After briefly saying goodbye to Charles, Kate, and the others, Zephyr and Lili followed Lefiya and set off in the direction of the Loki Familia.
Twilight Manor.
The Familia headquarters was slightly quiet during the day, though it wasn't much livelier at night.
The vast courtyard was silent. A member responsible for cleaning the headquarters pushed a small cart past from a distance. He nodded politely to Lefiya, and did not disturb them further.
Zephyr looked around at the surrounding environment. The stone path was swept quite clean, and purple wildflowers were blooming in the flower beds on both sides. Compared to that dilapidated mansion of the Soma Familia, this place was like another world.
If there was one thing that was surprising, it was that there were fewer members at the Loki Familia headquarters than Zephyr had imagined.
"Why does the Familia feel so deserted?"
Lefiya explained, "The Familia have set off for the Dungeon on an expedition recently. So there are relatively fewer people at the headquarters."
"I see."
As the top exploration Familia in Orario, it was perfectly normal for those members of the Loki Familia to go on a Dungeon expedition.
Moreover, when they first met, the impression Loki left on him was quite good. Her personality was quite easygoing, perhaps even lazy. But her true character was definitely far sharper than she let on.
Walking through the luxurious corridor and arriving before the reception room, Lefiya raised her hand and knocked on the thick oak door.
"Loki-sama."
Knock, knock, knock!
"Come in." A lazy voice drifted from inside the room.
Lefiya pushed open the door.
The yellow light from the magic stone lamps in the reception room seemed somewhat redundant during the day, and a spacious mahogany coffee table was placed in front of the sofa. A few empty wine bottles were scattered about.
Loki was sprawled on the sofa. She had her feet propped up on the opposite armrest, her ponytail scattered across the sofa cushions. The glass in her hand was tilted, the red wine in the glass rippling slightly.
When her gaze swept across the doorway, she first saw the familiar figure of Lefiya, then Zephyr following behind her, as well as Lili, whose hood covered most of her face.
Loki, who had been sprawled on the sofa, suddenly sat up straight. She could guess the specific reason for their visit.
She walked around the coffee table, and strode over. "Zephyr! Welcome to the Loki Familia!"
Her gaze fell on Lili. "This one must be your partner, right? I've been waiting for you guys for so long."
Lili hesitated for a moment before introducing herself, "Thank you, Loki-sama. My name is Liliruca Arde, and I am Zephyr's partner from the Soma Familia."
"I know. I've heard about you from Lefiya." Loki squinted her eyes and waved her hand.
She actually had no objections to Lili transferring to her Familia—she had already agreed to Zephyr's request. Besides, supporting a Supporter was hardly an expense worth caring about for her Familia.
Most importantly, Lili's presence could give Zephyr a greater sense of belonging. To put it another way, it meant tying Zephyr down more securely. No god in Orario would ever complain about having too many good prospects in their Familia.
She aske, "How has your Dungeon exploration been lately? Has the overall process gone smoothly?"
How should he explain this?
Encountering a Crab Pig was quite absurd and had disrupted all his plans. Moreover, he couldn't lie in front of a god.
Zephyr answered truthfully, "The first few days were quite smooth. According to the normal schedule, I should have arrived at the 18th Floor by tomorrow, but I didn't expect that today, there would be a bit of an accident."
After weighing his words for a moment, he added, "So I wanted to ask you to update my status, handle the transfer procedures, and level up, to facilitate further exploration."
Loki nodded. "Very good. When you hit a bottleneck, you shouldn't stubbornly bash your head against it. Changing your approach is the right thing to do."
This was probably why she found Zephyr increasingly pleasing, such a mature personality was not at all typical for his age. Compared to other Familia members, he was clearly much less trouble.
She was actually quite looking forward to it—seeing what kind of improvement Zephyr's Dungeon exploration results during this period would bring to his status.
She turned and retrieved the silver needle and parchment needed for the status update from the cabinet behind the sofa.
She pointed to the sofa and said, "Just sit on the sofa and keep your back to me."
