"That's enough—take a break."
Charles stepped back mid-fight and raised his hand to signal a stop.
Though Ais was clearly reluctant, she obediently halted her movements.
It had been five days since Ais began training under Charles, and in that time, she had grown significantly.
Not even touching on her swordsmanship, her four non-magical stats had risen dramatically in her last two status updates.
Her Magic stat hadn't seen as much growth, but it still exceeded what would normally be considered average.
After all, the compression bracers Charles had crafted also placed strain on an adventurer's internal mana flow. Under such pressure, magical energy naturally grew stronger as well.
When Loki updated Ais's status, she had been stunned. While it was true Ais had recently reached Level 6 and was still in the early phase of attribute growth after a level-up, this increase was outrageous.
For first-class adventurers, it was normal to spend two to three years gaining just four to five hundred points across all stats.
And yet Ais had achieved in just a few days what most couldn't in several months.
Loki instantly realized the implications of this development—and more importantly, she recognized that the true key to this result wasn't just Ais's rapid growth, but the one who had enabled that growth.
Naturally, Loki began plotting how to secure benefits for her familia from this breakthrough.
Charles, on the other hand, didn't care much. When Ais asked if she could tell others about the training method, he casually told her it didn't matter.
Whether an adventurer could grow depended on the size of their "vessel." That "vessel" wasn't just talent, but the will and resolve to become stronger—to embrace adventure.
The compression bracers were just tools. Whether or not someone improved depended entirely on themselves.
That said, for those with the proper "vessel," the bracers were indeed incredibly effective.
Charles had no idea that Finn was currently struggling with the dilemma of whether to save up for the Sure-Hit Spear or to buy a pair of compression bracers. As for buying both? His wallet simply wouldn't allow it.
In fact, Finn had begun complaining—why was Charles rolling out so many good things at once?!
Charles handed Ais a water bottle and said, "I heard you're preparing for your next expedition. Not much time left for training, huh?"
Ais took a sip and replied, "Yeah. We're heading out soon."
"I see. Then from tomorrow on, focus on getting ready for the expedition. I need to finish that order from your Loki Familia anyway."
Just yesterday, Loki had officially commissioned a bulk order from Charles—spending a hefty sum to outfit the familia's core members with compression bracers.
Hephaestus had even shown up herself after hearing the news. She brought up the incident with Bete and Charles's role in the 24th-floor battle to block any attempts Loki made at haggling.
As a result, Charles sold over a dozen sets of compression bracers at full first-tier pricing.
The order was to be completed before the expedition's departure, which was how Charles learned about Loki Familia's plans.
From the looks of it, the expedition's primary objective this time wasn't dungeon exploration, but rather improving the members' combat strength.
In the original storyline, the Loki Familia's goal had been to reach the 59th floor and investigate a new monster species.
But since Charles had already dealt with the corrupted fairy clone and handed over the intel, there was no longer a pressing need.
Most likely, Finn or Loki had realized the familia needed to grow stronger in order to face whatever future crises awaited.
After a moment of silence, Ais said, "I heard your title's been decided?"
Charles nodded. "Yeah, during the last divine assembly. 'Dragon Furnace.' Not a bad title. I really owe both Lady Hephaestus and your Loki a big thank you."
An adventurer's title was determined through discussions among the gods, and it essentially became a second name—often more commonly used than one's real name.
The gods regularly held official meetings to discuss special matters that had arisen in Orario. Most of the time, this meant exchanging information on newly emerged elite adventurers.
And the most important topic was always the titles of adventurers who had just leveled up through a great feat.
Normally, these titles were based on traits and abilities the adventurer had displayed prior to their level-up. But gods being gods—they were more concerned with entertainment than suitability.
Whether a title fit or whether it embarrassed the adventurer was irrelevant. If it was funny, it was valid.
If your familia or patron deity had no power, you might end up with a title that would haunt you for life.
Charles even knew of one poor adventurer—a 190cm musclebound man—whose title was Pink Heart. Every time his companions called him by it, he looked ready to throw himself off a cliff.
At the last divine assembly, the two biggest topics had been the titles of two particular adventurers.
One, of course, was Bell. After slaying the Minotaur, he had leveled up in just a month—beating Ais's old record of one year at the age of eight.
As in the original story, Bell was given the title "Little Rookie." While a bit childish, it wasn't humiliating—proof that Hestia had fought hard for it.
The second spotlight had been on Charles.
After his fight with Ottar, there was no hiding his true level. But Hephaestus insisted that Charles had just broken into Level 2, and that the battle with Ottar had been his great feat.
His strength, she claimed, came from forming a contract with a fairy spirit—just like the ancient heroes. A living, breathing example.
Hephaestus, being one of Orario's most influential deities—and with Loki backing her up—successfully secured the title "Dragon Furnace" for Charles.
Ever since the divine assembly, adventurers around town had started calling him "Dragon Furnace."
Ais said, "It's a cool title. Suits you. Oh right—Finn asked me to check if you're interested in joining the expedition."
Charles shook his head. "Not this time."
Ais looked disappointed but nodded silently.
Charles looked at her and said, "Don't dwell on it. You've rested enough. Let's keep going."
Ais stood up, gripped the Desperate Sword, and charged at him once more.
Charles sighed, deflecting her blow while thinking things over.
Right now, he lacked for nothing—he had no need to join an expedition. On the contrary, he needed to dedicate more time and effort into researching [Mystery].
Moreover, Charles had a feeling—an unsettling one—that something was about to happen.
And not in the Dungeon… but in Orario itself.
It wasn't without cause. Charles had recently noticed far more eyes watching him than usual.
Who was behind it?
Whoever it was, Charles intended to dig them out—before they could cause any real trouble.
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