Just past dawn, a faint chill still drifted through the streets of Orario.
Ordinary citizens pulled on their jackets or coats for warmth, occasionally letting out small puffs of white breath as they walked.
Compared to the ordinary citizens, the adventurers were slowly making their way from various streets toward the central plaza beneath the tower of Babel, dressed in their own distinct styles.
Some were fully armed, others traveled light, and the passionate, uninhibited amazonesses in particular exposed most of their skin to the morning air, as though they did not care about the lingering cold at all.
Deep underground in the Dungeon, on the mist-covered 10th Floor, Riezel and Ais were heading toward the passage leading to the 11th Floor.
*Swish!*
A flash of silver tore through the white mist as Ais cut an Imp rushing out from the side cleanly in half, so fast that it didn't even have time to scream.
In that instant, the Imp's corpse turned into dust midair, scattering instantly and leaving only a tiny magic stone that fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
As Ais picked up the small magic stone and slipped it into the little pouch at her waist, Riezel, who saw it, blinked his eyes.
"You're keeping even a magic stone that tiny?" Riezel couldn't help but ask.
Given that the monsters of the 10th Floor produced very small magic stones, even if sold, they were worth almost nothing.
For this reason, to him, picking up such tiny magic stones and carrying them around only wasted space and added pointless weight.
If he had been alone, it would not have mattered, since he could simply toss them into the storage space of the Dimensional Magic Cube and keep them there without worrying about weight or capacity.
Ais, however, still collected those tiny magic stones that held little value to her, which seemed unnecessarily troublesome.
"Riveria said to pick them up..." Ais explained calmly. "If we just leave magic stones lying around, it might cause trouble we don't need."
For Riezel and Ais, the magic stones from monsters on this floor had almost no value, but for low-level adventurers exploring this area, these magic stones were their main source of income.
If such adventurers found magic stones scattered freely across the ground, the temptation of effortless gain could easily lead to problems—arguments over distribution within a party, fights over who discovered them first, or even brawls over tiny profits.
Because of this, in general, high-level adventurers were expected to avoid hunting low-floor monsters as much as possible, leaving them to the lower-level adventurers. If they did need to fight them, they were supposed to take the magic stones and drop items to avoid unnecessary conflict afterward.
Of course, this was not a written rule enforced by the Guild, but merely an unspoken understanding among adventurers.
"I see..."
Riezel nodded, indicating he understood.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
Ais returned to Riezel's side after putting away the magic stone, adjusting her breathing as she resumed walking toward the 11th Floor.
Watching her, Riezel could clearly tell that this girl was trying to improve her breathing, aiming to achieve the state of 'Total Concentration – Constant.'
'Her talent really isn't bad at all. No wonder she set the record for the fastest level up before the protagonist even showed up.'
Riezel nodded to himself, then suddenly moved and grabbed Ais's arm.
"Mm?"
Ais stopped, confused, and looked at Riezel.
"What is it—"
Her question had barely left her lips when her expression suddenly hardened.
In that instant, she whipped her head around and stared toward the mist-covered path ahead.
"Who's there?" Ais asked while raising Desperate, pointing it at the empty mist with a cold voice.
"Come out." Riezel said calmly as well. "You hid yourself well, and your aura is almost perfectly erased… but you can fool others, not us."
As soon as he spoke, an indescribable silence rippled through the mist before them.
A second later, the mist began to part before a shadowy figure stepped out without making a sound, coming into view before Riezel and Ais.
"No wonder you two are the most gifted swordsmen of the Loki Familia. Your senses are sharper than I expected."
A voice—one whose gender could not be discerned—echoed softly from beneath the figure's hood, drifting through the mist.
Riezel's eyes narrowed slightly, and Ais heightened her guard as the figure before them radiated an aura of sheer strangeness.
It was someone who hid their entire body beneath a black robe, their face completely shadowed by the hood, their entire shape concealed, making it impossible to see their features or even their outline.
Not a single inch of skin was exposed, for the long black robe enveloped the entire body, its sleeves ending in gloves etched with complex patterns, while the hem draped low enough to conceal even the feet.
Forget seeing their face—even catching a glimpse of skin was impossible.
An eerie presence clung to the figure, something that made one question whether they were even human.
If the figure had not spoken upon appearing, Riezel might have doubted, but Ais certainly would have mistaken them for an unknown monster and cut them down on the spot.
