Chapter 52: Just a Peek

This expedition proved to be immensely beneficial for Rige.

Previously, the highest floor he had reached was the 17th.

There, he encountered the floor master Goliath and engaged in a life-or-death battle, eventually successfully ascending to level 4.

Since then, although Rige would enter the underground city every day, due to the need to return on the same day, he could only reach around the 20th floor, and anything below that was territory he had never set foot in.

Therefore, over the past two weeks, as Rige followed the Loki Family's expedition team deeper into the underground city, he also witnessed many wonders that he had never heard of before.

For example, from the 19th to the 24th floor, there was a "Great Tree Labyrinth" that resembled an underground forest.

For example, from the 25th to the 27th floor, there was a "Water Labyrinth" known as the Water Paradise.

And for example, from the 30th floor downward, there were often encountered wilderness floors.

These wonders, if not seen with his own eyes, no one would have thought they existed within the underground city.

Although Rige knew about these wonders through his knowledge of the original work, the feeling of knowing they existed and actually seeing them with his own eyes was completely different.

The sense of awe and shock from deep within his heart was truly eye-opening.

Of course, compared to the scenery of the underground city, what truly benefited Rige the most were the countless monsters he had fought along the way.

The guild that managed the city basically divided the floors of the underground city into several levels based on their difficulty.

Floors 1 to 12 were the upper levels, with the resident monsters mostly classified as level 1.

Floors 13 to 24 were the middle levels, with the resident monsters mostly classified as level 2.

Floors 25 to 36 were the lower levels, with the resident monsters mostly classified as level 3.

And from the 37th floor onward, the floors were considered the deep levels, with the resident monsters at a minimum classified as level 4.

Before this, Rige had only fought up to the middle levels and had not yet entered the lower levels.

In such a situation, for Rige to have reached level 4 was already a miracle. If not for the Monster Feast and the floor masters, he would have never been able to accumulate the great deeds required for leveling up.

It was only during this expedition that Rige finally had the opportunity to enter the lower levels and even the deep levels.

As a result, the number of monsters he had defeated and the amount of experience he had gained were unimaginable.

Especially the battles against the floor masters, which the gods jokingly referred to as the "Four Heavenly Kings."

The 17th floor master, the super-large giant monster Goliath, classified as level 4.

The 27th floor master, the super-large dragon monster Amphisbaena, classified as level 5.

The 37th floor master, the super-large skeleton monster Udaeus, classified as level 6.

Along the way, the Loki Family encountered these three floor masters and, as a team, engaged in battles against them.

The first battle, against the 17th floor master Goliath, was not considered a high-level threat, so the Loki Family's leaders and officers did not participate. Instead, the lower-level members were left to fight and gain combat experience and high-level experience.

The second battle, against the 27th floor master Amphisbaena, the higher-level members still did not participate. The main fighters were the level 4 members, with the rest providing support.

The third battle, against the 37th floor master Udaeus, the higher-level members finally joined in, with the main attackers being the officers Ais, Bert, Tiona, and Tione, while the three leaders provided support.

Rige participated in all three battles, except for the first one against Goliath. However, he did not fight as a frontline attacker but rather as a midline supporter or a rearline mage, and his performance was not particularly outstanding.

Even so, the two battles against the floor masters still provided Rige with a significant amount of high-level experience. Even with the experience being divided among all the participants, as Finn and others had said, it still contributed to his great deeds, reducing the difficulty and time required for leveling up.

Adding the monsters he had defeated along the way, as well as the large number of Formors he had just defeated on the 49th floor, Rige had a feeling.

"Maybe I can really reach level 5 this time."

Thinking about this, Rige's mood improved greatly.

After all, that was the realm of first-tier adventurers.

Orario gathered countless adventurers and families, and the stratification of adventurers by level was particularly evident.

Among them, the lower-tier adventurers, classified as level 1, made up about half of all adventurers, while the upper-tier adventurers were less than half.

Among these upper-tier adventurers, most were level 2, third-tier adventurers, with only a few reaching level 3 and 4, second-tier adventurers.

However, compared to the first-tier adventurers, who were level 5 and above, the second-tier adventurers in Orario were still in the majority.

Just look at the Loki Family.

As one of the two kings of Orario and one of the strongest families, the entire Loki Family had only four level 5 members.

