Chapter 94: Setting Off Again, The Elf Girl Who Can't Distinguish Between Dream and Reality! (3 updates, requesting monthly votes) (Patreon)

"Why does it feel like…"

"The Senior Ryuu from this round of the Dream Simulation was a lot gentler than the day before yesterday. It really felt like… special forces training."

His awareness gathered itself once more.

Rozz stared at the unfamiliar guest room. If he had to name a regret, it was that waking up meant he couldn't get close to Hestia.

Good news:

At least he wasn't as wrung out as yesterday, when he'd been camped at his respawn point and had to face every sort of hunt after each death and restart.

The pain, however, was exactly the same.

Rozz honestly didn't dare imagine a repeat of Dream Space 486. If the deaths piled up like that, his mind would probably collapse completely.

"Not bad."

"Special training at this intensity gives the biggest gains."

He gazed out the window at the barely dawning sky and had no intention of lazing in bed. The pressure from the Apollo Familia had eased, at least on the surface.

Being a member of the Hephaestus Familia bought him a brief peace.

But truth be told, this wasn't the outcome Rozz wanted. Shelter provided by others, even by a goddess he knew, was still living under someone else's roof.

To forge iron, the smith himself has to be hard.

"All right."

"Let's start today's exploration!"

He washed up quickly and put on his Adventurer gear. Just as he was about to leave, he passed the dining room and spotted two familiar figures.

The mature beauty Hephaestus and the lovely girl Hestia.

As if they knew he was about to head into the Dungeon, the table was already laid with a breakfast that kept steaming.

After greeting the two goddesses, Rozz said, "Morning…"

Hestia could hardly wait. As if asserting ownership, she dragged her beloved former child over to the table. "Rozz, hurry up and come eat breakfast!"

"Let me tell you," she added, "before I met you in Orario, I lived at Hephaestus's place. The food here is way better than anything outside."

"…"

How does this woman say that so shamelessly?

Still, considering that Rozz was now briefly a member of her own Familia, and that she'd be updating his Status every time he came out of the Dungeon, Hephaestus held back her teasing.

If memory served…

This woman's type was supposed to be the gap-moe kind. And the smile on that delicate face was as gentle as an older sister's.

Her voice came out husky. "I had the chefs make a bit of both Orario-style and Far East-style breakfast. I don't know which suits your taste better."

"Thank you."

Looking over the lavish spread, Rozz finally settled on the ramen, which was the closest to what he felt like eating. So this is what daily life is like in a rich-lady Familia…

He didn't bother being polite. After all, today would be a high-intensity Dungeon run, and only by pushing hard could he max out his stat growth.

"Hehe~"

"You don't have to be polite with her at all!"

Back to freeloading at the table, Hestia was naturally the happiest of all. If anything struck her as odd, it was this: when she'd mooched at Hephaestus's place before, the woman had never once given her a pleasant look!

The girl goddess didn't dwell on it. While she ate, she opened the translucent screen of the "Hero Cloud-Raising Plan" floating above Rozz's head.

[Dream Training Plan]

[Difficulty: Hard]

"Current Status: Not Cleared"

"In the Dream Training Plan, facing a Lv4 Adventurer in combat, Rozz, with his boosted stats, did not look nearly as wretched."

"Through simulated training with his opponent, the levels of the Skills he has mastered have risen."

"Intuition: Lv2, Mind's Eye: Lv3"

"The character's Potential in every area has improved."

"Heh!"

Even though the Dream Training Plan hadn't been cleared, the information in front of her told Hestia one thing.

The overall gains were huge!

Not only had the Skill levels he'd mastered earlier gone up, but all of her Rozz's Potential had risen to around B on average.

"The only thing is…"

"Why did Rozz's Stamina, a full 60 points last night, get completely drained once the simulated training started?"

She couldn't figure it out.

But higher Potential meant Rozz's future stat growth wouldn't be held back by any bottleneck.

Good news!

After filling her stomach, Hestia looked at her best friend sitting directly across from her. "Rozz is off to explore the Dungeon, so next… shall we go to the Adventurer Guild and get his Conversion taken care of?"

"Hehe."

At this point the girl goddess felt completely at ease. She had never doubted Hephaestus for a moment. If anything was a bit of a hassle, it was having to trouble the Adventurer Guild staff.

