along with their partner''s. After which, you will stay quiet." As the muscular man, Orba, once again came with a paper to write the names.


    Aidan gave Ais a quick look. She was also looking at him, and he nodded before he went to register their names himself since from his limited interactions, he knew that she didn''t like to speak. As he made his way towards the strong man, he heard arguments from behind as the previous happy partners turned against each other to be the captain. They believed that being the captain meant that they would more easily enter the familia, and as such, none of them were ready to let go of the opportunity to be the captain. It didn''t help that none knew each other and didn''t care a bit about their teammate.


    However, it was none of Aidan''s concern as he stopped in front of the man and reported both of their names before going back to Ais''s side as the two of them didn''t speak as per the orders. Two minutes after Aidan had reported their names, another team captain came and declared his name and his partner''s. The man had a red face due to too much arguing, and when he went back to his partner''s side, the two started to argue again as his partner wasn''t happy not being the captain.


    As for the dwarf named Garreth and the captain of the Loki familia, Finn, they both nodded in their minds as they saw how both seven-year-old kids followed their instructions to the letter. Typically, they would have more problems with the children, but this scene proved that they had at least the right mentality and the drive to enter the Loki familia.

 Chapter 5 - Ch.5 Fight

    After a total of ten minutes had passed since the familia''s captain had given the instructions to choose a team captain, report both of their names and keep silent afterwards, the pallum spoke up. "Alright. It''s been ten minutes. From the thirty-two teams, those who haven''t reported yet can leave. We can''t have people who can''t follow simple instructions come with us in the dungeon as it would threaten everyone''s safety. As for the three teams of Maxim and Josiah, Alfie and Angus and the team of Courtney and Eliza, you three teams are also disqualified.


    Once again, you can''t follow the simple instructions of not talking after reporting your names. Those are simple instructions which adventurers must be able to follow since once again, everyone''s safety relies on it."??


    "Hey! We only talked about who the best captain would be! It''s not as bad as you make it sound!" Said one of the adventurers who hadn''t yet chosen who would be the captain of his team.


    "Yeah! We just talked to pass the time!" Said another group who had reported their name but not followed the instruction.


    "Indeed, it''s not that bad when it is in a small familia since they don''t go deep and don''t do expeditions. However, we are an exploration familia where any distraction can be fatal. If you can''t follow a simple instruction of choosing someone in a team of two, you may risk hundreds of us during an expedition. It is not something the familia can tolerate.


    Besides, if your fit is better in a smaller familia, it doesn''t mean it''s a bad thing as you will have the opportunity to lead the team as the captain if you put in enough effort. In the Loki familia, everyone gets recruited as a supporter first, and if you can improve, you will become a member of the fighting force. If not, you will stay as a supporter until you change familias."


    "I...I see." Said the few groups of people as they were convinced and knew before that no matter what they said, the familia wouldn''t accept them.


    Once those groups left, the blond-haired pallum spoke once again. "Congratulations on everyone for passing the second phase of the test. You are all accepted in the familia." He said as a smile appeared on his face. "I''ll present myself. I am Finn Deimne, the captain and top executive of the Loki familia." "And I am Gareth Landrock, also a top executive of the familia." The dwarf finished as the adventurers in front of them had an excited look on their faces since the Loki familia had accepted them.


    "So, what was the point of forming the teams if we became part of the familia before fighting?" Asked the strongest recruit.


    "It was to see how you would act when someone ordered you to find a team and choose a captain for the team. That''s all." Said Finn as he moved down from the platform and went a bit further than the group. "Now, I will fight with the various groups to see where you stand in terms of strength. I will be using the level of the strongest in the group to fight you. You will come at me with the intent to kill. The first group will be Aidan and Ais. You have two minutes to explain your abilities to your partner." He said while looking at the two children.


    Nodding to him, Ais and Aidan walked towards the field while talking.


    "I use a sword to fight and my card magic. You?" Asked Aidan as he looked at the sword of Ais. "I use a sword. What is card magic?" She asked as she looked at Aidan, a bit confused.


    Aidan showed two cards to Ais as he explained: "I can use the spell I sealed in that card once. One is ''Fireball,'' and the other is ''Shield.'' You can understand both." Aidan said as he took back the two cards.


    "I see. We won''t be able to win. The opponent is strong. We can only catch him off guard." She said the longest sentence Aidan had heard from her as he nodded his head.


    "We use my fireball to take him by surprise, attack him, and when he''s about to attack either of us, I use the ''Shield'' card to block or at least slow the blow a bit to give us a chance?" Asked Aidan as he also knew that they had no chances of winning.


    "Yes." She answered as she nodded her head.


    As they agreed on their plan, less than twenty seconds had passed as they looked at Finn. "Are you two ready?" He asked with a smile.


    Nodding, they drew their weapons. Ais took her white sword from the scabbard on her waist while Aidan took the blue sheath he held on his shoulder and drew his sword about his body''s length while leaving the sheath on the side. The black blade and orange on the edge of the blade made everyone look twice at the sword.


    Holding the sword with his right hand, the adventurers around and even Finn looked surprised as they didn''t expect him to be able to wield the sword, obviously too long for him. They had at least expected him to wield it with both hands with difficulty. However, he held the blade with one hand and pointed it to Finn, who was on the other side of the field.


    Giving a glance at Ais, who also glanced at him, they both started running towards Finn as they separated on the right and left to provide a chance at the other to strike.


    As they approached, Finn looked at Aidan as he was slightly faster than Ais. As he came closer, he took out his ''Fireball'' card and threw it towards Finn, who only looked puzzled at seeing a card thrown at him. Extending his hand to catch the card, it immediately transformed into a Fireball when Aidan willed it, effectively taking by surprise not just Finn but also Gareth and the other adventurers by the side.


    Although surprised, Finn quickly used his training lance to blow the fireball away. When he hit the spell, Ais, who sped up, reached Finn, who turned around immediately and aimed his lance towards the left side of the girl''s chest. However, as he was beginning to wonder why she wasn''t dodging and was going on with her attack, another card flew directly in between Ais and his lance.


    As soon as the card appeared, Finn had a doubtful look. However, before he could do anything, a transparent shield materialized at the place of the card as it blocked his blow. He was currently holding back his strength to see their fighting instincts, and because of it, the shield managed to slow down his impact, which allowed Ais to continue with her attack while easily evading the blow.


    As Ais used her sword to stab the captain of the familia to the heart, Aidan behind him also slashed with his sword towards the neck of the familia''s captain. Their blow seemed to surprise not only Finn but also Gareth and the adventurers, as while the captain had said not to hold back and attack with the intent to kill, they would never have had the guts to do it and aim at a vital area. However, this only brought a smile to both Finn and Gareth as they saw their potential and willingness to become stronger.


    Evading the blow of Aidan and blocking Ais''s attack, he retreated, signifying the end of the fight. "How long have the two of you known each other for Ais not to dodge my blow since she knew you would block it?" Asked Finn as he raised an eyebrow. Such things were hard to do even amongst first-class adventurers since you would effectively leave your life in the hand of the other. Of course, this situation wasn''t life-threatening for them, and they knew it. However, even in training, the attacked party would still have tried to slightly change its position to dodge the blow had the other party not blocked it for them.


    In their case, however, Ais didn''t care as she seemed to be sure that her teammate would be able to block it. Once again, it was in training and planned, but such a perfect collaboration even in practice was highly extraordinary. At least, he couldn''t do it. He couldn''t leave his life in the hands of another except for the closest to him, such as Gareth.


    "We met this morning." Answered Aidan for Ais as he already knew her preference of not talking except when necessary.


    "I see. And why did Ais trust you to block the blow for her?" He asked Aidan again.


    "Simple. We had planned it." Aidan said while looking at Ais, who nodded her head with a slight smile.


    "I see. Well, congratulation on joining the familia. You two go with Orba. He will bring you to our goddess for the crest ceremony." He said while smiling at Aidan and Ais.


    Nodding to him, the two children put their swords back into their sheaths and followed Orba as they entered the Twilight manor.

 Chapter 6 - Ch.6 Memories

    When the both of them entered the Twilight manor, they were surprised by the luxury. The ceiling was high, and a chandelier made of crystal stood in the center of it. On the walls were various luxurious paintings, and the floor was covered by what looked like an expensive carpet. On the right side of the hall was a large door, which Orba explained to be the dining room of the entire familia. The Loki familia had their chefs serving the members. Giving a quick look at the dining room, Aidan turned back his attention to the manor.


    It was only the hall as they started to climb the stairs at the far end of the room. The inside of the manor was of seemingly expensive wood, and the stairs were on both sides of the hall as they linked together at the very top. It felt vibrant. However, none of that mattered to either Ais or Aidan as they both only sought one thing. Strength.??


    Climbing from the first floor to the third floor of the manor, they stopped in front of two large doors with an emblem looking like a clown on top of it. Next to the door were two guards who stopped Orba as one of them went inside to notify the goddess of the familia of their request to visit.


    After waiting for a moment in a rich lobby, the guard who went inside to notify the goddess came out. "You can enter." He said while looking at the two children next to Orba. "Thank you." Answered the muscular man as he brought Aidan and Ais to the goddess room.


    "Loki-sama, I brought the two first new members who passed the test of Captain Finn." Said the muscular man as he bowed down to the tomboyish figure sitting on the sofa. The goddess had red hair tied up in a ponytail as she wore blue clothing and dressed similarly to a boy. With a constant smile on her face, she gave the impression of being someone able to prank anyone at any time. However, she gave Aidan the impression of sadness behind her smile. He stopped thinking about it as she started to talk.


    "Thank you, Orba. You can leave and go get the other new members." She said lightly while looking at the two new faces.


    "Yes, Loki-sama." The black-haired man answered as he turned around and left the room, closing the doors behind him.


    "Alright, you two. Come and sit here." She said as she pointed to the couch in front of hers.


    As the two of them sat down, she showed the sweets she had on the small table in between the couches, and Aidan took two while giving one to Ais, who was sitting a bit further on the sofa and couldn''t reach from her position. She gave a small smile and a nod at Aidan, who knew she was grateful for the help.


    "Oh? You two seem to know each other a lot?" Asked Loki as she was alternating between Ais and Aidan.


    "We just met this morning before the recruitment test." Answered Aidan habitually.


    "Oh? It almost seems as if you''ve known each other for a while." She said with a slight smile while eyeing the two. "The two of you are quite young. Why do the two of you want to become adventurers of my familia?" She asked at no one in particular.


    Sharing a look with Ais, Aidan once again answered for the both of them. "We want to become strong. We each have our own goals." He stopped while Ais continued. "I want to kill the one-eyed black dragon. Aidan wants to find his lost memories."


    "You want to kill the one-eyed black dragon?" She looked at Ais seriously. "You''ll have to work hard." She then turned to Aidan with a frown on her face. "What is the link between becoming stronger and getting your memories back?"


    "I don''t know." Upon which he slightly laughed, which was soon shared by Loki and a smile from Ais. "I only know that once I woke up in that forest, I only remembered a few things. The first was to become strong and never stop growing stronger. The second was the location of Orario. The third was information on the true limit of the falna, and finally was information on my magic. That''s all. Except for this, I had identification papers, a pass for the city, ten thousand Valis, a black deck of cards, those clothes and this sword." He said as he pointed to his clothes and his sword. He had no problem revealing everything of what he knew since nothing was very private, and the goddess may be able to help him regain his memories in the future.


    Frowning slightly, she looked thoughtfully at Aidan. "If you want, I can try to unlock your memories. I have the strength of a God. It shouldn''t be a problem to unlock them. And even if by a miracle it doesn''t work, then there won''t be a single difference."


    Widening his eyes and smiling as he was happy to have shared his problems with the goddess, he nodded his head. Seeing him agreeing, Loki patted on the couch next. "Come here and lie down on your back."


    Swiftly getting up, Aidan followed her commands as he lay down right next to his future goddess. "Alright. You must understand that when we unlock your memories, I''ll be seeing them as well. It''s fine for you, right?" She asked Aidan before starting.


    Nodding his head, he closed his eyes as he relaxed. Feeling the hands of the goddess on the side of his hands, he felt a bit of magic passing through her hands as he felt like he entered in his head along with Loki.


    Looking around, with Loki next to him, she turned towards Aidan as she explained what he had to do. "You see those doors over there?" She asked while pointing on their right. "Yes?" He answered questioningly. "Go and push one open to see your memories behind that door." With a slight smile and a bit of curiosity, as sealing memories behind gates was an ancient practice, she explained to Aidan what he had to do.


    After hearing her words, the two of them went to the closest door. Pushing the door open immediately, Aidan felt a strong resistance but pushed nonetheless. Soon enough, the immense golden doors began to open slowly, giving a hint of majesty in its way. Once Aidan opened the door big enough to enter through it, Aidan and Loki entered through the crack as they met a surreal scene.


    Two people were fighting in what Loki could tell was the universe. Surrounding them were millions of monsters as they stood back to back with a young Aidan in the middle of the two of them. Having no difficulties breathing in space, both the older man and women fended off their enemies with their weapons as if it was the easiest thing to do.


    The woman wore a red dress and had silver hair that reached down to her hips. With blue eyes and pale skin, she was svelte and had a strong''s temperament in her every move. She held a black deck of cards, which was the same Aidan currently had in his possession.


    The man held a black sword with an orange edge as he hacked and killed his enemies. With blond-coloured hair, golden eyes and muscular stature, he gave off the temperament of a tyrant in his every move. He wore black pants and a black shirt, just like the one Aidan was wearing as it repaired itself whenever the monsters hit him.


    The woman opened the black deck of cards, and from the deck emerged one card after another. From 54 to 108 and 216, it continued doubling until millions of cards faced the monsters. A moment later, most of them flew straight at the monsters as they all released strong magic to defend its user from the monsters.


    On the other hand, the man, holding an orange-edged sword, made a single swing of the blade, and as he swung, the man killed thousands of monsters instantly. With weird footwork, the man seemed to dance in the middle of the enemies as each sword strike cause more and more monsters to die in his hands. The fight finished after half an hour as the couple killed everything and kissed lovingly before taking the young Aidan, who clapped his hands after seeing the slaughter.


    The scene then disappeared as both Loki and Aidan looked at each other, stunned by the scene which had just played. However, before they could do anything else, another set appeared it was the place where Aidan had woken up. They each had injuries, and the baby, Aidan, was bleeding from his head and was unconscious. As they watched the scene where Aidan figured his parents left him, he understood what happened that night.

 Chapter 7 - Ch.7 Parents

    "Baby. In the future, we won''t be able to accompany you anymore. I''m sorry." Said the woman as she teared up, looking at Aidan. However, a moment later, she kept her tears as she and the men turned towards the location where Loki and Aidan were looking. "Baby, I see you''ve found your goddess. Do you trust her?" She asked as she stared at Aidan and Loki directly, which made the goddess widen her eyes as she understood the implication of being able to see through time and space.


    Looking at Loki, who was stunned next to him, he smiled at his two parents and nodded while answering his past mother and father. "I wouldn''t have been able to see those memories had it not been for her. I''m also joining her familia after this."??


    "I see." She nodded before continuing in a calm and enchanting voice. "In that case, we''ll tell you a few things we always wanted but never could say to you because you were too young. First is your heritage. You are what we call a high human. The last one in existence since, by the time we talk, your father and I will already be dead. It doesn''t do anything extraordinary except allowing you to go over the limit of the parameters and reach a total of 1500 stats in each of them. It is a mutual benefit high humans have with the spirit race. As a second effect, it increases your understanding of skills, which allows you to understand everything more smoothly. Finally, it increases your lifespan and gives you a near-perfect abnormal status resistance.


    As she stopped speaking, his father continued. "The second thing has a relation with the words: ''Become stronger, never stop growing stronger'' that we left you. What we mean by that is that we hope you can grow to become a strong man in the future so you won''t have to bow down to people you don''t want to. Of course, that doesn''t include your goddess, as you should always remember who helped you. That''s what a man is. Also, I hope you don''t try to become a hero. Your mother and I are known as such, and as you can see, there is only one end to heroes, that is to die." His father said with a more resonant voice.


    Seeing Aidan nodding to them, they both smiled before his mother continued. "Now, about your sealed memories. They are memories we gave you about using my card magic and your father''s swordsmanship and footwork. As you can see, both are extremely strong, and I have no doubt you will become as strong in the future. However, it will take a lot of work to master both of our strengths. We sealed our combat methods in your memories, and every time you break through a level, you will gain a part of my magic and your father''s swordsmanship and footwork technique. The memories which you will unlock will be the techniques you can use. We also sealed a few memories of our past together for you to have the drive to become stronger. Finally, considering you are joining a familia, I will gift you something useful for both you and your familia when you do an expedition in the future. Consider this a gift to both you and your familia." She said while pointing at his head with a mysterious smile.


    Finally, his father talked again. "It is important for you to know that the only way to reach the strongest level is by maxing your stats as much as possible before levelling up. The best is to max them all. It will be hard, and it will hurt a lot. However, if you don''t do so, you won''t unlock some memories because you are not strong enough. So, work hard and don''t take shortcuts, alright? We left you our weapons, so it won''t be acceptable if you''re weak. We also linked our weapons and your clothes to you. As such, even if you leave them somewhere, you can summon them simply by thinking about it. Finally, I''ll also leave you with a gift. I wouldn''t want to be inferior to your mother now." He said while laughing and embracing Aidan''s mother as he pointed his finger at Aiden''s forehead.


    "Now, we hope you can become a strong man of which we can be proud. Don''t betray your allies and friends. Find a girl to marry. Or a few." His father added with a grin, only to receive a punch from his mother. "And remember forever that we love you with all our hearts." They said together as the memory disappeared into fragments as both Loki and Aidan were forced back out of his memories.


    Waking up, the two looked at each other, seeing the shock in one''s eyes and the happiness in knowing who his parents were in the others. As Aidan showed a bright smile for knowing who his parents were, he got up from the couch and went back on the other one to sit next to Ais.


    "Ais, how long have we been in Aidan''s memories?" Asked Loki has she had no idea how long they had been there.


    "Fifteen minutes, Loki-sama." Answered Ais while looking at Aidan. Giving a smile at Ais, which promised some explanation, Aidan looked at Loki and asked. "Loki-sama. Thank you for your help." The young man said while bowing his head a little towards the goddess.


    "It''s nothing. Alright, let''s do the crest ceremony for the both of you. Ais comes first, Aidan, turn around." She said as she ignored his thanks and decided to give the two children their crests.


    The both of them nodded as they did as told. "Alright, Ais. Please show me your back. It will sting a little bit while I give you my crest. It won''t take long, so endure it, alright?" She asked as Ais once again nodded.


    With his back turned on the two girls, Aidan thought back to the two gifts his mother and father gave him. His father gave him some information about the dungeon. It was continually growing, and the last time he had been in the depths, which was almost a thousand years prior, only a little bit after they sealed the dungeon with the tower of Babel, it already had 137 floors. It was the gift he had given him as it seemed that his father hoped he would be able to dive down far into the dungeon.


    As for his mother''s gift, it was a bit more helpful as it transformed one of his 54 magical cards into a magical dungeon map. According to the information he had from his mother, it would record the dungeon wherever he went, and when the owner of the card went down a floor, the dungeon map on his card would change to show the map on the floor he was on. However, this wasn''t the best as, according to the information she gave him with the card, the dungeon in the lower floors changed from time to time. However, the magical dungeon map card would directly record the walls, ceiling and floor wherever he went. As such, even if the dungeon floor changed, his card would still map the dungeon correctly. The downside of this map was that he would have to record as much as the dungeon as he possibly could so that whenever the floor changed, he still had the right road to go to the next level or climb back up. However, that would be for the future as he had never even entered the dungeon yet.


    As he stopped thinking about the two gifts his parents left him, he began to think about his parents. He did not doubt that they were fantastic. However, now that he knew that they were dead, he didn''t feel sad as he never really knew them since they sealed his memory. He believed that it might be one reason they locked his memory not to feel sad about their death and learn to know them as he unlocked his memories when he became powerful.


    As Aidan was feeling confused about this whole thing, Ais, who had already put back her dress, walked to Aidan''s side and tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you alright?" She asked as she saw that he seemed confused. They might not have known each other for a long time, but how they understood each other made her feel close to him and seeing him this way made her concerned.


    "Ah? Yeah, I''m alright. I was feeling confused about my parents sealing my memories and not knowing how to feel after knowing that they are both dead." Aidan showed a smile at Ais to reassure her as she smiled back. "It''s your turn to get your crest." She said while pointing at the waiting goddess.


    As Aidan looked at her hand, pointing at the goddess, he saw that she was holding a paper. "This is my status. I''ll show you after." She said, and Aiden was surprised at seeing her talk so much, but he liked hearing her soft voice as he smiled at her.


    "Ah. I see. I''ll show you mine as well." Aidan said as he smiled at her and lay on his stomach on the couch next to the prankster goddess.

 Chapter 8 - Ch.8 Loki Familia Crest And Status

    "Alright, like I said to Ais, it''ll sting a bit, nothing a big guy like you can''t go through." She said while joking a little. "So, can you tell me what were the gifts your parents left you or are they personal?" Asked the goddess as Ais looked from the side and was visibly interested in what he would answer.


    "It''s not personal," Aidan said as he took off his shirt to show his back. "My father gave me information about the dungeon while my mother enhanced a magical card for me." Said Aidan as Loki pressed him on. She knew that at the level shown by his parents, whatever they left him wouldn''t be ordinary. She felt like it was Christmas as she would get information from the strongest human she had ever seen. Well, high human, but it didn''t make a big difference.??


    "The information from my father is about the last time he entered the dungeon, which was about a thousand years ago, a few months after the tower of Babel sealed the dungeon, according to him. He said that he confirmed that the dungeon was alive and that it was constantly growing. At that time, he reached the 137th floor and still didn''t reach the end. Of course, at that time, he wasn''t as strong as what we saw in my memory but what he wanted me to understand was that the dungeon was bigger than the expected 100 floors and was constantly growing bigger."


    When both the goddess and Ais heard this, they were visibly shocked as it was a widespread belief that the dungeon only had a total of 100 floors. However, what they just learned utterly changed their view of the dungeon. Thankfully, the tower of Babel sealed it, and thus the monsters would never get out again. However, it also meant that it was becoming more and more challenging to conquer the dungeon. As for thinking that his father lied? Loki didn''t believe so since there was no reason to lie to them. And she was an expert as the goddess of trickery. She knew he told the truth.


    "What about the gift of your mother?" Loki asked, hoping that it would help them conquer a few more floors of the dungeon. From the woman''s expression and words, she believed that it would help them much, and she wasn''t wrong as she almost wanted to hug Aidan after hearing his words.


    "It''s a magical dungeon map card. It can effectively record everywhere I have been. It records the walls, ceiling and floor of the dungeon. As such, according to my mother, even when the dungeon floor change, it will be able to change the map accordingly, making it the perfect map." He said while he took out his card with the words ''Dungeon Map'' written on it, which was currently empty.


    At his words, Loki and even Ais, who didn''t show much expression, had their eyes opened wide as this was a godly tool for the expeditions. During expeditions, they had to send an advance party to search the floor and verify if the floor had changed. If it changed, the advance party had to find the right way, which could waste a lot of time, especially when there was a limit to the provision they could bring with them in the dungeon.


    "I see!" The goddess tapped him on the back as she was pleased about the power her new familia member had just received. "Loki-sama. Is it done?" Asked Aidan as he hadn''t felt anything yet.


    "No, I haven''t started yet. Let me do it now." She said as she ignored the fact that she had forgotten.


    With a prick of her finger, she let her drop of blood fall on Aidan''s back as she muttered a spell in the language of gods and released her magical power on his back. Half a minute later, a tattoo had appeared on his back in the form of a prankster.


    As Loki finished inscribing the falna, accepting him in her familia, she put a piece of paper on his back and made a circle with magical power on the form to copy his status. Taking it and giving a quick look, she slightly smiled as she handed it over to Aidan.


    ---


    Name: Aidan


    Level: 1


    Strength: I10


    Endurance: I10


    Dexterity: I10


    agility: I10


    Magic: I10


    Skills: High human


    Magic: Card magic


    Development abilities:


    ---


    (High human: Increase the maximum stat points from 999 to 1500 points, increase understanding of skills and allows him to learn everything more easily. Increase lifespan, near-perfect abnormal status resistance.)


    Taking a quick look, he was surprised at the low amount of stats, but the red-haired goddess soon explained. "It''s normal not to have higher stats than I10 at the beginning. To increase them you need excelia. So, even if you used your magic before receiving excelia, it won''t upgrade your status. However, it will help you fill your status faster at the beginning when you collect excelia, so it''s not a loss to train your body and magic before receiving excelia."


    "I see." Aidan nodded and handed over his status sheet to Ais while he took the one she handed over. Exchanging their status, they compared with each other and saw that they had precisely the same stats. The only difference was that she didn''t currently have any magic or skill.


    "Loki-sama, what are the plans for the two of us? Can we enter the dungeon, or do we have to wait until we are sent to a higher-ranked adventurer to work as a supporter?" Asked Aidan as he could see from Ais''s gaze that she also hoped to be able to enter the dungeon right at this moment.


    Frowning slightly, she hesitated. She knew that both of them were way more mature than even many adults. However, she wasn''t feeling relieved by sending the two of them directly into the dungeon by themselves since it was highly probable that they would get hurt.


    At this point, the goddess got an idea as she turned to her drawers and drew out four healing potions. Taking two pouches from another drawer, she put two healing potions in each of them and gave them to both children. "You are allowed to go on the first floor of the dungeon as long as you are careful. It is a dangerous place where you can die, it''s not a game, and the life of your partner will be in your hands. If you get hurt, don''t hesitate to use these potions. Either drink a bit of it or drop a bit of it on the wound. You are to come back before six tonight since me, the three executives and the recruits, which includes you, will eat at the ''Hostess of fertility.'' We are going to be there at 18h30. I expect the two of you to be present in front of the manor by 18h15 cleaned up. Now, before you leave, you will take a basic leather armour given to every member of the familia, and you are going to leave your stuff in your room. It is on the first floor, on the left. The rooms 601 and 602." She said in a stern voice as she didn''t want either of them to take any risks, but the goddess also knew that she couldn''t always protect them.


    He was nodding at the goddess and showing a smile. "Thank you, Loki-sama. We will make sure to come back by 18h00 and be ready by 18h15." Aidan said as he and Ais turned around and left the chambers of their goddess.


    "First thing, we go get our armour. It''s most likely going to take some time so, we''ll use that time to go and store out items in our rooms." Said Aidan as Ais nodded as she agreed with his words.


    Almost running down the stairs, they met some of the other recruits, and both of them nodded at the middle-aged men and women as they went straight to the first floor. Looking around, Ais found the sign of the armoury. Seeing this, Aidan smiled as the two of them entered the armoury.


    The room was made entirely of stones. On the right and left side of the room were weapons used as presentations. However, Aidan could tell that none of those weapons came close to his since his father used them to behead thousands of enemies in one slash. As the boy tightened his grip on the sheath, which he carried over his shoulder, he saw the man behind the counter. The worker was an average man and didn''t have any distinctive features. It would be precisely the kind of person who everyone would ignore in the middle of the road. He had brown hair and brown eyes. His hair reached at the height of his eyes while his physique didn''t have a redeeming feature as he wasn''t muscular but wasn''t too slim. Strictly average, like the rest of the man.


    As he and Ais stopped in front of the counter, he looked at both of them. "Hi, what can I do for you two?"


    "Hi, Loki-sama told us to come here and get our basic leather armour," Aidan answered for the both of them as Ais stood by his side and looked at the man.


    "Do you have any preference for your leather armour?" Asked the man as there were a few different types, such as the more heavy leather armour, which increased the defence but lowered the agility.


    "The lightest possible would be best. We are both swordsmen, and we rely much on our agility." Aidan answered as Ais nodded to the man.


    "Alright. I''ll make some adjustments from our smaller current leather armours for the two of you. It''ll be ready in about twenty minutes."


    "Thank you. We will be back in twenty minutes in that case." Said Aidan as he and Ais left the armoury to go towards their room.

 Chapter 9 - Ch.9 Entering The Dungeon

    Leaving the armoury, the two young people walked back inside the center hall of the mansion. The dining room was on the right side of the room, while at the far end of the hall were the stairs leading to the second and third floors. On the left side of the aisle was a large door that was kept open at all times. Above the door was the words ''dormitory'', which the two were searching.


    On the other side of the door was a large corridor, and the inside was separated on the right, left and front. On the right were the numbers one to three hundred. Straight ahead were the numbers 301 to 600, while the hallway''s left side had the number 601 to 900. Turning to the left along with Ais, they once again pushed a door open only to find a long highway. However, it seemed extremely clean, as if constructed recently.??


    None of this mattered, however, as both of them arrived in front of their room''s door. Both rooms were exactly in front of each other. The two looked at each other. "In twenty minutes in front of the armoury." Said Aidan pushing the door key in the door handle and opening his door to reveal a clean small apartment.


    In the entry of the room was the vestibule as he left his shoes there. Entering further in the apartment was a small living room with a couch and a small table on its side. A fluffy blue carpet was in front of the sofa. Looking at the small table next to the couch, he saw a large book with the title ''Dungeon and monster.'' After giving it a quick look to understand the monsters on the first floor and their weakness, he turned towards the dining room and saw a brown, wooden table along with four chairs intrinsically made, standing around the round table. Next to it was a kitchen, but he was sure he wouldn''t be using it for a while as he didn''t seem to be interested in cooking at all.


    Going to the bathroom, he saw a shower and a small toilet right next to it. A sink was on the bathroom''s right wall, and a few shelves were above the sink to leave his items.


    Leaving the bathroom, he went to the last room, the bedroom. The small room was also simple. A single-sized bed stood in the center of the room and a night table was next to it. The mattress was soft, and the blankets had a blue and red colour scheme. Leaving his identification paper, Orario city pass and his money on the night table, he only kept his scabbard with his longsword, his deck of card, the door key which he would leave at the reception in the hall, and he held 120 Valis to buy Jagamarukun before entering the dungeon.


    After visiting the new apartment, he looked at the clock and saw that he still had about fifteen minutes until he had to leave to get his armour. As such, he took out his magical card with the word ''Shield'' and started to input his magic. He wanted to have this magic card, at least in case something happened. Currently, he was too weak to make multiple cards at once, as his mother had done. All he could do was use his magic to create a single card before heading to the dungeon. As for choosing between ''Fireball'' and ''Shield,'' he chose the latter since he believed that the two of them would be able to fight on the first floor and only kept the ''Shield'' card in case something happened.


    After a dozen minutes of inserting his magic in the card, he managed to improve it to 1.1. It would be able to block a blow once of a weak enemy. Seeing the time, he got out of his door and met Ais as she got out at the same time. As he looked at her, he noticed that she had changed from her green dress and instead wore white shorts with a white shirt that exposed part of her arms.


    "It suits you well." Aidan praised as Ais gave him a brief happy smile.


    Smiling back at her, they turned together and went to the armoury, which should have about finished with the leather armour''s modifications. As they arrived, they quickly collected the modified armour for them and their adventurer''s card made by one of the familia''s workers with the guild''s help. Adventurers had to always keep the card with them when entering the dungeon. It served as identification.


    Leaving the manor afterwards, Aidan and Ais met Gareth and Finn, upon which they greeted before going to the dungeon. For people like them who only lived to become stronger, the idea of entering the dungeon was pleasant and attractive. On their way towards the tower, Aidan stopped at a stall and bought four snacks, two for each of them.


    As he handed two to Ais, she muttered a thank you as she took them and ate with a bright smile on her face.


    Eating both of them with great relish, they ran towards the dungeon until they finally reached the city''s highest tower, the tower of Babel. The gods built this tower to stop the invasion of monsters on the surface world. This tower of fifty floors at the center of the city was the world''s most important building as it effectively prevented monsters from going out and slaughtering the surface world.


    As they walked to the large tower''s open doors, the two children saw the adventurers entering or exiting the dungeon repeatedly. Most of them were fitted with basic armour and wielded either a sword or axes. Adventurers with dagger or lances were relatively rarer.


    Seeing the blood on the adventurers who came out of the dungeon, Ais and Aidan frowned slightly. Still, their desire to become stronger overwhelmed this disgusting scene as they entered the tower and walked towards the tower''s basement.


    Before entering the basement stairs, there was a checkpoint where the adventurer would have to show their adventurer registration. This registration served to know who entered the dungeon at what time and what their goals were. If they didn''t come back within three days, they would be considered missing, and the guild would send a search team. However, this was more to confirm their death as the chance of them surviving was low. Moreover, it only worked on the first few floors as it would become impossible to search for them afterwards.


    Entering the line of adventurers who were waiting to fill their information before entering the dungeon, Aidan and Ais attracted attention due to their small stature and their young age. "Kids, this isn''t a place to play. Go back home." Said a man right behind them.


    Turning around, Aidan smiled. "Thank you for the reminder, sir. We are fully aware that this isn''t a game, and Loki-sama already permitted us to go to the first floor of the dungeon."


    Upon hearing his words, he sighed and let it go. What could he do? They were part of the Loki familia, the strongest familia, and their goddess had agreed to let them enter the dungeon. At this point, interfering would be considered rude.


    However, a few more guys didn''t seem to accept his words as they jeered at the two children of which the two new members of the Loki familia ignored. Those guys were different from the previous man who only wanted to help them. They were spouting whatever came to their mind, feeling a sense of superiority. Their leering didn''t continue for a long moment as a guard of the tower looked at them with a silent warning.


    A few minutes later, Ais and Aidan stopped in front of the guild member, recording the people who entered the dungeon. She was wearing a blouse, and her clothes were spotless, along with glasses over her pale blue eyes. The woman had tied her hair in a ponytail as she held a feather pen to write down the name, familia of the adventurers and the floor they wished to go in the dungeon. Seeing two children, the guild worker was surprised but still did her job as they handed her their adventurer licence the guild made.


    "Which floor are you going to today?" Asked the guild member as she recorded their name and familia.


    "The first floor." Answered Aidan as they took back their adventurer''s identification and left towards the basement upon receiving the guild woman''s blessings.


    With a sense of excitement, they went down the hole in the middle of the basement. "Are you ready?" Asked Aidan, upon which he smiled knowingly upon seeing the excitement on her usual expressionless face.


    Walking down the circular walkway to enter the first floor of the dungeon, the two saw dozens of adventurers walking up or down. Gripping his sword a bit tighter, Aidan finally put his foot on the first floor of the dungeon.

 Chapter 10 - Ch.10 Dungeons First Floor

    Upon walking on the rocky floor, Aidan looked around. The walls had a light blue glow, which allowed the adventurers to see perfectly in the otherwise dark passage. As the two teammates entered the floor, they were slightly excited, but it died down quite fast as they could see adventurers everywhere.


    From the first to the second floor, there is one wide hallway. With this hallway, the adventurers can easily reach the second floor. However, it also means that on this wide hallway, there won''t be any monsters since adventurers will automatically kill them when they make their way further down the dungeon.??


    Turning to the right of the path, in one of the many corridors of this floor, Ais and Aidan started searching for monsters. Moreover, Aidan wanted to begin by recording the first floor of the dungeon. After all, while it might be useless due to the straight wide hallway known as the beginner road, Aidan believed that as long as he continued to map the dungeon floors, he would eventually find secret routes or secret rooms with hidden treasures.


    "So, Aidan. Can you tell me what happened in your memories?" Asked Ais as she was curious by the attitude her goddess had at the mention of his parents.


    Nodding, he started explaining everything he had learned about his parents. "So, the stronger you become, the more memories and the more techniques you will get?" Asked Ais as she only focused on the point where he could become powerful. "Yeah. My father also explained that the best way to become strong is to max our stats as much as possible before levelling up. Those stats creates a base for when we become stronger. The better our stats in each level, the easier it will be when we are at higher levels. Otherwise, we will be too weak to fight the monsters stronger than us. According to him, by being an adventurer, the goal is always to surpass ourselves. Otherwise, we will be stuck, doomed never to become the strongest in the world." Aidan added as he showed his resolve to max his stats before levelling up, even if it took more time.


    "I see. I''ll do the same thing." Ais nodded as she looked thoughtful after hearing what he said. Her original plan had only been to level up as quickly as possible. However, hearing what Aidan said, she thought back and thought that what he said made sense.


    As they were both talking, they finally arrived in front of four monsters. Their eyes brightening, Aidan and Ais drew their swords as they automatically distanced themselves to fight with the monsters.


    Taking the left side, Aidan drew two goblins to himself as he kept his sheath in his left hand. The sheath was solid and light. It would easily be able to block the strikes of the monster in front of him. Placing himself in an angle which the second goblin was blocked by the first one, Aidan used his longsword to make a piercing attack. As it evaded slightly and jumped towards him, Aidan used his scabbard to block it and used the length of his sword to his advantage as he pierced directly into the chest of the monster.


    As soon as the monster suffered fatal damage, it exploded into powders as a magic stone fell to the ground. Keeping a bit of attention on Ais, he looked at the other goblin stuck behind the first one. Aidan rushed towards him as he used his scabbard to block the monster''s attack as he beheaded the second monster.


    As it exploded into powder, another magic stone fell on the floor. Aidan, instead of collecting the rock, turned his attention to the surroundings to confirm their safety before he looked at Ais''s fight. Almost at the exact moment, as he turned his attention on her battle, she finished.


    Collecting their magic stones, they smiled towards each other with excitement apparent in their eyes. "Let''s continue!" Aidan said as the two of them continued on their way.


    ---


    From time to time, as they walked through the first floor of the dungeon, Aidan and Ais would take a small break as he infused his magical power into the card. Thankfully, he became more and more experienced in doing so and could still keep a lookout for his surroundings. After doing it four times, Aidan became able to walk as he infused magic into his magical card. Thanks to this, they were able to continue without wasting more time.


    While Aidan focused on strengthening his magical cards, Ais held the magic dungeon map card. With this, she directed them to the locations they hadn''t explored yet. After three hours of constant fighting, they both were a bit tired, which gave Aidan another idea for a card.


    While having Ais keep guard, he sat down and started to work on a new card. He wanted to make a ''Barrier'' card that would block the monsters for a moment if they found them. Not only that, but he also wanted to create a card with the word ''Anti-Detection.'' However, currently, they didn''t need an anti-detection as much as they just wanted someplace safe to sit down for a while. Moreover, Aidan didn''t believe for a minute that writing two words would be more comfortable than one.


    As Aidan worked on the new card, Ais had to face two goblins simultaneously, which proved to be a slight challenge but acceptable for her as she had gotten the hang of fighting goblins.


    Transforming the card and making the markings appear merely took five minutes as he immediately started to write ''Barrier.'' Once again, it took less time to write the word as it took fifteen minutes to complete. With sweat forming on his forehead, he confirmed that Ais was still okay as he turned to supply the card with his magic. Five minutes later, Aidan completed the ''Barrier'' card.


    "Ais, come here." Said Aidan as he threw the newly made card into the air once she came next to him. Immediately, a barrier appeared, which he controlled to form a small dome around them.


    With protection around them, Ais visibly relaxed as she believed in his card magic. Sitting back to back and leaning on each other as they didn''t want to rely on the wall since a monster could appear at that location, they took a breather.


    "How do you find it so far?" Asked Aidan after a few minutes of silence.


    "I like it." Answered Ais with an expressionless voice. However, he knew that she liked it if he was to go by her tone.


    "Right. Why do you want to kill the one-eyed black dragon?" Asked Aidan as he knew it was her goal.


    Feeling her trembling slightly, Aidan immediately became worried. "Are you okay? It''s fine if you don''t want to tell me." He said as he turned around to look at her.


    "It''s fine." Said the golden-haired girl after taking a breath. "I want to kill it because it killed my father. I also want to rescue my mother." She continued as she looked at Aidan, who smiled at her encouragingly. "I''m sure we can do it."


    His words seemed to surprise the girl as she turned to look at the young boy next to her. "We?" She asked as she tilted her head.


    "Well, yeah. Loki said we are partners. Of course, we''ll be together in the future to become stronger and kill it. Also, I think we''re pretty good together?" Said Aidan as he asked back a question to Ais.


    "Mmm." She answered as a smile adorned her lips. Laying down her head on Aidan''s shoulder, he could tell she was more relaxed than before.


    They stayed like this for another fifteen minutes as they relaxed until the magical power of the card started to run out. "Are you ready?" Aidan asked as he offered her a hand to get up.


    Nodding with a smile, they continued their way in the dungeon as Ais continued to lead them. From time to time, they met monsters, which they quickly killed. This trip, which they both once started to learn how to fight the monsters, soon became a field trip as they explored every corner of the first floor of the dungeon thanks to his magic map.


    After all, while the guild and the familia had maps of the first few floors of the dungeon, they had all been drawn on the spot, and they couldn''t put the proper distance. Due to this, the map sold by the guild or held by the familias was slightly flawed. However, with the perfect reproduction of the floor on the card, Ais and Aidan had fun exploring and killing the monsters together.


    With their experience in fighting together, they started to learn more about each other, and as they fought more and more, they learned how to cooperate. It already helped that both had been able to trust the other since the beginning, which allowed the two to improve rapidly.

 Chapter 11 - Ch.11 Executive Meeting

    Aidan looked at the 75% completed map of the smallest floor of the dungeon before stopping Ais. "It''s about 5h45. We have to go back since we have to clean up and be in front of the hall by 6:15." Said Aidan as he was slightly down that their time exploring the dungeon had to stop. "Besides, if Loki-sama agrees, tomorrow, we could maybe complete the map before moving to the second floor, which should increase the number of monsters to fight. It should allow us to become slightly stronger." Aidan said with a grin at Ais, who still wanted to continue exploring the floor.


    Shaking his head, Aidan took Ais''s hand before leading her towards the stairs, using the dungeon map card to guide him. After a moment, Aidan seeing that Ais was following him, released her hand. However, he was surprised that Ais didn''t release his hand. As the silver-haired boy looked back, she wore an expressionless face as she stared at their hands. Looking at her for a moment and seeing that she didn''t plan on releasing her hold soon, he shook his shoulders and held back her hand, bringing her next to him to walk next to each other.??


    Ais''s eyes then turned away from their linked hands as she stared at Aidan before turning her attention to their front. Ten minutes later, without encountering any monsters, they arrived in front of the stairs, which they immediately started to climb.


    Upon arriving at the dungeon''s exit, they climbed up from the basement before giving their names to the guild worker as they made their way directly to the Twilight manor. Nodding at the two guards, the partners went straight to the armoury where they left their leather equipment. As for their swords, Ais''s blade was still fine, and he didn''t believe that his own needed any maintenance.


    Going to their rooms, they both entered rapidly, and Aidan went directly to take a shower. Thankfully, it wasn''t hard for him to wash. His sword and scabbard seemed to have the same function as his clothes as they each cleaned themselves. Aidan only had to go for a quick wash to get rid of his sweat and monster blood on his face, arms and hair.


    Rapidly dressing back up, Aidan took his magical card deck, which he left in his pocket while he took his sheath and held it over his shoulder as he did before. Unfortunately for him, the sword was too long for him to strap to his waist of his back. However, the sword was light and possessed great strength, which stopped Aidan from having the thought to change his sword. Not to mention that this sword was the weapon of his late father; he didn''t think he would be able to find another sword as good as this one for a long time.


    Looking at himself in the mirror, he used some time to power up his cards before getting out of his room and going to the front of the manor. Waiting for a while, Aidan saw Ais come out before she came next to him.


    She had changed her clothes to a blue and white dress since the goblin''s blood smudged her previous garments. With her sword strapped to her waist, she looked valiant. Aidan looked at her and her ever expressionless face before turning back his attention to the manor which their goddess was getting out.


    "Alright, you two came at the right time. Let''s go to the Hostess of Fertility." Said the goddess as the two new members followed behind her. Accompanying them was the captain of the familia, Finn, who guarded the goddess.


    ---A few hours earlier, while Aidan and Ais were in the dungeon---


    "So, how are the recruits?" Asked Loki as she lost her usual lazy demeanour and looked thoughtful.


    "From those who passed, there are few level two adventurers, but with their talents, they have almost no hope of levelling up again. Not only that, but due to their stats on the first level, they are all weak amongst the level two adventurers. They will do as supporters but nothing more than that." Answered Finn as he shook his head.


    "Are there any promising members?" Asked the jade-coloured hair high-elf. She hadn''t participated in the recruitment as she wasn''t someone who liked to deal with strangers.


    "Yes." Nodded Gareth as she looked at him. "Two children. Aidan and Ais, both seven-year-old. Whenever there was an instruction by Finn, they followed the instructions to the letter. They didn''t need to talk with each other when they had to choose their captain, as a single glance at each other allowed them to make the decision. In this way, they are already more mature than the adults who argued for ten minutes. I''ve met the boy yesterday night at an inn. He has the drive to become powerful." Said the dwarf as he looked at the high-elf while taking a sip from his flask.


    "Indeed, they are promising. When it was time to fight, both managed to surprise me a few times with their tricks and trust. They are almost perfect partners as they can understand and fight well together even after knowing each other for a few hours at most." Said the pallum as he quieted down afterwards.


    "Yes, I talked a bit with Aidan and Ais." Continued the tomboyish goddess as she sat back with relaxation. "The girl wants to become stronger to kill the one-eyed black dragon. She seems to have some hatred towards it. She has great potential, and I''m sure she will become powerful. As for the boy, he wished to become powerful to find back his lost memories. After I helped him look into his sealed memories, we managed to see his parents, who talked to us." The goddess paused as everyone was listening attentively, wondering what she found.


    "From the memories, I saw and their revelation, Aidan is even more likely to want to become stronger. From what I saw, his parents were the strongest humans I ever saw. If they were to fight with gods in their full strength, I''m pretty sure that they would easily slaughter most of us. They are just that strong. Moreover, from what I heard, Aidan is not a regular human." Said the trickster goddess as she sent a playful smile at Riveria Ljos Alf, the elves'' high-elf and royalty. "The boy is a high-human." She said after a few seconds to build up the intrigue.


    "High-human? That''s impossible! They were all killed in the ancient war! According to my family''s documents, the high-humans were the strongest warriors a thousand years ago. They all died during the purge of the surface monsters since they always went against the strongest!" Shouted Riveria in disbelief as she got up from her seat.


    Her outcry seemed to shock the other three as this was the first time they saw her lose her composure. It seemed as if she sensed it as she immediately calmed down. However, she didn''t seem to be able to as she didn''t stop moving her leg in an attempt to relax.


    "Indeed, they were all killed. However, it seemed that Aidan''s parents managed to survive somehow. According to them, Aidan is the last high-human alive. However, I want to talk about something else. What I wanted to say is that according to his parents, high humans have a maximum of 1500 in each parameter instead of 999 like everyone else. Not only that, his heritage allows him to learn everything faster and gives him a near-perfect abnormal status resistance. This kid has the potential to surpass everyone in Orario, and that includes the king, Ottar." The goddess finished and took a slight pause before continuing. "The two of them wanted to go in the dungeon, which I allowed. I sent a member to protect them from afar just in case something happened." Added the small red-haired goddess.


