Isekai Adventure in the Dimensional Cube

The Dusk Manor, atop the central tower.

In the divine chamber, Loki was pacing back and forth with a trace of impatience.

"Why hasn't he returned yet?"

Looking at the sky outside which had gradually darkened, Loki's face showed increasing signs of irritation.

"He ran off last night, and he didn't come back all day today; it's already been a day and a night, right?"

Recalling Reiger's silhouette when he left the divine chamber last night, that figure filled with cold resolution, Loki couldn't help but bite her nails.

"Could something have happened?"

Surely not?

Just having joined the family for a day, the treasure that I stumbled upon by sheer luck can't be gone just like that, can it?

"I should have known better than to indulge him."

Loki regretted it.

She knew that it's likely Reiger had run off to the underground city.

Normally, as someone who had just received Megumi's favor and whose abilities were not much different from those of an ordinary person, Loki should have stopped him after guessing what Reiger intended to do.

But because Reiger's potential was truly great, even though he had just received Megumi's favor and at a basic level, was no different from an ordinary person, he had one spell and three skills, and he had always behaved so calmly, so steadily, appearing to have a good sense of judgment, Loki eventually chose not to stop him, indulging this child who had just joined the family for once.

Who would have thought that this one indulgence would lead to a serious accident?

"Come to think of it, even if that child had good judgment and high potential, entering the underground city recklessly without any familiarity would still be a very risky affair."

Not to mention, the information about the underground city, which Reiger knew almost nothing about.

For example, the maps of each floor of the underground city.

For example, the abilities and types of monsters generated on each floor.

With such information, as a novice adventurer fresh out of the gate, one should naturally have learned beforehand before entering the underground city.

Yet, Reiger had made no such preparations. Wouldn't it be highly likely that an accident would occur?

"Could he have been injured because he didn't understand the monsters' attack patterns?"

"Could he have gotten lost by not understanding the terrain well enough?"

"Or did he encounter some unusual event or a monsters' feast? But such situations generally don't occur on the first few floors, right?"

Loki couldn't help but let her thoughts run wild.

"No, I need to find someone to help."

Ultimately, Loki couldn't sit still any longer; she left the divine chamber and went outside.

Just as Loki was about to send someone to look for Reiger in the underground city, someone called out.

"The newcomer has returned!"

At the entrance of the Dusk Manor, a member of the family tasked with guarding the gate shouted this.

"He's back?"

Loki's eyes lit up, and without thinking, she dashed toward the gate.

However, when Loki arrived at the gate, the scene that met her eyes left her speechless.

"Hey, newcomer, are you really okay?"

"You don't look okay at all."

"Here, have some water, and this is Spiritual Medicine, drink up quickly."

"What did you do to end up like this?"

A group of Loki's family members left in charge were gathered around at the entrance, discussing in a panic-stricken manner, while continuously offering their concerns and handing over items to a person.

"Thank you all for your concern, I'm really fine."

Reiger thanked the senior family members, his tone as calm as ever, yet his condition was quite terrible.

His clothes were torn and tattered, stained with all sorts of blood, which had even turned black, indistinguishable whether it belonged to him or to monsters. Coupled with his black hair, disheveled and damp, his appearance was as wretched as could be.

In Reiger's hand was a bloodstained short sword, its blade nicked from use.

Such an appearance, in such a sorry state, was truly startling.

"You, young man..."

Loki stepped forward, wanting to scold him but she stopped herself.

"Come with me."

The grim-faced chief deity, ignoring the rest of the intimidated family members who dared not speak up anymore, grabbed Reiger's hand and dragged him away.

Reiger didn't resist, letting Loki take him to the top floor of the central tower, into her divine chamber.

However, before Loki could say anything, Reiger spoke first.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

Reiger bowed his head and apologized to Loki.

This caused all the words Loki had in her chest to be blocked, rendering her speechless.

Loki could only take a deep breath, still staring at Reiger with a grim face.

"I won't ask what you've been through," Loki said, "I just want to know, did you spend this whole day and night in the underground city?"

"Hmm," Reiger nodded with his eyelids drooping.

"...You stayed in the underground city for a whole day and night with this condition?" Loki's mouth twitched as he said, "On the first level?"

"...No," Reiger fell silent for a moment before calmly saying, "If my memory serves me right, I should have taken the passageway to the next floor four times."

Upon hearing this, Loki was stunned for a moment.

Took the passageway to the next floor four times?

"You, you went down to the fifth level?"

