Before letting Su Mo head off on his adventure, Eina began explaining all the essential things he needed to know before entering the dungeon.
She covered everything from which levels were appropriate for adventurers of different ranks, to the distinctions between monsters on each floor, their traits, and effective ways to deal with them.
As someone responsible for guiding new adventurers, Eina naturally focused on the monsters found between the 1st and 12th floors.
For a beginner, this kind of information could mean the difference between life and death.
Of course, to someone like Su Mo, the low-level monsters were hardly a threat.
But even so, he listened attentively.
Once he had mentally noted all the important points Eina emphasized, Su Mo gave a polite wave and said goodbye to the half-elf girl, preparing to head to the dungeon.
However, just as he arrived at the dungeon's entrance, he ran into someone unexpected—
Ais Wallenstein and Lefiya Viridis.
The two girls were standing near the gate, seemingly waiting for someone.
When Su Mo came to a sudden halt, Lefiya's eyes lit up, and she immediately tugged on Ais's sleeve, pulling the blonde girl along as she walked toward him.
So they were here for him.
Could it be... they were going to ask again about how to grow stronger?
That's what Su Mo assumed.
But contrary to his expectations, the first thing Lefiya said when she reached him was—
"I'm sorry! About yesterday… we caused you a lot of trouble!"
"???"
Su Mo was slightly taken aback.
Just yesterday, this girl had been clinging to him relentlessly—why the sudden change in behavior?
She had even come all the way here just to apologize?
…
…
Earlier that morning—
After getting a stern talking-to from Riveria the night before, both Ais and Lefiya had reflected on how impolite they had been.
They decided to properly apologize to Su Mo the next day.
After all, they couldn't let people think members of the Loki Familia were rude or lacking in manners.
With that in mind, they woke up early and headed to the marketplace.
But despite searching high and low, Su Mo was nowhere to be found.
Most of the shops and stalls were already open and buzzing with business—yet Su Mo, who had been there the day before, was nowhere in sight.
Fortunately, after asking around, someone finally told them that the "fried rice stall owner" had headed to the dungeon.
It was only then that they learned Su Mo's name.
With that, the two girls made their way to the dungeon entrance and decided to wait for him there.
While waiting, Lefiya and Ais quietly discussed how they would go about apologizing.
"Lady Riveria said we need to apologize sincerely, using the most respectful tone possible," Lefiya reminded, sneaking a glance at Ais.
"So… Ais, if you still want to ask him about how to grow stronger, you might end up offending him again."
As Ais's devoted admirer, Lefiya understood her personality all too well, so she tried to express her concerns gently.
If Ais insisted on pressing the issue again, Lefiya honestly didn't know what she'd do.
She had seen firsthand how deep Ais's obsession with becoming stronger ran.
And yet, surprisingly—
When Ais heard her words, she nodded.
"…I understand."
"Eh?"
This time, it was Lefiya's turn to be surprised.
She couldn't help but ask in a cautious tone—
"Miss Ais, are you no longer curious about how that man, Su Mo, managed to become so strong?" The moment she asked, Lefiya immediately regretted it. She wanted to slap herself.
What if this question rekindled Ais's obsession? What if she once again wanted to press him about his secret to growing stronger? Wouldn't that just backfire on her efforts?
But just as Lefiya was beginning to panic, Ais simply shook her head with her usual calm expression. "Yesterday, I spoke to both Loki and Riveria. They analyzed the situation for me and believe that I must've remembered it wrong."
"Loki and Riveria both said it's absolutely impossible for someone to ascend from a complete rookie to a Level 2 adventurer in less than a month." "Moreover, based on my observation, that person still had plenty of strength left even after using power on the level of a high-tier Level 2 adventurer. But Riveria said, that's simply not possible."
"Even if a miracle did occur, and someone managed to level up in just a month, there's no way they'd already stand near the top of Level 2."
Ais's eyes remained tranquil, clearly convinced by the reasoning of the two she trusted.
It wasn't that she couldn't imagine miracles happening. Nor did she believe that leveling up within a month was absolutely impossible. But when it came to Riveria, someone she respected deeply, Ais placed a lot of faith in her judgment.
If Riveria said it couldn't be done, then maybe she had indeed misremembered, or perhaps just misjudged what she saw that day. After all, her impression of the event had been rather vague.
"I see... that's a relief," Lefiya exhaled softly.
If even Ais had been convinced that it was just a misunderstanding, then surely she wouldn't bring up any secret techniques again, and yesterday's awkwardness wouldn't repeat itself. With that, today's apology should go smoothly— or so Lefiya told herself, unwittingly setting a mental flag.
"Just as I thought, Lady Riveria really is amazing! Even someone as talented as Miss Ais took a whole year to reach Level 2. There's no way anyone could surpass her, right?" Still fangirling over Ais, Lefiya waited patiently for Su Mo's arrival.
Finally, about half an hour later, she spotted him. Without hesitation, Lefiya grabbed Ais's hand and pulled her along to approach him.
"We're sorry for troubling you yesterday!" Lefiya bowed deeply and apologized earnestly.
Then, as planned, she tugged gently at Ais's sleeve— This was the part where Ais was supposed to bow as well.
But for some reason, Lefiya didn't hear a word from her. Even her sleeve didn't move in response.
A bad feeling crept over Lefiya like a cold shadow.