The Freya Family was the same, with only four level 5 members.

So, the total number of level 5 members in all of Orario was quite small, perhaps not even reaching thirty.

In other words, as long as one became a level 5 first-tier adventurer, they would be considered one of the top-tier strong in Orario.

If he could successfully reach level 5 after this expedition, Rige would have more confidence in dealing with the troubles from his original world.

"Unfortunately, Balor didn't appear."

Rige was quite disappointed about this.

The 49th floor master, Balor, was classified as level 7.

As the leader of the Four Heavenly Kings, Balor was the strongest confirmed floor master so far.

No family in Orario, including the Loki Family, had encountered a floor master stronger than Balor.

The deepest floor the Loki Family had reached was the 58th.

Up to the 58th floor, no floor master stronger than Balor had been discovered.

If a level 7 floor master appeared, it would likely require Finn, Riria, and Gries to personally join the battle, using all their strength and the support of the family members to defeat it.

Such a monster, once defeated, would provide a massive amount of high-level experience, enough to level up most adventurers below level 5, even after the experience was divided.

Rige was a bit disappointed that he didn't encounter this strongest floor master.

If he had defeated this floor master, he would definitely have leveled up upon returning.

While Rige was casually thinking about these things, an annoyed voice snapped him back to reality.

"Hey, Rige, are you even listening to us?"

The voice, like that of a child throwing a tantrum, immediately brought Rige back to his senses, and he saw Tiona glaring at him with puffed cheeks.

"What were you thinking about? You were so absorbed!"

Tiona complained.

Tione, Riria, and Ais were also looking at Rige, making him shake his head to clear his thoughts.

"Sorry, I was a bit distracted."

Rige apologized to everyone.

"Are you tired?" Riria, not minding the incident, instead asked with concern, "First-time expeditions can be tough, and many adventurers struggle to adapt to the environment and the intensity of the battles. Mr. Rige, you should take care to rest."

"Yes," Tione nodded in agreement, "Humans are naturally fragile, and this is a floor that even a regular level 4 can't reach. It's normal to feel uncomfortable."

"By the way, during the battle just now, you weren't trying to keep up with Ais the whole time, were you?" Tiona suspected, "If that's the case, you should really rest. There aren't many in the family who can keep up with Ais, and even we sometimes struggle. You managed to fight alongside Ais and kill so many monsters without falling behind. Be careful not to exhaust yourself."

Tione's words did not elicit a response from Rige.

Because, Ais had already spoken up first.

"Not at all," Ais said suddenly, "Rige is really strong."

Others might not have noticed if Rige was struggling, but could Ais not see?

She and Rige had practiced together countless times, and she knew exactly what Rige looked like when he was struggling and when he was at ease.

Although Rige's performance during the Formor battle had surprised Ais, seeing him not even breaking a sweat, she knew that such a level of battle was not enough to make him struggle.

In other words—

"Rige's current strength is on par with a level 5."

After saying this, Ais fell silent.

Not just Ais, but even Riria and the Amazon sisters were speechless, looking at Rige as if he were a non-human.

Feeling the gazes of everyone, Rige took a step back.

"I'll go find something to do."

Leaving these words, Rige turned and ran.

"Stop!"

"Don't run!"

Tiona and Tione immediately chased after him without hesitation.

"Huh?"

Riria blinked, still not reacting, when a gust of wind blew past her.

It was the wind stirred by Ais's sudden dash.

Ais had also joined the chase.

"Wait, Miss Ais!"

Riria exclaimed, no longer dazed, and hurriedly followed.

The sight of several beautiful young girls chasing a man in the camp made the others envious.

"Don't play around! You idiots!"

Bert, nearly hit by Tiona, frantically protected the pile of wood he had just collected, furious.

The women, however, did not notice.

"Take off your clothes, Rige!"

"Just a peek!"

"Let's see your back!"

"Wh-What!? You're chasing Mr. Rige for that!?"

The women's shouts and exclamations caused a commotion in the camp.

The chaos only stopped when the three leaders appeared.

"Alright, stop playing around, it's time to eat!"

Riria shouted.

"Y-Yes!"

The chaotic response finally came, but the noise and warmth did not diminish.

New book, seeking support! Recommendations! Collections! (*^▽^*)

(End of Chapter)