The sun hung low in the sky, casting golden rays through the tall window of the northernmost spire of Loki Familia's home—a castle-like collection of towering spires on a patch of land barely a fifth the size of Soma Familia's compound.
On the highest floor sat Finn's office, a spacious room lined with bookshelves that stretched toward the high ceiling. A faint glow flickered from the large fireplace tucked into the corner, and in the center of the room lay a red carpet embroidered with the Loki Familia emblem, a small sitting area arranged atop it. Directly across from the entrance, with the sitting area between, stood a wide desk with a few stacks of paperwork.
Finn, the Pallum captain, sat behind his desk, steadily working through the paperwork, golden light from the setting sun spilling from the tall window behind him. He wore a casual unbuttoned golden vest over a loose white shirt, his golden hair and part of his handsome face illuminated softly by the warm sunlight.
Riveria reclined on a plush, emerald-green couch placed beside one of the bookshelves near the fireplace. Her long, jade-colored hair falling gently down her shoulders as she leisurely enjoyed a cup of tea, calmly reading a new book by one of her favorite authors.
This latest volume detailed his recent adventure to the northern regions of the world and the fascinating findings he'd discovered there. Although she could have enjoyed her reading in the quiet solitude of the study, Riveria knew that Loki and Finn often required her assistance during paperwork sessions, so she had chosen to remain nearby.
Loki, meanwhile, was hunched dramatically over a smaller desk positioned on another side of the room. Her vibrant red hair looked slightly disheveled, with an exaggeratedly miserable demeanor as she sniffled loudly, scribbling on a form with visible reluctance.
The room was steeped in silence, broken only by the scratch of pens and the soft rustle of turning pages. Loki glanced up, hoping to banter with her executives, but their intense focus kept her quiet—until the door creaked open.
"Gareth!" Loki practically leapt from her seat as the dwarf stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. "How was your run with my Ais~?" Loki cheered, eyes gleaming, practically begging him to say something interesting.
"Same as usual," Gareth replied with a shrug, slumping onto a nearby stool.
"Oh, really?" Loki grinned mischievously. "So you're saying she went through a hard time?"
"I ain't say that," he shook his head. "Same as usual, I said—"
Ignoring him, Loki leaned forward, mischief lighting up her face. "So what I'm hearing is that I should go check up on her, maybe give her a pep talk?"
"Loki," Finn's voice cut in sharply without him looking up. Loki froze instantly. "Get back to work."
With a dramatic sigh, she slumped back into her chair, mumbling about being treated unfairly.
"Oh, right." Gareth spoke up again after a beat. "Ran into Soma's lad down on the 25th floor—Rex, that was his name. Looked like he was wanderin' around solo."
"Solo?" Riveria raised an eyebrow, lowering her book slightly. "Wasn't he a Level 3?"
"Turns out he's Level 4 now—hit it after the War Game," Gareth said with another shrug. "And that skill o' his—the one that let him punch through that wall? Might just be stronger than me Dvergr Enhance."
Finn's pen paused mid-stroke. "Really?"
"Mmm." From her desk Loki let out a soft, almost conspiratorial hum. " So when you two gossip about mister mystery 'wall smasher' it's 'strategic intelligence sharing,' but when I talk, I'm 'nosy'—got it." She clicked her pen and went back to scribbling.
Gareth barely hid a chuckle; Finn pretended not to hear and kept writing. The dwarf continued, "Lad's just hit Level 4, but he's got the grip of a solid Level 5." He glanced down at the palm he had used to shake Rex's hand. " Stronger than any of our Second String."
Riveria flipped another page, barely looking up. "It's possible he's been Level 4 for some time and kept it hidden. Either that, or the skill itself grants a physical boost equivalent to a full level-up."
Finn's eyes narrowed. 'It don't make sense if he was already Level 4 a month ago.'
When Finn first met Rex, the man hadn't even registered as a seasoned Level 1, let alone someone nearing Level 3. During the War Game, however, he displayed strength equivalent to a Level 4 despite officially being registered as Level 3.
If Riveria's theory was right—that the skill granted a full-level strength boost—it would explain how he handled Hyakinthos so easily and punched through a reinforced wall. If he'd leveled up afterward and the skill now boosted him to Level 5 strength, as Gareth suggested, it would all add up.
But a full level worth of strength boost?
It sounded absurd, even to someone who had encountered countless rare skills. Finn almost didn't want to believe it, but in a world where people like Zald existed—with his Deus Ambrosia that allowed him to devour beasts, humans, and monsters to increase stats—a full-level strength boost didn't seem impossible.
'But…' Finn hated thinking this way, yet why would someone with such a powerful skill stay in a seemingly random Familia like Soma's? 'Well… they're not exactly random anymore,' he admitted.
The Soma Familia's public business partnership with the Ishtar Familia and their acknowledged but still unclear ties to the top two medicinal Familias had significantly elevated their standing. Through business alone, Soma Familia had become one of the city's most influential groups.
