"Are you confident you can use it properly?" Ryuu asked.
"Of course."
"Good. Then now that you've got your weapons and gear, tomorrow will be your first trip into the Dungeon. Real combat is the best way to get familiar with a weapon."
"Understood. Just hearing that makes my excitement spike."
Xien looked down at the weapon that was truly his—and the thrill was impossible to describe.
Who would've thought a childhood dream would actually come true like this?
"If it's the spear form, you can ask Nize to help you get used to it," Ryuu said. "For the short blade, Lyla is better than me."
"And for the staff… your new teacher should handle that."
"Yeah. Thank you, Sister Ryuu. Your kindness—and Miss Tsubaki's—I won't waste it."
He gripped the polearm and felt a weight inside it that seemed to exceed what its physical mass should allow. His gaze sharpened, turning firm.
"Since the weapon's here," Ryuu said, "let's test it."
That was exactly what Xien wanted.
He drew the adamantine longsword and faced Ryuu, holding the blade one-handed. Sun Breathing began to circulate. The air around him turned hot. Mana, moving in an unusual pattern, flowed through his arm and poured into the sword, tinting the edge with faint crimson sparks.
Ryuu's expression grew more serious.
She'd already seen part of this technique's power yesterday. It was practical and dangerous—a true battlefield tool. Orario did have techniques that could coat attacks with attributes and boost the user, but effects like this were rare.
Skills were unique. Techniques were not.
Which meant this was the kind of thing that made people jealous.
But Ryuu didn't feel envy. She didn't pry into the source either. She was simply happy that his strength was rising.
Everyone had secrets—including her. All she needed to know was that he was a companion she could trust.
The Dance of the Sunwheel began.
Xien rushed in with his sword raised, fully aware now that Sun Breathing's essence was to link every form into one seamless chain—making breath, movement, mind, technique, and body align at a high level. Only then could you approach the summit where the first swordsman stood.
Each breathing style had its own set of forms—movements distilled to match its rhythm.
And Sun Breathing, at its core, could be summarized in a single word:
Circle.
Like the outline of the sun—drawing circle after circle, then connecting them into a continuous ring, a sword art that could be sustained without end.
That was the true shape of Sun Breathing:
Blazing. Unbroken. Relentless.
Xien treated Ryuu like a test subject, driving as many connected forms as he could into her defenses.
A technique born to fight endlessly multiplying monsters in another world was now, in this world of Dungeon monsters, finally revealing its real posture.
Ryuu had no choice but to enhance herself with magic to evade the sweeping flame ranges.
Just the heat spilling off the sword was already affecting her. Those crimson magical flames burned far hotter than ordinary fire magic.
And watching the boy—surrounded by red fire, eyes steady and resolved—Ryuu's heartbeat began to quicken on its own.
This scene…
It looked like a heroic silhouette stepping out of a fairy tale and into reality.
It was hard to believe that only a few days ago, he'd been an ordinary person who couldn't even use a sword.
He really had worked for it.
Then I can't lose either.
That thought stirred in Ryuu—and she became even more focused.
Without realizing it, Xien's presence was starting to influence the people around him.
On the training field, crimson flames and emerald wind flickered again and again.
It didn't feel like something a Level 1 should be able to display.
Other Familia members passing by stopped to watch. They found themselves staring, drawn in by his combat presence and the spectacle of the technique.
"Hey, wasn't Xien supposed to be backline support?" someone muttered. "What's with him going toe-to-toe with Ryuu? Sure, he needs close-combat training, but those flashy flame attacks—what is that? It's like the captain's… no, it's even hotter than the captain's fire…"
"Who knows?" another answered. "Newly awakened magic? That technique's gorgeous."
"And that weapon—how is its mana conduction that good…?"
Sun Breathing's forms were naturally theatrical. Every circle looked like a blazing sun. Paired with Xien's serious expression, it quietly ignited the blood of the watchers.
Right now, they really wanted to storm into the Dungeon and cut loose.
Even Alise, watching from a distance, was fascinated by his unusual technique.
What beautiful flames… she thought.
A true justice-red—like her own.
But for now, Xien was still too weak. The flames on the sword didn't last long. As his mana neared empty, the effect faded. Ryuu had warned him: pushing into full mana depletion would be a bad trade.
Xien looked at the blade—now plain again—and smiled in satisfaction. The handle didn't feel scorching hot either.
This weapon was highly compatible with his system of power.
"Ten minutes," Ryuu evaluated. "For your current mana pool, the consumption isn't that high. You can consider it a sustained capability. Those flames will benefit you in most Dungeon situations."
She continued, precise and practical:
"And try to rein in the spread and increase the damage density. If you run into reinforced variants, concentrating the output should raise lethality."
She exhaled, then offered the rest of her observations and adjustments. She knew he would remember every word.
Still… it was unsettling.
Ryuu was Level 3. Even with her power partially restrained, the fact that he could trade blows with her at all was absurd for a newcomer.
"Understood, Sister Ryuu," Xien said. "I'll do it."
"In the Dungeon," Ryuu continued, "the most important things, in my view, are stamina and speed. Stamina decides how long you can stay. Speed lets you avoid monster attacks."
"Your stamina training is basically enough for now. Next is speed."
She looked at him straight on.
