It was truly a battle that, from the perspective of the First-Class Adventurers, could be considered unworthy of the stage.
Whether it was the young, white-haired human adventurer, who appeared clearly inexperienced, or the Minotaur, which represented calamity in the eyes of Low-Class Adventurers, when compared to the First-Class Adventurers, all of whom were at least level 5, both were insignificant.
Among them, any single person could have easily defeated both the adventurer and the monster before them.
Any one of them could have ended this battle with a single strike.
But when everyone snapped back to reality, they realized that they had unknowingly lowered their weapons and even withdrawn to the rear, away from the battlefield.
It was because they had already been completely captivated by the ongoing fight.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
The white-haired adventurer gripped a black dagger in one hand while extending the other forward toward the raging Minotaur.
As though he had set up a cannon, he shouted furiously while continuously releasing Firebolt, causing the flames to transform into lightning-like shots that repeatedly bombarded the Minotaur, making it howl in pain.
He was indeed using magic, and it was chantless magic, much like Riezel’s Tier Magic and Decomposition Magic, which deeply surprised the First-Class Adventurers present.
In this world, all magic required a chant.
Whether it was an ultra-short chant or an extremely long one, regardless of length, magic always required a chant, which was the universal and fundamental characteristic of magic in this world.
But now, what appeared before their eyes was chantless magic, the kind that could be fired continuously with just a simple motion of the hand.
Using this common-sense-defying magic, the white-haired adventurer struck the Minotaur again and again, making it scream in pain while it charged directly at the adventurer.
In the next moment, the gigantic sword, which a monster shouldn’t have wielded, was swung wildly in the Minotaur’s hands and struck toward the adventurer.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
Faced with the raging sword, the adventurer did not dare relax—his black dagger flew through the air, deflecting the oncoming blows with all his might.
At the same time, mysterious symbols flickered on the dagger’s blade, causing Riezel to glance again at the dagger.
Holding such a magical dagger, the adventurer roared and shouted as he clashed with the Minotaur, exchanging attacks.
In an instant, sparks flew as weapons collided.
Over time, the adventurer and the Minotaur suffered continuous injuries, with blood spraying and sweat splashing.
The inexperienced rookie adventurer stood fearlessly before a crowd of First-Class Adventurers, bravely facing a monster of the Middle Floors that no one of his level should have been able to fight.
He cast aside his luck, shattered his hesitation, and abandoned his will to survive, transforming his indomitable spirit and willpower into blazing flames of passion.
With a hoarse shout, he fought without fear, pushing himself to his limits, determined to win, even against an opponent far stronger than himself.
He advanced fearlessly, even if it meant bathing in blood, showing no sign of retreat.
That sight captivated the First-Class Adventurers present.
That tragic scene resonated deeply within everyone’s hearts.
Hence, everyone paused, and without realizing it, they withdrew, giving way to the young adventurer who was ’adventuring.’
"...It feels like I’m watching another Riezel."
Tiona unconsciously blurted out this untimely thought, which the others silently accepted, especially Ais.
Watching the white-haired adventurer charge forward, reckless in the face of the large Minotaur, Ais couldn’t help but recall Riezel’s deathmatch with the Crocodile Dragon born from the anomaly on the 6th Floor.
At that time, Riezel was also a rookie adventurer, only Level 1.
And the Crocodile Dragon was classified as Level 2, one of the most powerful dragon species among all monsters, a calamity compared to a Level 1 rookie adventurer.
However, despite facing such a powerful enemy, Riezel, at Level 1, had stepped forward. Not only did he protect Lefiya, whose level was higher than his, but he also fought fiercely against the monster—the battle was extraordinarily brutal.
At this moment, the figure of the white-haired adventurer, fighting while covered in blood, overlapped in Ais’s mind with the image of Riezel from that time.
And the rest of the Loki Familia also seemed to share the same sentiment, as they all began to focus on the white-haired adventurer, unwittingly drawn in by his bloodied, passionate struggle.
As for the members of the Freya Familia, they subtly blocked the way for the Loki Familia, preventing them from entering the battlefield.
Even Ottar, who had been locked in battle with Riezel earlier, seemed to regain his composure and, without a trace of emotion, subtly blocked Riezel’s path.
Seeing this, Finn understood.
"So, he’s the one you want to test against?"
Finn cast a meaningful glance at Hedin.
Tione seemed to remember something important and suddenly spoke up.
"Could it be... the human you brought through the city earlier—is that him?"
Before the expedition, Tione had already received some news that the Freya Familia’s Hildrsleif and Dainsleif had often been leaving their familia’s home and wandering the city.
Some people even saw them dragging an injured human to a clinic, though no one knew why.
Tione thought back to this news and strongly suspected the injured human mentioned was the rookie adventurer before them.
"Hmph..." Hedin pushed up his glasses with a cold snort. "That foolish rabbit is slow, but he’s clearly adventuring now. You are not allowed to interfere."
Hogni, standing beside him, nodded and silently drew his black longsword.
Evidently, these two elves and the pallum quadruplets were preparing to guard the rookie adventurer—or rather, to protect the fight itself, as shown by the fact that they were now releasing an even fiercer murderous aura than when Finn had planned to intervene in the clash between Riezel and Ottar.
In response, Finn and the others exchanged glances, falling into silence.
Clearly, this time, they accepted the battle’s progression.
After all, the white-haired adventurer was just a rookie adventurer they had no ties to, unlike Riezel.
