Early the next morning, when sunlight streamed through the towering spires that made up the Twilight Manor, the familia members inside were already awake, each busy with their own tasks.
Some were organizing their equipment, some were arranging their items, some were taking shifts guarding the gates or patrolling, while others had already agreed to form a party and head to the Dungeon together.
In short, the entire Twilight Manor was filled with liveliness and energy.
Riezel had also woken up at sunrise.
He came early to the courtyard, where Ais, who had gotten up before him, was already practicing her sword.
Together, they trained Wind Breathing.
"Concentration is the foundation of the Breathing Style."
"Only by focusing enough can you improve both the rhythm and precision of your breathing, and control your lungs to draw in more air."
"Tighten your abdomen. Your limbs don't need strength, but your torso should be tense… yes, like that."
Riezel's voice kept echoing in the courtyard.
Ais listened intently, nodding repeatedly, while quite a few passersby peeked in curiously to watch the scene.
"Those two are together again, huh…"
"They're really close…"
"Think they've got something going on?"
"Who knows…"
Such whispers popped up now and then, showing just how much attention Riezel and Ais drew whenever they were together.
In the past, Riezel and Ais would often train together—either sparring or on their way to spar—yet no one ever thought there was anything strange between them.
It was understandable.
Riezel back then was only a rookie, far weaker than Ais, so in everyone's eyes, the two were more like mentor and disciple than anything else.
But now, Riezel's strength had grown.
Not only had he already become a First-Class Adventurer and had repeatedly shown outstanding results, but his performance during the last expedition in particular—when he fought the mysterious, woman-looking caterpillar monster on the 50th Floor—had made the entire familia genuinely respect him.
{Note: Changed "worm" to "caterpillar".}
Moreover, just yesterday, the two had walked openly through the manor together, talking and laughing side by side, where Ais—who was usually called a doll for her almost expressionless face—had actually worn a faint, rare smile.
Such a sight only fueled the rumors about them, and by now, it seemed the only ones who hadn't heard were the two themselves.
For this reason, in many people's eyes, the atmosphere between Riezel and Ais, who were still spending time together as usual, had undergone a subtle shift, carrying a hint of ambiguity.
Unfortunately, the two themselves didn't notice anything.
One patiently instructed the other, while the other earnestly listened to the other's guidance. They even sparred for a while until the sound of the bell echoed throughout the entire Twilight Manor, signaling breakfast time.
"Well, that's it for today."
Riezel sheathed Fool and smiled at Ais.
Hearing his words, Ais, still slightly out of breath, seemed to notice the bell for the first time—though she wanted to continue, she remembered Loki's reminder and nodded.
"You… You've really gotten amazing."
Looking at Riezel, who had sparred with her for so long without even panting and whose expression hadn't changed at all, Ais couldn't help feeling a little down.
Even after leveling up, she still couldn't match Riezel, which made her somewhat frustrated.
"You'll get there too." Riezel said, seeing through her thoughts. "As long as you master Wind Breathing, not only will your basic stamina increase, but your stamina recovery will also speed up as your breathing becomes more refined. You won't get tired so easily afterward."
"Really?" Ais's eyes lit up slightly in surprise and delight. "It can do that too?"
"Yeah, it actually has quite a few effects." Riezel said with a smile as he walked up to her. "By improving the precision of your breathing, you can control your blood flow, which means you can reduce stamina consumption or even stop bleeding when injured."
"If you reach the higher stage—being able to maintain the Breathing Style even while sleeping, known as 'Total Concentration - Constant'—then your basic stamina and physical ability will both rise significantly."
"For you, that shouldn't be too hard. Just keep practicing, and you'll get it."
Riezel wasn't just trying to comfort Ais—he genuinely believed it.
'Total Concentration - Constant' might be an advanced form of Breathing Style and a basic requirement to become a Hashira, but for true geniuses, that rank wasn't all that unreachable.
A Hashira-ranked swordsman was about equivalent to a Level 4 adventurer.
Tokitou Muichirou, for example, had become the Mist Hashira in just two months and had mastered Total Concentration - Constant early on.
Ais's innate skill was undoubtedly above Muichirou's.
Given that, Riezel believed Ais wouldn't take long to reach Total Concentration - Constant.
'Lizbeth took a week to master the Love Breathing version of Total Concentration - Constant. Even if Ais is a bit slower than her, she should be able to do it within a month.'
With this thought in mind, Riezel mentioned the advanced form of Breathing Style in a relaxed tone.
"Maintaining breathing even while sleeping…" Ais murmured, memorizing his words.
"C'mon, let's go get breakfast." Riezel waved her along, and she followed.
Together, the two unfastened their swords as they walked toward the Twilight Manor's grand dining hall, the only place in the manor used for meals, similar to a school cafeteria.
Its decor leaned toward a medieval European style, and the lighting was bright and open, with rectangular tables lined neatly across the room.
Breakfast, prepared by the on-duty members, was already set on the tables, filling the hall with rich aromas that made everyone's stomach growl.
When Riezel and Ais arrived, the place was already packed.
"Meals are for everyone together!"
Following Loki's policy, except for lunch, breakfast and dinner would usually start only after everyone not on duty had arrived.
Consequently, at mealtime, the dining hall was always crowded to the brim, and even moving between chairs took effort.
