4/5
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Northern Orario, Second District, Crescent-Shaped Plaza.
10:30 AM.
"Raven-kun~~"
A charming and sweet voice rang out.
Today, unlike her usual appearance in the crisp uniform of the Guild, Eina had dressed differently.
She had taken off her glasses and wore a stylish white blouse adorned with lace, paired with a pink pleated mini-skirt.
Her slender legs were wrapped in alluring black thigh-high socks.
She looked fashionable, casual, and refreshingly elegant.
Raven looked her up and down, then praised, "Wow, you're dressed really pretty today."
"Hehe~"
Eina clasped her hands behind her back and smiled playfully. "Raven-kun looks really handsome too."
After speaking, she leaned in affectionately, reached out her slender fair hand, and gently took Raven's.
Her touch was cool, soft, and smooth—utterly delicate.
"It's been so long since I've gone shopping with someone. The weather's really nice today."
Eina looked up at the cloudless blue sky and sighed softly in delight.
"Let's go," Raven replied with a subtle raise of his brow and a smile.
At this time of day, the streets were still bustling with people. Pedestrians flowed in a constant stream.
Shops of all sizes lined the avenue, and every shopkeeper eagerly called out to attract customers.
Among them, the Dwarven shop owners' voices were particularly loud and energetic.
Eventually, the two arrived at the central plaza beneath the chalk-white tower—Babel.
The area was lined with green trees and featured fountain pools.
It wouldn't be wrong to call it a park.
Most of the people around carried swords, spears, and other weapons—adventurers, clearly.
"Are we… going shopping in Babel?" Raven asked, surprised.
Eina's eyes curved like crescent moons as she smiled. "So clever~"
Raven thought for a moment…
There was no way he could afford the weapons forged by the Hephaistos Familia with his current funds.
Babel Tower—the tallest building in Orario.
Its layout:
1st Floor: Entrance lobby and gateway to the Dungeon.
2nd to 3rd Floors: Guild facilities like showers, basic diners, exchange counters, and medical stations.
4th to 8th Floors: Shops run by the Hephaistos Familia.
9th to 20th Floors: Leased shops.
20th Floor: A fine dining restaurant often used as an observation deck by adventurers.
21st to 50th Floors: Private residences of the gods.
30th Floor: Hall for the Denatus (Gods' Assembly).
50th Floor (Top): Luxurious quarters used by the Goddess of Beauty, Freya.
Raven silently pondered...
One day, when he had money, he wanted to rent a few floors here and enjoy the view himself.
Wait—
Goddess Freya…
Wasn't that Syr from last night?
If he won over Syr, wouldn't the top floor of Babel become his?
…
Arriving at the front of Babel, several trapezoidal entrances stood before them.
Inside, the interior hall was decorated in tones of white and pale blue.
Downstairs led to the Dungeon.
Upstairs, the shops of Babel began from the fourth floor.
Eina led Raven to a round platform mechanism.
She reached out and pressed a control panel.
The platform began to rise—it was like riding an elevator.
This vertical transport device was actually powered by magic stones.
Of course, it wasn't limitless.
Periodically, the magic stones embedded in the base had to be replaced.
While riding up the lift, Raven pulled out a parchment made of leather—it displayed his status—and handed it to her.
"Eina, this is my level-up proof."
"I'd appreciate it if you could register it for me once you're back at the Guild."
"My goddess said the Denatus is being held tomorrow."
"This is related to my Title."
A faint smile appeared on Raven's lips.
Eina took the paper, lowered her gaze, and carefully looked it over.
It was a status sheet with all five basic stats marked as SSS1999.
For a moment, Eina was dumbfounded. She blinked, her eyes twitching.
"This…"
"These are real stats?"
"You—you're joking, right??"
"Is SSS even possible in the real world???"
Even someone as knowledgeable as Eina had never seen such a ridiculous status report.
Full SSS. Max value: 1999.
What kind of concept was this?
It was nothing short of a miracle—Raven's personal miracle.
If it were just S-rank stats, Eina wouldn't be this shocked.
After all, Orario had its share of monsters like that.
Ottar the Might, for example.
But this… this was on another level.
Too shocking.
Unbelievably shocking.
Could this be—
What the gods referred to as "the unknown"?