    "Now, the reason I say this is because I plan to have the two kids become your supporters when you don''t go too deep in the dungeon. They need experience, training and explore the dungeon. Exploring the dungeon is especially important for that boy as his mother gave him a gift when we met her. She was a card magic user like the boy, and she helped him activate a card which is a perfect magical dungeon map." The goddess explained the card''s use upon which all of the executives of that familia were shocked.


    "I see." Answered the pallum. "We will only take them as long as we don''t go beyond the 18th floor for the moment. Currently, they are too weak, and their probability of dying would be too high. Instead, having them learn to fight well and fight against weaker monsters would be the best. As for the details, let''s wait for the report of the member you sent to protect them." The captain of the familia said as the others nodded.


    "Alright, as for the other recruits..." They continued as the two children weren''t everyone the familia had recruited.


    ---Back to the present---


    "Yes, Loki-sama." Answered the two young recruits as they followed behind their goddess as they walked through the streets of the city. Aidan hadn''t had the chance to visit much of the town as he previously was only interested in becoming powerful and finding his memories. Now, although he still had sealed memories and wanted to be stronger than ever, he had already started to walk on the right path. So, he decided to learn a bit more about the city he would be living in for an extended part of his life.

 Chapter 12 - Ch.12 Hostess Of Fertility

    Walking on the street of the world''s most influential and protected city, Aidan looked around to take in the surroundings. He wanted to remember where each shop was as it would be helpful in the future. During their walk, Aidan, from time to time, would strengthen his cards when he recovered his magic power, as enhancing his cards would make him stronger.


    Loki and Finn, of course, discovered his repetitive use of magic. However, as both of them had a particular understanding of his card magic, they didn''t bother him. Instead, they were more curious about the uses of such magic.??


    As Aidan took the surroundings and improved himself with his magic cards, Ais walked next to him. With her constant absence of expression, the others couldn''t understand what she was thinking. However, for Aidan, he could tell that she was happy. It didn''t come from her face or her way of walking. It was merely the air she gave.


    After walking for about a dozen minutes, the three Loki familia members and her goddess arrived in front of the pub. The Hostess of Fertility was made entirely of pale brown wood. The door was on the left side of the establishment, and countless windows faced the road, allowing the diners to see the exterior.


    The interior of the pub had a warm atmosphere and gave the customers the feeling of being welcomed. As the four of them entered the magically illuminated establishment, Loki and Finn habitually made their way towards a table in the middle of the dining area.


    At the table sat Gareth, the other examiner of the recruitment process, along with a jade-coloured-haired elf he did not know. At the table were precisely six chairs, allowing the four new members to sit down. However, Aidan and Ais didn''t immediately sit down as the other recruits were seated at the other tables all around this one. Because of this, they couldn''t easily sit down with the captain and goddess of the familia since there were still places to sit with the recruits.


    This thinking didn''t stay long as the trickster goddess immediately pointed at the two chairs left at the table, which Aidan understood as he and Ais went to sit at the remaining chairs.


    "Anya-chan~! Bring us the menu!" Shouted Loki in a childish voice.


    "Yes, Loki-sama. Please give me a moment, nya~." She answered as she finished giving the food to her customers before moving to the goddess''s table.


    "Here is the menu, Loki-sama. Are those two new members of your familia, nya~?" Asked the brown-haired cat-girl as she readied herself to take the orders of the group.


    "Yes! Aren''t they cute?" Answered the goddess as she already started to drink from a mug, which Aidan never saw appearing.


    The cat person decidedly ignored her question as she smiled at the two new familia members before taking their orders. "We''ll take your specialty as always, along with pasta for everyone. As for the drinks, it''ll be ale for both Finn and Gareth and juice for the two children and Riveria-chan." Said Loki as she gave a glance at the menu before ordering for everyone. "As for the other recruits, they can order whatever they want; it''s on my tab today." Added Loki as she turned back to her drink while the recruits shouted in happiness in response.


    Turning back to the two children, the flat-chested goddess started talking. "You already know Finn and Gareth. As for the elf over there, she is Riveria Ljos Alf, another executive of the familia. She is also known as the sage of Orario due to her knowledge of magic and her strength." Taking a small sip of her mug, she turned back her attention to the two children who seemed out of place in a pub full of grown-ups.


    "So, you two." Said the goddess while she was waiting for the food. "How did your first day in the dungeon go?" She asked as she was curious about their impression of the dungeon. She had received a report from the level three adventurer who had protected the two of them when exploring the first floor. However, the news couldn''t tell how they felt about it.


    "It went well." Answered Ais first, upon which Aidan nodded.


    "And how did you like staying in the dungeon?" Asked the flat-chested goddess.


    "It wasn''t hard, and it almost felt like we were tourists, visiting the dungeon. The monsters were easy to kill after we understood the best way to kill them, and we would''ve continued had it not been for your instructions." Answered Aidan as he explained their first dungeon dive.


    "I see. Did you two kill a lot of monsters?" Asked the pallum as he entered the conversation while drinking from his newly brought mug.


    "Not many. We have only killed sixty-three goblins. There wasn''t a lot of them, and most of our time was exploring the first floor." Answered Aidan as he shook his head in regret.


    Nodding at Aidan''s answer, the pallum continued to ask. "You''ve been in the dungeon for a bit more than six hours. Weren''t you tired at some point?"


    "I created a barrier so that we could rest." Answered Aidan as he didn''t bother to hide his magic. Other people would know about his magic in the future, and hiding it from his familia members didn''t seem necessary. "With this, we could create a dome around us which would block a few goblin''s attacks before breaking it. Thanks to this, as long as we stay a minimum vigilant, there''s no problem taking a safe rest in the dungeon." He continued with a smile.


    "You can create a sustainable barrier with your card magic?" Asked the beautiful elf.


    "Yeah. As long as I put magic in the card beforehand, the barrier will stay in effect as long as there is magic in the card or decide to stop it. There is always a small amount of magic released throughout the barrier. Whenever an attack is coming to the barrier, the card''s magic will increase its release automatically and block the attack. However, just like any barrier magic, if the attack is too strong and it takes all the magic in the card, then it will weaken the attack, but it will still pass through." Explained Aidan as he tried to be clear of the barrier''s card magic use and limitation.


    Nodding, she asked another question. "If you were to release your barrier magic right now, how long would it be able to hold without breaking or which level of attack would break it?" Asked the elf once again.


    "Well, I started to put magic in it two hours before we left the dungeon, so approximately three hours ago. Currently, it can block a level one attack with its stats in the F category (1.3 in strength) or sustain itself for an hour if there''s no damage." Answered Aidan. He had started to release his magic in his barrier card, mostly since it was helpful in the dungeon. Of course, he was planning on increasing the other card before going back.


    "I see. I hope you can show me in the next few days if you don''t mind." Asked the jade-haired elf as she eyed Aidan thoughtfully despite holding a mug of fruit juice in her hand.


    "Yes, yes, no problem." Answered Aidan as he looked at her deep eyes.


    As the group continued to talk about their day in the dungeon, the food soon arrived. Their specialty looked like some poultry. However, the colour was red, and it had a hint of spiciness. Smelling the food, Aidan lifted an eyebrow as he couldn''t wait to taste it as some saliva started to appear in his mouth in anticipation of the food.


    Next to the poultry on the plate was some pasta. It was pretty standard compared to the poultry, but considering the smell from the sauce, he could tell that it would be delicious as well. Finally, the waitress left two mugs of juice in front of them as everyone started to eat. She slightly bowed to the goddess present, and she turned back to the kitchen to serve the other customers.


    Aidan looked at everyone who started to eat and joined them as the food was delicious. Tasting the poultry first, he was greatly surprised by the spiciness, which perfectly enhanced the taste. Taking a sip from his fruit juice from time to time, he slowly devoured his food. By the time he finished his food, the others had ended as well. However, for the two, Finn and Gareth, it was only the beginning as they took some alcohol along with their goddess, who was surprisingly a heavy drinker. She didn''t seem to get drunk quickly, and after taking a few drinks, she appeared to have no limitations as she started to flirt with Riveria, the high-elf of the familia.


    "Can we go to the dungeon again tomorrow? And to deeper floors?" Asked Ais as the atmosphere was getting weirder with the high-elf trying to hit her goddess on her head while the other party wanted to grope her.


    Ais''s question seemed to make the beautiful elf think as Loki took this chance to get closer and grope her executive, only to be blocked by her staff before she achieved her goal. "Who are you going to go with?" Asked the goddess as she nursed her head by rubbing her forehead.


    Pointing towards Aidan, she didn''t answer as she merely looked at the goddess.


    As the boyish goddess looked at Ais and Aidan, she nodded. "You can go to the dungeon. However, before going down a floor, I want you two to have completely mapped out the floor you are on first and have killed at least fifty monsters each on that floor." ''By having them map out the floor, they will have a better chance to escape if something happens, and by having them map it out completely, it will slow them down a bit, allowing them to get used to each floor and the increased difficulty. Anyway, this will only hold them back for a few days at most, but it will allow them to get used to the dungeon and killing monsters.'' The goddess thought as she drank from her mug once again.


    Nodding their heads to the goddess, Ais didn''t show any emotions on her face. However, Aidan could see her closing her fist in delight.

 Chapter 13 - Ch.13 Second Floor

    The following day, Aidan woke up early as he and Ais would be going to the dungeon as soon as possible. They had decided to leave the manor by 6h00 and to bring their lunch with them for the day. They planned on staying as long as possible in the dungeon.


    Loki had instructed them to completely map out a floor, killing fifty monsters each on the floor before moving down. These were her instructions so that the two wouldn''t go deep in the dungeon without being prepared for it. However, her instructions just prompted the two partners to stay underground longer.??


    Washing up rapidly, he made his way to the dining room of the familia with his sword and cards. By that point, it was 5:30, and most of the members of the familia were still asleep. Arriving in the dining room, the chefs had already started cooking for the early members. Entering the line and taking some eggs and toasts, Aidan didn''t forget to ask for dinner and supper for both him and Ais. They would be staying in the dungeon until nightfall and didn''t want to go hungry.


    Seeing the cooks nodding at his order as this was normal for them to prepare extra food for the adventurers to bring in the dungeon, Aidan took his food and went to sit at a table. ''Right, won''t it be a bother to bring food in addition to our equipment, pouch for the potions, the magic stone and the probable materials we will collect? Can''t I store them in my cards somehow? The card can use all types of magic, I think. So, can''t I create a storage card?''


    As he finished thinking about this, he took out his fifth card and started to refine it. Thankfully he was in advance and had some time before leaving. He would have time to complete the card first.


    Twenty minutes later, along with Ais beside him, who was still eating her breakfast and looking curiously, Aidan finally managed to finish the card. The word he had used on the card was ''storage,'' and it currently had enough space to hold for one cubic meter. This amount was more than enough for the moment as it would easily carry their lunch and a lot of loot. However, Aidan promised himself to increase the space since he didn''t want to lack space in the future.


    Finishing their breakfast, the cook came to the two of them and gave them two lunches each, which would be their food for the day. "I wish you good luck in the dungeon." He said before turning around and going back to work.


    Taking the food in the card, which surprised Ais, he started to explain the use. "With this card," He said while showing her the newly made card. "I can store items. So, we won''t have to bother about bringing bags or having added weight. We only have to focus on exploring the dungeon, killing monsters and collecting our loot." He said with a smile, which she sent back.


    Ais knew what it meant. While she was quiet and had difficulty in expressing her feelings with words, she wasn''t stupid. She may want to become the strongest, but she was not some idiots who only thought about fighting. She wasn''t a musclehead. Instead, she was pretty brilliant in battle and wanted to improve herself.


    "Let''s go," Aidan said as Ais finished her breakfast.


    Seeing her getting up, the two of them went to the armoury to collect their armour and immediately left for the dungeon. They didn''t make any stops on the way as they only thought about exploring the dungeon. They hoped to be able to at least reach the third floor before having to leave. They almost completely mapped out the first floor, and the second would take at most 8 hours. They believed it was possible to reach the third floor this day and move on to the fourth the next day.


    The first to the fourth floor was known as the beginner floors, with the first floor known as the beginner road. The adventurers staying on those four floors were those with stats ''I'' and ''H,'' those with less than 200 points in their stats. In his opinion, the actual danger of the dungeon started from the fifth floor downwards. However, according to their goddess''s words, they would have to stay on these floors for a few days.


    The first floor only had goblins as monsters. From the second floor, kobolds appeared alongside the goblins, and they were slightly more numerous. It would give them a higher challenge and allow them to kill more monsters to gather excelia. Considering that the two of them wanted to increase their stats as much as possible before levelling up, they would have to work harder than most adventurers who only upgraded as soon as they could. However, with their determination, they would undoubtedly become the strongest adventurers there are.


    Entering the dungeon once again after leaving their information to the guild worker, they went where they hadn''t yet completed the map. On the way, they killed some goblins, which allowed them to warm up. The two collected the loot since it was money they would most likely need in the future.


    As soon as they arrived in the unexplored area, they looked at each other excitedly since it meant they progressed with their goddess''s instruction. Of course, during this time, Aidan did not forget to continue powering up his cards. With the past evening and the morning, he had increased his card magic quite a bit. His fireball card had a strength of 1.3, and the boy could use it a total of 6 times. He had stopped growing the power after 1.3 since all the monsters they would meet in the first four floors did not need more potent force than this. Instead, he decided to increase the number of fireballs and to make them all of the same strength, which was more helpful in this case.


    The second card he improved was the shield card, which he also increased to 1.3 since with this defence, it would easily block the monsters on the first four-floors level and not necessarily break after an attack. For this card, he had increased the number of uses to ten. They would be able to use it to save themselves if necessary. Finally, Aiden had raised his barrier card to hold for three hours or take the attacks of 1.4, which was enough to block a single assault from the eight and ninth-floor monsters. It wouldn''t be handy in the deeper floors since there were many more monsters there, which would render the barrier obsolete if it was to take more than a single hit. However, he promised himself to increase the magic he sends in this card since it was handy.


    Aidan and Ais took an hour and a half to finish mapping the floor entirely, and it surprised them when the dungeon map card turned green when they explored it all. Aidan figured it might be one of the card''s functions he didn''t know, which would tell him whether or not the card had wholly mapped out the floor of the dungeon. The first floor had a lot of room, but from what he found, there were a total of three pantries on this floor, which served as the monster''s dining room. In those rooms, Ais and Aidan had found quite many goblins and had managed to kill a total of fifty monsters each. If the two were to count the monsters they had killed the previous day. It meant they could go to the second floor.


    Looking at Ais, smiling brightly at their first achievement in the dungeon, the two ran towards the second floor. The goddess had said it was fine, and they would certainly not miss this opportunity.


    The second floor was surprisingly the same as the first floor. The only difference was that there were slightly fewer adventurers as they had most likely separated to hunt by themselves. Moreover, in addition to the goblins, kobolds also started appearing. They were dog-headed monsters who only lived to see blood as they didn''t hesitate to throw themselves at adventurers.


    "Are you ready, Aidan?" Asked Ais suddenly as the two of them set foot on the second floor.


    Hearing her words, Aidan remembered the words he had first given her when they arrived on the first floor. Turning towards her and seeing her smiling slightly, he grinned and said. "No problem." Upon which they both set foot on the new floor, their new limit.

 Chapter 14 - Ch.14 Versus Kobolds

    Turning towards the right immediately, the two children started to explore the new floor. The dungeon card map had immediately changed to a new plan upon entering the second floor, which allowed them to continue their work assigned by the goddess.


    As they walked through the corridors, they were not surprised by the slightly higher number of adventurers. However, they were surprised that there was undoubtedly a higher concentration of monsters. It brought a smile to their face as they started to search for enemies.??


    The second floor of the dungeon was incredibly similar to the first floor, with some exceptions. Compared to the first floor, there wasn''t a beginner road which was a straight hallway to the next floor. However, the rest was pretty much similar. The walls were light blue coloured while the corridors were of stone. On this floor, except for the monsters, there wasn''t anything different.


    As they walked on the second floor, they stayed on their guard. It was their first time on this floor, and they knew about the second type of monster, the kobold. As they walked further from the stairs, they met fewer adventurers, and both of them held their swords tightly in their hands as they were aware that their fight was approaching.


    And indeed, a few moments later, Aidan and Ais faced three goblins and two kobolds. Seeing this, they immediately ran towards the two closest goblins. They wanted to solve one or two of them at least before the other monsters had a chance to approach them, especially with the two kobolds, which they had never fought before.


    As he closed in on the monster, he side-stepped to the left while the goblin''s claws swept his previous position. At the same time, he swung his right arm, holding the sword at the height of the goblin''s neck, slashing it. At the identical moment, Ais, on the other side, also evaded the monster''s attack while she pierced the goblin''s heart with her sword.


    By the time they completed the fight, no more than five seconds had gone by, and this left them with the two kobolds and one goblin. The remaining monsters were in a triangle position, with the goblin in the back between the two kobolds who were in the front. "Take the goblin. I''ll stall the two kobolds. After that, we take one each." Said Aidan as he approached and took the monster''s attention, allowing Ais to take a detour and kill the goblin from the back while it wasn''t paying attention.


    They wanted to fight the new monsters and improve their fighting strength. As such, they didn''t want to use the card magic until it was necessary. After all, it was an excellent way to save their life when necessary.


    While Aidan fought a few rounds with the kobolds who kept dodging his strikes, Ais, after killing the goblin, took one of the kobolds, allowing Aidan to focus on the other one.


    In a one-on-one, Aidan could give all of his attention to his enemy and could finally turn on the offensive without sending strikes to only stall the monsters. Fixing his eyes on the dog-headed creature, he lifted his sword and started attacking. The kobold on the other side lunged towards him as it extended its hairy arm towards his waist. The kobold''s claws were highly sharp as Aidan didn''t doubt the attack would hurt him. Taking a step back while rotating his waist towards the left, Aidan''s switched his attack target from the monster''s body to its outstretched arm.


    The sword, slashing on the arm, caused blood to spray as the arm got cut from the monster''s body. As the beast got hurt, he tried to attack with his second arm. However, Aidan, who held the extremely light sword, stopped his weapon''s swing and sent the attack, on the other side, towards the monster''s waist, bisecting it.


    Having finished his fight, Aidan looked at Ais, who was still fighting with her enemy. The kobolds were faster than the previous goblin and a lot more dangerous since they had a more extended reach than the green monsters. However, Ais was using her speed to her advantage as she side-stepped her enemy lunge and quickly cut down on the opponent. Seeing her when fighting, Aidan had no doubts that she had some experience in swordsmanship as she easily repelled the monster before finally dispatching it.


    "How was it?" Asked Aidan as he wanted to know if she wanted a break.


    "We can continue." Answered Ais as she collected the loot on the ground, quickly followed by Aidan, who took the few magic stones on the floor. By taking the magical stone which represented the monster''s core from the goblin and the kobold, Aidan could see the difference in them. While it was small, the kobold''s core was a bit bigger and seemed to be a bit more radiant, showing that it held a bit more magical energy inside of it.


    Once they collected everything, they continued on the road. From time to time, the two golden-eyed youngsters encountered small groups of goblins and kobolds or monsters alone, which they quickly killed. Finally, three hours after arriving on the second floor, they met a group of ten monsters with seven dog-headed monsters and three green ones.


    Seeing this, the two looked at each other as they both held their weapons tighter. Since the previous day, they hadn''t updated their status; their parameters hadn''t changed from when they had first entered the dungeon. The only difference was their experience and their understanding of the enemies, which did not significantly increase their strength.


    As they both gave a quick look to the other, the ten monsters in front of them noticed them and rushed to the two. Aidan immediately took his fireball card in his left hand before throwing it towards the enemies. When the card arrived in the middle of the group, Aidan quickly commanded the card in his head by imagining what would happen. The card immediately combusted, and two fireballs appeared at the place of the card. The attack went on the left and right as they immediately exploded in the monsters group''s center.


    When the explosion disappeared, the two of them rushed towards the remaining disoriented monsters. The two fireballs had managed to kill three kobolds and a goblin while disorienting the remaining ones. They took the opportunity to attack while they weren''t focusing on them and killed three additional dog-headed monsters and the two remaining goblins.


    As for the remaining kobold, they both rushed towards it, and before it could defend, they ended its life. With the ten dead monsters slowly turning into powder as it dropped the loot, the two partners clapped their hands together while smiling at their win. Collecting their winnings as soon as possible, they found that in addition to the magic stone, there was also a Kobold nail remaining on the ground.


    With a raised eyebrow, Aidan collected it and, seeing the additional rare loot, he smiled happily before receiving everything into the storage card. "Do you want to take a break to eat?" Asked Aidan as he was hungry and could hear Ais''s grumbling stomach.


    Seeing the girl nod, he took out the barrier card and with Ais coming closer to him, he threw the card in the air. The dome appeared, surrounding them before the two sat on the rugged and cold floor. "You know, maybe tomorrow we should bring a table and chairs? Since I can transport everything in the card, we should bring those convenient items." Noted Aidan as he shared his idea with his partner while taking out their food. "Yes. With the storage and barrier cards, we could stay a few days in the dungeon each time." Added Ais as she thought about the possible ways to stay longer in the dungeon. "Right. Good idea. We should do that when we get deeper into the dungeon since I don''t always want to go up and down the floors. It would take too much time." Nodded Aidan as they started eating their lunch while leaning on each other''s back.


    As they ate, Aidan took the map card they had started to fill. "We haven''t even explored 30% of the map yet if we compare it with the map of the guild. I doubt we''ll have time to go down another floor today. The monsters here are more numerous and a bit stronger, which slows down our progress." Said Aidan as he looked at their uncompleted map. "Mmm. Let''s complete the second-floor map today, and tomorrow we go down." Answered Ais between two mouthfuls of her sandwich.


    For the next half hour, they relaxed behind the shield, only going out to fight when a monster appeared in the distance. And finally, after having rested in the dungeon, something no other level one adventurers dared to do, they restarted their exploration.

 Chapter 15 - Ch.15 Status Update

    After their lunch, Ais and Aidan continued to explore the dungeon. They would encounter monsters or a group of monsters approximately every five minutes. The time between the monster''s attacks would allow them to recover the energy spent during the previous monster attack. In this way, they continued to travel and explore the second floor of the dungeon until they finally finished mapping the second floor.


    Mapping the floor wasn''t hard since they only had to travel in the dungeon, and the magical card would do everything automatically. The hardest part was fighting the monsters and staying safe when they encountered the pantries, the room which offered them food.??


    By the time they finished exploring the second floor thoroughly, it was already time to go back to the surface. The second floor had been more challenging than expected as both still had the basic parameters. Moreover, their bodies hadn''t fully developed yet, which lowered their range, speed and strength behind the blows.


    With one last look at the floor, the two made their way back to the first floor and the surface with the help of the map.


    After leaving the dungeon, the two looked at the sky through the window of the guild building and were surprised to see the sunset. The two hadn''t imagined having spent so much time in the dungeon. Looking at each other, Aidan smiled knowingly while Ais''s lips slightly rose as they understood what the other was thinking.


    "Let''s go and exchange the loot of our two dungeon explorations." Said Aidan as he walked towards the counter in the guildhall with Ais in toe.


    Entering a line with the smallest number of adventurers, the two waited in complete silence as the adventurers in front slowly moved forwards. From time to time, one could hear the scream of an angry adventurer who wasn''t happy about the amount of Valis obtained from the loot brought back from the dungeon. However, despite their shouting, there wasn''t anything they could do since they paid the adventurers depending on the prices offered.


    While they were waiting in line, Ais on Aidan''s side kept staring at him. Turning towards her and seeing her troubled look, he asked. "Is there anything wrong, Ais?"


    "Do you like being my partner?" She asked as she looked at the other group of adventurers who were talking and laughing loudly together. She had noticed the difference between their group and the others, and it wasn''t their age.


    "Hmm. I do. What about you?"


    Nodding her head positively at his answer and question, she continued after a long moment of silence. "But, I don''t talk much."


    "That''s fine, isn''t it. Not every group has to be similar. I think we work well together and you''re a nice person. I''d rather we continue being partners than changing teams simply because you don''t talk much. Besides, I think you''re great the way you are. So don''t worry about it." He answered with a smile on his face, which Ais soon shared, as the corner of her mouth rose in a small smile.


    The two soon arrived at the guild''s counter. "Here''s our drop. Please exchange it." Said Aidan as he took his storage card and released everything on the plate used for holding the loot.


    With an eyebrow raised at seeing such rare storage magic, the guild worker still did her job as she started counting the loot collected by the two young people in front of her. She spent a few minutes counting the various magic stones and verifying the magical energy in the cores before turning to the material loot they had collected, which was only a few miserable goblin fangs and kobold nails.


    "Alright, it is a total of 40,500 Valis." Said the woman at the counter as she handed a pouch containing the money.


    "Thank you." Nodded Aidan as he turned around with Ais walking by his side. The adventurers around were surprised to hear the total amount of money they had managed to make, which gave some bad ideas to a few of them. However, they were soon discouraged when they saw the Loki familia emblem on their equipment.


    Leaving the guild behind and walking towards the Twilight manor, they stopped at the bald man''s stall and bought a few snacks to eat on their way back. They had eaten their supper, a sandwich, just like their diner, which the cooks of the familia had prepared. However, no matter how good a sandwich was, it couldn''t beat the Jagamarukun, which was just crispy and spicy enough.


    Arriving at the familia with their second snack in their hands, they moved towards the house entrance.


    "Oh, Ais and Aidan. Are you two just back from the dungeon?" Asked the blue-eyed pallum as he held a spear in his right hand and went out of the manor.


    "Oh, hello, captain." Answered Aidan as Ais merely nodded her head with no expression. "Yes, we just came back from the dungeon second floor. I was wondering, is there a rule about getting our status updated?" He asked as no one had mentioned those rules yet.


    "Yes. However, your case is different." Nodded the pallum as he started to explain. "There are various rules for the others, but due to your young age and your will to become stronger desperately, Loki has decided that the two of you could go and have your status updated whenever you wanted.


    Typically, the adventurers enter the dungeon in teams and take the least possible risks. Moreover, after a dive, they usually take a long rest to spend their money. So, their parameters don''t increase much. However, at a young age, the two of you still dive into the dungeon and work hard. Because of this, Loki has decided to let you update whenever you wanted since it would increase your strength and your parameters faster." Explained the blond-haired pallum as he twirled his spear in his hand. "You can go to the third floor to meet with Loki. She should be free right about now." He finished as he walked towards the exit of the manor''s grounds.


    "Alright, thank you." Answered Aidan at the departing captain of the familia. "I''ll bring back the equipment first and take a shower before going to update my status." He said to his golden-haired partner before turning towards the armoury of the familia, which was a few steps away, to hand over his gear before turning away towards his room to take a shower.


    Twenty minutes later, he wore back his clothes and walked towards the goddess''s room with his hair still wet. As he walked, he wondered how much progress he had made on his status. They had only dived in the dungeon for a total of two days, and it was evident that they hadn''t gained that much excelia. However, he still hoped to at least increase his parameters to help him fight in the dungeon.


    As he arrived in front of the goddess''s room, Aidan explained his purpose to the two guards before one of them knocked on the door to notify Loki of his arrival.


    A few seconds later, the guard came back and said: "Come in, the goddess is waiting for you." Before opening the door and letting Aidan enter.


    Entering the room, Aidan saw Ais getting up from the couch as she had just had her status updated. "So, how is it?" He asked as he saw Ais looking at the sheet of paper.


    "Didn''t make much progress," Ais answered while shaking her head and handing over the status sheet.


    Taking a quick look, Aidan lifted an eyebrow and asked: "Is this good? It''s the first time I see an updated status sheet."


    "It''s already pretty good. Not many people would make such progress in two days." Answered Loki, who was waiting by the side. "Next, let''s do yours." Smirked the goddess as Aidan started to strip his shirt and lie down on the sofa next to the pranking woman.


    A few moments after lying down, Aidan could feel a prickling sensation appear on his back which disappeared ten seconds later.


    "Alright, get up. Here''s your status sheet." Nodded Loki as she handed the piece of paper to the shirtless boy.


    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 1


    Strength: H-126


    Endurance: H-153


    Dexterity: H-103


    Agility: H-119


    Magic: G-231


    Skill: High human


    Magic: Card magic


    Development ability: None]


    Looking at his new status, Aidan nodded his head. It was pretty similar to Ais''s status, except that she had new magic that had appeared in her magic column. The magic was named ''wind slash.'' It was pretty straightforward as magic, but it fit her fighting style quite well.


    Her new magic allowed her to attack with a slash of wind. With this magic, she would be able to shoot from long-distance and attack not only with her sword but also with her other body parts. The way to activate this new magic, according to her, was to call the name of the magic while slashing with either a body part, her sword or any other items. It would create a slash made of wind which would fly in a straight line to the target.


    With both their status updated, Aidan and Ais left their goddess to her business as they didn''t want to bother her anymore, and they each went back to their room to rest.

 Chapter 16 - Ch.16 Exploration With The Executives

    The following morning, after a good night of sleep, Aidan and Ais met in the cafeteria. The two had decided, the morning prior, to meet early in the morning to explore the dungeon once again.


    However, right as they were ready to leave, after having eaten their breakfast, they were stopped by the green-eyed elf along with the captain of the familia. "Good morning, you two." Said the blue-eyed pallum as he stopped in front of the two.??


    "Good morning." Replied Aidan as Ais nodded her head in greetings.


    "Loki asked the two of us to accompany you to the dungeon for the day. She wants us to train you a bit and observe your strength and weaknesses." Explained the pallum as he held his spear over his shoulder.


    "I see." Nodded Aidan as he thought of something. "Give me a minute; I''ll go and get something from my room." He added before he turned towards his room as fast as he could. He didn''t want to waste too much time before entering the dungeon.


    Half a minute later, after avoiding a dozen adventurers, he managed to arrive at his room, and he hurriedly pushed the door before going to the living room. After the previous conversation with Ais the day before, he had spent some time in the evening to increase the space in his storage card. After all, now he not only wanted the card to hold his equipment, food, and loot, but he also wanted to bring some furniture such as the table and four chairs from his room.


    After getting up in the morning, he had taken with him two chairs and a table. However, now that Finn and Riveria joined in their expedition, he needed to bring two extra chairs for the two of them.


    Slamming the door behind him, he made his way back to Ais and the two executives of the familia before the four of them made their way towards the dungeon.


    ---


    As they arrived at the dungeon entrance, Aidan could see the growing excitement on Ais''s face even if she didn''t show much. With an excited smile of his own, the two youngsters led the way as the two executives followed from behind at the awe of the surroundings adventurers at seeing first-class adventurers.


    Entering the dungeon, Aidan approached his left hand from his left pants pocket before a card slid out of it, shooting directly in his hand. Bringing the card in front of his eyes, he gave it a quick look before they quickly made their way towards the second floor.


    Having brought out the map card from his pocket, it wasn''t necessary to look at it on the first floor since it was a straight alleyway, but it was more of an instinctive reaction. His movement didn''t escape Ais''s eyes as she nodded her head in understanding before they walked down the stairs leading to the second floor, which they had completed the previous day.


    Reaching the second floor, Aidan gave another quick look at the now green map of the second floor before guiding Ais towards the stairs leading to the third floor. After all, they had only once gotten on the second floor, and they hadn''t adequately memorized this level yet, making it difficult to orient themselves without the map.


    Thankfully, since many adventurers made their way past the second floor to go deeper, they had cleared the way of monsters, and they didn''t meet any enemies on their way down to the third floor.


    Entering the third floor, Ais and Aidan immediately got more on guard as they started to explore their new limit. This unique floor welcomed a new monster type, the dungeon lizard, which they had never had the chance to fight yet. Due to this, they didn''t dare take it easy, especially since two essential members of the familia were watching over them.


    Entering the first passage, the two tightened their hold over their respective weapons as they walked cautiously but fast enough to not waste time. They wanted to show their best to the two executives following behind them. They didn''t want to only show a cowardly and weak side by walking carefully and stopping every few steps from scanning their environment. Moreover, they were confident enough to fight the monsters on this floor, considering their newly updated status.


    Walking only for a few minutes, Aidan located a group of six goblins. After notifying Ais, who was next to him and was looking at another corridor, they sprinted towards the goblins, who noticed them a bit too late. Aidan''s overly long sword slashed the neck of the two closest goblins as his partner used her new magic, air slash, to send a long-distance attack which instantly beheaded two others.


    Arriving in front of the remaining monsters, they each took one as they ended the fight before it even began thanks to their newly improved speed which allowed them to act faster than the two remaining goblins.


    Quickly finishing their fight and collecting the loot even quicker before moving again, the two executives started to give some tips to improve their way of fighting in the dungeon. At the same time, the beautiful elf started giving some weird looks at Aedan due to his storage card, which she had never seen before.


    The four then continued on their way, exploring the dungeon while the executives of the familia trained the two younger members of the group.


    ---


    "Alright. It''s time to eat." Said Aidan as he heard Ais''s stomach grumble for the third time in a row.


    Hearing this, Ais immediately started to explore the surrounding tunnels to ensure no monsters were nearby before coming closer to Aidan. He motioned the two other members to come closer as he threw the barrier card in the air. He then immediately started to take out the various luggage he had brought, such as the table and four chairs, under the amazement of Riveria.


    Taking out their lunch from the card and sitting down, Ais immediately started to eat her lunch as Aidan looked at the two executives before sitting down and eating his lunch.


    "So, Aidan, why don''t you use your cards while fighting?" Asked the elf while sitting down on one of the remaining two seats.


    "I want to train a bit with my swordsmanship. Moreover, I prefer to use my cards only when necessary since I need to replenish them with magic afterwards. So, we only use the magical cards when necessary, such as when we meet too many enemies or in situations such as this one since I prefer to relax when eating." Explained Aidan while eating.


    "I see. Can you tell me your current cards?" Asked Riveria while she also took her lunch and started eating.


    "Sure. I currently only have five cards. For attacking, I have ''Fireball,'' which I can use 12 times with a strength of 1.3, which is an attack with F in stats.


    For defence, I have ''Shield,'' which I can currently use 15 times and block an attack with a strength of 1.3 and ''Barrier,'' which can hold for seven hours or stop a few assaults from 1.7, a B rank attack.


    Finally, as support, I have two cards. The dungeon map card, which you already know and the storage card, which can hold my items. I''ve been strengthening the last card to increase the size of the storage." Explained Aidan while looking at the elf.


    "I see. In this case, you should continue to strengthen your magic cards and maybe create one or two more for attacking. While I do not doubt that ''Fireball'' is strong and useful, you would need different types of attacks on the lower floors. Maybe a magic arrow or a water bullet. As for support, from the 10th to the twelfth floor, there is mist everywhere. Maybe you could create magic to see through the mist or create magic to locate the monsters in a certain area around you?" Proposed Riveria as she explained a bit of the lower floors situations.


    "Yes. I will look into this later when we go back to the surface." Nodded Aidan, interested in creating different magic to help his time in the dungeon, such as the dungeon map and the storage card he possessed.


    "Alright. Are you ready, Ais?" Asked Aidan after finishing his sandwich prepared by the Loki familia chefs.


    "Hum." Nodded Ais as she got up as he collected the furniture.


    "Alright, let''s go! Our progress is faster than yesterday, and we are already almost done with the third floor. Our increased status improved our speed of exploring the dungeon. With a bit of luck, we will have the chance to explore about half of the fourth floor." Said Aidan with a smile which Ais soon shared as they compared the dungeon card map with the dungeon map of the guild.

 Chapter 17 - Ch.17 Swordsmanship Training

    "Well, in the end, we managed to explore half of the fourth floor. By the next time we enter the dungeon, we will have completed the beginner floors." Exclaimed Aidan happily.


    "According to the guild, from the fifth to the seventh floor, we need at least G in our stats." Added Ais as they walked back to the Loki familia. The executives left to complete their duties after notifying them that they would train the next day.??


    "Well, in that case, how about the next time we enter the dungeon, we complete the fourth floor, and we train a bit on it? Afterwards, we can go and see Loki-sama to update our status to enter the fifth floor." Asked Aidan.


    "Hum." Nodded Ais as they finally arrived in front of the Loki familia manor.


    "Alright, it''s already late, and I''m tired. Good night. I''ll see you tomorrow morning at the training ground." Said Aidan as he waved Ais goodnight and entered his room to get ready for sleep.


    ---


    The following day, after a quick breakfast at the cafeteria, Aidan made his way to the training ground of the familia. He could already see about a dozen members of the familia sparring each other or simply preparing for their dive as they reverified everything they had in their bags while waiting for their teammates.


    After waiting for about ten minutes to strengthen his cards, Ais arrived, quickly followed by Finn and Riveria, who had decided to spend some time training them during the morning.


    "Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Asked the pallum as he approached them with his spear swung over his shoulder.


    "Good morning." Answered Aidan as he nodded his head at his question.


    "Alright. Before we start, do you have any questions?" Asked the captain of the familia as he stared at the two seven-year-old adventurers with a smile.


    "Yes, is there a reason why the two of you train us? We are only new adventurers of the familia, and the two of you are executives. I''m sure you have more important business to deal with than to train us both." Asked Aidan as he was genuinely curious about this matter. He and Ais were both new adventurers who had never even had the chance to enter the fifth floor of the dungeon. However, both executives had spent the entire day the previous day accompanying them and offer them bits of advice, and they would spend even more time during this day to help them train.


    Aidan was sure that there were almost no other recruits if there was even one, who could enjoy this privilege. After all, the Loki familia had thousands of members, mostly level 1 and 2, but there were effortlessly a few level 3 and level 4. There was no way every single one of them had the chance to be privately taught by two of the most influential members of the familia.


    Being stared at inquisitively from Aidan, Finn only showed a complicated smile while letting the bottom of his spear touch the ground. "Indeed, it was Loki who asked us to do this. She wants to make sure that the two of you want to stay with the familia and sign the contract."


    "The contract?" Asked Aidan once again as Ais fixed Finn to hear his answer.


    "Yes, a contract. The biggest familia such as us, the Freya familia, the Hephaestus familia, the Ganesha familia, and most of the other big familia make the adventurers sign contracts a week after being accepted.


    This contract exists so that the adventurers who received many benefits from a familia don''t simply jump ship to another one after profiting from a familia. The first week in the familia shows what you could gain from us while also understanding the recruits'' nature and potential. It also allows us to see who we are more willing to invest in." Explained Finn as Riveria interrupted a few times to clarify some points.


    "Do you understand?" Asked the captain as he looked at both children, who were a bit taller than him.


    "Yes." Answered Aidan as he nodded his head in understanding.


    "Alright then, let''s start." Said the pallum as he took his spear from the ground. "Well, firstly, do some swordsmanship training for the both of you. Now, I don''t use a sword, as you can see. So, we will spar together as this is the best training for the two of you currently." He continued, restraining his power to a level 1 and suddenly rushing towards Aidan and making a piercing attack with his spear.


    Aidan only had enough time to take his still sheathed sword and block the attack with the sheat as he rapidly moved back to draw his sword to parry the second attack. He immediately threw his scabbard in Finn''s face, who immediately evaded only to see Aidan''s sword piercing directly towards the middle of his body.


    With a smile on his face as he was once again surprised at Aidan''s talent as he didn''t hesitate for a moment to use his scabbard as a distraction to try and land a hit, he continued to attack the young boy who did his best to evade the strikes or block them with his sword.


    As the small captain was increasing his advantage, Aidan focused on his sheath, and it immediately appeared in his left hand as Aidan used it to block the strike and took the chance to almost scratch Finn, who was too surprised by the appearing scabbard. However, even if he was surprised, he still evaded as if nothing was wrong as he took some distance from Aidan.


    "How did you make the scabbard appear in your hand again?" Asked the captain, who had been extremely surprised.


    "Well, my equipment which includes my clothes, my deck of cards, my sword and its scabbard, are all linked to me. As such, I can call them back whenever I feel like it so that I don''t lose them." Explained Aidan with a smile as he was pretty proud to have managed to almost hurt his captain, who had restrained his powers back to level 1.


    With slightly widening eyes, Finn hurriedly spoke. "Do you mean that you can call them whenever you want? For example, when you threw your scabbard at me, you could have immediately called it back?"


    "Hum? Yes, I can." Answered Aidan simply as he threw his scabbard to his right but called it back before it touched the ground, making it appear back directly in his hand.


    "Hum, I see." Nodded the captain as he held his chin in deep thoughts. "If you can recall it whenever you want, then you could use this function to make surprise attacks which would work on both the monsters and adventurers as no one would expect a sword or a scabbard to materialize in someone''s hands."


    "Alright, let''s continue fighting." Said the pallum as he immediately charged at Aidan, this time being more careful of being distracted with either his sword or scabbard.


    ---


    Two hours later, as Aidan was panting heavily due to the non-stop fighting they had done, the captain stopped attacking and motioned at Riveria, who was training Ais''s ''Wind slash'' magic to trade of students.


    With a nod, the beautiful elf stopped Ais, who was training to increase her magic release rate, increase her accuracy and its destructive power.


    "Alright, Aidan. You did well in those two hours. You will go with Riveria, who will help you with your card magic while I train with Ais." Said the pallum as he turned towards Ais, who was walking towards him.


    Taking a water pouch from his storage card to drink a bit, he stored it back after seeing that everyone else was still okay as he had been the only one to use a lot of physical energy during the fight as Finn was playing around with him. Ais''s training with the elf focused on the magic portion, which didn''t impact the body much.


    Immediately walking up to the green-eyed elf, the two sat down on a small table on the side of the training ground as Aidan''s magic training would only focus on creating cards and strengthening them.

 Chapter 18 - Ch.18 Magic Training

    "Alright, we will work on improving your card magic by creating new cards and strengthening the ones you already possess." Said Riveria as she showed a stern expression on her face. "First, you will explain to me how you create a magic card." She continued as she waited for Aidan to start talking.


    "To create a magic card, I need to mark the card, write the word and infuse magical power into it." Answered Aidan concisely.??


    "Alright, show me how you mark a card." She answered as Aidan immediately took out a card and put all of his concentration into it as he broke his previous record and managed to mark the card rapidly.


    The moment he finished marking the card, Riviera took a look at the card, and after understanding what he had just done, she looked at Aidan before continuing. "Do you have a card you want to create currently? If not, I would recommend the word ''arrow'' as it would create an arrow made of your magical power. It should take less magic power to strengthen as it only has the function to pierce, and there is no heat increase, an explosion at the end and the other effects such as in the fireball spell.


    By using the word arrow, you should be able to create a more potent spell with less magical power invested in it. Moreover, you would only have to pierce the monster to kill it directly, and this card would have a better effect than a fireball if there are few targets." Explained Riveria as she showed some excitement in talking about magic.


    "I don''t have any problem using the word ''arrow,'' but why would the spell be stronger?" Asked Aidan, not understanding.


    "Well, it''s because from the moment you summon your fireball, its magical energy gets dispersed, which is shown by the increased heat, for example. On the other hand, creating an arrow would barely lose any energy as it would go straight to the target with the only purpose to penetrate and kill the enemy." She explained patiently at Aidan''s confusion.


    "Alright, I''ll start writing the word ''arrow.''" Nodded the young boy as he focused on the task at hand after understanding the reason.


    A few minutes later, after repeating the process another time to engrave the word on the back of the card perfectly, Aidan showed the finished product to his current teacher, who inspected it from all angles as if to discover some mysteries behind it.


    After seeing the nod of the elf in front of him, Aidan took back the card and waited to see what she wanted him to do next. He was pretty confident she would like him to strengthen the card, but only to be sure, he waited for a bit.


    "Alright. Now that the card has been created and engraved, you will start to strengthen the card. For this occasion, Loki decided to give you some magic potions. For the same reason Finn explained earlier, it is to encourage you to make a contract with the familia. After all, with your talent, drive and card magic, it shouldn''t take you more than a year or two to level up." Explained Riveria. "Moreover, with your dungeon map card, your storage card and every card you could create in the future, it would give the familia a great boost, allowing us to do better expeditions." She continued as she took out ten magic potions from a small bag she had brought with her.


    "First, you will slowly strengthen the ''arrow'' card. I want to verify the conversion rate. It would be the best if all the magic power you use entered the card, but if it doesn''t, it would be better to improve your control." She said while Aidan took the card and started to infuse the magic exceptionally slowly.


    As he was working on his card, the elf watched the card and sensed the flow of magic as best as she could not miss anything.


    After a few minutes of work, she finally interrupted him. "Alright, Aidan, you can stop." She said as she had an awkward look on her face. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the flow with which you send your magic in the card is excellent. Typically, new mages have difficulty supplying the magic in their spells which is the reason that their attacks don''t function.


    However, the bad news is that while the flow is perfect as you can send your magical power whenever you want, your control is terrible. You use only about 25% of your magic while you waste the rest." She explained.


    "Luckily, sending magic power in the cards is a great way to train. As such, our training today will be to let you increase your magic control. The way we will train it is by starting with a small amount of magical power that you will try to send into the card. The first thing you will have to do is imagine a small flow of magic leaving your body and entering directly inside the card." Explained the green-haired elf.


    Unfortunately, teaching magic wasn''t like teaching how to fight as they couldn''t directly help but could only slowly explain the theoretical.


    As Aidan started to do as instructed, his teacher also started to give some tips. "When you start sending out the magic out of your body, find the magic flow and solidify it, imagine as if it was a tube which linked your body to the card. The stronger the tube will be, the less magical power you will lose during the exchange." Explained the elf to the serious silver-haired boy.


    Slowly but surely, Aidan managed to locate his magical power and the thin link between his body and the card. Focusing on it as the familia''s executive had just said, he did his best to create a tube she had told him about and make the magical power flowing through it, stopping the magic from leaving the line and going everywhere.


    As he trained his control, Aidan took some magic potion to replenish his power. By the time he finished all of the drinks, he had not only managed to increase his control from 25% to 40%, but he had also managed to strengthen the ''arrow'' card significantly due to the potions constantly replenishing his lost magical power.


    By the time the training ended, his arrow card had the same strength as his fireball but with piercing power instead. Moreover, it did cost less to strengthen this card to make the arrows strong enough for the monsters from the first to the fourth floor. He could use the card a total of thirty-three times.


    Whether it was his magical control or the potions, he did not doubt that with the training from both Finn and Riveria, his strength had increased.


    "Alright, you can stop your training now. It''s already time for lunch." She said as Finn''s training with Ais also finished. "You will have to work on your magical control whenever you can to improve it. Thanks to your high-human bloodline, you learn skills faster, so it shouldn''t be that hard for you to complete this small task." She continued with a slight smile while the two approached Finn.


    "Well, this will be it for today''s training." Said the familia''s captain. "Do not enter the dungeon today. Instead, why don''t you two go and shop for some equipment? The armours lent by the familia are not very diversified, and they are not necessarily the best for the two of you. Due to your young age, young stature and weak strength, it would be better if the two of you could get some light armour from one of the shops of the Hephaestus familia. You can find some of their shops directly in the tower of Babel." He finished before turning around with Riveria following right behind him.


    However, she didn''t forget to give them both a slight glare as she said: "Ais, you better train your accuracy with your magic and Aidan, I hope you will increase your magic control."


    Looking at them both leaving, the two youngsters turned and looked at each other with Ais speaking first. "Let''s go eat and shop for equipment afterwards." To which Aidan nodded as they both walked towards the cafeteria of the familia.


