Time moved quickly, and three days passed.
It took roughly three days for Leo and the others to leave the Dungeon and return to Orario.
When they got back to Orario and, welcomed by their Familia companions, returned once more to Twilight Manor, it wasn't long before a rumor began to spread.
"Mr. Leo and Miss Ais teamed up to defeat the Floor Boss on Floor 37, Udaeus."
No one knew who started it, but the rumor spread at astonishing speed until every member of Loki Familia had heard.
The members buzzed over it for quite a while, and even planned to go straight to Leo and Ais themselves to confirm it.
But before the crowd of members could confirm anything, from the God's Chamber at the very top of the Central Tower, a certain patron deity's ecstatic scream rang out.
"My Ais is Lv.6!!!"
That voice, everyone in the whole of Twilight Manor heard it.
Gasps and cheers went up together, sending the entire manor into an uproar.
The top floor of the Central Tower, outside the God's Chamber.
When Loki's ecstatic shriek rang out, Leo was standing just outside the God's Chamber.
So when Ais came out of the God's Chamber with a piece of parchment in her hand, Leo was the first to offer his congratulations.
"Congratulations, Ais. You got the level up you wanted."
Leo was sincerely happy for her.
"Thanks."
Ais looked at the man who had survived a death match at her side and come with her to update his Status. A rare, relieved joy appeared on her face. The anxiety and urgency of days before, when she had seemed driven by something invisible, were gone.
Reaching Lv.6 and a new height finally eased the tension Ais had carried all this time.
Learning that she could still grow stronger, that she could keep developing, that from now on she would meet challenges at a brand-new stage, Ais's joy was almost written all over her face.
She feared nothing else, only that she couldn't grow stronger.
Now she had entered a new stage and reopened the potential that had reached its limit. For the moment, Ais could finally rest a little easier.
"Can you let me see it?"
Leo's eyes went to the parchment in Ais's hand, and he couldn't help asking.
"Here."
Ais didn't hesitate in the slightest, handing it straight to him.
Ais Wallenstein
Lv.5 → Lv.6
Strength: D564 → I0
Endurance: D553 → I0
Dexterity: A827 → I0
Agility: A824 → I0
Magic: S900 → I0
Hunter: G
Abnormal Resistance: G
Swordsman: I → H
Spirit Healing: I
Looking at this Status that belonged to Ais alone, Leo nodded.
Not only had Ais risen to Lv.6, but before leveling up she had pushed her Magic all the way to the highest rank, S, and after leveling up she had even learned the same Spirit Healing Development Ability that he and Riveria had. That alone showed just how hard she had been using her magic lately.
It made Leo think back to the scene on the way home from Floor 37.
At that time, Ais had looked recovered, no longer covered in wounds, but only her injuries had healed. The heavy physical strain from overusing her "wind" remained, making almost the entire journey back agony. She couldn't even kill a Barbarian in one blow as she had before, and her condition had visibly deteriorated.
Leo himself was in a state where his Mind hadn't fully recovered either. Every time he used magic it sent a stab of pain through his brain, and the Magic Potions were all used up, so both he and Lefiya could only ration out that little bit of Mind on the way back, not daring to cast magic freely at all, fighting with their hands utterly tied.
Luckily, Tiona and Tione were dependable and still in perfect condition. With those two clearing the path and protecting the party, they made it back to the surface on the third day.
Remembering this, Leo was about to say "don't pull something so reckless again," but the moment he realized he'd done just as much if not worse himself, he swallowed the words back down.
"Seeing you level up, I can hardly wait myself."
Leo changed his tune with a smile, handing the parchment back.
"You can do it too."
Ais took the parchment and said this to Leo with utter seriousness.
"I hope you're right."
Leo smiled, then walked into the God's Chamber as Ais watched him go.
The moment he stepped through the door, Leo saw his patron deity still caught up in her excitement.
"Ais-tan has finally hit Lv.6 too, so now my Familia's got one more Lv.6 than that lust-struck goddess's Familia!"
