Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse

After seeing Tsubaki off, Charles went straight to Hephaestus to tell her he wanted to join the Loki Familia's expedition. Hephaestus didn't object—she believed in his strength just as much.

Next came the preparation. Truthfully, Charles didn't need to prepare all that much.

Even when heading into the dungeon alone, he rarely carried anything special. And this time, he would be entering as a blacksmith accompanying the Loki Familia, not as a front-line fighter.

With medicine and supplies being handled by the Loki Familia, Charles decided to bring only one piece of equipment: a cloak made from the hide of a high-tier dragon from the deep floors. Its defensive properties were excellent, and naturally, it was forged by Charles himself.

After all, joining the Loki Familia empty-handed would've been hard to explain.

Just like that, a week passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the Loki Familia's second expedition arrived.

Charles and the other members of his Familia gathered early and made their way to the Babel Tower to rendezvous with the Loki Familia.

Tsubaki, as unreliable as she could be, had at least done Charles one favor: she introduced him to most of their fellow Familia members.

The Hephaestus Familia was mostly composed of smiths absorbed in their craft, which made them surprisingly easy to get along with due to their straightforward personalities.

Once word spread that Charles, thanks to Tsubaki, could forge first-tier equipment, he quickly became friendly with the rest of them.

The one he grew closest to was a dwarf named Zade.

Zade, Level 3, title: "Flamebeard," a name inspired by his bushy, red beard. He, too, was a high-level blacksmith capable of crafting first-tier gear and magic swords.

Chatting casually along the way, the two arrived at the base of Babel Tower, where the Loki Familia awaited them.

As expected, the Loki Familia had split into three squads for this expedition, planning to regroup on the 37th floor.

By the time Charles and the others arrived, two squads had already set off. Only the group led by Finn remained, waiting for the blacksmiths to arrive.

Perhaps because they needed to protect the Hephaestus Familia's smiths, this group had an extremely high-level composition.

Besides Finn, Charles also spotted the Sword Princess Ais and her little shadow, the "Thousand Elf" Lefiya.

The Amazonian sisters were there as well. Honestly, even if this squad dove straight into the deep levels, they probably wouldn't have any issues.

Zade, being the most powerful smith on the surface, was naturally approached first by Finn.

"Zade, I'll be counting on your group again this time."

Shaking Finn's hand, Zade replied, "No worries. For 10% of the loot, we'll keep your gear in mint condition."

"That's good to hear," Finn said, his eyes shifting toward Charles. "Didn't expect to see you here too, Charles. Looks like I'll finally get to see that self-proclaimed masterpiece of a magic sword, huh?"

At this point, Charles was almost certain that Finn had orchestrated his participation.

Dealing with someone like this… not even the tiniest slip-up is allowed.

Though he was internally cursing Finn's scheming, Charles maintained a polite smile. "Of course. You can look forward to it."

Then, once again, he felt that persistent gaze falling on him. Just as he was about to mention it, Finn beat him to it, smiling slyly.

"Ah, right. For your protection, I've assigned Ais."

Zade cut in before Charles could protest, practically shouting, "The Sword Princess is protecting us? What an honor!"

Charles glanced at Zade with a deadpan expression. Thanks to that outburst, there was no room left for him to decline.

Satisfied, Finn nodded and announced the official start of the expedition.

The two Familia had worked together before and quickly fell into formation.

Unlike on a battlefield, dungeon exploration didn't allow for complex formations due to the unpredictable terrain and sudden monster appearances. Formations were usually limited to simple roles: vanguard, center, and rear.

The rear typically included supporters handling logistics, mages providing ranged firepower, and sometimes archers or defensive warriors.

The center—Finn's position—was for overall command and quick support. The vanguard was responsible for initiating combat and absorbing the brunt of monster attacks.

Despite being only part of the full Loki Familia, their formation remained tight and effective. Charles couldn't help but admire Finn's skillful coordination.

In the upper and middle floors of the dungeon, Finn constantly rotated the front line and even swapped vanguard and center personnel at times.

Charles could tell he was training the Familia's newer members—mostly Level 3 adventurers who hadn't been on expeditions before—to help them grow used to team combat.

Charles gave Finn a respectful glance. No wonder everyone envied the big Familia—with a leader this dependable, who wouldn't?

But…

Charles frowned slightly and turned his head. "Um, Miss Sword Princess… is something wrong?"

In his memories, once combat began, even Finn couldn't stop Ais. Yet here she was, following him closely despite him being positioned in the rear.

"Ais."

Charles blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Just call me Ais," she said, eyes fixed on him.

Charles was stunned for a moment before responding, "Then I'll take you up on that. Miss Ais, there's really no need for you to be guarding me. You'd be more useful elsewhere."

He nearly said, "Please just go away," outright. But Ais simply tilted her head and replied, "Finn told me to protect you. I can't leave."

Charles glanced pleadingly at Zade, only to see the dwarf flash a cheeky smile and a thumbs-up, his teeth gleaming in a way that made Charles want to punch them out.

Great. Zade was clearly no help.

Turning back to Ais, Charles tried reasoning again. "We've just entered the middle floors. Everyone here is more than reliable. No need to take it so seriously."

Ais shook her head. "No. If I don't complete Finn's task, he'll lecture me."

Charles's brow twitched. She's afraid of being scolded? She?

She hadn't gotten lectured last time after rampaging in the dungeon.

Still, with her being so insistent, Charles couldn't keep pushing her away.

With a sigh, he asked, "Let's be honest here. What exactly did Finn ask you to do?"

Ais's expression shifted, and Charles could immediately tell she was thinking something along the lines of: How did you know Finn gave me extra instructions?

After a pause, Ais answered, "Finn wants to know how strong you really are. I want to know too."

Charles frowned.

So that's how it is.

Finn had never bothered to hide his intentions—assigning Ais wasn't just about protection. It was clearly a test. He wouldn't resort to underhanded tactics, but whatever Charles chose to reveal… that was up to him.

As expected, none of these top-tier adventurers were simple.

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