Chapter 442

Chapter 448: Isn’t That Someone? (Please Subscribe!)

The incident in Merun Port City wasn’t simply due to grudges between Familial Groups or factions.

It involved a complicated mix of at least three or more forces—both heroic and villainous—vying for power, turning the seemingly clear waters murky.

However, if one were to pinpoint the reason, the cause of the conflict was rather straightforward.

—It was merely the whims of a deity.

The long-dormant Ishtar desired revenge against Loki and hadn’t given up on reclaiming Haruhi.

This trip to Merun presented her with an opportunity.

At this time, Izay, Bert, Tiona, and Tione had just ascended to Level 6.

With Ais, who had leveled up earlier, Loki Familia’s main force had undergone a qualitative change.

Yet, the goddess Ishtar still dared to target Loki Familia because only the female members were present in Merun, and she had gained powerful external support.

This external support came from the deity Kali of the distant nation Tilskura, along with her formidable Familial Group.

Tilskura is a peninsula country located far southeast of Orario, surrounded by seas and towering cliffs. It’s an isolated landmass where only the fierce Amazonians reside, almost entirely cut off from the outside world, making it a quite barbaric nation.

Simultaneously, it is one of the few world powers outside of Orario that possesses formidable combat strength.

The residents there continuously fight and hone their skills; not a day goes by without hearing roars and cheers. It’s a land filled with blood and strife, a sacred ground for female warriors (Amazonians).

Tiona and Tione were born in that place, and Kali Familia was once their home.

Since birth, the two were designated as future members of Kali Familia, practicing martial arts from a young age, and undergoing life-and-death struggles for training.

That place was already a warrior nation where the strong ruled before the arrival of the deity Kali. After Kali descended, the violent atmosphere only intensified, burning even brighter.

The secret to Tilskura’s powerful strength is almost disappointingly simple.

To evolve into Level 2, they would have two Level 1 warriors battle each other.

To create a Level 5, they would prepare two Level 4 warriors to fight to the death.

Like raising insects, they engaged in cannibalistic sacrifices.

At the top of Tilskura stood a pair of twin sisters—Baje and Alkana.

Both are Level 6 beings who have entered the Hero’s Domain, blessed by their deity.

Because their goddess Kali was persuaded by Ishtar, the bloodthirsty and combative main deity of Tilskura will participate in the upcoming confrontation between Ishtar and Freya as external support.

Before that, however, news of Tiona and Tione leveling up to Level 6 reached the goddess’s ears first.

Thus, events unfolded naturally, leading to an enthusiastic search for trouble with Loki Familia upon arriving near Orario.

The reason Kali opposed Loki was also quite simple.

She had previously allowed Tiona and Tione to leave Tilskura according to their will.

Now… the goddess regrets it and plans to bring the “runaway” children back. That’s all.

Izay quickly pieced together the causes and effects of the Merun incident in his mind, pondering the current situation.

In this state of contemplation, Izay returned to Twilight Manor.

…

In the garden, the idle dwarf elder basked in the sun like a gatekeeper sitting in a recliner with a large jug of strong liquor nearby, occasionally sipping it.

“Oh ho~? Who’s this? I thought someone was playing around and forgot to come back~”

Sensing someone approaching, Gress lazily glanced toward the entrance, his tone slightly odd.

Isn’t that someone?

That person who left with some lame excuse about ‘training’ and hasn’t been seen for over a week!

Hearing this, Izay helplessly shrugged: “Ah, old man, don’t use that sarcastic tone… truth be told, it’s pretty much as you said.”

“You little brat… not even trying to cover it up!?”

“There’s no beautiful girls in Loki Familia, so it’s not the Loki Familia I want!”

Gress: “…”

Shocked!

Someone actually managed to say such shameless words with a straight face!

The dwarf elder exclaimed that he’d lived long enough to see everything!

The two, retaining some childlike nature, seized this matter and began bantering back and forth.

After chatting for a while, Izay found another recliner in the courtyard and lay down comfortably beside him.

