Tsuna and Finn Deimne slipped quietly through the doors of the Twilight Manor, making sure not to draw any attention.
"I'll head to Miss Loki's room first."
"Got it. I'll go call Gareth and Riveria."
They nodded in perfect sync before splitting at the hallway corner, each heading off in different directions—one to report, the other to gather the executives.
Knock, knock, knock!
The door opened moments later. Loki's usual mischievous grin appeared the second she saw Tsuna standing there—but it quickly softened into relief after she gave him a quick once-over.
"Good, no injuries. So, how was it, Tsuna? Your first trip into the Dungeon?"
"Better than expected," Tsuna replied calmly. "The first and second floors were all Goblins, nothing I couldn't handle. Calling it a 'fight' might be an exaggeration—it was more like me crushing them."
"Oooh~ that's what I like to hear! Come in, let me check your growth!"
The key detail Loki had been waiting for was his progress—how much he'd grown since receiving her Falna. Despite her grin, her heart was pounding. Tsuna had shown potential far beyond ordinary Adventurers, but if his growth didn't match that power, it would be all for nothing.
Impatient, Loki grabbed Tsuna by the wrist and pulled him into her room. A small silver needle—the tool for updating Falna—was already waiting on her bedside table. She'd clearly been sitting here, waiting for him to return.
Tsuna also looked curious. He quickly took off his shirt and sat down on a chair with his back to her. Loki pressed her glowing hand against his back, tracing the divine script of the Falna across his skin.
A moment later, her fingers froze.
"You've gotta be kidding me—seriously?!"
Loki stared at the data that appeared before her eyes, completely dumbfounded. It wasn't that Tsuna's growth was insufficient. It was that it was way too much.
Strength: I0 → I89
Endurance: I0 → I98
Dexterity: I0 → H134
Agility: I0 → H132
Magic: I0 → G201
"Unbelievable… I know Level 1 has plenty of room for growth, but this much from a single Dungeon run? That's absurd."
She rubbed her eyes and checked again, but the numbers didn't change. Strength and Endurance were already near triple digits, Dexterity and Agility had shot past 130, and his Magic… his Magic had skyrocketed past 200.
Loki actually forgot to breathe for a second.
She'd been worried that Tsuna's overpowered ability might limit his personal growth—but now she realized how ridiculous that fear was. His progress was downright terrifying.
Quickly finishing the update and recording the new data, she resealed the Falna on his back.
"All done. You can get dressed now."
"Thanks."
"This is your updated record," she said, handing him the parchment with his Status.
Tsuna glanced at the sheet—and even he was a little shocked. The jump was way beyond what he expected. Especially his Magic stat. Going from zero to two hundred in one trip wasn't something even he had imagined.
Under the Falna system, increasing one's Status wasn't easy. Bell Cranel could accelerate his growth because of a literal cheat ability, but normal Adventurers didn't have that luxury. For most, a gain of ten or twenty points in a single attribute was already impressive—fifty was phenomenal. But this? This was inhuman.
"It's probably because of Annihilation Maker," Tsuna mused. "The monsters I created kept boosting my Magic. I used it a lot during the Goblin fights. I'm guessing the growth came from that."
"Yeah, that makes sense. The creatures you make are anything but ordinary," Loki said, smiling wide. "If they're that strong, no wonder your Magic stat exploded. That's a good thing!"
She hopped up onto his back, giddy with excitement.
"I was seriously worried your busted ability might slow down your personal growth. But now? I've got nothing to worry about!"
An overpowered Sacred Gear paired with explosive growth—it was a terrifying combination. Loki didn't know how far that so-called "child of a hero" had come, but right now, she was sure Tsuna's potential would surpass even that.
Knock, knock, knock!
Who the hell was that? Loki scowled—she'd just been about to celebrate.
"It's Finn. We ran into something strange in the Dungeon today. I came to report it."
"Something strange?" Loki's playful tone vanished in an instant. The word 'anomaly' in connection with the Dungeon was never good news. "Come in."
The door opened, and Finn entered with Riveria and Gareth in tow. Finn's expression was grim, while the other two looked confused—they clearly hadn't been briefed yet.
"Finn," Loki said sharply, "what's this about an anomaly in the Dungeon?"
At the mention of that word, both Riveria and Gareth's faces darkened.
"Yes," Finn said. "While I was escorting Tsuna through the upper floors, we noticed an abnormal rate of monster spawns. Goblins were appearing far faster and in greater numbers than usual. It completely exceeded the normal state."
"I didn't think much of it at first, but Tsuna pointed out something I missed—if even the upper floors are showing this level of disruption, there's a chance the Dungeon itself is building toward a bigger 'anomaly'."
"Tch. That's a pain in the ass," Loki muttered.
So the Dungeon really was acting up. She understood immediately why Finn had come running. But her head started throbbing the moment she thought about the upcoming expedition. They couldn't delay it—not again.
Last year, she'd already used the "Dungeon instability" excuse to turn the Guild down. Doing it a second time wouldn't fly. If only she'd used a different reason last time, she could've used this anomaly as a valid excuse now.
"Finn," Loki said at last, rubbing her temples, "we can't call off the expedition. This time, instead of treating it as a standard floor-clearance mission, we'll reframe it as an investigation of the Dungeon anomaly."
"I was thinking the same," Finn replied. "If we conduct the expedition under the pretense of investigating the 'Dungeon anomaly,' the Guild can't fault us for changing objectives. If we can even uncover the cause—or help stabilize it—the Guild might grant us a tax reduction as compensation. It'd cover some of our losses."
"Mm. Let's do it that way, Finn."