Loki was visibly delighted, even dancing and waving her arms around.
Leo naturally knew who she was comparing them against.
Freya Familia shared the title of the city's strongest Familia with Loki Familia and was their greatest rival.
Before this, Loki Familia had three Lv.6s in total, and Freya Familia also had three Lv.6s. These six Lv.6s were also the only six Lv.6s in all of Orario, with no seventh Lv.6 besides them, which showed the two great Familias weren't called the strongest for nothing.
And now, with Ais rising to Lv.6, Loki Familia's Lv.6s outnumbered Freya Familia's by one, so it was only natural Loki would be happy about it.
Only...
"Is that really worth being happy about?" Leo said, not quite getting it. "Our Lv.6s outnumber theirs by one, sure, but our Lv.5s are one short of theirs."
"And, did you forget, they've still got a Lv.7 over there."
Freya Familia's first-class adventurers had always numbered eight before this, of whom one was Lv.7, three were Lv.6, and four were Lv.5.
Loki Familia's first-class adventurers, meanwhile, numbered seven, three Lv.6s and four Lv.5s in all.
In other words, Loki Familia had always had one fewer first-class adventurer than Freya Familia, and the one they were short happened to be a Lv.7, the only one in the entire city.
Now, Ais had certainly risen to Lv.6, but Loki Familia still had one fewer first-class adventurer than the other side, and Ais definitely couldn't compare to that Lv.7 ultimate weapon. There was no telling what Loki was so happy about.
"Can't I just be happy my own Familia's thriving?" Loki shot Leo a glare, put out. "So they've got a Lv.7, big deal. Finn and the others'll get there soon enough!"
"So we're one first-class adventurer short. So what? You're still here, aren't you?"
Bringing that up, Loki gave a cold little laugh.
"I heard all about it, kid, just how reckless you and Ais-tan got this time around."
"Just the two of you, one Lv.4 and one Lv.5, and you actually dared go challenge a Floor Boss whose potential even topped Lv.6?"
"You two have got some nerve!"
Her sarcastic tone made it clear this was a dressing-down, not praise.
"...I didn't think Udaeus would be that strong either."
Leo muttered under his breath.
This was one thing he really hadn't seen coming.
In the original work, Ais had defeated Udaeus without using Avenger and with only a little support from Riveria. Leo had therefore assumed that, even if he couldn't win, he wouldn't lose too badly. Yet even after teaming up with Ais, they had nearly lost. That showed how far Ais had pushed herself to topple the Floor Boss in the original work.
She was the heroine of the original work, after all, and had some fortune on her side. Riveria's support was only part of why Ais had managed to defeat Udaeus alone. Her iron will and frightening obsession had carried her through the rest.
Under those circumstances, adding Leo to the fight had only improved matters a little. He was still just Lv.4.
Of course, after today, he was no longer Lv.4.
"My Ais leveled up, and with a monster like you, kid, there's no way you wouldn't level up too, right?"
The smile returned to Loki's face, and, thrilled beyond measure, she patted the chair in front of her.
"Sit down, quick, let me have a good look."
At that, Leo had no objection, sitting down in front of Loki and pulling off his shirt.
Loki moved fast, unlocking Leo's Status right away and bringing the jester inscription to the surface.
The moment the second drop of divine blood fell, the Status on Leo's back flashed with red light, making Loki's eyes go wide and her mouth split into a grin.
"Yes!"
For the second time the patron deity leapt up, shouting hysterically.
"Leo's Lv.5 too!!!"
That voice rang out through the whole of Twilight Manor once again, and the manor, still in an uproar, first fell silent, then burst into even louder cheers.
Outside the door, Ais's expression relaxed as if in relief, and just as Leo had for her a moment ago, she was sincerely happy for him.
Leo Eligos
Lv.4
Strength: A831 → SSS1277
Endurance: A807 → SSS1235
Dexterity: SSS1345 → SSS1464
Agility: S926 → SSS1331
Magic: SS1052 → SSS1489
Mage: G → F
Magic Attack: H → G
Spirit Healing: I → H
This was Leo's final Status at the Lv.4 stage.
