Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

In Charles's memory, the rabbit's first major "achievement" upon arriving in Orario was being rejected by every Familia, leading to his fateful encounter with the Blue Ribbon and the beginning of his heroic journey.

So right now, that rabbit should be wandering around town, desperately searching for a Familia willing to take him in.

Unfortunately, despite walking around for quite a while, Charles didn't run into him.

Not that he was trying particularly hard—he figured they'd run into each other sooner or later anyway.

After a rare moment of leisure, Charles returned to his workshop only to be met with a string of good news.

First, the Twin-Headed Dragon Armor he'd forged had finally sold—at a price of 98 million valis. Just like that, his financial crisis was over.

Then, the material collection commissions he'd posted at the Guild started coming in one after another. If he wasn't mistaken, most of the deep-level materials had probably been brought back by the Loki Familia.

With everything falling into place, Charles threw himself into forging new equipment, determined to upgrade his [Forge] development ability in one go.

Speaking of which, he had already gone to Hephaestus for a status update.

His Strength and Endurance had both increased by over 200 points, with the other stats all rising by at least 100.

He also discovered another benefit of Falna: after leveling up, one's rate of growth accelerated dramatically.

Previously, gaining this much strength would have taken Charles over half a year of training. While his blessing from the world allowed him to grow without limit, the stronger he became, the more extreme the training required.

But with Falna, he could finally enjoy the kind of rapid growth he experienced when he was still weak.

Of course, the biggest surprise was that his [Forge] skill had risen from I to G. Most likely, this was thanks to all the high-grade equipment he'd been forging and the massive experience gain that came with it.

It had to be said—Falna was utterly ridiculous.

A two-level jump in [Forge] had caused Charles's craftsmanship to surge. His ability to identify and process various materials had also taken a leap forward.

Even many of the problems he'd previously encountered while forging magic swords now seemed suddenly clear.

Overall, everything was going incredibly smoothly. That is, until—

"Charles-boy!"

The front door of Charles's workshop was violently blown off for the third time, its short and tragic life coming to an abrupt end.

Setting down his hammer, Charles looked toward the entrance, black lines forming on his forehead.

"Tsuuubaki… I've stopped expecting you to knock before coming in, but can't you at least be a little gentler when opening the door? That's the third one! I'm seriously considering making the next one out of orichalcum!"

Faced with his complaints, Tsubaki remained completely unfazed—"shameless" didn't even begin to cover it.

"Don't sweat the small stuff! Don't worry, I'll fix your door. But hey, I've got good news. Wanna hear it?"

Charles had gotten to know this senior of his pretty well over the past few days. To put it kindly, she was "cheerful." To put it more honestly… she was a total scatterbrain.

Fortunately, the Hephaestus Familia was a production-focused Familia, and under the wise leadership of their goddess, they somehow managed to function. If Tsubaki had been the head of an exploration Familia, they'd be doomed.

Ever since meeting Charles, she had taken to calling him "Charles-boy" in her usual boisterous fashion. Charles could live with the nickname, but the door demolition every time she visited was seriously testing his patience.

At least she always fixed the door herself—if she didn't, Charles would have tossed her out already.

Still, her "good news" did pique his curiosity, though he had no intention of letting her be smug about it.

Expressionless, he replied, "And if I said I don't want to hear it, would you drop it?"

Laughing, Tsubaki smacked him on the shoulder. "You're no fun! Fine, I'll tell you anyway! The Loki Familia's decided to head out on another expedition in a week. They've asked for support from smiths who can forge magic swords. So? You interested?"

Charles's eyes lit up. That was indeed a golden opportunity.

After all, expeditions were massive undertakings that required immense investment—but offered equally immense returns.

Venturing into the deep levels of the dungeon required not only exceptional combat power but also top-tier logistics and planning.

Generally speaking, only large Familia could organize deep-level expeditions. Victory wasn't about how deep you could go—it was about returning safely to the surface.

Every adventurer knew that in the dungeon, anything could happen. Only with enough skilled fighters and abundant supplies could an expedition have any chance of success.

And the rewards were extraordinary.

The deep levels teemed with rare materials. From high-level monster drops to mineral resources and medicinal herbs, the profits were beyond imagination.

Charles had long been curious about the deep levels, and joining the Loki Familia's expedition was a perfect way to find out more. Naturally, he wanted to hear the details.

"What kind of deal is the Loki Familia offering?"

Tsubaki counted on her fingers. "First, they'll provide all the potions and medical supplies. They're also offering top-priority protection throughout the journey.

As for the spoils, they're giving us 10% of all loot, plus priority access to buy any specific materials we might want."

Charles nodded. That was already an incredibly generous offer.

He could trust the Loki Familia's word, which significantly reduced the risks involved. In exchange for maintaining gear and possibly crafting a few emergency items, he'd get a full 10% of the take—definitely a worthwhile deal.

As he mulled it over, he asked, "You're not going on this expedition?"

Tsubaki shook her head. "Already got what I needed in the last one. No point going again.

Expeditions are boring! I'd rather go test my new gear in the dungeon by myself!"

Charles broke into a cold sweat. He'd nearly forgotten that this one-eyed forge master's favorite hobby was solo dungeon diving with newly crafted weapons—"field testing" by hacking up monsters.

That's how she, a blacksmith, managed to reach Level 5.

Still, Charles found it odd. Even if Tsubaki wasn't going, the Loki Familia offering such generous terms seemed uncharacteristic. Neither Loki nor Finn were the type to throw money around.

And they hadn't asked to buy magic swords—they wanted a smith to come along.

Charles suddenly had a hunch: he might very well be the real target.

He didn't know what had tipped them off, but it was clear the Loki Familia had started paying closer attention to him.

Still, he really did want to join the expedition. So he decided to use the opportunity to observe them—and figure out exactly what they were after.

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