Author note:

First, it’s a bit late, and I merely used Grammarly to correct nothing else, I’m coming back from funerals, and I honestly have no current interest in writing all of this, but I did, so your welcome.

I’m not going to make it hard for Ais to ‘breakthrough’ in her stats, but she ain’t going to be as strong as Aidan, no worries.

————————————

Reaching the surface three hours later, the two immediately took a deep breath as they immediately felt refreshed. It wasn’t usually noticeable, but the air between the dungeon and the surface was quite different.

The air on the surface felt more clear and pure, while in the dungeon, it felt staler and wasn’t as refreshing.

With a shake of his head to stop thinking about such useless things, Aidan looked up and saw that the sun was directly above their heads.

Not wasting any time, the two left the tower of Babel and went back directly to the Twilight manor of the Loki familia.

“Finally, we’re back.” Said Aidan as he looked at Ais, who had a calm and expressionless look on her face. ‘Hum, is she showing this face to everyone except those close to her?’ He thought as he shrugged his shoulders.

“Let’s go and see Loki.” Said Ais to her partner as the two of them walked directly inside the manor.

“Aidan, Ais.” Shouted the green-haired elf from afar. “You were supposed to come back to the surface a week ago.” She said as she came closer to the two.

“Hello, Riveria.” Answered Aidan before he continued to talk. “We were indeed planning on coming back a week ago, but some things happened which slowed down our progress.” He explained with a smile as he referred to the infant dragon that they had fought not too long ago.

“What happened?” She asked with curiosity and concern.

“An infant dragon appeared on the twelfth floor, and we fought against it since it was close to us. Moreover, I wanted to see if we could beat a level two monster.” He explained with a smile as he remembered their fight. “Of course, we had everything necessary to escape if needed.” He added as he saw her face grow dark.

“Alright, follow me, you two. Loki is already waiting for you in her lounge.” She said as she sighed at their attitude. It wasn’t typical for level one to kill a level two monster, especially when their stats weren’t at the top of the level yet. “Did the three months in the dungeon help you own your skills at least?” Asked the elf as they walked up the stairs.

“Yes. Both of our swordsmanships are stronger, and we can now use my cards fluently during a fight. While our fight against the infant dragon took us half an hour, the fight against other monsters such as the hard armoured or the silverback is now pretty easy.” He explained as Ais supported his claims by nodding her head.

“I see, that’s a good thing.” She nodded with a smile, relieved that their long trip in the dungeon was rewarding. “Tomorrow, come to the training ground with Finn. We’ll test your new strength.” She said as she stopped at the room door and sent them him without saying goodbye before closing the doors behind them.

“Hello, Aidan, Ais.” Said Loki as she had her ever playful smile on her face with her hands holding her head in a very profound manner.

“Hello, Loki.” They both answered as they came closer and sat on the sofa facing their goddess.

“So, from what I heard of your conversation with Riveria, you both killed a lot of monsters on the twelfth floor and an infant dragon? That’s pretty impressive.” She said with her left eyebrow stretched up.

“Yes, the first month was hard since we had difficulty killing monsters, the second month was easier since we learned how to kill them, and we improved our swordsmanship, and in the third month, it was pretty easy as we slaughtered them for excelia.” Explained Aidan as he gave a review of their three months in the dungeon.

“Alright. I’m pretty sure I know what you both want. But, before that, how about the two of you join me for a meal at the Hostess of Fertility this evening?” She asked with a smirk. “I heard that Freya was going to dine there, and I wanted to flaunt the two of you to her.” She continued with a sadistic glint in her eye.

“Sure, we’ll be there.” Nodded Aidan as he was ready to accept anything for a simple update in his status.

“Perfect!” She clapped her hand as she got up and pointed to the sofa she was previously sitting on. “Ais, come here and show me your back.” She said to the slightly fidgeting girl who didn’t wait to be told a second time as she bolted and lay down on the sofa, raising her shirt in the process.

“Alright. Let me see the result of your training. I’m expecting at least an S rank parameter in all of your stats. Your work in killing monsters, in addition to the twin star title, should make you reach the top of your level already.” She said as she made a circle on Ais’s back with a drop of blood falling from her finger.

“Great, hahahahaha.” Said Loki out loud as she started laughing loudly after seeing her newly updated status.

With interest, Aidan came closer and looked at Ais’s back and only saw weird hieroglyphs. “Loki-sama. Can you teach me this language at some point?” He asked as he was interested in this language that was written on almost all adventurer’s backs.

“Hum? Sure, I don’t mind. With your high-human skill, you learn everything faster, so it shouldn’t take too long.” She nodded and agreed without caring about leaking the language of the gods to Aidan.

“Alright, here’s your status.” She said as she turned her attention to Ais and gave her the piece of paper.

[Name: Ais Wallenstein

Level: 1+

Strength: D-505 -> SS-1009

Endurance: E-480 -> S-970

Dexterity: D-520 -> SS-1014

Agility: E-497 -> S-997

Magic: D-527 -> SS-1020

Skill: Avenger, Twin star, Half-Spirit

Magic: Wind slash

Development ability: None]

With a quick look at the paper, Ais’s facade immediately collapsed as a bright smile appeared on her face as a weight she didn’t know she had left her shoulders.

“Loki-sama, what is the ‘Half-spirit’ skill and what’s the plus next to my level?” She asked with trepidation and happiness.

“Hum, according to what is written, the skill allows you to increase your parameters to SSS-1250. It’s surprising. Over the years I’ve been in this world, I’ve heard about five half-spirit, not to mention spirits themselves which I haven’t heard of at all. However, amongst those five you included, only two others were adventurers. One died, and the other is currently a level three adventurer who left Orario. However, that man didn’t have the skill. It would seem that you can only receive this skill when you reach the maximum and fight a monster above your level.” Explained Loki as she was delighted to have those two in her familia. “As for the plus next to the level, it means that you can level up whenever you want.” She explained with a smile.

“Your turn now, Aidan.” She said as Ais moved from her position and Aidan showed her back to the goddess. “Let me see how awesome you are.” She continued as she did the same ritual on his back that she did, Ais.

“Well, I was right. You are awesome.” She smirked a bit, showing his paper to Aidan, who took it, knowing approximately where his stats would be.

[Name: Aidan

Level: 1+

Strength: D-574 -> SS-1056

Endurance: D-596 -> SS-1079

Dexterity: E-499 -> SS-1056

Agility: D-545 -> SS-1087

Magic: C-689 -> SS-1137

Skill: High human, Twin star

Magic: Card magic, Telekinesis

Development ability: None]

“It seems that you were the one who killed the infant dragon, huh.” Said Loki in a giddy voice, still happy about recruiting those two.

“Yes, I was.” Answered Aidan with a calm smile. He was already expecting those stats, so he could keep a calm facade, although he was excited deep inside. “Can you tell me about the Telekinesis magic?” He asked as he saw the new magic which appeared on his magic section.

“Yes, telekinesis is the ability to move objects at a distance by mental power. So, for example, you can make your card move without actually touching them, which should save you time in the dungeon. It is rare magic, as far as I know. I haven’t heard of anyone else having it, but I know it appeared a few hundred years ago.” Explained Loki as she had once looked over the documents of ancient adventurers.

“I see. Well, I guess I’ll need to train with Riveria again.” Said Aidan with a wry smile.