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Chapter 62: Training Newbies.
🕑 Added 2025-04-20 18:37:19 +0000 UTCWith a helpless look on his face, Lioro somwhow managed to convince Hestia that the equipment was made by him.
"Really.....", Hestia sighed, not knowing what to say.
Lioro was even able to make equipment on the level of Hephaestus!
It was crazy!
By this time, Bell and Yoriichi had returned, each holding small pouches filled with gleaming crystals.
"What happened?" Bell asked quietly.
"I'm just as confused.....", Ninya replied in a small voice.
Lioro, brushing Hestia's grip off his clothes, turned to the boys and nodded toward the gear. "Go ahead. Try them on."
Yoriichi was the first to move. He reached for the Bladelight Tempest, lifting it with reverent hands. The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, the blade pulsed, recognizing its wielder.
He unsheathed it in a single smooth motion—shing!—and light wind brushed through the room as if responding to his movements.
Everyone went silent.
Even Hestia's grumbles paused.
Then Bell stepped up to his new gear, reverently running his fingers across the sleek plates of the Windtrace Armor before fastening it over his tunic. It hugged his frame comfortably, light enough for him to move freely yet sturdy enough to inspire confidence.
The Crimson Edge hummed with latent energy in its sheath.
He drew it with a grin, flicking it once in the air, and stumbled backward as a faint red afterimage mirrored his movement.
"W-whoa!"
Lioro raised an eyebrow. "Careful."
Bell looked down at it, then back up at Lioro.
"Thank you," he said with complete sincerity.
"I didn't do it for free."
"Yes, sir!" Bell saluted.
The preparations were nearly complete.
"Dungeon party, form up," Lioro said with a grin.
'Time to introduce Arendelle's Queen to the world's most twisted tourist attraction!'
----
Later, outside the Dungeon entrance…
Lioro, Yoriichi, Bell, and Elsa walked toward the massive gate of the Dungeon.
Elsa's eyes sparkled as she took in the strange and bustling city around her. Her gaze flicked from race to race—elves, dwarves, beastmen, pallums, each one new and fascinating to her.
"Lioro… is that a dwarf?" she asked softly, pointing to a stout man with a beard longer than her braid, lugging a huge sack over his back.
"That's a pallum," Lioro explained patiently. "A race of small-statured people. They used to be oppressed but now thrive in adventuring."
Elsa nodded, listening like a curious child on her first school trip.
She looked at a passing cat-eared girl with a tail, then a stoic elf with silver hair. The world was full of wonders—and for once, she wasn't afraid to explore it.
They soon reached the Dungeon's front entrance. Just as they were about to enter, Yoriichi paused.
"Can we wait a moment?" he asked calmly.
Lioro looked back. "What happened?"
Before Yoriichi could reply, Bell jumped in excitedly. "He's waiting for his friend!"
"Friend?" Lioro blinked.
"Yeah! She always brings him a lunchbox!" Bell's tone was half awe, half envy.
Lioro raised an eyebrow. "Lunchbox?"
He looked at Yoriichi closely.
"...Is it a girlfriend?"
Yoriichi remained unfazed. "She's just a friend."
Lioro narrowed his eyes.
'Just a friend, huh?'
'A vixen trying to steal my brother-in-law?'
Over my dead body!
As Lioro mentally prepared his counterattack, Bell suddenly pointed.
"There she is!"
Lioro instinctively turned—
—and vanished from sight the very next second.
The three others blinked.
"...Lioro?" Elsa called out, looking around.
Confused, they exchanged glances.
Then a girl with soft bluish-gray hair and gentle eyes approached, carrying a large lunchbox in both hands. She wore a white blouse and a leaf-green skirt that swayed as she walked.
"Yoriichi-san! Bell-san!" she called out cheerfully.
"Syr-san…" Bell greeted her nervously, glancing at the spot where Lioro had just been standing.
'Where the hell did he go?!'
Syr tilted her head but ignored it, her eyes lighting up as she turned to Yoriichi.
"Yoriichi-san~!" she beamed with affection.
Yoriichi simply nodded, as calm and unreadable as always.
But then Syr noticed Elsa.
Her smile softened as she asked, "And who's this?"
"She's our new familia member. Elsa," Yoriichi replied.
Syr's gaze lingered on Elsa's face for a moment longer than usual. Then her eyes subtly narrowed. She activated her Discerning Eye, her divine gaze peering past the flesh and into the soul.
Instantly, she saw it, an ethereal, crystalline soul glowing in glacial blue.
Majestic. Pure. Noble.
Syr's fingers clenched slightly around the lunchbox.
Elsa, unaware, looked around uneasily. "Um… is something wrong?"
"Actually," Bell said, scratching his cheek, "our captain just… sort of disappeared?"
"Captain?" Syr asked. "Isn't Yoriichi the captain? He's the strongest, isn't he?"
Yoriichi shook his head. "Our captain is far stronger than I am."
Syr's eyes widened in disbelief.
'Stronger than Yoriichi? Another monster child?'
She bit her lower lip subtly.
