In the following period, members of the Loki Familia were surprised to find that Riezel, who was already an early riser and dedicated to dungeon exploration every day, became even more diligent than before.
Due to the upcoming expedition, Loki Familia was now extremely busy. Even the executives were ordered not to enter the dungeon and instead stay at the manor, helping with the preparation for the expedition.
Lefiya was also asked by Riveria to stay behind and assist.
This left Riezel once again as a lone wolf.
Initially, everyone thought he would stay in the familia to help prepare supplies for the upcoming expedition. However, after Lefiya was left behind and Riezel became a solo adventurer again, he worked even harder.
He would often leave before dawn and return only late at night, appearing weary and dust-covered, as if he had traveled a great distance.
Oddly enough, the higher-ups in the familia, upon learning of this, chose to ignore his act without any objection.
"Why can't we go, while Riezel can head to the dungeon without pitching in for the expedition preparation?" Tiona protested to Finn.
Before Finn could respond, Tione approached and quickly restrained Tiona.
The elder sister of the Amazoness twins wore a fierce expression, nearly intimidating Lefiya, who happened to be present.
"The expedition is imminent. Even if we let you go to the dungeon for this short period, you won't gain much growth, will you?" Gareth bluntly shuts down Tiona with a lack of patience.
The implication was clear—rather than wasting this time to strive for minimal growth, it was better to stay in the familia, recuperate, and at the same time handle some expedition-related tasks.
However, Riezel was an exception.
"For us, the progress during this short period is indeed minimal, but it's different for him." Riveria added, leaving Tiona speechless.
The executives finally understood why the rest of the familia had been assigned tasks by the higher-ups while Riezel had not.
Preparing expedition supplies—whether there was one more or one less person involved didn't matter. It was better to let Riezel continue to explore the dungeon, utilizing his extraordinary growth speed to the fullest.
This way, he could confidently face his first expedition as an adventurer with an even stronger stance.
"Focus more on the upcoming expedition, all of you." Finn said confidently, observing the silence that had fallen over everyone. "Only through expeditions can we delve into deeper floors, face more challenging monsters, and defeat stronger enemies."
That was the true path to accelerated growth for them.
Without expeditions, the most they could explore would be the middle to lower floors, where the monsters were relatively weak compared to first-class adventurers like them. Killing these weak monsters, no matter how many, would provide little growth.
Rather than dwelling on minimal growth, it was more effective to shift their focus to the upcoming expedition and make thorough preparations. This was the most efficient way for Level 5 and above to grow.
Of course...
"Though it's a different story for that boy..." Gareth muttered, casting a sense of melancholy that plunged everyone into deeper silence.
It was only at this moment that everyone realized something.
Riezel, who only explored up to the 17th Floor, after this expedition, what kind of growth would he achieve upon reaching deeper floors?
With only reaching up to the 17th Floor, he managed to level up from Level 1 to Level 4 in just over a month. So, upon entering floors deeper than the 17th, how much excelia would he gain?
Not to mention, a single expedition, a round trip alone taking more than a week, and adding the time needed for exploration, it could easily exceed half a month.
With at least a half-month expedition, how would his body, which leveled up several times in just over a month, change?
"Perhaps, after this expedition, Riezel will be just like you all..."
Riveria threw out those words to the group of Level 5 executives and remained silent thereafter. However, just these words alone instantly created tremendous pressure in the hearts of every executive.
"No way, right?" Tiona wailed. "Is he going to be Level 5 after returning from this expedition? Is he trying to kill us?"
"He really is a freak..." Tione also had no words. "It seems being caught up is only a matter of time. We might as well lie flat."
"I'm already lying flat though..." Lefiya murmured silently as she heard Tione's words.
As a witness to Riezel's growth, Lefiya transitioned from admiration in the beginning to diligent efforts in the middle. But later on, she decided to lie flat when he officially reached Level 4, surpassing her in all aspects.
It was not because she didn't want to work hard or pursue him; she simply couldn't catch up at all.
She watched Riezel step by step to reach his current level with her own eyes. Her understanding and admiration for his desperate efforts, as well as his repeated help and rescue, made her start to question life.
Now, she admired and idolized him even more, and there were fewer feelings of unwillingness.
