The day after the suspiciously eventful Monster Festival ended, many were stunned to see the Sword Princess of the Loki Familia appear at the Hephaestus Familia mansion.
The reason? Yesterday, Ais had found Bell—who had collapsed from exhaustion while carrying the unconscious Hestia—at the Hostess of Fertility. Bell had tried to flee but was caught by Ais, who simply wanted to know one thing: how did he beco so strong so quickly?
To her surprise, the answer was Charles's training.
So, this morning, she ca straight to the Hephaestus Familia headquarters, hoping to join that training.
But to her dismay, after waiting for quite so ti, Charles never appeared. Even Hephaestus herself eventually ca out.
"Looking for Charles, are you, Sword Princess of Loki's Familia? Bad timing. He headed into the Dungeon early this morning," Hephaestus explained.
Ais's face showed clear disappointnt, but soon a realization struck her.
Why did Charles go into the Dungeon? Was it to make money?
Unlikely. After all, Loki's Familia had given him 40% of their expedition spoils as compensation. He shouldn't be lacking funds or forging materials.
That left only two possibilities: to train or to pursue heroic feats.
Either way, it ant that soone already incredibly strong was going to get even stronger.
Ais felt a wave of urgency press down on her heart.
And Ais's guesses were exactly right—Charles had gone into the Dungeon for both training and feats.
He'd co to understand sothing: right after leveling up, attributes rose more easily, but that effect diminished after a point.
So this ti, Charles planned to dive deep into the lower levels, max out his growth while the gains were still high, and then claim the feat necessary for his next level.
And unlike before, he wasn't going to use weakening potions. This ti, he wanted to claim a true feat through a real, all-out battle.
His target: the split body of the Fallen Fairy on the 59th floor.
After carefully preparing potions, Charles entered the Dungeon early in the morning.
Even the lower floors were now nothing to him. He moved swiftly, heading directly for the deep layers.
Since his purpose this ti was purely combat and heroics, he only brought back rare materials—everything else was discarded.
He'd faced off against Thunder Fang Serpents and Wyverns to hone his agility and dexterity. He had grappled with the mighty Kadmos Dragon to build up his strength and endurance.
Once he reached the 58th floor, he even clashed with a Cannon Dragon to refine his magical power.
A solo expedition is nothing like traveling with a party. The danger and logistics are on a whole different level.
Even Charles had to remain alert constantly in the perilous depths. Supplies weren't too much of a problem—safe zones had water and food—but being surrounded by danger nonstop was draining. Fortunately, his destination was finally in sight.
As he entered the 59th floor, Charles recalled the Zeus Familia's records, which described the area as glacial and bitterly cold.
But no such chill greeted him.
Instead, the air was warm and damp.
Charles imdiately understood: the information was correct, but the presence of an intruder had completely altered the environnt.
Before him sprawled fields of carnivorous plants, including a multitude of Giant Blossoms.
He watched as the roots of the Giant Blossoms continuously birthed massive eggs from which worm monsters erged.
It was common knowledge among adventurers that only the Dungeon itself could spawn monsters. Anyone who saw this would be absolutely shocked.
Charles's gaze turned to the center of this twisted ecosystem, where a plant-like creature even larger than the Giant Blossoms lood.
It appeared to be a mass of tangled vines, with a humanoid figure ford at the top. The carnivorous plants around it were rely its tendrils.
This was Charles's target—the mature female form grown from the Gem Embryo: the split body of a Fallen Fairy.
Sensing his presence, the surrounding monsters turned toward Charles.
But he ignored them, locking eyes with the true enemy.
The massive humanoid head atop the creature writhed grotesquely, like tumors squirming beneath the skin. The top of the head opened, revealing a figure within.
It was the beautiful face of a girl, her skin and hair a striking shade of green.
Aside from her unnatural coloring, her expression and deanor were that of a charming young girl.
But Far was already screaming in fury through Charles's grimoire. Even Charles could feel the deep, seething malice lurking behind her pretty facade.
No matter how beautiful she looked, she was still a monster.
The Fallen Fairy twitched her nose and spoke in an intoxicated voice: "I sll it… a nostalgic scent. A Fairy I don't know—have you co to rge with ?"
Her voice was sweet, almost lovestruck. It made Charles shudder with disgust.
"Then let … devour you!"
Her lovely face twisted into sothing hideous.
Charles exhaled, visible breath escaping his lips. He hadn't co here to talk. He was here to fight, to claim a true heroic feat—and now, there was no other option but battle.
Just as he wanted.
Charles activated his Unique Armant. Holding his [War Saint] in both hands, he charged.
The horde of monsters moved as one. The carnivorous flowers ford a massive living wall, blocking his advance.
The worms spat streams of corrosive poison at him.
Flas burst from Charles's blade, forming a whirlwind of fire that incinerated all the incoming venom.
He charged the wall of plants. With a twist of his hips and a powerful swing, his blade carved through the thick barrier.
Petals exploded into sparks of light, revealing the central monster and her chant.
"Fire, heed my command! Burn, burn, burn! Vortex of fla, crimson armant, inferno's roar…!"
If Elves were favored by magic, then Fairies were its masters. Even a corrupted one could cast spells humans could scarcely imagine.
A long incantation—practically a forbidden spell by otherworld standards.
The intense magical pressure made Charles click his tongue.
Where did she even learn this long chant nonsense? Still, her mistake was clear: choosing to attack Charles with fire magic.
Just as countless monsters pinned Charles down, the Fallen Fairy's spell reached its climax.
She cradled a tiny fla in her hands, blew it toward him—then unleashed a sea of fire, engulfing Charles completely.
A smile curled on her lovely face… then quickly faded.
From the inferno ca a strange sound: gulp.
"…Much appreciated," a voice rang out.
Charles erged from the flas, dragging his blade, his eyes burning bright.
The real fight had only just begun.
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