And something told him it was all because of the young man—Rex. But he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
Gareth smirked as he noticed Finn spinning his pen. "Well now, somethin' finally catch yer eye, Captain?"
"Just curious," Finn replied calmly, shaking his head.
"That's not even the fun part," Gareth added with a chuckle, folding his arms. "Lad's got a unique shapeshiftin' magic."
"Shapeshifting?" Riveria glanced up from her book.
"Aye." Gareth nodded. "Looked nothin' like himself. Even his presence felt off—like pure magic. Could barely sense him comin'. If I hadn't heard his steps, I'd've missed him." He gave a rough chuckle. "Scared the piss outta me. Thought he was one o' them new man-eatin' plant monsters."
"Could it have been an optical illusion?" Riveria asked, briefly looking up. "Or perhaps some kind of hallucination?"
"No illusion," Gareth shook his head, clenching his fist. "It felt solid as stone when we shook hands. That ain't no trick—that's real, body-changin' magic." The dwarf then recounted their encounter fully.
"Shapeshifting magic that's not illusion-based," Riveria murmured, returning her gaze to her page. "If this is real physical transformation... that's interesting."
Finn was beginning to feel like it was all too much. True shapeshifting magic—something never seen before. A skill that boosted strength by an entire level. A powerful fire magic he'd heard rumors about.
And on top of it all, a curse-like ability that could manipulate minds? With just a single word, Rex had incapacitated several Level 2 adventurers without visible consequence. And somehow, he seemed to be the driving force behind Soma Familia's sudden rise.
If such an adventurer existed, why stay in Soma Familia? Loki, Freya, or any of the top Familias would have eagerly welcomed him, offering their resources without hesitation. So why remain there?
'Something feels off,' Finn thought, his eyes drifting toward the half-finished paperwork before him.
The memory of their first meeting kept returning. Finn prided himself on his ability to gauge strength at a glance. Yet that man, one month ago, had seemed no more than a greenhorn Level 1.
'Multiple personalities? Trickery?'
The image of the red-eyed, white-haired boy flashed through his mind. 'Rapid growth...?'
That made some sense. Bell had managed to reach Level 2 in just over a month, with stats exceeding an S-rank—a feat Finn had thought impossible before. But Level 4 in a month?
'Could he be like Zald...?' Finn squinted. 'A skill that lets him absorb stats from monsters...?'
He shook his head. 'I'm overthinking this.' That kind of growth wasn't possible—and even he couldn't believe he had jumped to such a conclusion.
"Hehe~," Gareth chuckled. "I see both o' ye are interested in the boy."
"To a degree," Riveria replied evenly, flipping to the next page without lifting her gaze. "I'm more interested in this transformation magic he supposedly possesses." She paused. "And that so-called 'curse,' of course."
"Well, I'm meetin' him for a drink in two days. I'll ask then—"
"WHAT?!"
Loki shot up, eyes wide as all attention snapped to her. "You're going to Soma's home to drink?!"
"Oops," Gareth muttered, glancing away. "Forgot ye were there."
"You bastard!" Loki yelled, storming over to grab the dwarf by his collar. "You were gonna leave me out?!"
Gareth glanced at Finn—who said nothing—and then at Riveria, who cleared her throat. Looking back at the fuming goddess, he smiled. "Knew ye'd act like this—"
"I'm coming," Loki declared.
"Eh, I don't think ye can just—"
"I. Am. Coming." The goddess pulled him closer by the collar. "Got that?"
Gareth sighed and nodded in resignation. "Hope the lad don't mind a plus-one."
'...Loki should be able to find something out about him,' Finn thought, glancing at the goddess, who was now fuming as she stomped toward the door. "Loki," he called.
The goddess froze, hand on the doorknob. She'd clearly hoped to use the chaos as an excuse to escape. "Get back to work."
"To be betrayed by my own captain so viciously—so callously!" Loki cried, clutching her chest as if she'd been mortally wounded. "What have I done to deserve such cruelty?"
Without lifting her eyes from the page, Riveria murmured in Elvish, "Your suffering is self-inflicted."
Loki spun—"I heard that, you pointy‑eared ice queen!"
"You're being overdramatic," Finn said flatly, barely glancing up as he signed another paper and added it to his nearly finished stack. In contrast, Loki's own pile remained barely touched—maybe a tenth completed.
"When have I, the Goddess Loki, ever been dramatic?!" she shot back, spinning on her heel.
Finn stared at her for a beat, then calmly looked back down at his paperwork. "Just finish your work, Loki."
'...Ow.' Loki blinked. 'That kinda stung, to be honest.' She sighed and trudged back to her desk, grumbling as she sat down. 'Gonna need the good stuff tonight...'
"Welp!" Gareth slapped his thigh. "Report's done, so I'll be heading out to dri—sleep!" Before Loki could retort, he was already out the door.
—*—*—*—
"Is that… all?" Rex mumbled with a frown.
It was his second day in Water City, and Rex hadn't left the floor, let alone the Dungeon itself. Since nearly drowning, he had only went back into the water to shower, sticking to dry ground and hunting only the few monsters whose abilities interested him—which weren't many.
