On the third-floor terrace, several figures sat around a small table, savoring fine wine while their eyes drifted down toward the courtyard below.
Watching the steady stream of figures hauling supplies from the storehouse, the blond Pallum let out a satisfied sigh.
"Since our Loki Familia has poured everything into it this time, holding nothing back, the odds of breaking past our current floor on this expedition should be considerably better than last time."
Gareth stroked his beard and let out a hearty laugh.
"Confidence is a fine thing, you little shorty, but don't go getting cocky. That place is the Dungeon. Anything can happen down there."
Riveria sat upright with one eye closed, took a sip of her tea, and gave a soft laugh.
"Have you forgotten how our last expedition ended in failure? Setting aside the fact that the bulk of our supplies were destroyed at the front line, just think about how much trouble the Dungeon's malice gave us on the trip back."
"More than half the party was poisoned, every last one of them. Even those lucky enough to dodge the toxic mist were all left with serious injuries."
"If Ganesha Familia hadn't met us at the Water Capital to escort us out, you wouldn't be sitting there laughing right now."
Faced with their challenges, the smile on Finn's face stayed easy and unshaken.
"The expedition failed. So what? Haven't we always been moving forward through failure?"
Riveria's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly, and her elegant brows knit together.
Her tone took on a slightly heavier edge, a clear note of warning.
"Finn, you should be well aware of the familia's current state. Our finances have no slack left to absorb another failure."
"Setting aside morale among the members, just looking at the budget, the costs of weapons, armor, magic swords, potions, and supplies have already pushed us deep into the red."
"The familia is hollowed out. We've taken on heavy debts with Hephaestus Familia, Dian Cecht Familia, Goibniu Familia, Demeter Familia, and others. As captain, you can't possibly not understand the pressure we're under right now."
A faint, barely perceptible tremor crept into Riveria's voice.
"If this expedition ends in defeat as well, the consequences... I shudder to even imagine them."
As the vice-captain in charge of the familia's finances, no one understood the dire state of affairs better than Riveria.
No, the truth of it was even more terrifying than what she had spoken aloud.
Just consider this: even Loki, who lived for her drink, hadn't touched a drop of alcohol in a full month.
Loki Familia really had been driven to the end of its rope.
But Finn remained unmoved. The smile stayed firmly on his face, and the expression he wore was enough to give Riveria and Gareth an odd sense...
It was almost as if Finn was utterly, absolutely convinced this expedition would be a sweeping success.
"Don't worry. As captain, I'm well aware of the difficulties the familia is facing right now."
"But I'm confident. This time, we will break past Floor 41."
"After all... we paid a hefty price to secure our trump card."
"Trump card? Wait..."
Riveria and Gareth had been so swamped these past days with the familia's countless little crises that, if not for Finn's reminder, they might have forgotten about it entirely.
"You can't mean..."
The corner of Finn's mouth curled up into a smile.
"That's right. The shipment arrived today. A full hundred portions."
"They only stay effective for two hours, but that's more than enough for this expedition."
Riveria looked thoughtful.
"Use them at the most critical moment?"
"Exactly. Especially for members like us who are stuck at the peak of our current level. The boost from Monster Hunter Special is no small thing."
There was actually one more thing Finn hadn't said out loud...
In his view, using Monster Hunter Special on a single individual was a pure waste of resources, a squandering of something precious.
Yes, he was talking about a certain group of fanatics over in Freya Familia.
Boosting one person's combat strength couldn't possibly compete with the effect it would have on Loki Familia, where teamwork was the cornerstone of how they tackled the Dungeon.
That wouldn't be a simple flat 5% increase. Under Finn's command, what others might dismiss as trivial would unleash an astonishing level of combat power.
...
...
In the blink of an eye, time had moved to the next day.
"Hngh... so heavy..."
Drifting in and out of consciousness, Leon felt something pressing down on him, leaving him short of breath.
He pried his eyes open with effort, and the view that greeted him was an expanse of pure white.
"..."
Hitting him with a sight this stimulating first thing in the morning, no man alive could let that slide.
Without a second thought, Leon grabbed hold of the long, pale leg draped over his stomach, and to a chorus of startled cries from the ladies, launched into a vigorous round of morning exercise.
A patter of autumn rain drifted down outside.
Aura, who had risen early and was practicing her chanting beneath the eaves with her face turned to the sky, twitched her pointed ears. Her little face flushed crimson in an instant.
"Th-th-this... this..."
"Have you no shame!"
...
"Hahh..."
Kneading his sore back, Leon plopped down into a wicker chair, sipped some tea to soothe his throat, and then, completely unfazed by the strange looks Aura and Laurier were shooting him, casually pulled up his Falna panel.
He didn't bother lingering on his Basic Abilities. They were all already at SSS1599 anyway.
He went straight to the Development Ability section.
...
Versatility H | Hunter H | Mage H | Abnormal Resistance H
Strong Body H | Magic Resistance H | Escape H
...
Sticking to the plan he'd laid out earlier, he didn't hesitate this time, picking Escape without a second thought.
After all, as a wheelchair-bound mage, he could stand to shore up his ability to retreat. Otherwise, when he ran into something he couldn't beat head-on, he'd at least want the option to bolt.
He had no interest in being cornered with no choice but to burn his bridges and fight to the death.
As for the other two options...
Strong Body and Magic Resistance.
Strong Body showing up makes sense. It's because I've been maintaining Frost Armor for long stretches at a time. In a sea of monsters, no matter how careful you are, something's going to slip past your guard and land a hit eventually. Combined with my skills and Endurance growth, picking up Strong Body is perfectly natural.
Tch. I'm starting to feel like I've gone full tank-build and there's no turning back.
His mouth twitched, and Leon turned his attention to the last one, Magic Resistance.
The other essential development ability for a mage besides Mage itself.
Anyone who wasn't deep in the trade wouldn't really get the suffering of a mage, especially one running fire magic, with all its destructive power and its ugly footprint on the surrounding environment.
Take Leon for example. Every time he cast Fireball, the moment it went off, stray sparks would inevitably fly back onto his cloak. If he hadn't gone to the trouble of a fire-spirit-treated cloth, his black cloak would have been reduced to ash long ago.
It was the same as a chef cooking. Almost every master chef had a pair of "iron hands" that no longer felt heat.
It was the same logic for mages. A mage without Magic Resistance was incomplete.
"Hahh..."
Once I have Strong Body and Magic Resistance, layered with Frost Armor, then amplified by Demon Lord's Crest, Arcane Ward, and Scholar's Heart, even I won't know how absurd my tankiness has gotten.
Hmm... Maybe I should find a monster to test it on?
Let's start with a Minotaur. Tough hide, thick muscle. Big strength, no special abilities to speak of. Drag one out for a one-on-one and see what my defense can really do.
The thought made Leon clench his fist, the smile on his face turning increasingly cocky.
Except...
When his gaze swept across his Excelia and his finances, the smile on his face lasted only a heartbeat before vanishing without a trace.
A short distance away, Rose, just out of bed and still mid-yawn, caught sight of his expression and burst into a snort of laughter.
"What kind of show are you putting on over there? Your face is something else."
...
...
[Read 60+ chapters ahead on Patreon: patreon.com/NiaXD]