"From this moment, I'm going to use my full speed. Your task is simple: dodge. Learn to avoid my attacks as much as possible. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then let's begin…"
And so Xien's "getting bullied" journey resumed.
In only a few minutes, the little hero turned into a swollen-faced mess.
Now that Ryuu understood how fast he was improving, she became a raging gale—attacking from every angle, every tricky line, drilling him until his body could react faster than conscious thought.
The goal was brutal but clear: to make him familiar with all plausible attack routes, so in a real fight his body would dodge before his mind even finished processing.
The spectators watching nearby winced.
They hadn't expected Ryuu to train the new kid like this. No mercy at all.
And somehow… Xien looked like he was enjoying it?
No wonder he was improving so fast. With training like that, it would be strange not to improve. Ryuu really was stubborn to the bone—and the newcomer could actually withstand it, which was impressive in its own way.
Without noticing, everyone's expectations for how well the new member would integrate into the team rose another notch.
Time always moved quickly when people were fully absorbed in something.
Another day of training passed.
That night, Xien finally received the news that made his blood surge:
Captain Alise decided that tomorrow, the entire Familia would go into the Dungeon together.
And that included him—the team's healer.
His first real Dungeon expedition.
If so… then it was time to use his abilities properly.
With the captain's permission, Xien planted a Seed of Life in every member's body—so that treatment could be delivered faster and more reliably later.
Over the last two days, with the orange cat's help, he'd also refined his healing skill. By lowering the proportion of life-force output and mixing in mana, he developed a simplified derivative healing method.
It reduced the harsh physical sensation, lowered the "intensity" of the treatment, and focused on rapid recovery of stamina and external injuries.
And with Seeds of Life, it could even function as group healing.
This was what he'd prepared specifically for the Dungeon.
His role right now was "healer." If he couldn't do his job and only chased physical strength, that wouldn't count as strengthening the team.
Dungeon exploration was never a solo fight.
Orario did have powerful adventurers who could operate alone—but expeditions that advanced Dungeon progress were built on teams.
A qualified adventurer had to learn coordination: knowing your position, fulfilling your responsibility.
Orario needed heroes, yes.
But not the kind who worshipped solo glory.
A hero was like a sword's sharpest tip—the point that pierced the enemy's weakness.
But the tip could not exist without the rest of the blade.
Heroes needed companions to clear the obstacles on the road to slaying the Black Dragon—otherwise they'd collapse from exhaustion long before reaching it.
Xien might have a high ceiling thanks to the system and talent—but right now he was still half-baked in almost everything.
And these people weren't numbers.
They were living, breathing partners.
He would not allow his own recklessness to drag the team down.
That was the self-awareness of a grown man.
With preparations complete, he fell into a deeply satisfying sleep.
The next day, Xien rose early, equipped his weapons, armor, and supplies, and practically leapt out the door.
The white primary outfit with red accents—like a Hokage cloak in style—was absurdly cool, boosting his "handsome" factor another level.
When he appeared in front of everyone, eyes lit up.
"Oho! Very stylish, newbie!" the hot-blooded Amazon Iska and the werewolf Nize flanked him, hooking arms around his neck from both sides—
—and pressed their half-revealed, overwhelming "assets" against his face.
Xien's heartbeat doubled instantly.
"Hey! You two, let go!" Ryuu snapped. "That's incredibly rude!"
Even she seemed surprised by her own reaction. Normally she let them tease people—but when it was Xien, she couldn't stand it and spoke up immediately.
"Oh? That's weird," someone teased. "Quiet Ryuu is protesting?"
"Yeah, yeah… could it be—?"
Xien immediately knew the two were doing it on purpose.
They wanted to see the gap—this proud, serious elf showing a flustered side.
It made him helpless…
…but also weirdly happy.
So this is what it means to have companions.
Not bad at all.
"All right, everyone," Alise announced. "Since we're all here, I declare the Astraea Familia's Dungeon expedition—begin!"
"OHH!"
At this time, the Astraea Familia was a symbol in Orario—a banner adored by the people at the bottom of the city.
Whenever people saw their team, smiles appeared naturally. Because what they did… deserved it.
As they traveled, Xien's hands filled with small gifts—snacks, flowers, little things that weren't expensive, but carried genuine warmth.
At the foot of Babel Tower, under the captain's lead, Xien learned there was a proper procedure to enter the Dungeon: registering basic information, so that if accidents or special events occurred, the Guild could confirm who was inside.
The details were meticulous.
In any case—
They finally entered the Dungeon for real.
Though it was called "the Dungeon," after seeing it with his own eyes, Xien felt it was more like a self-contained world with its own laws.
The walls looked inorganic, yet in Xien's perception they faintly carried something like life.
The natural, uncanny environments along the way only reinforced that feeling.
The deeper they went, the more he felt the Dungeon's strange charm. If not for the monsters lurking everywhere, it would have been an incredible sightseeing destination.
And Xien's first Dungeon trip…
Was uniquely bizarre.
In the first few floors, the "healer" walked in front as the pathfinder—
while the rest of the team followed behind like bodyguards.
It was a deliberate plan: the monsters on the upper floors were weak, perfect for letting the newbie get hands-on experience.
The goal was to keep Xien in front until he truly couldn't handle it—only then would it become real training.
....
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