CHAPTER 68: 068 ARE THESE TWO PEOPLE HAVING AN ISSUE?

Similar things weren’t only happening within the Freyja Clan.

Many clans had received related news and had consequently made decisions to keep an eye on Reiger.

Forget about those clans, even the Loki Clan itself was buzzing with activity because of Reiger’s advancement to Lv.5.

"Mr. Reiger has reached Lv.5."

"His strength must already match that of top-tier adventurers, right?"

"Our clan has gained another executive member, our power has increased substantially."

"At this rate, even the Freyja Clan might not be our match."

"Not likely, they still have a Lv.7."

In the halls of Twilight Manor, members were chatting and walking, each voice and expression filled with excitement.

"Ah, damn, we’ve really been caught up to."

Upon receiving the news, Theona was the first to let out a wail.

"Stop yelling. Instead of shouting about being caught up to, it’s better to think about how to not get surpassed so easily."

Theone was rather composed in comparison.

"Tch."

Bert, hearing the members discuss the matter, frowned and left the mansion dissatisfied.

"Mr. Reiger has become Lv.5, Miss Ais."

Rephia, who bumped into Ais in the cafeteria, said with some excitement.

"Hmm."

Ais, already aware of this, didn’t react much, her eyes fluttering slightly, lost in thought.

As for the heads of the clans, they were now gathered in Finn’s office discussing this matter.

"Although it was expected, the actual occurrence of this event is still astonishing."

Grace, with her arms crossed, sat on a chair that creaked under the weight it was not designed to bear.

"It’s only been a month and a half." Revilia stood by the office desk, holding a report from the guild, looking at the information about Reiger, and said, "That skill called ’Fool’s Obsession’ is just too overpowered."

"It’s hard to know if this rate of growth will slow down." Finn smiled, sipping the drink on the table, "If it doesn’t slow, perhaps it won’t be long before even we are overtaken."

"Isn’t that a good thing?" laughed Grace, "But that kid has a long way to go."

"It shouldn’t be as quick this time, right?" Revilia added, "Reaching Lv.6 is not that easy."

Indeed, reaching Lv.6 is difficult.

Achieving a level-up from Lv.5 is not something comparable to the previous levels.

At this level, taking a risk, achieving a great feat, is an extremely difficult task.

If the risk isn’t significant enough, if the opponent isn’t strong enough, then one cannot accumulate a respectable amount of high-level experience points.

If the risk is too great, if the opponent is too powerful, then it’s tantamount to seeking one’s own death.

At Lv.5, if one truly encounters a risk one must take on or a formidable opponent one must challenge, the stakes of the risk and the strength of the opponent are imaginable.

If one is not careful, instead of fulfilling a great feat, one could end up dead, a true loss.

This is why there is only a handful of Lv.6s in Orario, focused mainly in the Loki and Freyja Clans, whereas there are many at Lv.5.

Because those who have challenged strong enough opponents, those who have taken sufficient risks, either died or failed to succeed.

Before reaching Lv.5, one could rely on the clan seniors to lead through group battles and readily defeat powerful enemies to accumulate sufficient high-level experience points, but once reaching Lv.5, even with Lv.6 leading, it’s not so easy to complete the feats necessary for leveling up anymore.

Look at Ais, Bert, Theona, and Theone, all at Lv.5 for some time now, at least several years, during which they have joined the clan on numerous expeditions to the underground city countless times, defeating countless powerful monsters, and yet they’ve still not accumulated enough achievement to level up, right?

Keep in mind, the Loki Clan partakes in two to three floor boss subjugation battles on each expedition, among them, classified as Lv.6 Udaeus and classified as Lv.7 Balrog are stronger than Ais and the others, capable of providing the high-level experience needed for achievements. The Loki Clan has defeated them countless times, yet none of the executives have managed to level up, making it obvious just how hard it is to reach Lv.6.

If Ais and the others chose to fight Udaeus or Balrog alone, there’s a chance they could achieve great feats and level up.

In team battles, experience is divided, making it more difficult for Ais and the others to accumulate enough achievement to level up.

Especially during the subjugation of Balrog, classified as the strongest level 7 floor boss, the three titans of the Loki Clan are the main force, with the executives only able to assist from the side, resulting in most of the experience concentrated on the three titans and much less for the executives.

All these factors combined make leveling up from Lv.5 to Lv.6 very difficult.

If you truly want to achieve Lv.6, you must risk your life, otherwise, it’s impossible to succeed.

One misstep could indeed lead to death.

