Because everyone in the Loki Familia had been busy for quite some time, it had become difficult for all members to gather together without exception. Each person had their own tasks and responsibilities, and in recent days, full assemblies had indeed been rare.
Yet today, in the grand dining hall of their familia home, Twilight Manor, everyone had gathered together in an unusually complete assembly.
Finn, Gareth, and Riveria sat together, discussing something with grave expressions.
Bete sat in a corner with an obvious look of displeasure, clearly in a foul mood, while beside him, Raul wore a complicated expression.
Tiona, Tione, and Anakitty gathered together, huddling with Lefiya, Alicia, and others, chattering noisily with animated excitement.
Meanwhile, the remaining members were much the same—forming small groups, crowding around those holding newspapers, creating a scene filled with constant discussion and speculation.
Only Riezel and Ais remained silent throughout, seated toward the side, sipping their drinks while listening to the others.
As for the topic the members were heatedly discussing, it was the sensational news currently shaking Orario.
"Level 8…"
Loki clicked her tongue, just as displeased as Bete, her mood clearly sour.
"Freya's kinda capable, huh? We just caught up, and that boaz she raised already went and shot ahead again. Zero sense of timin'."
Needless to say, her remark was entirely unreasonable, but it also made clear just how irritated Loki truly felt.
It could not be helped.
Finn and the others had only just caught up to Ottar, yet he had immediately left them behind once again. For the Loki Familia, who regarded the Freya Familia as a rival, this was hardly welcome news.
"Tch, that damn cat… I should've just gone straight to his door and kicked his ass to death instead of wasting my time."
Bete radiated an unpleasant aura, glaring at the newspaper headline as if he might crumple it in his hands at any moment.
It was not only Ottar who had reached Level 8 this time, as even Allen had risen to Level 7, once again catching up to Finn, Gareth, and Riveria.
As a result, the captain and vice captain of the Freya Familia had both successfully leveled up, directly suppressing the attention that the Loki Familia had recently been receiving as Orario's hottest topic.
'Orario's strongest' was still the strongest.
'Orario's fastest' was still the fastest.
Through their achievements, Ottar and Allen demonstrated to everyone that while the Loki Familia's successful expedition was indeed a remarkable feat, surpassing the Freya Familia was not going to happen.
Because of that, public opinion in the city had already shifted.
"Before, people were saying we'd become the real strongest, that Freya Familia had already been left behind..."
"...and now they just went and overtook us again like it was nothing... Ugh, this is seriously frustrating."
Tiona frowned, while Tione looked visibly annoyed—neither of them was in a good mood.
In contrast, although Finn, Gareth, and Riveria wore serious expressions, they were not as affected as the others.
"I had a feeling the Freya Familia was close, especially Ottar."
"If you think about it, Ottar and Allen have been stuck at Level 7 and Level 6 for years. Since we've leveled up, it's natural they'd level up too."
"Rather, it's fortunate that only King and Vana Freya leveled up. If the other executives had leveled up, too, the situation would be far more troublesome."
Finn, Gareth, and Riveria calmly analyzed the gains and losses brought by the intelligence.
"Level 8… It f-feels so distant… and kind of scary..."
Lefiya spoke timidly, as though she could not even imagine such a realm.
"Tch, what's so great about it?" Loki said with disdain, then turned her head toward Riezel, who had been silently drinking. "It's just Level 8, right? What d'you think, Riezel?"
At this, Riezel rolled his eyes.
He understood exactly what Loki meant.
Was she not implying that their familia also had a hidden Level 8?
As for that so-called hidden Level 8, Riezel had originally intended to remain silent, but now that Loki had indirectly singled him out, he could only state his thoughts plainly.
"Ottar was already insanely close to Level 8. You could say he'd been sitting at the very top of Level 7 for a long time now. If his goddess hadn't held him back, he probably would've hit that level way earlier and gotten all the high-rank excelia he needed to level up."
"So honestly, as long as his goddess gives the green light and he's got a target, he could hit Level 8 whenever he wants."
"So yeah, in a way, Ottar reaching Level 8 really isn't all that surprising."
Riezel gave his genuine assessment.
It was not that he felt no surprise.
In truth, when he first learned that Ottar had suddenly reached Level 8, Riezel had been quite taken aback because, in the original story, up to the latest developments, Ottar had never reached Level 8.
At this point in the original timeline, Ottar had remained Orario's only Level 7. Although he had been infinitely close to Level 8 and could display combat power equivalent to Level 8 when using his trump card skill, he had still not actually leveled up.
Now, however, he had undertaken a solo expedition and successfully reached Level 8, accomplishing something that had not yet occurred in the original story.
