Chapter 296

Chapter 296: Chapter 296

"The principle itself is simple, but finding these so-called magical nodes and figuring out how to destroy them is another matter entirely."

That quickly became the greatest problem facing the four of them.

Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all turned hopeful eyes toward Kiriya, making him roll his eyes.

"Don’t look at me. When it comes to magic formations, I’m a complete amateur. Asking me is like asking a blind man for directions."

The three Loki Familia executives were visibly disappointed, though after thinking about it, they had to admit it made sense.

Kiriya was not even seventeen yet, but he already possessed absurd combat strength and was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and Magic alike.

If he also understood complex magical formations on top of all that, it would simply be unreasonable.

No matter how gifted someone was, human time and energy were still limited. Nobody could master everything.

"That said..."

Kiriya rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I do know someone who should be able to handle it."

"Who?"

All three immediately became curious.

The legendary Sixfold Spirit Ring had to be unimaginably intricate.

Was there really someone in modern Orario who understood something of that level?

"Haha, they don’t like drawing attention to themselves, so I’ll keep the name secret for now."

Kiriya smiled.

"I’ll tell you after I’ve asked for permission."

He then had someone bring over paper and writing supplies.

The four discussed everything they currently knew and recorded the information in detail, eventually producing a long letter.

Afterward, Kiriya created a Wood Clone and had it deliver the letter to Fels through Hermes.

At the same time, the clone was tasked with notifying the Freya Familia to prepare for another expedition one month from now.

With Flying Thunder God marks already placed along the route, reaching the surface only took the clone a few minutes.

By the time everything was arranged, evening had arrived.

The adventurers on Floor 50 had already finished bathing in separate groups. Bonfires were lit throughout the camp, and the expedition shifted into something resembling a banquet.

Although the sudden appearance of the strange worms had brought the Loki Familia’s expedition to a rather abrupt end, simply reaching Floor 50 had already provided tremendous experience.

Everyone had gained something from the journey, so there was plenty worth celebrating.

Finn even ordered some of the wine and food they had been carefully saving to be brought out, letting everyone properly feast for once.

Naturally, Kiriya became the center of attention.

In less than half a year, he had already reached Level 5.

He could casually kill a Level 7 Corrupted Spirit by himself.

Anyone could see that his future was practically limitless, so of course the Loki Familia adventurers were curious about him.

More importantly, even though they had not spent much time together, Kiriya’s abilities had already helped them enormously.

Whether it was wiping out huge numbers of those corrosive worms and dramatically reducing their losses, or assisting Riveria and Ais during the battle on Floor 59, the Loki Familia owed him a considerable favor.

So the toasts came one after another.

Judging by the enthusiasm around him, they seemed determined not to stop until Kiriya was drunk under the table.

Kiriya accepted every challenge.

Cup after cup disappeared into his stomach, yet he remained perfectly fine, giving everyone a firsthand demonstration of what a truly ridiculous alcohol tolerance looked like.

Even Gareth, an experienced old drinker, eventually had no choice but to admit defeat.

If they had not been limited by expedition supplies, Kiriya would gladly have shown them just how terrifying the constitution of a Sage Body could be.

Both sides were left somewhat unsatisfied, so they agreed to settle things properly once they returned to the surface.

Next time, the Loki Familia intended to combine the strength of the entire group and finally bring Kiriya down at the drinking table.

Kiriya gladly accepted the challenge.

The rest of the night passed peacefully.

...

Early the next morning.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

On an open patch of ground beside the camp, one golden figure and one dark-haired figure repeatedly collided and separated.

The rapid clash of weapons filled the air like heavy rain drumming against broad leaves.

After a while, the two finally stopped and took positions opposite each other.

The girl was beautiful enough to rival a goddess, but she was drenched in sweat.

Strands of golden hair clung to her face, leaving her looking somewhat disheveled.

The young man opposite her was tall and handsome, with only a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead.

His relaxed posture made the battle they had just fought look more like a casual morning stroll.

Naturally, the two were Ais and Kiriya.

Ais had always maintained a habit of practicing her swordsmanship every morning.

When she came out and happened to notice Kiriya warming up as well, she immediately dragged him into a spar.