But—

"Given Reiger’s rate of growth, no matter what, his difficulty leveling up is definitely lower than others." Finn said with a smile, "At any rate, I don’t think this step will trip him up."

With the skill "Fool’s Obsession" accelerating his growth, Reiger’s speed in accumulating great feats is undeniably faster than others.

So, Finn doesn’t believe that Reiger will get stuck at this step like the other executives.

"It’s just a question of how much time this level-up will take for him?"

Finn muttered.

"Six months? A year?"

For someone who reached Lv.5 in a month and a half, Finn really couldn’t estimate how long Reiger would need for his next level-up.

"Perhaps it won’t even take that long!"

Grace was still there, laughing heartily.

"I just hope he doesn’t act recklessly."

Revilia actually hoped Reiger would slow down a bit.

Otherwise, it meant he was taking a big risk again.

As an active Lv.6, Revilia was most qualified to speak about the risks involved in advancing from Lv.5 to Lv.6.

She hoped that Reiger would be more prudent, not mess around, and grow gradually. That would be best.

Unfortunately, that boy didn’t look like one who would stay out of trouble. Sooner or later, he would take a big gamble.

Revilia was somewhat worried about this.

"Dealing with one Ais is headache-inducing enough, and now here comes another one who’s even more reckless, really..."

Revilia began to sigh.

Finn and Grace glanced at Revilia as she did so, choosing to remain silent.

Such concerns were better left to "Mama-san" (Revilia); it wasn’t quite suitable for them, two grown men, to talk about such tender matters.

After all, Revilia would surely find an opportunity to advise Reiger, and even keep him in check, so they might as well not worry about it.

Instead of this, Finn had something else in mind.

"We need to deal with the aftermath of the expedition today," said Finn. "We took quite a loss this time without much gain. We need to dispose of the spoils quickly and work out the strategy for the next expedition."

"Right," nodded Grace. "Those kids have rested enough. It’s time for them to get busy with something."

"We do need to discuss how to handle those new types of monsters," added Revilia. "It’s good to get these things sorted out quickly."

Hearing this, Finn stood up. "Then let’s gather everyone at the main gate."

Revilia and Grace immediately nodded in agreement.

...

The expedition’s aftermath was always the first order of business upon returning from an expedition.

The spoils brought back from the underground city, whether it be magic stones or dropped items, had to be exchanged for money to fund future activities.

The equipment of the many expedition members had suffered wear and tear, and it needed repairs. Supplies had to be replenished, the clan’s operations required funding, and various materials for the next expedition had to be purchased. All of this required money.

Thereby, dealing with the spoils became the top priority upon returning from an expedition.

At such times, aside from leaving a portion of the clan members to defend the base, the Loki Clan would deploy as many members as possible to quickly handle the large amount of spoils and convert them into the necessary funds.

Even the executives were no exception.

Last time, Reiger didn’t participate in this.

He had joined the clan during the last expedition and, being a newbie at the time, he wasn’t assigned the task of handling spoils.

But this time was different.

This time, Reiger had also participated in the expedition and had even leveled up through it, becoming a first-level adventurer.

As a first-level adventurer within the Loki Clan, Reiger was now, just like Ais and others, fully a clan executive, a key member of the clan.

Being an executive, a main force, and an expedition participant, naturally, Reiger was expected to contribute to the handling of the spoils.

Upon receiving the call, Reiger immediately headed for the main gate.

"Reiger! Over here!"

Seeing Reiger come out, Theona immediately waved her hand, beckoning him over.

Reiger looked closely and found that Theona truly stood out from the crowd.

Perhaps out of respect for the executives, the other members kept a subtle distance from them.

Theona was standing with Theone at her side, surrounded by the members as if she were at the center, with only Ais and Rephia near her.

As soon as Theona called out and waved her hand, everyone’s gaze turned toward Reiger.

Honestly, the scene made Reiger somewhat uncomfortable.

It was mainly because the look of respect and admiration in the members’ eyes gave him an itchy feeling on his back.

"Hurry up!"

An Amazon who lacked subtlety yelled, clearly not intending to let Reiger off the hook.

What could Reiger do?

He had to go over there.

"Good morning."

Reiger greeted Theona, Theone, and Rephia and then looked at Ais.

Ais was also looking at Reiger.

The two exchanged glances, and as if recalling the events of the previous night, both smiled simultaneously.

What differed was that Reiger’s smile was rather reserved, while Ais’s was somewhat embarrassed.

"???"

Seeing this, everyone’s heads filled with question marks.

Do these two... have some kind of situation...?