'Why does that damn dwarf's luck never run out?'
Still smiling somehow, she stepped forward and handed the lunchbox to Yoriichi.
"Here. I made your favorite."
"...Thank you," Yoriichi replied in a tone that mixed both gratitude and helplessness.
He had tried many times to decline her efforts, but she never gave up.
Once, they had gone to the Dungeon early to avoid her. She waited the entire time at the entrance, smiling, lunchbox in hand.
Eventually, even Yoriichi caved in.
Meanwhile, on a rooftop nearby...
A faint shimmer moved against the tiles, unnoticed by all.
It was our protagonist Lioro, currently using his 10th tier invisibility spell.
'Fck! Freya!'
The one goddess he didn't want to meet!
The one goddess he told them not to meet!
Goddammit Yorichii! I told you not to go near the Hostess Of Fertility!
As if feeling his gaze, Syr unconciously turned her head to look in his direction.
Lioro instantly hid behind cover and cursed again in his mind.
At the same time he looked to his left, there sat a beastmen from Freya familia, who was probably here to guard Syr.
Because of his invisibility spell the guard couldn't sense or see him.
Controlling his urge to hit him, Lioro silently waited for Syr aka Freya to leave before teleporting back to his comrades.
As soon as Syr left, Lioro reappeared beside them in a soft gust of wind.
"...You're back?" Elsa asked, blinking in surprise.
Bell nearly dropped his weapon. "W-wait where did you go?!"
"Over there," Lioro waved a hand vaguely in the direction of the rooftops, face unreadable. "Just had to confirm something."
His eyes flicked between Yoriichi and Bell with a calm that felt... a little too calm.
"Now then," he said slowly. "Explain."
Yoriichi raised a brow. "Explain what?"
Lioro asked. "Why the hell was Syr just here with a lunchbox?"
Bell looked confused. "Syr-san? What's wrong with her....."
Lioro cut him off, eyes narrowing. "I told you two specifically not to go near the Hostess of Fertility."
"We didn't!" Bell replied quickly, hands up in panic. "I swear we haven't gone there once since you warned us! We didn't even know she's from there!"
"She just started showing up," Yoriichi added.
Lioro's brow furrowed.
Bell nodded quickly. "It's true! A week ago she just... showed up in front of us. Said she made lunch. She called it 'a gift from a concerned friend' or something."
"And then she just… kept showing up," Yoriichi finished.
"She's actually really nice," Bell added, though his voice was more unsure now.
Lioro stared at them in silence for a moment.
Then sighed.
"Of course she did," he muttered, rubbing his temples.
Elsa looked at him with concern. "Is she dangerous?"
"Beyond dangerous," Lioro said grimly.
He thought in his mind, wondering whether he should tell them about Syr, whose real identity was Freya.
But if he did, then Freya might take drastic measures and directly try and control them with her authority.
Lioro was very clear about the horror of an Epic class: It was unpredictable. Who knows if Freya has a skill that bypasses mind immunity?
Sighing lightly, Lioro decided to take them to the dungeon first.
----
The party of four stood at the gaping entrance to the Dungeon.
Elsa stared at the darkness before them. It felt... alive. Something about it twisted the air.
"Are you nervous?" Lioro asked softly beside her.
"I've faced danger before," Elsa replied, trying to sound steady. "But this… feels different."
"It is," Lioro said. "But you're not alone."
He walked ahead. The others followed.
The descent into the first floor was quiet, too quiet. Crystalline walls pulsed with a soft glow, and the air carried a subtle, unnatural vibration.
The first monster appeared not long after: a goblin with jagged teeth and glowing eyes, leaping from a corner with a shriek.
Before anyone could move, Bell dashed forward.
Slash!
The Crimson Edge sang, cutting clean through the goblin. Blood sprayed the ground in a crimson arc.
Elsa's eyes widened in horror as dark green flesh hit the floor and blackish-red blood splattered across the ground.
She froze.
Her breath caught, body trembling as the foreign scent, metallic, bitter, reached her nose. Her legs refused to move.
"Elsa?" Lioro called out.
She didn't respond.
Then Lioro was in front of her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay," he said softly.
"T-this…" Her voice trembled.
"Don't be afraid," Lioro said.
Elsa looked into his eyes, calm, steady, warm despite the cold air.
"You don't have to fight right away," he said gently. "Just observe. Watch how we move. Get used to the rhythm."
Elsa nodded slowly, and he smiled.
"Good. You'll get the hang of it."
She took a deep breath and steadied herself.
Yoriichi, a little ways ahead, nodded approvingly. Bell gave her a thumbs-up.
They moved on, deeper into the dungeon.
The party resumed their descent, this time venturing slightly deeper, still within the safer upper floors, but enough for the monsters to come in groups now.
It didn't matter.
Lioro was too strong for the Dungeon.
Yoriichi, even as a level 2, cut through monsters like a whisper through fog.
Bell kept pace impressively, his instincts sharpening day by day.
But today wasn't about them.
It was about Elsa.
They reached a wide, circular room, perfect for setting up formation.