Aside from the Siren ability he gained on the first day, the other notable one came from the Light Quartz monster:
[Light Quartz Light (Magic/Active): Shoot a golden beam of light from your eyes, strength scales with magic stats.]
The ability sounded cool but was considerably weaker than Fire Breath. It lacked versatility. The beam's strength and mind cost were fixed—he couldn't adjust its power by changing mana flow. It stayed consistent regardless of how much energy he used. Instead of a continuous beam, it fired more like golden bullets.
Still, because they scaled with his magic stats—which were equivalent to a Level 5—they tore through Level 3 monsters like wet paper and could easily take out most Level 4s.
For anyone below Level 4, the shots were nearly impossible to dodge. Even if someone managed to evade a few, the magic was spammable enough to wear them down. Its only downside was how static it felt.
The next skill was from the Iguazu, crimson swallow monsters known as the fastest creatures between Floors 1 and 36. They moved so fast they appeared invisible to most Level 3 adventurers, and even Level 4s only saw a red blur, earning them the nickname "Red Flash."
The skill was:
[Iguazu Dash (Skill/Active): Instantly dash forward in a straight line. Distance scales based on level. Consumes all current Endurance, converting it into temporary Agility, then increases Agility by one level.]
Using the skill boosted his Agility to 2262, temporarily granting him the speed of a newly minted Level 6 for the duration of the dash. It was his best travel ability since he could activate it again immediately after each dash. But at that speed, Rex could barely register his surroundings.
If his aim was slightly off, crashing into a wall could easily snap his neck—his lower Endurance simply couldn't handle that velocity. Even without collisions, the sudden acceleration and abrupt stops generated enough G-force to nearly knock him unconscious during a test dash a few hours earlier.
But with enough practice, he hoped to eventually learn how to shift directions mid-dash.
These three abilities were the only notable ones he'd obtained from surface-level monsters in Water City. He had hoped to gain flight from the hovering Voltimeria, but it turned out to be a physical property. Everything else was either a physical property or a weaker version of skills he already possessed, like the tremor sense from a burrowing snake.
"Haah~" he sighed.
Of course, he hadn't yet scavenged the Carbuncle—the ultimate prize of this area—but he'd expected more from the basic monsters.
"What a shame," he muttered. "Guess it's time to hunt the Carbuncle."
Carbuncles were even rarer than Unicorns or Vouivres. Despite being only Level 3, these monsters had exceptional magical power, able to generate barriers rivaling first-class Level 5 mages.
It was a skill Rex badly needed. Aside from Strong Body and Body Furnace, he had no solid defensive abilities. Even if he did, a magic barrier like that was too useful to ignore. However—
"None are alive right now?" Rex blinked. "Aren't they supposed to be rare? How were all of them killed?" A quick exchange with Scavenger answered his question. "Damn…"
Only one Carbuncle existed at a time. Essentially mini Monster Rexes, their respawn interval was one month—similar to the Amphisbaena. The next Carbuncle wouldn't appear for several more days, and if he missed it, he'd have to wait an entire month. Unless he got lucky and pulled its magic on the first try, it would be a long wait.
"Haah~" Rex was already annoyed at the thought of failing the pull—and he hadn't even tried yet. "Well, since there's nothing else to do, I guess it's time to leave."
All three of his bags were full, and he had a meeting with Gareth the following evening. It was time to return and rest.
"And I'm out of potions." He patted his empty pouch. "Guess I'll visit Naaza and Miach again… How long has it been?"
The last time he saw them was before the War Game, when he asked Miach to bet under his name and picked up potions for the fight—about a week ago. Since then, he'd been busy with the Large Tree and Water City. Miach had already sent Rex's 70% cut of the bet winnings to the Soma Familia, and Rex was still using leftover War Game potions, leaving him with no reason to visit earlier.
"They should still be awake, right?" he asked Scavenger—but they weren't. "Really? What time is it…?"
Midnight.
"…Did I lose track of time?" He massaged his temple. "Could've sworn it was still afternoon."
Shrugging it off, he decided he'd visit them early tomorrow—no, technically this morning—to catch up and restock potions. He planned to spend the rest of the day gambling before meeting Gareth. No need for more dungeon diving; today could be a break.
"Welp," he stretched his arms overhead. "Time to return to the surface…"
Suddenly, tears began flowing down the 21-year-old man's cheeks. "Fuck…" He stared miserably at the ceiling. "Why don't I have a teleportation skill?"
He was on the 27th floor, and it would take three to four hours to reach Babel's first floor. That was a long-ass time spent running with nothing else to do. He swore right then—if he ever saw an adventurer with teleportation magic, he'd kill them and take the skill for himself… probably.
[Author's Note: My bad. Fell asleep instead of posting this chapter yesterday so I decided to just post it with today's chapter since it was so late. I apologize my G. <(＿ ＿)>
Anyway, thanks for reading and have a good rest of your day (if it's night where you are, then have a good night.)]