Rio wondered what Lia was doing here. Lia, meanwhile, felt her face heat up as he stared at her. "Would you stop staring like that, you perv!" she shouted.
"Well, it's your own fault; you have such a cute face, I just can't help but stare," Rio teased.
"I-I… Y-you're teasing me again, aren't you!?" she stammered.
"Oh! You caught me! You've grown up, even though you were so naive back then, sigh~" he replied with a playful smile.
"Stop talking like an old man! I'm not naive!" she said, clenching her fists.
"Heh, so naive,you even came into a boy's room alone. Don't you think something might happen to you?" Rio teased further.
Lia felt a sudden urge to punch him into next week, but she held back. Rio thought to himself that maybe he should stop teasing her now.
"Okay, okay… calm down. So, why are you here today?" he asked.
"You better not mess around next time. I will forgive you for now… I'm here to invite you. Father wants to meet you," Lia replied.
Rio thought back. In the novel, Lia had never talked about her father, except that he had died at her hands. Could this meeting be one of the butterfly effects he caused?
"Why does he want to meet me? Is he going to fix our marriage date?" Rio wondered.
"I don't know why he wants to meet you," Lia started, but Rio interrupted, shocked.
"W-what!? You idiot! W-who would marry someone like you!?" she exclaimed.
"Eh… you don't want to?" Rio asked.
"That's not it… I-i…" she stuttered, changing the topic.
"More importantly! Would you come with me? If not, it's okay too," she said.
"Of course, I'll come. There's no way I'll refuse to meet him," Rio answered.
"Okay then… meet me outside the academy at 8 a.m. tomorrow. I should go now!" she said, hurrying off.
Watching her leave, Rio thought he might have teased her a bit too much today. Then his mind drifted to Lia's father, known for his heavy sword and incredible strength. In the novel, he was an S-ranker and a guild master who had died at his daughter's hands.
Dungeon , Lizard's Nest, Entrance Gate
A young boy with brown hair and a girl with orange-reddish pupils stood before the dungeon gate, both smiling excitedly. Their expressions marked them as novices; experienced adventurers rarely grin at a monster-filled dungeon unless they're a little crazy.
They entered and pulled out their staffs. Immediately, a lizard monster attacked.
"Be careful, Kira. Slow, but strong," Fade warned.
"Yes, Fade," Kira responded, casting a fire spell.
The fire attack landed but caused minor damage; the monster resisted fire-type attacks.
"Fade, use water magic! It's resistant to fire!" Kira advised.
"Yeah!" Fade cast a water arrow, fatally injuring the monster within seconds.
[+1500 EXP!]
"Good… they may be strong, but EXP is good," Fade noted.
"Let's keep moving! A long way to go!" he said.
After three hours, they finally killed the boss monster. "That was tough," Fade admitted.
"Yeah, but we got a monster core!" Kira added.
"What about that hidden area the monster opened? Should we check it?" Kira asked.
"Yes! Maybe we'll find something good," Fade replied.
Inside the hidden room, they found only broken pieces of a container. Fade felt strange,his luck seemed off.
"Nothing here… let's go," he said, annoyed.
"Yes…" Kira agreed.
Fade suddenly felt unexpected rage. Something was off.
[Ding! Your fate has been affected due to an anomaly!]
[Cost: 5K EXP. Proceed? Yes/No]
"Yes," Fade decided.
[Calculating threads of fate… Error… Retrying…]
[An anomaly has altered your fate. Be cautious.]
"What…?" Fade muttered.
"Hey, Fade, did something happen? You look upset," Kira asked.
"Nothing… let's leave," he replied.
Outside the Academy
A luxury car waited. Soon, a black-haired boy in casual clothes approached. Rio observed the car and the butler.
"Mr. Rio, please enter. I will escort you to the White Mansion," the butler said politely.
"Yeah, okay," Rio replied.
Inside, every movement of the butler and driver was smooth, professional, and precise. Their presence radiated peak A-rank aura. If Rio hadn't been invited, he would have thought he was being kidnapped.
During the ride, an unknown energy tried to detect him.
[Skill 'True Immunity' triggered… Detection blocked!]
"Another butterfly effect? At least it failed. True Immunity is amazing… sigh~" Rio thought.
The car stopped. Rio stepped out to find a massive mansion surrounded by beautiful gardens and rare flowers. The scenery was breathtaking.
He followed the butler inside, ready for whatever awaited him.