On the Dungeon’s Sixth Floor, Ryuu stared blankly at the dead end where the explosion had just occurred.
The entire area was devastated.
The ground and walls were shattered and scorched black, while Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had caused the explosion, was nowhere to be seen.
There was no body.
Not even a trace of ash remained.
The Killer Ants surrounding the passage had also been reduced to charred fragments.
Their magic stones had fallen from their remains and now lay scattered across the ground, waiting to be collected.
Ryuu had no desire to pick them up.
Her mind had gone completely blank.
“This…
This can’t be real…” A new member of the Astraea Familia had finally returned to Orario.
He was her precious junior, yet before she could even speak to him, he had blown himself up right before her eyes.
What was this supposed to mean?
What kind of situation was this?!
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Ryuu’s expression completely fell apart as she screamed at the scorched remains of the dead end.
He was a new member of the Astraea Familia!
He was even the Familia’s first male member.
If Astraea had accepted a man into her Familia, then the goddess must have valued him greatly.
Such an important junior had finally come to Orario, prepared to make the Astraea Familia’s emblem shine over the city once again.
He carried Goddess Astraea’s hopes for their return upon his shoulders!
As the Familia’s only remaining senior, Ryuu’s duty was to protect him and ensure he could explore the Dungeon safely.
That was how she would repay her goddess’s expectations.
Yet this precious newcomer, entrusted with Astraea’s hopes, had been driven into blowing himself up by monsters right before Ryuu’s eyes!
“You’ve got to be kidding me, you idiot!” “It was a necessary sacrifice.
Surely you can understand that.” The sudden voice behind her instantly ignited Ryuu’s rage.
She spun around furiously.
“He wasn’t someone who could simply be sacri—” Her furious roar stopped halfway.
Ryuu’s expression twisted as she froze in place.
Standing in the middle of the passage behind her was a young man identical to the Familia newcomer she had just watched explode.
“Huh?” Ryuu stared blankly at Ritsuka, then turned toward the scorched dead end.
After staring at it for several seconds, she slowly looked back at Ritsuka.
“Just now…
That person…
You…” Ritsuka walked past her and collected the magic stones scattered across the ground.
He then turned back and looked at her curiously.
“Is something wrong?” Ryuu still had not recovered from the shock of watching him explode.
She struggled to form a proper response.
“Um…
Well…
I just saw you…” “Oh, you mean the explosion?” “Yes!
Exactly!” “I was testing how efficiently I could farm monsters.” “Huh?” Ryuu could not understand what he meant.
Seeing her confusion, Ritsuka smiled faintly.
“You must be a beginner entering the Dungeon for the first time, just like me.” “Well, I…” Ryuu originally intended to explain that she was actually a member of the Astraea Familia.
However, an inexplicable sense of guilt stopped her.
She feared her junior might despise her if she revealed her identity.
After all, she did not know how Astraea or the reborn Familia currently felt about her.
In the end, she simply went along with his assumption.
“Y-Yes.
This is also my first time…
entering the Dungeon.” The moment she finished speaking, Ryuu felt her face beginning to burn.
‘How embarrassing.
I’m his senior, yet I’m lying to my own junior.’ “Oh, that explains why you didn’t understand.” Ritsuka nodded with an expression that said he knew everything.
“This may be my first time in the Dungeon too, but I understand the basic principles of adventuring.
We come down here to farm these monsters, right?” “If we’re farming monsters, then greater efficiency is obviously better.” “Yes.” As a highly experienced adventurer, Ryuu nodded in agreement.
“Instead of wasting time attacking every monster separately, wouldn’t it be better to lure all the mobile monsters together?” “Once they’re gathered in one place, you can eliminate them all at once.
That saves magical energy, stamina, and time.” “That logic is correct.” Ryuu agreed with his reasoning.
“But what exactly happened just now?” Immediately after asking, Ryuu hurriedly corrected herself.
“I’m sorry.
I’m not trying to pry into your secrets.
I was simply…
startled by what happened.
Yes, it frightened me.” “Oh, that’s nothing.
We’re both beginners, so I don’t mind telling you.
That was one of my abilities.” Ritsuka clenched his left hand against his chest and began chanting.
“We are many, yet we are one.
We are one, yet we are many—the ever-changing legion of shadows that bears a hundred faces!” When the chant ended, another Fujimaru Ritsuka appeared beside him.
This clone wore glasses and had a cold, serious expression.
The moment he appeared, he spoke.
“Are we continuing the experiment?” “No.
I’ve already gathered enough data on its power.
I only summoned you to demonstrate my ability to this fellow beginner.” Ritsuka answered with a smile.
The serious clone glanced at Ryuu, then raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
“I see.
How delightful.” “What you saw earlier was another existence like him.
They’re clones I create using magical energy.” “I-I see…” Ryuu stared blankly at the clone, amazed that such an ability existed.
However, when she saw the clone’s smile, she could not shake the feeling that he was plotting something unpleasant.
“That’s an incredible ability.
I’ve never heard of anything like it.” “You’re a beginner, so it’s normal that you haven’t.
There are plenty of abilities far more impressive than this.” “Once you’ve spent more time in Orario, you’ll learn about them.” ‘No, no, no!
I’ve lived in Orario for years, and I’ve never heard of an ability like this!’ Ryuu screamed internally.
At the same time, she felt incredibly proud.
Her Familia’s new recruit possessed astonishing talent, despite having only just become an adventurer.
While they were talking, the nearby wall suddenly began to writhe.
A newly spawned Killer Ant emerged from the wall and appeared before Ritsuka and Ryuu.
“A monster already spawned again, and it appeared right in front of us.” Ritsuka looked pleasantly surprised before turning toward his clone.
“You’re already here, so there’s no reason to dismiss you.
Go get it!” He slapped the clone on the back.
Magical energy immediately surged around the clone, and his gaze sharpened.
Before Ryuu’s eyes, he charged directly at the newly born Killer Ant.
Once he reached it, he wrapped both arms around the monster.
Then he exploded on the spot!
The Killer Ant did not even have time to react before it was blasted into pieces, leaving behind only its magic stone as it departed the stage in defeat.
Ritsuka walked over and picked up the magic stone.
“See?
That’s how it works.” After witnessing the entire process, Ryuu’s mouth fell open.
She finally understood why the newcomer she had seen earlier had suddenly blown himself up.
However, now that she understood, she was even more horrified.
“What kind of terrifying skill is this?!” …