By this time, the surface world had likely entered the twilight hours of dusk, with night fast approaching.
The members of the Loki Familia quickened their pace in pitching tents, gradually bringing the campsite to completion.
Among them, a particularly large tent, partitioned off with drapes, already had a flagpole erected beside it. The flag, bearing the insignia of the faction—a jester's design—fluttered gently in the wind.
Leon, just like the members around him, was busy carrying equipment and setting up tents while greeting the people who constantly passed by.
"How are things on your end, Leon?"
"Doing alright? Need me to lend a hand?"
"Let me teach you a little trick. If you set up the tent like this, it'll be a lot easier."
"Dinner's going to be served soon, I might as well help you out."
Whenever the Familia members saw Leon, they would immediately strike up a conversation. Those who were free would even lend him a hand, allowing his work to be completed much more quickly.
Leon did not refuse either. He mingled with everyone, laughing and working alongside them, fully integrating into the group.
Just as he finished the task at hand, someone approached him with a beaming smile.
"You're quite popular, aren't you, Leon? Everyone is taking the initiative to talk to you."
The person speaking was, naturally, Tiona.
The Amazonian little angel approached with her hands clasped behind her back, hopping and skipping along. She leaned her face close to Leon's, teasing him at close range.
"It looks like you're slowly gaining everyone's approval. Not bad."
Tione followed closely beside her younger sister, watching Leon with her arms crossed and a half-smile on her face.
Behind the Amazon twins, Ais walked over as well.
The young girl was quiet as always, not speaking up immediately, but her eyes held a look of concern as she gazed at Leon.
Leon gave the girl a soft smile before turning his gaze to the twins in front of him.
"Well, we've fought side by side after all. How bad could a relationship like that get?"
Leon did not deny his popularity or the fact that he had gained their approval.
In fact, ever used to since he had single-handedly slain the Floor Boss Goliath in front of everyone and subsequently advanced to Lv. 3, many people in the Familia had shifted their attitude toward him.
Before, it wasn't as if his relationship with everyone was poor. Senior members of the Familia, such as Raul, had always looked out for him—otherwise, they wouldn't have prepared gifts for him during his first plunge into the Dungeon. However, back then, Leon was ultimately just a weak junior in their eyes. To put it nicely, he was someone who needed their protection; to put it bluntly, he did not yet possess the qualifications to stand on equal footing with them.
In particular, most of the male members had long harbored deep resentment over the fact that Leon, a junior of mysterious origins, was so close to their household's Doll Princess. While it didn't amount to severe hostility, their attitude was certainly far from welcoming.
But ever since Leon began to make a name for himself—especially when, at Lv. 2, he demonstrated strength sufficient to single-handedly defeat a Lv. 4 Floor Boss before everyone's eyes—many within the Familia completely revised their view of him.
They began to look at Leon seriously, viewing him as an equal. Quite a few even realized, after the fact, that they might not even be a match for Leon themselves. Consequently, they began to let go of the indignation in their hearts, entering a state of intense internal competition as if spurred on by his example.
Thanks to this, even if they didn't explicitly say it, Leon knew that many people had become much more accepting of his close relationship with Ais.
He had used facts to prove to everyone that he was no longer that defenseless apprentice member who could only handle logistics, but an adventurer capable of soloing a Floor Boss.
If someone like him wasn't qualified to stand by Ais's side, then who was?
Thus, the number of people who felt dissatisfied with his close bond with Ais had dropped significantly. Only envy and jealousy remained, occasionally causing them to display a sour expression.
Furthermore, during this expedition, Leon's performance had likewise won over many people.
Throughout this grueling six-to-seven-day expedition, Leon had been entirely dutiful in his position as a rear-guard mage. He not only displayed a magical firepower that left others far behind and a beautiful command over magic control, but he had also used this very skill to save countless lives.
Case in point, in the Moytura before reaching the 50th floor, the expedition force had been ambushed by a massive horde of monsters. The vanguard warriors were nearly overrun by the immense and powerful swarm, and a few stragglers had broken through the vanguard defenses into the rear-guard, launching attacks on the mages and supporters.
As a result, Leon completely erupted during this sudden assault. Dispelling incantations entirely, he instantly summoned countless brilliant shooting meteors that danced across the entire battlefield.
The innumerable shooting meteors flew in irregular trajectories—some plunged from the sky, crashing down to blast away large clusters of monsters, while others seemed to possess a life of their own, weaving past one companion after another to strike down the beasts preparing to attack. He killed an untold number of monsters on the spot, rescuing everyone who had come under fire.
This display of overwhelming magical power and sheer spectacle thoroughly won over everyone in the Loki Familia.
Combined with the fact that Leon's performance along the way had been consistently brilliant and commendable, leaving many to feel inferior by comparison, this present scene was created.
