After grabbing the magic stones from a few of the dead Minotaurs, Kaelis kept moving.
The tunnel on the seventeenth floor was quite long and narrow but still wide enough to have maneuvering space.
He walked at a leisurely pace, with no real plan as his only goal was to gather new stuff.
"The eighteenth floor…"
A safe zone.
He had read about it back at the farm.
About it being some sort of safe zone inside the dungeon because no monsters seem to spawn down there.
A big open forest area with lakes and shit.
That alone made it stand out.
"Hm. I might check it out."
Though, he don't know where to look for the entrance as he's just wandering aimlessly.
It's not like he's in any rush anyway.
With his hands tucked casually into his pants' pocket, he casually tread forward as anything on these floors pose no existential threat to him in the slightest.
Then it could be heard—
Footsteps.
From the sound of each step being…
Kaelis looked up.
A group of adventurers came into view from the opposite end of the tunnel, moving together and from the looks of it, they were clearly heading back toward the surface.
And right at the center of the group—
"Oh," he called out, stopping. "It's you three."
The ones at the forefront halted their steps, prompting the ones he called out to glance around them.
"…Oh!! It's Mr. Kaelis!!"
"Hm. Never thought we'd meet again so soon…"
"…"
"W-what's wrong, miss…Aiz?"
Without missing a beat, the twin Amazonian, Tiona and Tione who he had met before in the clothing district spoke up.
Aiz though, was silent as she stared at Kaelis in her position with a golden yellow hair elf beside her.
Tiona, who seems to be the liveliest one of the bunch, ran up to Kaelis with red cheeks.
"Tch. Who the hell's this guy supposed to be?"
A certain grey haired fellow with markings on his face muttered under his breath.
But the people around him all seemed to not be ordinary as they gave him a glance.
"Tch!"
Ignoring the remark, Kaelis turned his attention to the young girl, Tiona.
"Hey hey, Kaelis! What brings you so far into the dungeon?" Tiona asked.
Kaelis shrugged, completely at ease despite being in a multi-floored cemetery as he answered the young lady's question.
"Nothing special," he said. "Just looking for materials to study. Ended up wandering around."
Tiona blinked. "That's it?"
"Pretty much."
He glanced down the tunnel behind him, then back at her. "Didn't have a route in mind. Just moving wherever looked interesting."
Tiona stared at him for a second, then grinned wider. "So you're, like… a scholar or something?"
Kaelis let out a short chuckle. "Something along those lines."
That answer only seemed to make her more curious.
Behind her, the rest of the group closed the distance, their full attention fixed on Kaelis.
Aiz was still quiet, eyes fixed on him, her brows faintly drawn together.
There was no telling what was going on behind those eyes. At least not for Kaelis.
He ain't ever learned how to mind read.
She still couldn't feel anything from him—and that bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
She wanted to just outright ask him now since they somehow met again but with the rest of the familia with her, she gotta keep her questions to herself for now.
"…"
Then a calm voice spoke up from the front of the group.
"Tiona. Mind introducing your friend?"
Kaelis finally glanced past Tiona—just enough to acknowledge the speaker.
The one who spoke was a tall female elf with jade colored waist length hair styled in a ponytail.
An exceptionally beautiful woman if he had to describe.
At a Highball…goddess level? I can't even say. I have only met one goddess and Hestia can only be considered cute.
Even then—compared to a certain witch who had warped his perception of beauty, she can only settle for above average in appearance.
In any case, this jade beauty(I'm borrowing this) is clearly assessing Kaelis's character.
With her eyes so sharp as she peered at him, anyone else would probably dress back instinctively.
Meeting her gaze calmly, Kaelis gave a small nod, as he didn't wait for Tiona to introduce him.
"Kaelis Valeblade," he said, stepping forward and with a show of confidence, didn't break eye contact along with a small nod.
"Nice to meet you."
The jade beauty blinked, clearly not expecting him to take the initiative himself, she then inclined her head in return.
"Riveria Ljos Alf," she replied. "Vice-captain of the Loki Familia."
Her eyes never left his face as she spoke, sharp and observant, like she was quietly taking him apart piece by piece.
"If I may, I do not recall hearing your name before," Riveria continued. "Yet you seem… familiar with Tiona, Tione, and Aiz."
That was the strange part.
In her head, the situation didn't quite add up.
The way the three—well, the Amazonian sisters interacted with him—especially Tiona—wasn't how they usually treated strangers.
This was already past simple acquaintances and were at the casual friends stage.
And yet, if that were the case, Riveria have no clue about him.
This was just how Kaelis worked.
Anyone he met—and caught his interest—somehow skipped past the awkward "just met" stage.
Conversations that should have been polite and stiff quickly turned easy and casual.
People laughed more, talked more freely, and didn't even notice how comfortable they'd become around him.
It wasn't anything magic-like.
He'd been a clan leader once, after all—he knew how to make people feel at ease without trying.
Meeting him felt natural, like you'd known him longer than you actually had.
Before Kaelis could answer, Tione spoke up from behind her, arms crossed over her chest.
"We met him about six days ago," she said. "In the clothing district."
Kaelis's eyes narrowed for half a fraction of a second.
…Six days?
So it's been five days since I sat down, huh.
He finally got the answer to the question he wanted.
He hadn't even noticed the time slipping by.
I wonder how Bell and Hestia are doing…
"That sounds right," he said, holding up seven fingers as he grinned. "I've only been in Orario for seven days total."
That statement rippled through the group.
Quiet murmurs spread among the adventurers in the back—those who clearly hadn't been part of the earlier interaction.
"Seven days…?"
"That's nothing…"
"Isn't that basically brand new?"
A rookie.
That was the conclusion they all reached almost immediately.
Bete Loga, who'd been glaring at Kaelis since the start, barked out a sharp laugh.
"Hah! So he's a newbie?" he said loudly. "Figures. Thought he looked outta place."
No matter how expensive his clothes looked, it was still not proper for adventuring in.
Especially inside the devil's trenches.
He cracked his neck and sneered. "So what—lost your way down here, weakling?"
"Bete you—don't listen to him, Kaelis!" Tiona glared at the werewolf before quickly turning to Kaelis.
They all turned to Kaelis wondering how he would react to Bete's provocation.
Kaelis had his finger to his lips, thumb under his chin, tilting his head slightly as he considered the surprising revelation.
Then finally…
"You know…I've been called a lot of names…"
They all leaned in, curious about what he was going to say.
"Monster, demon, mass murderer, playboy… even witch."
Kaelis didn't frown. He didn't glare. Not a hint of anger or resentment, even as he listed names that would make most people flinch.
His expression was calm—almost intrigued.
"…But I've never been called… a weakling."
Chapter 76 end.