First Class?

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/Back to the present/

'The situation was rather awkward, no one knew what to say…'

'Gareth had already run out of topics to talk about, and now the only words left on his lips were a question…'

'The same everyone else had… Apart from a few who still failed to recognize who the man in front of them actually was.'

'To those people, Silver was likely just a strong adventurer, but which one of the First Class adventurers had such connections with the Loki Familia to the point it made them surprised to see him here?'

'But who were they to blame? Silver was completely covered in black ash, injured, his clothes were... Well, he was barely wearing some.'

'None of his usual disposition could be seen right now.'

'He looked way worse than even a beggar, and albeit he didn't smell, that was merely because the stench of blood on him was so strong, other smells were overshadowed.'

'Even so, no one was actively trying to smell him, even if they were, the smell coming from Raul's armpits would've sent them to the ground already.'

'Especially Gareth's, Dwarves aren't really a flowery race…'

'One of the reasons why Bete always stayed as far away as he could from most people during raids...'

'And good luck living your life if you point your nose towards the Elves and call them smelly, peace, and quiet will be the last things you'll ever have…'

'Seeing that things had slowed down, Silver asked:'

"Are you guys coming from the Deeper floors? I thought the Loki Familia had already passed through here."

"We… Yes." Finn replied after a bit of hesitation

Forget it, right now, why he is here doesn't matter, what we need to do is keep moving.

"You must've seen the main group or at least heard of it… They went ahead while we stayed behind to take on Udaeus, the Monster Rex of the 37th floor."

'Silver nodded, this much he had predicted the moment he saw them.'

"I see, that's pretty incredible, you all do look rather tired though…"

"Then, may I ask why are you all here? The Red Plains aren't really part of the usual route adventurers would take, most prefer to stay away from here…"

"For obvious reasons of course."

'Finn's lips twitched, it was getting harder to maintain his composure…'

'He may be the Braver, but he is still a person, he simply didn't know how to react.'

"You see… We thought that something had happened… So we came here to check on it."

'To his words, Silver looked around, and he awkwardly scratched his head.'

"I did go a bit overboard… My apologies for dragging you all into this."

"That isn't a problem… But…"

'Finn's tongue moved inside of his mouth as he tried to find the adequate string of words to use, but he failed.'

'Silver obviously noticed this, and he chuckled slightly.'

"It seems I do have some things to explain… Not that I mind, I was planning on leaving anyway."

This may be a chance, I wanted to see the Monster Rex anyway.

Also, why not tag along and see how a proper Familia does things?

I can definitely learn a lot from seeing how the best operate.

"Would you all mind if I tag along? I can promise not to hold you all back at least, of course, if it's too much, I can go back alone just fine, I came down here like that in the first place."

"We…"

"HEY!"

'Tiona suddenly exclaimed as she jumped forward, staying a few feet before Silver.'

"Did you come all the way here alone!?"

'Silver raised one of his eyebrows.'

"I did, is that somehow, weird?"

'Tiona was stunned.'

'Was it strange? Well… Not really, if she wanted to, she could also do the same, albeit it wouldn't be product nor smart for her to do so.'

'Unless she ran non-stop, coming down here would take a few days of walking, and even if she defeated some monsters, just how many Magic stones would she get?'

'It was, overall, not worth it.'

"Uh… I guess not?... No… That isn't it…"

'But someone was there to shine some light into her confusion:'

"OF COURSE IT IS!" Lefiya exclaimed as she clutched onto her staff

'She pointed at him, her hair becoming disheveled…'

"You're only a Level 2 adventurer, what are you doing all the way on the 36th floor?!"

It… It has barely even been half a year since he started!

At this period in time, Ais was still Level 1, and it would still take another half year for her to Level up…

"Ahhh… So that is what's been on your mind."

'He looked at her and replied with a serious look:'

"Hunting the Tyrant of the Plains."

""...""

/Silence…/

/Thud/

'Lefiya fell onto the ground, unconscious, her face red…'

"Lefy?!"

'She had to be held by one of the other girls else she would fall face first onto the ground…'

"Is she okay?" Silver asked as he pointed at her

"Y-Yes, don't mind her, it happens from time to time…" Anakitty replied as she looked at Silver

'But her curiosity took over her.'

"Aside from that… You… Are you really Level 2?"

I finally recognize him… He's the one Tiona often talks about back in the Manor.

The rookie that beat Ais' level-up record by a whole 10 months.

Last time I saw him was from far away, this would make it our first time talking like this, that is how I didn't recognize him at first.

His current look is rather rough, but his eyes are unmistakably bright.

"Hm… I guess." Silver replied with a shrug

I should be changing that to 3 soon…

While the world will see me as a Level 3, I'll raise my Level to 4.

"..."

How can you reply with, 'I guess?!'.

/Tap!/

'Gareth slapped Silver's back, but he didn't move in the slightest.'

"Boy, how about we get you some new clothes? I think your current look is too much for the ladies."

/Nods…/

'The girls nodded.'