At this outrageous rate of growth, Hestia figured that within half a month at most, Rozz would have to convert back to her own Familia.

"Let's go!"

"Okay."

Hephaestus's expression was strange.

But then she thought: as Rozz's goddess, she could openly witness the birth of a "Miracle" and get up close and personal besides.

Mm…

The red-haired goddess's eyes brimmed with quiet anticipation. As for the trust her best friend Hestia placed in her, she would of course not betray it.

She kept repeating that to herself.

That's right. I'm only playing with Rozz. When I get tired of him I'll give him back to you. Besides… you're the one who sent him to me yourself!

*

Had he not moved into Hephaestus's enormous mansion, they could simply have met up near the Familia Home, as usual.

As things stood, Rozz had to backtrack and go find Lili specifically. He owed her an explanation of the "temporary Conversion," and also of the potential threat from the Apollo Familia.

After meeting up with the Supporter girl, he headed down West Main Street toward Orario's Central Park.

He suggested with a smile, "Let's grab some packed lunches on the way."

"Once everything else is taken care of, we'll probably spend the next stretch of time in the Dungeon, building up strength fast."

"…"

Honestly, you're the only one whose strength is shooting up.

Lili had long since run out of energy to roast him. Thanks to a nose honed by scraping through harsh environments, she sensed that something about what Rozz had just said was off compared to usual.

The girl looked up, curious. "Did something happen last night?"

"Sort of."

Rozz glanced at the Adventurers around them. He didn't explain in detail, since there could well be Apollo Familia spies nearby. "I'll tell you once we're in the Dungeon."

"…"

Hearing that, Lili felt a bad premonition rising. Back when they'd dealt with Zanis, they'd talked it over right in the café. Now he wanted to change venues.

Which meant—

Had he provoked an even nastier enemy?

As the thought hit the Supporter girl, she looked at the black-haired boy beside her with deeply reproachful eyes.

We haven't had even a few peaceful days!

Even so, Lili had no thought of backing out. After all, this guy had faced Soma's divine wine trial to free her from her Familia, and he hadn't flinched once.

"Pack yourself a lunch too. Today I'm planning to explore down to the 18th floor. If it comes to that, we'll rest there tonight."

"If I remember right, that's the 'Under Resort' safe floor, isn't it?"

"Right."

"Then that's the tentative plan."

Pressure? Of course there was some. But if she turned that pressure into motivation to grow stronger, she could look forward to the expedition ahead.

Walking along West Main Street, Rozz noticed the familiar "Hostess of Fertility" restaurant ahead. It was early morning, and it hadn't opened for business yet.

Since he was passing by anyway, he figured he'd say hello, so that Syr wouldn't worry about him too much for the next while.

A matter of common courtesy.

He said to Lili beside him, "Wait for me a moment, Lili. I probably won't have time to come to the restaurant for a while, so I'll go tell them."

"Sure."

Really…

The Supporter girl's eyes brimmed with reproach. She was the one who'd shared a blanket with him, yet he worried so much about how other people felt.

Then again, Lili thought, looking at it from another angle: if Rozz planned to stay overnight at the Under Resort, didn't that mean…

she might get a chance to make it a done deal?

*

What exactly is Rozz to me?

Perhaps… it was because she wanted to protect her best friend Syr's smile that she had paid so much attention to this newly met rookie Adventurer.

But the elf girl had never expected things to turn out like this.

Fun fact:

Aside from the more open-minded elves of the Weixian Hidden Realm, most elves shy away from physical contact with others.

Ryuu was no exception.

Yet during the training she'd given Rozz the other day, and even now, she couldn't understand… why she hadn't resisted his touch.

What's more, in that strange dream last night, Rozz had asked her to spar with him, and as if possessed, she hadn't refused.

"Why do I feel…"

"like I've been acting strange lately?"

What the mind dwells on by day, the dreams bring by night.

The elf girl understood that plain truth well enough. She just hadn't expected the feelings in her heart to come on so strongly.

Seen from another angle, it was most likely the pressure she felt after hearing that Rozz had reached Lv2 in only half a month.

"Hah~"

With that thought, Ryuu gathered her tangled feelings and prepared to start today's basic training. Then she spotted a familiar figure in the restaurant.

Syr Flova.

[Image: Martial Soul True Form.jpg]

Compared to usual, the smile on the gray-haired girl's face was clearly more frequent. Something must have progressed between her and Rozz.

