When Jeanne realized her next task wasn't to fight, but to "read" and "study," her sapphire blue eyes instantly lost all their light, turning as dead as burnt ash.
Gods knew that for an illiterate village girl raised in the countryside, studying was a torturous ordeal. Even though the system had implanted basic language and literacy into her mind so she wasn't completely uneducated, forcing her to sit down quietly and read a book was vastly more terrifying than facing an army of thousands.
By the time the tutoring session ended, Jeanne was in a daze, looking as though her very soul had left her body.
And the way Eina looked at Jeanne was filled with unspeakable complexity.
She simply couldn't fathom how this Holy Maiden—who exuded a sacred, awe-inspiring aura as if she had just walked out of a heroic epic—was such a hopeless failure at academics.
Gods only knew how much effort it took just to force Jeanne to memorize the basic rules of the Dungeon and the standard monsters of the upper floors. Eina had eventually discovered her student's functional illiteracy and stayed up all night condensing the textbooks into a highly illustrated "kindergarten picture book" crash course just so Jeanne could barely pass the threshold.
With the theoretical learning complete, Jeanne finally stepped into the Dungeon.
To help her adapt, Aiden and the team strictly adhered to the standard novice procedure. They guided her starting from the 1st Floor, letting her familiarize herself with enemies vastly different from human soldiers: from the weakest Goblins to the rolling Slimes, to the club-wielding Hilichurls.
No one doubted Jeanne's combat prowess. Though she was a first-timer in the Dungeon, her actual combat experience easily dwarfed Aiden and Robin's combined. Especially in player-versus-player combat, Jeanne was unquestionably the strongest among them.
What she needed to learn was the specific combat rhythm required against monsters, as their attack patterns and logic were entirely different from human soldiers.
.....
14th Floor, Cave Labyrinth. Gripping her war banner, Jeanne stood solemnly at the rear of the formation, guarding Robin and Hyacine as they prepared their magic.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, her gaze snapped to a seemingly ordinary patch of ground to her left.
A split second later, an icy blue flower burst from the soil—a Cryo Whopperflower, notorious for ambushes.
However, in the face of Jeanne's [Revelation] skill, any form of sneak attack was as glaring as a firefly in the dead of night.
Before the Whopperflower could even open its petals, the war banner in Jeanne's hands descended like a bolt of silver lightning. With a thunderous CRASH, the crushing force smashed the miserable monster right back into the dirt.
It was worth noting that Jeanne's brand-new war banner no longer bore the Fleur-de-lis, but the scales and water droplet representing water and justice—the insignia of the Focalors Familia.
And the armor Tsubaki had personally forged for her finally made Robin and Hyacine understand exactly why the master blacksmith had called it "wild tastes."
After all, what kind of Holy Maiden wore a delicate metal collar tightly locked around her pale neck? What kind of breastplate required slender chains wrapping around the chest to secure it?
Especially when this design was paired with Jeanne's "justice"—which was far and away the most impressive in the entire Focalors Familia—along with over-the-knee black stockings and heavy metal combat boots. The combination unexpectedly created an indescribably alluring aesthetic.
Yet, Jeanne herself remained completely oblivious to this.
As far as she was concerned, the equipment was sturdy, fit perfectly, and didn't restrict her movement in the slightest. It was perfectly normal.
.....
Today marked the tenth day since the War Game had concluded.
The massive waves the Focalors Familia had caused in Orario were gradually subsiding with time, transitioning into casual gossip over dinner.
After surviving Eina's hellish picture-book tutoring and the practical training from the 1st Floor onward, Jeanne was now completely accustomed to the Dungeon's tempo. Now, she could follow Aiden and the others through the middle floors without breaking a sweat, navigating the sudden spike in monster difficulty with ease.
Her growth speed was nothing short of terrifying.
Robin's skills, [Tonal Resonance] and [Family of Harmony], deserved the primary credit for this.
Under the buffs of these two skills, the entire party's experience gain efficiency underwent a qualitative leap. And as a "novice" freshly entering the Dungeon, Jeanne enjoyed the double dividends of the beginner phase and the skill buffs. Her stats skyrocketed like a rocket.