    It was the first time the two of them were present at the cafeteria during lunch. There were many more members of the familia that they have thought as there was a line-up to get some food.


    Looking at the line, the two of them got behind the last adventurers in the line as they waited for their turn. The atmosphere in the room was cheerful as most adventurers laughed and talked together, happily sharing news and drinking alcohol.


    Seeing the other members, Aidan showed a happy smile as he sat down with his food once he got served with Ais and started to eat his lunch.

 Chapter 19 - Ch.19 Shopping

    Just cause I''m awesome double release :)


    I won''t talk about powerstones, but I''d be happy if you could leave a review on the fanfic and give me your input on it so that I can be better in the future. Thanks again, and have a nice day!??


    ---


    "Alright, let''s go shopping." Said Aidan as he took Ais''s hand and brought her out of the Loki familia manor. "Luckily, we made quite a bit of money from the dungeon in our last few entries. We shouldn''t have too many problems." He continued as they walked towards the tower of Babel.


    "What kind of equipment do you want to buy?" Asked Ais as she walked next to Aidan and was looking at their destination in the distance.


    "Well, I plan to buy some greaves and some fingerless gloves with some protection on the back of the hand, such as metal plating. Finally, I want to buy light armour, one to protect my heart and important organs mostly. However, light armour is most important since we both rely a lot on our speed in the dungeon." He answered back. "What about you?"


    "I also want to buy some greaves along with some boots. In addition, I will also need armour that can cover my chest from hits. Finally, I need a new sword; mine has started to crack already." She explained while taking out the sword from her scabbard and showing it to Aidan.


    "Well, we did kill a lot of monsters in the dungeon, but I''m surprised your sword already cracked." Answered Aidan with eyes slightly more open, showing slight shock. "In that case, it is a good idea to change sword since it would be dangerous to enter the dungeon with even slightly broken equipment." He nodded.


    "Right, if I still have some money at the end, I will go and buy some potions to store in my card. We didn''t yet need to use the ones given to us by Loki-sama, but it would be better to have some more in the inventory just in case. After all, it''s not like it''s tough to transport them." Continued Aidan as he shared his plan on stocking up on some potions.


    "Mmm." Nodded Ais, who started walking a bit slower as she noticed her favourite snacks on a nearby stall.


    Seeing her eyes following the snacks on the stall even while walking, Aidan stopped and accompanied her to buy a few since he could eat them as a dessert after his lunch.


    Arriving at the tower''s doors, the two golden-eyed youngsters didn''t stop as they entered the building and climbed up the stairs leading to the fourth floor of the tower, which was the lowest floor of the Hephaestus business area. The hanging lamps well illuminated the floor. On the walls were windows showing the works sold in each shop.


    Seeing the great selection of weapons and armours, the two of them didn''t know where to go when Ais started to lead the way, something she rarely did as she preferred to be led by Aidan. Seeing her enter a store, the young boy immediately followed behind as he didn''t know where to go either.


    As they entered the first shop, Aidan immediately recognized that this shop specialized in selling heavy armour along with axes and maces. Moreover, the equipment was all made bulky and relatively small, which showed that this particular shop owner especially created works for dwarfs.


    However, right as Aidan was about to call her to leave the shop and look for another one, he saw her engrossed in looking at the armour and weapons one by one. Feeling a bit of sweat on his back and a weird premonition seeing her so absorbed in shopping for something she would never use, Aidan decided to follow her around since she was rarely interested in things other than fighting monsters.


    ''Anyway, it shouldn''t take too much time, right? She wouldn''t spend so much time looking at armours and weapons she can''t even wield and wear... Right?'' Thought Aidan as he swallowed his saliva, looking at Ais, fear slowly creeping onto him.


    At that time, Aidan still didn''t know that he would regret having brought her shopping for the first time and even more to have created a storage card.


    Following behind her and waiting as he slowly practiced his magic control as Riveria had taught him, he managed to increase it from 40% to 45%. This increase wasn''t simply due to him being a high-human which helped him learn things faster, but it was more because Ais had spent one and a half hours window shopping the same heavy armour and axes sold to dwarves.


    It was to the point that even the shop owner was looking at her weirdly for examining each piece one by one while sending a look at Aidan, which he could only decipher as feeling sorry for him.


    Finally, half an hour later, as Aidan was even more tired than when he was fighting in the dungeon while he did practically nothing, they moved on to the next shop.


    ---


    Finally, seven hours later, Ais and Aidan left the tower of Babel. Ais with a slight smile on his face, which was extremely rare from her and Aidan with a tired look as if he hadn''t slept for two days. Luckily, they had both managed to buy their new gear and potions with their respective leftover funds.


    As they were walking back to the familia''s manor, Ais, with a bounce in her steps, and Aidan with a weary look, couldn''t help asking him. "How about we go shopping again tomorrow?" She asked with a bright smile and interest in her eyes which he had never seen on her face.


    However, as Aidan was trying to figure out a way to evade the task of going shopping with her again, she once again talked, seeing the look on his face. "Could it be that you don''t like shopping and spending time with me?" She asked with a downcast look as her previous smile slightly waned.


    Seeing her look, Aidan couldn''t help but grit his teeth and accept the torture. "No, it''s not that. We should enter the dungeon tomorrow instead since we spent most of our money, and we won''t be able to buy much if we go shopping tomorrow." He answered, knowing full well that he would have to shop with her once more shortly.


    "Alright! Tomorrow, we''ll spend more time in the dungeon!" Exclaimed Ais excitedly, something Aidan had never yet seen from her.


    ''Well, maybe it''s fine to accompany her to shop if she''s that happy.'' Thought Aidan as a smile appeared on his face seeing her like this. She noticed his happiness as well as she took Aidan''s hand and brought him back to the manor rapidly. "Tomorrow, let''s wake up early, and we will spend more time in the dungeon!" She exclaimed before opening the door to her room.


    "Ais," Said Aidan as he couldn''t help to remind her. "We haven''t eaten yet."


    ---


    The following day, two hours before their usual time, both youngest members of the familia arrived in the deserted cafeteria. Well, not utterly vacant as two chefs were sitting at a table and talking with each other.


    "Good morning, sorry to bother you, but we would each need breakfast along with a lunch and a supper packed for the day." Said Aidan as the two men nodded their heads and immediately walked into the kitchen to prepare their food.


    The cafeteria was open at all times. However, there was almost no staff at this hour due to the low amount of adventurers.


    Sitting on a table with a yawn, they talked a bit together for ten minutes before their food was ready, and they left for the dungeon. "Alright, today we will finish exploring the fourth floor and then fight the monsters on that floor to gain excelia and improve our stats." Said Aidan while Ais couldn''t help but interject in an innocent voice. "We also want to make money."


    "Right, to make money." Nodded Aidan as he knew that most adventurers only fought monsters for money.


    After spending some time on the road, the two walked down to the fourth floor and continued exploring and fighting.


    In this way, most of their day went by, fighting and taking a rest from time to time, and they eventually stayed a few hours after eating their supper, which should bring the time to about ten in the evening. "We need something to keep track of time." Said Aidan to Ais as both were equally tired after a day of fighting monsters.


    "Yes, but I think now should be a good time to go back; even with all the rest we took, I''m still tired." Nodded Ais as she expressed her opinion fully.


    "Alright, let''s go ba-." Said Aidan while turning around, only to stop as a flaming arrow flashed above his now bent head.

 Chapter 20 - Ch.20 Dealing With The Enemy

    "Hahahaha, what are two children doing in the dungeon at this time? Especially so far from the main road? Didn''t you know it is dangerous to go around in the dungeon this way?" Said a greasy-haired man with waxy skin as he dangerously eyed Ais while licking his lips greedily.


    ---??


    Five minutes prior, in the Loki familia compound.


    "What do you mean Ais and Aidan didn''t come back from the dungeon yet?" Asked Loki, rarely serious. "What about the guard who had been shadowing them?" She asked once again.


    "It seems that the two of them left even earlier for the dungeon this morning, and the man was asleep. We asked the chefs who were working at the cafeteria, and they said that the two of them left the mansion at four this morning." Explained Finn with a severe demeanour.


    "Alright. Both know that to enter the next floor, there is a need for the corresponding stats, so they can only be on the fourth floor to train; you go there with Riveria," Ordered Loki with a frown on her face. She hadn''t expected that the two of them would leave so early in the morning. While she didn''t show it outwardly due to her usually joking behaviour, she cared for the two of them not just because of their powers but because she found them pleasant and exciting. She was happy to have them in her familia.


    As she thought about what could have happened to the two of them, she rarely showed a nervous expression on her face as the two executives were on the way to the dungeon at full speed. After all, even if their goddess hadn''t given the order to find them, they would still have gone since they did grow attached to the two of them over their small interaction over a few days.


    ¡ª-


    Staring at the man who just threw a flaming arrow to his face, Aidan slowly backed off with Ais beside him.


    "What are you doing? Do you think the two of you would be able to escape from me?" The man asked with a weird chuckle, his eyes never leaving the two of them.


    "How about this? You." He said while pointing at Ais. "Come and accompany me for a bit. It''s been a long time since I''ve had fun with lolis. And as long as you can satisfy me, I will let you go; how about?" He said with a mad chuckle as a bulge appeared between both of his legs.


    Without answering the man, the two of them continued to back off. They didn''t understand what he wanted, but from his tone of voice and that weird bulge down there, Aidan knew it wasn''t something good.


    "You can''t run from me." He continued with his weird crackle as he saw the young silver-haired boy push the scared girl behind him. "I''m a strong low-class adventurer, and there is no way you can do anything to me." He said with complete confidence before starting to run towards them.


    Aidan gave a quick look at Ais''s scared face, who took a deep breath and nodded imperceptibly as the two separated on the left and right.


    The man who seemed weirdly attracted to the young girl immediately turned towards her, ignoring the boy behind him. He immediately stretched his hand forward towards her chest area as Aidan took out his magic arrow, fireball and his shield card.


    Throwing the shield card towards Ais and the magic arrow card towards the man, followed closely by the fireball spell, Aidan willed the shield card to activate multiple times as three shields appeared in front of her. At the same time, Aidan controlled the Magic arrows to transform and attack his weak points such as the head, the neck, the heart, and the bulge in the middle of his pants. As for the fireball spell, he sent it directly towards his torso.


    Seeing weird magic activate in front of him put the man on guard. However, no matter how on guard, the magic arrows still made their way to his weak spots. After all, while the magic arrow spell was weak, at the right place, even a tiny hit could be fatal.


    Seeing the man rapidly block his head, neck and heart with his arms, Aidan smiled slightly as the last arrow went straight through the bulge, making something fall on the floor. Moreover, as the man was about to shout in pain, he noticed the card right in front of him. With shocked eyes, the man barely had the time to block in front of his body before the huge fireball appeared and exploded on his body.


    Unfortunately, the disgusting man had already done his best to block the spell. Apart from having his arms completely burnt and broken from the explosive force and having his clothes and hair on his body burnt, nothing more happened. However, it was enough for Aidan, who rushed forward, this time attracting the complete attention of the man, which gave enough time for Ais to stab the man in the leg.


    Due to the stab in the leg, the man lost his balance for a moment which gave Aidan''s the opportunity to hack at the second leg, completely cutting it off, making the man fall on the floor.


    The man had no clothes on his body, his hair and eyebrows wholly burnt, his arms broken and burnt along with a missing bulge in between his two legs which now became one along with a pierced one.


    Rapidly moving to his head, Aidan gave a kick right in his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out, effectively finishing the fight.


    Turning to Ais, who had slight tears in her eyes, Aidan came closer and hugged her gently as tears fell from her eyes. She had been scared of the man who had wanted to do bad things to her. She couldn''t imagine what would have happened without Aidan by her side. She soon firmly hugged him back and put her face in his shoulder, with Aidan rubbing her back gently.


    "It''s alright now. That man can''t do anything to you anymore." Said Aidan as he tried his best to comfort the young lady in front of him. "Hum." She nodded as she hummed a response to him which made him smile slightly, happy she relied on him.


    As they were hugging, Aidan kept a close look at his surroundings to make sure no one would attack them during this time of weakness and instead of an enemy, he saw a bag not far away. ''This should be his loot and various equipment. Well, he probably won''t need it anymore, so I might as well take it off his hands.'' Aidan thought with a weird internal chuckle as he remembered his broken arms, which obviously wouldn''t allow him to take much weight.


    After a few minutes of hugging, Ais slightly calmed down as she took a small step back, not going too far from him and looked at Aidan with puffy eyes. "Alright, we need to deal with this problem. Let''s start by looking at our loot." He said decisively, ignoring the almost dying man next to him. He had tried to kill them and do weird things to Ais; in their hearts, he was nothing more than a monster, which allowed them to stay calm.


    Approaching the bag with Ais abnormally close to him, Aidan took it and opened it immediately, only to see a considerable amount of magic stones and monster drop items. In addition to these, they found some magical potions, which he most likely used to help him fight with his magic. ''Now that I think about it, I didn''t hear the chant of his spell. Oh, he probably murmured it not to be discovered in this case.'' Thought Aidan as he continued to look through the loot.


    Finally, as he looked at the bottom of the bag, he found some randomly mixed equipment with some blood on them. It was evident that the gear didn''t come from the same person as the sizes were completely different. "We certainly weren''t his first prey, and the man most likely killed everyone else." Said Ais as she trembled slightly at imagining what would have happened to them both had it not been for their surprise attack.


    "Yeah." Said Aidan before getting up and taking his sword full of nervousness as he heard some noise behind him.


    However, he turned only to see a blue-eyed pallum, and all his worries disappeared from his face as he relaxed. "What happened here?" He asked as he gave a cursory glance over everything.


    "This man attacked us." Answered Aidan as he pointed towards the attacker. "He wanted to kill us and do some weird things to Ais." He continued, which made the pallum''s face harden. "In the end, he tried to attack us, but we won." Finished Aidan as the pallum gave a quick worried look at Ais, who didn''t leave Aidan''s side.


    "I see. We''ll wait until Riveria arrives before going back to the surface." He nodded with evident relief on his face seeing that the two didn''t have any injuries.

 Chapter 21 - Ch.21 A Relaxing Day

    A few minutes later, as Finn kept guard while Aidan and Ais relaxed under the barrier, the green-eyed elf finally arrived. "What happened?" She asked as she looked around.


    "The two of them were attacked by him. He wanted to do ''weird'' things to Ais." Answered Finn while he emphasized the word ''weird.''??


    "Did he do anything to them?" She asked back, concerned.


    "No, from what I heard, Aidan''s magic cards managed to take him off guard, and they managed to take him out." He said while pointing to the slobbering mess on the ground.


    As the beautiful executive looked at the man on the ground, the same man squirmed, cried and shouted due to pain after he awakened from the hit Aidan gave him, unaware of the troubles he would have.


    "I see." She nodded as she approached the golden-eyed duo. "Did he do anything to you?" She asked them both as she wanted to make sure they wouldn''t have some deep trauma.


    "No, Aidan stopped him before he could touch me." She said with her eyes looking at the floor.


    "What about you?" She asked as she looked at Aidan.


    "I''m fine." He answered before continuing. "We managed to take him out before he did anything to us." The boy finally answered, upon which Riviera gave the nod at him with a slight smile.


    She was happy that he had stood his ground over a stronger opponent instead of running away, abandoning his teammate. After all, while it may seem low to do so, it wasn''t rare at all since most people prized their lives over anything else and could sacrifice anything for it, including their partners.


    "Alright, we should leave. Loki is awaiting our return." She added as she looked at Finn. "What are we going to do with him?" She asked immediately after.


    "We''ll bring him back to the guild. After we discover from which familia he was from, Loki will deal with it." He answered with a serious look on his face, certainly not happy to have to bring back deadweight, especially such scum.


    "I see; let''s go." She answered back with a curt nod as the two children got up. After Aidan stored the bag in his storage card, they all made their way back to the surface, finishing an exploration that could have likely brought death to the two youngsters of the familia.


    Arriving at the surface, Finn and Riviera immediately separated. The former took the man to the guild employees to ask for an identity check and explain what happened in the dungeon. At the same time, he would verify whether he was a known criminal and if he had a bounty on his head.


    As for the latter, she brought the two back to the manor. Ais had been tired after all the intense day of fighting and the surge of emotion at the end due to the man. As such, when she finally reached the surface, she immediately fell asleep, and Aidan decided to carry her on his back instead of awakening her.


    As they arrived back at the familia, Riveria immediately left as she went to report to the familia''s goddess while the two went back to rest. After all, he already had a girl drooling on his shoulder.


    Taking her door key, he opened her room door and brought her directly to bed after taking off her boots, armour and weapons. Tucking her in, he closed the light and the door after locking it and went back to his room as he still wanted to wash before going to bed.


    ''From tomorrow, I have to strengthen one or a few cards to protect us if an event like this happens again. The card should at least have the strength of a level 2 adventurer or more.'' Aidan decided as he climbed into the shower and opened the water to clean up.


    ''Today, we were lucky that the man looked down on us and was pretty weak himself. However, if he had been stronger, we would be dead right now, and he would have done something weird with Ais.'' Thought Aidan as he felt as if a rock pressed his heart at the thought. ''I have to protect Ais.'' He decided as he felt his heart full of anxiety about what could have happened.


    With these thoughts in mind, Aidan directly went to bed, ready to work even harder to become someone strong. It wasn''t only for his memories anymore. No. It was to protect those he cared for.


    As such, with one last sentence in his mind, he finally fell asleep.


    ''I''m weak; I can''t protect anyone even if I wanted to so, become stronger, never stop growing stronger.'' His parents'' words were reverberating in his mind.


    ¡ª-


    The following day, Aidan didn''t get up early to go to the dungeon. No, the previous day, along with Ais, they had decided to take a small break from adventuring, taking this opportunity to go and explore the city and learn more about where they would live for most of their lives.


    As such, he only woke up at 8 in the morning. Still early but not as early as before.


    After waking and dressing up, he left the room to go to the cafeteria, which had many more adventurers than he thought would be at this hour. After all, he knew that most adventurers enjoyed partying late at night and drinking. As such, he never expected them to be morning people.


    Walking to the chefs, he got some food which he immediately took. However, right as he was about to leave, he thought back to Ais and how she was feeling the day prior. As such, he took another serving of breakfast and stored it in his card before walking back to the dormitories.


    Upon arriving, he waited for a bit and knocked at the door lightly in case she was still sleeping. He paused for a moment, and just as he was about to leave, he heard the door unlock and open, only to see a dishevelled Ais on the other side of the door, which was half-closed.


    "Can I come in, Ais?" Asked Aidan, understanding that her shock was most likely worse than he had thought.


    "Yes." She nodded after a little while, opening the door, just big enough for Aidan to enter the room.


    After he entered, he looked at Ais and saw that she had changed into some pyjamas and was still quite sleepy.


    "How are you feeling?" He asked, knowing full well that she wasn''t okay.


    "Whenever I close my eyes, I only see his hand coming closer, trying to touch me." She said with a slight sob as she once again approached him, sitting right next to him.


    Taking her in his arms, the boy said nothing as he merely held her tight, hoping to give her the security she currently needed. They were lucky they were strong enough because even if he did not kill them afterwards, the trauma would have been a lot bigger.


    "Let''s stay here today. We will go and see the city another day; let''s relax." He said as Ais nodded her head in his chest.


    After a while, she got back a bit, and Aidan immediately asked her: "Are you hungry?"


    With a nod as an answer, Aidan took out the food he had previously taken from the cafeteria and laid it in front of them both to eat together.


    After eating, they both went to her bed to relax before she fell asleep due to not having slept very well the night prior while he fell asleep due to how comfortable to beds were, especially since they were the perfect temperature.


    In the end, they woke up a few hours later when a knock sounded on Ais''s door room.


    Having woken up, Aidan looked at the other occupant of the bed, who woke up slowly before answering the door.


    "Hello?" Asked Aidan as he saw Riviera at the door.


    "Aidan? I thought this was Ais''s room?" She asked curiously.


    "Well, it is, but I came to hang out in her room." Explained Aidan as he looked at Riviera curiously. "Give me a moment, and I''ll go and get Ais." He said immediately after.


    However, the elf stopped Aidan since telling it to him was the same. "I just came to inform both of you that tomorrow will be the contract formation day and that you shouldn''t go into the dungeon. The meeting will be at ten tomorrow morning." She finished as Aidan nodded his head.


    "Now, how is Ais?" She asked concernedly.


    "Could be better." Sighed Aidan as he didn''t know what to do to help. He was confident that with a bit of time, she would come back better than ever, but it still worried him.


    "I see; well, just keep her company, and she should be fine." She smiled slightly before glaring at him. "However, this doesn''t stop you from practicing your magic control." She said before turning around and leaving the dormitory area.


    ''Understood.'' Answered Aidan in his mind with a sigh.

 Chapter 22 - Ch.22 Contract (1/3)

    The following morning, Aidan woke up early as usual and gave a quick look at the second occupant of his bed, Ais. The previous night, when he decided that it was time to go back to sleep, she had insisted on joining him, stating that she could only sleep in peace with him around.


    Aidan was mainly aware of her circumstances as she had shared it with him a few days before the incident. He knew that she didn''t have anyone else to rely on. As such, he agreed. Anyway, these were cold days and sharing his bed with her was comfortable due to her body heat.??


    Getting out of bed slowly, not to wake her up, he went to the bathroom to take a quick shower as today was the contracting day. According to what he heard from the other adventurers of the familia who talked about this quarterly event, there would only be recruits signing a contract and a few dozen other members.


    For the ancient members of the familia, the new signing of the contract would allow them to gain better terms for themselves, change their position in the familia or leave the Loki familia. The better terms could be terms such as having more chances to have their status updated each month, having some help from stronger adventurers to help them train a few times a year or even simple personal requests. Members whose contract was completed and wished to sign another could benefit from their years in the familia and improved strength.


    The change in their position referred to the role given to them during their previous contract. If, for example, an adventurer had signed as a porter for the familia, they could discuss a new position with their goddess, Finn, Riviera and Gareth, who were the current executives of the familia. The new job could be anything from guard to a member of the attack force in expeditions. Of course, all negotiations depended on their strength and potential. They wouldn''t let a level 1 enter the attack force since it would be dangerous for everyone.


    Finally, they could decide to leave the familia. It usually happened when the adventurer was getting too old to continue adventuring, didn''t see the point in continuing and chose to retire or left the familia for another one since they weren''t happy with the negotiations or wanted to become the captain of a weaker familia. Overall, there were all kinds of reasons for the signing of the contract, and everyone who was to sign it again had prepared for a few weeks already to gain as much as possible from the negotiations.


    Those were for the older members. As for the recruits, they would have the chance to decide whether they wanted to stay or leave the familia, and if the members chose to stay, depending on their strength, they would appoint them to a specific position.


    Aidan wasn''t apprehensive for either him or Ais. After all, their goddess had sent the executives to train them, and they could ask for an update of status whenever they wanted. It showed that she believed in their potential and should offer them both pretty good conditions.


    As Aidan finished taking his shower while thinking about all of these matters, he quickly dried off and, after seeing the time, went to wake up Ais, who had fallen asleep quite late the previous night.


    "Ais, wake up. In an hour and a half, we have the contract ceremony." He said calmly and in a small voice to wake her up as gently as possible.


    "What time is it?" She asked groggily, with her hair even messier than the previous day.


    "It''s 8h30. The ceremony is at 10." Answered Aidan. "How are you this morning?" He asked after answering her.


    "I slept better than I slept since I came to this city." She answered with a neutral face, but the corner of her mouth rose, showing her better mood.


    Seeing her like this, Aidan mentally sighed in relief as he showed a smile on his face as well. "That''s great. Now go and take a shower; you can''t go out like that." He laughed as she blushed into realization as she touched her hair and face, which had a slightly dried drool line.


    ¡ª-


    An hour later, with Ais cleaned up and ready to go, they both left the dormitory area as they walked up to the third floor, where they sat in the chairs in a meeting room near the goddess''s room.


    This meeting room had been opened explicitly for the signing of the contract as there were over a hundred chairs from the back to the room to the front. There were also three slightly more luxurious chairs in front of the others, most likely for the executives and marginally higher than the three chairs and a lot more elegant, undoubtedly for Loki-sama.


    Sitting down with Ais in the corner of the room, they waited silently as more and more members continued to enter the silent room.


    As the time was getting closer to the start of the meeting, more people came rushing in. A few moments before, the three executives, along with Loki, came in through the door as Gareth closed the meeting room door.


    Looking at the room, Aidan noticed that there were about a hundred people in the room, with about a third being new adventurers, which showed through their nervousness.


    "Alright, everyone is here; we can start." Said the tomboyish goddess as she sat back on her seat, and Finn stood up.


    "Firstly, we will do the contracts of the older members, finishing with the recruits." He said, which garnered the dissatisfaction of a few recruits, but they didn''t dare to speak up as the others only nodded expressionlessly.


    "According to the contract offered, you will have a certain amount of years decided later to work for the familia. It includes not to betray its members, helping each other, not change of familia during this time, pay the respective taxes and finally, to follow the contract which is to enter the dungeon at least once a month." He continued as he explained the details of the contract.


    Seeing everyone nod, he started calling the members whose contract had expired.


    "Alright. Arnold Blake, please come in front." Said Finn as he called the first member to sign another contract. "Do you have any requests on your new contract?" He asked as he looked at him impassively.


    "Yes, I would like to quit being a porter and become a fighting member of the familia. I would also like to request 4 million Valis for a contract of 10 years." He said as Riviera and Gareth immediately started to go through the paper to report to Finn.


    "Arnold Blake, previous contract of ten years. Now aged twenty-nine years old and has been promoted to level 2 three years ago. He has been a porter for the familia until the eighteenth floor and has never joined the expedition force. He enters the dungeon with an average of four days a month." Reported Gareth as he looked through the files.


    Immediately after, Riviera picked up. "According to his data and the time he spends in the dungeon, we can pay him as much as 3 million Valis for a ten years contract." She explained as Finn took the information and made a decision. (Note three million for ten years, not three million per year.)


    "We can take you to the fighting force but not on expedition. Your current strength is too weak to be part of it. If you want to join the expedition, you will have to be a porter during that time or level up to three. Finally, we will pay you three million Valis, and you will need to complete at least two tasks of the familia per month in the dungeon. Finally, the contract will be of ten years." He finished as he offered the contract to the man in front of him.


    "Alright." He nodded after pondering for a moment as he took the contract handed to him by Riviera, who wrote everything. He immediately signed his name on the agreement of ten years before going back to his seat and sitting down.


    "Next, Adrien." Said Finn as a slit-eyed man walked up to him while smiling, full of confidence and arrogance.


    "I will get the opportunity to train with miss Riviera twice a month, get on the expedition force team starting next year, and I want ten million Valis for a contract of 3 years, no conditions attached." He said, full of confidence over the matter


    Finn seeing his behaviour and words, frowned slightly before turning over to the two other executives, one of whom looked at the man disgustedly.


    "Adrien, previous contract of seven years, currently aged of thirty-three years old, levelled up to two six years ago and can currently go to the safe zone on the eighteenth floor alone with slight difficulty. He is reported to enter the dungeon once a month and stays in the dungeon for about three days, of which he mostly spends on the eighteenth floor. He doesn''t have any team as all the members of his last three teams died after being attacked by monster hordes." Said Gareth in a voice that showed slight contempt.


    Turning to Riviera, who had the same expression as Gareth, she answered the curious look of Finn and Loki. "For a three years contract with no conditions attached, we can offer him two million Valis, and he must join all the expeditions of the familia as a porter." Answered Riviera as she looked at Finn.


    Finally, the pallum turned towards the arrogant man. "So, are you going to accept my request or not? To mention if you don''t accept it, I''m leaving the familia." He asked before threatening them.


    As Finn was about to answer, Loki, who had been behind him looking at everything in interest, looked down on him with a cold expression. "No, we won''t be having another contract with you. You can leave the familia." She said as she lifted her finger, erasing her mark from the man''s back.

 Chapter 23 - Ch.23 Contract (2/3)

    As Aidan saw everything that happened, he was secretly happy that the man didn''t sign another contract with the familia. After all, his request was quite excessive.


    As time went by, Aidan understood more about the contract signing and why they contracted the recruits at the end. They wanted to allow them to watch and learn what was happening instead of taking advantage of them.??


    With Ais by his side, they started to explain what they understood to each other. "So, the contract ceremony is divided into four parts. The first part is that we request our salary, extra benefits such as having a teacher and our position with Finn." Said Aidan in a small voice to Ais next to him, who continued.


    "Afterwards, Gareth reports our age, level, number of times we enter the dungeon and floor record. He is explaining our potential to Finn." Added Ais as Aidan nodded his head as he had the same conclusion as she did.


    "Thirdly, Riviera processes the request depending on our strength and potential and does her best to satisfy the demand but add conditions to make sure the familia doesn''t lose out.


    The amount of money offered in the contract is the contract''s salary and is given directly at the signing. Afterwards, the members have to go into the dungeon to make more money. As for the conditions, they help maintain the familia, such as guard duties or teaching certain members. They are favours which the familia can use to complete the requests of others contract." Continued Aidan after Ais with a nod of his head.


    With the contract, the familia would pay a certain amount which was a lot for the adventurers but easily recoverable through an expedition or with taxes of the members. With simply a few materials brought back, they would make a considerable profit.


    "Finally, Finn concludes the request with some changes so that the familia doesn''t lose anything." Concluded Ais as she understood the purpose of the signing ceremony.


    Looking at the room, Aidan noticed that amongst the members who had a newly signed contract, most were happy, with a few angry that they didn''t manage to get everything they wanted. However, it only meant that their strength and talent weren''t worth so much.


    Moreover, they could still leave the familia but decided to stay. It meant that although angry, those members recognized that the executive and Loki-sama were right.


    Finally, after three hours of contract signing, some chefs entered and brought some food so that the members could eat a little. It was worth mentioning that those who didn''t sign a new contract had already left the manor along with their belongings.


    ¡ª-


    After a quick meal which ended in less than ten minutes, Aidan looked at the remaining people who had to sign and noticed that they were all recruits which showed through their nervousness.


    "Alright, now that everyone has eaten, it is time to start with the contract with the recruits." Said Loki with a cunning smile on her face.


    "Before everyone starts, I want to say a few words." Said Finn as he garnered the attention with his small stature. "Amongst the forty-four recruits this time, three decided that they were not meant to be adventurers after their time in the dungeon. It is normal as not everyone is ready to bet his life every time they enter, especially since you will have to continue once you sign the contract.


    Amongst the forty-one remaining recruits, thirteen of them have perished in the dungeon in the last week. They were recruits who thought they were better than everyone else and didn''t manage to come back to the surface. So, before signing the contract, I want all twenty-eight of you to reconsider if you wish to stay as an adventurer and if you have the drive to become stronger." He said with a heavy tone as the atmosphere in the room turned cold after hearing his words.


    This number had surprised Aidan who had thought that most of them had only quit being an adventurer, not that most of them were dead after overestimating themselves.


    ''I guess it''s true then that Orario does its best to recruit citizens from outside with so many deaths in the dungeon each week.'' He contemplated as he didn''t bother to wonder if he wanted to continue being an adventurer.


    ¡ª-


    A minute later, two adventurers got up and left the room in a hurry. Whether it was due to shame, Aidan would never know, but he didn''t care much.


    After the first two adventurers left, five more followed right after. They had probably not known that it was such a dangerous occupation and had only listened to the legends in and outside of Orario.


    "Alright, since the twenty-one of you plan on continuing being an adventurer, we will start the contracts." Said Finn as he started to call various members.


    "Abril." Said Finn as he started to call the recruits. "What are your requests?" He asked as he looked at the young man in front of him.


    "I''d like to be a fighting member of the familia, receive your teachings once a month and receive five million Valis for a contract of ten years." He requested in a tiny breath before looking at the familia''s captain.


    At the same time, Gareth started to look at the information on the papers. "Abril, a new adventurer. Currently level one and nineteen years old. He entered the dungeon twice, both times staying on the first floor. He teamed up with two other recruits." Said the dwarf as he took out his flask and took a big gulp, offering some to his goddess, who had to refuse under the glare of the elf princess next to them.


    "According to the few pieces of data we have, he can receive three million Valis and receive the teaching of a level 3 once a month for a ten years contract. However, he will have to complete at least two tasks per month for the duration of the contract." She said after glaring at the duo of goddess and dwarf.


    Hearing this, Finn nodded as he thought back to the request and made some changes. "We will go with what Riviera just said. However, the moment you levels up to 2, you can get the teaching of a level 4 as long as you level up within three years." He said after some considerations.


    "Alright!" Said the adventurer with a huge smile on his face. It was evident that he had never thought that he would be taught by Finn or receive five million Valis. This contract was already pretty good to him.


    His success and the tremendous amount of money seemed to motivate a few of them as they sat on the edge of their chairs, ready to make the most profit of it.


    After the tenth member, Finn finally called Ais.


    "Ais Wallenstein." Called Finn as he looked at the two youngsters at the corner of the hall.


    With Ais getting up and moving closer, she thought back to her conversation with Aidan and decided to follow his idea.


    "I''d like to be the porter of Riviera when she goes to the dungeon until I level up to 3. I can accept a ten years contract. However, I do not want to have to do tasks which will stop me from going to the dungeon." She said with a neutral face, not happy nor sad.


    Turning to look at Gareth as it was the custom, the dwarf started to read the information. "Ain Wallenstein, a new adventurer, seven years old. Last week, she entered the dungeon four times and reached down to the fourth floor, where she trained. She should have the strength to enter the fifth floor. She is known to team up with Aidan." Said Gareth as he wasn''t surprised by the information since he was aware of what had happened a few days prior.


    While Gareth did not react to this, the new and old members were quite surprised at the statistics taken out. Not only was she seven years old, but she had gotten down to the fourth floor and went to the dungeon four times a week. It was two levels better than all the other recruits and two more dives than the others.


    "Riviera?" Asked Finn as he looked at the elf.


    "According to the data present and the time spent in the dungeon, in addition to agreeing to take a ten years contract, I see no problem agreeing to have her as my porter when I enter the dungeon." She said with a slight smile before turning back to her taciturn self. "As for the money we can offer her, I cannot tell. From the information we possess, as long as she does not die early, she should become a level 4 or level 5 relatively easily." She continued to the shock of the crowd.


    "I would recommend giving her a salary every year on her contract with her level as the basis. As such, as long as she is level one, she gets one million per year, but if Ais levels up to two, she gets two million." Explained Riviera as she looked at the young girl.


    With the crowd''s shock, Finn looked contemplatively before looking at Loki, to which she happily nodded since having Ais in the familia meant Aidan as well.


    ''Having them both in the familia is a good thing. Both possess the necessary qualities to become level five or more, especially Aidan, who possesses high-human bloodline and his card magic.'' She thought as she directed her gaze at Aidan, who was looking happily at Ais.


    "Alright, we will go with this. Are you satisfied with this contract Ais?" He asked the young girl while handing her a contract.


    Remembering the words of Aidan, she looked at every word carefully and confirmed that every point was clear and concise before signing her name on the contract, with the corners of her mouth slightly uplifted.

 Chapter 24 - Ch.24 Contract (3/3)

    After Ais came back to her seat next to him, Aidan sent her a smile as she also showed a happy expression of signing the contract. Seeing her like this, Aidan understood that the shock she had received a few days prior was already pretty gone.


    With this, Aidan saw a few more recruits requesting to be a porter to either Finn or Gareth. Some were confident in themselves, which accounted for most of them also asked the same salary method Ais had received. Unfortunately for them, they were all directly rejected by Finn since they had a difference in potential.??


    Finally, it was Aidan''s turn. He was the one before last. "Aidan." Said Finn as the young silver-haired boy with tanned skin got up and walked towards the front of the room.


    "So, what is your request?" The pallum asked as Loki also looked straight at him.


    "Just like Ais, I''d like to be your porter until I level up to three. I can also take a ten-year contract, and similarly, I do not want to have tasks to complete each month." He said as he looked Finn straight in the eyes.


    With a slight nod, he answered back. "I have no problem having you as my porter when I enter the dungeon." He said, fully aware of his storage card while turning towards Gareth.


    "Aidan, a new adventurer, is seven years old and partnered up with Ais Wallenstein. Just like her, he entered the dungeon four times and trained on the fourth floor. He possesses the strength to enter the fifth floor and possesses even more potential than his partner." He said before turning towards Riviera.


    "There is no problem with the ten years contract. However, the same problem as Ais is present. As such, I propose to offer double what we offered to Ais." She said as the tomboy goddess nodded at the astonishment of the crowd.


    "Alright, here is your contract." Said the captain of the familia before offering the contract to Aidan, who read everything carefully before signing his name.


    With a nod to the captain and the goddess, he turned back and walked to the back of the room and sat back next to Ais.


    At the same time, the other members looked at the two of them like monsters as they became the new porters of the executives of the familia. Moreover, they would receive a minimum of ten million Valis thanks to their contract. They weren''t even ten years old and already made so much money. It showed that their future would indeed be fantastic.


    At the end of the ceremony, which ended soon after Aidan''s turn, Loki got up as everyone became silent. "I''m glad that you all agreed to sign a contract with this familia. There will be a party for you all at the Hostess of Fertility at seven this evening. See you all later." She said as she nodded to the executives who escorted her out of the room under the watch of the others.


    "Let''s go." Said Aidan as he immediately left the room with Ais under the fiery eyes of some members who would no doubt try to cheat them out of their money at some point in time. Aidan was even more surprised none wanted to do it right at that moment.


    However, he understood right afterwards as each member was somewhat restraining each other, giving the two of them the chance to leave the room immediately. Moreover, with the status of Finn and Riviera''s porter, there wouldn''t be many people who would dare to do anything to them.


    "Ais, we should go and update our status from last time in the dungeon. If I''m right, our stats should enter the ''G'' which would allow us to go lower in the dungeon once again." He said as he was walking alongside the girl.


    "Yes, it''s better to become stronger faster." She said as her small hand tightened into a fist as she remembered the last event in the dungeon.


    Nodding, they rapidly made their way to the goddess room, where they knew she would be.


    Seeing the two children arriving in front of the door, the guard went and knocked on the door before letting the two youngsters enter the room of the goddess.


    As they entered, they saw that the three executives were present in the room as they talked about the recruits. However, they all stopped when they saw them enter the room after the notification of the guards.


    "What are you two doing here?" Asked Loki as she adds an amused smile to her face.


    "We wanted to update our status." Said Ais expressionlessly.


    "I see. Come sit here for a while, we''ll soon be done with the meeting, and we had something to tell you as well." Said the goddess as she patted the seat next to her on the sofa.


    The goddess then turned back her attention to the three executives as both Aidan and Ais didn''t understand what they were talking about but didn''t care since it didn''t concern them.


    A few minutes later, as Aid and Aidan were waiting at the side, their conversation finished as the captain of the familia turned towards both of the younger children. "We investigated the man who attacked the two of you, and the guild arrested him. You also got 300 thousand Valis each for arresting him." He said as he took out a pouch full of money and handed it to each of them.


    Aidan immediately took out his storage card and put the money inside, and did the same for Ais''s after giving it to him for transportation.


    "As for me, I got the name of his familia. Let''s say that they won''t have a good day for a while." Added the goddess as she had a playful smile while looking through the window of the room.


    "Right, the two of you came to get your status updated." Said Riviera as she remembered their reason for stopping by. "Do the two of you think of getting down to the fifth to seventh floor?" She asked.


    "Yes. The fourth floor is way too easy." Said Aidan along with a nod granted from Ais next to him.


    "I see. Well, tomorrow I have some business down to Rivira. Do the two of you want to accompany me? We''ll stay there for the night and climb back up the next day." She said as she offered to bring them both to visit the eighteenth floor.


    Giving a glance at Ais, Aidan didn''t hesitate and immediately nodded. "At what time do we leave?"


    "We will be leaving tomorrow morning at six. Be sure to be ready by the gate at that time. Also, don''t forget to bring food, water and a tent for sleeping." She concluded as she got up along with the other two.


    ¡ª-


    "Alright, who wants to start?" Asked Loki as she moved from the couch and looked at both children.


    "I''ll start." Answered Aidan as he stripped off his top and lay down on the table prepared precisely for this.


    Not a moment later, he felt a prickling sensation on his back before the goddess tapped his back and allowed him to get up while wearing his top.


    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 1


    Strength: H-126 -> G-232


    Endurance: H-153 -> G-259


    Dexterity: H-103 -> G-212


    Agility: H-119 -> G-234


    Magic: G-231 -> F-392


    Skill: High human, Twin star


    Magic: Card magic


    Development ability: None]


    Seeing the new stats, which had grown quite a lot and the new skill, Aidan looked up at the goddess, who looked at him with a sly smile. "It seems I did right to contract you both at such a high price." She said, proud of herself.


    After looking at his status, he gave it to Ais, who also looked before turning towards Loki and lifting the back of her shirt without stripping as Aidan did. Her meaning was pretty straightforward, and the goddess immediately went and updated her status as well before transcribing it on a sheet of paper.


    "Here." Said Loki with a hint of a teasing smile as she had seen the updated status and saw a resemblance with Aidan''s.


    After giving it a quick look, she gave the paper to Aidan, who immediately looked at it.


    [Name: Ais Wallenstein


    Level: 1


    Strength: G-201


    Endurance: G-210


    Dexterity: G-222


    Agility: G-230


    Magic: G-213


    Skill: Avenger, Twin star


    Magic: Wind slash


    Development ability: None]


    (**I don''t know when the Avenger ability appeared, but since it''s related to her parents to avenge them, I figured it was there from the beginning. So here it is.**)


    Seeing the same skill as himself on her status sheet, Aidan asked the question Ais also had on her mind. "So, what''s with this Twin star skill we both have?"


    "This skill allows the both of you to have a better gain of excelia when you kill monsters while being partnered up together. In other words, as long as you stick together, you will grow faster than you would have alone." She replied with a smirk before commenting.


    "It seems the two of you are stuck together."

 Chapter 25 - Ch.25 Preparing For The Dive

    After leaving the goddess room, Aidan immediately left the manor to go and shop for the various necessities for their trip to the eighteenth floor.


    Hearing that Aidan was going to shop, Ais eye''s brightened up, and she immediately decided to accompany him, much to his horror.??


    This time, Aidan didn''t go to the tower of Babel to shop. Instead, he went on the main street and went to buy the various necessary supplies. The main street had various small buildings with different signs on them. As such, he decided to discover what they all sold without spending too much time in them as Ais had previously done.


    Starting to walk on the main road, Aidan looked at the large variety of people. There were some humans, dwarves and pallum, along with some humans with beasts parts such as animal ears, tails and even some with animal claws. However, the most important thing is that there were almost no elves on the street.


    After glancing at everyone and making this discovery, he figured he would ask Riviera the reason in the evening.


    Arriving near a shop with a tent as the sign, Aidan pushed the door and entered the small building. As he entered, the owner looked up from his work, and after a polite nod, he turned back on his work while both youngsters started to look through the various tents offered.


    "We don''t need to worry about the time it takes to build the tent. We only need to be sure to be comfortable enough in it and have everything we want. After all, I can store the already built tent in the storage card, which will save us a lot of time." Explained Aidan to Ais before he turned to look for one which he liked.


    "Won''t we share our tent?" Asked the girl naturally.


    "I don''t mind staying in the same tent with you. However, when you are exploring alone with Riviera, you will need your tent." Explained Aidan as he didn''t want to spend more money than necessary to buy two different tents. "I''ll buy a slightly bigger tent since I won''t have to build it every time I use it, and I can store it already opened in the storage card."


    "Alright." She answered with a nod of her head as they searched for a tent to accommodate their necessities.


    After searching for a bit over five minutes, the shop owner got up and approached them both with a gentle smile on his face. "Hello, can I help you?" He asked as he looked at Aidan, who seemed to be the leader of the two.


    "Yes, we are looking for a large tent that can house us both in the dungeon. We will also need a smaller one easy and fast to build." Explained Aidan as he looked at the gray-haired, middle-aged man.


    "I see. I have what you are looking for." He answered, albeit a bit surprised to know that the two children needed a tent for the dungeon before walking away to get the necessary items.


    A few moments later, he called the two children to a different shop section, showing two tents. There was a slightly larger black tent and a smaller white and blue one. Those two tents oddly fit Aidan''s black clothes and Ais''s white and pale blue clothes.


    "Those tents can block water from entering, thanks to the fabric. It is also resistant to slight heat and cold, allowing the inside to have a comfortable temperature." Explained the man as he pointed to the two items.


    "Alright, how much for those?" Asked Aidan after he looked at the tent''s interior and confirmed that it was indeed water-resistant by throwing some water on them.


    "The bigger one cost 70,000 Valis while the smaller one costs 50,000." Answered the man as he showed the price tag on both of the tents.


    With a nod of his head, Aidan took out the two bags of money, giving back the one belonging to the girl so she could buy her tent and deal with her own money while he paid for his with his own money.


    After taking both tents in his storage card, they both left the shop, much to the disappointment of the middle-aged man who didn''t get many customers. They then moved on to the second target of the shopping trip.


    "What do we need to buy now?" Asked Ais as she was feeling happy to be able to accompany Aidan in exploring the city.


    "We will need to buy dried food and large water pouches to eat and drink in the dungeon. Afterwards, I need to go and buy different clothes. I know that my current clothes are also used as inner armour and have a cleanable function. However, I still feel dirty wearing the same thing every day." Answered Aidan as he shook his head depressively.


    Hearing his words, Ais looked at Aidan before coming closer and sniffing his shirt. "It''s fine. Your clothes don''t smell bad." She said expressionlessly.


    "Thanks for confirming for me, Ais. The cleaning function should clean everything including bad odours." Answered Aidan to his young partner.


    After another hour of shopping, Aidan managed to buy all the necessities, including a small bath he decided to buy for use in the dungeon. After all, he didn''t know if he would have the chance to clean up down there.


    "Alright, with everything finished, let''s stop at the potion shop to buy a bit more potions. I heard that there is all kind of weird things in the dungeon, it would be better to be prepared." Said Aidan before stopping at a shop near the Loki familia manor.


    "Welcome; how can I help you?" Asked the cashier as she saw Ais and Aidan enter the shop one after the other.


    "Hello, we would need potions, magic potions." Answered Aidan before seeing some more items. "I''ll also take some flash-bang along with the smoke ball." He continued as those were all items that could be extremely useful at the right moment.


    "I see. The potions cost 500 Valis, the magic potions, 8700 Valis due to the adventurer''s guild discount. Finally, the flash-bang and the smoke ball costs 3000 Valis each." Answered the cashier before asking. "How much do you want to buy?"


    "I''ll take ten of each potion and twenty of the other items." Answered Aidan. He didn''t need many potions since he had some in his card after the shopping trip with Ais in Babel.


    "It will be a total of 212,000 Valis." She answered while looking at Aidan with a curious look, asking if he had enough money.


    "Here." He replied as he gave the money while taking the sixty bought items and leaving the shop.


    "Alright, with this, we are set for the trip to the 18th floor." Said Aidan as they walked back to the familia manor.


    "We have the celebration later." Said Ais as she saw through the desire of Aidan to go and relax for the rest of the day.