Finn and the others could battle the Freya Familia without hesitation for their own familia members, but they would never go to war with their strongest rivals over an unrelated rookie adventurer.
For this reason, Finn fell silent this time, and Ais and the others also kept quiet, simply watching the brutal fight and bearing witness to it.
Just then, Riezel and Ottar started to speak.
"What’s the matter? Not continuing?"
Riezel lowered his thin crystal sword, Fool, pointing its tip to the ground, and asked calmly.
"..."
Ottar didn’t respond immediately and remained silent for a while before a hint of regret appeared in his eyes.
"No, the will of the goddess surpasses everything."
Ottar’s meaning was clear: he had a mission to fulfill and couldn’t be caught up in a personal whim.
For the ongoing fight, the Goddess of Beauty had given orders, not only sending Hedin and Hogni to train the white-haired adventurer, but also instructing Ottar to select an appropriate monster from the Middle Floors, arm it, and bring it to the Upper Floors to serve as a trial for him, which showed how much importance the goddess placed on him.
Whether it was Ottar, Hedin, Hogni, Allen, or the Gulliver Brothers, they were all the most loyal subordinates of the Goddess of Beauty, Freya.
Unlike the Loki Familia, who treated their goddess like family, Freya held the authority of ’Beauty’ and was the embodiment of allure, making every member of her familia worship her and pledge their loyalty to her like vassals.
For the Freya Familia, the will of their goddess was everything.
To fulfill the will of their goddess, they would sacrifice anything, even their own insignificant lives.
They were not her family but her loyal subjects, her vassals.
For them, the Goddess of Beauty’s will was absolute.
Even if the opponent in front of him was someone who could ignite his fighting spirit, Ottar would suppress his desire to fight and focus solely on fulfilling his goddess’s will. He would no longer fight for his own sake, but to stop others in service to his goddess.
Such an Ottar could no longer charge fiercely at Riezel as he had earlier, which disappointed Riezel somewhat.
"Even if you’re strong, you’re just a puppet, can’t move freely, huh?" Riezel casually said insulting words.
"Don’t misunderstand," Ottar narrowed his eyes and replied indifferently. "My goddess has never forced us to do anything. Our obedience and loyalty are sincere."
"I see..." Riezel fell silent for a moment, then casually continued, "You people are just like that."
Making this detached remark, he stopped his fighting stance and sheathed Fool.
He turned his gaze to the white-haired adventurer, who was still fighting fiercely against the Minotaur, his screams echoing as he charged headlong at the monster.
Riezel’s eyes gleamed.
The others may not recognize the adventurer, but Riezel knew him well.
After all, he was the protagonist of the original work, Bell Cranel, a rookie adventurer who had joined the Hestia Familia just under two months ago.
Back then, Riezel had seen him for the first time when Bell had just arrived in Orario.
After the first expedition, Riezel had spotted him at the Hostess of Fertility, where Syr, the hostess, had served him, and Bell had gazed at them with longing and admiration.
Now, that immature, unreliable young man seemed to have transformed and was now facing a monster stronger than himself, bravely adventuring.
’Looking at his performance, he’s probably already reached the point where his basic abilities are at the S-rank, or even beyond that, perhaps breaking limits and reaching SS-rank or SSS-rank?’
Riezel knew very well that this rookie adventurer, like himself, held the potential to break through the limits of basic ability and reach peaks that others couldn’t.
In the original work, Bell awakened his unique skill, Liaris Freese, after meeting Ais.
Back then, Bell had been chased by a Minotaur in the Dungeon and saved by Ais, which sparked his admiration and awakened the skill that accelerated his growth and allowed him to break through his limits.
From then on, Bell’s growth had been meteoric and had surpassed even Ais’s level-up records, moving from Level 1 to Level 5 in just a few months, a pace that even Riezel hadn’t matched.
Even Riezel, who had advanced from Level 1 to Level 5 in three months, couldn’t compare to Bell’s speed.
Such a growth speed would astonish anyone, especially adventurers who took years to level up.
Now, it seemed that Bell was exhibiting the same explosive growth as in the original work, with his status already surpassing even Ottar’s status at the same level in less than a month.
’He didn’t encounter Ais this time, didn’t develop feelings for Ais, so he probably didn’t awaken the skill Liaris Freese.’
Riezel cast a glance at Ais, who was staring fixedly at Bell’s battle, and thought silently.
’But he still showed this inhuman growth speed. Just like I thought before, Bell Cranel’s potential was extraordinary to begin with. As long as he gets a trigger, that potential will turn into a skill and manifest, letting him grow at a frightening pace.’
Otherwise, Freya would not have become so fascinated with him, nor would his soul have been so pure, so radiant. Precisely because he was an individual with limitless potential, things had turned out this way.
Freya seemed to have noticed this, and so she sent out the White and Black Knights, giving him that crucial trigger.
What that trigger actually was, Riezel didn’t know, nor did he have any interest in knowing.
He only knew that the original protagonist had begun to reveal his brilliance.
’At this point, Orario’s definitely gonna get a lot more lively.’
Riezel looked toward Bell, who struggled with the Minotaur.
A while later, the battle, which had been watched from start to finish by the First Class Adventurers of Orario’s two largest familias, naturally ended with Bell’s victory.
On this day, the super-talented rookie who had reached Level 2 in just over a month entered the notice of various gods.
—A second monster rookie, able to stand alongside that monster rookie from the Loki Familia, has appeared.
Soon enough, this news would spread throughout Orario and even across the entire world, causing a major sensation.
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[A bonus Chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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