"...Who are you?"
Ais maintained her vigilance, the tip of Desperate still raised and pointed straight at the black-clothed figure.
"Me?"
At Ais's question, the black-robed figure continued speaking in that genderless voice, head lowered.
"I'm just an insignificant magus."
"Magus?" Ais reacted slightly.
In this world, a magus referred to a craftsman who served adventurers with magic-oriented job classes, such as mages or magic swordsmen.
Unlike the weapons most adventurers used—swords, spears, daggers, polearms—staves, wands, and items used by mages or magic swordsmen could not be bought in ordinary weapon shops.
Weapons used in close-quarters combat, like swords, differed entirely from equipment that boosted MAG and enhanced magic power, since those could only be made by someone who understood magic deeply.
Even a high-level blacksmith who had gained the development ability Blacksmith could not create this type of equipment, because those capable of crafting such items were only magi—special craftsmen who made and dealt in magic-related items.
Put simply, a magus was a blacksmith dedicated to serving mages and magic swordsmen.
Weapons used by Riezel, Ais, and others were forged by blacksmiths, while the equipment used by Riveria and Lefiya was crafted by magi—the difference lay solely in the groups they served.
And the person standing before them was such an individual—a magus engaged in the manufacture of magic-related items.
On the Akasha Continent, they would be called alchemists or magic artisans.
"I know I look suspicious, but before you attack me, could you at least hear why I'm here?"
As the mysterious magus said this, Ais glanced toward Riezel, who nodded at her.
Ais hesitated for a moment before lowering Desperate, letting the tip of the blade point toward the ground.
"Thank you."
Seeing Ais lower her sword, the magus even expressed gratitude politely.
Needless to say, suspicious as they were, every gesture they made carried an air of refined manners and etiquette.
"Alright, go on." Riezel said expressionlessly. "What do you want from us?"
At this, the magus remained silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"I want to request that you accept a quest from me."
Such a response made Ais glance toward Riezel again.
"A quest?" Riezel said with a faint, knowing smile, as though he could see straight through the magus's intentions. "Let me guess. You're talking about the unusual situation on the 24th Floor?"
Upon hearing this, the magus fell silent once more.
"Unusual situation?" Ais, unaware of the matter, froze for a moment.
Seeing this, Riezel explained to her.
"Last night, when I went to exchange magic stones at the Guild, I overheard someone at the counter mentioning a monster outbreak."
"According to them, the 24th Floor seems to be experiencing a monster outbreak even more severe than an ordinary one, causing many adventurers exploring that floor to lose their lives."
"I assumed the Guild would take action, but when we came here today, everything looked completely normal."
"Obviously, the Guild didn't act—they didn't even issue a warning. Otherwise, the adventurers entering the Dungeon wouldn't look this calm."
As he spoke, Riezel looked fixedly at the magus.
"I had been wondering why the Guild would ignore deaths and injuries and pretend this monster outbreak didn't exist, but now it makes sense. Clearly, the Guild isn't ignoring it, but something is preventing them from announcing it publicly."
"For that reason, they're secretly requesting high-level adventurers to deal with the monster outbreak and suppress it."
Hearing this, Ais finally understood as well.
"You're from the Guild?" Ais asked, looking at the magus.
"A brilliant deduction..." The magus let out a small, helpless laugh before nodding. "At the moment, yes. I'm working for the Guild."
Hearing this, Ais lowered most of her wariness.
If this magus was from the Guild, then at the very least, they held no hostility and weren't an enemy.
"My purpose is exactly what you described. I hope the two of you can investigate the anomaly on the 24th Floor—and if possible, suppress the monster outbreak."
As they spoke, the magus looked deeply at Riezel, stating their purpose directly.
"Of course, I will prepare a generous reward for both of you."
It was a claim that carried a great deal of credibility.
It was only natural, for the Guild was the city's sole official institution handling the business of magic stone products, so it was extremely wealthy, lacking nothing except more money to store its money.
And even if the Guild were somehow short on funds, this magus certainly wouldn't be.
Magic-related items were extravagant and expensive, far more costly than ordinary equipment of the same grade, so anyone whose profession involved crafting such items was, as a rule, never short on money.
Someone like that, promising a generous reward, was indeed something worth anticipating.
However...
"Why us?"
Riezel raised the most fundamental question.
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