How could Riezel not be surprised?
Yet surprise was one thing.
As Riezel had said, Ottar had long stood at the pinnacle of Level 7, in a state where leveling up at any time would not have been unusual.
STR, END, DEX, AGI, MAG—among the five basic abilities, Ottar had already developed four of them to S-rank, each at no less than 990 proficiency. Such overwhelming status had already reached its limit, so if he did not level up, that would have been the strange thing.
Hence, regarding Ottar's level up, Riezel felt both surprised and, like Finn and the others, able to understand it.
'But Vana Freya, I didn't expect him to actually hit Level 7…'
Riezel pondered while continuing to drink, narrowing his eyes.
Now that he thought about it, he still had a score to settle with Allen.
And yet, during this time, that cat had jumped to Level 7—truly an interesting development.
'Was it because of the pressure we brought?'
No matter how he thought about it, this was the only explanation Riezel could come up with.
At this point in the original story, Finn and the other two had not yet successfully advanced to Level 7. Even Raul and Anakitty had not reached Level 5. Only Ais, Bete, Tiona, and Tione had successfully advanced to Level 6.
At that time, all seven executives of the Loki Familia were collectively at Level 6, with neither a Level 7 nor a Level 5 among them.
Consequently, compared to the Freya Familia, which had the presence of Ottar, the Loki Familia was still at a slight disadvantage.
However, due to Riezel's intervention, the core members of the Loki Familia had all stepped into new stages, and the rest of the members had also grown in their own ways, with even Lefiya advancing early to Level 4.
Combined with Riezel—a monster rookie who had reached Level 6 in less than half a year—the Freya Familia must have been feeling far greater pressure and a stronger sense of crisis than in the original story.
Riezel speculated that it might be precisely because of this that the executives on Freya's side had pushed themselves so desperately, especially since their goddess had finally granted permission to take risks, allowing Ottar and the others to move forward once again.
As a result, Ottar advanced to Level 8, and even Allen reached Level 7, heavily suppressing the momentum of the Loki Familia.
"Good thing Hildrsleif and Dainsleif didn't make it to Level 7..."
"I heard they went on solo expeditions recently, too, but all the executives, including Bringar, ended up failing."
Raul and Anakitty discussed the matter.
Aside from Ottar and Allen, none of the other executives of the Freya Familia had successfully leveled up, which could be considered a small blessing amid misfortune. Otherwise, the Freya Familia would have had one Level 8, three Level 7s, and four Level 6s, which would have once again placed them above the Loki Familia.
For now, it was still manageable.
Only one person on the opposing side had reached Level 7, while the rest remained at their current levels, so the Loki Familia still retained an advantage.
Of course…
"Now, the Freya Familia has a Level 8…"
"Orario's only Level 7 has now become Orario's only Level 8…"
"That's Level 8, y'know? Only the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia have ever had that before…"
"Yeah, everyone in the city is talking about it now. They're saying the Freya Familia has caught up to the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia, becoming truly the strongest."
Elfy, Alicia, Narvi, and the others spoke in hushed voices about the matter, making it clear just how special 'Level 8' was.
It was only natural, for this was a height only the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia had ever reached, so in many people's minds, it naturally held a different status. With Ottar advancing to Level 8 this time, it would greatly increase the fame, prestige, and standing of the Freya Familia, allowing them to once again rise above the Loki Familia.
"…Kiddo, how about we make a deal?"
"I know what you're thinking, and nah, I'm not letting that happen."
Loki, the dissatisfaction in her heart seeming to have reached its limit, leaned close to Riezel's side and muttered in a low voice, causing him to respond with visible annoyance.
"It's only been like a month since I leveled up. If you go and reveal I've already hit Level 8 now, aren't you just messing with me?"
Riezel pushed Loki's face away and changed the subject.
"What kinda big deal did those two even pull off to level up anyway?"
Riezel picked up the newspaper again and began reading, and as he read, his eyebrows soon lifted slightly.
'Well, damn… that works too?'
Not only did the newspaper record the reasons behind Ottar and Allen leveling up, but this information had also been posted on the Guild's bulletin board, so it was not a secret.
According to the information, Allen managed to level up because he challenged Ottar in the Dungeon, which led to a death battle. In the end, Allen surpassed his own limits and stepped into a new realm.
As for Ottar, he had once challenged Balor, the Monster Rex of the 49th Floor, alone—a Monster Rex classified at Level 7. According to his own account, that attempt had ended in failure, as he had only managed to drive Balor to the brink of death before being forced to retreat with severe injuries.
However, this time, he had returned for revenge and ultimately succeeded in killing Balor, and with that, he was finally able to advance to Level 8.
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[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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