When Renjiro (Aether) and Lumine returned to the surface with Finn and the others, five days had already passed…
As that little humanoid Hero had said: although the team could use the vertical caves on the way to shorten travel distances and greatly improve their advance speed, on the return trip, they had to stick to the proper route.
Naturally, this latter method took far more time.
For reference, returning in five days was already fast for a full elite squad.
For a proper expedition team… it would have taken even longer.
As for why Renjiro hadn't used the teleportation anchor to return earlier… well, he actually did return to the surface every day.
After all, there were supplies to transport…
But even leaving that aside, anyone with a bit of common sense would know not to slip away alone for convenience at a time like this.
Moreover…
"Lumine, and brother-san, you have to come to our place (Twilight Manor) tomorrow too!"
In the Central Plaza in front of Babel Tower, Tiona waved goodbye to Renjiro and Lumine.
"It's a promise, next time you have to continue telling the story of Tan Tan the boy… I'm super excited for what happens next."
See, if you slipped away now, it would be like suddenly dropping updates after five consecutive days.
Friendship-ending level, maybe… cough cough.
Anyway, back to the matter at hand.
Renjiro still chose to travel with Finn and the others for other reasons.
For example, with Xiao still "training" on the 49th floor, the strongest fighters were busy elsewhere. At times like this, gaining experience remotely while earning a little extra by following the big shots was a no-brainer.
Besides, with Xiao gone, even the 37th floor was tough to conquer.
Thus… he could maintain relationships and gain experience, a double win. No fool would pass that up.
Once Lumine accepted Tiona's invitation, and the others had said their goodbyes, they left the Central Plaza together…
Same place. Same tree.
A certain porcine humanoid man had, once again, "hidden" there in his useless way.
As he slowly approached…
"Long time no see, Mr. Ottar."
Renjiro greeted him.
"I heard you went on a solo expedition before. Why didn't I see you in the dungeon?"
"I took a different route."
The tower-like man's voice was calm.
"Besides, Freya-sama instructed that while you were moving with Finn and the others, we should not disturb you… I was simply following divine will."
"Ah, I see."
Renjiro silently gave the beautiful goddess a mental thumbs-up.
Indeed, while Finn's team treated Lumine and Renjiro well, if it had been anyone else in Freya's familia, especially the officers, a single meeting would have ended with glaring, beards-flaring, weapons-drawn tension.
After all, that old misunderstanding years ago almost got Riveria killed by her own top-tier adventurers.
Better that the people involved didn't appear. Otherwise, Renjiro and Lumine would have felt like rats in a bellows.
Now, Renjiro, while technically affiliated with Freya… or rather, his main body belonged to the Frigg familia.
At Freya's familia, the only one he was truly familiar with was the goddess herself. Even Ottar had barely spoken with him.
So, rather than Renjiro feeling a sense of belonging to Freya's familia, he only cared about the goddess who had helped him so much.
In this context, Freya's divine arrangement was thoughtful.
Thumbs up!
"Are you also delivering a message for the elder sister today?"
Ottar, the Berserker, was at least Lv. 7. Yet the so-called Urban Final Weapon had almost become a humanoid phone booth.
Every meeting with Renjiro had almost no other reason than duty.
"By the way…"
Renjiro asked, curious:
"When I returned to the surface the past three days, I didn't see the elder sister at Babel Tower's top floor… where did she go?"
"Freya-sama had important matters. She just returned to Babel Tower half an hour ago."
Ottar's gaze subtly swept the area, scaring nearby adventurers away.
Once he confirmed no one was around, he continued:
"You can ask her directly for details. You're right, this time, I'm only here to deliver a message."
"Go, don't keep Freya-sama waiting."
"Understood."
Renjiro nodded.
"Thank you for your effort."
With that, he and Lumine left.
Watching them head toward the magic stone elevator near the Babel Tower's lower entrance until their figures disappeared…
He… has reached a new height again.
Ottar muttered solemnly:
Good. He has not failed my goddess's expectations. But he must not slack in the future.
A few minutes later…
Renjiro and Lumine took the magic stone elevator to the upper floors and, not wanting to climb more stairs, teleported to an empty corner and instantly arrived at Babel Tower's top floor.
Once they steadied themselves…
Now that Finn and the others know about the teleportation anchors, once this info spreads, I won't need such complicated measures. I can vanish freely whenever I want.
With that thought, Renjiro and Lumine exited the secret room.
Soon, they arrived at Freya's usual top-floor residence, with its floor-to-ceiling windows.
The beautiful goddess was still sitting on her luxurious throne, legs crossed… this time without a wine glass in hand.
Seeing Renjiro and Lumine arrive…
"Back?"
"Mm."
A simple, daily family-style exchange.
Freya looked at Renjiro, a slight smile on her lips.
"Seems like you've made considerable proGareth this time."
"Yes."
Renjiro pointed to himself.
"In this form, I've trained my Lv. 3 Base Abilities stats to full 'sss-1999' again."
"Since I can't reach an 'ex' rating this time, I just need an excuse (great achievement) to externally claim Lv. 4."
That… was terrifying to hear.
But it was true.
Thanks to Xiao-sama's efforts, both Traveler and Lumine had reached Lv. 40 Genshin levels, which essentially equated to Blessing Level 4 combat power.
Freya simply hadn't updated their Status, so they were still Lv. 3, all stats sss-1999.
In this situation…
"Have you decided on an 'excuse' yet?"
Freya's eyes narrowed, speaking meaningfully:
You, or rather you both, are the most watched super rookies in Orario. Previously, you claimed Lv. 3 after slaying the Twin-headed Dragon. Using too ordinary a 'great achievement' would be obvious to others.
Renjiro thought…
I originally planned to wait and hunt Udaeus later, but the floor master was already taken down by Finn's team, and the next hatch is three months away. Balor… not even considering it.
Even when Xiao was training on the 49th floor, he had observed the Evil Eye Demon Lord from afar using his teleportation.
Just one glance confirmed, he wasn't a match at this stage.
The higher the Blessing Level, the harder overlevel challenges become.
Traveler twins and Xiao at Lv. 40 could at most challenge Lv. 5 adventurers, and not guaranteed to win.
Only after Freya updates their Status to Lv. 4 Blessing Level, reaching full sss-1999, could they truly match Lv. 5.
"Time to level you up first."
As the goddess granting Renjiro Divine Blessings, Freya knew the specifics of his Starfire's Flowing Light magic.
Falsifying a level isn't something only I can do.
As expected, elder sister, so overbearing and awesome.
And thus…
Renjiro, Lv. 3 → Lv. 4
Lumine, Lv. 3 → Lv. 4
With the Blessing Level increase, the chosen development abilities were:
[Eternity] and [Destruction]
=============
129+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon! Patreon.com/Veltoria