As always, only around her best friend did Ryuu's icy demeanor show signs of thawing. "Good morning, Syr."

"Morning~ Miss Ryuu."

Hearing the familiar footsteps, Syr looked up and saw the elf girl, wooden training sword in hand and ready to head to the back yard for practice. She greeted her with a light smile.

"Training this early?"

"Yes."

Especially since Rozz might surpass her as an Adventurer in a very short time, saying she felt no urgency would be a lie.

Ryuu looked at her friend. Curiosity flickered in her clear, lake-blue eyes. "Rather, Miss Syr, why are you here so early?"

"Oh."

"I just had a feeling that Mr. Rozz would come to the restaurant to find me today, so I wanted to wait for him here."

The smile on the gray-haired girl's face was perfectly natural.

Syr, of course, didn't tell her the real reason. Even though she hadn't physically attended last night's Denatus,

she still knew exactly what had happened there.

To be precise—

it had been entirely within Freya's expectations. After Apollo learned of Rozz's talent, and of the old grudge between Hestia and him back in Heaven,

that guy definitely wouldn't be able to hold himself back!!

Even a trial on the level of the Soma Familia had let the foundation of Rozz's soul transform a little.

So what could Rozz, who was clearly being driven into a corner by the overwhelmingly stronger Apollo Familia, accomplish this time?

Syr was filled with anticipation.

She had always believed that Rozz, the one she placed great hopes on, the one who could be called the "Hero of the Future," would find the dawn that led to victory.

"Hehe."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing Mr. Rozz."

"…"

Ryuu actually hated judging her closest friend from on high, the way certain elves did.

Unless she couldn't stop herself, because she honestly felt that Syr was starting to turn into a lovestruck airhead!

Just then, as if to confirm that guess about a connection between them, a familiar boyish figure appeared in front of the restaurant.

"Morning~"

Rozz arrived at the restaurant.

He swept his eyes over the not-yet-open restaurant and quickly found the familiar figures not far ahead. "Miss Syr, and Senior Ryuu."

"Mr. Rozz!"

The happiest of all was surely Syr, who longed for the "Miracle" Rozz would bring. The gray-haired girl shot to her feet, though her leaf-green maid uniform

couldn't hide her excellent figure.

She looked at Rozz, who stood before her fully armed and ready to explore. "How come you have time today? What brings you to the restaurant so suddenly?"

"Well…"

"I've finished adjusting to my abilities after the Level Up, and next I plan to focus on exploring the Dungeon. I didn't want you to worry, Miss Syr."

"So I came to let you know."

Rozz had no intention of coming clean. Syr was an ordinary person. If she learned what the Apollo Familia was planning, it would only add to her worries.

There was no need for that.

Finally, he remembered to add, "Actually, it was Senior Ryuu who told me this: don't let the people who care about you worry."

"Oh?"

In truth, no one can lie in front of a god.

That indirectly proved Rozz still had no idea who she really was, and besides, what he'd just said was meant sincerely. Even if it had been a lie,

Syr would have been just as happy. If anything puzzled her, it was Rozz suddenly mentioning Ryuu.

"…"

Called out to her face,

even Ryuu was caught off guard. Noticing her friend's startled gaze, she felt her cheeks growing faintly warm.

The elf girl had no intention of explaining.

Her cool gaze turned toward Rozz, who stood at the restaurant entrance in the distance. As a friend, she meant to simply remind him to stay safe.

But the moment their eyes met, the familiar look in the boy's eyes left Ryuu almost unable to tell where reality ended and the dream began.

[Author's Note: PS: 8,000+ words a day, and you call me a maggot? Then what does that make me, writing 13,000 a day?!! (This chapter counts as yesterday's; there's another update this morning.)]

[Author's Note: Chapter 94: Setting Out Again, the Elf Girl Who Can't Tell Dream from Reality! (3 updates, monthly tickets please) — 4,215 words, price 20, released 2026-10-06 00:20:00]

[Author's Note: Chapter 93: Hestia's World-Shaking Wisdom: "I'll Leave Rozz to You!" (Subscriptions please) — 4,295 words, price 20, released 2026-10-05 20:50:00]

[Author's Note: Chapter 92: An Unprecedented Crisis, Hestia Wants to Help Rozz! (Subscriptions please) — 4,230 words, price 20, released 2026-10-05 06:00:00]