Danmaku, my skills refresh weekly.

Charles summoned Poch, took out his cooking utensils, and selected a few of the freshest werewolves to cook with.

Prepare the ingredients and set up a campfire.

Ciel always seemed to be stealing glances at Alfia, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"Hey, did you say anything to me before I lost consciousness?"

"what?"

"For example..., joy..."

Alfia's eyes were covered by an eye patch, so her expression was not visible.

She gently patted Boqi's honest-looking head and said calmly, "You misheard."

"Oh." Charles was a little disappointed, but he also curiously stole glances at Alfia, as if trying to find something wrong with the woman.

thump—

A pebble hit Charles on the head.

"Cook properly. Stop sneaking around."

"Oh~~" Ciel muttered.

Damn it, how does this woman know I'm looking at her if she's not looking at me?

Oh, Observation Haki, a human radar, then it's alright.

After the meal was prepared, the two sat around the campfire and ate quietly.

Ciel noticed a slight redness under Alfia's eyepatch, wondering if it was from being roasted by the fire.

"Um, we..."

"What about us!" Alfia reacted rather strongly.

"I mean, what do we do next? Go back to the surface?"

“Of course, the supplies are all gone.” Alfia seemed to be listening intently to something, her body covered by [Silent Eden] emitting imperceptible fluctuations.

"Moreover, I have a feeling that quite a few people are heading this way, and we expect to run into them in about an hour."

"who is it?"

How dare they disturb our life together?!

"It seems to be Freya's group; they're probably on an expedition." Alfia took out a handkerchief and wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth. "Their target should include the floor master as well. We'd better leave quickly."

Although Ciel sensed that Alfia was avoiding something, he didn't expose her.

"Then let's pack up and get going. Pochi, take our spoils with you."

"Ouch~~"

Pochi reached out and slapped the black sword of Udeos that Alfia had retrieved, then put it into his bag, carrying the two of them, and quickly left the scene of the crime.

A moment later, Ota and his companions, carrying double blades, stepped into the lord's room.

Hedin pushed up his glasses in surprise, examining the campfire and the chaotic battlefield before him: "Finn and the others have been here?"

“No, that wasn’t Finn’s doing.” Ota crouched down to examine the monster corpses that hadn’t been dead for long.

Allen kicked aside a slumped barbarian; the corpse oozed blood from its mouth and nose, its eyes wide open. He frowned. "These injuries... they look so much like that slow-moving mage's? Did she wander into the maze alone?"

"Half a wheel? She couldn't possibly have killed Udeus alone, could she?" Alfrick wondered.

Hegny looked around, hesitated for a moment, and cautiously said, "Following the will of God, the unknown journey, the time is approaching..."

"Alright, shut up. Hegni." Hedin interrupted the dark elf, his expression grave.

“This wasn’t done by our people. Even you, Allen, couldn’t have taken down that monster by yourself. It’s probably the work of the Dark Clique.”

Although the maze has been repaired, the rubble on the ground proves that a major explosion occurred here.

They were also commissioned by the guild to investigate the frequent tremors coming from the lower levels of the labyrinth.

Du Hualin interjected, "Does the Dark Faction still have anyone who can rival Ota?"

Ota narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on the depths of the maze: "Don't forget, Chardo isn't dead. At level 8, the most likely scenario is that he's hiding in the dungeon."

Alfred let out a soft "Ah": "But what about supplies?"

Ota took a deep breath: "He has always lived by feeding on monsters."

Hedin's expression turned grave: "It seems we need to be careful on this expedition."

Allen kicked the monster's corpse away forcefully: "What are you afraid of? If we encounter him again, we'll kill him! We've all been elevated to higher levels."

Ota remained silent.

Only by reaching level 7 can one realize the immense gap between level 7 and level 6, let alone level 8. Ota felt that simply maximizing his ability stats would be enough to defeat three of his current selves.

The four little people crushed the monsters on the ground, their faces solemn and tense as they advanced, unconsciously slowing their pace.

……

A man-made maze.

Charles gave Udeos's black sword to Haschi, hoping to have the blacksmiths of the Dark Clan help him forge it into a weapon.

Charles looked at Haschi's work with great interest, and after a reluctant visit, he asked for six collars before setting off to return to the ground.

The two rode the Lambton forward, swaying along. In a secluded tunnel, under the warm yellow light, they saw a cat-man covered in blood.

Charles leaned closer and saw that it was his older brother.

"Lord Jaluo, who injured you like this?" Charles leaned closer, probing, wondering if he should finish him off so he could inherit his position as captain.

Jaluo opened his eyes and slowly sat up: "Ah, sorry, I suddenly fell asleep."