Calling it a spar was perhaps underselling what Ais had done.

She had fought almost at full strength.

Apart from Avenger and Lil Rafaga, the ultimate tools she reserved for killing monsters, she had used practically everything available to her.

And every single attempt had been shut down by Kiriya.

The boy was no longer anything like the adventurer he had once been.

At every Level, Kiriya had raised his abilities into the SSS range before leveling up, giving him an extraordinarily deep and solid foundation.

Now that he had reached Level 5, even Ais could no longer match him in raw base attributes.

On top of that, his repeated battles against powerful opponents had continually refined his martial skill.

At this point, Kiriya did not even need the Sharingan’s perception to suppress Ais in close combat.

"You... got stronger again."

Ais steadied her breathing as she spoke.

"Yeah. I learned quite a bit from the battles I’ve had lately."

Kiriya nodded.

"You’ve gotten stronger too."

"Mm."

Ais nodded first, then shook her head.

"But it’s still not enough."

"You really are too impatient."

Kiriya smiled helplessly and rubbed her damp hair.

"Because... I don’t want you to leave me too far behind."

Ais clearly enjoyed having her head patted, but when answering him, her expression remained completely serious.

"..."

Kiriya looked into those golden eyes, something stirring faintly in his chest.

After a moment, he spoke.

"Do you know Afterglow?"

"Afterglow?"

Ais blinked, then nodded.

"I’ve heard of it. Riveria and the others said it was an ultimate sword technique mastered by some of the strongest adventurers from the Zeus and Hera Familias. They said it was incredibly powerful."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Are you... going to teach it to me?"

"That’s right."

Kiriya raised two fingers together like a sword and gently touched the center of her forehead.

Training methods, insights, and key principles related to Afterglow flowed into Ais’s mind along with his chakra.

"..."

Within her mind, Ais saw a sword light so immense it seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth.

Shock filled her heart.

’If... if I can master a sword technique like this, I’ll definitely become much stronger.’

Filled with anticipation, Ais immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began carefully digesting the memories she had received.

Kiriya shook his head with a smile.

He had just been about to find Jeanne and Ryuu for some more morning exercise when another figure suddenly appeared beside him.

His Wood Clone had returned with a letter from Fels.

Kiriya immediately opened it.

Then he froze.

After receiving Kiriya’s letter, Fels had begun analyzing the magical circuitry of the Sixfold Spirit Ring.

As a Sage who had lived for hundreds of years, Fels possessed a depth of magical knowledge and expertise far beyond anything ordinary people could imagine.

Combined with the information Kiriya had provided about the Corrupted Spirit clones, it had not taken long for Fels to identify the locations of the magical nodes.

However, Fels did not agree with Kiriya’s initial idea of immediately destroying all of them.

Now that the nodes had been identified, their side held the informational advantage.

They knew where the enemy’s infrastructure was, while the enemy remained unaware that it had been discovered.

If they destroyed those nodes immediately, the enemy would almost certainly realize something was wrong and relocate.

At that point, the situation would reverse.

The enemy would be hidden.

They would be exposed.

Having several Level 7-class Corrupted Spirit clones secretly plotting something against you was enough to give anyone a headache just imagining it.

Therefore, instead of alerting the enemy and forcing them to move, Fels recommended keeping the magical nodes under close surveillance.

Then, when Kiriya’s side officially began its operation, they could destroy every node at once.

That would both delay the activation of the Sixfold Spirit Ring and weaken the enemy in a single coordinated strike.

Far more efficient.

Fels had also sent a clone to Floor 60 to investigate and discovered that the enemy had not yet begun chanting the ritual.

According to reliable historical records, activating the Sixfold Spirit Ring required several weeks even when performed by complete, rational Spirits at the height of their power.

The Corrupted Spirit clones in the Dungeon would almost certainly require even longer.

So there was no need for Kiriya to worry about running out of time.

’As expected of someone who’s lived for centuries. The old sage really knows his stuff.’

Kiriya nodded to himself.

His original idea had been a little too straightforward.

Fels’s plan was clearly the safer and more effective option.

’Then I’ll make the most of this month and help Jeanne and Ryuu raise their strength as much as possible.’

With that settled, Kiriya already knew what he wanted to do next.