14 The Return of the Expedition Party

Throughout history, anyone who received blessings, no matter who they were, could have at least one and at most three magic slots.

This was common knowledge.

Even among the so-called magic race like the Elves, after receiving blessings, they too only had three magic slots for awakening magic, and a fourth one would never appear.

Of course, having only three magic slots for awakening didn't mean that one could only use three types of magic. Some people, due to the uniqueness of their awakened magic, could undergo multiple transformations or have effects with multiple variations. As a result, the number of usable magic exceeded the three slots.

Take Loki Familia for example; there were two members with such abilities.

A High Elf who could transform her magic multiple times, depending on the amount of chant used. This allowed her to use one magic as if it were three, ultimately enabling them to cast nine different variations—equivalent to possessing nine different magic.

Another member was also an Elf, who awakened magic limited to the magic of the Elf race. With this magic, she could cast magic used by her own race. In theory, she could cast all Elven magic with just this one magic, surpassing the magic slots of any mage.

Riezel, on the other hand, had awakened to only one magic. However, despite having only one magic, its effects, possibilities, and scope were greater than those mentioned earlier.

Could this magic allow him to cast any magic stored in his memory? Did this mean that, with a sufficient number of remembered magic, he could use as many as he wanted?

Despite its incredible nature, this magic had its limitations.

"From what I can see right now, there are two confirmed usage requirements for your magic." Loki said while holding up two fingers.

"First—You can only cast magic that you have memorized. If you can't remember the magic, you can't use it."

"Second—Even if you have memorized the magic, if you haven't personally confirmed its effects, you still can't use it."

In other words, if Riezel wanted to use someone else's magic, that person had to cast it in front of him. Moreover, he himself had to remember all the details of the casting process, conditions, effects, and power—nothing could be missing.

Those were the limitations of 'Almighty'.

Because of this, Riezel was currently unable to use any magic, as he had not witnessed any magic being cast before his eyes since coming to this world.

Even if he had seen a priest healing him with magic in his main world, he couldn't use it now because the priest had used a magic chant with mysterious runes that he had never encountered before.

The chanting process wasn't clear, and as a result, he couldn't remember the detailed process and conditions needed to cast that magic using 'Almighty'.

Therefore, Riezel was currently in a state where he couldn't use a single magic. Loki was aware of this fact as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"This problem isn't that difficult to solve..." Loki said thoughtfully. "We have plenty of members in Familia, and there are many who can use magic. Just have those kids perform magic in front of you sincerely, even teach you how to use their magic. With your memory, you should be able to pick up several types of magic quickly, no?"

The seemingly carefree Goddess had already noticed Riezel's exceptional memory as an innate skill, surprising him a bit.

However, her proposition was quite helpful for him.

Looking at the usage requirements of 'Almighty', there was nothing more convenient than having others personally teach him how to use their magic to trigger its effects.

"Let's do this then."

Loki thought for a moment and gazed at Riezel.

"After everyone returns from the expedition, I'll find someone skilled to teach you how to use magic. How about that?"

"Expedition?" Riezel raised his brows slightly.

"That's right." Loki chuckled. "Most of my kids are currently not at home but in the dungeon."

The dungeon, as the world's largest mystery, still had many areas unexplored.

This underground labyrinth with countless floors grew larger the deeper one went, and the distance from the surface increased.

This situation naturally prevented some adventurers fighting at the forefront of the dungeon from easily traveling between Orario and the dungeon.

It was said that going from the 1st Floor to the 50th Floor would take several days just for travel alone, and the round trip could easily exceed a week.

Thus, the concept of an 'Expedition' emerged.

The so-called expedition, as the name suggested, was an adventurer party of a large Familia, acting like an army, venturing deep into the dungeon for battle.

They went to floors ordinary adventurers couldn't easily reach, fought powerful monsters, stepped into uncharted floors, explored the unknown, and developed unexplored areas.

Loki Familia was one of the strongest Familias in Orario, specializing in exploration. The Familia's role was to conquer the dungeon, explore unknown territories, and gain profit or fame.