As for lunch, most people handled it on their own.
After breakfast, many members would head into the Dungeon and wouldn't return until sunset, so lunch became the quietest meal of the day since Loki didn't insist that everyone eat together at noon either.
Now, during breakfast time, the hall was lively as ever.
When Riezel and Ais entered, many members quickly stood to make way and greeted them as they passed.
"Riezel! Ais!"
At the center of the hall, Tiona, who had been seated for a while, waved enthusiastically at them.
Beside her sat Tione and Lefiya, along with Finn, Riveria, and Gareth.
Needless to say, that section of the hall was practically taken up by the familia's top executives and executives, as the other members had already given up those spots, not daring to casually step into the circle of executives.
Only Lefiya had been specially invited to sit beside Riveria, looking a bit tense.
As for Bete, the ill-tempered werewolf with few friends, he was sitting alone in a corner, eating by himself with a sulky face. When Riezel and Ais entered side by side, he only shot them a glance before turning back to his breakfast with a scowl.
Seeing this, Riezel and Ais naturally walked over to join the group.
"Morning, Captain, Lady Riveria, Mr. Gareth." Riezel greeted the three top executives of the familia.
"...Morning, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya." Ais followed, greeting Tiona and the others.
"Morning, Riezel, Ais."
"Finally came."
"Take a seat."
Everyone smiled and greeted them in return, motioning for Riezel and Ais to sit down.
It seemed seats had already been saved for them, right between Lefiya and Tiona.
Riezel and Ais casually sat down.
Ais took the spot beside Tiona.
Riezel sat next to Lefiya.
Because the table was long, everyone sat in a single row.
From one end to the other, the seats were taken by Gareth, Finn, Tione, Tiona, Ais, Riezel, Lefiya, and Riveria—the eight of them occupied the entire table.
Still, Riezel had to admit, the dishes before them looked more luxurious than those on the other tables.
In front of Gareth was an empty seat, apparently reserved for Loki, but unfortunately, she hadn't come.
"Where's Loki?" Riezel asked casually.
"She didn't show up." Gareth took a sip of water, wetting his beard. "Probably drank too much last night and is still hungover."
It really did sound like something that useless goddess would do.
"Let's not wait for her. We'll eat first." Finn said as he examined the mysterious drink Tione had just handed him, his expression serious as if studying what was inside. "If it's like usual, she won't be up before evening. No need to wait."
Everyone nodded and began their meal under Finn's lead.
"Oh yeah, Riezel, did you hear?"
Tiona, the ever-energetic girl who couldn't sit still, grinned at Riezel as she munched on her bread.
"People outside are saying you're the strongest magic swordsman in Orario!"
As soon as these words fell, the lively atmosphere of the dining hall immediately toned down a bit.
Everyone seemed to have their attention caught by that topic as curious glances turned toward the group of familia executives.
"The strongest magic swordsman in Orario?" Riezel was taken aback, blinking in surprise.
"R-Really, Miss Tiona?!" Lefiya exclaimed in shock. "Mr. Riezel is being called the strongest magic swordsman in Orario?!"
A magic swordsman, as the name suggested, was a swordsman capable of using magic in battle—or more precisely, a swordsman who could engage on the front lines, wielding magic as offensive power far beyond what bows or thrown weapons could achieve.
They could battle in close combat while skillfully using Concurrent Chanting to cast magic mid-fight.
It was a combat role highly favored and admired by adventurers—a middle-guard role often regarded as one of the elite roles among adventurers, since those with such abilities excelled not only as middle guards but could also take the front as vanguards or fight from the rear as ranged mages.
In short, they were almost all-rounders.
Because of this, whenever a magic swordsman announced they were looking to join an adventurer party for Dungeon exploration, nearly eighty percent of the parties in Orario would rush over to extend invitations.
In other words, a magic swordsman was a coveted talent—sometimes even more sought after than mages themselves.
Many mages admired them deeply, for magic swordsmen possessed both magic and the strength to fight up close, unlike ordinary mages who could only stay in the back under protection while chanting magic.
Lefiya was one such person.
Even though she was a rear-guard mage, she idolized the magic swordsman's fighting style above all, which was why, when Tiona brought up that topic, her reaction was bigger than anyone's.
"It's true." Tiona nodded repeatedly. "The ones on morning duty went out to buy ingredients and told us when they got back."
"I heard it too." Tione turned her head and added. "Word's spreading fast. I guess most familias in Orario already know about it."
In the next moment, everyone looked at Riezel together, waiting for his reaction.
"The strongest magic swordsman in Orario, huh...?" Riezel chuckled softly. "Guess they're ignoring the White and Black Knights from the Freya Familia?"
The 'White and Black Knights' he mentioned referred to two First-Class Adventurers from the Freya Familia—both Level 6 elves.
They were born magic users and also skilled swordsmen capable of fighting on the front lines.
Hildrsleif.
Dainsleif.
They were collectively known as the White and Black Knights, the First-Class Adventurers of the Freya Familia, ranking just below King and Vana Freya themselves, renowned across Orario.
If Riveria was undoubtedly the strongest mage among the elves in Orario, then the White and Black Knights were right below her.
In fact, in some areas, even Riveria herself had to admit they surpassed her.
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[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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