After all—
'Mr. Riezel and Miss Ais are becoming more and more alike....' Lefiya blushed unnaturally, stealing a glance towards the corner of the room.
There, Ais sat alone, hugging her knees, staring blankly at everyone, lost in thought.
While outside the door, Bete, who had just been about to protest upon hearing the words of the three top executives, silently turned away upon witnessing the outcome of Tiona's protest.
All these scenes were observed by Loki with interest.
'Kukuku, there's going to be some fun.'
Whether taking pleasure in other people's misfortune or for some other reason, Loki silently giggled while leaning against the window, watching her busy children coming in and out of the manor.
===
Time passed quickly.
As each day went by, Loki Familia started transporting boxes of supplies from various places in Orario back to their base.
Among these supplies were pre-ordered spare weapons, various items and tools that could come in handy for special occasions, and potions packaged in crates, containing all kinds of recovery items.
Some members were busy with various tasks, while others, during their rest periods, collectively headed to Loki's divine room, forming a long line in front of it.
All of this was in preparation for the upcoming expedition, a final round of status updates before venturing into the dungeon.
In places like the dungeon, adventurers wouldn't be able to update their statuses anymore. At this time, it was crucial to make the most of it and enhance their strength whenever possible.
Due to this, Loki hadn't left the divine room in a while, and her faint shouts of complaint could be heard from within.
"Can I even get a break?!"
Although Loki was both frustrated and helpless, she was doing the only thing she could to help her children improve their strength and increase their chances of survival inside the dungeon.
Riezel, watching the long line in front of the divine room, also understood that she was likely busy during this period.
'Well, let's just wait then.'
He thought for a moment and decided to give up on finding Loki for a status update. After all, excelia wouldn't disappear. Even if there were no status updates, it would accumulate over time.
There was no need to rush.
Since the seniors of the familia had allowed him to explore the dungeon on his own when everyone was busy with the expedition preparation, he didn't want to compete with them over who could update their status first, especially when it would happen sooner or later.
As a result, everyone in the familia had their own tasks, and Riezel also had his. Both sides seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement, not interfering with each other, quietly anticipating the day of the expedition.
Until one day, as Riezel prepared to head to the dungeon, he received a summon from Finn.
"Your weapon is ready." Finn informed with a smile.
Hearing that, Riezel's eyes instantly lit up.
===
Northeast Street, Tsubaki's Workshop.
Riezel and Finn, just like the last time, walked hand in hand, once again visiting this place.
As soon as they entered, Riezel spotted Tsubaki.
"Finally, you're here!"
Tsubaki greeted him with a refreshing smile as she walked through the door. Without any unnecessary words, she gestured directly to the side.
"Come take a look at your sword."
Upon hearing this, Riezel glanced at Finn for a moment.
"Go ahead." Finn, with a smile on his face, nodded at him, indicating for him to go forward.
Only then did Riezel approach and stand next to Tsubaki.
There, a long box containing a weapon was casually placed on the table. The box was open, so he almost instantly saw the content inside.
It was a sword with a slender shape and an overall somewhat dark silver-gray color. The sword's edge was thin, almost transparent like crystal.
At first glance, it didn't appear to be a weapon designed for killing. Instead, it reminded him of the short sword he had obtained from Loki when he first joined the familia—a piece of beautiful art specifically meant for collection.
At this moment, Tsubaki's slightly satisfied voice sounded, entering his ears.
"I whipped up this weapon using orichalcum as the main material, threw in some mithril, and imbued it with the tooth of wind beast. It took me seven days, but I finally created this beauty."
Orichalcum was an extremely precious and rare metal, also known as adamantite, universally recognized as the world's hardest metal. Weapons with the Durandal attribute were primarily made from this metal.
Mithril was a refined metal with excellent magic conductivity, favored by most adventurers skilled in magic as the main weapon material.
As for the wind beast, it was a rare species that appeared on the 40th Floor of the dungeon, known for its strange speed. It was a monster with a relatively low classification level but extremely difficult to defeat.
Each of these three materials was extremely expensive and rare. Ordinary adventurers might never encounter one of them in their entire life, let alone acquire them.
Yet, Tsubaki had used all three to forge this sword.
"Now, this baby is yours."
Listening to her satisfied voice, Riezel's eyes focused on the sword in front of him, slightly gleaming with excitement.