Loki's incredulous question was met with Reiger's silence.

Loki pressed his forehead.

"You just received Megumi's blessings less than a day ago, haven't even registered as an adventurer at the guild, and you went down to the fifth level alone...?"

Loki felt dizzy.

He was pissed off.

It's known that newly blessed adventurers, even when forming a small team of three, would generally just explore the first level on their inaugural journey into the underground city unless something unexpected happened.

As a novice with immature abilities and nothing outstanding, it takes considerable effort to just overcome the fear and trepidation of entering the underground city, let alone fighting monsters and exploring the maze.

So, it's normal for newcomers to take a significant amount of time to adjust before even considering moving to lower floors.

And even then, a newbie squad would typically only explore up to the fourth floor and absolutely not enter the fifth floor.

Or rather, the seniors of their families would definitely prevent them from entering the fifth floor.

The reason is simple.

Starting from the fifth floor of the underground city, the variety and strength of the monsters that appear in the maze increase, and the structure of the underground city becomes more complicated.

Not only does the frequency of monster encounters drastically increase, but from the fifth floor onward, the underground city undergoes a complete transformation, with just the area alone being significantly larger than Eulalie's central plaza. The difficulty of exploration shoots up to another level entirely.

If a rookie adventurer goes into the fifth level without guidance from a predecessor, without prior knowledge of the conditions and the types of monsters that appear there, it would not be odd for them to lose their lives on that level.

Hence, the fifth floor is considered the first distinct deathline of the underground city, where notable casualties start to occur, unquestionably making it far more dangerous compared to the previous four floors.

So, Reiger, on his very first trip into the underground city, had plunged into the fifth level all by himself?

With not a single piece of armor on his body, his stats not having grown at all, his basic abilities hardly any different from an ordinary person?

It was practically a death wish!

"I really wonder how you managed to survive till now."

Loki looked at Reiger with a gaze full of frustration.

Seeing this, Reiger didn't attempt any defense, instead voicing his confusion.

"Actually, I'm quite puzzled myself. I had intended to head back when I was completely exhausted, but somehow my stamina just seemed endless, my spirit was consistently good, and before I knew it, after killing and killing, I realized I had been in the underground city for a whole day and night."

This was the truth.

Indeed, Reiger had planned to head back when he was utterly exhausted.

Caught in an abnormal excitement, completely unable to extricate himself and very much enjoying the killing, he had no desire to stop. But he wasn't foolish; he would naturally calm down and head back when he genuinely couldn't go on any further.

The problem was right there.

Reiger never felt the exhaustion; his physical and spiritual power felt truly inexhaustible, no matter how much he fought, killed, ran, or charged, he never felt tired.

Consequently, Reiger failed to grasp the right timing and measure to head back and, without realizing it, he had charged all the way to the fifth floor under the drive of his high spirits.

If it weren't for a sudden pang of hunger, Reiger wouldn't have even noticed that he had spent so long in the underground city.

At this, Loki could only respond irritably.

"It's because of your ability development."

Loki's words made Reiger blink in surprise.

"Ability development?"

Reiger furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's what I mentioned to you yesterday, the extra abilities that only have a chance to be obtained when leveling up."

Loki's tone was still quite bad.

However, Reiger knew what ability development was.

As Loki said, it's something that you only have a certain chance to obtain when leveling up, unlike the five basic abilities of "Strength," "Endurance," "Dexterity," "Agility," and "Magic Power." It's a special ability that extends beyond the basic abilities, adding extra personal attributes.

Unlike basic abilities, although ability development also has stages from S to I, there is no proficiency, and improving them is exceptionally difficult. Still, development abilities can grant passive benefits.

For example, blacksmiths in this world, after receiving their blessings and leveling up to Lv.2, have a chance to acquire a development ability called "Forging." Possessing this ability allows them to imbue special properties into the equipment they forge, turning them into high-quality items akin to magical gear.

There are many other development abilities like this, some of which are very useful in combat.

The effect of Reiger's skill "Endless Bounds" was that it granted him three development abilities.

"The effect of 'Healing Power' is to automatically recover physical strength, allowing you to fight while rapidly regaining energy without rest."

"The effect of 'Spiritual Healing' is to automatically recover spiritual power, enabling you to gain recovery even in combat without deep rest."

"The effect of 'Abnormal Resistance' is to guard against abnormal statuses, such as poisoning."

Loki sighed.

"The reason you were able to fight in the underground city for a whole day and night without feeling tired is because of these development abilities."