Sawada Tsunayoshi and Finn slipped through the doors of the Twilight Manor without alerting anyone.
"I'll go to Loki-sama's room first."
"Mm. I'll fetch Gareth and Riveria."
With a word on their destinations, the two split at the corner—one to meet Loki, the other to gather people.
Knock, knock, knock!
The door opened quickly. Loki greeted the boy at her threshold with a smile, then her eyes swept him up and down before she finally relaxed.
"Mm, looks like you're not hurt. Well, Tsunayoshi—how was your first trip into the Dungeon?"
"Even more manageable than I imagined. Floors 1 and 2 are all goblins—I can handle them. It wasn't really a fight, more like me steamrolling them."
"Ooh~ Come in, quick—let me see your growth."
The key lay in his progress. Loki's heart was tight with anticipation. Tsunayoshi was outstanding in every way; now it came down to how he had grown.
She tugged him in, and the needle for updating Falna data was already sitting on the nightstand. Loki had been waiting a long time—today she was more impatient than ever.
I wonder how it'll look… Tsunayoshi was just as curious.
He quickly stripped off his shirt and sat with his back to Loki in the chair. He felt her fingers glide over his back; in his peripheral vision, he caught the glow—and then Loki's fingers halted.
"You're kidding!?"
The numbers in front of her left Loki stunned. Not because the growth was small—because it was too big.
Strength: I0 → I89 │ Endurance: I0 → I98 │ Dexterity: I0 → H134 │ Agility: I0 → H132 │ Magic: I0 → G201
"Lv.1 does have a large growth window, but to get this much from a single test run… incredible."
Am I dreaming? Loki rubbed her eyes and checked again to make sure she wasn't seeing things.
Strength and Endurance were nearly at triple digits, Dexterity and Agility both over 130, and Magic had leapt past 200. She could feel her breath quicken.
Until now, she'd worried that a kid with such an overtuned ability might be stunted in personal growth. Now that worry felt silly—his growth alone was enough to scare her.
Loki swiftly finished the update and imprint, then relocked the crest on his back.
"All done. You can get dressed."
"Mm."
"Here's the copy."
She passed him the sheet. Tsunayoshi glanced over the numbers.
So much in one go? He was a little surprised himself. He hadn't expected growth this dramatic—especially in Magic. Straight from 0 to 201 was no small thing.
Falna gains weren't easy to come by. Bell Cranel's accelerated growth came from a cheat unique to him; others did not have that kind of boost. Usually a dozen points in a stat per update was already fast—let alone tens or even over a hundred like this.
"Creating beasts with Beastcraft clearly pushes Magic. I used it a lot on goblins in today's tests. I think my Magic spiked because the beasts I make aren't weak."
"Mm, that sounds right. The monsters you create are all strange and powerful—that's likely one reason your Magic soared. It's a good thing."
Loki hopped lightly against his back, her mood soaring along with his numbers.
"I was worried your personal growth might lag because your ability is so overtuned. Now I can drop that worry."
An overtuned ability paired with explosive personal growth. Loki didn't know how far that 'child of the hero' had reached, but she was sure Tsunayoshi would surpass him.
Knock, knock, knock!
Who now? Loki scowled at being interrupted just as she was about to celebrate.
"It's Finn. We ran into an abnormal situation in the Dungeon today. We came to report."
"A Dungeon abnormality? Why didn't you say so earlier?"
The word abnormal made anything about the Dungeon serious. Loki's face hardened as she turned toward the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and in came Finn, Riveria, and Gareth. Only Finn's face was tight; the other two looked puzzled—clearly he hadn't briefed them yet.
"Finn, Tsunayoshi just told me you encountered an abnormality down there?"
Abnormality? Riveria and Gareth's faces changed at once.
"While I was escorting Tsunayoshi today, we saw it," Finn said. "On Floors 1 and 2, monster birthrates were abnormal. I can confirm goblins were spawning far faster and in greater numbers than usual—well beyond the norm."
"At first, I didn't think much of it. But Tsunayoshi reminded me: if even the top floors are feeling it this strongly, it's hard to imagine what the Dungeon is brewing deeper down. It smells like a larger 'abnormality.'"
"Tch. That's a pain," Loki clicked her tongue.
So the Dungeon was acting up. She immediately understood why Finn judged it an abnormality.
But this time they couldn't stall the expedition. Loki's head throbbed: an abnormal event, yet the expedition still had to proceed.
A simple refusal wouldn't fly. That had been last year's excuse. If only she'd used a different reason then—this year "we sensed a Dungeon abnormality" might have worked.
"Finn, we can't stop the expedition. Don't go in aiming to break new floors. Change the objective: conduct a probe focused on investigating the Dungeon abnormality."
"That's my thought as well. If we designate the run as an investigation into the 'Dungeon Abnormality,' the Guild won't have grounds to object. If we can identify the cause ahead of them—and secure some degree of resolution—they might even cut us a break on taxes. That could offset some of our losses."
"Mm. Do it that way, Finn."
(End of Chapter)
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