Through their brief conversation while waiting in line, Rhodes had gained a general understanding of Lili’s circumstances.
Especially the situation within Soma Familia.
Its god, Soma, was obsessed with brewing divine wine and took no part in managing his Familia.
Meanwhile, the captain who actually held authority allowed the bullying to continue unchecked.
The result—
Was the miserable situation Lili now found herself in.
As for why she worked herself so hard to earn money, her answer was simple.
She wanted to save enough to buy her freedom from Soma Familia.
“…”
Watching the girl lead the way through the Dungeon’s starting level, Rhodes found himself wanting to point something out.
Would a captain who allowed his Familia to descend into chaos while taking the lead in peddling divine wine really honor an agreement?
Still, they had only just met.
He couldn’t bring himself to say something that might shatter the hope keeping Lili going.
Compared with her circumstances, his own situation looked almost absurdly fortunate.
Hestia took care of all his everyday needs.
She had even secured his adventuring equipment.
And that was before counting the privilege of resting his head in her lap.
“I really did get lucky.”
Rhodes couldn’t help feeling grateful.
Following Lili, he quickly passed through the starting level and arrived at the Dungeon’s first true danger zone.
The first floor.
Once their expedition properly began, Lili, whose combat abilities were limited, moved behind him with her supporter’s backpack.
Rhodes took the lead.
After yesterday’s experience, he no longer felt the panic of a complete newcomer.
They hadn’t gone far before footsteps sounded around a bend in the passage.
Then goblins came charging out, waving their wooden clubs.
“Stay back.”
Holding his shortsword in a reverse grip, Rhodes motioned for Lili to retreat.
He drew a deep breath, lowered his stance, and rushed toward the monsters.
There it was again.
The goblins’ movements looked remarkably slow to him.
The muscle memory of his basic swordsmanship was extraordinarily clear, and his body reacted on instinct.
Swish—!
Steel flashed.
The first goblin’s head came cleanly off, and its body crumbled into ash.
Then came the second.
And the third.
Quick.
Clean.
Efficient.
As the monsters died, the tiny magic stones inside them fell to the ground.
“Feels like reaching the fourth floor today shouldn’t be a problem?”
Perhaps it was because of last night’s Status update.
Rhodes could clearly feel that both his strength and speed had improved a little. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Not bad!
That steady increase in power was the reward for his efforts.
“…”
Is this guy really a beginner?
Hmm…
In Lili’s experience, novice adventurers were supposed to tense up when monsters appeared.
Some practically panicked.
But Rhodes…
After watching that brief fight, she could tell that his grasp of the fundamentals was actually quite solid.
His technique was simply a little unpolished.
She didn’t forget her own responsibilities.
Lili collected the fallen magic stones and goblin fangs, storing them in a separate bag.
“Let’s keep going.”
As the expedition progressed, Lili began to see just how wide the gap between adventurers could be.
They encountered increasingly large groups of goblins and kobolds.
At first, Rhodes seemed a little pressed when several monsters attacked him at once.
But his extraordinary adaptability quickly became apparent.
He identified openings and found ways to turn the situation around.
And then there was—
His seemingly endless stamina, even when monsters came at him wave after wave.
“This can’t be normal…”
Lili had chosen to become a supporter because she had tried fighting for herself.
She knew she lacked the aptitude to make it as a frontline adventurer.
So she had settled for the next-best option.
But watching Rhodes visibly grow accustomed to the Dungeon, she couldn’t suppress the envy rising inside her.
If I could become an adventurer like him, would things be different for me?
With Rhodes’s efficient pace, they soon reached the third floor—the original destination for today’s expedition.
He remained alert throughout.
His improved strength was no reason to ignore monsters that might appear at any moment.
They continued along the tunnels, guided by the glowing fruit lining the walls.
Visibility extended only about ten meters.
“According to Miss Eina…”
“We should start seeing Dungeon Lizards around here.
They’ll probably put up more of a fight than goblins or kobolds.”
Rhodes carefully surveyed their surroundings.
He steadied his breathing, keeping himself ready for combat.
Then the sound of claws scraping against stone reached him from farther down the passage.
He turned toward it.
A Dungeon Lizard came into view.
It was about the size of a Komodo dragon from his previous world, its body covered in closely packed, pale-gray scales.
“All right…”
“Back to work!”
[After witnessing a young supporter’s miserable circumstances, Rhodes has begun to realize that Orario is not as safe as he imagined.
He feels fortunate about his own situation.]
[Affection +5]
[Affection Progress: 23/30]
“!!”
She was just working at the weapon shop, and his Affection was shooting up on its own?
Hestia stared at the notifications appearing on the Hero Nurturing Project’s translucent screen.
She was genuinely surprised.
She hadn’t even done anything!
But after examining the message more carefully, she began to understand why Rhodes’s affection for her had suddenly increased.
Orario had many adventuring Familias.
And plenty of them were deeply dysfunctional.
Compared with the experiences of other adventurers, Rhodes felt lucky that she had found him?
“Hee-hee!”
That thought made Hestia rather proud.
True, her newly established Familia was still a tiny, makeshift operation.
She couldn’t offer Rhodes much in the way of resources.
But they were both making an effort for each other!
“Only seven more points until the next stage.
I wonder… what new feature the Hero Nurturing Project will unlock?”
The Daily Quests feature already offered a chance to increase Rhodes’s future potential.
To Hestia, that alone was an unprecedented miracle.
Sooner or later, she would be able to nurture him into a hero in the making.
New features might shorten that process even further!
But just as she was about to dismiss the Affection notification, Hestia frowned.
She had overlooked a detail.
A young supporter.
When Rhodes had told her about yesterday’s expedition, he had mentioned meeting a rather interesting supporter girl.
Hestia’s brows drew together.
It couldn’t be the same girl again, could it?
“Something’s off!”
“On a scale of one to ten… this is at least a nine!!”
….
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….
I also have many more novels in my collection that you might be interested in I upload ten novels a day, with 3 to 4 chapters per title depending on the length.
If you’re following a particular series, please wait your turn a little If there’s a particular novel you’re enjoying on Patron, please give it a ‘like’ so I know to focus on it