"You're in a coma due to excessive blood loss."

“If I say I’m asleep, then I’m asleep.” Just as 丷闍罗 was about to curse, his anger vanished the moment he saw Charles remove his hood and mask and stare at him with a smile.

"It's my lord. I didn't recognize you at first."

"What happened?" Charles asked again.

"It's nothing," said Jalu indifferently. "I was conducting an experiment and was accidentally caught in the fire stone's blast. Fortunately, I came back alive."

"experiment?"

"Yes, you saw that monster during the final battle, right? With that kind of fighting power, if we could capture it and make it our strength, then we wouldn't have to fear the [Hero] and the others!"

Ciel's pupils contracted.

Good grief, you're already plotting to summon the Destroyer at this time?

"It doesn't seem to be going well?" Charles said.

Jaluo gave a bitter laugh: "Not bad. I expect that after repeating this experiment 30 more times, I will be able to master the technique of summoning that thing."

Charles grew increasingly suspicious; Jarrow definitely possessed the skill to combat death.

Otherwise, with his method, he would never succeed without nearly dying forty or fifty times.

Charles pulled a bottle of coconut milk from Nika's pocket and patted Jaluo on the shoulder to comfort him, "When you succeed, let me see it too, big brother."

"Of course."

Chapter 298 The Glorious Past of Jaluo

Charles learned a lot about the recent activities of the Dark Faction from Jarrow, including their plan to gather a large number of mid- and low-level monsters and carry out a large-scale monster giveaway.

Because of Ciel's intervention, Ikeros's scale of capturing monsters and making "collars" is expanding, and it's estimated that it won't be long before Valetta starts thinking about a counterattack.

I wonder if she'll learn from her mistakes. Always bringing people along to deliver supplies isn't easy to win over. Besides, there aren't many capable fighters left in the Dark Faction.

With a smile and a wave goodbye to his older brother, Ciel composed himself.

"Why keep him around? You should have already gotten your hands on the so-called key," Alfia asked, puzzled.

Charles flipped himself onto the snake and chuckled, "Everyone has their own value. Look at him, he survived one building collapse after another in explosions, isn't that quite capable?"

"If you keep working hard, you can become a level 5 in a few years, much better than Valetta."

Jallu is a beast tamer. Reaching level 5 means he can capture more monsters that are above level 5, which are quite valuable.

Unfortunately, Charles estimated that he wouldn't live to see that day.

Before long, he will probably be the only one in the vast underground faction capable of shouldering the responsibility.

……

Retracing our steps, we returned to the ground.

After handing over the reins with Lily, Ciel didn't rush back to the Loki Familia. Ais's training, after three weeks of experimentation, yielded the data Ciel needed, and it was almost ready for implementation.

He first organized and bound the data that Lily had compiled, and wrote it into a simple training manual.

He took the handbook to Maria's Orphanage and handed it to Mama Maria, who had expanded her care to include many orphans.

Charles suggested, "There's no need to worry about the children's food now. Just make arrangements for them to start their education and physical training as soon as possible. Even if they don't become adventurers, they can attend school there when the school district reopens next year."

"School district... will the children be able to get in?" Maria's mother longed for this; if her children could go to school in the district when they grew up, she would probably wake up laughing in her dreams.

Students in the school district are highly sought-after talents from all over the world. Once they graduate, they have no trouble finding jobs. Even if they don't want to fight, they can still get a position in a guild and live a worry-free life.

Charles recalled, "The school district's admission requirement was 'a thirst for knowledge,' something that can't be achieved through mere effort. But we could proactively acquire more knowledge than our peers, showing them with facts that we were more proactive than those who only half-heartedly pursued knowledge!"

"In addition, there are combat disciplines in the school district. As long as you pass the entrance exam and have a strong foundation, you can avoid falling behind others if you lack the desire to learn."

Maria's mother knew very well that although Charles was no longer a powerful adventurer, he was already a big shot. His vision and skills were naturally far beyond what she, a commoner, could compare to.

Such valuable life tips are something no one would tell these country bumpkins.

“We can turn the orphanage into a school. I hope that in three years, when the school district is restored for the second time, a group of our graduates will be able to enroll smoothly.”

"Those who don't pass the exam, I can still bring them into my businesses to work. You've probably heard of the 'supermarket' on West Street."

As Ciel was talking to his mother Maria, he heard light footsteps behind him, and then his thigh was grabbed from behind.

Looking down, I saw a pair of fluffy golden ears twitching gently.

"Lord Ciel~~" Haruhime shyly raised her head, her tail swaying back and forth.