In just ten days, when Furina updated their status boards, the results were vividly displayed on everyone's falna.
[Jeanne d'Arc] Level: Lv.1
Strength: I-0 → C
Endurance: I-0 → A
Dexterity: I-0 → G
Agility: I-0 → G
Magic: I-0 → C
[Aiden] Level: Lv.2
Strength: S → SSS
Endurance: A → SSS
Dexterity: S → SSS
Agility: S → SSS
Magic: SSSS
[Robin] Level: Lv.2
Strength: H → G
Endurance: H → G
Dexterity: G → F
Agility: F → D
Magic: E → A
[Tifa Lockhart] Level: Lv.1
Strength: S → SS
Endurance: D → C
Dexterity: A → S
Agility: SSSSS
Magic: S → SS
[Hyacine] Level: Lv.1
Strength: D → B
Endurance: E → C
Dexterity: D → C
Agility: C → B
Magic: SSSSS
After battling furiously in the middle floors for ten straight days, every member of the Focalors Familia had reaped massive rewards.
Tifa and Hyacine's experience had already overflowed; they were ready to step through the threshold to Lv.2 at any moment.
As for Aiden, relying on the Great Feat achieved by defeating the Apollo Familia and ten days of insane grinding inside the Domain Instances, he had accumulated enough qualifications to push for Lv.3.
More importantly, through repeatedly grinding the "Hidden Palace of Zhou Formula" Domain Instance, he had successfully farmed a complete 4-star [Defender's Will] Artifact set for Jeanne. Tifa, Robin, and Hyacine had also been equipped with full [Adventurer] and [Berserker] sets tailored to their specific roles.
Until they found more suitable 5-star Artifacts, this gear was more than enough.
"It's time to head back." Aiden sheathed his weapon, looking at the companions beside him. "Everyone has reached a bottleneck. Let's head back and have Furina update our statuses and level us up."
No one voiced any objections.
However, mixed with the joy of an impending level up was a distinct sense of urgency.
There were only a few days left until the next Denatus. Aiden knew full well that Hermes—a god who loved nothing more than watching the world burn for entertainment—would never pass up this opportunity. He was bound to stir up a storm at the assembly and publicly expose the secret of the Focalors Familia's rapid growth.
Once that happened, they would be completely exposed to the scrutiny of every god and Familia in Orario.
Therefore, they had to maximize their overall strength before that happened, preparing themselves for whatever risks might come their way.
As long as I can reach Lv.3, Aiden thought to himself. With my arsenal of magic and Robin's [Vox Harmonique, Opus Cosmique], even if we face a First-Class Adventurer, we might just stand a chance. Only then would the Focalors Familia truly have the qualifications to establish a firm foothold in this city where the strong preyed upon the weak. Plus, with the Apollo Familia serving as a cautionary tale, any gods or adventurers plotting in the shadows would have to seriously weigh their own strength before making a move.
Returning to the surface, the group didn't head to the bustling construction site of their new headquarters, the Palais Mermonia. Instead, they returned to their original rental property in the Seventh District.
Furina was already prepared, eagerly awaiting the return of her children.
"Oh, my dearest children! Welcome back triumphant! Come, let your Goddess bear witness to the growth that will surely be written into epics!"
Amidst Furina's excitement, the level-up ceremony commenced.
Divine blood fell, and the sacred text on their backs surged and restructured at an unprecedented speed.
First was Aiden. His level leaped from 2 to 3, and a brand-new development ability was branded onto his status board—[Swordsman].
Next was Hyacine, successfully advancing to Lv.2 and acquiring the development ability [Mixing], a perfect fit for her role.
Finally, Tifa also leveled up to Lv.2, gaining the [Pugilist] development ability, the icing on the cake for her martial arts.
With that, the Focalors Familia now boasted one Lv.3, three Lv.2s, and one Lv.1 adventurer with boundless potential.
Though their numbers were still small, every single one of them was the absolute elite of the elite. Without a doubt, they were walking the exact same path the Astrea Familia once took—quality over quantity.
---
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