“You little brat, where have you been these past few days? You’ve disappeared throughout the entire city. Surely you didn’t spend a whole week in the Dungeon? Did you go on a personal expedition?”

Suddenly, Gress spoke with a puzzled tone.

Factually speaking, it’s not good when a high-ranking official of the largest faction in the city vanishes for several consecutive days.

Even he and Finn, as faction leaders, only knew that he had entered the Dungeon a week ago.

But it couldn’t be possible that he stayed there for an entire week, right?

Gress felt something was fishy.

“…It’s exactly what I told you, old man… I went to train, and this time my ability values will probably improve significantly~”

Izay couldn’t explain the details to him.

But judging by the results alone, Izay wasn’t lying.

With the massive amount of experience points from slaying the Primordial Beast, Izay was certain he had achieved the ‘feat’ of leveling up.

However, since he had just reached Level 6, his base ability values likely hadn’t reached their peak yet, so it would take some more time to reach Level 7.

And this time, even after leveling up, Izay didn’t plan to let Loki know.

In other words, he intended to underreport his level to the Guild.

Not because of anything else—it simply wouldn’t benefit him to do otherwise.

Izay wanted to target those dark factions active in the shadows, their deities, and those weirdos.

If they knew he had reached Level 7, who knows what crazy schemes they might concoct.

Being like rats hiding in the shadows and leaving behind problems would be the best outcome.

After all, they could ignore the Level 7 Ota of Freya Familia because Freya doesn’t get involved in dark faction affairs.

But Loki Familia is different.

Izay’s Loki Familia is absolutely on the opposing side of the dark factions, with no possibility of reconciliation.

Unless someone could persuade Loki to stop… but that possibility is so small it can be ignored.

Gress didn’t know Izay’s considerations, and the dwarf elder was already at a loss for words upon hearing about his great gains this time.

Now… isn’t he already at Level 6?

Not Level 1 or Level 2!

Can this kid, Izay, really maintain such an astonishing rate of progress?!

Is that flat-chested goddess secretly using divine power to cheat on him privately?!

Even though Gress knew this was impossible, he couldn’t help but think of it at this moment.

Chapter 449: The Day of Stealing the Cornerstone is Approaching! (Please Subscribe!)

Reaching the hero-level of Level 6, its strength is undoubtedly unquestionable, but correspondingly, any improvement becomes extremely difficult.

The peak ability values of Gress and the other three giants at Level 6… were the result of accumulating efforts for many years before and after coming to Orario.

Just thinking about how this effort could be caught up by a younger generation in three quick moves made Gress feel uneasy!

However, aside from that, there was more of a complex emotion akin to relief.

The future truly belongs to the younger generation…

With somewhat complex feelings, Gress took a swig from the bottle.

Seeing his expression, Izay, who somewhat understood the dwarf elder’s mood, skillfully changed the subject.

Actually, since failing to level up after the last Orcus Fairy extermination, Gress, Finn, and Riviria had already become somewhat helpless and anxious.

Izay had even been privately confided in by Riviria about this matter before, so he had a clear understanding of it.

Understanding is one thing, but asking Izay to comfort them… well, he didn’t know how to console them.

Let the three giants worry about it themselves then~

Lying around leisurely in the mansion’s courtyard with Gress, Izay didn’t continue doing so indefinitely.

After drinking a few cups of wine with the old man, he got up and headed upstairs.

“I need to inform Finn that I’m back… though he might already know…”

Looking up at the spire cluster to the north of the mansion, a window in the air reflected the dazzling sunlight. After entering the mansion gate, Izay easily found the room corresponding to that window.

“Welcome back, Izay.”

Stepping into the room, Finn looked up from the sparse pile of documents on the table, a smile on his lips.

“Hmm, haven’t seen you for a few days, your condition seems fine, Captain.”

His gaze subtly glanced at the documents on the table, implying something.

“Not bad. These past few days with Loki and the others away, the house has been quiet, yes, but it’s also been more relaxed.”

“After all, half the people are gone~”

“Yes.” Finn affirmed Izay’s statement and then shifted the topic: “So, did you gain anything from your outing these past few days? You weren’t really cooped up in the Dungeon for a week, were you?”

