"134: The Loki Familia’s Shock, That Person Is Actually Level 7?!"

As Ais finished cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the last pile of magic stones, elsewhere, higher up, the main party of the Loki Familia had finally arrived on the forty-eighth floor. Leading the group in clearing out the monsters along the path was their leader, Finn. However, as they advanced, a puzzled expression formed on his face.

"Why haven't we seen any sign of Ais or Mr. Su Mo along the way?" he muttered. They had claimed they were heading deeper into the dungeon, and this floor was certainly deep enough. Beyond this was the forty-ninth floor, where the Level 7 floor boss awaited. There was no way Ais and Su Mo would have gone that far. The forty-eighth floor should've been their deepest destination.

Yet, even after clearing the route to this point, they hadn't encountered any sign of battle or any trace of the two. This was completely outside of Finn's expectations. Hearing his concerns, the other members of the Familia grew anxious as well. Lefiya bit her lip, trying to offer a hopeful suggestion, "Could it be that they stayed behind on one of the earlier floors, and we somehow missed them?"

Though she proposed it, Lefiya herself knew how unlikely that was. But compared to the far more worrying alternatives, she preferred to believe in this slight chance. Riveria shook her head, crushing Lefiya's hopeful guess. "The monster counts on the previous floors were unchanged. They aren't on any of those levels."

"Then where…" Lefiya's face paled, unable to conceal the worry in her expression. Given Ais's strength, even if she encountered a Level 4 monster horde alone on the forty-eighth floor, she should still be able to escape if necessary. That much was certain. But the fact remained that they had found absolutely no signs or traces of them, which only left one dreadful possibility — one Lefiya dared not voice.

At that moment, the ever-carefree Tiona spoke up without noticing the tense atmosphere around her. "Maybe Ais and Mr. Su Mo went to challenge the Level 7 floor boss on the forty-ninth floor!" she said excitedly. In her cheerful optimism, she failed to consider the disastrous consequences of a Level 5 and a Level 6 adventurer challenging a Level 7 floor boss. To her, it simply sounded like an exciting, heroic tale.

"So why don't we head down and take a look? Maybe we can lend a hand!" she suggested enthusiastically.

Nearby, Tione — her older sister — shot her a dark glare. Lend a hand? she thought bitterly. We're already more than an hour behind. If those two really went to face the floor boss, by now we'd only be able to collect their corpses!

Of course, she couldn't bring herself to voice such ominous words aloud. Instead, she clenched her fist and delivered a hard knock to Tiona's head. "If you don't have anything useful to say, then shut up!"

"Why did you hit me, sis?!" Tiona rubbed her head, looking up at her sister with a pitiful expression. "I didn't say anything wrong!"

"You idiot!" Tione growled, covering her forehead and raising her hand to deliver another blow. Tiona quickly struck a defensive pose. "Don't think I won't hit back this time!"

Even her sister wasn't allowed to hit her for no reason.

As the two began bickering, Finn finally spoke up. "Tiona's not wrong. Worrying won't help us." His expression turned serious. "We're heading to the forty-ninth floor."

With his decision made, the others offered no objections. Riveria and Gareth quickened their pace, anxiety clearly written on their faces. If those two really had gone to the forty-ninth floor… and if something had already happened, then what would they do? They were facing a monster with Level 7 strength. Not a single one of them entertained the thought that Ais and Su Mo might actually have defeated the boss. All Riveria could do was pray — hoping that they had only just entered, so that even if things went south, they could still arrive in time to help.

Otherwise… it would be far too dangerous.

With heavy hearts, the group picked up their pace. Even Tiona, who was usually carefree, fell silent, sensing the oppressive mood. Before long, they arrived at the floor boss chamber on the forty-ninth floor. Holding their breath, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth led the way to the front while Bete, Tiona, Tione, and the other Level 5s spread out to search the area.

"Where's the monster…?" Finn froze as he reached the clearing. Staring at the empty battlefield ahead, his mind went blank. The monster was gone. The massive beast that should've been stationed at the center of the arena — where was it?

"Captain, we've finished scouting—there's nothing here!" Tiona came running back to report. Soon after, Bete and Tione returned as well, both shaking their heads. "We didn't find any monsters or traces of Ais and Mr. Su Mo either."