    "Well, it''s still in two hours. How about we go and relax a bit?" He asked as he was feeling tired from all the shopping he had done.


    "Alright." She nodded as she wanted to be fully ready for the next day as they would go down thirteen new floors and wanted to be prepared for everything to come.


    ¡ª-


    A bit before seven in the evening, Aidan and Ais both got up. Indeed, they had completely fallen asleep after their shopping trip.


    "Let''s go. We shouldn''t arrive late." Said Ais as she slowly got up from the bed and slightly brushed her bushy hair to its proper form.


    "Right, we should." Nodded Aidan as he was washing his face to both clean himself and completely wake up.


    A few moments later, they both left the room and entered the entrance hall before leaving after seeing that everyone had already left.


    With slight jogging to reach them at the right time, Aidan noticed something. "I completely forgot to buy something to calculate the time."


    "Well, now''s not the time." She answered with a short sentence as she was entirely focused on the goal: Arriving before seven and not be late.


    With a glance, they both nodded and accelerated at the same time to reach the Hostess of Fertility. This restaurant was about forty minutes away while walking, and they were about ten minutes before seven, so they sped up not to be late.


    ¡ª-


    As they arrived at the door, they saw their goddess accompanied by their captain and Riviera almost reaching the door.


    Hearing the sound behind them, they turned around only to see the two golden-eyed youngsters staring at them.


    "At least we aren''t late." Grinned Aidan as he looked at Ais, who was also panting.


    "Let''s not get up late next time." She answered while her previously heavy breathing was under control once again.


    "Yeah, let''s." He nodded at the girl''s wise words.

 Chapter 26 - Ch.26 Interest

    "Alright, let''s go in!" Shouted Loki loudly with a playful demeanour as she strolled into the Hostess of Fertility.


    Following the goddess with a weak smile, Riviera motioned the two to follow her as they walked inside the dining room and sat at a table with Gareth and Loki, who already had a bottle of alcohol in her hand.??


    The goddess then got up and raised her glass high as she attracted the attention of all the adventurers present, whether they were members of the Loki familia or not, along with the waitresses of the pub. "Welcome to all the new adventurers of the familia; it is all on me today!" She shouted a small sentence before sitting back down and drank as if she wanted to be drunk.


    "Welcome back to the pub Loki-sama, what would you like to order today, nya~?" Asked the same cat girl who had taken their order the last time.


    "All of your specials. Same as last time with a drink for Riviera and the two children." She answered as she pointed to the two.


    "Alright, coming right up, nya~." She answered before leaving towards the back of the room towards the kitchen of the pub.


    "And who would be those two?" Asked another waitress who had just passed by.


    "Oh Syr-chan, you''re working today!" Said Loki, who was already at her third drink. "Those two are newly recruited into my familia." She said, answering her previous question.


    "Oh, and what are your names?" She asked Aidan and Ais as she approached them with a gentle smile which made her feel approachable.


    "I''m Ais, and this is Aidan." Answered Ais at Aidan''s surprise.


    ¡ª-


    (Syr/Freya POV)


    "Oh? It''s nice meeting the two of you. My name is Syr, and I''m a waitress at this pub." She answered as she looked at the two young children in front of her.


    ''Those two are different.'' She thought as she looked at their souls of different colours and more brilliant than ordinary souls.


    She looked at the two who had just answered her with a gentle smile on her face.


    ''The girl''s golden soul is so pure and brilliant. I have never seen anything like this for a long time. As for the boy, he has the same eyes as the girl. Moreover, with his slightly tanned skin and silver hair, he should grow up to be very handsome. His pure green soul is so brilliant. Even the high-elves blessed by nature aren''t so green, pure and perfect. The two of them are certainly not humans. But what are they?'' She thought as she continued a small conversation with the two of them.


    ''Wait! What is up with their souls? It is as if something is connecting them! Now that I look carefully, their souls are resonating together! What are they? Who are they? It''s so interesting! It''s been so long since someone could attract my attention so much! I want them!'' She continued thinking while conversing with them.


    ''Right, they are new members of Loki''s familia. Does it mean that they have signed a contract with her familia? Should I try to exchange them? No, Loki is not stupid. She will learn that something is weird between the two of them. I''ll start by observing them from afar.'' She concluded before saying her goodbyes and going back to the kitchen to calm down.


    ¡ª-


    (Main POV)


    ''Hum, she seems nice, but she talked for way too long. She didn''t stop even when we got our food served. Well, it doesn''t matter; it tastes good anyway.'' Thought Aidan as he looked at Ais, who hadn''t even stopped for a second to think as she started eating directly.


    ''Right, let''s start eating!'' He continued before starting to eat the delicious food rapidly.


    "Riviera?" Asked Aidan between two mouthfuls of food.


    "Yes, Aidan?" She asked as she pushed back her goddess, who was trying to grope her.


    "I was wondering, why are there almost no elves in the city? We shopped during the afternoon but merely saw one elf from afar." He asked curiously.


    "Elves rarely leave the forest as they mostly look down on the other races." She explained as Aidan nodded his head in understanding at this simple explanation.


    ¡ª-


    About twenty minutes later, as everyone was drinking and getting rowdier and rowdier, much to the displeasure of Mama Mia, who thought it was too much even for the pub, Riviera pulled up the last trick of her sleeve as no one was even listening to her.


    "Aidan, when the man attacked you in the dungeon, can you explain to me what you did to the man who was talking loudly and not listening to you when he tried to attack you?" Asked Riviera loudly enough for everyone to hear while adding some additional points to make the people in the pub feel a similarity with their current behaviour.


    "Oh? That man? I cut his leg and the bulge in his pants." Answered Aidan, not understanding why she asked this question at this moment but answering nonetheless.


    In a moment, the previously rowdy pub immediately turned eerily silent as they looked at Aidan as a smile crept up on Riviera, Loki and Mama Mia''s faces. At the same time, Gareth and Finn had an indescribable look on their faces.


    "Aidan, Ais, next time something like that happens again, directly cut off the bulge in their pants." Said Loki, who was afraid that the world would not be chaotic enough.


    "I understand." Nodded Ais as it was the wish of her goddess as Aidan nodded solemnly.


    When the goddess said this, all the men felt a chilling current blow through the dining hall as Finn immediately added something not to let the cruel future happen.


    "Ais, Aidan, Loki was kidding. Just do this to people who want to attack you or do bad things to you. This bulge is significant to men; Aidan has it too." Said Finn, who had no idea what he was saying anymore as Ais sneaked a look at Aidan''s pants with curiosity.


    At the same time, Riviera, feeling slightly happy inside that her conversation with Aidan had managed to silence the pub, heard something she didn''t want to hear.


    "Oh? What is it for?" Asked Aidan honestly as Ais was equally curious. Why did he have it, but she did not?


    "Oh, Riviera will tell you later." Answered Finn and Loki, who immediately abandoned the plan to continue and went straight back to drinking while pushing Riviera in the line of fire. After all, she had started it, and she would have to deal with the consequences.


    With a black line appearing on her forehead, Riviera looked to both captain and goddess before sighing, seeing the two children looking at her intently. "Yes, I will tell you sometime in the future." She answered while thinking. ''They are both seven years old, and it should be fine for them to learn about it, right? At worst, I''ll wait for a bit, and they should forget about the matter entirely.''


    As she started to calm down and reason again, she turned to see Ais about to ask another question before interrupting her and asking: "Now that you finished eating supper, do you want dessert?" She asked as the noise in the background picked back up, albeit less loudly.


    "I''ll take the cake." Answered the two rapidly before smiling at each other as they turned back to stare at Riviera, who lifted her hand to call a waitress over and passed the order.


    Finally, after two more hours, as the happy atmosphere appeared again, it was time to leave as it was getting late, and they would be getting up early the next day to move down to the 18th floor of the dungeon.


    ¡ª¡ª


    (Author''s note)


    Small chapter today, only 1300 words.


    PS: The link in their souls was the Twin star skill in effect since they are currently together. When they are apart, the connection disappears, and it is not bad in itself.


    - Appearance of Freya as Syr Flova cause people asked for it a lot.


    - I''m not too happy about the chapter, but it is what it is.


    - Next chapter: Ais''s POV, which was also asked a lot.


    Have a great day!

 Chapter 27 - Ch.27 Ais POV

    When that man appeared in the dungeon, I felt so scared, that man wanted to do something terrible to me, I could tell. When he called out to me, I felt my heart freeze as fear spread through it. I couldn''t do anything. He was stronger than me, he was bigger than me, and he was older than me. I didn''t know what to do.


    Thankfully, at that time, I still had Aidan with me. From the first moment we met, we''ve been together. The most important thing is that he doesn''t mind my attitude, and he accepts me for who I am. He is a great person, and I love spending time with him.??


    So that''s why, when the man appeared in the dungeon and wanted to do something terrible to me when he targeted me mainly, I was a bit scared that he would abandon me and run. I know I shouldn''t think that, but I have heard stories about other adventurers who save their lives. I couldn''t help but doubt him for a moment. When I noticed this, I was disappointed with myself. He has always been pleasant and gentle with me. He wouldn''t abandon me!


    And I was right. His first move was to protect me by pushing me behind him. He protected me! I couldn''t help but have tears appear in my eyes. Not only because he is the first one who cared about me since my mother was taken by the one-eyed black dragon but also because of shame because I doubted him.


    When he gave me a look, something I always understand, I gave him a subtle nod. It wasn''t the time to be angry at myself, and there was an enemy in front of us who would attack us soon.


    With our understanding of each other, I knew what to do, what he wanted to do, and I knew that we would survive as long as we worked together, as a team! We worked hard! It was scary! But we won!


    The moment he fell on the floor and Aidan knocked him out. I couldn''t help my tears anymore. Shame, anger, fear, all of these emotions swirled inside me, making me cry.


    However, once again, Aidan took care of me. He took me in his arms as I cried, and I could tell he was still vigilant while I broke down in his arms. When was the last time I had a hug? It''s been too long. When was the last time I was so cared for? It''s been since the last time I saw my mother!


    After a few moments, the fear rescinded, only leaving me with shame and anger at myself. However, when I looked at Aidan, he looked at me with a smiling face full of care and tenderness. I knew he was kind. Way too kind. However, as I turned around and saw the man, I thought to myself. Maybe not that kind. However, I didn''t resent him for what he did. He just became more perfect as he did what was needed to protect us.


    I barely remember what happened after. I only know that the old hag who was so mean to me in my magic training appeared and led us out of the dungeon. I couldn''t help it anymore, I fell asleep, and I''m sure that Aidan took care of me again.


    When I woke up, it was in the middle of the night. I had a nightmare of the man. However, I also felt like I was back in my bed. My armour and weapon were right next to the bed. It must be Aidan who took care of me again. He''s too nice to me, who doubted him. However, I like being cared for. When I looked at my mirror and saw my reflection, I was surprised to see my smile, something I didn''t do since my mother was taken from me.


    However, even if I was happy, I was still too scared to go back to sleep. I was scared the man would appear and try to do weird things to me again. This time I was alone. Aidan wasn''t there to protect me.


    I changed clothes to feel refreshed. But, I still didn''t fall asleep for the rest of the night. Even if I was sleepy, I couldn''t fall asleep. Instead, I only remembered what happened over and over again, and tears wouldn''t stop falling from my eyes.


    It was at this moment that a knock appeared at my door. I was scared. I didn''t want to open the door; I didn''t know who was on the other side. However, I needed to open it. Maybe it was Aidan?


    And when I opened it, it was indeed Aidan. I felt so relieved in my heart. My fear immediately disappeared when I saw him. When I heard him ask if he could enter, I didn''t object and let him in. At least when I was with him, I could feel in security.


    When he entered and saw me, I could see care in his eyes, and when he hugged me, I felt so relieved, so much better, so much safer. I stopped holding back as I hugged him back and let my tears flow once again.


    Once we were done, Aidan gave me some food he took from the cafeteria. Knowing that he cared enough about me to bring me back food and eat with me, I felt happy in my heart. I repeated it once more. Aidan is great.


    Once I ate and felt security from Aidan, I went to my bed, and I instantly fell asleep in his arms. Sleeping with him made me feel safe. I slept better that day than I did for a long time. I promised myself that I would become a better partner for Aidan. That from now on, I would also take care of him to the best of my abilities. He protected my life as my partner, and I would also protect him from now on. Together, we would be the strongest!


    What felt like a few moments later, I was awoken by the knock at the door. However, I saw Aidan''s care in me as he tried to get up without waking me up to go and answer the door.


    For the rest of the day, we spent it in comfort. I didn''t even change out of my pyjama as Aidan took care of me.


    Finally, it was time to go to bed again because we had to get up early, Aidan wanted to leave to sleep in his room, but I didn''t let him. I promised myself that I would take care of him from now on. However, right now, I wanted to stay with him because I couldn''t sleep alone.


    With that same gentle smile on his face as he always has when with me, he nodded, and we went back to sleep. This time, I hugged him even harder as I felt great and immediately fell asleep with him next to me.


    The next day, when we woke up, I became self-conscious. I had all my hair tangled up and a trace of saliva on the corner of my mouth. I knew I drooled in my sleep, and being told that by Aidan made me want to hide. However, I knew he didn''t mind, and I felt relieved when I confirmed it.


    Afterwards, during that day, we went to sign our contract and made a lot of money from it. However, that was not the most crucial point of my day!


    I was so happy! I was so glad that we gained the Twin Star skill. It not only meant that I would become stronger faster to find my mother, but it also meant that Aidan and I would have to partner up together to become stronger faster. I was so happy to have something that linked Aidan and me together!


    When Riviera offered to bring us to the 18th floor, even if I was terrified, when I saw the desire in Aidan''s eyes and knowing that it would help me to become stronger faster, I agreed. I could not care for Aidan if I stayed weak; I would become strong, the strongest with Aidan to protect him.


    A bit later, when we went shopping once again to buy the necessary things for our trip to the dungeon, I saw the exhaustion of Aidan at shopping, and I knew that the last time we shopped together, Aidan had the same expression. I learned that he didn''t enjoy shopping very much. However, I remember that he showed me a happy smile when we shopped together and that he agreed to go back with me. The care he showed me, despite hating shopping, I knew he cared about me.


    After learning this, I couldn''t help but walk a bit closer to him, to always be next to him.

 Chapter 28 - Ch.28 Towards The 18th Floor

    The following morning, Aidan once again woke up Ais, who seemed to have taken a liking to sleep with him. It was pretty early in the morning, and Aidan was quite tired from the previous night at the Hostess of Fertility. However, he knew that he would fully wake up after a morning shower.


    Taking his shower while Ais took her time to get up, he pushed her in once he got out and started to verify their supplies. He wanted to make sure that they didn''t miss anything.??


    He continued to verify everything while Ais got ready, and once the boy confirmed everything, he started to wear his armour, something he quite liked.


    Since he had trained with Riviera, he continued working on his magical control by inserting more magic in his card. Especially after the last fight with the man, he understood that having only numerous weak cards wasn''t going to work out. As such, after that event, he had started to strengthen three fireballs and five magic arrows. He wanted to make sure to be prepared for the next time something of this kind happened.


    Seeing Ais finally ready, Aidan looked at her with a smile. "Good morning, Ais. Now that you are completely awake, we should go." He said with happiness in his eyes that Ais had managed to overcome the previous event in the dungeon.


    "Good morning, Aidan." She said, much to his surprise. "Yes, we should go." She continued while a small smile but a smile nonetheless graced her face.


    Seeing her smile, Aidan was slightly stunned before he nodded and left the room along with Ais, who somehow kept holding his left hand as he held his sheath in his right. He didn''t know why but he had taken a liking to hold his sword over his shoulder.


    After a hearty breakfast, the two walked out of the manor and waited at the gate as the previous location agreed with the elf.


    "Good morning, you two." She said as she appeared behind them.


    "Good morning." Answered Ais, this time without any movement on her face.


    "Good morning." Answered Aidan, who, on the contrary, showed a friendly smile on his face.


    "Alright, today we will go down the dungeon to the 18th floor. I have a business to deal with, which will take the day once we reach there. Afterwards, I will train the two of you for the next two weeks. We will stay on the 18th floor during the night, and during the day, the two of you will fight on the 8th and 9th floor to train while I supervise you. Finally, a week later, a team of the familia will go down to the 17th floor to fight the Goliath, and you will be watching them." Explained Riviera as she started to walk towards the dungeon entrance.


    "To fight on those two floors, don''t we need at least E in our abilities?" Asked Aidan as he was sure he had read this somewhere.


    "It is mostly due to the high number of monsters on those floors. As long as someone can block most of those monsters, you will be able to have a difficult fight and win. Of course, the two of you will have to work hard to beat them." Explained the elf as they rapidly reached the dungeon entrance.


    It was early in the morning, and even the early risers were still asleep. As such, there weren''t many adventurers at the entrance. It mainly was the adventurers who had worked during the night. There were a few adventurers who preferred that since there were fewer adventurers for more monsters.


    "Alright, the two of you will lead the way until the fifth floor. Afterwards, the two of you will continue to fight the monsters while I show you the way to the next floor. Consider this an early training as I''ll see how strong you are." Said Riviera after a few adventurers moved out of their way.


    With a nod, they took out their swords and started to run towards the next floor. Currently, the first to fourth floors was too easy for them, and they didn''t bother to continue fighting with them. After all, it took less than five seconds to kill a monster on those few floors.


    The three of them passed the first floor without encountering any monsters, which was quite lucky since there weren''t many adventurers currently to kill them on the passageway to the second floor.


    On the second floor, they met a few monsters but still nothing major as they killed a few dungeon lizards on the way along with three kobolds who seemed lost.


    On the third floor, the same thing happened. However, the group was unlucky enough to meet a group of goblins and kobolds, which didn''t survive after a single weak fireball from Aidan. He didn''t continue to hold back his spells against the monsters. After all, they were weak and would be inadequate in the next few floors. As for the future, he would work harder to create more potent spells.


    On the fourth floor, Aidan once again killed a group of monsters with a fireball while slashing with his sword the few who still struggled to breathe.


    Finally, reaching the stairs to the fifth floor, they looked at Riviera, who would lead them in.


    "Alright, let''s go." She said as she brought the two youngsters to the new floor of the dungeon. This time, however, the two of them didn''t even have time to fight in the dungeon as they met another group of adventurers who seemed to be coming back from the dungeon, and they mainly had killed the monsters on the way. As such, except for a few frog shooters and war shadows, they quickly made it to the sixth floor, much to the disappointment of Ais, who seemed more active than usual.


    Following the executive to the sixth floor, they once again met a few monsters which the two had the chance to fight against.


    "Alright, Aidan, I want you to fight this war shadow alone with only your sword." Said the elf as she held back Ais, who was preparing to throw herself into the melee.


    "Alright." Answered Aidan as he brandished his sword and rushed towards the enemy, who had weirdly long arms and was quite flexible.


    As Aidan approached the monster, it immediately attacked with a finger strike which he rapidly blocked with his sword. Surprised, Aidan retreated slightly, which allowed him to dodge the strike of its second arm before slashing it straight at the waist and killing it instantly.


    "Alright, Aidan, what do you think of your fight?" Asked Riviera as they restarted to walk towards the next set of stairs once Aidan regulated his breath.


    "I think it was pretty good. However, if I had evaded the first strike of the enemy, I would have managed to end the fight directly at the beginning." Answered Aidan as he was aware of the errors he had made.


    "Indeed. Next time you fight a monster, make sure to consider all of the monster''s physical aspects. Its long arms took you by surprise, which could have been fatal had you not reacted fast enough." Said the elf as she reprimanded Aidan a little.


    "I see. I will work harder." Nodded Aidan as he was aware that she wasn''t lying as it could indeed have been life-threatening had it not been for the monster being alone.


    "Ais, you will fight next. Just like Aidan, you will fight the monster without magic." She said as she looked at the girl who seemed a little too enthusiastic about killing the monsters.


    With a nod of her head, she walked in front while looking out for any monsters in the surroundings. And the moment she found her enemy, she directly rushed towards the enemy, much to Aidan''s surprise as it was the first time she acted this way.


    ''Could it have something to do with the last time we came to the dungeon?'' Wondered Aidan as he continued to carefully watch Ais''s fight as she dodged and pierced the monster a few times before killing it.


    After Riviera gave her comments about Ais''s fight, Aidan approached her and asked. "Ais, are you alright? You seem slightly different from the last time we came to the dungeon?"


    "I''m fine. I just want to become stronger faster." She explained with a smile on her face, which blinded Aidan for a second.


    ''Is this the same, Ais? How did she change so much? She never smile that much.'' He thought as he looked at her smile. However, he didn''t let his thoughts show as he didn''t mind her new attitude. As such he replied to her. "In that case, that''s good. However, remember to be careful, all right?"


    "Yes! No problem!" She replied as she walked almost shoulder to shoulder with him while sneaking a few glances his way.

 Chapter 29 - Ch.29 18th Floor

    As they walked down on the tenth floor after a few more fights on the higher floors, they entered the mist-covered floor.


    ''I need to create a card to locate the monsters or see through the mist.'' Thought Aidan as he looked at the mist, which made vision terrible.??


    "Alright. From now on, the two of you need to stay closer to me. I will allow the two of you to try and fight a single orc together. However, after this floor, we will go directly to the eighteenth floor, and you won''t fight any more monsters." Said Riviera with a severe tone of voice as she glared at the two of them.


    With a nod from her two followers, they entered the floor and turned directly towards the stairs, using the fastest way possible.


    After a few minutes of walking, they finally met orcs for the first time.


    With speed depicting her status as a first-class adventurer, she arrived in front of the monsters and slammed her staff in their head, killing all of them except for one who would fight with the two. "Alright, come closer and start fighting." Said Riviera as she backed off while eyeing the surroundings to guarantee their safety.


    With a quick nod, the two approached the monster, who had a tree trunk in its hand to fight with. Throwing a shield card directly in front of the beast the hinder its movement with the resistance of the spell, Aidan and Ais ran straight towards the sides of the monster. They immediately tried to cut off both legs to reduce the beast''s mobility and height since they couldn''t reach the beast''s neck.


    With the tough skin of the monster, their swords barely had enough strength to cut into its skin, even less the entire leg. However, they still managed to cut off a part of both legs as the monster immediately kneeled on the ground due to its weight.


    With a quick look between the two, they both retreated as the monster used his large arm to try and swat them away. Right at the end of the significant motion, as his body was opened entirely with an arm towards the outside and another arm on the ground to lift himself, the two ran towards the monster. Aidan pierced directly in its neck while Ais went and attacked the monster''s limb, destroying its chances of taking revenge.


    A second later, the two had retreated from the area around the monster and waited as it emptied itself of its blood. It was certainly not a great way to go. However, they currently did not have the strength to kill it directly and could only go so far, thanks to the quality of their weapons.


    A few minutes later, the monster ultimately died and turned into powder as the orc hide, and its magic stone remained on the floor. "Great! We not only killed a monster way stronger than us, but we also got a drop!" Said Aidan happily as he collected both items in his card and joined back with the two girls.


    "Good. Now that the two of you fought with this kind of monster, we will go down directly towards our targeted floor. The two of you will stay near me at all times. Understood?" She asked once again.


    "Yes, no problem." Answered Aidan as Ais didn''t seem too happy to listen to the ''old hag'' as she called her.


    ¡ª-


    After running straight through the twelfth floor, they entered the middle floor, the 13th floor.


    "There are all kinds of level two monsters on those floors. As such, the two of you won''t fight against them. Do you know the name of the monsters we will face until we reach our goal?" Asked the elf after explaining the danger of those floors.


    "Yes, there are a few monsters, but the most important and known ones are the wyvern, hellhound, almiraj, minotaur, Lygerfang and their boss, the Goliath." Answered Aidan as he had studied this information before entering the dungeon.


    "Indeed. Today the two of you will meet these monsters. They are all stronger than you, so don''t try to fight them, understood?" She asked as she shot a glare at Ais, who surprisingly slightly pouted.


    With this last warning, they finally restarted their dive in the dungeon as they always took the shortest road to walk down the floors.


    ¡ª-


    By the time they reached the seventeenth floor, both youngsters were tired as they had to run all along to keep up with the high elf.


    "This here is the ''Big Wall of Grief.''" She said as she pointed at a crystal-like wall. "It is called so due to the high amount of adventurers who died due to the Monster Rex. When the Goliath spawns, it will wait for an adventurer to pass by before shattering the wall and attacking said adventurer. This particularity has often destroyed parties in the past, and it still happens to this day." She explained calmly as she looked at the wall.


    "Due to this, our familia, along with the other top-grade familia, take turns to come and kill the Goliath, allowing the rest of the adventurers a safe passage towards the next floor." She completed her explanation as she pointed towards a few small holes next to the crystal-like wall.


    "These holes all lead to the eighteenth floor. They are mostly used by adventurers who are trying to escape from monsters."


    After pointing at the holes, she looked a bit to the right. "The stairs are there. It leads to the same place as those holes, but it hurts a lot less." She explained with a small smile as they walked down towards the eighteenth floor.


    As they arrived, Aidan was surprised to see the floor. It was about the same size as Orario, and there was a gigantic tree in the middle of the dungeon level.


    "This is the eighteenth floor. Rivira is a small town built by the adventurers to stay at during their stay in the dungeon. However, the prices are incredibly high, and it is not clean. Due to this, I had you buy tents to sleep outside of Rivira. Normally, I wouldn''t do this since some monsters climb up to the eighteenth floor from the nineteenth. However, with the adventuring guarding the stairs and your barrier card, we won''t have any problem with those monsters.


    Moreover, there are almost no monsters that can climb on this floor. It is a nearly safe floor." Their teacher continued to explain as she saw the amazement and awe at the floor''s beauty from the two.


    "Alright. We will find a place to camp, and I will deal with what I came here for. During that time, the two of you are allowed to explore the floor but stay together." Said the elf as she led them to a relatively safe location on the floor.


    ¡ª-


    With a final warning to be careful, she left towards Rivira.


    "Alright, we should explore." Aidan and Ais left the camp and started to look at the forest, which radiated a slight blue colour due to the crystals on the ground.


    "So, for today, should we explore our surroundings a bit before going to sleep? I''m slightly tired after our time in the dungeon." Said Aidan as he looked at his partner.


    "Yes. We will stay on this floor for two weeks. We will have time to explore it later." Nodded Ais as she led Aidan on a mountain that overlooked the whole floor.


    "I didn''t say it previously but thank you for staying with me back then." Said Ais as she sat close to Aidan on a rock, looking up at the crystals which were slowly dimming.


    "We''re partners. It''s normal to stay and protect you." Smiled Aidan as he shook his head.


    "Hum." Hummed Ais as she slowly leaned her head on Aidan''s shoulder with a smile as he hugged her with his arm on her waist.

 Chapter 30 - Ch.30 2 Weeks, New Use Of Cards

    The following morning, after preparing for the day, Riveria explained their schedule for the next two weeks.


    "For the time we are in the dungeon, I will bring you to fight monsters from six in the morning to three in the afternoon. During this time, we will take breaks whenever you two are too tired and when you are hungry. When we are done with the fighting part, we will do some magical training. Ais will practise her control over her ''Wind slash'' magic while Aidan and I will explore more about his card magic." Explained the elf as she brought them up the stairs to start the day.??


    "Alright." Answered Aidan, nodding. "What exactly are we going to explore in my magic?" He asked immediately after.


    "Well, currently, we know that your card magic can store magical energy in the cards while you can write a word to explain the effect of the card. However, we haven''t been in depts with your magic yet. For example, can you create a card with the word ''heal'' to heal someone and if you can, where does the healing stops. Can you heal scratches, or can you reattach limbs? We will use this time to clarify the use of your magic and to help you with it. After all, maybe we can find a way to recharge your cards without using only your magic? What if we use magic stones?" Said the elf excitedly at the prospect of exploring the new magic.


    "I see." Nodded Aidan with slight fear as he saw the eyes of his teacher twinkle a bit obsessively.


    ¡ª-


    In this way, Aidan and Ais continued to train for the next two weeks following the training prepared by their teacher. They fought during the day and trained their magic at night.


    With the training offered by the beautiful elf, the two youngsters not only managed to increase their combat strength despite having no increase in stats, but they also significantly increased their magical strength.


    In Ais''s case, her ''wind slash'' magic versatility significantly increased. She could now throw multiple slashes at once, and each tear was a lot more deadly.


    However, the one who changed the most was Aidan. With the help of the elf and Ais, who offered ideas, his magical cards had shown a tremendous increase in uses and variety.


    During the two weeks, after exploring the various floors, he created new cards.


    [Healing]


    With this card, Aidan could heal anything from minor cuts to a huge gash. However, unfortunately, it was not the right word to reconnect lost limbs or allow them to grow a new one.


    [Scan]


    This card''s use was to scan a certain radius for any life forms. It was specially made for the mist-filled floors.


    [Charge]


    This one had taken three days to create and was the most important ones of his new cards. This card''s function was to absorb magical energy, whether from the atmosphere or the magic stones. He only had to command the card to absorb the magical energy from the rocks and leave a pile of rocks next to it to recharge it. Of course, it took time to absorb the stone''s magic.


    Moreover, after some testing, Aidan had found out that he still made an energy profit using the stones. For example, if he were to use a 1.1 strength fireball on the goblins on the first floor, he would have the chance to kill more than one with a single attack. However, after some verifications, Aidan found out that each magic stone had enough energy to make a 1.2 strength fireball. He made more energy by killing the goblins than it took to kill them.


    Finally, after some research on his card magic, he discovered two important things.


    Firstly, his magic deck always had 54 blank cards. It meant that whenever he used a card to inscribe its magic and inserted it back in his deck, a storage function would appear to hold his used cards. After thinking about the millions of cards his mother had used in that fight, he figured it was normal. As such, he stopped caring about the number of cards he used and created whatever he wanted.


    Secondly, when they fought on the mist-filled floor against solo opponents, Aidan made a surprising discovery. He could let others use his cards as long as a drop of their blood touched the card. Of course, it didn''t overwrite his control over the cards. It only gave them secondary control over it.


    As such, Ais could use his scan card to see monsters in the mist after a drop of her blood fell on the card. That day, they ended the training early because Riveria wanted to do some research on this phenomenon.


    From what they discovered, others could use his cards as long as Aidan himself allowed them, and they linked with the card through a drop of blood. However, there were restrictions over this function.


    Firstly, Aidan was always the owner of the card, even if others used it. It meant that he could recall the cards whenever he felt like it.


    Secondly, others could not recharge the cards themselves, and Aidan was the only one who could do so. It meant that once the adventurer ultimately used up the magical energy, the card would become completely normal. It signified that Aidan could create and sell cards to others if he wanted to since they would still be his.


    With this discovery, Riveria had a lot of thought going through her mind as this function alone could make most familias lower their heads to him. For example, if he decided to sell fireball cards to adventurers, they could have a life-saving spell. Going against Aidan could make their familia change from first-rate to second-rate familia easily since the other familias would get such valuable items.


    Riveria could almost see the future of adventurers asking the gods they joined whether they had a good relationship with Aidan or not before deciding to join.


    However, this thought was only related to the fireball spell. If Aidan decided to offer the storage or map cards to others, this would separate the top familias from the weakest ones. After all, his cards could quickly help a familia become an adventuring familia, and adventurers could use his attacking cards to replace magic weapons.


    Finally, after she had Aidan create a copy card, a plan slowly developed in her mind. "Aidan, if you were to copy your map card with your current one as the main card, would the two cards be linked?" She asked carefully as excitement, and a weirdly creepy smile appeared on her face.


    "Yes, they are linked, but the new card is empty, and they would need to explore once again to fill it." Explained Aidan as he backed off slightly at her maniacal grin.


    "I see. Would you mind giving me a copy? I need to test something." She said while fixing Aidan, which caused him to show slight fear.


    "Y-Yes, here." He said while handing over the card he had just copied from his map card.


    "Alright, wait here for a moment." She said as she left and ran as fast as she could.


    Five minutes later, she was back and looked at Aidan. "Aidan, look at your map card and look at the nineteenth floor." She said with hopeful eyes.


    "Alright." He solemnly nodded as he took out his card and shifted the floor to the 19th floor. "Huh? How come I can see some parts of the 19th floor? I never explored it." He said before opening his eyes wide as he looked at the copied card in Riviera''s hand.


    "Indeed, since the cards are linked, wherever the sub-card goes, your main card will also receive the corresponding map. It means that from now on, as long as others have your sub-cards, your map will continue to improve while you do nothing." She explained with a smile.


    With a shocked expression, Aidan immediately asked. "What about the storage cards? If the adventurer dies in the dungeon and the storage card automatically comes back to me, wouldn''t that mean that I would get all the items stored in the cards as well?" He said with a grin that was quite similar to Riveria''s.


    "Well, let''s not hope that they die to get their items. However, there are a lot of adventurers who die each week in the dungeon. As such, you would indeed get a lot of items." She nodded thoughtfully.


    ¡ª-


    "Alright, we''re going back to the surface!" Said the elf as she brought the two youngsters and made her way back to the surface.

 Chapter 31 - Ch.31

    PS: Thanks to a particular reader, yeah, you know who you are. I noticed that I''ve entirely nerfed his sword. The sword is supposed to cut through rocks and iron like butter, and an orc could block it, lol. Well, the weapon is reboosted from this chapter on. You''ll see his sword slash through a minotaur as if cutting a piece of grass! Thanks for the notice, and everyone, feel free to tell me about the plot holes you found!


    PSS: Stop asking for time skip or telling me to do one. I receive like ten messages every day about this. I''ll make one when I feel it''s the right time, all might not appreciate the slow-paced story, but that''s how I''m currently writing this novel so, the time skips will happen when they happen.??


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    (1 week ago)


    "Alright, follow me, today you are going to be spectating the subjugation of the Goliath." Said Riveria as she brought the two up the stairs leading to the seventeenth floor.


    "How strong do you have to be to kill the Goliath?" Asked Ais as she looked forward to seeing the strongest monster on the higher floors.


    "The monster is level four. As such, normally, a level four along with a small group of level three will go and hunt it. A lot of adventurers use the chance to hunt this monster down to complete the second requirement to level up." She explained as she continued to lead the two up the stairs.


    "Two requirements? What are they?" Asked Aidan curiously. He had only heard about having to have at least a D stat in his status.


    "Well, the first requirement is on the status, as you know." Answered Riveria before continuing. "The second requires you to accomplish a certain feat which the gods would be impressed with. It is often in the form of killing a stronger monster." She explained as the three of them finally reached the top of the stairs and waited there.


    "Oh, I see." Answered Ais before continuing. "So, the level three adventurers will level up after killing the Goliath?" She asked.


    "No, they will only have the requirement if they kill the Goliath without the help of the level four, and at that point, they can choose whether to level up immediately or wait like the two of you will do." She finished explaining as the adventurers finally reached the Wall of Grief.


    ---


    "Alright, the four of you will fight the Goliath alone. I will not intervene unless you are about to die. So, good luck!" Said the male in heavy armour as he walked to the side. The four weaker adventurers went closer to the wall.


    The four adventurers were separated into two females and two males. Both males were close-ranged fighters as they held a sword and an axe. As for the two women, one of them, an elf, had a bow while the human held a magical staff.


    *Crrrrrk*


    A sound of crystal slowly breaking appeared in the whole space as a hand pierced across the wall and punched the ground near the two men who hastily evaded the blow.


    ---


    As the four adventurers tensed and prepared to fight, Riveria started to explain what was happening.


    "You see, the Goliath will appear across the wall and immediately attack any close opponents. It has a humanoid body, and the core is in the middle of its torso. Normally, to kill it, adventurers will pierce in the middle of its body, and it will immediately break the magic stone." She explained as the three looked at the fight.


    "In the future, I will be able to kill it easily." Said Ais, full of fighting spirit.


    "Well, I would hope so." Slightly smiled Riveria.


    ¡ª¡ª


    (Current day)


    "Ahh. It''s been a while since we''ve been directly under the sun." Said Aidan as he showed a happy smile on his face.


    "I can''t wait to update our status." Answered Ais as she looked excited at becoming stronger.


    "Well, let''s go back to the manor. With the monsters you fought, you should be able to improve your stats greatly." Answered their teacher with a smile.


    "Right, Aidan. Do you allow me to talk with Loki about what we discovered of your card magic? If we talk to her about the ideas for the map, storage and attacking cards, she should get you the most benefit. While she is most of the time unreliable, when it comes to business and working on getting benefits, she is one the best." She asked immediately. After all, if Aidan didn''t want to, she wouldn''t talk about the development of his magic with Loki.


    "Well, there''s no problem. If with our goddess help, we get the most benefits, I have no reason to refuse. Moreover, others will work freely to improve my map card, and I''ll get a lot of loot from other adventurers." Grinned Aidan at the thought of using the profits to improve his cards rapidly.


    After all, with a lot of money, he would be able to buy a large number of magic stones, and it would allow him to increase the amount of magic in his charge card to strengthen his other magical cards. It would let him fight stronger monsters based on magic alone.


    "All right then, I''ll come with you when you go and update your status, and we will talk about this huge money-making market." She answered back with a hand over the slight smile which appeared on her face.


    ¡ª-


    "So, how was your time in the dungeon?" Asked Loki as she wore a t-shirt that showed her midriff and emphasized her lack of curves.


    "I showed them the 18th floor, the fight with the Goliath, and I accompanied them to fight up to the 10th floor where they could fight one monster at a time." Answered Riveria before continuing. "This time, they both greatly improved, and we made some discoveries on his card magic."


    "Oh? What kind of discoveries?" She asked back with an intrigued glint in her eyes.


    "Well, it''s like this." Started the elf as she explained the new modes of his cards and the way of money-making they had thought of.


    "Hum. It is indeed a good idea, but you think too small." Smirked the goddess as she bent towards the front and held her head with both her fists.


    "Let''s start with the storage card. I propose that you only sell this card to level two and above. There are a few reasons. The first one is that we can greatly increase the price of the storage card since level two are richer than level one. Secondly, this will make it a rarer commodity and people will be grateful to buy it. Finally, porters are normally level one, and if you sell your cards to level ones, a lot of them will lose their only way to make money."


    "Moreover, level ones don''t usually have much loot, so it would be a waste to spend your magic on cards for them." She explained seriously before turning towards the money-making way for this card.


    "For making money with this card, you have only to allow one person to link with a single storage card and create a price depending on their size¡ªfor example, a million Valis for a one cubic meter storage card. For a fifty cubic meter storage card, you can sell them at fifty million Valis.


    This way, adventurers will not only want to improve the size of their cards as much as possible, but they will also find it a pity to leave it empty when they bought a bigger size, making them store more items in it which will come to you if they die." She explained slowly before continuing with the second card.


    "For the map card, however, it is entirely different. Your card is precise, easy to carry and allows people to locate themselves on the floors. As such, it will be a commodity bought by almost every adventurer.


    The money-making way with this card is to sell the map card and only unlock the floor they bought. So, they wouldn''t be able to use the cards on each floor but only on the unlocked ones. Moreover, we can easily increase the price the lower the floor since they are bigger and it becomes more ''difficult'' to make." She explained with a maniacal grin.


    "Finally, with both those cards and the attacking or defensive cards you can sell if you want, this will make all other familia not dare go against ours since, with these cards alone, it can represent the rise or fall of one." She finished with a nod of her head.


    "I''ll take care of this problem, no worries. I''ll get as much money and benefits for you and the familia." She said as she got up and patted Aidan on his shoulder while grinning at him.


    "Alright! Now that this is done, strip!" She laughed as Aidan only shook his head and took off his shirt to have his status updated.

 Chapter 32 - Ch.32 Status Update - Loki’s Preparations

    Taking off his shirt and lying down on the sofa next to the goddess, Aidan waited for a bit as Loki started to do the update.


    Feeling the drop of blood fall on his back, he knew she had started. It didn''t take more than five seconds as Aidan felt his body''s strength increase significantly, which was changed thanks to the parameters.??


    "Alright, here''s your status." Said Loki as she handed him his status paper and signalled Ais to come closer to update her''s.


    "Hum, let''s see." Said Aidan as he felt slightly excited at the idea of becoming stronger.


    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 1


    Strength: G-232 -> D-574


    Endurance: G-259 -> D-596


    Dexterity: G-212 -> E-499


    Agility: G-234 -> D-545


    Magic: F-392 -> C-689


    Skill: High human, Twin star


    Magic: Card magic


    Development ability: None]


    Looking at his status, he confirmed a few things. ''It seems that my status rapidly improved since we fought against monsters on the tenth floor and people normally need at least ''B'' in one of their parameters to fight there.''


    ''This time, it was thanks to Riveria who took care of us and killed most monsters that we were able to improve so fast. However, now that we are back as a team of two, we will be back to fighting on the first nine floors, which will drastically reduce our speed of advancement.''


    ''Moreover, once we reach B in our parameters, it will reduce our speed even more than before. It seems that parameters only increase rapidly at the beginning of the levels or when you kill monsters at a higher level. Well, my improvement is already quite fast. Let''s leave it at that and work harder in the future.'' Thought Aidan as he understood the reason for his rapid increase in strength.


    "How is your status?" Asked Ais as she finished updating her status and held a paper in front of his face.


    "Not too bad, but it will be harder to improve this fast in the future." Answered Aidan as he handed over his status sheet to his partner.


    [Name: Ais Wallenstein


    Level: 1


    Strength: G-201 -> D-505


    Endurance: G-210 -> E-480


    Dexterity: G-222 -> D-520


    Agility: G-230 -> E-497


    Magic: G-213 -> D-527


    Skill: Avenger, Twin star


    Magic: Wind slash


    Development ability: None]


    "Hum, it seems that I don''t improve as fast as you do." Said Ais with evident bitterness in her voice.


    ''How can I protect him when he''s always stronger than myself. Not to mention that he has more potential than I have, but he even improves faster.'' She thought as she held her fist tightly in frustration over her weakness.


    "Ais. Ais!" Repeated Aidan a bit louder to break her out of her thoughts.


    "Yes?" She asked, still depressed.


    "How about we go to a restaurant to eat?" He asked as he was tired of cooking, and they had made quite a lot of money with this dungeon run.


    "Alright." Nodded Ais with her head low.


    "Then let''s go." He said as he took her hand and said goodbye to his teacher and goddess.


    ¡ª-


    "So, what is bothering you, Ais?" Asked Aidan as he was sitting at a table in a restaurant near the family manor.


    After hesitating for a moment, she looked up with a bit of tear in her eyes. "Don''t I work as hard as you? Why doesn''t my status update as fast as yours? Not to mention your ''talent.''" She said with emphasis on the word as she didn''t want to mention his parameters limit out loud.


    Taken aback, Aidan didn''t know what to say, so he only hugged her tightly. After all, he couldn''t help with her limit or her speed of advancement since they always fought together and killed about the same amount of enemies.


    After a few minutes, Ais got out of his arms while showing an uneasy smile and looking down. "I don''t want to be weaker than you. I want to be able to protect you as well." She said out loud, showing her determination.


    With surprise, Aidan smiled happily. "I don''t doubt you. I''m sure you will become one of the strongest adventurers in the world. However, we just came back from the dungeon, and I think we both need some relaxation before going back." The boy started to eat his food along with Ais, who relaxed a bit after his words.


    After eating for a bit over then minutes in relatively comfortable silence. "Can we go to the Monster Feria in two days? I heard it only happens once a year." Asked Ais with hope in her voice.


    "Hum? You can go if you want to. There''s no need to ask for my permission." He said with a slight teasing expression. "But, if you wanted to ask me to go with you, I''d be glad." Smiled Aidan sincerely.


    "That''s great." Smiled Ais as she showed a relieved expression.


    "Alright, let''s go back to relax today. Tomorrow, we could go and visit the city." Proposed Aidan as he paid the waitress and left the restaurant along with his partner.


    ¡ª-


    (Loki POV)


    "Humm, so where should I start?" She mused out loud in her bedroom.


    "First, the map card should be sold cheap enough so that every adventurer can buy one. The most important is that we will make a profit from the number of adventurers who buy it. Moreover, as long as the number of adventurers dies less in the dungeon with the help of the card, we will gain the favour of other familias.


    So, we should only sell them with a 1000 increase on each floor, meaning floor nine would cost 9000 to unlock, floor ten, 10,000. And this is only for unlocking the map. We will increase the price by ten times if they want the already explored map." She continued while writing her ideas on the paper.


    "For the storage, the idea was good, but it would be better to have the adventurers or familia pay extra every year as insurance. The insurance should be different depending on the size of the storage. By buying the insurance, the moment they die, their storage card would go to the designated person.


    Right, if we do this, people will even be grateful to give us their money. As for their loot, it wasn''t ours, to begin with, and instead, we will get money even if they don''t die. It''s a lot better." Nodded Loki with a grin on her face. She loved to do everything to extort other familias. Especially Freya''s.


    "Next, if he can link a card to a person, could he create a life card that would show his current floor, turn dim when that person dies and show the final vision of the owner of the card? This way, we could find those who killed others for their loot in the dungeon, certainly lowering the murder rate. Moreover, this would put the familia in the good books of the guild." Muttered Loki as she had this idea.


    "Hum, let''s ask him later." She concluded with a fond smile on her face.


    "Finally, for the attacking, defensive and support cards, we would have to price them higher. Those cards are life-saving items, and the support cards would help in the dungeon. However, Aidan''s current strength is relatively weak, and they wouldn''t be handy.


    So, it would be better only to sell the defensive and support cards. The first ones could slightly stall the monsters, allowing them to escape faster, easy to do with the help of a map card. And the latter can help on each floor, especially the 10-12th floor currently." She continued taking notes as she prepared to take as much advantage as possible.


    "Alright. Thankfully, tomorrow is the denatus, and I''ll be able to share these new products with them. Moreover, as long as they are all aware, they won''t be able to go against Aidan since attacking him could mean the death of countless adventurers in the future. And with the contract, we are free from that crazy bitch." Finishing her self-talk and taking notes on the cards'' benefits, she kept everything in a secret folder and got up before moving to her bed.


    She had to sleep early since she wouldn''t sleep a lot the next day with the Denatus and the Monster Filia.


    "Oh, I can''t wait to see Freya''s face when she finds out she can''t go against us due to the cards tomorrow. It''ll be great." She finally said before closing her eyes and going to sleep.

 Chapter 33 - Not A (will Be Erased Before Next )

    Yo guys, I''m back. It took longer than expected to start writing again cause I got a friend''s recommendation and have been reading fanfic, hahaha. Well, here''s your chapter.


    PS: I don''t know if there''s going to be a chapter every day since I''ve been taken into writing a multiverse story, more of a slice of life one, travels in worlds such as One piece, naruto, etc., for X chapters till I''m tired and moving on with the girls, friends and whoever he wants to bring along. The MC would have a hoarder personality as he would collect devil fruits, etc., from the different worlds before moving on, haha. It would be different, easier and freer to write, which is why I plan on writing that :)??


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    The following morning, Aidan woke up with a dishevelled Ais using him as a body pillow and a wet shirt full of drool and looking at the time through the window. Seeing the sun already up, he figured it was about eight in the morning.


    Hugging Ais and rolling her over on her back, the boy liberated himself from her hug and went to the bathroom to get cleaned up.


