After leaving Loki's room, Tsuna headed straight to Bete's quarters.
Unlike many of the others who shared rooms, Bete lived almost completely apart from the rest of the Adventurers.
Tsuna knew this was his personal choice, not because anyone had pushed him away.
After all, Bete was just sharp-tongued—he wasn't a bad person. When it came down to it, he always acted when it truly mattered.
The reason he chose to live alone probably had a lot to do with his past.
Knock, knock, knock!
The door opened almost the instant the sound echoed.
A wave of heat spilled out from the room as it did.
Tsuna immediately realized where it came from—the man standing in the doorway.
Bete wore only a sleeveless shirt drenched in sweat, the ends of his hair dripping with it.
"Bete, your Status has already reached its limit. No matter how hard you train in your room, trying to improve your values further will be extremely difficult."
A Status could surpass its limit—but doing so was brutal and exacting.
Beyond harsh training, it demanded innate talent. Without that, no matter how cruel the training, one could only reach their upper limit—never beyond.
Moreover, the Falna's growth was a one-way evolution.
In other words, once a Stat rose, it would never fall again unless something deeply corrupting interfered.
"It's just routine training. Keeps my body in shape."
An Adventurer's Status was the foundation of their combat ability.
But aside from numbers on paper, there was the body itself.
Keeping it constantly primed and ready made all the difference in battle.
Even though the Falna could preserve physical condition, it didn't maintain the body's edge—that alert, eager tension. That had to be maintained personally.
"Seems like you've been keeping yourself in solid form lately. You've probably spent plenty of time in both the Training Space and the Challenge Space. The results look pretty clear."
"Not bad."
At the mention of results, a faint, satisfied grin tugged at Bete's lips.
That smile… more than just 'not bad,' clearly.
Just seeing that look told Tsuna enough—Bete had grown to a point he could truly be proud of.
Aside from Magic, the Training Space can sharpen nearly every Stat. Strength and Endurance were always Bete's weaker points—those must have seen the biggest gains.
Breaking through the limit might be impossible, but he's definitely reached it.
And his best Stat—Agility—he must've surpassed even that boundary.
Tsuna remembered that Bete's Agility had hit the limit long ago. Surpassing it was something close to impossible.
But the gravity pressure in the Training Space directly honed Endurance and Agility. For an Adventurer born with talent in those areas, hitting or even exceeding the limit wasn't out of reach.
Bete was precisely that kind of Adventurer—gifted in Agility.
"What about you? Haven't seen you much around the Familia lately."
"I've been staying with the Hephaestus Familia. Partly to lie low, partly to assist Lady Hephaestus and Tsubaki with their new forging experiments. So I haven't been showing up here often."
"Still because of that Dark Faction mess, huh? The heat around your name flared up again."
Bete wasn't blind to the whispers around him.
And with Tiona and Tione both recently promoted to Level 5, it didn't take much to guess who was behind that storm of activity.
Otherwise, he'd have only heard news about one of the Amazon twins leveling up—not both at once.
If both had risen together, it meant they'd gone all out—probably by taking on Amphisbaena under harsh conditions.
Facing a Floor Boss stronger than you, in a disadvantageous situation… not even those two Amazon warriors—or even Riveria, that old elf—could do that easily.
"There's also news about Tiona and Tione's Level Up."
"Finn's been taking all the 'trouble' on himself again, but not everyone in Orario's an idiot. The ones watching our Familia closely know full well that Finn never left the manor that day."
"That's what pushed your name back into the spotlight again. Even if no one outside knows the details."
Bete's words were blunt, straightforward. He was telling Tsuna flat out: plenty of people know you're the one pulling strings behind the scenes.
Tsuna smiled faintly.
"This Dark Faction incident did put me under the spotlight again, but thanks to Tiona and Tione's Level Up, a lot of attention has been diverted."
"Compared to hidden rumors, the Gods prefer loud, exciting stories."
"And besides, this publicity also helps confirm Valletta's suspicions."
"'Arachnia'? That lunatic tried to ambush those two Amazons?"
Bete's brows furrowed, disgust flashing in his eyes. He clearly loathed that kind of twisted behavior.
But soon, his expression shifted to faint surprise.
"You didn't kill that maniac?"
"No. I decided she'd be more useful alive. The Dark Faction still needs a planted thorn—someone through whom I can track their movements and positions."
"I implanted one of my beasts into her consciousness. It monitors her thoughts, her sight, everything she perceives. But she's an experienced Adventurer—sharp enough to suspect something's wrong even with a flawless set of false memories."
"That lunatic… she's deranged, sure, and loves torturing her prey—but she's as cruel to herself as she is to others."
It didn't surprise Bete that Arachnia had begun doubting herself. The fact she was still alive was reason enough.
"The Dark Faction's full of psychos—most of them completely unhinged. You'd better get used to dealing with that kind of madness. And here's a word of advice: don't ever try reasoning with them."
"If you slow down even a second while killing one, the next moment, they'll blow you to pieces."
Bete clearly knew those lunatics far too well.