"Aizen? That's a good name—sounds strong and unbeatable."

"Exactly," said Agares.

"He'll grow up to be strong and unmatched. I'm sure of it."

Agares stayed with Milenia for a few more minutes. But there was something he had to do—he couldn't stay with her forever.

"Are you going back to the dungeon? What floor did you reach?" Milenia asked, worried.

He shook his head, took her hand in both of his, and gently kissed the back of it. He wasn't going back to the dungeon anytime soon. He'd be staying in the city for a while, making sure everything stayed safe.

That way, he could help Milenia take care of Aizen properly. He didn't want to be seen as an irresponsible father who vanished right after the birth.

At the very least, Agares would stay in the city for a month to manage its security. That gave him time to be with his little family.

"I'll tell you everything tomorrow. Don't worry—I'm not heading back to the dungeon any time soon."

"I'm so relieved. I'm glad to hear that."

Agares smiled. He pulled the blanket up to cover Milenia and Aizen, making sure they stayed warm. Aoi wouldn't go with him—she needed to stay in Milenia's room to help her recover.

He thanked Aoi and tapped his magic pouch, handing her 10 Mana potions to help her out. He had also promised to help her evolve. Maybe he'd do that tomorrow.

Agares left the room and met some of the maids. He ordered them to take care of Milenia during her breastfeeding period.

He also told them to give her plenty of protein-rich food to make sure she stayed healthy—and to keep Aizen healthy too.

"We understand."

After giving those orders, he flew out of Milenia's residence and landed on the city's main road. He watched the guards carry out their tasks well, gathering human body parts and washing down the streets.

There were no surface adventurers left—Agares had wiped them all out without leaving a single one alive.

Even though the threat was pretty much gone, Agares still stayed alert. He wouldn't allow anyone to catch him off guard and hurt Milenia.

That night, in the city of Midgard, Agares watched over every corner of the city under his protection.

***

The next day.

City of Midgard.

"Can you do something for me?"

Agares stood in front of Merchant Lo's shop that morning, around 9 a.m. Since early morning, all residents had been allowed to return to their homes.

For those whose homes were destroyed in last night's battle, Agares would cover the full cost. They just needed to go to Milenia's residence—there were guards stationed there to handle it.

"I already did what you asked yesterday. I don't know if I can do anything else for you."

"The situation in the city still isn't stable. I'm worried that yesterday's attack was just the beginning of something worse."

"They didn't come to capture me. They came to conquer the city. I think we're in the same kind of trouble," Agares replied.

Lo fell silent, eyes sharp as he stared ahead, trying to figure out what Agares wanted. That's right—he had dropped the disguise. The man standing in front of Lo wasn't Rey anymore—it was Agares.

And not just Lo—many townsfolk already knew. Agares had explained everything to Goro and Nan, including why he had faked his death.

Goro didn't say much, but he clearly said that if Agares wanted to protect the city, he would help him. Nan felt the same way.

Peace returned to the city, and people went back to their normal lives. But something still bothered Agares.

It was about the Teleportation Token.

"Can the dungeon restrict who gets a teleportation token?" Agares asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Those tokens are sold like any other item. Even if I only sell them on the 50th floor, I can't control more than that."

"And there's no specific reason why I should either."

"I see. I just want to prevent them from entering the city—I don't want something like that to happen again," Agares admitted.

"I get where you're coming from."

"I represent this dungeon. The dungeon wants freedom for all adventurers."

Agares went quiet for a moment, then cleared his throat and nodded. His attempt to convince Lo had totally failed.

The merchant remained neutral—because he was the dungeon. His job was simple: offer challenges and conveniences to anyone who came.

"Can the dungeon's authority be changed?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can I manage this dungeon?" Agares asked.

"HAHAHA!"

"You want to be the dungeon master?"

"Yeah. With that kind of authority, I could give you direct orders," Agares answered.

Merchant Lo fell silent, eyes locked on Agares with a serious look. Honestly, it didn't matter much to him. Whether or not there was a dungeon master, Lo would still supply whatever adventurers needed.

No one had ever become a dungeon master before. But if someone did, maybe Lo would have to listen—because such a person would have power greater than the dungeon itself.

"It's possible," Lo said.

"How?" Agares asked, curious.

"Conquer the 100th floor and earn the Dungeon Master Medal. Then, the dungeon will acknowledge you as its ruler."

"All monsters will obey you. Including me."

"But no one has ever reached the 100th floor. The highest I've seen was the 95th."

"He was a saber, like you."

Agares smiled. His exploration log was already at the 90th floor. Just ten more to go to reach the top of the dungeon.

Still, there was so much he didn't know. The last advanced trial almost killed him—if not for Nihil Severance, he wouldn't have made it.

He was sure that the challenge from the 90th to the 100th floor would be way harder—and possibly deadly.

"The 100th floor, huh? I don't know if I can make it."

"I don't know either. Only you can find out."

Agares bought 25 high-grade EXP Elixirs for Aoi, costing him about 12,500 monster cores. Luckily, all the light-affinity items he had picked up from the 80th floor had sold for a high price—and he didn't need those items anyway.

He tucked the black pouch of EXP Elixirs into his magic pouch. After getting the info he needed, Agares flew off from Merchant Lo's shop and returned to Milenia's residence.

He saw five townspeople lined up outside, waiting to receive compensation for damages from yesterday's battle. Agares landed in the front yard and was immediately greeted by them.

He didn't mind covering their losses—he had way more monster cores than before. Even after buying the 25 EXP elixirs for 12,500, he still had 14,500 monster cores left.

More than any adventurer who had ever set foot in this dungeon.

He stepped inside and saw Aoi having breakfast with Milenia. Aizen was sleeping peacefully in Milenia's room.

Milenia immediately greeted Agares as he arrived. She had recovered, thanks to Aoi's help. Aoi had spent all night healing her with the Mana potions Agares gave.

"Welcome back," Milenia said.

Agares smiled. He slowly walked over to the dining table and joined them for breakfast. Aoi kept reminding him about his promise to help her evolve. Agares smiled.

"You don't need to worry. I've got it now."

"Great. Then I won't worry anymore," Aoi replied.

"And I might need your help with Aoi's evolution, Milenia," Agares added.

"Of course. She helped me all night. I'll help her too."

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