    Unbeknownst to the silver-haired boy, a gentle smile appeared on the face of the girl who pretended to sleep.


    Cleaning up rapidly, Aidan went to Ais, who continued to pretend as he gently shook her awake.


    "Hmmm." Said the girl as she slowly opened her eyes to see Aidan looking at her. "Ais, it''s already late. We will visit Orario in an hour. I''ll go to the meeting with Loki and come back later." He explained as he put back the cover on the girl before leaving the room with a grin. Happy on his petty revenge.


    ''You can''t hate me for this, Ais. I told you, as long as you drool on me, I''ll continue to wake you up early.'' Thought Aidan as he thought this was a good way of revenge, unknowing that she was already awake.


    Walking up the stairs after taking a small breakfast at the cafeteria, Aidan knocked on the bedroom doors of the goddess of trickery.


    "Enter." Said a feminine voice in the room.


    "Good morning Loki-sama." Said Aidan as he walked inside the room to meet the goddess.


    She was wearing her ever blue and black clothes.


    "Good morning Aidan. Did you sleep well?" She asked gently before grinning. "I heard that you and Ais are now always sleeping together. It must feel great to wake up in her arms, huh?" She asked as she wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.


    "Yes, I slept well, thank you." Nodded Aidan, ignoring her second comment as he learnt from Riveria. Looking around the room, he took a seat on the sofa near the bed of the goddess before looking at her. "What can I do for you?" He asked directly as he was aware that she had others things to do.


    The goddess then started to explain the card she hoped he could create.


    "Hum, it should be possible." Nodded the boy as he immediately summoned his deck of cards and started creating the required card.


    Over the two weeks, Aidan had discovered that the word wasn''t the most important in the card but the intent behind the word. The word would represent what he wanted.


    Meaning, if he imagined a colossal fireball when writing the word fireball, it would cost him more magic to create a single fireball in the card since it would be a huge one. Consequently, if he imagined a small fireball, as huge as his fist, it would cost a lot less magic.


    Aidan counted on this discovery to add the wanted applications on the card.


    ¡ª-


    Half an hour later, after a few unsuccessful tries, Aidan finally made the card asked. "Here''s the card." He said as he handed over the card to Loki, who examined it without understanding a thing.


    When Aidan worked, she had taken her time to clean up, eat and rest.


    "So this card can determine on which floor is the adventurer if he his alive and a small recording of before he died in the dungeon? It can also link with the map card to show the adventurer''s exact position." Confirmed Loki as she didn''t want any error to happen since she would be showing it at the Denatus later that day.


    "Yes, there won''t be a problem. As long as the target allows a drop of blood to fall on the card, the person will bind with the card. I inserted enough magical power into it to work for a year. Afterwards, they will have to replenish it." Explained Aidan as he understood the goddess''s goal.


    "Perfect. In that case, I''ll have to trouble you to copy many cards later this evening. We will start selling them tomorrow during the Monster Filia if you can prepare everything tonight." Finished the goddess as Aidan got up and understood it was time to leave her bedroom.


    ¡ª-


    Back in his room with breakfast ready for Ais, he saw that she had once again fallen asleep. However, this time Aidan didn''t wake her as he started preparing the items required for the next day.


    Moreover, it was pretty easy to do since he used his copy card to copy everything and use his charge card to prepare everything.


    ¡ª-


    "Where did you want to go and visit today?" Asked Ais as the two walked outside of the familia manor.


    "Well, I was thinking of simply walking around a bit to locate every shop close to the manor. Afterwards, I wanted to go and take a look at the guild building. In the building, it is said that there are quests for adventurers to complete. I figured it would be different than simply going down the floors and killing monsters again and again." Explained Aidan as he bought some snacks from a stall.


    "Alright. I would also like to see the Hephaestus familia shops. I heard from the old hag that only the worst blacksmiths work in the tower. On the contrary, the shops surrounding the Hephaestus familia are the best ones. Even the goddess''s forge is there." Said Ais as she wanted to go and see for new and more powerful weapons.


    "Perfect. In that case, let''s visit the city while going towards the Hephaestus familia, and we''ll go to the guild at the end to see it before going back."


    ¡ª-


    Walking for a few hours around the city, taking in the sights, the two youngsters found themselves in front of a very dilapidated church.


    "Hum, why is there a church here when the gods are walking amongst us?" Asked Ais as she tilted her head in confusion.


    "Maybe civilians used it in the past for some gods who didn''t descend yet? Well, the church was abandoned, and it''s pretty easy to see why." Laughed Aidan a bit before shaking his head.


    "However, while it''s pretty broken down, it''s a pretty good location." Said Ais as she looked at the open surroundings. "It is pretty rare to see a large land of grass and nature. There''s even a small pond behind the church." She said, still surprised that the church hadn''t been renovated or taken down yet.


    "Well, we can come back here some time to relax." Nodded Aidan as he also liked the quiet and peaceful atmosphere around the church.


    "Let''s go." Said Ais, taking his hand as he was about to lie down on the grass to relax in the sun.


    "Right, let''s go." Laughed Aidan as they made their way together towards their destination, the Hephaestus familia forges and shops.


    ¡ª-


    "Well, here we are." Said Ais uselessly as there was a large banner at the district entrance which represented the familia they were searching.


    "Thanks for stating the obvious." He laughed as his companion pinched his waist with a pout on her face.


    "Alright, alright, let''s go." He laughed as he pulled her towards the shop she was so interested in visiting.

 Chapter 34 - Ch.34 Denatus

    A/N: Congrats, you loving time-skippers; one is coming along soon since I don''t know what to write anymore, hahaha


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    "Hum, except for the noise, it''s pretty ordinary." Said Aidan as he looked at the various shops and forges along the main road of the district.


    "I was expecting rows and rows of weapons everywhere." Answered Ais as she took upon the sight of the district.


    "Right, did you only want to visit to see the Hephaestus familia?" Asked Aidan as they slowed down at an intersection before being intercepted by a tall woman with an eye patch on her left eye.


    As Ais was about to answer, the lady started talking. "Hello, can I help you find what you are looking for?" She asked with a bright smile on her face as she saw two youngsters looking over the weapons of the shops.


    "Yes, I came here to browse the weapons." The girl explained as she pointed at Aidan. "He has a good sword, but I never saw something similar in the shops."


    "Hum? You don''t have your sword with you, do you?" Asked the girl, who immediately presented herself. "I''m Tsubaki, the captain of the Hephaestus familia, by the way."


    "Hum. Yes, I have it here." He answered, taking his sword in his scabbard out of his card. "My name''s Aidan, and she''s Ais. We''re both parts of the Loki familia." He continued, presenting himself and his partner.


    "Nice to meet you." She answered with a smile before bringing her attention to the blue scabbard in her hands. "Hum, it''s a beautiful sheat. Do you mind?" She asked while lifting the weapon as it was inappropriate to use someone''s weapons or armour before asking for permission.


    "Feel free to do so." Answered Aidan with a smile. He didn''t care if she wanted to try it. In the end, he could always recall the sword wherever it was, so he wasn''t afraid of the sword getting stolen.


    Tsubaki''s eyes widened after taking the sword out of its sheath, seeing the craftsmanship of the orange-edged black sword. "It is incredibly light." She whispered to herself as she waved it a little, feeling the sharpness and lightness of the blade.


    Touching the flat side of the blade, she nodded to herself and did all kinds of other weird verifications for a few minutes before turning her head to Aidan and asking with excitement: "Who made this sword?"


    "I don''t know. It was left to me by my parents." He answered lightly. "So, do you have any similar weapons?" He asked as he brought back the attention to Ais''s request.


    "Well, I can''t forge this kind of sword, not to mention the others in the familia." She answered with a shake of her head which broke Ais''s expectations. She knew that there weren''t many chances of them selling such as sword, or she would have been aware of it, but she couldn''t help but have some small expectations, which made her sad when the lady broke them.


    Patting Ais''s head while she looked down, he turned his head towards the captain of the familia, who was deep in thought for a moment before looking at the two. "Are the two of you free for a while? Maybe my goddess would be able to create something similar after inspecting it." She explained with a gentle smile as she was confident that her goddess did not know such a forging technique.


    While she could, just like her goddess, imbue attributes such as Durandal on weapons, the boy''s weapon was inherently different since she didn''t detect any characteristics on the sword, but it still possessed them and more. Moreover, she had seen the most precious work of her goddess and the sword presented before her easily surpassed her previous work. As crazy as it sounded, her goddess most proud work didn''t seem to hold a candle to this sword in front of her.


    "Hum, not right now. We need to go back to the familia manor." Answered Aidan with a shake of his head as he remembered Loki''s warning not to meet any other gods or goddesses as much as possible.


    "Oh, I see. Well, sorry I couldn''t help you more than that, have a good day." She said while keeping a smile despite being rejected by the two.


    "You too." Answered Aidan as he walked out of the district with Ais, who wasn''t interested in them anymore after learning that they didn''t have what she searched for.


    ---


    (Loki POV)


    ''Urg, denatus are always boring.'' Thought Loki as she looked at the stream of gods and goddesses entering the room, all clothed better than the last.


    ''Well, at least there are some sexy goddesses.'' Thought the woman as a lascivious grin appeared on her face as she approached a familiar goddess with rather large breasts.


    "Huu. Loki! What are you doing?" Asked the brown-haired walnut goddess while distancing herself from the trickster.


    "Hello Astraea, it''s been a while." Said Loki with a grin as she approached her once again. She felt pleasure making the virgin goddess unsettled as she slightly moved, keeping her on her toes.


    "Yes, Loki, it has been a while." Answered the goddess of justice as she kept a gentle smile despite being nervous by how her acquaintance looked at her. "So, what can I do for you?" She asked as she was aware that besides her perverted tendencies, Loki would never be one to start a conversation unless she benefited from it one way or another.


    "Bright as always, Astraea-chan." Smirked Loki before leading her to the side of the hall, at a distance of the other gods who had the bad habit of liking rumours a bit too much.


    "So, what is it?" Asked the indigo-eyed goddess.


    "Well, since you''re familia has been tasked for the safety and justice of everyone in Orario, and that one of your mission is to arrest criminals and if necessary send back gods to heaven, I was wondering if you were interested in a deal?" Offered Loki as she started to pull allies to herself for the card deal. Moreover, by having the Astraea familia, one renown of their justice and respected as such, working with her, everything would be easy to do.


    "What deal?" She asked with a frown on her face. Most of the time, when gods came to her for deals, it was for her to look the other way while they committed crimes or release a criminal. "If you want me to look the other way of a crime, I''m afraid we won''t have a deal." She continued while losing her perpetual smile on her face.


    "A crime? No, no, that isn''t it." Laughed Loki as she waved her hand. However, the default of most gods appeared in her again. "But, which god tried to have you look the other way?" She asked as listening to rumours and gossip, whether they were true or false, was one of the gods'' enjoyment in this long life.


    "What did you want to talk to me about?" Repeated the goddess as she ignored her desire for gossip.


    "Right, during this denatus I''m going to present a new product to sell. However, this product will greatly change the way familia''s explore the dungeon. It means that most familias will do their best to either get my children who can do those items or attack my familia one way or another to get the items for free. However, with your help, there won''t be any problems. After all, no one wants to get on the bad side of the only goddess who can legally send us back to heaven." Smirked Loki as she was prepared to use her influence to get the best deals with the gods during this denatus.


    "Oh? Can I ask what those items are?" She asked with pure curiosity.


    "Yes, my children can do card magic, and he made an inventory card, a map card, a link card along with a few defensive and supports ones." Said Loki before she started to explain the uses of the cards.


    "As for having your help, I already planned for it; here is a track card I had him create. This card can track down anyone, anywhere that person is, as long as you know his name and a clear picture of the person. You can use it in conjunction with the link card to track down a killer, for example. This card is only made for your familia and the guild in exchange for your help." Continued Loki as she looked at the goddess of justice, believing that she would accept to help in exchange for this restricted card for her familia and the guild.


    "Alright, I will help." Nodded Astraea as a smile crept on Loki''s face.


    "Perfect. In that case, I will talk of these cards to Ouranos to receive his support, and I will present it later to start selling them tomorrow." Grinned Loki as she completed her plan. After all, once they accepted the cards for the first time, they would never reject them anymore. They would also have to keep her familia and herself pleased so that their adventurer group could hold the advantage in the dungeon.

 Chapter 35 - Ch.35 Denatus (2/2)

    After a quick talk with Ouranos, who would be presiding over the Denatus and receiving his support, Loki determined that there would be no problem promoting the cards sold by Aidan.


    "Loki." Said a goddess wearing a long red dress and an eye patch on her eye.


    "Hum? Hephaestus? What can I do for you?" She asked with a joyful tone.


    "Before coming here, Tsubaki and I talked. It seems that two young members of your familia came into my familia''s district searching for a new sword and-". Started Hephaestus only to be interrupted by Loki as the Denatus would soon begin.


    "Get to the point. We don''t have much time left."


    "I''d like to examine and research the sword of the boy named Aidan from your familia." Answered the goddess, to the point.


    With a frown on her face, Loki immediately shook her head. "No, can''t do. I''m not the owner of the sword, and I''m not about to force a member of my familia to go against his wishes."


    "Then can you arrange a meeting with him for me?" Asked the goddess back as she showed clear signs of frustration since her divinity was pushing her to follow this lead towards a new form of blacksmithing.


    "I can." Answered the Loki familia goddess. "However, you better be prepared to pay the price if he accepts because I''ll get as many benefits for them as possible." She continued with a grin.


    "Alright." Finished the blacksmithing goddess, relieved that the trickster relented.


    "Welcome." A booming voice resounded across the room as all the conversations stopped and focused on the voice owner.


    "Please take your seat. The denatus will soon start." Added the loud voice as the first god who descended from Heaven closed his eyes after finishing speaking.


    A few minutes later, after all the gods and goddesses were seated correctly, Ouranos opened his eyes again.


    "For the first order of business. Ganesha." Said the god as all eyes turned towards the god of the masses.


    "I am Ganesha." Said the masked god as he looked at the others in the room. "As you all know, the MonsterFilia will happen tomorrow. I want to ask everyone to support this yearly event." Said the man while doing various weird poses. "I am Ganesha!" He finished by shouting his name yet again.


    With polite applause, the god once again sat down as Ouranos once again started speaking. "We will next start with the alias ceremony for the 124 adventurers who ranked up to level 2, 41 adventurers who ranked up to level 3 and 2 adventurers who ranked to 4. Finally, we will finish with the business proposal of Loki." He said while reading down the file he had in his hand while the more prominent god and goddesses gave a curious look at Loki, who only smiled mischievously.


    "Alright, the first level 2 adventurer-". Started one of the gods as they spent the new few hours deciding the name of the newly promoted adventurers.


    Of course, the gods enjoyed bullying the weaker familia''s by giving chuunibyou names to the adventurers who would find them interesting one way or another. However, this process didn''t happen in the bigger and more powerful familia''s as they all accepted the name prepared by the adventurer''s god or goddess.


    Finally, a few hours after the beginning of the alias giving ceremony, they turned to the last important point of the meeting: Loki''s business proposal.


    "Alright, Loki. The stage is yours." Said the god presiding over the meeting.


    "Well, hello to everyone." She said with a calm smile on her face as she looked over the assembly.


    "Today, I''m here to promote a new product of our familia." She said as she got some reaction from a few gods, although most stayed uninterested.


    "With the help of one of my children, we managed to create magical cards that can give great support to adventurers in the dungeon, and we are ready to sell them." She said as she continued to explain the various cards to be sold and their uses.


    By the time she was done, five minutes had passed, and all the previously disinterested gods had a sharp look on their faces as they eyed Loki, who kept a sly smile on her face.


    As she kept silent, most gods regrouped with their allies and started a vehement discussion as they all kept an eye on Loki.


    As Loki looked at them with a smile on her face, she was keeping track of the emotions they showed. She found traces of greed, killing intent, interest, happiness and even love, which made her shudder as she looked at the greasy and disgusting old god licking his lips while looking at her like a piece of meat.


    However, before the gods could develop some more plans to either kill off or capture the adventurer who gave such a good deal to the Loki familia, the trickster goddess spoke once more. "You don''t have to worry about not having enough. My child has already prepared a lot of them, and we have enough for everyone." She smiled as she noticed the gods who sported greed to retract their intention as they understood that even if they kidnapped the member of the familia, it wouldn''t stop the Loki familia from selling the cards. However, if they did kidnap him, they would have the entire familia on their back which was not a good deal.


    "What if the creator of the item dies? Will his cards cease to function?" Asked a grim-looking god who looked at Loki with a grin.


    "No, even if my child died, the cards would still work perfectly fine." She answered before turning to the god with a gleam in her eye. "However, if you are thinking of killing him, we will immediately start a war game." She said with a dangerous look.


    Just as it was going to escalate, Astraea, the goddess of justice, stood up as everyone in the hall turned to look at her. "Killing mortals by your hand will give me the authority to send you back to heaven. If you were to send someone to kill him, I would gain the authority to arrest him and have you kicked out of Orario along with the disbanding of your familia." She said with a severe tone.


    The goddess of justice, Astraea, had a respected status in the gods who descended from heaven since she was the only one along with Ouranos who kept a part of her powers. In Ouranos''s case, he had to use his power to keep the dungeon sealed. However, she was allowed to keep her powers due to her divinity of justice which would keep her from abusing her power and keep justice as much as possible in the lower world. Due to this, she was one of the few allowed to send the gods back to heaven without any punishment.


    "My familia, along with the guild, is one of the partners of the Loki familia in this business deal. It is my greatest hope that with these new items, adventurers will have a higher survival chance.


    My familia will not play favouritism. However, we will keep an eye on the business to ensure that unlawful deals are not present in this endeavour and that no assassinations are made against the creator of these cards. These new items will give the adventurers new hope in becoming stronger and help the familia''s in exploring more of the dungeon." She finished as she looked at every god and goddess in the room who was thoughtful at her words.


    "The guild will also be responsible for the selling of the cards. My men will place a counter near the entrance of the dungeon for the adventurers. As you all know, since Zeus''s familia explored the 59th floor, no other familia have been able even to reach it. I do hope that with these cards, familia''s will be able to grow stronger and surpass the previous set record." Said Ouranos, who had been silent ever since he told the order of business for this Denatus.


    "This is the end of the Denatus, you may all either enjoy the food, or you can leave, have a good evening." Finished the god presiding over the meeting as some gods left the meeting hall, but most stayed back and discussed with each other.


    "Loki." Said Hephaestus as she approached her.


    "Yes?" Asked the trickster goddess without rudeness since she had a good relationship with the blacksmithing goddess.


    "Is the creator of the cards the same one with the sword I was talking about?" She asked in curiosity as her instinct told her that they were the same.


    "Yes, he''s called Aidan." She answered back to the one-eyed goddess.


    "I see. In that case, I really can''t wait to meet him." She finished with a smile of interest as she turned around and left the room.

 Chapter 36 - Ch.36 Morning Date

    Early the next day, Aidan got woken up since Ais was excited about the MonsterFilia. "Aidan! Get up quickly! I want to see the festival." She exclaimed with a smile, full of energy, as she dragged the boy out of bed and pushed him into the bathroom.


    "Alright, alright, give me five minutes." Answered the silver-haired boy as he quickly went and took a shower before changing into the clothes Ais prepared for him.


    "So, how do I look?" Asked the golden-eyed girl as she twirled in front of Aidan, wanting his compliment.


    "You look great as always." He answered with a gentle smile on his face as he took her hand and drew her outside of their now shared room. "The MonsterFilia will only start at one in the afternoon. What do you want to do until then? I''m sure you have prepared something." Continued the boy as he offered to go with the girl and make her day memorable while smirking at her.


    "Well, first, I want to go and eat Jagamarukun for breakfast. It''s been a long time since we''ve eaten some. Afterwards, I want to go and see the stalls prepared around the Amphitheatre. I heard that there would be products from outside of Orario as they come for the MonsterFilia. For lunch, we will eat at Hostess of Fertility. However, we will have to eat a bit before lunchtime since they will close for the MonsterFilia. Finally, in the afternoon, we go and watch the show and finally, in the evening, I want you to accompany me to the defensive wall since I heard that the sunset is great over there." Finished the girl as she showed him a bright smile, something he rarely saw from Ais.


    "You prepared in advance, huh. Well, I''d love to accompany you for the day." Answered Aidan as he showed a gentle smile and intertwined his fingers with Ais as they left the familia manor. He didn''t have to worry about the card business since the goddess would sell them by installing stalls in the city. In exchange, the familia would get a 10% cut which was a good deal since he wouldn''t have to deal with anything related to the business and would only have to produce them, which was extremely easy with the cards he owned. As such, he was truly free to spend and enjoy the day with Ais while others would have to work for the whole day.


    Walking outside of the manor and towards the Amphiteatron of Orario, they stopped at a stall and sat down in one of the few benches on the side of the road to eat their food on the small plate.


    As they sat down and slowly munched on their food, Ais started speaking. "You know, Aidan, I never told you why I want to kill the one-eyed black dragon." She said as she lowered her head and rested it on his shoulder as he hugged her from the side.


    Not speaking, Aidan waited for her following words. "The dragon captured my mother away. I want to kill it and take her back." She said in a small but firm voice as she looked up at his face.


    "Well, as I said in the past, I''ll help you kill him." Said the boy as he grinned and kissed her forehead.


    "I know you will." She answered as a smile graced her face as she came closer to Aidan.


    "Alright. Now that this is done, we have to go. You have made a schedule, and it would be sad not to follow it." Grinned the boy as he got up and pulled the girl before walking towards the center place of one of the year''s biggest festivals.


    ---


    Arriving next to the Amphiteatron, Aidan was shocked by the excitement and bustle of the road. Stalls stood on both sides of the road with countless people talking and laughing, walking in between and shopping.


    "Let''s start, Aidan. There won''t be anything left for us!" Exclaimed the young girl as she saw thousands of people shop in the stalls, pulling him, the sadness from the previous topic wholly erased.


    So, for the next few hours, the two youngsters made a circle around the entire stadium, visiting each stall one by one. At that point, Aidan was happy that Ais had her inventory card, allowing her to store her items in her card as she shopped without stopping.


    Across the stalls they visited, Aidan also found some interesting food from Altena and the Far East. The cooks made food with ingredients from those places, and their way of cooking was utterly different from how people cooked in Orario. On the other side, Aidan also found a less popular item called Mordul. Aidan didn''t stop himself and immediately bought a huge batch as it would be pretty helpful in conjunction with his barrier card since the thing repelled monsters for a specific duration of time.


    ---


    Having spent the entire morning running around on the street, seeing new sights, meeting new people and seeing more elves which were quite rare when there was not such an event, their stomachs began to grumble as they made their way towards their next stop, the Hostess of Fertility.


    Considering they were already on the right side of the stadium, not to have to circle it, they walked back towards the center of the city. They continued on their way to arrive at the restaurant, which had left quite an expression on both youths in the past due to the parties that happened each time they were present.


    "Hello?" Asked Aidan as he pushed open the door and saw a few waitresses currently cleaning the tables.


    "Hello? What can I do for you, nya~?" Asked the cat-girl as she stopped wiping the table and came closer to the two of them.


    "Are you open at this time to eat?" Asked Aidan as he looked intently at her ears with curiosity since he had never touched any. ''Maybe I should ask Riveria to let me touch her ears when we go back to the mansion. Their ears are a bit different. I wonder why." He thought as he waited for the answer from the waitress.


    "Yes, we are open, nya~." Answered the girl as she brought them to the table she had just wiped. "What would you like to order?" She asked as she got them a menu.


    "I''ll take your special with sweet juice." Answered Aidan as Ais nodded and added: "I''ll take the same." said Ais as she gave back the menu to the waitress, who smiled and went to the back of the kitchen.


    "Oh right, I forgot to ask something. Give me a moment." Said Aidan as he got up and walked towards the kitchen to meet with the cat-girl.


    "Oh? Did you forget to order something, nya~?" Asked the brown-haired waitress.


    "Well, I would also like to order two large sandwiches along with four sweet drinks. Please store them in this card and don''t let Ais see the card, alright?" Asked Aidan as he gave him a spare card and the money to pay for those six items he just ordered.


    Since Ais had taken the time to prepare a schedule for their day, he at least wanted to make it memorable and have a picnic on top of the defensive wall. He already had a table and two chairs stored in his storage card, and he was confident she would love their supper. After all, while it was pretty basic, the sandwiches from the Hostess of Fertility were delicious.


    "Oh, I see, nya~." Answered the one who took his order as she showed a knowing smile and went to add to the order while Aidan went back and sat in front of Ais, who immediately smiled.


    "So, are you excited for the MonsterFilia?" Asked Aidan as he looked closely at Ais, who seemed to have a good time.


    "Yes! I can''t wait to find which monster they brought to the surface and how they will tame those monsters. I heard that one year they brought out an infant dragon from the twelfth floor, and the tamer almost died because he wasn''t strong enough to tame it. In the end, they had to kill the dragon since that tamer was in danger." Explained to the girl as she continued to relay the facts she had heard from the civilians during the morning.


    "Oh, now, I really can''t wait for the MonsterFilia." Answered Aidan as his expectations for the show slowly increased.


    As they were about to continue talking, the waitress came by and gave them their plates of food and drinks as she slid the inventory card to Aidan secretly before winking at him with a sly smile and leaving them once again.


    "Hum, we really should come here more often." Said the golden-eyed girl as she took one bite after another of the food.


    "Yes, the taste here is great. I can understand why this restaurant is Loki''s favourite." Said Aidan as he also started to get engrossed in his food.

 Chapter 37 - Ch.37 MonsterFilia

    "I AM GANESHA! Welcome to the MonsterFilia!" Shouted the masked man from the commenter seat. "Today, you will all have the chance to see the deadly monster of the dungeon and witness them being tamed! I welcome the first participant and the Silverback to be tamed! Once again, I AM GANESHA, and I wish you a great day!" He continued the god as he showed countless poses to the audience.


    "Yeahhhhhh!!!" Shouted the audience as they all started to get hyped by the god of the masses.


    ---


    "I really can''t wait to see the show. Maybe a monster will rampage, and the adventurers will have to kill it off again." Said Ais as she showed more enthusiasm for the killing of a monster than the process of taming one.


    "You know the show is about taming monsters, right?" Commented Aidan as he gave a funny look at Ais''s wish.


    "I know, but it would be entertaining to watch, and a good monster is a dead monster anyway." She said as she crossed her arms and turned her head away in a mock pout while she closed the distance between their bodies.


    "You know, this show just gave me a good idea. What if I were to create a card to capture or tame monsters?" Asked Aidan as he showed a thoughtful look on his face.


    "What''s the point? With the amount of mana you would have to spend on that card, you might as well kill it to receive the excelia. Besides, a good monster is a dead monster." She emphasized once again as she loathed the monsters as one captured her mother.


    "Yeah, you''re right. Those monsters wouldn''t be very useful. Besides, I don''t think I''m that interested in taming monsters. My cards can probably do the same job, if not better. Well, I''ll try to create it, and if it''s too hard, I''ll give it to Loki. I''m sure she can find a use for it anyway." Finished Aidan as he gave it no extra thought and turned back towards the show as the Silverback hit the ground with his fist, creating a pit in the floor with the exclamation of the crowd.


    "Hum, the tamer almost died there." She noticed as she looked closely at the tamer, who had sweat trickle down his face due to nervousness.


    "Yeah, maybe the adventurers will fulfill your wish and kill the monster. However, we''re pretty lucky to gain seats this close to the stage, or we wouldn''t see much." Commented back Aidan as he saw the adventurers nearby tense up, ready to go and kill the monster at the slightest sign of danger for the tamer.


    "Yeah, we''re lucky." Nodded Ais as she took a look at the monster. "Look, the Silverback seems to be slowing down. It seems that he somehow managed to tame it through the whipping." She continued as the monster slowed down even more and eventually stopped moving as the tamer came closer and rode on its shoulder.


    "Hum, the process seems weird. One moment the monster wanted to kill the tamer; the next, he stopped moving and allows him to ride it. Well, whatever, I''m not that interested in taming anyway." Said Aidan as he looked at the next tamer who appeared on the stage with an orc.


    ---


    "It was pretty entertaining. However, I still prefer to kill the monsters." Said Ais as Aidan agreed with her opinion wholeheartedly.


    "We should be able to go back to the dungeon either tomorrow or in two days. This time, we should make our goal to reach at least ''A'' in all of our parameters even if it takes us a couple of months." Said the boy as he brought the girl towards their last destination of the day, the city''s defensive wall that wasn''t very far from the stadium.


    On the city walls, they sat together on the chairs that Aidan brought with his card. The sun started setting as an orange glow appeared on the horizon, and the noise in the city gradually disappeared. "Hey Aidan, you won''t regret it, right?" She asked as she stared directly into his eyes.


    With a small laugh, he stared back at her and with a smile, he answered her: "I''m sure. Now whether you want to or not, you''re stuck with me. As for that dragon, we can''t become the strongest if we can''t kill it. So, don''t worry about a thing; we''ll become the strongest, kill that dragon and rescue your mother." He said out loud as he pulled Ais into a tight hug.


    "From now on, don''t question me again about this, alright?" Asked Aidan as he looked directly into Ais''s eyes as he loosened his hug to see her face.


    "Hum." She nodded as she came closer and put her head on his shoulder with a smile. ''I was right. He is perfect.'' She thought for a moment before Aidan pulled back from the hug.


    "Let''s have supper." He said with a grin as he took out a table and the sandwiches to eat together as they sat next to each other, looking at the sunset from the top of the defensive walls.


    ---


    "Aidan." Said Riveria as she walked out of the mansion''s gate. "I was looking for you. Loki summoned you."


    "Hum, alright, let''s go." He answered as Ais separated and went back to the room in advance.


    "So, how was your day?" Asked the elf as they were walking to the third floor of the manor.


    "It was pretty fun. We went to the stalls this morning, and we went to the defensive walls after the spectacle." Explained to the boy as he looked up to the elf before noticing her ears and remembering his previous question.


    "Hey, Riveria, can you crouch down a little?" Asked the silver-haired boy as he looked straight at her ears.


    "Hum? Sure, why?" She distractedly asked as she crouched down a bit next to Aidan.


    "I wanted to know how your ears are different from mine." He answered with a serious face as he brought his hands up to her ears and started to feel the pointed tip of her long ears.


    "Hum, apart from being a bit longer and their pointed tip, there isn''t much difference, huh." Exclaimed Aidan as he nodded to himself.


    "Ummm." Moaned the elf as her face went bright red while glaring at the young boy next to her. As she wanted to start criticizing him, however, a concerned voice peered through.


    "Hum, Riveria? Are you alright? Your face is completely red, and that sound you made, could it be you are sick? You should go back to sleep." He said in concern as he saw her turning even redder. "Let''s go see Loki-sama. I''m sure she can help you!" He added as he pulled the elf towards the goddess''s room.


    "No, I''m alright. You go alone to see Loki. I''ll go back to sleep first." Answered the tall green-haired elf as she didn''t give a chance for Aidan to answer as she immediately left with her highest speed.


    "Ah, okay." He whispered as he shook his shoulders and continued walking towards the room of the goddess.


    With a knock, Aidan pushed the door open and entered after he heard a "Yes." From the other side of the door.


    "Hello, Loki-sama, I heard from Riveria that you wanted to see me?" He asked politely.


    "Yes, come sit here, Aidan." She said as he went to sit on the sofa he usually sat on. "Today, we started the sales of the various cards you produced. I can say that you made an extravagant amount. Most of the adventurers bought the map card, and due to having to pay to unlock each floor they could explore, you made an exceptionally high amount of money.


    For example, level two adventurers all hope to be able to go down to the eighteenth floor, and due to this, they mostly unlocked the card to the 18th. It means that they had to spend 153,000 Valis to unlock from floor 1 to floor 17 since 18 is a safe zone. And that is only concerning level two adventurers.


    Moreover, along with the other cards you put to sale, after taking the 10% cut out of the total profit, you made a total of a bit more than two hundred million." She finished with a smile.


    "Hum, isn''t two hundred million a bit too much?" He asked with a frown as he felt there was a problem.


    "No, there are easily around ten thousand levels two adventurers without mentioning higher levels. You would only have to sell 1308 map cards to the seventeenth floor to make that amount. However, you didn''t only sell the map card but also the storage along with the insurance along with a few weak defensive and support cards. So, no, it isn''t much at all, and on the contrary, it is pretty low for the moment since most adventurers haven''t been made aware of the cards or don''t believe it yet." She explained with a happy smile on her face.


    "I''ve had members deposit your money in the bank since I doubt you want to keep all that money in your storage card. Here''s your bank card." She explained as she gave him his bank card. "Other than this, the goddess of smithing, Hephaestus, wanted to take a look at your sword. She heard from the captain of her familia that your sword had different forging methods and was interested in studying your sword. So, I arranged a meeting with her tomorrow morning if it is okay with you. Don''t worry. I''ll get as many benefits from her as possible." She finished with a laugh as she offered her help to Aidan.


    "I see. At what time is the meeting?" He asked his tomboyish goddess.


    "It will be tomorrow morning at 9." She grinned as she already started to think about what to extort from her fellow goddess.

 Chapter 38 - Ch.38 Meeting

    It''s a but late, had some personal things to do and family to visit due to an unfortunate event... Here''s your chapter, enjoy. PS: it hasn''t been edited, not had the time sorry.


    --------


    "Hephaestus, this is Aidan. Aidan, this is Hephaestus." Said Loki as the three were seated in the garden behind the manor.


    "Nice to meet you." Nodded Aidan as he stretched out his hand as a greeting.


    "Nice to meet you. I''ve heard a lot about you from Tsubaki." Smiled the goddess as she immediately brought her attention to the sword Aidan left on the table.


    As the goddess of forging was about to take it to start examining it properly, Loki smirked as she knew that she had a significant advantage in this meeting. Taking the sword before the goddess could begin studying it, Loki showed an innocent smile as the other goddess looked irritated.


    Having the object of her obsession in front of her eyes and not exploring its mysteries was great torture due to her divinity which enforced a compulsion constantly to improve herself in the art of blacksmithing.


    "Before you start examining the sword, we need to talk about the conditions and the benefits we can get." Said the trickster goddess as she lost her playful attitude and her smile as she turned severe with a severe look on her face. "So, what can you offer in exchange for the chance of studying a sword which surpasses even your capabilities as a blacksmith?" Asked the goddess as she offered the chance to Hephaestus to give her terms.


    With a detailed look on her face, which she didn''t bother to hide, the unnerved goddess started giving her terms. "In exchange for lending me the sword for two weeks so that I can study it, I can give you money or a set of equipment for free." Offered the goddess with a helpless look on her face. She was aware that at his level, the equipment he used was relatively cheap. As such, she offered money in addition to a set of equipment.


    Hearing the terms requested and offered stunned Loki. She had never thought that the goddess who closed herself in her forge for dozens of years at a time in heaven was such a lousy businessman.


    "Well, before you get your hopes up, there''s no way I can accept you are taking advantage of my children like that." Said Loki as she shook her head in disbelief. "You are probably aware of the card business. Do you truly think Aidan requires any money? And if he wanted a set of equipment at his level, it wouldn''t cost anything more than one hundred thousand Valis. You''ll have to offer better." Continued the goddess as a smile slowly appeared on her face as she loved to haggle with other goddesses as such.


    "Then what is your request? I don''t have much, and I obviously can''t make a better sword than this by a large margin." Continued Hephaestus as she was aware that except for her strength as a blacksmith and the money she owned, she didn''t have much value in anything else.


    "With this sword, you would be able to up your craft by at least another level, right?" Asked the tomboyish red-hair as she held the sword in her hands.


    "Yes." Admitted the eye-patch-wearing goddess.


    "Well, in that case, this sword is truly invaluable, and you would do anything to research it, right?" Continued the minor goddess as a dangerous smile appeared on her face.


    "Hum." Nodded the second party.


    "In that case, how about you become the exclusive blacksmith of Aidan and Ais? You will forge the best equipment for the two of them whenever they need a new set for free." Finalized Loki as she grinned dangerously at the other goddess as if she was eyeing a piece of meat.


    "Who is this, Ais, and while it is much if it can allow me to strengthen my technique, it is a good deal." Nodded the blacksmith as she was aware that while she took advantage of her, at least she would become better. "However, I can''t give the best. My best work would take dozens of years to complete. I can get at most guarantee that the equipment will be as good as the best equipment on the market for their respective rank." Explained to the goddess as she didn''t want to spend years making equipment for a few adventurers who could die at any time.


    "Ais is Aidan''s teammate in the dungeon, and it is good enough. Just sign this contract, and we are good." Said the more petite goddess as she showed a contract with the terms already written.


    "I was dancing in your palm the entire time, huh." She sighed the taller goddess as she signed the contract offered.


    "Finally, there was a gift I had Aidan prepare for you as an incentive to accept the terms. However, it seems that it isn''t necessary anymore. Such a pity; Aidan worked a lot last night on it." She sighed the goddess fakely as she dried an imaginative tear.


    "Gift?" Asked the other goddess, visibly interested. She wasn''t a random nobody. She was the goddess of blacksmithing, she was the goddess of one of the wealthiest familia in Orario, she could craft the best gear, and she had no other visible interest other than this. As such, a gift was prepared by Aidan, the owner of the magical cards, and at the demand of Loki, she couldn''t help being interested. It was evident that the only thing worthy of a gift at her level which the boy could only prepare had to be a magical card.


    "Yes, a gift. We prepared it to have you accept the terms, but since it''s not needed anymore, I guess there''s no point in giving it to you. However, it would be a waste to throw it away. I guess we could still give it to her. Right, Aidan?" Asked the prankster goddess as she turned to Aidan.


    She wanted to help Aidan create a good relationship with the forging goddess since she would be the one taking care of their gear in the future.


    "Yes. It''s not as if I can make use of it somewhere else anyway." Answered Aidan as he had created the card according to his goddess''s instruction without understanding the reason. However, he could now understand as he saw the eye patch the goddess was wearing.


    ''It''s obvious that Hephaestus should be missing an eye. If not, Loki wouldn''t have asked me to create an illusion card to simulate an eye. Even more when the eye colour she wanted is the same as her eye.'' Thought Aidan to himself as he felt smug to understand the big secret behind the eyepatch. She was missing an eye.


    "Alright, then give it to her and explain the functions." Said the prankster goddess as she motioned towards the other one.


    "Well, here it is." Said Aidan as he gave the card with the word ''Illusion'' written on it. "This specific card has the effect to create an illusion of an eye. You don''t have to wear your eye patch anymore, and people will see a normal eye with the card. You have to keep the card on yourself, and it will automatically work. With this, you don''t have to worry about being seen with only a single eye." Nodded Aidan as he once again felt proud of himself for having discovered the truth behind the eyepatch.


    At the same time, Loki, on the side, had a great smile on her face at the beginning of the explanation but couldn''t help but bang her head on the table at the end of the description. She hadn''t told him the reason for creating the illusion, thinking he would figure it out himself. However, now that she thought about it, how could an average person think she had a cursed eye instead of simply missing one. As such, seeing that Aidan was entirely off track, she continued for him.


    "Your eye''s curse only activates when other''s look directly at your eye. They would be drawn in by the curse, and they would instinctively feel fear due to the curse. As such, I figured, if people don''t look directly at your eye but at an illusion of your eye, wouldn''t the curse be ineffective since they don''t see the curse but only an illusion? In the end, as long as you have the card, even you won''t see your curse and only see a perfectly normal eye." Explained the goddess of trickery as Aidan immediately understood that he was going in a completely random direction in his explanation. "Well, try it." Continued the goddess as she was interested in seeing whether the card magic was strong enough to hide the curse or not.


    With a face full of hope, the goddess took the card and held it in her hand as she gave a quick look at Aidan, who was interestingly staring at her face and took off her eyepatch.


    Giving a quick look at Aidan, who didn''t show any reactions, she looked hopefully at Loki, who gave her a mirror as she looked at the reflection of her entire face, something she hadn''t done since forever.


    With tears overflowing in her eyes as her happiness overtook her, she quickly got up and went to hug Aidan, who was stunned by the development but hugged back the crying goddess.


    However, unknowingly to Aidan, who the blacksmithing goddess was hugging, Ais, who had been searching for him, had just arrived at the garden and saw the scene from afar. She stayed silent for a moment before retreating a few steps and leaving the park with tears flowing from her eyes, not aware of the reason.

 Chapter 39 - Ch.39 Preparing For The Dungeon, Three Months Later

    Two weeks after the meeting with Hephaestus, Aidan and Ais, who had gone into the dungeon once every two days, received their newly made equipment.


    The equipment included a pair of boots, shin guards, light armour for the torso, bracers and gauntlets to protect their forearm and hands. Finally, Ais received an additional sword along with a newly built sheat.


    The day Aidan left the meeting with Hephaestus, he had found Ais, who was pouting while turning his back on him. Finally, after a bit of food and talking, she went back to her usual self, which was pretty much not showing emotions on her face.


    As such, during the two weeks that followed, they continued to train in the dungeon and the other day, they trained with Finn and Riveria, increasing their fighting experience not only against monsters but against non-monster enemies.


    Now was finally the time to fight and increase their stats explosively. For the next few months, they would spend all their time in the dungeon, even going as far as living in it with the help of the cards to save time.


    "Alright, we''re leaving. When we see you, we''ll be at the top of level one." Said Aidan as he waved at Finn, who he still had never worked as a porter, not that it was essential anymore with the storage cards.


    "Be careful and remember to always put an alarm around your dome card to alert you when you sleep. Also, we''re expecting a call with your card at least once every week." Said Riveria as she looked at the two of them in concern. After all, it wasn''t every day that two children would go and live in the dungeon for an extended amount of time.


    "Mmm." Nodded Ais as she turned around and walked beside Aidan, who was making his way straight to the dungeon.


    "Alright. Check over your supplies to be sure that you have everything. We''ll be fighting on the tenth to the twelfth floor for a long time, and we can''t be missing anything." Said the boy as he looked over the items in his card.


    ''Alright. I have 100 potions, 200 magic potions, 100 high potions, 50 dual potions, 500 morbul which can keep the monsters away, 200 flashbangs and smoke balls respectively, 100 high magic potions, a tent and a spare one just in case, enough food and drinking water for two years, multiple changes of clothes and living necessities such as toothpaste, toothbrush, tables, chairs and beds. Finally, I have a bath and enough water to take a bath every day for six months. With this, I should have everything.''


    ''I don''t have to worry about my equipment. My sword can''t be broken or even chipped against such opponents, the same for my equipment which can supposedly block a strike from the Goliath, although the pushing force would kill me instead.'' He thought as he verified every item he had with him.


    "I''m good." Said Ais as she looked at Aidan, who also nodded his head.


    "Alright, well then, let''s head into the dungeon, a place where we will be living for a long while." He answered as a grin appeared on his face. This time, his goal in this trip was to full his stats to 999 before going back to the surface for Finn to accompany him to kill level two monsters until he reached 1500 in each parameter and could level up.


    "Yes, let''s." Nodded Ais as she focused her eyes in front of her with a thought constantly resurfacing in her mind. ''Can I also breakthrough 999 and get more parameters in each level? If I don''t, wouldn''t I be the one holding him back in the future?''


    With a determined sparkle in her eyes, she walked next to Aidan, ready to give it her all to become stronger than everyone.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Three months later, the twelfth floor of the dungeon.


    "Ais! It''s time to go back." Said Aidan as he expertly collected their remaining items in their camp. Their previous stock of potions and consumable items was more than 80% spent, and they had almost nothing remaining. It was easy to see that in those three months, they had countless fights and countless injuries that went along with it.


    "Right, it''s been a while since we''ve been out of the dungeon. I can''t wait to see our updated status." She said as she gave a grin at Aidan, who looked at her and sighed.


    "Where did my cute and quiet Ais go during these three months?" He asked playfully as he pulled her cheeks while staring into her eyes.


    With a pout on her face, Aidan smirked before turning back to collect all of their equipment.


    After three months of living together in the dungeon, it was easy to see that the two children had become great friends and knew each other exceptionally well.


    "Alright, the old hag has been nagging us to come back for almost a month now. I''m afraid that if we don''t leave now, she''ll come and get us." Said the golden-haired girl as she shook her head.


    "You know, one day, Riveria will hear you call her that, and you will suffer." Said Aidan as he looked at her nonchalant expression.


    "As long as she doesn''t hear, it''s fine." Answered the girl as she finished collecting the items. "Alright, we''re leaving." She added as she gave a cursory glance to be sure they didn''t forget anything.


    With a nod of his head, Aidan took out the map card, which was now wholly mapped from the first floor to the eighteenth floor since some familia had worked to have all those floors mapped completely for their members.


    With a quick look to the map, the two golden-eyed youngsters sprinted towards the stairs leading up from the dungeon, expertly avoiding the monsters. After three months of fighting and living amongst the monsters and with the help of the scanning card, they could easily evade the enemies to make their way back up without any delay due to fighting.


    "Do you think this will be enough to raise our parameters to the maximum? It normally takes years for adventurers to level up, but they don''t spend all their time in the dungeon as we did." Asked Ais as they ran up the stairs towards the eleventh floor.


    "Well, considering we fought monsters on the twelfth floor while having most of our stats in the D category, relying on our equipment and swordsmanship, we should be getting quite a lot of excelia. After all, every time we kill a monster on that floor, we surpass our level greatly, which should give us more excelia. Well, I don''t know how exactly it works, but we should have maxed our parameters. In my case, due to the infant dragon, we killed two days ago, maybe I already have parameters surpassing 999." Answered Aidan with a curious look on his face.


    The fight against the infant dragon had taken the two of them more than ten minutes of constant fighting while also killing the nearby monsters who heard of the battle. With their teamwork, their equipment and the card magic, they barely managed to win the fight and go back to the camp that the cards protected. It was indeed an arduous and dangerous fight since even top level one adventurers didn''t want to fight this monster due to its strength.


    He knew that by killing monsters and gaining excelia, one''s status would increase invisibly. It meant that his status would upgrade without showing on his back, and there wouldn''t be any improvement until Loki did her weird ceremony to make his invisible status become his actual status. However, it also meant that if his ''invisible'' status had already reached 999, then killing the infant dragon would make his parameters surpass the maximum when they updated their status.


    "Well, we''ll see." Nodded Ais as she was both happy and jealous of Aidan, who could surpass the known maximum. Happy since he could become a lot stronger, jealous because she couldn''t do the same.


    "Let''s speed up." Said the boy as he noticed the expression on Ais''s face and knew what she thought. Unfortunately, no matter how much he wanted to help her, there wasn''t anything he could do to have her surpass the maximum.


    "Yeah." Answered the girl as she took the lead and started killing every monsters they encountered.

 Chapter 40 - Ch.40 Reaching The Surface, Update In Status

    Author note:


    First, it''s a bit late, and I merely used Grammarly to correct nothing else, I''m coming back from funerals, and I honestly have no current interest in writing all of this, but I did, so your welcome.


    I''m not going to make it hard for Ais to ''breakthrough'' in her stats, but she ain''t going to be as strong as Aidan, no worries.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Reaching the surface three hours later, the two immediately took a deep breath as they immediately felt refreshed. It wasn''t usually noticeable, but the air between the dungeon and the surface was quite different.