In the two days since Riezel joined Loki Familia, the main members of the Familia had just left for a dungeon expedition, leaving only a small number of lower-ranking members behind.

In other words, when he joined Loki Familia, the true experts and geniuses of the Familia were fighting terrifying monsters in the underground labyrinth, far from the surface, beyond what he could currently handle.

Thinking up to this point, Riezel's heartbeat slightly accelerated, and his eyes lit up with expectation.

"Oy oy oy, what do you want to do?" Loki noticed his behavior. "You're just a Level 1 rookie for fuck's sake. Doing well on the upper floors is already good enough for you. Don't give me ideas about expeditions; it's not something you can participate in right now!"

"Ehh... Really?" Riezel looked at her with disappointment.

Loki's mouth twitched.

'This kid is actually thinking about joining an expedition?'

'After receiving a blessing for only two days, he dares to think about expeditions. There must be something wrong with this kid's head.'

'Why are there so many problem children in my Familia?'

Loki couldn't help but think like that with resignation.

"Anyone eligible for the expedition must be at least a Level 2 with a special talent, like a healer who can use healing magic, for example."

Loki said while covering her face and sighing in an earnest and well-meaning manner.

"Even if you can learn other people's magic and become a special talent, Finn won't allow you to join the expedition unless you reach Level 2. So, you better quickly dismiss any dangerous thoughts in your mind."

Upon hearing Loki, Riezel stared at her for a moment, confirming that she wouldn't budge on this point, before reluctantly withdrawing his gaze with a hint of regret.

"Fine..." Riezel reluctantly conceded. "Let's talk about it when I reach Level 2."

Loki couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and sighed once again. She couldn't shake the feeling that her future days might not be peaceful under the antics of this kid.

"Let's see, the expedition party should be back soon..." Loki had to change the subject. "Just wait for two more days."

"Understood." Riezel nodded.

Loki then broke into a big smile, looking somewhat mischievous.

'When Finn and the others come back and find out that our Familia has gained such a freakish monster, I wonder what expressions they'll have?' Loki mused to herself. 'Especially Ais, also Bete, Tione, and Tiona. They should be stimulated by this kid's growth speed, right?'

'Now that I think about it, it makes me excited.'

The Goddess of Mischief chuckled like a mischievous child getting ready to watch some TV drama.

And the day she looked forward to arrived even sooner than she imagined.

===

The next day.

When the sky outside began to brighten, Riezel, just like yesterday, woke up early.

He quickly freshened up, took care of his morning routine in five minutes, and then got ready by putting on his armor and clothes. He wanted to head to the dungeon directly without wasting any time.

Today, he planned to explore the dungeon all day and see if he could go down a few more floors.

His status had grown after yesterday's update, especially 'DEX' and 'AGI', both upgraded to E-rank. According to the safe strategy guide, he could now safely explore the 8th Floor.

However, he naturally wasn't satisfied with the so-called safe strategy.

So, his plan today was to go to the 10th Floor, or even deeper into the dungeon.

For this, he took the time to maintain his weapon with the items he bought before going to sleep last night, filled with enthusiasm, ready to make some noise.

Thinking about entering a floor deeper than yesterday's 7th Floor, he felt a slight excitement.

'I heard that starting from the 10th Floor, much larger creatures like Orcs will appear... I wonder how strong they are?'

Riezel's heart was full of anticipation.

But just as he was about to set off with his primary and secondary weapons, suddenly, a voice echoed within Twilight Manor.

"They are back!"

"Everyone is back!"

"The expedition party has returned!"

The joyful shouts broke the morning silence, plunging the entire Twilight Manor into a commotion.

Chaotic footsteps rang out and the sound of doors opening resounded in succession as if telling everyone that the entire occupant of Twilight Manor was rushing outside.

"Back?"

Riezel was also slightly surprised and immediately stood up.

In his mind, images of figures mentioned in the original work floated one after another, causing him to squint his eyes. With his weapons, he walked out of his room towards the entrance of Twilight Manor.