"Hah? Ah! Sorry sorry…" Silver said as he faked surprise

'He knew very well his current state, honestly he was about to create an excuse so he could put on some.'

'Albeit he wasn't embarrassed, this didn't mean he was enjoying it either, he didn't like to show off like this, he wasn't that sort of person.'

'If he were to show off, be it in other ways…'

'Even so, it seemed his acting had paid off somewhat, had he appeared fully clothed as if nothing happened, giving the current situation, everyone would've noticed that something was wrong.'

'The contrary would've happened had he decided to appear naked as he was before, some of his teeth might've fallen by now…'

'So a little bit of embarrassment wasn't much, especially when he didn't really care much, he was very proud of this body he trained so much to attain.'

"Give me a moment, I'll take care of that."

'Silver raised his hand, and water started to rise from the ground, completely covering him in a bubble…'

"??"

Water?... Ah yes… He doesn't need to chant.

'He put his finger on the water, it wasn't an illusion, it was indeed plain cold water.'

'Gareth was certainly curious about what would happen…'

/Pop!/

'The water sphere popped open, revealing a fresh-looking Silver with a new pair of pants…'

'But that wasn't all, his body was clean, and albeit some scars were still visible, that was normal in all adventurers.'

'The important was that there were no more dust or blood, he now nearly sparked, even smelling nice, which was odd.'

'His hair was neatly in place, and his feet were now covered by a pair of leather shoes, and the same could be said for his hands that were now covered by a pair of black gloves.'

'For his chest, he a had a simple and cheap white shirt.'

'There wasn't anything impressive about his clothes, they were obviously very cheap, and that was for a reason, Silver always destroyed them, so there was no need for his clothes to be expensive.'

'This was the contrary for the Loki Familia's clothes though… Their clothes were made with extremely resistant materials to the point they could be considered armor.'

'It wouldn't save their lives against a monster that could tear through the metal sheets of their armor, but the little protection it offered could indeed save them, and it did before.'

'And that was priceless.'

'The surprising thing, however, is the fact he managed to clean himself so quickly.'

'Dusting his pants in a carefree way, Silver snapped his fingers…'

/FWOOSH!/

/CLANG!/

'His Halberd flew from the ground, falling next to him in a cool way.'

'He looked at it, feeling a bit remorseful after seeing its current battered state, so he washed it clean with water as well.'

'Raising it to the sky so it could shine, he rested it on his shoulders.'

"I'm done now." He said as he pulled his hair back in style

"..."

/Annoyed…/

'Raul didn't know why, but he became annoyed as he saw the looks of surprise and admiration coming from the other girls.'

"That's probably the smoothest thing I've ever seen." Cruz said as he checked his own dirty spear

If only you could fly like that, I would be drowning in ladies right now…

"..."

'Narvi, the red-haired girl looked at Silver, stunned.'

Oh no… He's… Hotter than I expected…

'Each of them had their own reactions upon learning who he was…'

"He does know how to show off…" Riveria said as she rested her staff on the ground

'Finn was also smiling slightly.'

"Did you feel anything?"

"Apart from the rising Magical Power, nothing, it was sudden."

"It makes me wonder just like the first time I saw it."

"I see..."

"However, I did notice something…"

"Oh?"

"His Magical Power… Has increased exponentially, he's lying about his Level."

'Finn felt his thumb ache.'

"So it wasn't just me…"

"Whatever he did wasn't enough to draw it all out, but estimations would put him in the high ends of Level 3, perhaps even higher, albeit it does pain me to even consider that."

"He never showed himself to me as the Mage type, even after what he told me I believed he was akin to a Battlemage, fighting in the frontlines due to his unique gift…"

"But this display has made me change my mind, the density of his Magic power is higher than Lefiya's and that in itself is…"

"Absurd." Finn replied as he continued Riveria's sentence

Lying about being Level 2, means he became Level 3 sometime after…

In fact, he was already very strong even before that, much stronger than what a Level 2 should be.

He became an adventurer not that long ago, and his Level up to 2 should be true and not a lie due to the Guild's testimony…

But even so… How long did he spend as one? 3 months? 4?...

How unsettling… Just what does he know that allows him to grow so quickly?

And will it become of him a few years down the line?

'Finn was really lost.'

'Seeing this, Riveria immediately knew what he was thinking, but she had to change the subject of the conversation…'

"How about what he said about before? Did you think about it?"

"I did."

"How about we let him tag along?"

"Oh? I thought you would be against it."

'Riveria coughed slightly.'

"Normally that is the case, being this deep in the Dungeon, being too optimistic of things often led to bad decisions…"

"However at the same time, I wouldn't mind helping a fellow adventurer go to a safe point, especially if he were someone I knew… And was injured."

'She turned her face to look at the others.''

"Besides… It doesn't look like they'll be able to him slid just like that."

"And I have a feeling this won't be our last time seeing him today either for some reason."

/Chuckles…/

'Finn chuckled in a low tone.'

"You have the same feeling as me."

'Having decided on how to proceed, they approached him to see what he had to say.'

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Notes