Lioro raised a hand. "We'll handle the front. Elsa, you'll be in the center. Use magic when I signal."
Elsa blinked. "You're putting me in the middle?"
"Yes, you're a mage," he said. "First, get used to live combat. We'll keep the threats off you."
Yoriichi silently moved to Elsa's right, while Lioro took her left. Bell stood just ahead of her with a determined nod, sword at the ready.
"Don't worry," Bell added with a smile. "You're the heart of our formation."
Elsa's fingers twitched with anticipation. Magic pulsed faintly in her veins, called by her will.
Then—
Growls echoed from the far passage.
Three goblins and two kobolds burst forth, claws and crude weapons raised high.
"Now," Lioro said calmly.
Elsa raised her hands, her breath steadying.
Frost began to swirl around her fingertips, then expanded outward in a spiraling gust of icy wind.
"Crystal Lance!"
A spear of blue light, glimmering like a shard of the northern sky, formed above her.
She pointed, and the lance rocketed forward.
*CRACK*
It pierced straight through the lead kobold and froze the goblin behind him mid-charge. The rest scattered from the sudden burst of freezing energy.
Yoriichi vanished with a step and cleaved a fleeing goblin in one clean arc. Bell charged ahead and parried a kobold's claw swipe before delivering a downward slash.
The fight was over in less than ten seconds.
Elsa lowered her hands, eyes wide with disbelief. "Did I…?"
"Good job." Lioro encouraged, stepping back to her side. "You aimed clean, you cast fast, and you hit hard."
She flushed with a small smile. "I see..."
Yorichii nodded at her.
Bell sheathed his sword. "That was awesome, Elsa!"
She laughed. "Thank you, everyone."
They continued like that.
Each room, Yoriichi swept the outer edges while Bell handled the close range and redirected enemies.
And in the heart of their formation, Elsa launched spell after spell.
Ice Coffin. Crystal Lance. Snowbind Field.
Her aim improved. Her voice grew steadier. She was no longer fearful.
In one chamber, she froze a corridor mid-wave, locking a swarm of goblins in a solid wall of ice.
Even Lioro raised an eyebrow at that one. "You're adapting faster than I expected."
"I had a good teacher," she said, glancing at him.
He smiled.
By the time they circled back to the surface, their pouches full of crystals and Elsa beaming with quiet pride.
As the party advanced through the lower levels of the Dungeon, Elsa stood in the middle of the group, protected at the front by Yoriichi and Bell, with Lioro guarding the rear.
She wasn't just there for show anymore.
She had already cast several spells since entering the fourth floor, and now, standing in a wide corridor of crystalline stone, she raised her hand once more as goblins and kobolds charged from the shadows.
"Freezing Spiral!"
A rush of glacial blue light spiraled outward from her palm. Sharp shards of enchanted ice exploded forward, piercing the monsters mid-leap and freezing the path ahead with a shimmering layer of frost.
The air dropped several degrees in an instant.
Silence followed.
Then the ice cracked beneath Bell's boots as he stepped forward and finished off the frozen remnants with a single slash.
Behind them, unnoticed until now, a few low-ranked adventurers stood frozen, not by magic, but by sheer awe.
They were a group of rookies, likely on their first serious dive into the Dungeon. Their armor was mismatched, their weapons worn, and their formation sloppy, but their eyes were all wide as they stared at Elsa.
"…Was that… an ice spell?"
"No way…"
"Her chant was so short—did you see the control?"
"She's not just a mage… she's an Ice Mage."
"And she's beautiful too…"
They didn't dare approach her; no one did. The aura around Elsa was not only powerful but noble, commanding the same reverent distance one might give to royalty or gods.
Plus, her party members looked just as powerful with their armour and weapons.
----
As they climbed back up from the 6th floor, their pace was relaxed.
They passed other adventurers on the way, some solo, some in groups, and many of them paused mid-path, glancing at the elegant silver-haired girl walking confidently in the middle of her formation.
"Did she just cast an ice spell?"
"Look at them.... Wait—wait, that's the Silver Flash!"
A small stir of whispers began as other parties took notice.
A few adventurers recognized Bell, but even more recognized Yoriichi, the quiet swordsman walking with a relaxed but deadly grace.
"That's the guy who saved my party from shadow monster…"
"He pulled me out of a collapsing tunnel last week. That guy doesn't even ask for payment!"
"No way! Is it him?!"
A few younger adventurers stepped forward nervously.
"U-um! Yoriichi-san!" a cat-eared boy called out, eyes wide with admiration.
Yoriichi turned his head slightly.
"My little sister, she wouldn't have made it without you. Thank you so much!"
The others bowed as well.
Yoriichi blinked. "...You're welcome."
Bell looked at him in admiration.
Yoriichi looked away, clearly uncomfortable.
Elsa stood quietly, watching the scene with gentle eyes. "He's helped a lot of people, hasn't he?"
"He has," Lioro said. "That's who he is."
Elsa paused, then asked Lioro quietly, almost shyly. "Did I do well?"
Lioro said with a smile.
"You did well."