Finn bit his thumb in frustration. "There haven't been any other large Familia expeditions recently," he muttered. "But the floor boss is gone, and we can't find any sign of Ais or Mr. Su Mo…" A bold thought suddenly struck him, one that sent a chill down his spine. The same idea seemed to occur to Riveria and Gareth as well, and as the three leaders exchanged glances, they saw the shock and disbelief mirrored in each other's eyes.

"What is it?" Tiona asked curiously, tilting her head when Finn trailed off halfway through his sentence. She looked around at the others, growing more impatient. "Don't keep us guessing, Captain! Just tell us already!"

"The only possibility is…" Riveria tried her best to maintain a calm tone, though even she couldn't hide the astonishment in her voice. "Mr. Su Mo has defeated the floor boss and taken Ais even deeper into the dungeon."

"Oh, he defeated the floor boss—" Tiona nodded absentmindedly, before her eyes widened several seconds later as the words finally sank in. "Wait, what?! Mr. Su Mo defeated the forty-ninth floor boss?! He defeated a Level 7?!"

Her shrill cry of disbelief echoed around them. The rest of the Loki Familia members were equally dumbfounded as Riveria's words fully registered. For a long moment, nobody spoke. Finally, Bete broke the silence, his tone bitter. "To be able to take down a Level 7 floor boss solo… that means he's at least a Level 7 adventurer himself." His voice was low, almost defeated. "Which puts him on par with the strongest in all of Orario."

For a Level 6 adventurer, Bete still felt that, with enough effort, catching up might be within the realm of possibility. But a Level 7? That was an entirely different league — one that couldn't be reached through mere effort or determination alone. In all of Orario, there was only one other Level 7. Reaching such a height required more than hard work; it demanded monstrous talent.

Level 7!

Even the Loki Familia's Big Three — Finn, Riveria, and Gareth — couldn't help but hold their breath. Even for them, all seasoned Level 6 adventurers, Level 7 was a peak they might never reach in their lifetime. Yet that young man named Su Mo had already achieved it.

Only now did they finally understand the reason behind Ais's obsession with him. To reach such heights at such a young age… his rate of growth was something even they couldn't help but envy. "No wonder Mr. Su Mo said he didn't plan on letting Ais fight earlier," Riveria murmured as understanding dawned. "I thought he was being overly confident, assigning Ais as support. But now I see… with Ais's current strength, she really is only suitable for a support role."

Though Level 5 was considered the rank of top-tier adventurers, before a Level 7, even they could only play supporting roles. Off to the side, Lefiya stood speechless, her heart sinking. Compared to Mr. Su Mo's overwhelming strength and terrifying growth rate, she felt completely hopeless. She couldn't help but think that Ais's interest in him was only natural. And with the things she had said before… Lefiya felt certain that Ais had already completely fallen for him — there was no pulling her back now.

After a long silence, everyone finally recovered from the shock. Finn thought for a moment before announcing loudly, "Since Mr. Su Mo hasn't made his rank public, none of us are to breathe a word about this!" His voice turned serious. "Everyone, listen carefully. This information is absolutely forbidden from spreading."

Even though Guild regulations technically required adventurers to report their rank, none of them were foolish enough to report Su Mo. It was obvious that Su Mo not only had a good relationship with Ais but also held strength far beyond anyone they could handle. Leaking his secret would risk incurring the wrath of a Level 7 adventurer — and even more importantly, they wouldn't be able to face Ais afterward. Being the core members of the Loki Familia, everyone understood the stakes and nodded firmly in agreement.

Finn glanced around, then fixed his eyes on Tiona. "Especially you, Tiona. Make sure you don't let anything slip."

"I won't!" Tiona pouted indignantly. "Why are you only singling me out, Captain? Am I the kind of person who gossips and blabs secrets?"

"..." The unspoken answer was obvious on everyone's faces.

Yes, you are.

Even Tione shot her a knowing look. "Hey, even you, sis?! I'll punch you, you know!" Tiona raised her fist threateningly. The group couldn't help but burst into laughter. Though Tiona acted carefree and blunt, they all knew she understood the importance of secrecy. She wouldn't talk. Their teasing was simply in good humor.