    The air on the surface felt more clear and pure, while in the dungeon, it felt staler and wasn''t as refreshing.


    With a shake of his head to stop thinking about such useless things, Aidan looked up and saw that the sun was directly above their heads.


    Not wasting any time, the two left the tower of Babel and went back directly to the Twilight manor of the Loki familia.


    "Finally, we''re back." Said Aidan as he looked at Ais, who had a calm and expressionless look on her face. ''Hum, is she showing this face to everyone except those close to her?'' He thought as he shrugged his shoulders.


    "Let''s go and see Loki." Said Ais to her partner as the two of them walked directly inside the manor.


    "Aidan, Ais." Shouted the green-haired elf from afar. "You were supposed to come back to the surface a week ago." She said as she came closer to the two.


    "Hello, Riveria." Answered Aidan before he continued to talk. "We were indeed planning on coming back a week ago, but some things happened which slowed down our progress." He explained with a smile as he referred to the infant dragon that they had fought not too long ago.


    "What happened?" She asked with curiosity and concern.


    "An infant dragon appeared on the twelfth floor, and we fought against it since it was close to us. Moreover, I wanted to see if we could beat a level two monster." He explained with a smile as he remembered their fight. "Of course, we had everything necessary to escape if needed." He added as he saw her face grow dark.


    "Alright, follow me, you two. Loki is already waiting for you in her lounge." She said as she sighed at their attitude. It wasn''t typical for level one to kill a level two monster, especially when their stats weren''t at the top of the level yet. "Did the three months in the dungeon help you own your skills at least?" Asked the elf as they walked up the stairs.


    "Yes. Both of our swordsmanships are stronger, and we can now use my cards fluently during a fight. While our fight against the infant dragon took us half an hour, the fight against other monsters such as the hard armoured or the silverback is now pretty easy." He explained as Ais supported his claims by nodding her head.


    "I see, that''s a good thing." She nodded with a smile, relieved that their long trip in the dungeon was rewarding. "Tomorrow, come to the training ground with Finn. We''ll test your new strength." She said as she stopped at the room door and sent them him without saying goodbye before closing the doors behind them.


    "Hello, Aidan, Ais." Said Loki as she had her ever playful smile on her face with her hands holding her head in a very profound manner.


    "Hello, Loki." They both answered as they came closer and sat on the sofa facing their goddess.


    "So, from what I heard of your conversation with Riveria, you both killed a lot of monsters on the twelfth floor and an infant dragon? That''s pretty impressive." She said with her left eyebrow stretched up.


    "Yes, the first month was hard since we had difficulty killing monsters, the second month was easier since we learned how to kill them, and we improved our swordsmanship, and in the third month, it was pretty easy as we slaughtered them for excelia." Explained Aidan as he gave a review of their three months in the dungeon.


    "Alright. I''m pretty sure I know what you both want. But, before that, how about the two of you join me for a meal at the Hostess of Fertility this evening?" She asked with a smirk. "I heard that Freya was going to dine there, and I wanted to flaunt the two of you to her." She continued with a sadistic glint in her eye.


    "Sure, we''ll be there." Nodded Aidan as he was ready to accept anything for a simple update in his status.


    "Perfect!" She clapped her hand as she got up and pointed to the sofa she was previously sitting on. "Ais, come here and show me your back." She said to the slightly fidgeting girl who didn''t wait to be told a second time as she bolted and lay down on the sofa, raising her shirt in the process.


    "Alright. Let me see the result of your training. I''m expecting at least an S rank parameter in all of your stats. Your work in killing monsters, in addition to the twin star title, should make you reach the top of your level already." She said as she made a circle on Ais''s back with a drop of blood falling from her finger.


    "Great, hahahahaha." Said Loki out loud as she started laughing loudly after seeing her newly updated status.


    With interest, Aidan came closer and looked at Ais''s back and only saw weird hieroglyphs. "Loki-sama. Can you teach me this language at some point?" He asked as he was interested in this language that was written on almost all adventurer''s backs.


    "Hum? Sure, I don''t mind. With your high-human skill, you learn everything faster, so it shouldn''t take too long." She nodded and agreed without caring about leaking the language of the gods to Aidan.


    "Alright, here''s your status." She said as she turned her attention to Ais and gave her the piece of paper.


    [Name: Ais Wallenstein


    Level: 1+


    Strength: D-505 -> SS-1009


    Endurance: E-480 -> S-970


    Dexterity: D-520 -> SS-1014


    Agility: E-497 -> S-997


    Magic: D-527 -> SS-1020


    Skill: Avenger, Twin star, Half-Spirit


    Magic: Wind slash


    Development ability: None]


    With a quick look at the paper, Ais''s facade immediately collapsed as a bright smile appeared on her face as a weight she didn''t know she had left her shoulders.


    "Loki-sama, what is the ''Half-spirit'' skill and what''s the plus next to my level?" She asked with trepidation and happiness.


    "Hum, according to what is written, the skill allows you to increase your parameters to SSS-1250. It''s surprising. Over the years I''ve been in this world, I''ve heard about five half-spirit, not to mention spirits themselves which I haven''t heard of at all. However, amongst those five you included, only two others were adventurers. One died, and the other is currently a level three adventurer who left Orario. However, that man didn''t have the skill. It would seem that you can only receive this skill when you reach the maximum and fight a monster above your level." Explained Loki as she was delighted to have those two in her familia. "As for the plus next to the level, it means that you can level up whenever you want." She explained with a smile.


    "Your turn now, Aidan." She said as Ais moved from her position and Aidan showed her back to the goddess. "Let me see how awesome you are." She continued as she did the same ritual on his back that she did, Ais.


    "Well, I was right. You are awesome." She smirked a bit, showing his paper to Aidan, who took it, knowing approximately where his stats would be.


    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 1+


    Strength: D-574 -> SS-1056


    Endurance: D-596 -> SS-1079


    Dexterity: E-499 -> SS-1056


    Agility: D-545 -> SS-1087


    Magic: C-689 -> SS-1137


    Skill: High human, Twin star


    Magic: Card magic, Telekinesis


    Development ability: None]


    "It seems that you were the one who killed the infant dragon, huh." Said Loki in a giddy voice, still happy about recruiting those two.


    "Yes, I was." Answered Aidan with a calm smile. He was already expecting those stats, so he could keep a calm facade, although he was excited deep inside. "Can you tell me about the Telekinesis magic?" He asked as he saw the new magic which appeared on his magic section.


    "Yes, telekinesis is the ability to move objects at a distance by mental power. So, for example, you can make your card move without actually touching them, which should save you time in the dungeon. It is rare magic, as far as I know. I haven''t heard of anyone else having it, but I know it appeared a few hundred years ago." Explained Loki as she had once looked over the documents of ancient adventurers.


    "I see. Well, I guess I''ll need to train with Riveria again." Said Aidan with a wry smile.

 Chapter 41 - Ch.41 Training And Melen

    The following day, after a meal with Loki at the Hostess of Fertility, Aidan and Ais spent some time with Riveria and Finn. They examined their improvement in fighting while helping them adjust to their new speed and strength after the update.


    "Well, the two of you have made great progress in swordsmanship and Aidan, you''ll have to train a lot more on your telekinesis. There is a lot of development potential in that magic." Explained their two teachers.


    "Yes." Replied the two youngsters as Aidan asked the question that had been on his lips for a while. "When will you take us to the thirteenth floor of the dungeon to kill level two monsters?"


    With a frown on his face as he thought about the question for a while, he gave a glance at Riveria, who nodded her head. "Well, I''ll bring the two of you to the dungeon after our trip to Melen."


    "Our trip to Melen?" Asked Aidan, utterly confused as Ais slightly tilted her head, equally confused.


    "It''s a yearly trip for most of the familia members. It will take us an hour to reach Melen. We will stay for two days and come back afterwards. It''s a trip organized by Loki to have us relax after we spend time fighting with our lives on the line. Although, we all know that it''s just because Loki wants to see us in a swimsuit." Explained Riveria while muttering the last sentence loud enough for everyone to hear.


    "So, what are we going to do there?" He continued Aidan as he wasn''t very willing to stop going to the dungeon and increase his strength to go and relax for a few days.


    "We''ll be spending the time at the beach, and you''ll get to know the other members of the familia. I''ll also teach you two how to swim while we''re at it since it can be useful in the dungeon." She explained as the two golden-eyed youngsters nodded their heads eagerly since they had heard about the water city on the 25th to 27th floor of the dungeon.


    "When is the trip, and what do we need to bring?" Asked the young boy as his interest in the trip was instantly increased after hearing about learning to swim.


    "We''re leaving in two days, early in the morning. You only need to bring a swimsuit, money along with snacks and drinks if you want to read while going to Melen. Of course, there are swimsuit shops in Melen, so it''s fine to buy one there." Explained the elf as she was better suited at explaining these things than the pallum.


    With a nod of their heads, Ais immediately grabbed Aidan''s hand and brought him out of the training field, with only a single goal in her mind. ''Let''s go shopping for some swimsuits.''


    ¡ª¡ª


    Two days later, Aidan was woken up early in the morning by Ais as she was excited at the prospect of learning to swim from Riveria and to visit another city.


    Still sleepy, Aidan prepared and followed the girl as she skipped to the door but regained a calm and indifferent look the moment she opened it.


    With a shake of his head and a smile tucking at the corner of his lips, Aidan didn''t say anything and followed the girl who seemed to know where she was going.


    "Ah! Good morning Ais-chan, Aidan." Said Loki as she skipped next to them with a big smile on her face as she approached them.


    "Good morning." Answered the two of them as Aidan gave glances to all the other people assembled in the square in front of the Loki familia manor.


    "So, when do we leave?" He asked as he wasn''t aware of the exact time of departure.


    "We''ll be leaving in half an hour. You can relax a bit or talk with the other members of the familia. I''m sure you''ll learn about the dungeon and their experience, which could be useful for you two since you''ll soon start fighting level two monsters." Explained Loki as she waved goodbye at them and approached their elven teacher, who was coordinating everyone.


    ---


    "Alright, let''s go!" Shouted Loki as she sat in a carriage which would go to Melen.


    Melen wasn''t very far from Orario, only three kilometres away from the dungeon city. Melen, the fishing city, was connected to Lolog lake, which was linked to the sea. Although in the past it was a hazardous location due to the lake being linked to the dungeon, it was now pretty safe since the carcass of the Leviathan blocked the route between Lolog lake and the 27th floor of the dungeon.


    "When we arrive, let''s go directly to the beach. I''ve never been there before." Said Ais in a small voice as she was sitting next to Aidan in a carriage.


    "Sure." He nodded as he was also pretty much interested in the beach since he had never gone there either. "Hum, we''re already almost there." He continued as he took a look outside of the carriage and looked at the walls surrounding the small fishing city.


    As if seeing Aidan''s dismay, an adventurer next to him started explaining the walls'' uses. "In the past, there were a lot of monsters walking on the continent. Due to this, it was necessary to build walls to protect the city. Even today, some monsters still live on the continent, although they are mostly level one, there are still a few monsters who are higher levelled, and the walls can protect the city."


    "This is the difference between Melen and Orario. Melen''s walls are to protect the residents of the city, while Orario''s walls are to keep the monsters inside the city and protect the continent. After all, if the monsters escaped from the dungeon, we will at least have the walls to contain the monsters for as long as possible." Explained the man in his thirties as he gesticulated with his arms to make his point.


    "I see. I thought monsters were mostly located in the dungeon and that the monsters outside were weak enough that we wouldn''t need walls." Nodded Aidan as he listened to the man explaining the origin of the walls. He was also shocked that the walls of Orario weren''t to protect from outside monsters but to contain the monsters instead, which was quite dangerous for the civilians living in Orario.


    Seeing the look on Aidan''s face, the man immediately understood what he was thinking. "You don''t have to worry, monsters haven''t escaped from the dungeon ever since the three great calamities emerged, and Orario is safe." He explained with a smile as both youngsters in front of him nodded their heads.


    "Alright, everyone can get off from the carriages. We''ve arrived at the gates." Shouted someone from the front of the line of carriages.


    "Well, it was nice meeting you." Said Aidan before leaving the carriage with Ais and moving in between the other adventurers of the familia to reach the front of the line.


    As they reached the front, they saw Loki climbing on top of a carriage as everyone stopped talking between each other and looked at their goddess in front of them with slight reverence.


    "We will be living in this city for the next two days. You''ve all been made aware of the schedule. I only have a single rule, don''t make trouble." She said before getting down from the carriage and motioning to Aidan and Ais to follow her as they didn''t know what to do.


    "Alright, you two, you''ll be living in the same inn as me. I want to keep a watch over you two." She explained as she walked inside the city with the two golden-eyed partners following her. "We''ll go and register at the inn, and then we''ll go to a small part of the beach, which I''ve temporarily bought for a private beach for the familia." She continued as Riveria, Gareth and Finn soon joined them.


    "Later, when we go to the beach, I''ll teach you how to swim." Explained Riveria as they walked through the city in relative silence.


    "Understood." Nodded Aidan as he looked at the city with wonder. Although the town was close to Orario, the infrastructure was completely different. It was made as if to resist the strong winds coming from the lake. Moreover, the city was a lot poorer than Orario as the streets were only made of stone on the public roads and the sub roads were still roads of dirt.


    "Well, I''m quite interested in our short vacation." Thought Aidan as he glimpsed at the city.

 Chapter 42 - Ch.42 Swimming, Ais’s Misfortune

    "Let''s go and to the beach." Said Aidan as he pulled Ais along with him. Neither of them had ever seen the sea, and they were both quite curious to see it.


    As they arrived at the beach, they could see the sand separating the land and the water. Looking at the lake, they saw water as far as they could see. "This is pretty huge, huh." Said Aidan in amazement.


    "Yes." Nodded Ais as she stood next to him, looking at the extent of water. "I really can''t wait to learn how to swim." She continued as she glanced at some of the members of the familia who were already swimming in the lake.


    "Yeah. Riveria should come soon." Nodded Aidan as they both went to a changing cabin of their respective gender to put on their swimsuit.


    The changing cabin was pretty average. It was only four walls made of wood and a wooden door to hide the people getting changed.


    Changing quickly and storing his clothes in his card, Aidan left the changing cabin to allow the others to use it while he went to get ice cream. He didn''t know how the ice cream shop owner managed to get the ice cream this cold when it was so hot outside. However, he was more than happy to buy two strawberries ice-cream cones.


    Sitting on the bench as Ais took her time to get changed, he waited for her, holding both cones as he looked at the water peacefully. He felt pretty relaxed as he saw the waves crash in a certain rhythm on the beach.


    With the scent of the seawater, the sounds of the waves crashing and the heat on his skin from the sun, he decidedly found one of his favourite places along with the peaceful abandoned church back in Orario.


    "So, do you like it?" Asked his elf teacher as she sat down on the bench next to him in her green bikini.


    "Yes, it''s pretty relaxing." Nodded Aidan as he glanced at Riveria before turning back to the beach.


    "So, where''s Ais?" She asked before continuing. "Forget it. Here she is." She pointed towards the changing cabins and Ais, who was running towards him in her pink swimsuit.


    As they watched the young girl running towards them, Aidan offered the ice cream that had already started to drip due to the heat.


    "Thank you." She said as she immediately took it and started to lick the drops of ice cream that were slowly flowing down the cone.


    "It''s fine." Nodded Aidan as he continued to lick his own before turning to Riveria. "Do you want one?" He asked as he would go and get her one if she wanted.


    "No, I''m not a fan of those products." She answered, shaking her head from side to side. "When you two are done with your cones, I will start your swimming training."


    With a nod of their heads, they increased the pace of eating their ice cream and three minutes later, they were done entirely with sticky hands due to some ice cream falling on them. "We''re ready." They said as they supported a grave face, knowing that it wouldn''t be as easy as it looked.


    "Alright, let''s go." She nodded as she brought the two of them towards the side of the beach. On the beachside was a small ravine that was deep directly on the side of the land. As such, it would allow Riveria to teach them while standing on the ground next to them.


    "So, what do we do?" Asked Aidan as he looked at the elven women with an inquiry.


    However, instead of an answer, the green-haired women directly pushed the two of them in the water, making them touch the bottom straight away. With eyes opened to their maximum, he stared at the far surface of the water and gave a strong push with his legs to reach back to the surface.


    With a big breath of air as he didn''t want to miss it again, he looked on his side and saw that Ais, just like him, had just resurfaced and pulled herself out of the water. "What was that for, old hag?" She shouted while staring at Riveria.


    "Oh? Old hag, huh?" Answered the elf as a dark look appeared on her face, and before any of the two youngsters could notice, she tied up a piece of metal to her waist, and the elf threw the metal in the water while pushing Ais in it.


    At the same time, she glared at Aidan. "You''d better help her swim, or she''ll drown." She said as she stood on the side of the water, showing no intention of helping them.


    With wide eyes, he once again descended to the bottom of the water with his limited skills and went to Ais as she was trying to move the block of metal.


    Approaching the girl, Aidan helped her hold the metal piece, and the two of them once again pushed from the bottom of the lake towards the top of the water, barely making it before starting kicking as fast as they could in the water to stay at the top.


    "Good, at least you weren''t stupid enough to store the adamantine in the card or use your telekinesis power, or I would have doubled the amount." Said their teacher as the two youngsters desperately forced their bodies to stay on top of the water as they held a considerable weight with desperation and regret written clearly on their faces.


    "Continue this way for the next ten minutes." She said as she sat down on the side of the ravine and started to explain to them how to swim while giving a glare at Ais, who had called her an old hag.


    Soon enough, the ten minutes were completed, and both Ais and Aidan were utterly exhausted as they found it a lot harder than just running around. "Alright, you can take off the weight." Said the elven women as Aidan rapidly used his telekinesis to hold the metal as they reached the side of the land and placed the metal on the side of the ravine filled with water.


    "Take two minutes to relax and go back in the water. You were lucky that your parameters are so high, or you''d have had a lot more problems swimming." She said as she counted the time and pushed them both back in. However, this time, they didn''t have as much difficulty staying the head out of the water. Surprisingly, forcing themselves to keep their head out of the water when they had to support metal was a great way of learning to swim.


    "Well, now that you can both stay the head out of the water without drowning, I''ll show you how to swim properly." She said as she slowly descended into the water and started to teach them.


    By evening, both youngsters could stay in the water without drowning and could move. While they wouldn''t compare with other more experienced people, they would survive if they ever fell into the water.


    "Well, it was a productive day." Said the executive of the familia as she glared at Ais once again for having called her an old hag. "Next time you call me that, I''m going to give you twice the weight, and Aidan won''t be allowed to help you." She threatened the girl who had already gotten a phobia of deep water.


    With a meek nod of the head, Ais stood close to Aidan as the three of them walked back towards the inn. Both girls had worn a shirt to hide their bikini top while they had their beach towel around their waist while Aidan merely had his beach towel around the shoulders.


    "Go and take a shower to get rid of all the sand." Said the elf as she handed them the key to a room. "Since the two of you have been living together for a while, Loki arranged for a single room for the two of you since there was little room in the inn. We''ll meet at the dining hall an hour later." She said before going on her way.


    "Let''s go." Said Aidan as Ais followed next to him with the key in her hand.


    "You know, you once told me that I would be in trouble for calling her an old hag. I think I''ve received it." Mumbled Ais towards Aidan as he showed a slight smile as he remembered when he said that.


    "Well, the worse has happened, and we''ve both learned how to swim, so it''s a plus." Answered Aidan to her mumbling. "Now, let''s just make sure not to be late later. I don''t want to see an angry Riveria in the short term."

 Chapter 43 - Beach Time - Slave Traffickers

    The following day, early in the morning, Ais and Aidan left the inn to go and enjoy the beach. The previous day, they had been forced to learn how to swim, and they were ready to put it into practice, although, for Ais, only in the area where her feet could touch the bottom.


    Arriving at six in the morning, there wasn''t anyone at the private beach since most of the other familia members had drunk excessively and probably wouldn''t be up for a few more hours.


    With the sun barely lighting up the lake in front of them, the two immediately went for a swim and soaked in the water.


    ¡ª-


    After a few hours of staying in the water and spending time playing in breaking the waves or diving in them, the two left the water just as people arrived, and the beach started to get lively.


    "Well, I''m going to go and explore the city. Do you want to come?" Asked Aidan as he wore a t-shirt and stayed in his swimsuit.


    "I''ll come with you. We''ve already gone to the lake, and I don''t know anyone else here." Replied Ais as she wore a dress on her swimsuit to hide her bikini.


    "Alright then, let''s go and visit. Maybe we''ll find something interesting." Continued the boy as they both left the beach and started to roam across the small city.


    Taking a breakfast from one of the stalls selling Ais''s favourite food, they explored the city.


    After a few hours of travelling and seeing about half of the city, both Ais and Aidan stiffened as they felt someone with bad intentions follow them. With a quick look at Ais, Aidan started to walk at the same pace towards the more populated areas of the city. After all, he did not know the strength of the tracker, and he had no intention of fighting it if he could avoid it.


    ¡ª-


    (Trafficker POV)


    ''Good! Those kids should sell for a lot. I''ve never seen them in the city. They should be travellers. That''s even better since a traveller disappearing won''t raise many alarms. The pretty boy should sell well with noble ladies. They always want new toys, and that boy should do. As for that girl, she''ll sell well as a sex slave.'' Thought the scarred man as he licked his lips greedily and followed the two of them from a distance. ''By capturing those two, I should be promoted in the cartel.'' Suddenly thought the man as his eyes lit up in anticipation.


    ''Hum? Are they going back to the public road? I can''t let them go there, or I won''t capture them with many people. Let''s do this.'' He thought as he grinned with excitement and ran at full speed towards the two children.


    ¡ª-


    (Normal POV)


    "He''s coming closer fast!" Exclaimed Aidan as the two of them broke off in a run, and he took out the communication card linked to Finn."


    The two of them were slower than the man by a significant amount. ''He''s probably a level three or four adventurers. A level two won''t be this fast.'' He thought as he watched the card that didn''t seem to connect since the other didn''t answer.


    Looking to his right, he saw that Ais, just like him, had started to call the old hag as she liked to call the elven woman.


    Stretching his hand, he used his telekinetic powers to control the cards and send a barrage of fireballs, thunder and countless shields to block the man. Unfortunately, the man was too strong as he evaded the attacks and broke through the shields with pure physical power.


    Just as the man was coming closer to the partners and his hand stretched out as his wretched smile widened, seeing that he was about to capture them, the card finally answered as a dishevelled Finn looked at the card. "What is it, Aidan?" He asked in wonder as the boy never called for anything. "Help." He shouted as a force pushed him to the ground along with Ais, knocking them out.


    ¡ª-


    (Finn POV)


    Seeing the situation through the card, his half-sleepy expression vanished as he didn''t bother to wear his shirt, took his storage card and called Loki with his communication card as he raced towards the center of the city.


    "What is it?" Asked a tired Loki, stunned seeing Finn in the middle of the road shirtless with his spear in hand.


    "Look at the tracker card and tell me where Aidan and Ais are? They''ve been kidnapped." He shouted as he continued his run.


    "What?" Exclaimed the goddess as she fumbled in the cards she possessed and, after taking out the tracker card, started searching for the name Aidan, Ais and Finn.


    "Two kilometres south-west!" Said the goddess as Finn heard the goddess get up and leave the room.


    Breaking off in the fastest run he could, it didn''t take long to reach the called location. "They shouldn''t be far. From the moment Loki gave me the information, about thirty seconds went by, the man should be a level three of four adventurers, so he can''t be that far."


    Relying on his senses as one of the strongest adventurers in Orario, Finn didn''t take long before he broke off in another run, just fast enough to see a man carrying two knocked out Aidan and Ais, about to enter a house.


    Not bothering to wait for others, he immediately sped towards the kidnapper and pierced him in the legs with a strike of his spear, going through both knees simultaneously.


    Catching the falling children as he kicked the man with full force to the ground, a resounding crack sounding out as a pained cry came from the downed man. Finn turned his attention to his two students.


    Verifying that they were alright, he breathed out in relief.


    ¡ª-


    (Loki POV)


    Hearing the news from Finn and giving him the location of Aidan and Ais, Loki''s perpetual smile disappeared from her face as rage could be seen brewing in her eyes. ''How dare they attack members of my familia. How dare they attack Ais and Aidan.''


    "Everyone, wake up. There are slave traffickers who kidnapped Aidan and Ais; capture them all!" Said Loki in a loud and angry voice, waking up almost everyone in the familia as a member immediately sped run towards the beach to alert the early risers who were enjoying their time at the beach.


    "Riveria, go to Finn. He should have caught up with the trafficker and saved Aidan and Ais." Said Loki as Riveria appeared behind her.


    "Yes." She said as she immediately disappeared from her place and ran towards Finn.


    "Either gods or nobles lead every big organization in this world. I really can''t wait to see which one has the guts to kidnap my people." Continued Loki as she looked through the window, her constant playful face nowhere to be seen, as only worry for the two young children of her familia and hate for whoever was behind this organization.


    ¡ª-


    (Normal POV)


    "Hum." Mumbled Aidan as he slowly woke up as the captain of the familia was carrying him.


    "I see you are awake." Said Finn as he gave a quick look at Aidan before focusing on the road ahead.


    "What happened?" Asked Riveria, who was next to them with a concerned expression.


    "Well, we wanted to explore the city since it''s not every day we have the chance to leave Orario and not fight in the dungeon. When we were walking, we noticed someone following us and decided to go back towards the more populated areas of the city. However, before we could do that, the man attacked us. We weren''t fast or strong enough to evade him." Said Aidan as he lowered his head. He had thought that he had become more powerful but today was a quick reminder that as a level one, while stronger than ordinary people, he was still the weakest in terms of adventurers.


    Turning his head towards Ais, who was still sleeping in Riveria''s arms, he asked: "How is she?" With a concerned tone.


    "Well, she''s alright. Just like you, she was knocked out by the man." Explained the elven women who came to help Finn.


    "I see." Nodded the boy as he thought with slight amusement. ''I wonder how she''ll feel when she wakes up in the arms of the old hag and torturer as she calls her.''


    "Did you think of something bad about me?" Asked the elven woman as she glared at him with scrutiny.


    "What? No." Answered Aidan as he shook his head while thinking: ''She has good instinct.''


    "Alright, we''re here," Interrupted Finn as Riveria wanted to continue her interrogation. "Go up. I''m sure Loki wants to meet you and Ais. She''s with Gareth on the top-most floor." Said the captain as the executive gave Ais to Aidan to bring up.


    "Thank you for helping us." Said Aidan with gratefulness in his voice to the two leading members of the familia.

 Chapter 44 - Ch.44 Back To Orario

    "Are the two of you alright?" Asked Loki the moment they entered the room on the top floor.


    "Yes, but Ais is still unconscious." Answered Aidan as he gave his greetings to Gareth, who was guarding the familia''s goddess.


    "Well, as long as the two of you are alright, everything is fine." Nodded Loki as she looked at Ais, who was now sleeping on the couch of the room. "I''ve sent the members of the familia to destroy the organization. Once we''re done, we''ll be able to continue having our beach holiday, and I''ll be able to continue enjoying the view." Commented Loki after a moment of silence as a lecherous grin crept on her face.


    Aidan, who was on the side, didn''t answer and merely listened since he knew that it wasn''t his place to comment on this. However, now that he heard the end of her sentence, he remembered Riveria''s comment of their goddess and could confirm that Loki''s aim all along was to enjoy the view.


    ¡ª-


    Half an hour later, Ais awoke, and after understanding everything that had happened, she was both happy and sad. She was glad that Finn was able to save them. However, she was sorry and angry since the two of them couldn''t take care of the enemy by themselves.


    "When we go back, we''re going directly in the dungeon." Said Ais as she gave a determined look at Aidan.


    "Yeah. Finn promised to take us in the dungeon to fight level two monsters when we come back." Nodded Aidan as he was ready to spend more time in the dungeon and level up as soon as he maxed his stats.


    ¡ª-


    In this way, the rest of the day and the following day passed in a flash. After the members found the hideouts of the kidnappers, they followed the trails and captured every single one of them. Of course, it was easy. They had over a thousand members searching for the criminals in a small city.


    After finding all of them, Loki found the name of their sponsors, and according to Riveria''s, that person didn''t have a great day.


    Finally, everyone was making their way back to Orario as the trip had been enjoyable. They had the chance to relax at the beach and do some sport of catching criminals and rescuing abducted people.


    They all enjoyed the time spent in Melen and were all ready to go back the following year. As for the two previously captured members of the familia, they were more than prepared to spend a few months in the dungeon once again.


    ¡ª-


    In Orario, Ais and Aidan spent two days in the mansion to relax and train themselves by fighting against each other since Finn had some business to attend to before bringing them into the dungeon.


    "Alright, you two, are you ready for the dungeon? Did you bring the necessary supplies?" Asked Finn as he would bring them to the 18th floor where they would live for two weeks, and he would accompany them to fight on the 13th to the 17th floor of the dungeon.


    "Yes, we brought everything we needed." Nodded Aidan as he stood in front of Finn at the gate of the manor.


    "Perfect, let''s go." Said the pallum as he led the way towards the dungeon. "I heard how Riveria trained you when you entered the dungeon. We will do the same, and I will only intervene when either of you is in danger." Continued the small man as he brought them to the tower of Babel.


    With a nod from the two partners of the party, they took the lead as the pallum walked behind them.


    Entering the dungeon, the three of them ran towards the next floor. There was no point in wasting time-fighting against those weak monsters as it would only slow them down.


    "Now that I think about it, three-four months ago, we had to be careful on this floor since the monsters were strong for us." Pondered Aidan loudly as they ran to the next floor.


    Looking to his right, he saw Ais with the same face full of wonder. It was at this point that they had noticed how much they had worked and how strong they had become after killing monsters endlessly.


    "Reaching the second floor, they didn''t slow down and instead continued to sprint until they reached the twelfth floor, which was the last floor for level one adventurers to explore safely.


    "Alright, from this point on, be careful and always take the fastest road to climb down a floor. We''ll stay on the 18th floor today and start your training tomorrow." Said Finn as he was satisfied with their descending speed.


    With a nod of their heads, Aidan and Ais started to get more severe as they walked down to the thirteenth floor to meet with a group of seven hellhounds.


    Not wasting time, they all stuck an anti-fire card on them, which could block fire to a certain extent by having it side off to their side before both youngsters rushed to the enemies.


    Levitating throwing knives forged by Hephaestus held near his calves, he used his newly awakened magic to attack the monsters. The blades forged by the goddess of forging were extremely sharp and could quickly kill a level two monster. As such, with the knives, Aidan and Ais attacking them, they couldn''t resist for a long time, and all died in an explosion of ashes as their magic stones fell from their bodies.


    "Well, it is easier than expected?" Commented Aidan as Ais nodded with a doubtful look.


    "Yes, the two of you can easily kill the weaker level two monsters which are present on the thirteenth and fourteenth floors.." Agreed Finn as he saw how quickly they dispatched the seven hellhounds. "However, the strength of the monsters is only one thing on these floors. The thing which makes the middle-floors so dangerous is the rate of the monsters spawning and their grouping. You will start to have a real challenge when we reach the fifteenth floor." Continued the pallum as he pointed forwards to prove his point.


    "Eum? What? There are already other monsters coming!" Exclaimed Aidan as he didn''t understand how big the spawning rate was in the middle floors.


    "Yes, so start fighting and moving." Grinned the pallum as he stayed behind them and let them do all the work.


    With a nod of their heads, they started to rush towards the weird horned-rabbit monsters, which they knew as almiraj. Those monsters were generally categorized as level one by the guild, but as a group, they were considered level two due to their speed and colossal number.


    "Let''s get moving." Said Aidan as he killed the last rabbit, taking his map card out and selecting the fastest route towards the next floor.


    "This way." Said Aidan as he rushed towards the left side of the moist tunnel.


    "The middle floors are known as the cave labyrinth due to the complex layout, darker light, moist air and random holes on the floors and ceiling." Explained the captain of the familia as the two youngsters rushed in front.


    With a nod to show that they listened, Aidan led the team to the closest hole to the next floor.


    Taking out three circular thin and light metal plates, he jumped on top of one as Ais copied him due to knowing what he wanted to do as the captain did the same with some confusion.


    Taking control of the metal plates with his telekinesis, he levitated the three plates down the hole leading to the fourteenth floor quickly before taking out the card and locating the closest spot leading down again.


    ¡ª-


    Five minutes later, they were down once again, facing a minotaur and a Ligerfang.


    This trip down the dungeon was quite different from the past, as, during their last descent, Riveria had been the one leading the team in the middle floors and killing all the level two monsters. However, this time, they were strong enough to kill them and survive by themselves, albeit with difficulty since the monsters were indeed level two.


    "Which one do you want?" Asked Aidan as he gave a quick look at his partner.


    "I''ll take the Ligerfang." She answered as she rushed towards the monsters while Aidan gave all his attention to the muscular and tall bull.


    Speeding at full speed towards the minotaur, he easily evaded the slam of its large hand, which hit the floor, sending debris in the air as he directly cut both of its legs down, causing it to fall.


    Retreating a few steps as the monster trashed, he quickly circled it to its back and cut off its head.


    "Hey, it''s fun." Grinned Aidan as he saw Ais finish her enemy at the same time.


    "After the two weeks, let''s stay in the dungeon for a few months, we''ll be used to them, and I want to level up when I go back to the surface." Said Ais in a small voice to Aidan as she stood next to him.


    With a nod that showed his agreement, the two of them continued on their way to eventually reach the 18th floor.

 Chapter 45 - Ch.45 Dungeon

    "Alright, we''re on the 18th floor." Said Finn out loud as he looked at the two children who had a great time. "We''ll be resting here for the rest of the day, and from tomorrow onwards, I''ll escort you in the dungeon so that the two of you can get used to level two monsters. At the end of the two weeks, if I find you not good enough, I''ll bring you back even if you don''t want to." He continued as he stared at the two of them before moving on and installing his tent.


    "Well, it seems that he heard us." Smiled Aidan as he took out their dual tent since they were now used to staying together at night.


    "We''ll be good enough." Said Ais in a small voice with her fist clenched and determination written on her face before joining Aidan in placing furniture in the tent he brought with the card storage.


    "Would you mind installing the protective barrier and the alarm cards around the camp?" Asked Aidan as he continued preparing the tent.


    "Mhm." Agreed, Ais, as she took out two cards specifically prepared for camp protection.


    A few minutes later, Finn appeared in front of their tent. "I''ll be going to Rivira to meet with some other members of the familia. You two can do whatever you want but do not leave the floor." He said, finishing with a warning as he strode out of the camp and towards the small city of adventurers.


    "Follow me. I found a nice place last time we came here." Said Ais the moment Finn left before taking him by the hand and leaving the camp opposite the pallum did.


    "So, where are we going?" Asked Aidan as he wondered when Ais, who focused on nothing else than fighting monsters, found a ''nice'' place. "If the nice place you are talking about is on another floor, you know we can''t go, right?" Confirmed Aidan as he was confused.


    "No, it''s not on another floor. Just follow me." Answered the girl as she shook her hide from side to side.


    "Alright."


    A few minutes later, after walking in a small part of the forest and climbing on a mountain, Ais finally stopped on the edge of the small cliff which overlooked the floor. "What do you think?" She asked with a gentle smile as she stood next to him.


    "You''re right. It is nice." Nodded Aidan with a smile on his face as he took in the view of the whole floor from their location. "When you see it from here, it''s hard to say that the dungeon is filled with monsters." He continued as he took in the view and sat down on the tablecloth Ais installed on the ground.


    "We''re going to have lunch here." She said she took out various cutleries, drinks and food to place them on the tablecloth.


    "Alright, you can start eating." Said the girl as she started to munch on a sandwich before Aidan did the same. "So, how does it taste?" She asked with a concealed interest as she glanced up to look at Aidan.


    "It tastes good. Where did you buy it?" Asked Aidan as he was oblivious to the look Ais was sending him.


    "I made it." She replied as she showed a smile full of happiness before she turned back towards her food.


    With a surprised look, Aidan stared at Ais for a moment before he nodded his head and smiled before saying. "You would make a great cook. You should cook more often."


    ¡ª-


    "Good morning." Said the pallum as he saw both children walk out of their shared tent. "I assume that you are ready for the training?" He asked in confirmation.


    "Yes, we are ready." Nodded Aidan before continuing. "Which floor will we fight on today?"


    "I plan on having the two of you fight the monsters on the fourteenth floor for the next week, and if you can do well against a horde of monsters, we will continue fighting on the sixteenth floor for the minotaurs hellhounds and lygerfangs. By that point, if the two of you can fight those monsters without a problem, I will agree to leave the two of you on the 18th floor for training. If you cannot do this, we will go back to the surface and wait for another member to bring you down here." Said the pallum as he explained the plans for the next two weeks as he started to bring them back up to the fifteenth floor of the dungeon.


    "It''s pretty easy to travel in these floors thanks to the telekinesis." Muttered Aidan as he saw how practical this magic was even outside of combat. "I should train more in it and adapt to using it even when I''m not in the dungeon." He continued as he took note of this magic which seemed pretty bland at the beginning compared to his card magic.


    "Alright, we''re here." Said the captain of the familia, bringing Aidan out of his thoughts. "The two of you will be fighting, I''ll be helping you with your sword techniques, and I''ll only intervene if you are about to die or get seriously injured." He continued as he took a step back and crossed his arms, leading the two partners.


    "Let''s go." Said the girl as she tightened her fist and led the way, followed by the boy. "We''ll kill as many as we can and reduce our pauses to the minimum to become stronger." Continued the girl as her comment reminded the two children of their powerlessness in front of that level four adventurer who knocked them out without resisting despite the card magic and their parameters that broke through the limit of the status.


    "Right, next time we go back to the surface, we must be ready to level up." He said with a glint in his eyes as he showed excitement, thinking about his promotion.


    "Captain? How does it feel to level up?" Asked Aidan before he started to fight the monsters who appeared in front of him.


    "Well, it is different for everyone, but one thing similar is that everyone feels as if they could take on the world after that boost in strength. Of course, their rationality tells them that such a feeling is stupid, but this same feeling is great as we can feel our strength increasing explosively." He explained with a smile after the two finished killing the group of hellhounds that had pounced on them.


    With a nod of their heads to show that they had listened to his explanation, Aidan charged to the next group of monsters which also set towards them. He evaded the strikes of the hounds while wielding his sword in his right hand to kill the monsters and its sheath in his left hand to block the ferocious jaws from biting him. At the same time, he used his telekinesis to control the throwing knives and some cards, which were imbued with the words ''water ball,'' to stop the raging fires that came out of the monsters'' mouths.


    "They are pretty easy to kill once you get the hang of it." Said Aidan as he dodged another horizontal pillar of flame that came from the hellhound and beheaded it with the same movement.


    "Yes." Nodded Ais as she fully agreed with him.


    "Well, let''s continue." He stated before moving onwards to the dungeon floor.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Two weeks later, after countless battles on the fourteenth and sixteenth floors, Finn came out to them to give the final verdict.


    "During the two weeks, the two of you made great progress in your fighting techniques and showed great cooperation." He said before waiting for a moment.


    "I will agree for the two of you to stay in the dungeon for as long as you want. However, you will contact the familia every morning and evening to show that you are safe. You are not to go deeper in the dungeon, and you cannot fight or even see the fight against the Goliath during this time. If you agree to this, I will let you two continue to train without supervision on these floors."


    "We agree." Aidan was immediately copied by Ais, who was excited to continue to train on this floor.


    "Alright then, good luck, and don''t push yourselves too far. You''re both still extremely young, and you still have a lot of time to level up in the future." He finished by giving them a piece of advice before he almost disappeared after using his full speed to go back to the surface.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    Question for the readers'' -> comments next to the one you think is right.


    1) Have them level up at the same time and create a legend together


    Or


    2) Ais levels up first, and Aidan follows the next month. However, they will get their aliases simultaneously since the denatus won''t be during that month.


    Ps: I know that the rate of chapters being released is decreasing, but well, I work. I love to read, and I just started a new game so, the rate won''t change for the better for the moment.. Sorry about that, but well, this is life.

 Chapter 46 - Ch.46 Breaking The Rules

    "Alright, let''s go and fight." Grinned Aidan as he rapidly geared up and led Ais through the passage towards the seventeenth floor. "With the permission of Finn, we can stay here for as long as we want. However, in four months, it''s going to be the new year, so I propose that we go back a day earlier to update our status. What do you think?" Continued Aidan as he glanced at his partner, who was walking up the stairs leading to the above level.


    "It''s fine with me. Four months should be enough to maximize our status for a level up." Agreed Ais. "By the way, when is your birthday?" She asked a completely unrelated question which made Aidan stop in his step.


    "Huh? Now that you mention it, I have no idea when it is. Loki probably knows, thanks to our status, which records our age. I''ll have to ask her when we get back up." Answered Aidan laughingly while his hand was behind his head, playing with his hair. "What about you?" He asked, hoping not to have missed her birthday.


    "I don''t know either. Let''s ask Loki together." Smiled Ais as she took the lead in climbing up the stairs.


    "Sure." Nodded Aidan as now that Ais mentioned it, he was wondering when his birthday was. "So, which monster do you want to hunt today?" He asked as they reached the 17th floor.


    "Let''s fight on the seventeenth floor against the cow-head, the large tiger and the fire-breathing dog." Answered Ais while using the new names she gave the monsters. "The higher floors can''t give us any trouble at all. If only they allowed us to go down to the nineteenth floor instead of sticking on this one." Said Ais dejectedly as she was more interested in exploring the deeper floors of the dungeon than continue to fight monsters they could quickly kill.


    "I agree. According to the information I gathered from the guild on the dungeon and the statuses, once an adventurer levels up, he gains a bonus of 20% of their total parameters. It is why a lot of adventurers level up as soon as possible. To reach Rivira, an average level two adventurer need G in their parameters. Considering an average adventurer has about 800 parameters when he levels up, he needs about 1160 parameters in each stat to reach this floor (800(LV.1)+160(20%)+200(G)=1160). However, to reach the 24th floor, they need about C in their parameters which means a total of 1560. So, we could theoretically explore the nineteenth floor if we are cautious and use the two latest cards I created. After all, the real danger of these floors is the poison and the countless insects." Tempted Aidan as he gave his partner a slight nudge to the side as he asked her opinion on this.


    "What are the cards you created?" Asked Ais, after a pause, tempted of the prospect to fight stronger monsters.


    With a victorious grin, Aidan answered: "I have created an anti-poison field. As long as we are in the field, all poison is automatically cleansed. The second card is a flight card. I had already started to work on it before, but now, I can perfectly control the flight speed and direction. With this, we can escape if anything happens." He calmly explained as he hacked down a minotaur or a cow-head, as Ais liked to call them recently.


    "Sure, let''s try it tomorrow. We''ll stay close to the stairs to escape fast if there are any problems. I''ll also keep a few antidote potions close just in case there is a problem." Continued the girl as she was fine with exploring more of the dungeon.


    "Now that I think about it, Finn just left, and we already agreed to break his rules." Added Aidan with slight shame as he just said that he would only go up the floors.


    "Well, it''s fine. We''ll keep our cards on the eighteenth floor while we go to the next one so they won''t know. Besides, we know that he won''t be coming back to the dungeon soon. Let''s stick on the eighteenth when the Goliath spawn just in case." Answered Ais as she was more than ready to explore more of the dungeon.


    ¡ª-


    Ten hours later, both youngsters walked back towards the eighteenth floor. With non-stop fighting, they were both quite tired, but they were also full of happiness that they had not only collected a lot of loot but that thanks to their training of the day, they would gain a few more parameters on their status their next update.


    "Let''s wash up and go to sleep early. We need to be in top condition for tomorrow morning." Said Aidan as he was both excited and a bit worried about the next day. He knew a lot about the next floors, but he also knew that only good level two adventurers entered those floors.


    "Mmm." Nodded the girl as she bathed first before going to bed, which Aidan quickly joined twenty minutes later.


    ¡ª¡ª


    "Are you ready?" Asked the boy as he had a severe face and looked intently to the stairs leading deeper in the dungeon.


    "Yes, I am." Nodded the girl full of enthusiasm but also solemn and concentrated.


    "Alright, let''s go." He said as he helped Ais stick the anti-poison field card on her body. He was practically immune to abnormal conditions such as poisoning, so there was no need for him to have the card on him, which on the contrary, could be fatal for Ais if she unknowingly went outside the field of anti-poison.


    "Hum, this looks like some weird jungle." Commented Ais as she looked at the new floor they were standing on.


    The floor, known as the Large tree labyrinth, was filled with all kinds of herbs and vegetation. Insects, especially poisonous ones, lived everywhere in the dungeon as the light appeared on the floor thanks to some moss that radiated phosphorescent light. This floor was especially loved by strong level two adventurers and even some level three since the plant diversity provided many ingredients used in potions and alchemy. Therefore, the guild published many quests for these floors, and this was one of the best ways for level two adventurers to make quick money.


    "Well, it seems our first monsters are here." Motioned Aidan as he pointed to a side with his head to Ais to show her the monster''s direction.


    "Lizardman''s, three of them." Said Ais as she stared at the approaching enemies. "I''ve heard of them. They are quick and agile, and they attack with their fingers, nails as hard as iron and as sharp as a knife. However, their defence is relatively low and easy to kill if you are faster than them." Added the girl as she finally remembered one last piece of information. "They also normally fight in groups of five to seven." She said as her eyes grew wide, and she looked all around her as if some monsters approached her.


    "Let''s kill them before the others arrive." Said Aidan as he stopped waiting for the monsters and charged at them along with Ais.


    ''It''ll be easy to kill them. Their defence is low, so using my telekinetic power with the throwing knives to sneak attack should do the trick. Thought Aidan as he used his magic to slide the throwing knives to the ground and make them speed up from the side to attack the lizardmen while they are focusing on them.


    "Huh. It was easy." Said Ais as she suddenly stopped as three knives lodged themselves directly in the neck of the three monsters from the back.


    "Huh, I was expecting more than that, to be honest." Answered Aidan at a loss. He was fully prepared for a difficult battle, but the knives killed the monsters from the first hit. "Well, let''s continue searching for the monsters. I heard that there are nine different species on this floor alone. It is very different from the previous floors." Said Aidan with a smile as he saw that the floor wasn''t as dangerous and deadly as he had previously thought. It didn''t make him lower his guard tho as he knew that a moment of inattention could be fatal when in the dungeon.


    "Yeah. I hope to see a firebird. It is said that this monster is wonderful despite being relatively dangerous due to its fire attacks.." Explained Ais as she continued to take in the surroundings since it was the first time they had entered this floor.

 Chapter 47 - Ch.47 Survival And Healing

    "Huh, how come there are already this many monsters?" Asked Aidan as a frown marred his face.


    "Let''s retreat." Nodded Ais with a grim look as she saw dozens of monsters approaching them, with more coming from afar.


    Slashing a monster in half with all of his strength and speed, Aidan gradually retreated with his partner next to him. "How come we are so far from the stairs!" Exclaimed Aidan as panic took over as swarms of monsters relentlessly attacked them.


