Drake, no longer concerned with the Loki Familia’s expedition, left Rivira and began his return to the upper levels.
The return trip was uneventful. Perhaps the Dungeon recognized that creating incidents in the middle and upper levels would be futile against Drake, so it refrained from any surprise attacks.
It’s worth noting that on the 16th floor, Drake encountered a lone Minotaur, the sa monster that had nurous encounters with the rabbit in the original story.
In the original story, this encounter with the Minotaur inspired the Bell’s admiration for Ais and triggered the awakening of his first skill, "[Regulus Arne]".
Furthermore, Bell level-ups were all connected to Minotaurs.
His Level 2 achievent was soloing a strengthened Minotaur trained by Ottar, and his Level 4 achievent was surviving a battle with Asterius, the Black Minotaur, an aberrant species.
Bell even awakened a skill called "[Argonaut]", highlighting the deep, almost fated connection between Bell and the Minotaurs.
However, the Minotaur Drake encountered was unremarkable, lacking intelligence and weapon proficiency. It only dropped a single magic stone and no other loot.
Due to his familiarity with the environnt, the return journey was quicker. Drake erged from the Babel Tower while the sun was still relatively high in the sky.
Drake first went to the Guild and exchanged all his magic stones for Valis at the exchange office.
Hefting the heavy bag of coins, Drake realized he’d earned over 300,000 Valis in just half a day, the majority from the magic stones obtained from middle-level monsters.
If he hadn’t kept several material drops, he would have earned even more.
This was a significant amount; a typical Level 1 novice adventurer might earn only a few thousand Valis in a day. Drake had earned a sum that novice adventurers could only dream of.
However, for Drake, this was rely seed money, just enough to purchase a basic set of forging tools.
A lavish al at the Abundant Mistress would cost nearly 10,000 Valis; this ant the money wouldn’t even cover two weeks of extravagant als there.
Drake also planned to build his own forge, requiring significantly more funds.
But once he learned forging and could craft Level 1 equipnt, earning money would beco much easier.
Ais Wallenstein’s Despair’s Blade is worth 96,000,000 Valis, and the rabbit’s debt-ridden Black Knife is valued at 200,000,000 Valis—and that’s according to Hephaestus, considering only material and labor costs.
High-level blacksmiths earn with ease, but the initial investnt is what concerned Drake.
Drake returned to the Hephaestus Familia mansion and went directly to Hephaestus’s forge.
"My Lady, are you free?"
After knocking, Drake heard Hephaestus’s voice from within and entered.
Hephaestus closed the book in her hands. "Have a seat. I haven’t seen you all morning; you went to the Dungeon, yes?"
Drake sat opposite Hephaestus. "I need funds to learn forging, so I went to the Dungeon today. I apologize for not informing you beforehand and causing you any worry."
Hephaestus smiled. "Worried? Your abilities are incredibly reassuring.
However, you’re being too formal. If you have difficulties, you can rely more on the Familia; the Familia can provide assistance with sothing as simple as learning forging."
Drake shook his head. "It’s not formality; I’m capable of acquiring what I need myself, allowing the Familia’s resources to be used for other new recruits."
Large Familias offer excellent benefits; adventurers receive support with knowledge, experience, and resources in their early stages.
However, as Drake ntioned, he wasn’t going to rely on the Familia for problems he could solve himself; he wasn’t a parasite.
After a pause, Drake said, "But I do need your help."
Hephaestus said, "Helping our children grow is our responsibility. What is it?"
Drake nodded. "I want to learn forging and need a ntor. Is there a senior blacksmith in the Familia who has the ti to guide ?"
Hephaestus stroked her chin. "A skilled blacksmith to teach you...
There is one who would be perfect, but she and several other senior blacksmiths recently went on an expedition with the Loki Familia and are currently away.
As for the others, their skill level isn’t sufficient to teach soone of your caliber."
Drake knew who Hephaestus was referring to: the Hephaestus Familia’s leader, Orario’s undisputed top blacksmith.
Tsubaki Collbrande, a half-dwarf, is not only a top-tier blacksmith but also a Level 5 first-tier adventurer.
Her participation in the Loki Familia’s expedition isn’t surprising. During expeditions, especially in the deeper levels, maintaining optimal weapon and equipnt condition is crucial for safety.
Even equipnt with "indestructible" properties, like Ais’s Despair’s Blade, requires regular maintenance.
Therefore, including a blacksmith in the expeditionary force is standard practice.
Blacksmiths from the Hephaestus Familia are the best choice, especially those like Tsubaki Collbrande, who possess both exceptional skill and combat ability, making them highly sought-after partners for any expedition.
The Hephaestus and Loki Familias maintain a close relationship; the Hephaestus Familia provided significant support for the Loki Familia’s expedition, even sending their leader.
This, however, created a predicant for Drake; there was currently no senior blacksmith in the Familia capable of teaching him.
Hephaestus, seeing Drake’s troubled expression, laughed. "What are you worrying about? The most skilled blacksmith is right in front of you."
Drake looked at Hephaestus, realizing that the goddess herself, whose divine domain is forging, was the most skilled blacksmith.
Only the goddess of forging possesses the divine techniques to create equipnt that grows alongside its owner.
"But My Lady, wouldn’t that be too much trouble?"
Drake imdiately realized the redundancy of his question.
Gods ca to the human world and sealed their divine power because the "eternity" of the heavens had beco tireso.
Each god is billions of years old; ti holds little aning for them.
Gods pursue various interests; teaching a student might simply be Hephaestus’s way of passing the ti.
Hephaestus didn’t respond, simply smiling at Drake.
Drake said, "Then I humbly request your tutelage, My Lady. Please teach forging!"
Hephaestus stood, walking to a nearby bookshelf and selecting several books.
Drake politely approached and received the books from Hephaestus.
Hephaestus said, "To learn forging, you must first understand the basic materials. These books cover that; study them first.
After you’ve familiarized yourself with them, I will teach you about forging tools."
Drake looked at the stack of books, almost as tall as himself, and couldn’t help but chuckle wryly. It seed his long-awaited return to diligent study had begun.
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