Chapter 569

Chapter 576: Just Gonna Say It—Been Through A Lot~ (Please Subscribe!)

The only thing Izay could be sure of at the moment was that “Mars.” Another meaning of Mars is “confusion,” a term from ancient Eastern astronomy, referring to Mars. It also has the name “Star of Mars.”

In astrology, it’s recorded as having the meaning of “flickering firelight, scattered and chaotic.” This unintentionally aligns with the characteristics of the white mist.

Since ancient times, mist has been something that confuses people and can even make them lose their way.

But Izay felt the mission given by the system wouldn’t be that simple. It definitely wasn’t just about being confused or getting lost so easily.

Especially this mission’s nickname—Sigh of the Star Child.

It always felt like it was metaphorically pointing to something.

(Am I talking about myself?)

Izay smirked inwardly.

Judging from his skills, it was hard not to think that way.

If this mission trigger was caused by himself, then wouldn’t it mean the conditions for triggering side quests weren’t random but had patterns?!

And these patterns were even on him?!

A sudden system prompt made Izay’s thoughts uncontrollably active.

During this period of thought, he had already begun exploring the dungeon with Victoria and Ryu at a steady pace.

But when it came to defeating monsters, almost none of them were a match for him.

“Repel Evil” was unknowingly summoned into Izay’s hand. With a casual swing, it instantly wiped out all kinds of incoming monsters.

Victoria and Ryu, as perceptive women, noticed that he was deep in thought.

They exchanged glances and silently nodded, deciding not to disturb him.

The team moved forward quietly, advancing steadily.

Ryu held her “Wooden Sword: Elven Flowing Light” in her hand, while “Short Blade: Twin Leaves” was tucked at her waist.

The elf remained vigilant against any surrounding sounds, ready to face the approaching monsters.

Izay didn’t know what important things he was thinking about, but he was distracted during battle.

This state made him very vulnerable to sudden dangers.

To avoid this situation, Ryu positioned herself ready to rescue at any time, closely following Izay.

She decided in her heart that she would have to give Izay a good talking-to later.

How could he be distracted in the dungeon!?

Even if it was the upper floors, if you get ambushed by monsters, you’ll still get hurt!

After all, adventurers aren’t invincible with skin like copper or impervious to blades.

This was unacceptable!

What Ryu didn’t know was that Izay had passive skills like “Intuition” and “Keen Eye,” which warned him of impending danger.

If she knew, she probably wouldn’t worry so much—

Compared to Ryu, Victoria wasn’t as cautious. She was looking around the dungeon curiously.

Victoria could tell these monsters were weak.

For these monsters… it wasn’t her being arrogant.

Even without using her wand, only a knife, Victoria was confident she could handle them!

Of course, that was one-on-one—

If it was many-on-one, she still couldn’t let go of her wand.

Because most witches’ magic must be channeled through a wand.

A small wand at least carried seventy to eighty percent of a witch’s combat power.

Without a wand, a witch isn’t much different from an ordinary mage.

…

Unconsciously, the three entered the double-digit floor.

Starting from this level, Izay finally snapped out of his thoughts.

The reason was due to external factors.

The tenth floor… there was fog!

It wasn’t the eerie mist rumored among adventurers; it was just ordinary hazy white mist, nothing special.

But for Izay, who had been pondering “mist,” even such common fog brought him back to reality.

He blinked immediately, feeling puzzled about how he ended up on the tenth floor.

After a while, Izay realized the situation and apologized to the two women beside him first: “Sorry… I got lost in thought just now… too absorbed in my thoughts.”

“You should pay attention to this issue, Izay. This is a dungeon. You’re spacing out during exploration… you weren’t like this before.”

Noticing that he finally realized this, Ryu couldn’t help but complain.

She remembered the first “adventure,” when Izay was extremely cautious.

Even with her Lv.4 presence, he still carried three bottles of Panacea as insurance.

That was the vigilance an adventurer should have!

Why was he acting so cocky now?

“Hack hack hack, Ryu, your scolding is well-deserved. This time it’s indeed my fault, and I promise it won’t happen again,” Izay coughed awkwardly and made a guarantee.

“I don’t really mind though? Even while daydreaming, Mr. Izay was still cutting through enemies like slicing watermelon—it’s rather impressive!”

Victoria tilted her head slightly, her delicate soft hands supporting her cheek, smiling cleverly.

“We can’t encourage this kind of behavior, Miss Victoria. If we keep indulging him, he’ll surely suffer losses during future explorations. Izay’s role will be different in the frontlines compared to now. He shouldn’t be careless at all… We suffered because of carelessness before…”

As she spoke, Ryu’s eyes dimmed a bit as she recalled her former companions.

If they had taken the Dark Faction more seriously… if they had directly killed them without giving them a chance to summon sacrifices… the Astrea Familial Group wouldn’t have turned out this way.

“Sorry… it’s my fault.”

Seeing Ryu’s expression, Victoria realized she might have touched upon some sensitive topics and quickly apologized sincerely.

Although she currently didn’t feel the danger of the dungeon, ignoring others’ goodwill repeatedly was still a form of arrogance, no matter how much stronger she was than Ryu.

At this moment, Izay didn’t know how to console Ryu, so he just moved closer and hooked her delicate hand.

“—!!?”

Her soft palm was touched, and Ryu reacted immediately, curling her fingers to pull back.

But Izay didn’t give her that chance, grabbing her hand firmly and smiling silently at Ryu.

Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

How could Izay act so shamelessly with Victoria still around!?

For the shy elf, showing affection in front of others was too difficult, an unprecedented scenario.

But Izay had no such concerns anymore—he wasn’t the same person who used to sneak peeks while hiding!

Now, if he wanted to peek, he’d justify it properly first and then look openly.

Don’t ask why the change was so drastic.

Just gonna say it—been through a lot!

Catching the subtle interaction between the two, Victoria quietly looked away.

While secretly smiling like an aunt, she felt a tinge of melancholy.

(Being young is great… unlike me… I’m already this old and never experienced the blooming of spring feelings…)

Probably it would never come in this lifetime.

Victoria’s character since childhood and her experiences… destined her to find it hard to display shyness like a little girl.

Even if teased, she would probably just smile sweetly on the surface, while secretly plotting how to embarrass the other party in return?

Especially for those males she disliked…