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"Trouble."
Ronen frowned slightly.
Something was off—the number of monsters around them was abnormally high.
"Stay close. We need to move faster."
As he spoke, an invisible layer of magic wrapped around him.
It wasn't quite full-fledged flight magic, more like a prototype. It lightened his body and cut down air resistance when moving, drastically boosting both his speed and stride.
"Yes!"
Instinctively obeying his command, the sisters picked up their pace.
Before long, a dense wave of monsters appeared behind them, screeching in ear-piercing unison.
"So this is the Dungeon…"
Ronen muttered under his breath.
This was only the middle floors, yet they had already run into two consecutive Monster Feasts.
Large-scale monster outbreaks like this were exhausting the sisters.
Suddenly—thud!
The younger sister, with light-blue hair, stumbled and collapsed to the ground.
"Adi!"
Shakti froze for a moment, then quickly rushed to help her up.
"Sorry, Sister… I'm slowing you down…" Adi whispered between ragged breaths.
"Don't talk. Just get up and move."
Adi was only level 1. Her potential was promising, but without the strength to back it up, a "genius" remained nothing more than a title.
In truth, if Ronen weren't burdened with protecting the sisters, he probably would have stayed to wipe out this wave of monsters.
But a Feast didn't spawn all at once. It was a gradual, widespread surge across a floor. What they were seeing now was just the vanguard. Ronen knew that, and suppressed his urge to fight.
"Come here."
Noticing Adi's condition, Ronen doubled back, scooped her up into his arms, and let her cling to his neck.
It was her first time being carried like a princess, and Adi's face turned pink.
With her weight no longer dragging them down, their speed soared.
Dodging two massive swarms with ease, Ronen cut a path toward an area with fewer monsters. His flying sword shot ahead, slashing through anything that tried to block their way.
A stone axe suddenly hurtled toward them. Ronen was about to evade when Shakti swung her spear and deflected it.
Slowing only for a heartbeat, Ronen's sword dispatched the monster that had thrown the weapon. Their eyes met briefly, then they both pushed forward again.
Compared to Shakti's straightforward running style, Ronen's movements were strange. Normally, his sprinting method was meant for short explosive bursts, but his magic stretched those bursts into sustained momentum.
As for why he didn't simply fly? He needed to conserve mana.
His recovery rate couldn't keep up anymore, forcing him to rely on Mana Extraction.
That method could draw out up to seven times his normal supply—so long as his body was in good condition—but it took time and a heavy toll. Fourteen times was the absolute limit; any more and his body would collapse under the strain.
Paired with stamina and mind-restoring potions, it was enough for Ronen to run from the 1st floor all the way down to the 18th and back again.
Thanks to his detection magic guiding them, they finally broke through to the 12th floor.
Here, the pursuing monsters were left far behind.
Shakti, panting heavily, finally relaxed her stance once they stopped.
"At least… we're safe, for now."
Ronen lowered Adi back onto her feet.
"Thank you, Brother Ronen," Adi said with a sweet smile.
"You're welcome."
He patted her head, smiling faintly in return.
Even now, Shakti remained on guard. Seeing her tense posture, Ronen shook his head.
"Relax a little. I've got detection magic. If monsters show up, I'll know first."
"…Alright."
Shakti gave a small nod, though her face still betrayed her exhaustion.
Even for a level 2 adventurer—a "little superhuman"—the endless combat and frantic retreat had drained her. Not even potions could fully restore what she had spent.
"Hm?"
Barely five minutes into their rest, Ronen lifted his gaze toward the passage ahead.
He had just sent out a detection wave, and what he sensed now was a few presences carrying the same faint aura as the sisters.
That aura came from divine blood—the blessing known as the Falna.
Although every god's blessing functioned in the same way, each bore its own unique imprint. Divine blood acted as a catalyst, accelerating an adventurer's growth, branded with the mark of the god who granted it. Even if one switched to another Familia later, the former god would still sense it whenever their child leveled up—or when they died.
That imprint was precisely what Ronen's detection magic picked up on. He could even determine which Familia the owners belonged to.
"Your companions are here to retrieve you."
Ronen stood up. "Follow me."
The sisters trailed after him for a short distance before they encountered their escorts.
At the front of the small group was a level 3 adventurer—likely the current captain of the Ganesha Familia.
Though the Zeus and Hera Familia required their middle ranks to be at least level 5, with level 4 adventurers relegated to mere support roles, this didn't mean the same for everyone else. Outside those two great houses, few Familia could even boast of a single first-class adventurer. Zeus and Hera had gathered nearly every prodigy and powerhouse a level 9 in Orario, leaving the rest of the city far behind.
"Since you have people to take you back, I'll be leaving."
Once he saw the sisters exchange words with their comrades, Ronen waved a casual farewell.
He wasn't ready to leave the Dungeon just yet. There were still spells he needed to test.
"Um…"
Shakti hesitated, then asked, "May I know your Familia?"
When Ronen had introduced himself earlier, he hadn't mentioned his allegiance. It might have been caution—or something else. Regardless, a life-saving debt couldn't go unanswered. Asking his name and Familia was the least she could do.
"There's nothing to hide."
Ronen read her thoughts and smiled faintly. "I'm unaffiliated for now. My home is on Northwest Street, currently under renovation. It won't be hard to find—the only construction in that area. Once it's done, I'll be living there."
"I see… then, when the time comes, my sister and I will visit and properly thank you."
Shakti bowed deeply.
"You're welcome anytime."
With a light wave, Ronen turned and left.
To him, helping the sisters had only been a passing event—something already half-forgotten moments later. After all, Shakti and Adi were fated to appear years from now. That meant that no matter how dire the situation had looked, the odds of their survival were always high.
Of course, a debt of gratitude was still real.
"A good deed for the day…"
Ronen murmured with a small sigh as he shifted focus back to himself.
The rest of the day slipped by, and he had gathered a wealth of new data.
For example, meditation recovery—this method had limits.
Just as the body consumed energy through physical exertion, so too did the mind expend energy during spiritual activity. Though they seemed different, in essence both were the same: energy drawn from outside sources, processed into fuel for action.
But repeated cycles of consumption and recovery wore the brain down like any organ. That was when adjustment magic became necessary, allowing the mind to refresh itself.
In short, with further refinement of his regulation spells, even rest time itself could be compressed.
"Nutrition, huh…"
Ronen pondered.
Perhaps he could carry high-energy nutrient solutions. Or—better yet—find a way to cultivate like an immortal, drawing energy directly from the world around him and converting it into strength for the body.
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