"This Skill..."
Looking at the effects of the new Skill recorded on the parchment, Leo's eyes lit up faintly.
"It's very obviously an amplification-and-enhancement type Skill, much like your Star Soul Eternal. The difference is that Star Soul Eternal amplifies and enhances your magic ability, while Star Sword Crossing clearly amplifies and enhances your melee ability."
Seeing Leo keep his eyes fixed on the new Skill recorded on the parchment, Loki still wore that same cheerful look.
"On top of that, you learned the Swordsman Development Ability with this level up. I guess your melee and magic have both truly come into their own now, huh?"
Loki knew that Leo had always been firm about where he placed himself: he wanted to walk the path of the Magic Swordsman.
This kid wasn't willing to be just a Mage protected in the back, which was why, even though his talent on the magic side showed for all it was worth, he still stuck to sparring with Ais every day, learning swordsmanship, and after rising to Lv.4 had even gone to Finn himself and gotten Finn to teach him his craft.
You could say that throughout the entire Lv.4 stage, Leo had spent almost all of it working to develop and hone his melee ability.
Now that effort and persistence had brought his melee potential to fruition.
Star Sword Crossing's effect was extremely clear: simply equipping a blade would raise every basic ability, and although the degree of increase varied, so long as the equipped blade was of high enough quality, this Skill would be in no way inferior to Star Soul Eternal, and might even be a cut above.
Just as Loki said, this was an incredibly powerful Skill with tremendous potential.
And the Swordsman Development Ability was like the Mage one, the former being an ability that only a high-level swordsman could possibly trigger, the latter being proof of a high-level Mage.
Its effect was equally straightforward, boosting a swordsman's abilities across the board much as Mage supported magic in several ways.
Ais possessed this Development Ability, and had only learned it upon rising to Lv.4, which showed that learning it was no simple matter.
Even the city's strongest female swordsman could only learn it at Lv.4, so what did that say for everyone else?
After learning this Development Ability, Leo could now call himself a high-level swordsman. Combined with his standing as a high-level Mage, he had developed both sides of the Magic Swordsman's path.
Only at this point did Leo have the standing to be called a powerful Magic Swordsman.
His melee ability now lagged barely at all behind his magic, and that gain mattered more than the level up itself.
At the very least, among the characters in the original work, the only person known to possess both Swordsman and Mage was Freya Familia's Hogni Ragnar, alias Dainsleif.
And this man's level was... Lv.6.
Loki opened her eyes slightly and looked at Leo with a smile.
"If you use this Skill properly, kid, you should have no trouble fighting above your Level, huh?"
At the very least, giving the Lv.5 Leo a Status equivalent to Lv.6 was likely no problem at all.
Star Soul Eternal could make Leo's magic ability surge back at Lv.3 to a degree rivaling Lv.5, so Star Sword Crossing naturally wouldn't fall short either.
With just one suitable weapon, Leo's Status was sure to gain a truly outrageous boost.
Which was to say...
"You may have only just risen to Lv.5, kid, but purely in terms of your abilities across the board, you can probably rival a Lv.6 already."
"Whether it's melee ability or magic ability, both are the same."
"Add those two ridiculous spells of yours, and once you've fully adjusted to your current strength, you shouldn't be at a disadvantage even against my Ais going all out."
At this, Loki couldn't help laughing wildly again.
"Finn and the others'll be pretty happy, won't they? Our Familia finally has another pillar!"
Leo was no longer merely expected to become a pillar someday. He was qualified now.
Never mind his actual ability, simply having risen to Lv.5 and become a first-class adventurer gave Leo the standing to rank among the Familia's top tier.
At Lv.4, Leo had still been a core figure in the Second Army. At Lv.5, he was a full member of the First Army, ready to join the elite squad of Finn, Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Bete.
He had joined those people before, but back then he relied on firepower comparable to a first-class adventurer while serving as a rearguard and Supporter. He had been support personnel.
Unlike now, when he was the party's undeniable main fighting force, a fully matured high-level middle guard, and even placing him in the vanguard would pose no problem at all.
You could say that only now had Leo realized his original vision, truly reaching the summit on the path of the Magic Swordsman.
Now he was both a high-level swordsman and a high-level Mage, making him a top-level Magic Swordsman.