After giving those instructions, she turned her head and looked at Lefiya. "Lefiya, please make a trip to the Guild and bring Eina here. After all, for matters like transfer procedures, it goes much more smoothly when a Guild employee is present."
"Okay."
Lefiya did not refuse, though there was some regret. She couldn't quite pinpoint the specific reason, but she wanted to witness the scene of Zephyr's status update with her own eyes.
But she understood the importance of priorities. Familia transfer procedures involved official registration, so the Guild's protocols definitely had to be followed.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
Only Zephyr, Lili, and Loki, who was rubbing her hands together like a fly, remained in the reception room.
After taking off his shirt, Zephyr sat backward on the sofa, exposing his back.
Loki walked behind Zephyr. The silver needle pierced her fingertip and her blood dripped onto Zephyr's back, a soft light surged from the center of his back, and the Loki Familia emblem slowly coalesced on his skin. It was reconstructing a brand new mark belonging to the Loki Familia. The transfer was complete.
Next was the status update phase. The accumulation from his Dungeon exploration during this time was completing the overwrite of his past experiences.
Loki picked up the parchment, and after imprinting the status, she examined it carefully.
But when she saw the numbers on the parchment clearly, even as a goddess who had lived for hundreds of millions of years, her eyes opened wide, and in those pupils, unconcealable shock was surging.
Zephyr
Level 1
Strength: A823 → SSS1399
Endurance: A801 → SSS1302
Dexterity: B756 → SSS1383
Agility: A812 → SSS1371
Magic: B702 → SSS1301
Was this a status an Adventurer could possess?
Loki's hand trembled slightly and she raised her hand to rub her eyes in disbelief. But when she cast her gaze on the parchment again, those numbers were still there.
Each attribute was followed by the SSS designation, telling Loki the truth at every moment.
A Level 1 Adventurer, with all attributes breaking the S-rank limit.
She recalled Ais, the girl who broke records. Her attributes before ranking up to Level 2 only saw her Magic attribute barely touch the S-rank.
Compared to Zephyr, Ais's talent seemed somewhat dim at this moment.
Loki searched through her memories for all adventurers with stats over 1000, from the casual chatter of gods over tea to the forgotten chapters in the biographies of the Lower World.
Finally, her memory gradually became clear.
The Silence of the Hera Familia, Alfia—that female Adventurer praised by the gods as the Monster of Calamitous Talent. Only she had managed to break the limits, but that was a story from the previous era.
Now, the boy before her, who had just joined her Familia and had only updated his status a few days ago, successfully achieved it.
So, what level of player is the member I've recruited this time?
Loki gulped, looking at Zephyr, who had his back turned to her. Her eyes were filled with shock and complexity. "Zephyr... This talent of yours..."
She struggled to find the right words, and unable to find a suitable adjective, she simply gave up on it. "I feel like you're just an out-and-out monster."
"Is it that exaggerated?" Zephyr frowned.
Turning his head, he noticed Loki's dazed expression and shook his head, speaking humbly, "I think it's fine, just a normal level?"
"..." Loki's eyelids twitched.
If having all attributes reach an SSS rating, and even breaking Alfia's record, was only "fine" in his eyes, then what were other Adventurers supposed to do?
If Zephyr said something like that out loud, who knows how many low-level Adventurers would run away on the spot?
She couldn't help but feel that he was showing off. However, she didn't mind.
Thinking about it, given the talent Zephyr possessed, he had the right to say such things. If anything, she should get used to it.
She moved her gaze back to the parchment and continued browsing the skill list.
Gluttony, Appetite Demon, Rapid Absorption.
Even though she had already witnessed them with her own eyes when updating his status before, reviewing them again still left her feeling shocked.
A perfectly complementary skill combination, specifically customized for the Gourmet path—a talent combination never seen before in Orario. It was also the indispensable reason Zephyr had been able to grow to his current level.
However, when her gaze moved to the last item on the skill list, the composure she had barely managed to maintain collapsed.
Outsider
- Only effective within the Dungeon.
- Hated by the Dungeon itself.
- Will change the surrounding terrain and cause encounters with special Gourmet Creatures.