It could only be said that fighting side by side truly makes a difference; it easily fosters camaraderie.
This was exactly the case for Leon now. The approval he received within the Familia was growing by the day, enough for many to show him genuine goodwill.
Of course—
"Isn't there still a certain wolf who gives you the cold shoulder?"
Tiona stuck her tongue out toward Bete, who was setting up a tent with a thoroughly bored expression.
Fortunately, he didn't see it, otherwise the two of them would certainly have started bickering again.
Tione, however, held a different view.
"That stupid wolf indeed still wears a scowl, but haven't you noticed that he hasn't come over to pick a fight either?" Tione was quite steady and reliable when it didn't involve a certain Pallum captain, and she spoke with underlying meaning, "No one else gets that kind of treatment."
Leon immediately glanced in Bete's direction as well.
During the expedition, he had seen that werewolf berate members of the team on numerous occasions, delivering merciless tongue-lashings.
Those people had either made elementary mistakes during battle that almost caused a breach in the defensive line, or they had suddenly encountered danger and nearly lost their lives.
At such times, Bete would invariably step forward and unleash a torrent of harsh abuse, using the most unpleasant words imaginable.
Even Raul had been berated before. At the time, his face turned pale from the scolding, and he shrank into a ball with his head hung low, looking as though he wanted to sink right into the ground.
Under these circumstances, it was indeed strange that Leon—a so-called small-timer whom Bete had always looked down upon—had not been targeted even once during this expedition.
Leon, however, understood full well in his heart why Bete acted this way.
Though this thoroughly unlikable werewolf never hesitated to scold people, every single person he berated had, without exception, been helped by him.
When someone made a mistake that nearly compromised the defensive line, the one who immediately rushed forward to fill the gap was Bete. Those who faced sudden peril and almost lost their lives were also saved by Bete.
This werewolf might curse and be incredibly annoying, but the moment a problem arose or someone was in danger, he was always the first to charge in.
This, in truth, already spoke volumes.
Regrettably, the innocent Tiona could not see through any of this.
"He just hasn't found an opportunity yet. If he catches you slipping, Leon, who knows how badly he'll lecture you." Tiona wrapped her arms around Leon's arm without the slightest hesitation, saying with innocent cheer, "You'd better watch out for that guy, Leon. He's definitely cornering you on the sly."
Leon did not answer her. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Ais staring intently at his arm, which was currently being held by Tiona.
At this, Leon felt a strange wave of guilt. He let out a dry cough and subtly nudged himself free from Tiona's grasp.
"Where are Lefiya and Line? I don't see them around."
Hearing this, Tiona did not think much of it and replied with a grin.
"They're cooking dinner!"
Tiona pointed in a certain direction, and Leon followed her gaze.
Over there, a large pot was set over a roaring bonfire. Lefiya, Line, and several other girls were gathered around, adding ingredients to the pot and stirring it with utensils from time to time, clearly in the thick of preparing a meal.
At this moment, Ais finally seemed to gather her courage and stepped closer.
"——You aren't hurt, are you?"
The young girl did not care in the slightest whether Leon was popular, nor did she make a fuss over him gaining everyone's approval. She simply wanted to confirm Leon's well-being, needing to know if he was alright.
"Of course not." Leon shook his head and smiled, "With all of you protecting the front, I am very safe."
These words were not mere flattery, but the absolute truth.
With his Lv. 3 strength, Leon completely lost the qualification to engage in close-quarters combat once they reached the deep floors.
This place was crawling with monsters classified as Lv. 4, and even Lv. 5 monsters could be seen everywhere. If Leon were to charge in with a sword, he likely wouldn't even be able to pierce their defense, and he might very well be swatted to death with a single blow.
Down here, he was a mage who absolutely required the protection of his Familia members to be effective; only his exceptional magical firepower could be of use. Without the protection of his comrades, it would be impossible for him to keep fighting in a place like this.
Of course, this was not a bad thing for Leon.
Because every single monster here was stronger than him, defeating even one granted him a massive amount of excelia. In fact, he estimated that he had already accumulated a considerable amount of high-grade excelia required to achieve a great feat.
When facing opponents stronger than oneself, a group of lesser-strength individuals cooperating and working hand-in-hand to defeat the enemy could still yield the high-grade excelia necessary for a Level Up.
Even if the excelia gained at such times would be divided among every member of the party, it remained the finest method for the weak to defeat the strong, and it was vastly safer than adventuring entirely alone.
The vast majority of adventurers actually tempered themselves in this manner, slowly accumulating high-grade excelia to eventually level up. Those like Leon, who had previously defeated powerful enemies in single combat to level up, were a distinct minority.
At this moment, Leon couldn't help but wonder: once he returned from this expedition, would he be able to level up once more?
He looked forward to it.
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