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August and Hestia appeared inside the ruined church they were using as their temporary ho.
"Yaaaawn..."
Hestia stretched her arms up and flopped onto her bed. She had spent the whole night binge-watching ani. As soon as they got back to Orario and her divine powers faded, she was hit by a wave of exhaustion.
"Are you going to be okay?" August asked, raising an eyebrow at the Goddess who had stayed up all night just to finish a slice-of-life show.
"I'm fine... just need a little nap," Hestia mumbled, her eyes already half-closed. "Goodnight."
"You an good morning."
Hestia didn't answer. She was already curled up on her small mattress, fast asleep. August shook his head at his Goddess's dedication to binge-watching K-On!.
"I'm heading to the Dungeon," August said quietly to the sleeping Goddess.
Before leaving, he put a stack of Valis on the nightstand by her bed. Orario didn't have smartphones or food delivery, so when she woke up, she'd need money to buy a al.
"Stay safe..." Hestia mumbled softly in her sleep.
August gave a small smile, turned, and walked out through the heavy oak doors of the ruined church.
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August made his way through the rubble of the old district toward the busy center of Orario.
As he entered the main comrcial area, August noticed the atmosphere change. Adventurers in full gear gave him odd, lingering looks. The closer he got to the central plaza, the more obvious the stares beca.
He passed the well-known tavern, the Hostess of Fertility. So waitresses sweeping outside paused to stare at him. August glanced at the building and kept walking, ignoring them since it was dayti and the pub wasn't open yet.
By the ti he reached Babel Plaza, everyone was watching him.
"August!"
A familiar voice called out. Liliruca Arde jogged over, waving with energy. She wore a clean set of Supporter gear and, more importantly, wasn't using her transformation magic. She looked refreshed and alert.
"You're here early," August noted.
"It's not early!" Lili's eyes were practically sparkling.
She had already heard the wild rumors spreading through the city. The identity of the rookie who caused that huge, miraculous pillar of light a few days ago was out—and it was August.
She couldn't believe she had tead up with a living legend on his very first day.
"So, August, what floor are we heading to today?" Lili asked, her voice full of excitent. It was another chance to earn a mountain of Valis.
"We'll go past the eleventh floor," August said, thinking about his ammo and heavy weapons. He wasn't about to rush straight to the eighteenth floor. He preferred a slow, careful approach.
"We might be in the Dungeon until nightfall. Is that okay with you?" August asked, making sure she knew what to expect.
"No problem at all, August!" Lili replied right away. Staying until nightfall ant an even bigger haul. Who would turn down a chance at a fortune?
"By the way, Lili, what's going on?" August asked, nodding toward the crowd. "It feels like a lot of people are staring at today."
"Your secret has been completely leaked, August," Lili explained.
"Everyone in the city is talking about that huge pillar of light from the other day. They know it was the sign of your first Falna contract. Sothing that miraculous makes you stand out to the Adventurer community. Now they all want to see you for themselves."
Orario was a city built on the ruthless law of the jungle, where only the strong held power. Countless adventurers revered strength above all else. So when rumors spread of a "monster rookie" who had debuted amid a sky-piercing flash of light and slaughtered his way across multiple floors, people naturally ca to see the anomaly for themselves.
"Just to get a look at , huh?" August muttered. He had not expected his reputation to explode so quickly.
But wherever there were spectators, there were always opportunists ready to ride the wave.
Before they even reached the Dungeon entrance, a small party of rookie Adventurers approached him.
"Hello there! Excuse , but would you be interested in forming a party with us?" the leader of the group asked hopefully.
They were clearly greenhorns. They had heard the rumors about August's overwhelming strength, but in their minds, a Level 1 was still just a Level 1. Teaming up with a high-profile rookie would greatly increase their chances of surviving the Labyrinth.
August hadn't expected to be scouted, but his response was imdiate and uncompromising.
"I have no intention of forming a party."
He looked at the hopeful rookies. "I'm a pragmatist. When I fight, I rely on overwhelming, indiscriminate area attacks. If you co with , there's a very high chance you'll die in the crossfire. So I'll have to decline. Still, thank you for the offer."
August's brutal honesty hit them hard. The rookies realized he was not being arrogant. He was stating a terrifying fact. Rumor had it he had slaughtered everything on the seventh floor during his very first run. If his fighting style really was that indiscriminate, standing anywhere near him in a cramped dungeon corridor was basically suicide.
"I... I see."
"Right. Sorry to bother you."
The rookies sighed in disappointnt and quickly backed away, not wanting to risk getting accidentally vaporized.
Watching the exchange, Lili was thoroughly impressed. A normal rookie might have gotten carried away by the flattery and accepted the offer, only to be held back or betrayed by useless dead weight.
But August was different. His mindset was mature, clear, and ruthlessly practical. He understood that teaming up with weak links brought no real benefit and only made his own tactics harder to execute.
Naturally, this first group wasn't the last. Several other teams approached him as they crossed the plaza. August maintained a polite smile and thodically rejected every single one of them, refusing to get tangled in Orario's ssy party politics.
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