[Name]: Kureha Clyret [Title]: None [Race]: Human [Occupation]: Adventurer, Swordswoman [Affiliation]: Hart Familia [Level]: Lv.3 [Floor Reached]: Floor 27 [Basic Abilities]:Strength: S999 → I0 Endurance: S999 → I0 Dexterity: SS1001 → I0 Agility: SS1001 → I0 Magic: S999 → I0 [Development Ability]: |Hunter G|Abnormal Resistance I| [Weapons]: Clyret Blade (Indestructible attribute, Sharp, Sturdy, Supple) Battle Short Blade (backup dagger) [Equipment]: Casual Clothes, Uniform, Formal Dress, Training Clothes Armament: silver light armor (silver base, purple trim), pleated short skirt (black and white), over-the-knee socks, short boots (purple) [Magic]: Holy Sword Strengthens the weapon with keen magic power, greatly boosts all Basic Abilities, and extends attack range. ·Attached magic ·Metal attribute [Skills]: Beloved's Crest Sword Saint's Duel Clyret Bloodline Battle Strife Sword of Atonement
...
Leon watched Kureha, who couldn't hide her delight, and sighed silently to himself.
With foundations like hers, he genuinely couldn't see where her future limits lay. In terms of potential alone, Kureha was the only person in the Familia, aside from him, the resident cheater, to possess five rare skills.
Though she had only one magic, combined with that pure, direct, and terrifying skill set, the combat power she could unleash had long since stopped being about whether she could fight above her level. It was about how much effort she was willing to spend thrashing opponents whose level was higher than her own.
In terms of pure single-target output, with her magic and skills working in concert, Kureha could easily break past the limits of her current level, unleashing attack power comparable to a Lv.4, even a top-tier Lv.4 with attributes trained to the very peak.
If the right environment and the right conditions happened to line up, landing a blow that crossed two levels, approaching or even matching Lv.5-level power, was not impossible.
In this respect, Leon could say with confidence that Kureha was absolutely in a league of her own within the Familia.
Then again, in a genuine head-on confrontation, she would be unable to fully bring a top-tier Lv.4's practical combat strength to bear. The problem lay not in her attack power, but in her frame, which was a touch fragile compared to that attack power.
In short, Kureha was an agility-type swordswoman completely specialized in attack: a textbook melee glass cannon, a perfect fit for her Sword Saint archetype.
For that reason, when Jeanne drew up tactics, Kureha was always placed in a roaming position on the team's flanks rather than in the vanguard charging the front. Her duties included not only sweeping enemies from both wings to relieve pressure on the line, but also shielding the artillery in the midguard (Leon) and protecting the Mage squad in the rearguard. On top of roaming, covering, and backup support, Kureha was also entrusted with the decisive kills in team fights.
After all, when it came to single-target physical attacks, her output was without question the highest in the Familia.
And since Leon, thanks to his Proof of Traversal skill, never lacked high-grade Excelia (Great Feats), handing the final blow to Kureha, the strongest at single-target physical attack, became the mutually accepted, tactically optimal choice within the Familia.
In that moment, a lot ran through Leon's head.
By the time he came back to himself, everyone had long since crowded around Kureha with their congratulations, chattering away in high spirits.
"Ngh... it's so unfair..."
Laurier bit down hard on the hem of her outfit, eyes brimming with tears:
"Kureha joined even later than me, and now she's gone and hit Lv.3 before I did..."
Kureha smiled and reached out to gently ruffle her drooping little head:
"Who told you to go slacking off all the time? If you trained a little more seriously..."
Leon cut in out of nowhere from the side:
"You still couldn't possibly level as fast as Kureha!"
The air went quiet for a moment.
Then someone, who knows who, was the first to snort out a laugh, and the whole group burst into roars of laughter:
"Hahahaha!"
Laurier's eyes went perfectly round, her cheeks flushing visibly red, as if steam were about to shoot out of her ears:
"Aaah! Leon! I, I'm gonna get you for this!!"
...
Deep in the forest, in the shadows beneath the branches and leaves, the two figures wrapped in pitch-black cloaks slowly lowered a monocular magic spyglass and exchanged a silent look.
One of them extended a hand from beneath his cloak, knuckles slightly bent, and made a quick hand sign:
"Captain, do we keep following and watching them, or...?"
The other responded almost at once, his signs brief and decisive:
"We stop here. The domain below the eighteenth floor is no place for the likes of us to set foot. Never mind tailing them; the two of us would probably die in a monster's jaws first. Know your own measure, remember your role and your mission. Don't invite complications."
"But, Captain..."
"Cut the chatter. If a Lv.1 like you wants to go get himself killed, don't drag me along."
"..."
"We withdraw. Pass the intel up. What happens after that is nothing to do with us; leave it to the higher-ups to handle. As for us..."
"We need only wait patiently... for the arrival of that festival on the surface. Our wish..."
The hand signs stopped abruptly there.
The man addressed as captain raised his head slightly.
Beneath the hood's shadow showed a stubbled face carved by wind and weather. His eyes were cold and hard, his face giving away nothing, but if one looked closely, in the depths of those eyes, dark as still pools, a dim flame flickered faintly. It was a nearly fanatical anticipation for the long-cherished wish soon to be fulfilled.
If Leon ever saw him, he could say only one thing:
The evil gods behind Evilus really do ruin people.
...
"Hm?"
Jeanne, carrying wild berries just gathered from the woods, suddenly halted mid-step. She whipped around, gaze sharp, toward the depths of the forest where a faint rustling had come, her brows gradually drawing tight.
"My imagination? Impossible..."
"Revelation definitely reacted just now..."
Not far off, Leon, who was recharging the spherical magic crystal set in the head of his Scholar's Staff, noticed something off about her and looked up with a questioning glance.
Jeanne slowly drew her gaze back, set the berries on a rock beside her, walked over to him, and sat down on the fallen log, her voice pressed low:
"Just now... from deep in the forest, I felt a prying gaze."
The magical glow flowing through Leon's hand faltered slightly.
But a moment later, the light shone steady once more. His expression stayed as composed as ever, though his voice had sunk a few shades:
"I see. Looks like we'll need to raise our guard a little for the rest of the trip."
Then he shifted gears, reassuring her:
"But there's no need to worry too much. Past the eighteenth floor, anything deeper is territory ordinary people can't reach. And the floors only grow larger and larger, the terrain wider and wider, so it becomes that much harder for anyone to make trouble for us."
Even as he said it, his mind was racing... again...
Who could it be?