    "We need to leave n~argh." Started Ais before shooting as a slash hit her side, causing her to bleed heavily.


    With the cry of pain of Ais, Aidan, who was fighting seven monsters, at once turned his attention to his partner with worry as he saw lizardmen impale their nails into her side.


    With anger taking over, he turned and beheaded the same lizardmen, which caused it to explode in ashes. However, at the same time, it completely opened Ais''s wound, causing her to bleed even more..


    "I-I''m fine." Said the girl as she clutched her sword with desperation marring her face as scratches appeared everywhere on the partners after clashing with the monsters.


    Sending out his healing card to Ais to heal the holes in her body, Aidan became distracted, allowing the Bugbear to hit him with his paw, making him collapse into the middle of the monsters.


    Using his telekinetic powers, he controlled all the flying knives and the cards, sending swarms of massive fireballs, earth spikes and other magics to repel the enemies.


    Rapidly getting up as he used all his stored magic in an attempt to create a passageway, he turned towards Ais, seeing her falling on the ground utterly unconscious as her blood left her body from the many punctures and scratch-made by the monsters.


    With horror marring his face, he had all his cards empty all of their magic in a burst of a few short seconds as he sprinted directly to Ais and levitated her body before taking her in his arms and speeding in the passage created by his cards and his few knives which he managed to recover on the way.


    Reaching the stairs after receiving a few more hits from monsters, he looked at Ais, and her pale face and shallow breathing told everything there was to know. Taking two elixir potions, he forcefully had Ais drink one while he spread the other directly on the wounds as it would act as a disinfectant and heal the wounds instantly.


    Seeing her getting slightly better, he ran over at full speed towards their camp, which was in the middle of the forest. He didn''t pay attention to anything else and directly sent her inside their tent and used all of his magical powers to strengthen the healing cards he possessed.


    Drinking a healing potion for himself as he had a long gash crossing his back from the top right to the bottom left, which spurted blood, he started the treatment on Ais immediately.


    For the next 24 hours, the boy lived on the magic potions as he used all of his magical power and the magic stones continuously to heal the golden-haired girl who didn''t wake up.


    Looking at her face, which now had colour, he stopped for a moment as he took a towel and water to clean her as her blood-covered clothes, both from her own and the monsters, were undoubtedly not hygienic. Changing her clothes, he thoroughly cleaned her up before changing her in her pyjamas.


    Eating dried meat as he was hungry after only drinking magic potions for a whole day, he went back to Ais''s side before starting to use the healing cards and the healing potions they had with them.


    As such, for the following two days, Aidan stayed next to Ais''s bed as he continuously looked over her condition and beating himself up over the stupid decision he had pushed Ais into accepting.


    Finally, three days after the complete failure in their dungeon hunting experience, Ais stirred awake, which immediately drew Aidan''s attention with hope on his face.


    "Hmmm, where am I?" Wondered Ais out loud as she gradually opened her eyes and took in the surroundings.


    "Do you want water? Something to eat?" Asked Aidan with evident happiness in his voice as his tiredness disappeared as he stared at the girl who was highly hurt a few days ago.


    "Yes." Nodded Ais as she slowly remembered the last thing she saw. "How did we get out of there?" Asked Ais as she stared at Aidan with a complicated expression.


    "I released my cards and barely opened a way out after getting you." Answered Aidan as he rapidly took out already prepared food and a water bottle before helping her in eating.


    "How long have I been out, and how are you?" She asked with concern as she saw Aidan''s state, which had not slept for the last three days. "It''s been three days, and I''m fine." He said, shaking his head gently as he continued to feed the still weak Ais.


    "Sorry, it was my idea this time, and it almost cost you your life." Said Aidan directly as he stared with Ais with a remorseful expression.


    "It''s not your fault, and I agreed. However, let''s not go back there anytime soon." She answered as she gently shook her head and looked concernedly at Aidan. "However, you should take some sleep."


    "Will you be fine? You''re still injured." Asked Aidan, concerned as he stared at the girl.


    "I''ll be fine. I can already move by myself." She answered before showing a smile. "Go to sleep."


    Aidan didn''t need to be asked a second time. After confirming she would be fine, he lowered his head and immediately fell asleep.


    ---


    (Ais''s POV)


    Seeing Aidan fall asleep, a complicated expression appeared on her face. "This wasn''t your fault. I wanted to go down there even more than you. But what exactly happened since I fell unconscious?" She said before wondering out loud.


    Getting out of the bed, she moved Aidan in the bed before leaving the room and looking around. "How many potions did he drink over these days!?" She asked in dismay as she saw countless magic potions bottles on the ground next to numerous cracked monster cores, which signifies that Aidan had utterly drained the energy out.


    As she was about to continue to look over the traces left by Aidan, she saw the communication card vibrating on the table.


    Taking the card, she saw that Finn was calling and answered the card.


    "Oh, hello, Ais." Said Finn as a relieved look appeared on her face. "I was about to send down a party to come and visit you if you didn''t soon make an appearance on the card." He added as he looked at Ais to see if he could glimpse any information. Unfortunately, Ais''s ever stoic face in front of people other than Aidan prevented him from getting anything.


    "Hello, captain. Was there anything you wanted from Aidan?" She asked in a curious voice.


    "No, I was calling to verify how you were doing. In these last few days, you never appeared, and Aidan only said you were currently indisposed to answer." Answered Finn as he shook his head. "Well, that was all. Now that I see that everything is doing well, I''ll leave you to your dungeon trip." He continued before saying his goodbyes and closing the communication card.


    ''Well, everything is fine, now.'' Nodded Ais as she nodded and left the card before moving to the bathroom and immediately blushing. ''How come I am clean? Did Aidan clean me? And I''m in my pyjamas?'' She thought as her face turned bright red as she immediately went to bathe and clean herself.


    ---


    (Back to normal POV)


    A day later, when Aidan woke up, he noticed that he was in bed, and as the boy looked around, he saw that everything was now spotless in the tent. The previous massive amount of bottles and broken monster crystals disappeared as everything that remained was a cleanroom.


    "Oh, you are up. Come here; diner is ready." Said Ais showing a gentle smile, and invited him to come and eat food along with her.


    "How are your injuries?" Asked Aidan as he immediately started to eat as he was famished.


    "I''m excellent, now." She answered before turning serious and looking at Aidan. "So, what are we doing now? Do we leave the dungeon and go back to the surface, or do we continue to hunt monsters on the 17th floor?"


    "I''m fine with continuing our hunting trip. The monsters on the 17th are way weaker than those on the 19th, and we can easily kill them. However, if you want to go back to the surface, I''m fine with it as well." He answered as he didn''t mind either way.


    "Let''s continue. I was afraid that you would want to stop partnering up with me." Answered Ais as she talked about her worries.


    "Hum? Why would I want that?" Asked Aidan, completely stunned.


    "Well, I was holding you back in the dungeon, and you would have been able to escape without any injuries if I wasn''t with you." She explained with a shy and sad look on her face.


    "Well, I was the one who proposed to go down there, and it was a mistake on my part. On the contrary, I thought you would be the one who wanted to stop teaming up with me after our near-death experience." He replied while showing a relieved smile. A smile seemed to demonstrate the relief of seeing her well and that she wanted to still team up with him.


    "However, let''s take a day of break before we restart." He wryly smiled as he finished the food and went to relax with Ais on the beach chairs outside the tent.

 Chapter 48 - Ch.48 Levelling Up

    For the following four months, Aidan and Ais continued to train on the seventeenth floor. They did not dare to walk into the nineteenth floor that had previously almost killed them. Instead, they trained with all their might on the floor allowed by Finn.


    In their training, they not only killed hundreds of monsters each day, but they also limited themselves to swordsmanship and wind slash magic in Ais''s case. At the same time, Aidan focused on swordsmanship and telekinesis. During this time, Aidan didn''t carry his trusted black and orange longsword but instead held a standard steel longsword of the same dimension as the sword given to him by his father. It would allow him to improve his swordsmanship instead of relying on his sword at all times.


    Across those four months, there only took eight days of break, the days the Goliath respawned. Once again, they followed Finn''s warning aNd commands and didn''t see the fight.


    So, as they finished collecting their gear and walked up the stairs leading towards the seventeenth floor, Aidan gave one last look at the floor, which housed them for the last four and a half months before turning away and breaking into a run quickly followed by his partner.


    ---.


    "Huff." Exhaled Aidan as he looked at the blue sky outside of the tower of Babel, which served as a lid to the dungeon. "It''s been a while." He commented as he looked at the bustling street full of adventurers, regular civilians and gods alike.


    "Let''s go back." Concurred Ais as a small smile spread on her face at a little girl who pranked her brother by disguising herself.


    "Right." He nodded as he ignored the passing adventurers and slowly walked towards the manor while taking in the sights he hadn''t had the chance to see for a few months.


    "Aidan, Ais." Called out a voice the two knew how to well.


    "Hello, Riveria." Said Aidan before turning around with Ais as he gave a quick look at the elven woman holding her staff and wearing her long robes.


    Ais on the side didn''t bother to greet her, instead simply glaring at her. She still hadn''t forgotten how she was taught how to swim, an experience still traumatizing her, not daring to go in the deep parts of the water.


    "How was your dungeon trip?" She asked with a gentle smile which greatly contrasted with the one they had received during their previous training experience.


    "It was fine. There were some troubles here and there, but our training went well." Smiled Aidan while walking towards the manor with the elf on his right and his partner on his left side.


    "Well, the most important is to return alive and in one piece if possible." Agreed on the elven women as she stared ahead, not looking at them while talking. "What do you plan to do after updating your status?" Continued the executive of the familia as the guards of the familia pushed open the gates to allow them to enter.


    "Go back in the dungeon." Answered Ais, speaking for the first time to her torturer.


    Hearing this, the green-haired woman frowned but didn''t say anything as she nodded her head as a show of acknowledgement of her answer.


    "Well, we''ll go update our status immediately. We''ve waited for a long time, and I''m pretty sure we''re both going to hit the maximum parameters in this update." Grinned Aidan as he could almost see himself levelling up and becoming a high-class adventurer.


    "I see. Well, Loki should be in her private living room." Finally, commented the elf after giving one last thoughtful look at Ais before pointing them in the right direction.


    With a nod, the two immediately walked up towards the third floor only to see a line of thirteen adventurers waiting in front of the door. ''I guess they are also here to update their status. How unlucky of us.'' Thought Aidan as he quickly calculated the number of people in front of him before finally waiting in line.


    ---


    Half an hour later, the last of the thirteen left the room. Amongst those adventurers, some left happy, some in excitement and some disappointed.


    "Haaaa, finally done for the day. I should reward myself by going to eat at the Hostess of Fertility." Commented the tomboyish goddess as she left her living room with her eyes half-closed. "Oh! Ais, Aidan! How long has it been! Do you come to update your status? Come in!" Said the goddess in excitement as she looked at the two hard workers and youngest members of her familia.


    "Hello." Smiled, Aidan sat on one of the chairs near the sofa as Ais sat down on the couch next to his chair.


    "So, are the two of you confident that you can level up this time?" Asked the goddess as a grin grew upon her face.


    "We should be good." Nodded Aidan as Ais next to him shook her head in certainty.


    "Alright then, come here and take off your shirt."


    With a simple movement, Aidan gave his shirt to Ais as he laid down on the couch next to his goddess. "Right, before we start, can you tell me how old I am today? I don''t know my birth date." Exclaimed Aidan as the goddess looked at the status with an expert eye.


    "You turned eight the 3rd of January." Answered the goddess before turning to look at Aidan''s face. "Let''s start." She commented before dropping her ichor on his back, starting the process of updating his status. "As you thought, you reached the maximum in all parameters. I''m now going to level you up." Continued the goddess as she received a nod from Aidan.


    However, when Loki started to level him up, two specific things happened simultaneously, although Loki only noticed the second one. Aidan, on the other hand, only saw the first one.


    The moment Loki levelled him up, it was as if a shackle he didn''t know existed disintegrated as a rush of memories of his younger years and two techniques appeared in his mind. Not bothering with the memories for the moment, he immediately turned towards the methods.


    Triple-step: A combat technique used by high-human warriors to create a wave-like slash, immediately killing everything in the reach of the sword regardless of defences. When using this technique, the user will make three steps in seemingly different directions, which allows the body to move in a wave-like manner enabling the user to use every muscle to kill everything in the immediate surroundings.


    Double-writing: A card magic technique to write two words on a card to create more diversity.


    As Aidan quickly got out of his memories, something that took less than five seconds, he noticed that the back of Ais, who was next to him, was glowing as if her status wanted to show itself.


    "This, this." Heard Aidan as he saw an incredibly stunned Loki who had stopped moving her hands and was looking at his status. "Ais, lie down next to Aidan and show me your back!" Exclaimed the goddess as both excitement and agitation appeared in her normally neutral-seductive tone of voice.


    "Yes." Nodded Ais as she understood something important was happening as she immediately lay down next to her partner and showed her back to Loki.


    With a drop of ichor on Ais''s back, Loki''s consternation turned into extreme surprise, which soon turned into joy. "This shouldn''t be possible. Nothing like that ever happened in the past!" Exclaimed Loki as she showed a growing smile on her face. "This is great!" She continued as she sped up the levelling process on Ais''s back to reach the same stage as his own.


    "Alright, you two, I have great news for you. Your Twin star skill completely changed, some hidden effect. According to the skill, as long as you level up simultaneously, you can gain the same development ability as the other. It means that at each level, you can each gain two different development abilities. Moreover, according to the skill, on the first level up, you both can give a copy of skill of equal value to the other. So choose the skills now." Exclaimed Loki as she showed a maniacal grin, filled with excitement and hope for the future. ''This is why I descended from Heaven. It is the excitement and joy I was looking for!''


    "I''ll give my Avenger skill. It''s the only one that can help Aidan in any way." Answered Ais immediately as her Half-spirit skill couldn''t help him out at all.


    "Can I give her my High-human skill?" Asked Aidan as it was the only skill he possessed except Twin Star, but he wasn''t sure if it was possible since it was his race.


    "No, you can''t give her High-human." Answered Loki while shaking her head. "Anyway, her Avenger skill wouldn''t make an equivalent exchange. According to the value of her skill, the most you can have her copy is your near-perfect abnormal resistance." She continued as Ais immediately nodded her head as it would save a development ability space.


    "Alright, this is done. Let''s continue. Ais, you have four development abilities to choose from: There are hunter, abnormal resistance, swordsman and spirit healing. Aidan, you have five to choose from, the same four from Ais and another ability I never saw before called ''Luck.''"


    "I''ll take hunter." Answered Ais immediately as she knew it was the best development ability to get since it was only available on the first level up.


    "In that case, I''ll take luck. Abnormal resistance is completely useless, and Ais took hunter while swordman and spirit healing can be taken on our next level up if necessary." Concluded Aidan as Loki nodded at their choices and finally pushed her hands on both of their backs to complete the level-up process.


    "All right, everything is done. Here''s your sheet." Said the goddess as the two got up and took their respective sheet before trading them.


    ---


    Author note:


    1) I hope you liked the cliffhanger, although there isn''t much there.


    2) Small change in the Avenger skill of Ais and now Aidan''s. It doesn''t function on hate but on the concentration of ''wanting'' to kill the monster.


    3) After writing this, I noticed that the idea of card magic was pretty bad since there''s no way to keep count on them all, haha.

 Chapter 49 - Ch.49 Triple-step

    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 2


    Strength: EX-1500 -> I-10


    Endurance: EX-1500 -> I-10


    Dexterity: EX-1500 -> I-10


    Agility: EX-1500 -> I-10


    Magic: EX-1500 -> I-10


    Skill: High Human, Twin Star, Avenger, Triple Step


    Magic: Card Magic, Telekinesis


    Development ability: Hunter, Luck]


    [Name: Ais


    Level: 2


    Strength: SSS-1250 -> I-10


    Endurance: SSS-1250 -> I-10


    Dexterity: SSS-1250 -> I-10.


    Agility: SSS-1250 -> I-10


    Magic: SSS-1250 -> I-10


    Skill: Avenger, Twin Star, Half-Spirit, High-Human(Abnormal status resistance)


    Magic: Wind slash


    Development ability: Hunter, Luck]


    "Hum, not bad, this boost in power feels great." Said Aidan as he opened and clenched his fist repeatedly. "The two boosts from my previous parameters to 1500 and now the level up really greatly changed my strength." Confirmed Aidan with a smile of happiness.


    "So, what are the two of you going to do from now on?" Asked Loki happily.


    Turning towards Aidan with an eyebrow raised, Ais asked in an emotionless tone to outsiders, but full of emotions in Aidan''s ears: "Do we go back to the dungeon?"


    "No, the two of you are going to have a break now. Find something else to do." Interrupted Loki as she directly banned them from entering the dungeon. "The two of you are only eight years old. From the beginning, it was too young to enter the dungeon alone, not to mention now that the two of you are level two. You''re going to enjoy some fresh air out of the dungeon." Ordered Loki with a tone that didn''t accept any objections.


    "You did not even go out for the new year celebration of Orario. Come back here tomorrow. I''ll have planned something for the two of you." She continued as she had a rare severe face. "You cannot spend all of your life in the dungeon, and there is a lot to learn outside of it as well." She concluded as the two youngsters left the room.


    ---


    (Loki POV)


    Thinking about their conversation, Loki shook her head with a complicated smile. "Most adventurers only enter the dungeon to make quick money to go and drink and enjoy life. On the other hand, those two aren''t missing money due to Aidan''s card business, and they always spend their time in the dungeon to improve themselves. There is such a large distinction between the two of them and the rest."


    Getting up from her seat, she walked to the window and looked at the training ground of the familia, especially the two eight-year-old children who had just arrived and were facing each other in a sword fight. "I need to find them something else to do, or they will dive back in the dungeon at the first opportunity.


    *Knock knock knock*


    Turning towards the door that was pushed open after knocking three times, Loki faced Riveria, who was entering with a pile of documents in her arms instead of the staff she seldom parted with.


    "Finn has completed those documents. He asked me to bring them to you." Said the high-elven woman as she left the documents on the small coffee table for review. "Are there anything you want me to do before I leave for the elven forest?" She continued as she sat in front of Loki, who had a lecherous grin plastered on her face.


    "Yes, how about you let me fe-." She started only to be karate chopped on the head by the ever-serious elf.


    "If there''s nothing else, I''ll pack my things to leave early tomorrow morning." She answered as she left her seat and walked towards the door.


    As if struck by lightning when she was hit on the head, Loki opened her eyes wide as a crafty smile appeared on her face. "Wait. Tomorrow when you leave, bring Ais with you. Also, take a few monster extermination missions in the wild on the way. The two want to go back to the dungeon again after levelling up, and I need to find them something else to do." She explained as the green-haired elf lifted an eyebrow in confusion.


    "Do I bring Aidan along as well?" Asked the mage after a moment of silence.


    "No. Since the two of child awakened, they''ve been together. It''s time they learn to live by themselves. Moreover, I''ll have Aidan help Finn in well whatever he his doing." Answered the goddess as she waved her hand at the mention of the business of her captain.


    "Haa, I see. In that case, I''ll notify Finn to get him tomorrow morning." She finished before turning and closing the door behind her.


    ---


    (General POV)


    "Stop holding back, Ais. We need to get used to our new boost in parameters. We won''t be able to adjust if you hold back." Shouted Aidan as they once again clashed.


    "Alright, in that case by careful." She shouted as she once again sped up, this time to her maximum, before using a downward slash towards Aidan, who parried using his sheathed sword since he didn''t want to cleave through her sword with his.


    "Alright, stop you two." Shouted Riveria as she came closer to their duel. "You won''t adjust properly by fighting each other since you both have about the same strength. Fight me instead." She finished as she took out her staff and entered a defensive posture.


    With a glance at each other, they both sped up towards the elf as they started to send strikes towards the women, who were without exception parried by her staff which seemed to be made of tough and enchanted wood.


    As the women constantly blocked them due to her significantly higher parameters and level, Aidan opened his eyes wide. Right after Ais finished her attack, Aidan used his newly acquired ''Triple-step'' combat technique.


    With the first step in the direction of Riveria, Aidan started his strike, which cleaved towards his target. As she was about to parry his strike once more, he took the second step, which lowered his center of gravity, causing the sword to speed under her guard. Finally, he took the third step, causing all of his muscles to tense as the speed and strength of the blade more than tripled in a single moment.


    "Huf." Riveria opened her eyes wide as she barely blocked the strike thanks to her higher level but was still slightly repelled due to holding a weak stance.


    With a frown on his face, Aidan collapsed on the ground as he took a deep breath as all of his muscles ached. "What was that?" Exclaimed Riveria as she had never seen such a technique that strengthened the speed and strength to such a degree.


    "This was the memory received when I broke through." He explained in short, concise words.


    "It is a high-human combat technique. It is incredible! However, I can understand why only high-humans possess this kind of technique." She quipped as she looked at Aidan, who was not going to move for a little while.


    "The technique is quite powerful. You should be able to kill an average level three monster with this strike. However, above that, you won''t be able to kill them. You might be able to hurt a weak level four, but that''s it. The reason you managed to repel me slightly was that I didn''t use much force when fighting with you and my stance was loose." She explained with a slight blush on her face as she was repelled by a newly upgraded level two adventurer, especially an adventurer of eight years old.


    "However, this technique has two obvious flaws from what you showed me. The first one is this." She said as she pointed at the boy. "You won''t be able to move a muscle after using the technique since it''s an obvious overload of your muscles. It is also the reason why only high-humans used this kind of technique. On one side, it''s due to your innately higher parameters, and the second is due to your race being combat-maniac and combat-geniuses."


    "The second flaw is that it''s only usable against human-like enemies since your strike won''t reach those much bigger than you, such as a dragon or a lot smaller than you, such as an ant." She explained as she half-closed her eyes and nodded her head as she imparted her knowledge with full assurance of herself.


    "The technique possesses three variations especially made for those two exceptions you talked about. There are other sets of steps made for downwards slashes for small enemies and two sets for taller enemies, of which one finished with a jump to reach the target." He explained with a wry smile as he saw the elven women turn red as; she turned her head to the side and coughed in her fist.


    "Well, I only wanted to notify the two of you." Said the executive as she changed the subject. "Tomorrow, Ais will leave with me on a mission to the elven forest. You will be going with Finn from tomorrow onwards. If everything goes as planned, I''ll be back in Orario two months later." She finished as she turned around.


    "Prepare your bags. We''ll be leaving at six tomorrow morning." Were the words the two children received as the women disappeared from their sight.

 Chapter 50 - Ch.50 Separation And Training

    The following morning, Aidan woke up early and wriggled out of the tight hug of the girl next to him. "Ais! Ais, it''s time to wake up." He whispered as he shook the girl awake.


    "Hum? Already? What time is it?" She asked as she didn''t bother to open her eyes.


    "It''s five-thirty. You have half an hour to wash up and go to the entrance of the manor." He answered with a shake of his head as he pulled the covers of the bed and let the slightly chilled air do its magic as she completely woke up while giving Aidan the stink eye and walking directly to the shower.


    ---


    "Alright, are you sure you have everything?" Asked the boy as the girl walked to the door, wholly dressed with Aidan in toe.


    "Yes, I do. You have to stop asking me this.." She said as she came closer to hug Aidan.


    "I asked you four times, and the first three, you found something that you forgot." Answered back Aidan as he hugged her back.


    ---


    With a wave of his hand, Aidan saw the back of the girl he spent most of his waking moment with leaving with their slight nardcore teacher. "Really, how does someone teach two children to swim by tying pieces of metal to one of them and having them swim or drown."


    With a shake of his head and slight fear that resurfaced after thinking about their previous swimming training, Aidan walked to the dining hall of the manor.


    As he entered the large room filled with chefs and adventurers alike, Aidan entered the line and soon ordered his food before sitting at an empty table. As he looked up, he immediately felt something wrong when he remembered that Ais wouldn''t be with him for the next two months at the minimum. ''I''ll have to work hard until then. I''m sure Riveria will train Ais. I''ll have to train a lot as well.'' He thought before receiving the food from the chefs who brought it to him.


    "Thanks."


    "No problem, have a great breakfast." Smiled the chef as he turned around and went back to work.


    After taking his time eating, he left the dining hall at seven and went directly to Finn''s office on the manor''s third floor. His office was on the same floor as the goddess so that he would be able to protect her would the need arise.


    *knock-knock-knock*


    After knocking and waiting for a moment, Aidan heard a reply from the inside of the room.


    "Come in."


    After pushing the door and entering the room, Aidan saw Finn sitting behind a large desk with countless documents on it.


    "Oh, hello, Aidan." Said Finn got up from behind the desk and sat directly on it, facing the boy.


    "Good morning." He nodded as he didn''t know what to do from that moment on.


    "I had heard from Riviera yesterday. She left with Ais, and you would be working with me for the next two months. Is that right?" He confirmed with a smile as he waved his hand to show him to sit on the couch.


    "Yes, Riveria told us yesterday afternoon." He answered with a nod as he looked around the room. It was the first time he entered the captain''s office.


    "Alright. To confirm, do you know how to write and count?" He asked in confirmation, just in case.


    "Yes, I do. I never learned per se, but the memories are there, so there is no problem." He nodded as he had never actively learned it but could do it due to the memories in his mind.


    "Alright. In that case, I''ll tell you our schedule for at least the next month. From seven to ten, you will be accompanying me to complete these documents. I''ll show you how to work on them so don''t worry. From ten to twelve, we will go and do combat practises on the training field. Afterwards will be lunch and from one to four you will be with Loki. You will learn what she wants to do with you at that time. Do you have any questions?" He asked as he laid the schedule shortly and concisely.


    "Yes, what do I do from four?" Asked Aidan as he wanted to know if he could do whatever he wanted.


    "I believe Loki prepared something for you. However, if she didn''t prepare anything, you''re free to do whatever you want as long as you are present here the next morning." He explained with a smile as he brought him to the chair on the side of his desk.


    "We''ll start working right now. The documents you will be reading, understanding and answering are essential documents of the familia. They are mainly about the shops affiliated to our familia, its current resources, our force which is the level of each adventurer of the familia and their level up. Afterwards, there are documents linked to the tax we need to pay to the guild, and finally, they are the quests we received.


    The quests can differ from escorting someone, whether in the dungeon or outside the city walls, collecting rare resources on the low floors and exterminating monsters outside the borders. Those are the primary and most common quests. However, pay special attention to tasks with the words urgent written in red. The words are enormous so that you won''t miss them. However, these quests usually are extremely important such as a familia asking for help to save an adventurer, which became a lot safer and more manageable after having your map card, a juggernaut spawning on a floor after an adventurer somehow destroyed a large part of the dungeon or a strong monster appearing. It includes the Goliath, which occurs once every two weeks." Explained the pallum as he quickly went over all the types of documents he could have to work with.


    "Finally, except dealing with the documents, you will have to learn the names of the other adventurers since there are personal quests from time to time, and you will have to bring it to them." He finished as he once again sat behind his desk and pushed a pile of documents to Aidan. "Welcome to the life of a familia''s captain." He grinned as he immediately turned his attention to the large pile of papers in front of him, ignoring the lost expression of Aidan.


    ''Crap, am I going to do this for the next month? I could spend my time in the dungeon and improve myself, but do I have to sign and complete documents? I already miss the minotaurs, sigh.''


    ---


    After a few hours of painstaking office work, Finn got up and saw that the pile of Aidan''s side was almost completed. "Not bad. It saves me a lot of time as well." He grinned as he motioned Aidan to get up. "Let''s go. We''re going to train."


    ''Oh, thank Loki! Wait, no, she''s the one who sent me here in the first place!'' Thought Aidan stupidly as the two went directly to the training ground and started to practice fighting against each other.


    "I heard from Riveria that you had a new move you received from your father?" Asked the pallum as they fought each other. The boy pushed himself to the maximum while the pallum seemed pretty relaxed while fighting back.


    "Yes, but I can only use it once before being unable even to get up." Answered Aidan as he blocked the spear strike of the pallum.


    "Can''t you prepare a stamina and muscle recovering card?" He asked as he was fully aware of the weakness of the move.


    "I can, but in a fight, I won''t have time to recover, and I''ll be directly killed. It''s not a problem if there''s only one strong enemy since I can recover in about five minutes if I use my card magic, but if there''s more than one enemy and I''m dead." He explained as he had also tried to work on the cards the previous day.


    "Well, nothing we can do but train harder and improve the cards, I guess." Nodded the pallum as he continued to attack Aidan, who could barely block with his newly increased physical parameters. "You know, with your current parameters, you are about the level of an average level two adventurer if they had perfect parameters before levelling up. It''s pretty awesome."

 Chapter 51 - Ch.51 Training - Two Months And A Week Later

    "So, what will we do?" Asked Aidan as he faced the goddess of the familia.


    "During our time together, you will accompany me. I''ll teach you how to cook, to at least be able to survive by yourself, I''ll tell you about various old stories and legends about High-humans, and you''ll come with me so that I can brag to the other God and Goddesses." Answered the goddess as a mischievous smile appeared on her face.


    "Alright." Nodded Aidan, uncaringly, as he didn''t have anything else to do anyway.


    ---


    "It''s been a month since Ais and Riveria left, and we haven''t entered the dungeon since then." Said Finn as Aidan was ready for another day of working on papers boringly. "Today, we''ll be going to the dungeon together since I''m starting to get rusty. We''ll go down to the nineteenth floor so that you can train, and I''ll be able to fight good monsters.".


    With an excited smile appearing on his face, Aidan followed the pallum as they headed towards the dungeon at full speed. They didn''t have much time to spend in the dungeon since Finn had other work to do so, they didn''t want to waste time.


    Four hours later, the two of them reached the eighteenth floor. The captain took a break to go and solve a few problems for the familia members in the city of adventurers. During that time, the boy didn''t wait and went to the previous camping location of his and Ais''s latest dive in the dungeon before setting up cards.


    The first card he placed in the middle was the dome card to create a protective sphere over the area. Afterwards, he put a mana converter card right under it, which had both reserves and could convert mana into energy for the card. He then continued by adding a transfer card that could transfer the power of the convert card to the dome card.


    From the converter card he had created, he had found that the card could passively absorb a certain amount of mana from the dungeon. It didn''t work outside of it due to the density being lower, but in the dungeon, the card was able to guarantee a constant supply of energy which would, in the end, keep the power in the dome card steady.


    The reason he placed all these cards was extremely simple. He has found a way to create a teleportation card to teleport from and to the dungeon. However, there were two huge limitations. The first one was that there needed to be a card at the location one wanted to teleport to, and the second was the enormous amount of energy necessary to teleport.


    Finished with the protective cards, Aidan moved to the diversion cards as he placed an invisible card and attention repelling card, something he could now create after receiving the skill from his mother. With these two magic cards, he would repel people''s attention from the dome covering the teleportation card, and he would make it invisible to make it even more unnoticeable.


    Finally, after leaving a teleportation card in the middle of the dome, he threw an alert card at the crown of the dome to notify him if the teleportation location was compromised.


    "Alright, with this, it''ll be easier to go to and from the dungeon in the future. Moreover, while the energy consumed is huge, with the amount of money I have, it is more than enough to guarantee enough energy in the cards with the huge magic stones. Right, Finn should be done soon." Muttered Aidan out loud as he gave one last glimpse at his various cards and sprinted in Finn''s direction.


    A few minutes later, the pallum arrived, and they immediately walked down to the nineteenth floor, which he almost died on previously.


    ---


    "It''s been a week since the dive with Finn in the dungeon, I still haven''t told anyone about the teleportation formation, so I guess it''s time to implement my plan." Grinned Aidan as he finished creating his small hideout in the church and installing the second teleportation card after shielding and protecting his lair as much as he could with his cards.


    With a third teleportation card in his hands, Aidan immediately teleported to the 18th floor of the dungeon.


    Looking at his surroundings, the boy smiled joyously. "Finally, I can continue to fight. I won''t go to the 19th floor yet. I''ll continue to kill the monsters on the 17th floor. Moreover, since I didn''t update my status last time, there isn''t a problem to continue to kill monsters for Excelia. It''s just sad that Ais isn''t here with me." He said, talking to himself out loud as he prepared himself for the next fight to come.


    "Let''s go!" He cheered himself up as he ran both to fight the monsters faster and not be noticed by the other adventurers on the floor, who knew if there was one from the Loki familia.


    ---


    "So, how are your renovation plan doing?" Asked Loki as she walked in the streets with Aidan as she wanted to take a breath of fresh air.


    "It''s going pretty well. It''s pretty easy with telekinesis magic. I have successfully renovated the ceiling, the walls and the floor and I have been decorating it lately. I also inquired, and the church isn''t as abandoned as I thought it was. Hephaestus is the one owning the deed, and she promised to me not to sell the church as long as I was using it." Explained Aidan with a smile as the previously dilapidated church was now nowhere to be seen.


    The church''s interior was now made of beautiful pale brown planks, the exterior ceiling had bricks, and everything was appropriately decorated. Moreover, since he could, he reinforced everything with his cards as a test. He had some dwarves come and dig a well in the back of the church and install a beautiful fence that kept away other random people. Everything was now pretty lovely. Not to mention his secret base in the garden at the church''s exterior, where he kept his teleportation card.


    "That''s great. How about with Finn? How do you find working in the papers?" She asked curiously.


    "It''s pretty boring. I have to read the document before signing off on it if it makes sense. I undoubtedly prefer fighting monsters."


    "Well, I received some news that Riveria and Ais are a little late, so they will only come back in five weeks." Said the goddess as she took a look at Aidan, who was looking forward to her return to not only spend time with her but to go back in the dungeon.


    With a nod of his head, the boy didn''t say anything as he knew it was customary to be a bit late on quests since there were always unpredicted circumstances.


    "Well, I remember you went to the dungeon with Finn a few days back and didn''t update your status. Do you want to update it later?" Asked the goddess, thinking that Aidan was sad and disappointed.


    "No, it''s fine." He answered as he drifted off to buy a snack from the stall and hand one to Loki, who had a surprisingly sweet tooth. "I''ll update another day."


    "Understood." Nodded the goddess with a smile as they both continued on their way to explore Orario, meet new people and discover new food stalls that tasted great.


    That afternoon, Aidan once again made his way to the teleportation and went directly to the dungeon to continue to strengthen himself. He did not doubt that Ais was also killing countless monsters outside of the dungeon so, he couldn''t be weaker than her when she returned.


    As such, the next five weeks went by quickly. In the morning, he would wake up, sometimes having dreamed off of Ais and remembering that she wasn''t there. Afterwards, he would work on the documents with Finn, followed by a quick training with the captain. He would then go to eat with everyone and then go to spend some time with Loki. Finally, he worked a bit on the church, which had a completely new look before going in the dungeon for four hours of combat and exercise.


    With this, his time alone finished, and the party of Riveria and Ais came back in Orario.

 Chapter 52 - Ch.52

    (Ais POV)


    "Well, I''ll see you later." Said the girl as she waved her hand at the boy who accompanied her ever since she joined the Loki familia.


    "Bye, be safe." He smiled back at her as he waved and looked at them leaving the familia manor.


    "Our task is to go to the forest of the elves, I have something to do there." Explained the elven women as she brought Ais along with her on her travels. "On our way there, we will stop at three villages, each plagued by some kind of monster and you will have to track it and kill it. It is different from the dungeon as the monsters in the wild aren''t as bloodthirsty and are a lot more crafty." She explained as she wanted to give her some different experience. After all, The monsters in the dungeon were completely different from those in the wild.


    "I see. Will we kill a lot of monsters on the way over there?" Asked the young girl as she was pumped to be able to kill monsters while in the wild. She didn''t believe that Aidan wouldn''t find a way to enter the dungeon during his free time despite being told not to. After all, they both loved fighting but more importantly, they loved improving themselves and reaching new heights.


    "Yes, there should be a few monsters on our way that you will hunt down. After all, all the monsters outside the dungeon are a potential danger for normal civilians and adventurers'' jobs is also to kill those same monsters before they start killing mindlessly." Nodded the women as they both entered a carriage which would be led to the first village. "At the same time, during our travels, I will teach you how to control your magic properly and help you improve your swordsmanship." She continued as she gave a glance at Ais.


    "I see." She nodded but all she could think of were the monsters she would have the chance to kill. ''I hope that when I come back to Orario, my parameters aren''t too far from Aidan''s.'' She could only think hopefully, knowing that they would probably have a pretty big difference.


    ---


    After their first day in the carriage, Riveria had the coach stop on the side of the road as they would be camping for the night. Previously, whenever she wanted to travel, she would have to keep plenty of bags and items for a better life in the wild. However, now that there were storage cards made by Aidan, her life had become a lot easier.


    "Well sleep here for the night and we''ll be leaving tomorrow morning at the same time as the sun." Exclaimed the high-elf as she immediately took out the already built tent and the various supplies for the night. "Ais if you would be kind enough to place the necessary card around the encampment for safety, I''d be great." She continued as she looked at the young girl as if taunting her to say something.


    "Mhm." Answered the young girl as she was obviously not thrilled to have to stay with the ''old hag'' for the following two months.


    "Well, after that, you''re free to do whatever you want. I have some work to do."


    "Alright." Nodded the young girl as she took out her sword and moved to an open space to do some exercise. While there weren''t any monsters in the surroundings for her to train on, she always did some exercise to keep her senses sharp and be ready for any enemies that might appear.


    After an hour of training, Ais went back to her own large tent as she took out a bath and filled it with water before heating it up with one of Aidan''s cards. ''His magic is as useful as always.'' She thought to herself as she undressed and entered the bath to clean up the sweat and get ready for the night.


    Half an hour later, after cleani ng up after herself and getting in her pyjamas, she slipped into a bed she kept in the storage card and directly went to sleep.


    ---


    An hour and a half later, the young girl turned in her bed, her eyes fully opened. ''I can''t sleep. If only Aidan was there, sleeping with him is the best.'' She thought as she looked at the wall of the tent angrily. ''Why did I have to accompany the old hag, couldn''t she bring someone else with her?''


    Getting up from her bed, she went to drink a bit of water before using the coldness card Aidan had previously created which would be useful against monsters who were afraid of the cold. ''With this card at a low strength in the tent, it should be easier to sleep when I''m under the covers.'' She thought with a smile on her face at her ''brilliant idea''.


    ---


    The following morning, Ais woke up only to feel her throat parched and feeling bad as she had no force to get up. ''Crap, did I keep the cold too strong in the tent?'' She thought in horror as only the idea of getting up and leaving her covers made her want to bury her head back in the covers.


    Forcing herself to get out of the covers and enter a warm bath as she hoped to completely wake up with it and maybe cure her parched throat, Riveria pushed open the tent entrance and entered only to see the sick Ais. "What happened?" She asked with concern in her voice.


    "I couldn''t sleep last night. So, I used the coldness card at the lowest intensity possible to feel better and fall asleep easier. However, when I woke up this morning, I felt very bad." She explained as she didn''t know what to do. She was hesitant to use the healing card Aidan had made since it could save her life in a difficult situation.


    With an exasperated sigh, Riveria looked at her for a moment before continuing to talk to her. "Use the healing card, at least you''ll feel better. Hopefully, our two months trip will allow you to fall asleep without being with Aidan." She said as she shook her head, understanding the reason her apprentice couldn''t sleep.


    "Yes." Answered the golden haired girl as she immediately took out the card and felt better instantly after using it.


    "Get ready, we''re leaving in ten minutes." Said the women before leaving the tent once again.


    "Sigh, Only two months minus a day remaining. I hope we won''t have to spend more time than necessary. I already miss Aidan." Said the girl out loud as she looked back to the water, a bit depressed.


    Outside the tent, Riveria clearly heard the words of the girl. After all, while she wasn''t a beastman with enhanced senses, she was still a high-level adventurer and her senses were extremely developed. "Let''s train her enough so that she will be too exhausted at night to not fall asleep." She nodded to herself as she really wanted what was best for the young girl who was rapidly getting ready.


    ---


    For the next few weeks, Ais and Riveria fought wild monsters and trained together. At night, Ais was too exhausted to stay awake and it allowed her to vent her frustration on monsters at the same time.


    "We''ll be arriving at the center of the forest of the elves. I won''t be able to accompany you to fight everyday since I have some things to do. So, for the few days that we stay here, take some time to relax. We won''t stay for long and we''ll rush back to Orario once we''re done here.. Believe me, I also want to leave as fast as possible.

 Chapter 53 - Ch.53

    Aidan walked outside of the manor as he heard about both Ais and Riveria coming back to Orario. He couldn''t wait to meet up with his only friend, and at the same time, he was more than tired of dealing with paperwork and being restricted from entering the dungeon, not that he followed the rule.


    As he arrived outside, he saw Ais walking with Riveria and the corners of her mouth tilted. He didn''t know whether it was because she would be able to continue training and go back in the dungeon or because she saw him. However, Aidan liked to think it was due to both.


    As Ais arrived next to Aidan, she nodded and showed him a smile which showed how happy she was to be back with him. "I know you two want to go straight back to the dungeon. However, it''s already later. As such, you can only go there tomorrow morning, not before. At the same time, Ais, you need to go and get your status updated before you go back so, you''re coming with me." she said as she pulled Ais''s hand and brought her to Loki while Aidan, who was simply happy that she came back, decided to go back to his room.


    "Alright, they were not aware that I went in the dungeon during the time I was prohibited to. That''s not a problem, I went with Finn once, and with tomorrow, I''ll have a good excuse to have a huge increase in my parameters." Said Aidan to himself; as he thought about three things that made him happy. Firstly, he was going back to the dungeon. Secondly, Ais had come back and thirdly, he didn''t have to do any more paperwork for a while. For a time, because he was confident that Finn would have him work with him once again soon.


    ---


    Half an hour later, Ais arrived in the room as she dropped directly on the bed after taking off her shoes. "I missed this bed." She said lightly as she smiled at Aidan and hugged him. "Loki said that we can go to the dungeon tomorrow as long as we''re careful. However, we only have two weeks as after that it''s the Denatus. So, we should make this count." She smiled as her eyes lit up.


    With a solemn nod, Aidan smiled, and after changing, he went to bed, this time with Ais, who had a happy smile. They both soon fell into their slumber as they hugged each other while sleeping, having the best sleep since they separated first.


    ---


    The following morning, with Ais, they woke up early and went directly to the dungeon. He was going to show her the teleportation card. However, he needed to wait for entering the dungeon as he didn''t want to cause suspicion and make them understand that he had managed to teleport during the evening to continue diving in the dungeon alone when told not to. Loki was a pretty good investigator, and he didn''t want to enter her radar.


    Once inside the dungeon, as they had run to it, Aidan took Ais''s hand as he took out the teleportation card, which would only teleport to one of his two markers and threw it in front of him as they both ran into the portal the card had created.


    "Where are we?" Asked Ais, confused as they had managed to leave the corridors made of stone.


    "18th floor." Grinned Aidan as Ais immediately looked up and confirmed his claim.


    "You used this to enter the dungeon while we were prohibited." She said with a calm voice as she immediately understood everything.


    "Yes, while it cost a lot of energy, there isn''t a problem transporting a few people with the number of crystals we collect when we kill the monsters. Moreover, I can only teleport to a location I set up a portal in. Currently, there is a portal here." He said while tapping his feet on the ground. "The second one is in the garden behind the church we went to previously. I created some secret bases under it and protected them with various cards. So, we can go back to the surface whenever we want without having to walk up the seventeen floors above." He answered while explaining the limitation of the portal card and where the two current teleportation locations were.


    With a nod from Ais, who only looked at the dungeon with a ''hungry'' gaze, Aidan led the way as they made their way to the nineteenth floor. "We both trained a lot since we went down to this floor. This time, we should be fine." Said the boy as they walked down the stairs leading to the level they almost died on.


    "I trained a lot." Nodded Ais as they both prepared as they walked on the previous floor that had stopped them.


    Spotting the first monster, they charged ahead as Aidan swung his sword after Ais made a distraction with her strike, allowing him to bisect the Lizardmen at his waist.


    Immediately after he killed their first monster, they moved to the small pack of four lizardmen which appeared as the previous one was turning into dust.


    "This is easier than before." He said out loud as they rushed to the next group of monsters appearing. The worse thing about this floor was the poison in the air, which could only be countered by either an antidote or the abnormal resistance skill. Thankfully, they both had it, although a bit differently from the other adventurers. As such, this floor wasn''t that hard as long as you have the fundamental strength to fight on it.


    "Yes. Now that I think about the last time we came here, we weren''t strong enough to kill them rapidly, which caused them to swarm us." Nodded Ais as she killed the second bear that appeared since their arrival on this floor.


    "Well, I guess we both know where we will be training for the following two weeks. Moreover, from what I see from the cards, the map hasn''t been completely mapped yet. We could do it while we train on this floor." Proposed Aidan as it was boring staying at the same place only to kill and kill again. At least by filling the map, they had a goal.


    "Sure, let''s do it." She nodded as a smile appeared on her face. She missed her time in the dungeon.


    ---


    For the following two weeks, Aidan and Ais walked and explored the floor, which had almost killed them previously while mapping the entire floor and improving their status. The young boy held no doubt that their status would significantly increase the next time they updated it.


    After all, level two monsters started appearing on the thirteenth floor of the dungeon, and they were currently exploring the 19th floor with him not having updated his status even once since then.


    "We should go back soon. According to Loki''s request, we have to arrive back at the familia in half an hour." Said Aidan as he looked at the time and at Ais, who was finishing collecting her things in her storage card.


    "I''m ready." She nodded as she held Aidan''s hand with a smile, and the boy used the portal card to teleport back to their secret base in the garden of the church.


    As she looked at the various active cards protecting their small base, they both walked out of the garden and walked back to the Loki familia manor.


    "Were you the one who renovated the church?" Asked Ais, shocked, she looked at the now beautiful church, which looked a bit like a house.


    "Yes, I had nothing else to do, and I needed an excuse for being here." He explained with a small laugh as he was indeed proud of the renovation he had done to the manor.


    They then made small talk as they stopped at a road stall to buy some snacks from the same vendor who had sold him the potatoes the day he went to take the Loki-familia trials.


    "Hum." Said Ais as she continued to munch the food rapidly.


    "Indeed, hum. The food is good as always." Nodded Aidan as he ate bite by bite instead of looking like Ais, who looked like a squirrel with food-filled cheeks.


    "Ais, Aidan. Loki wants to see you right now." Said a man who neither of them had ever talked to.


    "Alright, thanks." Nodded Aidan as Ais slightly nodded her head as the two of them changed their course to their room to Loki''s room.


    ---


    Author note: (Important)


    1) The reason the chapter was so late is because I was preparing another novel which I just published on the platform. The novel joined the last writing prompt. It''s called: The Adventurer''s Guild Master.


    If you guys have like five minutes to spare for me, would you be interested in going to take a look, comment and drop the powerstone if you feel like it? Thanks in advance :)

 Chapter 54 - Ch.54 Aliases

    "Ha! Ais, Aidan, come here!" Said Loki, talking loudly as usual.


    "Hello, Loki." Answered Aidan as he sat on the couch in front of the goddess while Ais nodded as a greeting.


    "Now, you should know why I called you two back, right?" Asked Loki as she gave a grin to Aidan, who only nodded as he already knew what she wanted.