“Eh…” Izay hesitated for a moment, “This matter is a bit complicated, but indeed, it was like a week of training.”

“Judging by your expression, it seems you’ve gained quite a lot this week?”

“More or less, my ability values should improve significantly.”

“So, I’ll congratulate you then?”

At first, even Finn didn’t notice the loophole in Izay’s words. Seeing him nod, the Halfling Tribe Leader didn’t think too much and gave his blessing directly.

“Still, we need Loki back to perform the update ceremony. I’ve been considering whether to go find her in the port city.”

Izay commandeered Gress’s dedicated big chair next to him and voiced his opinion.

“They’ll be back in a day or two, soon. Hopefully, this trip to Merun will yield some clues; we’ve barely gained anything here.”

Speaking of which, Finn couldn’t help but sigh.

Leaving the male members in Orario actually had another meaning for Loki—to try to uncover the traces of the Dark Faction and the new monsters within the familiar territory.

However, clearly, judging from the attitude of the captain, their progress here was not ideal. They could only hope that Loki would find something.

“This kind of thing doesn’t need to be rushed… haste makes waste. As long as those people remain in Orario, sooner or later they’ll reveal themselves. Then we can take them all down at once. If not, we can at least try to thwart them.”

Compared to Finn, Izay held a very optimistic view on this matter.

Simply put, strength is the foundation of everything. With strength, one can speak with authority.

Loki’s group has eight Level 6s, and he himself will soon reach Level 7. What reason is there to fear the remnants of the Dark Faction, who are at most Level 5?

As for the weirdo camp, only Reivice remains holding on.

Philais seemed to be getting along well with Refia and Lanti the other day.

The fairy didn’t reject Lanti’s half-elf identity. If it weren’t for Refia always hanging around Ais, the three would have almost formed a trio to play together.

The day of stealing the cornerstone is approaching!

All things considered, why worry?

In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are futile!

“We will surely thwart their plans! We drove them out of Orario back then, and this time, those leftover remnants will be no exception.”

Finn’s tone was calm, yet revealed a firm determination.

Oh, almost forgot, this brave gentleman also had a grudge with the Dark Faction back then.

To put it bluntly, anyone who experienced the dark period has a bone to pick with the Dark Faction.

In Orario, those lunatics are true street rats, everyone wants to beat them!

Back then during that period, Loki Familia and Freya Familia also had a feud.

It was because Riviria was bullied by Freya Familia back then. Not only was she injured at that time, but she was severely wounded. This incident almost ignited a global uprising among the Elf Race.

Loki thus became displeased with Freya.

Recalling this minor detail, Izay rubbed his chin.

He was contemplating whether to find a moonless night and bash Ota’s head in while covering his face. The current Izay wouldn’t flinch at Ota, but he would have to consider exposing his identity by using magic.

…

Afterward, Izay helped Finn finish the remaining documents for today, including those for the next few days. As twilight approached, the two walked out of the office together.

“Want to go out for a meal after so long? We can invite Gress as well.”

“Just the three of us? Where did that tsundere wolf Bert go? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Raul either.”

“They were helping to search for clues about the new species a few days ago but found nothing. Now they’re probably stuck doing missions in the Dungeon. After all, they still have debts. Calling them all together for dinner would be troublesome.”

Finn said dismissive words with a troubled look.

Among the debtors in Loki Familia, he was the first to pay off his debts. Despite not seeing the captain working hard to earn money, his efficiency was inexplicably high.

It seems that Finn’s accumulated savings over the years are quite substantial~

Izay teased in his thoughts.

Soon, Izay and Finn pushed open the door of Twilight Manor, preparing to check on Gress basking in the sun in the courtyard. He hadn’t moved for so long; perhaps the old man fell asleep lying there.

Such a possibility cannot be ruled out.

However, just as they stepped out the door, they saw a cat-eared girl rushing into Loki Familia’s headquarters.

“Captain, Captain!! I have urgent news to report!!”

The cat-eared girl also spotted Izay and Finn in front of her and immediately raised her arm and shouted loudly.