Aside from being unable to fill the position of Healer, the Leo of now could fully handle whatever position he was placed in.
With someone this versatile, Finn could assign him wherever needed with confidence.
Of course, the premise was that he be paired with a good weapon.
"A high-quality blade... is it?"
Leo fell into thought.
He really should replace his weapon.
The Dragon Fang Sword was only Third Class superior equipment, its power slightly inferior to Second Class equipment, with only its durability able to rival Second Class equipment. Leo could still make do with it at Lv.4, but using it now was no longer appropriate.
With a Skill like Star Sword Crossing, failing to equip a good weapon would be a terrible waste.
Then there was the Emerald Staff, likewise only Third Class superior equipment, which for Leo, now a first-class adventurer, could no longer keep up with his needs or the intensity of his battles.
These two pieces of equipment should have been phased out back at Lv.4, since they were only the lowest tier of superior equipment, but because the smithing materials and craftsmanship used were both very high, both pieces counted among the finest of the fine within Third Class equipment, in some respects even comparable to Second Class equipment, which was why Leo had kept using them all this while.
But using them up to Lv.4 really was the limit.
After rising to Lv.5, continuing to use these two pieces of Third Class equipment wouldn't bring Leo any benefit at all, and would instead drag him down.
"The sword and staff you were using before were just general-purpose custom jobs too, so it's about time we found a high-level master to tailor a dedicated weapon just for you."
Loki knew this matter was directly tied to how strong Leo could become from here on, so she had no intention of standing by and got straight to consulting him.
"On this front, you got any ideas?"
Leo considered the question. He did have some ideas.
"I'm a Magic Swordsman when it comes down to it, so I need both a sword and a staff, but a fighting style with a sword in one hand and a staff in the other still isn't quite suited to high-speed close-quarters combat."
With a sword in one hand and a staff in the other, Leo either charged in and focused on melee or opened the distance to chant magic. The weapons served separate roles instead of truly fusing swordplay and spellcasting.
This wasn't what he wanted.
What he wanted was to be able to cast magic with Concurrent Chanting even in high-speed close-quarters combat, and without deliberately using a staff to boost the power.
"So, I want a sword-and-staff-in-one weapon, the same as Hildrsleif."
Leo stated his requirement.
"A weapon like Hedin Selland's?"
Loki's brows shot up.
Hedin Selland, a first-class adventurer of Freya Familia, level Lv.6, alias Hildrsleif, was known together with Dainsleif Hogni Ragnar as the Black and White Knights, and was one of Orario's strongest Mages.
It was said that Hedin Selland surpassed Riveria in total Mind, magic control, and range, so many considered him Orario's strongest Mage. He also had enough combat skill to serve in the vanguard. Combined with his rare ultra-short chants and mastery of Concurrent Chanting, that made him an all-round Magic Swordsman.
He also commanded Freya Familia and possessed strategic ability comparable to Finn's, making him something like Finn and Riveria combined. In Loki Familia's eyes, Hedin was the enemy they most needed to watch besides the captain known as King.
Because he was both a Mage of the city's strongest level and had combat technique sufficient to serve as a vanguard, Hedin Selland had tailored a special weapon just for himself, Dizaria.
That was a double-bladed polearm, a First Class piece of equipment forged from the branch of a sacred tree, with one end a staff and one end a longsword for close combat, posing no problem whether used to perform swordsmanship or to cast magic, sword and staff in one, not only rare but powerful.
That was why Dizaria was the first thing Leo thought of when considering his future main weapon.
This weapon was different from his earlier Dragon Fang Sword and Emerald Staff; it was a weapon suited to himself now that he had become a first-class adventurer, and would without a doubt be a first-rate item.
First Class superior equipment, this was already the highest-quality weapon, and it would accompany him for a very, very long time to come, possibly never to be replaced again.
Therefore, Leo had to make his requirements as complete as possible so the weapon could draw out his full strength.
"You sure know how to hand me a tough one..."
Learning of Leo's idea, Loki started scratching her head.
A sword-and-staff-in-one piece of superior equipment, this counted as the most special type among all superior equipment.
But a weapon like this really did suit a high-level Magic Swordsman like Leo best, posing no problem whether he wanted to fight in melee or to cast magic.
"Fine, I'll help you get it sorted."
Loki said this with utter seriousness.
"Leave it to me."
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