    "Here are the aliases that I thought about. What is your opinion?" She asked as she gave him a list with aliases for both him and Ais.


    "Hum, most are pretty bad." He said while glancing at Loki, who reddened in shame as she was the one who thought of those. "I mean, for me, wildcard, ace and joker aren''t bad, and Ais''s sword princess is pretty nice too. As for the others tho? Card magician and trickster, in particular, they would make me look like a street magician." He continued as he shook his head as even Ais had hee eyes grow wide as she looked at Loki wearily.


    "Okay, okay. My poor hearth." Started the goddess as she placed both of her hands on her flat left breast at the position of her heart. "I get it. The names are bad. So, if you''re so good, what about you tell me what you would like to be named?" She asked with a grin.


    "Since we have the twin star skill and with our hair colour, I''d go with Sol and Luna." He said as Ais opened her eyes before nodding furiously at Loki, who was also taken aback by those two names.


    "I agree. The names are pretty good. Alright, those will be your new aliases. It won''t even be hard to get them since if they mess with you or Ais, they can say goodbye to their cards." Chimed Loki as she knew the power Aidan and Ais, by consequence, held over a lot of gods who had their life a lot easier with the cards.


    "Did you know that it became a sign of status for gods if every of their level two and above child had a storage card?" Asked Loki as she grinned widely. "However, it became even crazier when some competitive gods started to buy a storage card with bigger space simply because they could for their children and themselves. However, it''s only amongst the lower-grade familia as having a bigger storage card means that their child can bring more resources in the dungeon and improve faster and more safely." She continued with a smile as thanks to Aidan. She was swimming in gold.


    With that news, Aidan and Ais lifted their eyebrows. Aidan, in particular, hadn''t expected that only having different sizes of storage cards would trigger such a phenomenon.


    "However, the symbol of status for higher ranking familia is to have a perfect map of the floors. The more maps completed, the more they can brag about it. Due to this, our maps are getting better and better without needing to do anything, and they still pay to work for us." Continued Loki as she showed a prominent and cunning smile.


    Upon seeing the stare of both youngsters in front of her, Loki explained. "The gods are rarely happy to be scammed, and being a part of this is making me happy."


    "Alright, apart from calling you back from the dungeon for your alias, I also wanted to update your status. You have been fighting on the nineteenth floor for two weeks, so it''s time to update." She said as Aidan immediately took his shirt off before she could express her famous: "Strip." Loki had told this to every member of the familia once or twice, and they all learned to show their back before she could say it.


    With a click of her tongue, she patted Aidan''s back a bit forcefully, which he almost didn''t feel anything as his endurance parameter had significantly increased, which increased his defence.


    With a drop of blood falling on his back, his status updated, and Loki, who had just calmed down after having her fun taken away from her, grinned once again. "Damn, you worked hard!" She exclaimed as she studied his new status.


    "Alright, here." She said she stamped a sheet of paper on his back to copy his status before handing it over to him.


    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 2


    Strength: I-10 -> A-870


    Endurance: I-10 -> A-894


    Dexterity: I-10 -> A-845


    Agility: I-10 -> A-869


    Magic: I-10 -> S-903


    Skill: High Human, Twin Star, Avenger, Triple Step


    Magic: Card Magic, Telekinesis


    Development ability: Hunter, Luck]


    ''Eum, I see why she was pumped. However, I understand why my parameters upgraded so much. I spent a few hours each day for more than a month fighting on the seventeenth floor and then two weeks on the nineteenth floor. I expected that it would upgrade so much.


    When I was level one, it became hard to upgrade my parameters to 1500 since I surpassed every adventurer, but once I levelled up and turned back at I-10, I could restart gaining excelia from the thirteenth floor. So, improving this much is expected.'' He nodded his head in understanding while he turned to Ais, who had just finished updating her status.


    [Name: Ais


    Level: 2


    Strength: I-10 -> C-647


    Endurance: I-10 -> C-698


    Dexterity: I-10 -> C-651


    Agility: I-10 -> C-666


    Magic: I-10 -> C-679


    Skill: Avenger, Twin Star, Half-Spirit, High-Human(Abnormal status resistance)


    Magic: Wind slash


    Development ability: Hunter, Luck]


    ''Hum, she made great progress, but I guess that two weeks weren''t able to close the gap of more than a month of fighting. However, it''s alright. After all, I have to reach 1500 while she reaches 1250, so the difference isn''t exactly bad, and we will level up at the same time again.'' He thought while nodding his head and looking at her status.


    "Well, the two of you made great progress. It is understandable since you can fight on the nineteenth floor compared to adventurers of your level who would be fighting a hard battle on the thirteenth floor. Those extra parameters give you an incredible edge against others even if increasing your parameters from 1000 to 1250 and 1500 respectively is a lot harder than others." She said pensively as she looked at the two youngsters in front of her.


    "Alright, I''ll be going to the Denatus, so don''t go back to the dungeon. You''ll hear of your alias tomorrow morning." She grinned as she left the room, not caring that she left the two in her room. Instead, she couldn''t wait to see the face of the other gods when they learned that two eight years old had managed to level up to two.


    ---


    A few hours later (POV Loki)


    "Alright, everyone to your seat." Said Ouranos loudly, calming every god who was talking together. "We only have one order of business. Today, we are to choose the aliases of newly promoted adventurers. We will start with Nira Lisstu of the Benzaiten familia. (Hindu goddess of knowledge according to google.)


    "I propose fast foot!" Shouted a god as he looked gloatingly at Benzaiten as he referred to the escape ability.


    With more and more aliases popping from everywhere, Loki, who was extremely serious due to having to get Aidan''s and Ais''s nickname looked coldly at the table of gods, which stopped them in their tracks as they started to offer better aliases in fear of angering the goddess of one of the two strongest familia of Orario.


    Of course, none of the gods knew what was going on in Loki''s head. She was only focused on getting the aliases that her two children had asked and couldn''t care less about the nickname of that Nira girl. However, due to her serious face, Loki received a thankful look from Benzaiten, who had finally regained some colour.


    The Denatus continued on its way as finally, after two hours, Aidan''s name appeared on the table, and Ouranos read his file.


    "Aidan, a member of the Loki familia and the card mage who has been producing the cards for the city. His feat was to kill a minotaur. Aidan is currently eight years old." He said after reading the file on the young boy.


    Before any gods or goddesses could make a sound, Loki tapped on the table, bringing attention to her. "I propose the alias of Sol." She said while giving a glance at the few gods who wanted to talk.


    In the end, no one disapproved despite quite a few gods being angry and wanting to mess with the famous card mage.


    "Alright, next one is Ais from the Loki familia. Her feat was also to kill a minotaur. She is currently eight years old." Summarized Ouranos as his left eyebrow lifted slightly after noticing that the two were partners.


    "I propose Luna." Said Loki, who once again received no disapproval voice despite a few gods wanting to mess with her.


    "Alright, next one." Continued Ouranos, who didn''t care about the few gods who were gritting their teeth.


    ----------


    Author note:


    I''m going to ask again for anyone interested in helping me:


    I joined the contest on webnovel, and the book I''m writing is ''The Adventurer''s Guild Master.'' Just reading to give me your comment if you''re interested, power stones to help me or really anything would make my day.. Many thanks for considering my request.

 Chapter 55 - Ch.55 3 Months

    The following morning, Aidan slowly got out of the clutches of a very clingy Ais. He directly went to wash, and by the time he was back in the bedroom to wake up Ais, the girl tiredly opened her eyes and looked at Aidan, who was already prepared for the day.


    Opening her arms, Aidan came closer and hugged her once more as he helped her get up, not wanting to see her fall asleep once again. "Ais, today we will receive our alias. We should also be able to go back to the dungeon." He tentatively whispered in her ear as the mention of the dungeon immediately woke her up.


    "You think we can?" She asked as her eyes opened in excitement and happiness.


    "We should be able to. We only spent two weeks in the dungeon after two months out of it." He answered while smiling.


    "Then let''s go!" She exclaimed but didn''t move from his hug. "Bring me to the bathroom." She continued as he only sighed a bit and hugged her closer to his body before bringing her to the bathroom, where he left her to get ready.


    ''Sigh, why do I feel I''m slowly becoming tamer in front of Ais?'' He asked himself in wonder. ''Is it my imagination?'' He continued asking himself. ''Yeah, it probably is.'' He nodded to himself as he finished preparing.


    "Alright, I''m ready!" Said Ais as she came closer to him and took his hand. "Let''s go! We have to meet Loki and tell her we''re going to the dungeon for the next few months." She continued as she brought him with her.


    ---


    Three months later, on the twenty-eighth floor of the dungeon.


    With their parameters significantly increased, the duo went from the nineteenth floor to the twenty-fourth floor with relative ease. Since, according to the guild, to descend to the last floor of the Large tree labyrinth, you need at least C in their parameters. They had no problem, even more so when their level one parameters were significantly higher than other adventurers.


    However, they didn''t dare to enter the twenty-fifth floor, which they should have been able to enter and explore. The reason was simple. The monster Rex Amphisbaena which had a one-month respawn rate was still alive and moving between the twenty-fifth to the twenty-seventh floor.


    As such, the duo waited for half a month until they met with a team of the Loki familia specialized in taking down this specific monster rex. So, after hearing of the monster''s death, the two of them started training on the twenty-fifth and went down to the twenty-seventh floor.


    Fighting on those floors wasn''t as hard as they had believed it to be, and it was justified after thinking about it. The twenty-seventh floor was a place where the newly promoted level three adventurers could explore relatively easily. As for them who had the parameters of a weak level, three adventurers, with max parameters in their previous levels, it was a sinch. After all, to enter the 27th floor, you only had to be an average level, three adventurers.


    (Aidan: 1500+20%=1800(lv. 1); average 800 parameters (lv.2) = 2600 total parameters)


    (Perfect adventurer: 999+20%= 1199(lv.1); 999+20%= 1199(lv.2) = 2398 total parameters)


    Finally, except for fighting on the twenty-seventh floor, Aidan and Ais went down to the twenty-eight, also a safe floor in the dungeon. Aidan had been surprised that there were so many safe zones, but it was understandable as there was one after every monster rex. As such, they changed their camping location from the eighteenth floor to the twenty-eight since it was closer to the monsters, which could give them a challenge.


    With new teleportation on this safe zone, the duo decided to explore it as it was vastly different from the previous one.


    "So, are we exploring the safe zone today?" Asked Aidan as Ais walked out of their shared tent.


    "Yes, we''ve been fighting for three months already, and I''m a bit tired of it recently." Answered the girl. "Moreover, we need to go back to the surface tomorrow, so it''s a nice change." She explained as Aidan went closer to her and put the back of his hand on her forehead.


    "Hum strange. You''re not sick, but you say that you don''t want to fight monsters." He said teasingly as he took the girl''s hand and brought her outside of their camp.


    Giving a quick look at Ais, Aidan smiled as he saw her giving him the stink eye after his previous comment.


    "But, this floor is different from the previous one! The caves and the countless rivers and lakes were replacing the cliffs and the trees from the 18th." Said Aidan, bringing her attention to something else.


    "Yes, but even if this floor is lower, I prefer the previous one. It is too humid here. I feel soaked simply by walking on this floor." She said, a bit disgusted by all the humidity that stuck to her and her clothes.


    "Hum, let me work on that quick." Answered Aidan as he had a great idea, taking out two white cards.


    "Let''s use the words: Environment regulation." He said, talking to himself as he started engraving the words and infusing some magic power into the cards.


    Not even two minutes later, the two cards were ready, and he gave one to Ais. "Keep the card on you, and it''ll solve the problem." He said while giving her a card which she rapidly tucked in her pocket.


    "Well, let''s continue." Said Ais, now happy as she gave him a comfortable look and came closer to him, walking next to each other.


    ---


    "Welcome back, you two. How was the dungeon~?" Asked Loki as she came closer to the duo and welcomed them back while she massaged the ass of another female member.


    *Tump*


    "Well, it was nice. We got down to the twenty-eight floor." Answered Aidan as he looked at the now red-palm mark on the right cheek of their goddess.


    "Oh? So you managed to get down there, huh. In that case, you should be close to levelling up soon?" She asked as she knew that except for a few, only level three adventurers explored those deeper floors.


    "I wouldn''t know, but we did fight a lot." He nodded with a smile as he was proud of the last three months of adventuring.


    "So, do you want to update your status?" She asked, of which the two youngsters readily agreed. In the end, the only change was for Aidan''s stats to reach S and SS while Ais went A and S in her parameters.


    ------


    Author note: Sorry the chapter is short, and the update is taking forever. I just started a new job, and it''s taking way more energy than I''m willing to spend hahaha well, I''ll write when I can, but well, ot really depends on the job.


    So, have a good day.

 Chapter 56 - Ch.56

    For the next two weeks, Ais and Aidan didn''t officially enter the dungeon as per Loki''s request as she mentioned that they needed to have a life outside of monsters and dungeon. Instead, they were put back with their mentors. Aidan went back to do paperwork with Finn while Ais went with Riveria to look over the current members of the familia to guarantee their entrance to the dungeon as written in their contract.


    Besides the tedious work and the evening escapade in the dungeon, Aidan brought Ais back to the church, which he continued to renovate in his free time while the girl sometimes helped him or sat next to him watching him work.


    Aidan was now at the house where he needed to develop and improve the cards he had in the former church and more mansion-like building. While it didn''t help in combat to create such cards, it did help to improve his imagination which was always helpful which such unique magic.


    The two weeks passed relatively quickly with both children accompanying each other, and soon they were again allowed to enter the dungeon.


    ---


    With the blessing of their goddess, they teleported to the 28th floor, which they had now made their base as monsters around the 18th floor, while useful for their parameters weren''t strong enough to give them a challenge. Instead, they stuck further down, which offered them more excelia and fighting experience.


    "Let''s go to the 29th floor today." Said the girl as she was extremely excited to live in the dungeon for the following time.


    "Sure." Nodded the boy as they both rapidly prepared and walked towards the stairs leading to the 29th floor, only to be stopped by a group of twelve men.


    As the two youngsters were about to walk past them in the side, a few of the members straightened their arms on the side to block their passage as they each had a grin appearing on their faces.


    As Aidan was showing a frown on his face, their apparent leader, a man wearing black pants and revealing a muscular and scared torso which fit well with his equally scared face, spoke up. "Kids, you shouldn''t ignore someone who is blocking you. That''s bad manners." He said with a grin before continuing. "We are members of the Thanatos familia. I''ll forgive you if you stay with us for the night." He grinned lasciviously as he looked at Aidan''s body, licking his lips while his subordinates did the same towards Ais.


    With a shudder that ran through his spine, Aidan unknowingly clenched his buttocks as he didn''t want to know why the man was looking at him this way. Not to mention the way his subordinates were looking at Ais.


    While internally thinking that it would be a scary world if everyone relied on their backings to permit themselves and force others to do their biddings. The boy could almost see such a world and just thinking about it made him have cold sweat. However, his thinking didn''t stop his reaction as he pushed Ais slightly behind him while his other hand held on the sword''s scabbard, which had his sword in it.


    Taking back his hand and putting it on the hilt of his sword, ready for whatever was going to happen, he saw from the corner of his eyes some women making their way to the 29th floor, which they had also been doing before being stopped by those men.


    However, his action to preparing for battle was not well received by the opposite members as they each took out their weapon and rushed towards them with their full strength while shouting: "You''re courting death."


    Just as they rushed, Aidan threw a recording card to the ceiling and a few shield cards to block the opponent''s movement while he started to fight back, which was quickly joined by Ais, who found these adventurers even more repulsive than the monsters, which was quite rare.


    However, they weren''t the only two who started fighting, as the previous group of women he had seen were also rushing at their full speed towards them. As for whether they were to support the enemies or to provide assistance, Aidan was quite confident in himself that they were rushing to help them as he didn''t see any semblance between the two groups.


    And indeed it was so as the group of seven women rushed and attacked the group was still shouting ''You''re courting death!''


    The fight didn''t take too much time as the enemy group only had about one or two-level three adventurers, and the rest were level two who had piggybacked on their teammates to reach a floor this low in the dungeon safely.


    Once all twelve men were down and unconscious, Aidan and Ais vigilantly looked at the group of women who came to help them. They had repeatedly been told by the veterans of the familia how dangerous it could be in the dungeon since not only were there monsters but there were also lawless adventurers preying on the weaker ones.


    "Nice to meet you two. I am Alise, and these are my familia members. We are part of the Astraea familia." She greeted and explained to them with a smile as she noticed their defensive posture.


    With an eyebrow shooting up, Aidan gave them a look over. Even he who spent as much time in the dungeon as possible was aware of the Astraea familia who acted as a police force in Orario. Their members were known to have been selected explicitly by their goddess Astraea. Moreover, their familia only accepted familia members.


    He was still debating whether to believe them as it was easy to impersonate a familia as asking to look at the person''s status was very frowned upon. He heard Ais''s comment while she pulled his sleeve. "I saw them with Riveria on the surface. They are the police." She said in a low voice that everyone around could hear.


    With a relieved nod at her timely intervention, he answered while smiling at them. "Nice to meet you. I am Aidan, and this is Ais." He said while pointing at his partner. "We are part of the Loki familia." He continued as it seemed a custom to tell their familia as this group and the previous one spoke about it. However, the group of men were menacingly telling them.


    With a smile, she turned to the group of men and asked. "Can you tell me what happened for them to fight you?"


    "Well, they blocked our way and said that we should accompany them for the night." Answered Aidan as he still had some shivers at the look the man previously gave him.


    With surprise, then anger as she looked at the men, she went back to surprise as she took in words carefully. "The two of you?" She asked again to confirm.


    Seeing an approving nod from Aidan, she nodded and talked to her teammates. "It seems that we have some work for ourselves." She said as she pointed the group of men on the ground.


    "Yes. However, even if we bring them back to the surface, we don''t have any proof." Said her friend by the name of Kaguya as she shook her head as she knew that even if they brought them back up, they wouldn''t have any shreds of evidence.


    "Eum, if you want, I have a recording of what happened." Answered Aidan as he pointed the card above that was slowly descending thanks to his telekinesis.


    "Perfect! We will take care of those men, so don''t you worry a bit." Grinned Alise as she loved bringing guilty people to justice, especially when they were about to take advantage of two children.


    "Well, we will be going now. Be careful in the future. There are a lot of such people around." Said Alise as the elven girl behind the duo nodded her head as she stared at the two of them with a neutral expression.


    "Thank you for your help." Answered Aidan as Ais said her thanks as well. "We will be careful." He continued as they left, leaving the men on the ground with the women planning on dealing with this problem themselves. They seemed to love doing so anyway.


    ---


    AN: Well, it''s going to take time for the updates. I don''t have time due to work as I''m too tired to write when I return home.. Even this one was simply put out since I managed to squeeze two hours x), well have a good day.

 Chapter 57 - Ch.57

    (Hi everyone, it''s been a while, huh? Many things happened to me, including overtime and a broken cellphone which I inadvertently dropped in the snow, and if that wasn''t enough, I kicked it after not realizing I dropped it... yeah, it''s broken, I''ll buy another one soon :)


    Here is a chapter with a time skip cause. We''ll advance this story for once, be glad, time skip lovers!)


    ------


    (Year 995, January, five years before the original cannon)


    Two years and seven months since their expedition when they met the Astraea familia, many things happened.


    Firstly, Ais and Aidan never stopped their training with Riveria and Finn, respectively. They significantly increased their skills, intending to fight more vigorous opponents at the same level. This training not only allowed them to be more proficient in fighting monsters but also in fighting humans. With the growth of Evilus during those two years, they were often attacked in the dungeon, and this training became essential to protect their lives and not be taken out in an ambush.


    However, Aidan soon learned that Ais''s training was not only about magic and swordsmanship, but also to help her communicate with others, not that he thought Riveria would make a great teacher for this specific aspect as she was just like Ais, cold to strangers. However, he still wasn''t stupid enough to say it out loud.


    Secondly, three months before the new year of 993 (7 years before cannon), both youngsters managed to level up to three. However, with the constant fighting which happened not only in the dungeon but also in the city, which became less and less secure, none of the two became happy with their current strength and redoubled their efforts in the dungeon. At the same time, they were both the youngest lv. Three adventurers, it wasn''t enough for them as older people could quickly kill them, and countless monsters in the dungeon were stronger than them.


    However, Loki slowed down, who didn''t want them only to spend their lives fighting. As such, except for the constant fighting in the dungeon and training, Aidan continued to renovate the church, which was a lot more similar to a manor now, and a high class one with the countless cards in various parts of the mansion to improve it. Cards such as lighting, heating, coldness, security, reinforcement were placed around the villa, making it one of a kind.


    Once Aidan finished the mansion and the base for the teleportation array, he turned a bit towards blacksmithing to do essential maintenance on his equipment while in the dungeon. Moreover, it was too good to pass when Hephaestus herself agreed to train him from time to time when she had time. Well, it was not that Aidan was that interested in blacksmithing, but Loki forced him to find something else than adventuring every day with Ais.


    Thankfully, having developed his teleportation formations allowed the two of them to spend some time in the dungeon each day despite Loki''s demands. Moreover, the teleportation array soon became extremely important to the two of them since the Loki familia made an expedition to the low floors, and they reached all the way to floor 50, the safe zone of the dungeon. Aidan certainly didn''t forget to put a teleportation array on this floor since it took the familia a whole week to reach this floor.


    Except for the training and the monsters, Evilus moved a few months after they became level four. On the 24th floor of the dungeon, Aidan and Ais stumbled upon the Astraea familia fighting hundreds of adventurers, all members of Evilus. With their assistance, the Astraea familia managed to escape from the siege unscathed, thanks to the countless cards used to protect and heal the members who were already on the verge of death.


    Finally, the two of them levelled up to level five, making them the youngest first-class adventurers in Orario ever since the gods descended and granted their falna upon mortals.


    ---


    "Congratulations to the two new level five of the familia~!" Shouted Loki, completely drunk as she was standing on the table in the hostess of Fertility, facing other members of the familia.


    "Yeah!" Shouted the crowd of adventurers as they lifted their mug of alcohol in the air with great vigour, causing a lot of the drink to fall to the ground out of their cup.


    The two concerned youngsters were currently sitting at Loki''s table, the same one being stepped on by the shoeless Loki.


    "So, what are we gonna do from tomorrow onwards?" Asked Ais as she drank fruit juice next to Aidan.


    "Let''s take a break until the next expedition. We''ve been in the dungeon most of our time since joining the Loki familia. We could take a one-month break." Answered Aidan as he wished to breathe fresh air from the surface for a while.


    "Huh? Do we have another expedition? But, it''s not necessary anymore, isn''t it?" Asked Ais, confused, as she knew Aidan had explained the teleportation formation he had created on all the safe floors of the dungeon until the fiftieth floor to Loki.


    "No, this time, it''s not for the resources of the deep floors since we can go there rather easily. This time, it''s to give a chance to the others in the familia to fight stronger monsters in a group in the hope that it will allow a few of them to level up." Answered Aidan as he knew why she asked.


    "When is it?" Asked the girl as she leaned her head on Aidan''s shoulder while sipping her fruit juice.


    "A month later." He replied as he leaned his head on the girl''s as he relaxed a bit.


    After having lived together ever since they were seven years old, spending countless nights huddled together in the dungeon, fighting side by side to make it together or fall together, they had long gotten highly close as they both believed in the other more than they believed in themselves. They both knew that the other would never hurt or abandon them, and it allowed them to be extremely close and live together with no reservations.


    ---


    A few days later, as the two were walking around the city, hoping to find something interesting to do, the two teammates encountered a crowd surrounding amazon as they were declaring their superiority and strength haughtily while challenging everyone around.


    As such, for the bored Ais and Aidan, it became pretty interesting as they rapidly made their way across the crowd and faced the two amazonesses with attractive smiles.


    "We''ll challenge you." Said Aidan as he took out his sword, which Ais quickly copied as they stared at the two amazonesses who had shown a smile full of battle intent.


    A moment later, as both duos stared at each other, they sprinted towards the opponent with enough force to break the stone on the ground as they soon clashed weapons together.

 Chapter 58 - Ch.58

    This wasn''t even a battle as Aidan and Ais''s attacks completely repelled and took down the two amazons who were like children in front of them. The crowd, frozen due to the immediate take-down soon exploded in cheers as the two amazons who had been bullying them had received a beating that they would surely remember most of their lives.


    With a shake of his head due to the cheering of the crowd, the disappointment of not having a good fight and the letdown of not having found something fun to do, Aidan came closer to the two amazons. In his opinion, although they were completely obliterated, they would make fine adventurers in their familia due to the thirst for the strength he could feel from them and their strength at their young age.


    Holding an unconscious amazon on his shoulder like a potato bag, Ais soon copied his action as the two of them left towards the manor where they would leave the ''recruits'' to Loki. At least with this, Loki wouldn''t be able to nag to them about only being able to go in the dungeon and helping with paperwork from time to time.


    Their arrival in the Twilight manor with two unconscious people rapidly made its way through the members who immediately started gossiping. After all, anything related to the two of them often made great rumours since they were quite the celebrity in the familia due to their level and young age.


    Arriving in front of Loki''s room, Aidan, compared to before didn''t show as much respect to the goddess as he simply pushed open the door and walked to the sofas. After all, he and his goddess were close enough that she wouldn''t care a single bit.


    "Hehehe, so you brought back a few girls, huh~". Immediately said Loki as she appeared from who knows whereas she took a look at the two amazonian sisters. "Hum, this one is a lot more developed. I''m sure they won''t mind~." Continued the goddess in her mind as her hands inched closer and closer to the breast of the larger sister.


    With a quick movement, Ais pushed back the hand of the goddess who immediately showed a pout before a grin as she walked behind Ais and tried to grab her budding chest which was unfortunately for Loki, already bigger than her own.


    "Alright, so how did you meet them?" Asked the goddess after being once again stopped by Ais who didn''t take to Loki''s nonsense.


    With a quick explanation, Loki nodded as the two youngsters left, not wanting to spend more time with two unconscious girls and Loki. Although it was only a few hours later would the two remember her quirks as they left two girls and a perverted goddess together?


    ¡ª-


    A month later, in front of the dungeon with all the members who will proceed with the expedition.


    For this expedition, they didn''t put any conditions. Instead, all members were welcome to join but they would have to stop on a certain floor depending on their level.


    Level one would have to stop on the 18th floor as they would become a burden afterwards. They would be the ones fighting the monsters from the first to the 13th floor upon which they would receive help from level two adventurers if necessary until the 18th floor.


    Level two adventurers would have to stop on the 28th floor of the dungeon which was the second safe zone of the dungeon. Consequently, level two and above members who didn''t have the abnormal resistance skill would need either poison resistance cards or potions. In the case they had neither, they would be forced to stay on the 18th floor along with the level ones. Just like the previous floors, the level two adventurers would be the ones fighting on the 19th to the 24th floor and they would receive help from level three until the second safe zone.


    The weaker level three adventurers would have to stop on the 39th floor which was the third safe point after the White Palace. Level three would fight from the safe zone to the 36th floor with level four helping them fight the monsters on the deep floor, especially in the White Palace and the 38th floor.


    The remaining level three and level four adventurers of the familia would be fighting from the 40th floor down to the 49th floor where Ais and Aidan would be taking down Balor to allow them safe passage to the 50th floor which was also another safe zone of the dungeon.


    Overall, it would take then four days to go from the surface to the 59th floor of the dungeon while also allowing the members to fight higher-levelled monsters which would allow them to eventually raise their level. This way of levelling up the members was rarely used by other familias due to the need for higher levelled adventurers protecting them and the cost of potions and elixirs if they were deeply hurt. Thankfully, Aidan''s cards stopped most of the downsides of this method. Thanks to this, he was sure that the familia would usher in growth with a big number of adventurers levelling up.


    Finally, on the fiftieth floor, levels three and four would be fighting the monsters on the floor above since it was a lot safer with Balor already being dead.


    As for the level five and six adventurers, they would be going down to the 58th floor directly with the help of the holes made by the Valgang dragons and telekinesis to let them fall the eight floors.


    With this, they would train for a while by killing the dragons and locating the 59th-floor entrance. It was even easier since there were map cards to keep track of their progress. As such, the group divided with Ais and Aidan leaving on their own to the east of the floor.


    Taking down as many dragons as possible and exploring the floor as fast as possible, they spent the following few days fighting and exploring.


    However, a problem soon cropped up. After 5 days, with every member helping search the whole floor, they never found the stairs leading downstairs. Indeed, despite having completely explored the floor as shown on the map, they never found the way to the next adventure.


    As such, after five days of fruitless searching, the whole group gathered again as they made their way back to the fiftieth floor. After all, they needed to relax from time to time.


    ¡ª-


    "Welcome back." Said the member taking care of the members and the camp on the fiftieth floor while they were gone. "Have you found what you were searching for?" He continued as he was aware of their goal.


    "No, we searched the whole floor but there are no stairs." Replied Finn with a complicated expression as Ais and Aidan on the side had their brows in a constant frown as they wouldn''t be able to explore deeper in the dungeon without finding a way down.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª-


    A/N: Well it''s been a while. I''m not dropping this fanfic but as you can see I simply have no time and no interest in writing much these days. I''m working around 60 hours per week and while not a lot I have other things to do as well haha. Well, I don''t know when the next chapter will be updated, but I can at least guarantee I ain''t dropping.


    Have a great day guys.

 Chapter 59 - Ch.59

    For the following two weeks, as the lower levelled adventurers worked hard to try and improve their parameters, Aidan and Ais went back down on the fifty-ninth floor, hoping to somehow find a secret entrance to the lower level in the dungeon. Unfortunately, even after spending so much time searching, the duo never found the stairs leading down.


    Now, after two weeks, the group was planning on leaving the dungeon and going back to the surface. They wouldn''t be taking advantage of the teleportation formation since they still needed to collect the weaker members on higher floors.


    "Alright, we''ll be making our way back to the surface. The formation will be the same as when we descended so follow closely, we''re going home!" Exclaimed Finn as he lifted his spear in the air which caused almost all of the adventurers to shout in joy.


    The few who didn''t bother to cheer were, of course, Aidan and Ais who were still wondering about the stairs of the dungeon while Riveria simply shook her head as she would never do such a thing.


    Slowly leaving the floor, the two youngsters took the lead in killing the monsters for the group as they wanted to vent their anger one way or another and it seemed good enough with the non-stop hordes of monsters that were rushing them.


    With a floor completed after another in a record time as the members behind only had to run to follow, not even needing to collect the drops as the cards took care of it, the group didn''t bother to stop at the following safe zone as Finn contacted them in advance and told them to prepare and join the run when they arrived.


    Climbing back the stairs is relatively easy. After all, the monsters would always be weaker and less numerous than the previous floor which caused the duo to simply increase their running speed and killing rate. If before the group of adventurers behind were doing a slow jog, they were gradually starting to run faster as the monsters were killed even faster than before.


    Finally, after having run for over ten hours, climbed stairs, floated through holes in the dungeon floor with Aidan''s telekinesis and passed through countless monsters hordes, Aidan stopped the run as they arrived on the 28th floor of the dungeon, a safe zone.


    With Finn already having guessed Lux''s goal, the level two adventurers of the familia who had stayed back on the twenty-eight floor had already prepared the camp for the whole group as he had made a call with the card while running since he didn''t have to fight with the two youngest members of the familia taking the frontlines and killing the enemies.


    "So, what are we going to do once we get back to the surface?" Asked Ais as the two inseparable teammates sat on a protruding rock while looking at the camp full of activity.


    "I''ll probably look for some records of the Zeus and Hera familias. They were the only two familias who managed to enter the next floor, the records should tell where the stairs are. If it''s as I believe and the states are hidden, we''ll have to blast through the floor. Hopefully, the hole will be small enough to stop a juggernaut from spawning. Afterwards, we can find a safe zone or something down there." Answered Aidan, still preoccupied with their most recent failure.


    "Well, how about we go to Meden?" Asked Ais once Aidan finished talking.


    Surprised at her suggestion, he looked curiously at the girl next to him before showing a happy smile to his teammate. "Sure, let''s do that." He answered while his previous preoccupation about the dungeon was pushed back in his mind as he took a deep breath which relaxed him completely.


    "I''m going to sleep, wanna join me?" Asked Aidan as he got up from the stone which served as their seat.


    "Hum." Nodded Ais as she took his right hand in her left as the silver-haired boy led her to their prepared tent which he quickly finished preparing with furniture and the protection card as Ais went to change into her pyjamas which he quickly copied before the two entered the same bed and fell asleep in each other''s embrace.


    ---


    The following morning, Aidan woke up but lazed around in the bed while waiting for Ais who was in his arms to wake up. He wasn''t shy about being so close to Ais. After all, with everything they went through together, such a thing was nothing, they had spent most of their lives together and they didn''t plan to change that in the future.


    Half an hour later, as his arm was starting to fall asleep, Ais groggily woke up and after a few minutes got up from the bed, liberating Aidan who got up with his right arm falling on his side with no intention of letting him control it anytime soon.


    After some time to prepare himself for the day which he planned on spending leading the group out of the dungeon, he soon collected the tent in his storage card and seeing that the rest of the adventurers were mostly ready, he nodded.


    With Finn doing the same cheering speech as the previous day, Aidan and Ais led the group and made their way to the surface as fast as possible. It wasn''t that hard compared to the lower floors as not only were the monsters weaker and less numerous, the size of the floor was also a lot smaller which allowed them to spend less time travelling on each floor.


    Three hours later, the group arrived on the eighteenth floor where the level one and weaker level two joined the bandwagon along with some random adventurers who wanted to go back to the surface. No adventurers of the Loki familia were planning on staying in the dungeon as they all wanted to go and update their status. They did not doubt that they had all made great progress and money with all the monsters killed over the few weeks spent in the dungeon. As such, they were all more than ready to leave the dungeon and enjoy life outside for a while.


    Two hours later as Aidan once again used all the holes in the dungeon to his advantage while taking the smallest road to the next floor, even breaking a few walls on the way to quicken the way, since he couldn''t be bothered by the weak juggernauts of the upper floors, the group reached the entrance of the dungeon as they all walked out one after another with excited smiles.


    Having completed the job, Finn made a small speech to the adventurers of the familia while the other random adventurers who simply followed to come back to the surface went on their way. Finally, with one last cheer, the group all separated. Most of the lower-ranked adventurers were making their way to the guild to exchange their loot for money while the higher-level adventurers went back to the manor since all they truly wanted was to improve their level and become stronger.


    Of course, the few first who could update their status were the strongest and so, Ais and Aidan went right behind Finn, Riveria and Gareth.


    [Name: Aidan


    Level: 5


    Strength: I-10 -> C-687


    Endurance: I-10 -> C-626


    Dexterity: I-10 -> C-691


    Agility: I-10 -> C-611


    Magic: I-10 -> B-781


    Skill: High Human, Twin Star, Avenger, Triple Step


    Magic: Card Magic, Telekinesis


    Development ability: Hunter (B), Luck (D), swordsman (A), spirit healing (C), mage (B), perfect body (D), supreme reaction (D), warrior (D)


    [Name: Ais


    Level: 5


    Strength: I-10 -> D-512


    Endurance: I-10 -> D-581


    Dexterity: I-10 -> D-599


    Agility: I-10 -> C-621


    Magic: I-10 -> D-525


    Skill: Avenger, Twin Star, Half-Spirit, High-Human(Abnormal status resistance)


    Magic: Wind slash, ariel


    Development ability: Hunter (B), Luck (E), swordsman (B), spirit healing (C), mage (D), perfect body (D), supreme reaction (D), warrior (D)]


    ------------


    A/N: Same as always, I write when I can and I''ll drop you another chapter when I have time haha. Either way, you would not imagine how many ideas I got for fanfics and novels in the last two weeks while working, it''s great to have them even if I''m never going to write them hahaha, have a good day and week guys!

 Chapter 60 - Ch.60 Task?

    "What are you searching Aidan?" Asked Riveria as she had seen the young 12-year-old boy walk in the direction of the library while his partner had walked towards their residence to most likely rest before she planned their next dungeon dive.


    "I''m looking for records of the Zeus and Hera familia and their dive to the 59th floor. Us not finding the stairs leading down is a problem. Not only will it stop us all from gaining enough excelia to raise our parameters properly, but it will also stop us from conquering more of the dungeon and beating their records. Moreover, their familia could make their way down, but why can''t we, why did the dungeon change?" Answered Aidan while sending a question towards Riveria who was the most knowledgable person he knew on the subject of the dungeon. Even the gods weren''t as learned as her when it came to this subject.


    "We have a few records of their expedition to that floor, from what I read before, there were proper stairs and it was not a closed surface. However, as far as excelia is concerned, you should be able to raise your parameters to the maximum if you fight enough and spend enough time, but it would indeed take a lot of time. I''ll research a but on it. I know a few ancient members of the Hera and Zeus familia who survived the fight with the one-eyed black dragon and the subsequent war on Orario. Maybe they''ll have answers to your questions." She replied with a thoughtful look as her hand was prepped on her chin.


    "Alright. In that case, I''ll go and join Ais. She wants to make a trip to Melen so we''ll be leaving for a while." Continued Aidan as he abandoned the idea to continue searching after learning that they didn''t have the records he wanted. Instead, he decided to join Ais who was resting after their previous dive not that it took a lot of effort.


    Aidan left behind a stunned Riveria who couldn''t believe that the two youngsters of the familia would take a few days off to go and relax instead of immediately diving back into the dungeon.


    ---


    The following morning, the two teammates left the familia''s mansion behind as they left towards Melen with a boy who was planning a vacation, unknown at what his partner had prepared for him.


    Arriving at Melen half an hour later after they did some light jogging as a small workout, Ais took his hand before leading him towards the shore of the beach as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.


    "Don''t you want to get a room before we go to the beach?" Couldn''t help but ask Aidan who was being led by the golden-haired girl.


    "I brought a tent. Before we go back to Orario, we''ll be cleaning all the monsters in Lolog lake." Said the girl confidently as she looked at Aidan with a determined look.


    "Eum why did you suddenly have this idea?" Asked Aidan as he felt a headache coming as looked at the incredibly huge lake with an opening on the ocean than at Ais who looked as determined as diving in the dungeon.


    "Before we left for the expedition, I met a young girl who asked for my help." Answered Ais straightforwardly.


    "And...?" Continued Aidan as he knew her well enough that she would not normally care about such things.


    "I forgot my storage card and I ate my jagamarukun and couldn''t pay, so the girl paid for me." Continued the girl as she took one out at the same time, feeling a bit hungry after talking about her favourite food. "So, I asked her if she needed my help for anything in exchange for paying for my food and she mentioned the problem of monsters in the lake and how she would like them all gone since they were a problem for everyone in Melen." She completed while looking at him with a helpless look as if saying ''It''s not my fault, the circumstances forced me!''


    ''This is so stupid.'' Thought Aidan as his previous headache only deepened while looked at Lolog lake. ''Well not that I have other things to do until we can make our way to the next floor, I don''t want to only waste my time. Moreover, it''ll change the pace of our lives for a while and I believe there was a familia level quest in the guild about clearing the lake of monsters, so it should keep Loki off of our backs for a while about never helping the familia.'' Aidan thought while heaving a sight at the job ahead of them.


    "Sure, why not?" Replied Aidan as he smiled at her.


    "First thing to do is to make a barrier to block the monsters coming from the ocean to not make our job meaningless. Afterwards, we''ll have to do a wide search and annihilate every single monster from the lake before completing the work." Completed Aidan as he gave a few tasks to accomplish.


    "Thankfully, I already developed a wide-barrier card and a self-replenishing card to create large and sustainable barriers that would only hinder specific targets." He continued with a smile as the duo used a feather-weight card and ran atop the water in the direction of the huge hole in the rifts that opened a way to the ocean for both boats, fish and monsters alike.


    Giving a few cards to Ais who knew what to do, they quickly set up a temporary barrier which Aidan would reinforce after having cleared all the monsters in the lake. The barrier had multiple effects such as a barrier against monsters, a monster repellant function that would repel the weaker ones to save energy on the barrier, a monster illusion barrier to make it seem as if it was a rock to try and evade the stronger monsters while adding a water regulator to stop any sort of waves from leaving the lake and make it seem as if waves simply hit a rock and broke apart. It was all in the goal of stopping monsters from even recognizing the place as a place where humans thrived.


    As for the reason, it was a temporary barrier, if Aidan made the complete barrier immediately, the weaker monsters on the inside of the lake would also be repelled and end up near the shore where they would become a deadly force on the normal inhabitants of Melen.


    "With the barrier done for the moment, let''s move on to the next phase." Said Aidan as he gave Ais a hundred cards. "Place them on the west side of the lake including the side of Melen. There isn''t a need for the perfect distance between each of them. Just make sure to place them all around. With the cards I place on the other side, they will create a sort of grid that will record the location of all the monsters in the lake simply by them moving. Then we only have to drop a few strong attacks on the lake to wake up all the monsters and they''ll all move one way or another allowing us to locate them all." He smirked as he quickly started to set up the cards to make the grid on the east and rocky sides of the lake.


    A few hours later, everything was set up properly as the mapping card linked to the grid was functioning properly. Now, he only had to send a few strong magical attacks on top of the lake randomly and the monsters would do the rest of the work for them. It was mostly for the slumbering monsters and those not moving much as the others were already perfectly shown on the grid.


    "Ready?" Asked Aidan as he handed a few cards to Ais to play with, she always loved to throw some magic cards around to make huge explosions.


    "Hum." Nodded the girl as she threw out ten cards with all of her strength at different places on the lake, all of them exploding at almost the same time.


    With a look at the card that located more and more monsters, Aidan handed over another ten explosive fireball cards to Ais to throw at other random places, just in case they missed some monsters.


    Finally, after a few minutes of huge steam and strong waves, Aidan located about fifteen thousand monsters living in the lake.


    With a raised eyebrow, stunned at the huge number of monsters in the lake, Aidan remembered that there seemed to be a locked passage to the dungeon in the lake blocked by the corpse of the Leviathan. It wasn''t hard to find it as they simply had to look at the map and find where some of the monsters disappeared and they would directly find the entrance to the water floors of the dungeon.


    With the entrance located, Aidan went and added another barrier in the lake to prevent any small monsters from finding a way to leave the dungeon and sent them back inside of it.


    "Alright, the preparations are done, let''s move on to the clean-up operation." Concluded Aidan as Ais nodded her head with her sword in hand, ready for the bloodied battle in front of her.


    ---


    Yo, my Grammarly premium subscription has ended so for a while I won''t correct the 62 mistakes of clarity, engageness and whatever else.. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, took me two and a half hours after work, good day.

 Chapter 61 - Ch.61 Cleaning

    "Well, let''s start." Said Aidan as both of them took their own side and started to exterminate the monsters in their surroundings.


    While Aidan used his cards to attack a wide range, Ais went for more precision by sending wind slashes in the water at the locations marked on the map card Aidan had copied for the girl.


    Little by little, the two went further in the middle of the lake as they were rapidly clearing the monsters who were on the side of the beach. With the amount of monsters they cleared out, the two were surprised at the guts of the townspeople who paid no mind to the monsters while fishing in boats or on the beach. After all, they had already killed over five hundred water type monsters and it hadn''t been an hour yet.


    Most importantly however, was that there weren''t only level one or two monsters in there, there were multiple level three, over a dozen level four along with three level five monsters who used to live in the lake. Of course, had it not been for the low amount of mana outside of the dungeon which forced the monsters to enter hibernation to collect enough mana in their bodies, the whole port city would have long been destroyed.


    Thankfully, the stronger the monster, the more mana needed which caused them to enter a longer cycle of hibernation. It was obviously also the cause of the low amount of sightings of the three great monsters, the behemot, leviathan and one-eyed black dragon over the thousand years after they escaped from the dungeon.


    After all, if those monsters could live freely on the surface without any problems, the races would have long been extinguished as strong enough warriors to fight the monsters such as level 8 and 9 and others such as Albert Wallenstein were exceedingly rare in history.


    Thankfully, now that the Zeus and Hera familia had cleared two of the three great quests, the world was also a lot safer altough one and the strongest still lived to this day.


    However, the problem of the Lolog lake was that if the level five monsters could not hibernate directly in the center and deepest part of the lake, it meant that there should at least be a level six monster in the center which wasn''t that surprising since monsters from the great dungeon break a thousand year prior had not all been cleared and they had reproduced or gotten stronger with time.


    Altough they were surprised, it didn''t deter the two youngsters who continued the extermination task of the Lolog lake. Currently they had only cleared about a quarter of the lake and the monsters were alrerady starting to rouse out of their sleep as they were either disturbed by the magic blasts or the blood which started to spread all across the lake. Aidan had no hesitation that some time would be needed before the blood dissipated properly from the lake.


    As the sun started to dissapear from the horizon, the two teammates, who had fought for a part of the day and created a large field for monster extermination, decided to go back to the side into the forest and prepare a camp to relax and enjoy some time. After all, the goal of this trip was not only to destroy the monsters and clean the lake but also to relax a bit outside of the dungeon and enjoy their time together.


    With the camp completed, the duo went and washed properly with pure water to clean off the salt from their bodies before they, just like they did ever since they met, shared the tent and slept together as from what was a need from Ais in the past became a custom for the two of them as they always felt great and safe together.


    The following morning, the two woke up and rested a bit under the covers enjoying the heat and the feeling of simply being lazy in bed. Since they spent most of their time in the dungeon or with the goal of exploring the floors, they rarely had free time and they made sure to enjoy it as much as they could.


    After half an hour spent lazily while cuddling with their partner, the duo ate an already prepared breakfast and went back to their favorite passtime, monster hunting. Over the course of the night, due to the previous noise, magical power and blood spread in the water, many monsters had moved in the lake and taken new ''territory'' from the dead monsters. Of course, they also took the chance of eating some of them since it was free food and everyone liked free food as long as it was good.


    With the monsters a bit more spread out, Ais went over to the previously cleared area and started to clean up the scattered monsters while Aidan who used large scale attacks went to new parts of the lake that they hadn''t yet cleaned. Their way of doig things would surely allow a pretty good speed at clearing the monsters which were already a lot less than the previous day. Adding the barrier card he had put at the entrance of the lake to the ocean, the lake would soon be completely cleared up.


    As such fo the remaining of the day, the duo continued to clean-up operation which continued for the seven following days. After all, it was not that they were slow but that the lake was way too huge with way too many monsters.


    Finally, after having cleared the monsters including the peak level six monsters in the depths of the Lolog lake, Aidan and Ais went back to the small community and they enjoyed an extra week of vacations which was provided for free by the citizens and the best chefs came to cook for them for their remaining time in their small vacations. it was their own way of thanking them for clearing the monsters and eleminating this huge danger. It was especially so after they learned that a level six monster slumbered in the depths of the lake, so close to their homes.


    Finally, it was their time to go back to Orario and once again dive into the dungeon, exploring it and hoping to find the way down.. After all, they were certain that a lower floor existed so if they couldn''t find a hole or the stairs leading down, they wouldn''t have much choice but to bombard and destroy the floor at the cost of summoning a juggernaut which they would most propably evade by using the teleportation card and creating a teleportation formation down to be able to come back without destroying everything.