Just as he had anticipated, he had succeeded in training all his abilities to SSS while at Lv.4, crossing his former limits.
Even all three Development Abilities had gained a rank across the board; the haul couldn't be called anything but large.
Consider the Mage Development Ability alone: even Riveria, the city's strongest Mage, was only at E, while he had already reached F, one rank behind her. Across Orario or even the entire Lower World, only a handful of people surpassed Leo in Mage.
Development Abilities were notoriously difficult to raise, yet Leo improved his before every level up. If word got out, plenty of people would question reality.
Of course, this wasn't the biggest surprise or gain from this Status update.
"You've got a new Skill too, you know."
Loki said this cheerfully, making Leo lift his head.
"A new Skill?"
Leo was caught off guard.
"That's right." Loki gave a giggle. "And this one's a real powerhouse of a Skill."
As she spoke, Loki set to work on Leo's back.
His final Lv.4 Status had been recorded. Next came a new Level and new possibilities.
The miracle called Rank Up was completed by Loki's hand, turning into Leo's power, slumbering anew on his back.
"There, take a look yourself."
Loki translated the final updated Status into the common language and copied it down, then handed it to Leo.
Leo fixed his eyes on it and found that the contents had undergone no small change.
Leo Eligos
Lv.5
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Mage: F
Magic Attack: G
Spirit Healing: H
Swordsman: I
Magic
Meteor Dance
· Star attribute.
· Extra Mind can be spent to increase power.
· Extra Mind can be spent to add attacks.
· Chant: Light of heaven, sword of stars.
Comet Chase
· Flight magic.
· Star attribute.
· Continuous acceleration while active.
· Continuous protection while active.
· Chant: Race onward like a comet.
Skill
----
※ Cannot be deciphered.
Star Soul Eternal
· Amplifies magic effects.
· Amplifies the effect of the Mage Development Ability.
· Strongly enhances the basic ability Magic.
Star Sword Crossing
· While a blade is equipped, small increase to Strength.
· While a blade is equipped, medium increase to Dexterity.
· While a blade is equipped, large increase to Agility.
· The higher the blade's quality, the stronger the Skill's effect.
First was the level. Leo had finally become Lv.5, and from now on he was a first-class adventurer standing in the ranks of Orario's top-tier fighting strength.
Over the course of nearly three months, Leo had climbed hard and fast, from a Lv.1 who had just received the Falna, and had at last, on this very day, become Lv.5.
Even though he'd prepared himself mentally for this, looking at that clear "Lv.5" written in the level column on the parchment, Leo still felt a little dazed.
Once, this goal had seemed impossibly distant, something he could only glimpse from afar without daring to hope for it.
Especially when he'd first come to this world, Ais, who had brought him out of the Dungeon, was Lv.5; Bete, who had looked at him with distaste because a small fry like him kept hanging around Ais, was also Lv.5; and even Tiona and Tione, who were always chattering and making a racket, were Lv.5.
To the Leo of back then, all these people were big shots he could only look up to.
They were executives of the Familia, the strongest fighting force beneath the three heads.
They were first-class adventurers, hero candidates the whole of Orario sang praises of.
And him back then, he was just a trainee working a logistics position, who hadn't even received the Falna, who wasn't even an adventurer.
The Leo of back then had never imagined he could catch up to them. He knew they were geniuses and prodigies, remarkable figures in the original work, with Ais as its unquestioned heroine.
Even when he'd received the Falna and formally become an adventurer, Leo had never dared hope he could catch up to them quickly; he only hoped he could grow stronger quickly, so he'd no longer be so utterly helpless.
Who could have thought that in less than three months, he'd reach the same Level as people once so far beyond him?
True, Ais was now already Lv.6, but Bete, Tiona, and Tione were all still Lv.5.
At the very least, he was no weaker than those three.
Having steadied his rising and falling emotions somewhat, Leo turned his gaze to that Skill.
Star Sword Crossing.
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