160 Chapter 160 – Crying Ryuu

Aston, unknown to the surface activities, was at this moment in the 37th floor. As mentioned previously, Aston has been consistently descending into the dungeon with Eina and the others these past days.

At this point, the Hestia Familia, aside from Haruhime and a few unique cases, no longer had any adventurers at Level 2. They were all Level 3 or above, with the number of Level 4 adventurers surpassing fifty.

Thus, the current strategy of the Hestia Familia, unlike Aston's initial solo ventures with Ais, involved staying overnight within the dungeon's deeper floors.

Today marked Aston and his group's descent from above. Given Aston's current level, the lower floors scarcely offered him any experience points—only a handful at a time.

Nonetheless, after five days, Aston's experience bar was nearly full. More significantly than leveling up, Aston's Sharingan experience bar reached its capacity first.

[Ding! Continuous use of the Sharingan has accumulated 50 Sharingan experience points, filling the experience bar. Sharingan has successfully advanced to Level 4."

The three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, eventually transforming into a six-pointed star.

Aston gently touched his eye, contemplating, "Is this the dojutsu I've gotten?"

Upon upgrading, Aston discovered two new abilities: Time Projection and Space Transfer. The Mangekyō Sharingan he developed was centered around space-time abilities.

Time Projection allowed for the creation of a projection with the original's abilities, capable of being sent into a past timeframe. Space Transfer, straightforwardly, entailed the capability of spatial movement, akin to the Flying Thunder God technique from the world of Naruto, albeit under a different designation.

With a spatial mark established, Aston could teleport to it instantly, no matter the distance.

Aston vividly recalls his first encounter with Ryuu, from that moment, Ryuu had been keenly observing Aston's eyes, valuing the changes in them profoundly. Even without verbal confirmation, Aston could feel that Ryuu saw his eyes as a sign of hope.

Now, with the evolution of Aston's Sharingan into the Mangekyō Sharingan and acquiring two space-time abilities, Aston finally understood Ryuu's reactions.

Ryuu must have known about the abilities Aston's Sharingan would gain upon leveling up, including the capability to revisit the past. Therefore, she hoped Aston could save the Astraea Familia. 

The reason Ryuu knew this was likely connected to Aston himself. Aston may had used Time Projection to send himself back to the day the Astraea Familia faced disaster and managed to save them.

Furthermore, after saving the members of the Astraea Familia, Aston also revealed some information to Ryuu, igniting a glimmer of hope in her.

The subsequent events unfolded as Ryuu had described to Aston. Driven by inner rage and despair, Ryuu annihilated the enemies in a suicidal confrontation, putting an end to the dark era.

Then, after a brief period of confusion and recovery, Ryuu clung to the hope left behind by Aston before his departure. Striving for this hope, she searched for Aston's existence for years, finally encountering him recently.

Since then, Ryuu, following the information left by Aston, has been aiding Aston's growth, aiming to transform hope into reality by encouraging Aston to grow stronger and to collaborate with other top-tier adventurers, like Ais and her companions.

"Based on Ryuu's actions, the information I left behind when I returned to the past must have directed Ryuu to assist in my growth and to guide me towards finding more Level 6 adventurers to join forces with, including Ais and the others."

"This is indeed in line with my character."

"After all, aside from Freya's interference, everything has progressed quite well."

"There's no need to cause additional problems or change this future." Mulling over everything that has happened since meeting Ryuu, Aston finally made a decision.

Lifting his head, Aston looked forward to Ryuu, who was battling monsters, and called out.

"Ryuu, come here!"

Engaged with the monsters, Ryuu instinctively turned towards Aston upon hearing his call.

Upon noticing the change in Aston's pupils, Ryuu's eyes widened in shock.

The next moment, Ryuu immediately abandoned the enemies and dashed towards Aston with the fastest speed she could muster.

Upon reaching Aston, Ryuu, without thinking, attempted to kneel in front of him.

However, noticing this, Aston promptly caught Ryuu, preventing him from kneeling.

"Take me to where the Astraea Familia faced their calamity," Aston said gently to the astonished Ryuu.

At these words, Ryuu's eyes brimmed with tears, her emotional facade crumbling, looking as if she might cry at any moment.

Seeing Ryuu's reaction, Aston smiled slightly and reached out to wipe the tear from the corner of her eye.

"Alright, no need to cry now. You can continue after I bring them back," Aston consoled with a smile.

"Yes, Aston-san!" Ryuu tried her best to control her emotions, her voice breaking.

After reassuring Eina and the others, Aston, led by Ryuu, left the place and headed towards the dungeon floor where the Astraea Familia was annihilated in the story.

Aston's Time Projection could only transfer through time, not space. Therefore, wherever this ability was used, the projection would appear at that location in the past.

To save the Astraea Familia, it was necessary to go to the location where they encountered their destroyer, Juggernaut.

Otherwise, even if Aston projected back to the past, he might not be able to save the members of the Astraea Familia in time.

Soon, under Ryuu's guidance, Aston arrived at a dungeon chamber.

Upon arriving, Aston could clearly hear Ryuu's breathing become much more rapid.

Seeing this, he gently patted Ryuu on the shoulder to calm her down, then asked, "What day was that?"

"Five years ago, on August 12th, please, Aston-san!" Ryuu's voice was choked with sobs.

At that moment, here in this place, Ryuu could no longer hold back and began to cry under Aston's gaze, tears falling down her fair cheeks onto the ground.

"Leave it to me. I promise to bring them back safely!"