Eina's scalp tingled. She was at a complete loss for words.
Then she noticed the second parchment.
This one recorded Raven's new status after reaching Level 2.
And among the developments—
A previously unheard-of ability: Mana Drain.
Raven said casually, "I spent half a day on it. Leveled up to Lv.2 by night."
"My great achievement was…"
"I soloed the Floor Boss Goliath on the 17th floor."
"You can confirm that with the Guild yourselves."
Eina returned to her senses and forced a wry smile. "R-Raven-kun…"
She let out a breath. "Even if it'll be public eventually… can we keep this quiet for now?"
Leveling up in a single day—this was utterly unprecedented.
Just saying it felt foolish.
Most people wouldn't believe such a record-shattering feat.
"No can do." Raven shook his head. "I was going to keep it low for a while."
"But I don't want to miss out… on the Title I've been waiting so long for."
At first, Eina hadn't believed a word he said.
That changed yesterday, when she saw the status etched onto his back with her own eyes.
She finally understood—it was all true.
Raven had never lied to her.
…
Eina sighed helplessly. "Then tell me."
"What monsters did you defeat, exactly?"
Raven thought for a moment. "Quite a few. Most of them were Level 2 monsters."
"Like Minotaurs—I killed a few hundred."
"Hellhounds, Leo Beasts, Silverbacks, Wyverns, Sabertooths… and more."
Though most were defeated in an instant by Alfia, they still counted as Raven's accomplishments.
This time—
Eina didn't give him any doubtful looks.
Instead, she listened with interest.
Because—
Raven was just that outrageous.
Everything he said sounded as easy as drinking water…
Eina's understanding had been utterly overturned.
In other words…
He couldn't be viewed as a normal person.
He had to be treated more like a monster.
"I understand…" Eina sighed bitterly.
With a level-up as fast and unprecedented as his, the Guild would surely publish his activity logs anonymously.
That meant—
Others would use Raven's path as a reference, hoping to strengthen more adventurers.
As their power grew, casualty rates would decrease.
But…
Could anyone else even come close to his feats?
Honestly—
Eina didn't want his level-up to be revealed so soon.
For the gods who craved entertainment, "unprecedented" was their favorite word.
Eina, much like Hestia, feared that ill-intentioned deities might try to snatch him away.
Truthfully, Raven had considered this too.
But—
That kind of danger only applied to the weak.
Even if Ottar himself showed up, Raven wouldn't be the least bit afraid.
Would Apollo make a move?
If someone tried to snatch him—
Then he'd have a chance to claim his own mansion.
And with a home, he could expand his Familia even faster.
That was Raven's current plan.
…
After a while, they arrived at Babel's fourth floor.
Raven wondered whether Hestia was working two part-time jobs right now.
He knew she was selling fried potato balls on the North Avenue.
Hourly wage: 30 valis.
"Hopefully she's not working at the Hephaistos Familia's shop," Raven thought.
"Come on, let's keep exploring," Eina said, putting away his status sheet and pulling him forward again.
As they strolled down the luxurious corridor, Eina suddenly asked,
"Raven-kun~~"
"This is your first time here, right?"
"Yeah," Raven nodded.
"Then let me introduce you."
"From the 4th to the 8th floor, all shops here are run by the Hephaistos Familia."
…
Meanwhile
On the 30th floor of the Dungeon—
Unexplored territory.
This was the hidden base of the Xenos.
Lizardman Lyd stared in shock at the Lamia before him.
"What did you say?"
"You were rescued… by a human named Raven?"
"That cunning human must've had ulterior motives," the stone-dragon Gros snorted.
Even songbird Lene looked doubtful.
But the Lamia shook her head. "No. He was very kind. He even treated our wounds."
"If not for him, we wouldn't have made it here."
Could it be…
That humans and monsters really could live in peace?
"I'll explain the situation to Fels," Lyd said, unable to stay calm any longer.
He pulled out a magic crystal and began contacting the Guild's wise man.
"I'm just glad everyone made it back safely," Lene said, relief in her voice.
Then she whispered softly, "…Raven, huh?"
"Lene, are you… interested in that human too?" Fia leaned over and asked in a hushed tone.
"…Maybe," Lene admitted. "We'll meet him again. I'm sure of it."
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