Southwest District of Orario.
This area didn't just house the [Freya Familia]'s "Field of Combat."
It also included the original locations of the [Apollo Familia] base;
The [Astraea Familia]'s base, "Garden of Stars";
And the [Ganesha Familia]'s base—"I am Ganesha!"—all located within this region.
A little while later—
Riveria led Raven Eltharion into a café called Viché.
It was a small shop tucked away in a maze of narrow alleyways.
The interior was quiet and tasteful. The shopkeeper—a bespectacled elf—was tending the counter.
At this moment,
Raven sat face-to-face across the table with the [Nine Hell] Riveria.
"I've decided to accept your offer to teach you," Riveria said, sipping her coffee elegantly.
"Ah…" Raven looked slightly surprised. "That's it?"
To be honest—
Her presence or absence didn't make much difference.
Orario's most powerful mage?
In front of the world's strongest mage—[Silent]—Riveria didn't even come close.
Still, the thought of being able to interact with her regularly wasn't too bad.
Seeing his reaction, Riveria became even more certain of her suspicions.
She gently set her coffee down and spoke calmly,
"You give off a very unusual feeling."
"What do you mean?" Raven blinked in confusion.
"You're not an ordinary human," Riveria locked eyes with him.
Raven furrowed his brows slightly.
But her next words surprised him:
"I want to help you unlock your magical potential."
"I'm fine with that," Raven nodded. "When do we start?"
"After I return from the expedition."
She paused for a moment and added,
"Everything you've said so far… doesn't sound like you're joking."
Raven Eltharion had claimed to know 99 types of magic, and even said he could defeat Goliath alone.
On the surface, those words sounded completely absurd.
But [Nine Hell] Riveria believed him.
"Yeah, I wasn't joking," Raven replied as he stirred his coffee with a spoon.
"Oh, by the way, I saw your expedition recruitment notice posted at the Guild."
"Anyone accepted the request yet?"
Riveria, sitting upright, calmly asked,
"Are you thinking of joining?"
An expedition was a high-risk, high-reward gamble.
Any Familia wishing to go on an expedition had to start from the first floor of the dungeon.
Reaching the target floor took significant time, effort—
And most importantly, resources.
For example, to explore the Deep Floors—like Floor 51—you'd already need to burn supplies just getting to Floor 50.
During that journey, the party would grow exhausted and unable to perform at full strength.
If an "irregular event" occurred, it could easily determine whether the expedition succeeded or failed.
Aside from irregularities, there were also threats like:
Monster Parade,
Monster Overflow,
Feast of Monsters,
Enhanced Species,
Variant Species, and so on.
In the original story—
When the [Loki Familia] attempted to reach Floor 50, they encountered an irregular event.
All their supplies were destroyed, and Finn was forced to issue a retreat order for the entire Familia.
"Nah," Raven shook his head. "I'm still only Level 2."
Even though he had Alfia at Level 8, going to the Deep Floors wasn't a problem.
But Raven himself wasn't looking to dive into that kind of danger yet.
At the very least…
He still needed to learn some combat techniques, right?
Riveria asked,
"Your stats… do you level up when one of your abilities hits 500?"
In her eyes, Raven was someone with immense potential.
He might even be more talented than Ais!
"No, I have a few S-ranks," Raven replied vaguely.
He didn't want to say he had five triple-S stats.
That would probably shock her.
Rather than make her suspicious, it was better to be vague.
Though Riveria was from the [Loki Familia], she had offered to teach him magic.
She had a kind and trustworthy heart—Raven didn't believe she'd harm him.
Just a rough idea of his stats should be enough.
"Several S-ranks?" Riveria raised her brows, clearly surprised.
Raven sipped his coffee and suddenly suggested,
"It's still early. Want to go out for a walk?"
Seeing how beautifully she'd dressed today, Raven refused to believe this wasn't a date.
"…Sure," Riveria agreed.
The serious conversation was over. A bit of relaxation was welcome.
A little later—
Raven Eltharion and Riveria strolled through the bustling South Street Market.
All sorts of lights illuminated the roads, shining just as brightly as the stars above.
Towering buildings lined the streets, opulent and extravagant.
Numerous luxury taverns, casinos, theaters, and other high-end entertainment facilities—
All stood proudly on South Street.
Nowhere else in Orario was nearly as lively or extravagant.
As they passed a street full of food stalls…
Riveria suddenly asked,
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?"
"What I'd like to eat…" Raven looked ahead at a small grilled food stall.
"Grilled fish?"
Right at that moment, two sudden voices called out.
"Riveria?" Ais blinked in surprise.
"Lady Riveria?" Lefiya was completely stunned by her outfit.
And at the same time, extremely curious—
Who was the man beside her?
Could they really be… on a date?
Riveria replied blankly,
"I thought you two were training in the dungeon. Didn't expect to find you here playing around."
Raven pulled back his hood and said calmly,
"Miss Ais, Miss Lefiya. What a coincidence."
"Raven Eltharion?" Lefiya gasped inwardly.
---
Chapter 80+ onpatreon.com/dzeref887
Update Schedule:
WebNovel = 3 chapters/day
Patreon = 10 chapters/day