Chapter 267

Chapter 270: No Comparison, No Harm (Please Subscribe!)

The aftermath of a failed expedition isn’t something that can be resolved in just a day or two.

The members of Loki Familia were once again plunged into a flurry of activity.

But this didn’t include Izay.

His rank officially upgraded to Level 5, his status within the Familial Group was now at an executive level.

Handling the aftermath was trivial work and not part of an executive’s responsibilities.

Thus, compared to Raul, who worked tirelessly, Izay found himself with much more free time.

Ais, Tiona, and Tione were the same.

The only unlucky one was Bert.

Gress, responsible for logistics, worried about his relationship with the other members and would often assign Bert tasks during his spare time, calling it “building camaraderie.”

There was no denying that Bert, as a valuable Level 5 member, was being used as a tool…

And Izay… was currently exploring the dungeon with Ais.

Their location was the Great Tree Maze area.

“—Gaaah!”

With a powerful strike, a Firebird monster was pierced, creating a massive hole.

While these monsters relied on their ability to fly and harassed from above, their companions were continuously falling victim to arrows.

The bird-like bodies, as tall as a person, disintegrated into ash with cries of agony as Izay repeatedly drew his bow and shot down the aerial attackers.

Beside him, the blonde-haired, golden-eyed girl faced enemies on the ground.

Ais swung her sword, flashes of light cutting through the approaching Sword Antelopes, reducing them to dust. Her swordsmanship precisely destroyed the Magic Stones like threading needles.

However, Izay’s speed in resolving battles was evidently much faster than Ais’.

By the time she had dealt with nearly half of the ground monsters, all the airborne foes had already been eliminated by Izay.

One reason was the greater number of ground monsters, and another was Ais wearing an “Experience Necklace” to suppress herself.

During normal dungeon exploration, she always kept this item’s suppression effect active.

After all, without suppression, this kind of casual exploration that could only reach around the 20th to 30th floors wouldn’t provide much improvement or training for Ais.

Using it, she could at least gain a few experience points, providing some solace.

Izay had no such concerns.

“Celestial Favor” was a genuine growth enhancer, fully capable of bridging any gaps, albeit slightly less so.

“Rooaaaaarrrr!!!”

From a tree hollow, a Berg Bear charged out, roaring as it quickly approached Izay holding the longbow, its furry, muscular arm swinging down rapidly.

Ambushing someone quietly is common sense; shouting might give your enemy reaction time.

But since the attacker was a monster, they clearly lacked common sense. Most of them just charged recklessly due to their low intelligence.

Facing such an attack, Izay had no intention of dodging. He let the monster charge towards him, then raised his weapon.

The Yet邪 transformed into a spear, glowing with a sudden white light. The dark silver spear tip turned, and Izay unleashed an attack at a speed far beyond the monster’s comprehension.

In an instant, the silver light sliced through the giant bear monster, drawing a silvery diagonal line across its body.

“—”

The Berg Bear froze in place, seemingly unaware of the current situation.

Then its body gradually lost color, finally crumbling into a pile of dust.

Izay lightly twirled the spear, the dark silver shaft reflecting cold light around him, ready to face the next wave of monsters.

The battle ended swiftly, taking only a few minutes.

When the surroundings returned to silence, the grassland was left with only Izay and Ais, along with a pile of dust.

Ais flicked her sword, emitting a “whoosh,” then slightly lowered her head to look at the borrowed sword she was using, pouting slightly.

“So hard to use…”

This sword wasn’t her usual Sword of Despair.

Instead, it was a temporary replacement borrowed from the deity Gubernue when she went to the Gubernue Familia to repair her weapons.

The Sword of Despair was quite worn out and needed some time to be fully restored.

Using an unfamiliar weapon caused the girl to complain softly.

“You’ll have to make do temporarily, Ais. It’s always like this when you’re using unfamiliar weapons.”

Using magic, Izay collected all the Magic Stones and dropped items on the ground.

“But there’s such a big difference in quality… It feels like it might break if I hit too hard…”

“If you feel that way, you’d better be careful not to break it during battle.”

Izay gave a somewhat awkward reminder.

If he remembered correctly… the fate of this sword lent to Ais wasn’t good.

It was also quite expensive, considered top-notch among second-tier armed equipment.

But as the saying goes, no comparison, no harm.

Used to the Enchanted first-tier Sword of Despair, how could Ais possibly get used to this ordinary second-tier equipment?

Especially since this sword was borrowed, and Izay couldn’t help enhance it.

It had to be “returned” eventually…

“Hmm…” Hearing Izay’s words, Ais obediently nodded.

Afterward, she tried to be more cautious.

Once Izay quickly cleaned up the spoils of war using magic, the two continued forward under the dim glow of moss phosphorescence.

As expected, they would explore until reaching the Water Riddle City area, trouble the Flash Swallows, and return to the surface by evening.

Among many monsters, the Flash Swallows’ speed ranked at the top. Their concentrated high-speed attacks and relentless group assaults provided no breathing room.

—Perfect for practice.

For Ais, who restrained herself with the “Experience Necklace” for training, this was an excellent “training program.”

It started when Izay casually mentioned that Flash Swallows might be good for practicing evasion and counterattacks.

This offhand concept took on a life of its own after a single trial.

Izay inadvertently fostered the habit of the first-tier adventurer Sword Princess frequently raiding Flash Swallow nests.

For a while, rumors spread among adventurers about the “love-hate relationship” between the Sword Princess and Flash Swallows.

However, after a certain village chief who spread the rumor was convinced otherwise by an accidental encounter with Izay, such rumors became scarce.

“…Is that an adventurer team ahead?”

After dealing with numerous waves of monster attacks, a group of adventurers emerged from a lateral tunnel.

They dragged large cargo boxes, wore complete armor, moved without a trace of error, clearly showing they were seasoned elite adventurers.

“It’s the Ganesha Familia… Returned from their expedition?”

Seeing the emblem of an elephant’s head on their equipment, Izay immediately recognized the true identity of the adventurers and guessed what was inside those black iron cargo boxes.

Ais nodded: “It should be…”

In a few days, it would be the time of the “Monster Festival.”