"Looks like everyone's caught on," Finn said with a satisfied nod.
"This gathering is mainly for adventurers between Level 1 and Level 3. It's a test—to see whether, under sufficient pressure, you can force out your hidden potential."
"If your resolve holds strong, then you might just achieve the kind of breakthrough you've only dreamed about."
A quiet ripple ran through the room as the lower-ranked adventurers swallowed hard.
A breakthrough beyond imagination—if that was truly possible, then no matter how brutal the test turned out to be, they'd endure it to the end.
"As for whether the test actually yields results," Finn continued, "that's already been confirmed."
"We, along with Alise and the others, have already undergone the same trial. The results far exceeded anything we expected."
"This round of testing is simply to see whether, with the difficulty lowered, the lower-level adventurers can endure long enough to reach the same results."
Finn's words hit like a thunderclap. At the same time, they were the strongest dose of motivation the room had ever felt.
Their fear had never been about whether they could endure—Loki Familia's members were never short on willpower.
What they lacked was opportunity. A guarantee that their struggle could actually lead to progress.
Now that their captain had spoken so clearly—and that others had already proven it was possible—they couldn't help but believe.
This test was their long-awaited chance.
"However," Finn went on, "remember this is just a test. We can't have too many people vanishing from the Familia for long periods."
"If the outside world notices, it'll cause Tsuna a lot of trouble."
That drew nods from around the room.
The Loki Familia was always under watch. If too many members disappeared at once, the Guild and other Familias would start asking questions.
This test was clearly tied to their new recruit. And no one wanted to draw outside attention to the rookie who had given them this opportunity in the first place.
"Captain, how many participants are we starting with?" someone asked.
"Based on our current numbers," Finn replied, "we'll begin with twenty."
"Considering we just returned from an Expedition, this period's meant for recovery. We can't have too many people gone again so soon."
"So, twenty participants to start. The test will last one week. Each day will consist of half a day of training and half a day of rest."
"Once the week's over, we'll reconvene here to update everyone's data. The results will be shared internally."
Everything—the duration, the scale, the schedule—was made perfectly clear.
Everyone also understood the unspoken implication: this entire experiment existed thanks to the Familia's newest member.
That meant secrecy was vital.
If word got out before the system was ready, the real opportunity might slip away from them.
"Tonight's meeting," Finn concluded, "is also to finalize the details. We'll be selecting the first group of participants."
The moment he said it, the air shifted. Excitement flared like wildfire.
Thus began the Loki Familia's grand Low-Level Reformation Project.
Twenty participants wasn't a large number—barely a tenth of their total force—but it was enough to make waves.
Since the Expedition had just ended, not everyone was eager to dive back into the Dungeon. Some wanted a brief rest, a rare stretch of peace before the next mission.
So if a few faces went unseen for a week or two, no one outside would think twice.
Besides, not every adventurer in the Familia was constantly under scrutiny.
That margin of anonymity gave the test all the cover it needed.
"Tch… the Dark Faction really pulled off something impressive this time," Hermes muttered.
He'd received the full report from the Dungeon. The incident on the 18th floor—the monster surge—was already crystal clear. The creatures hadn't just flooded up from the 17th floor; even the 19th had spawned aberrations.
"Causing this much chaos in the Dungeon…"
"First, the mutated sirens… then the premature birth of the Amphisbaena. Those bastards hid in the shadows for years, and now they resurface—again."
"And this time, they targeted Astraea's children."
Hermes wasn't surprised that the Dark Faction bore hatred toward Astraea, or that they'd go after her Familia. What intrigued him was how Loki had learned about it so quickly.
"You're sure we still can't determine how Loki got the information?" he asked.
"Not yet," Asfi replied with a shake of her head. She'd already conducted a full investigation across Rivira, but the conclusion was definitive.
"There's no intelligence network transmitting information upward from Rivira."
"Even if one existed, it was completely down during that time frame."
"Besides, transferring written reports takes time."
"Based on the Loki Familia's travel timeline through Rivira, the moment Lady Loki went to the Guild and contacted Lady Astraea, we can confirm something important."
"Loki learned about the incident less than three hours after it happened."
Hermes raised a brow.
"As fast as that?"
"Yes. Based on our testing, even the quickest written dispatch from the lower floors to the surface would take at least four hours."
"And that's under stable conditions. During the monster surge, the route would've been unstable—it could've taken half a day."
"So," Asfi said decisively, "we can only conclude that Lady Loki used an alternative channel to obtain the intel."
"At present," she continued, "the only possible source would be the Loki Familia's newest member."
"The summoner… huh?" Hermes murmured.
Asfi didn't need to elaborate further. The pieces were already in place.
The information hadn't come through conventional means—it had bypassed them entirely.
And given what the "supernatural division" had reported—that Loki's new recruit was on par with the Sword Princess herself—Hermes didn't have to think twice.
He knew exactly where Loki's mysterious intelligence network truly lay.
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