DanMachi World.
Hestia Familia.
Having finished dinner as usual, Lynn, returning from the Mist Space, found Hestia to update his blessing.
[YukimuraLynn—LV5]
[Strength: G201→S952]
[Endurance: G265→S984]
[Dexterity: G241→S946]
[Agility: G234→S951]
[Magic: G248→SSS1905]
[Development Ability: Swordsman G, Magic H→G, Fist Strike I→H, Thunder Break I→H]
[Magic: Current Propulsion, State of Selflessness, Spirit Devouring Barrier, Slash Formula]
[Skills: Unity, Mind's Eye, Hymn of Courage, Flesh Mimicry, Super-speed Regeneration, Blood of Evolution, Black Flash, Fist Mastery, Survival Instinct, Martial Will]
"Lynn, it looks like you can level up again."
"So soon?"
"Yes, just that fast."
Hestia transcribed the blessing with a calm face.
Rapidly growing ability values, awakening a fourth Magic to break the limit, continuous leveling...
By now, she had witnessed too many miracles in Lynn.
In just one week, his development abilities were fully upgraded, and his level went from a fresh LV5 to meeting the requirements for LV6.
This sort of thing could no longer shake her... as if!
"No matter how you look at it, this is way too fast!"
"I was joking when I said breaking from LV5 to LV6 in a week last time; Lynn, don't take it seriously!"
"Don't worry, I won't level up this time."
Lynn looked over the paper Hestia handed him.
Normally, the higher an adventurer's level, the harder it is to obtain deeds and ability values.
But Lynn was different; he had cheats.
[Unity: The more there are, the stronger the effect]
As his first skill, Unity could enhance his growth speed and hidden attributes like comprehension.
As more and more Lynn's arrived in the Mist Space, the amplification effect of Unity was enhanced accordingly.
Relying on the amplification from Unity, his ability values could keep increasing even if he just fought and trained with Ottar every day.
Furthermore, the Lynn's in other worlds could also receive the Unity amplification while training or fighting enemies.
This wasn't addition; it was multiplication.
Each new Lynn's arrival would significantly increase his growth speed.
Plus, recently One-Punch Lynn had been hunting Monsters, and Jujutsu Lynn had swallowed ten Sukuna's Finger in one go.
Combining various factors, this was the real reason he could meet the breakthrough conditions in a week.
However, Lynn didn't plan to level up this time.
Previously, he was in a hurry to level up because the Lynns in other worlds were in mortal danger and he needed strength.
But now, Jujutsu Lynn had cleared his path, and One-Punch Lynn had Saitama as a backer; everyone's situation was stable.
With plenty of time, it wouldn't be too late to level up after increasing the other four ability values besides Magic by another 300-400 points; it would only take a week anyway.
...
Loki Familia.
In the dim room, candlelight flickered slightly.
Dripping divine blood onto the blessing with the clown pattern, Loki expertly extracted the experience points and converted them into ability values.
"Aiz-tan, the update is done!"
"Can I level up?"
A slightly nervous inquiry rang out.
"Same as last time, still just a bit short."
Loki handed over the transcribed blessing paper.
"Here, see for yourself."
[Aiz Wallenstein—LV5]
[Strength: D557→D579]
[Endurance: D567→D576]
[Dexterity: A846→A871]
[Agility: A835→A867]
[Magic: S902→S921]
[Development Ability: Hunter G, Abnormal Resistance G, Swordsman I→H]
"Although you haven't accumulated enough deeds, Aiz-tan's development ability has leveled up, so it's not a total lack of progress."
"Work a bit harder, and you'll definitely break through to LV6 during the next expedition; Finn also said your recent performance has been great."
"...Mm."
Aiz nodded slightly, but her hand gripping the paper involuntarily tightened.
She lowered her head, her golden hair obscuring her eyes, making it impossible to see her true thoughts.
But as a goddess, Loki could clearly sense a wave of irritability coming from Aiz.
Clearly, the girl's patience was reaching its limit.
Three years had passed since she reached LV5, and the increase in her ability values had long since hit a bottleneck.
And Lynn's appearance happened to ignite the fuse.
His bizarre leveling speed was like someone chasing behind Aiz with a Gatling gun, constantly firing and forcing her to run forward, but the path ahead was blocked by a wall called talent.
If this continued, the accumulating pressure would definitely drive her to do something dangerous, attempting to smash through the wall by force.
"It seems there's no other way."
After sighing in her heart, Loki came up with a prescription.
"Aiz, do you have time to run an errand for me?"
"An errand?"
"Finn told me that the Compressed Biscuits purchased from the Hestia Familia for this expedition were very effective, and he wanted me to find time to place another order."
As Loki said this, her heart began to bleed.
It was true that the Compressed Biscuits were effective.
It was also true that Finn planned to place another order.
But Finn hadn't asked for her help; he was planning to go to the Hestia Familia to find Lynn himself.
She was saying this now purely to let Aiz and Lynn meet and adjust her mindset.
But doing this felt like throwing her own cabbage in front of the neighbor's pig; it was simply too painful.
Thinking of this, Loki felt some regret.
"Aiz, if you don't have time, I..."
"I have time."
"Uh, I mean I'll go with you..."
"I'm going to ask Finn about the order quantity now."
"Eh?"
Loki instinctively reached out, wanting to say something more.
But before she could, the girl had already hurried out of the room, fully demonstrating the efficiency of a Level 5 adventurer.
A few seconds later, the door opened again, and Tiona came skipping in from outside.
"Loki, it's my turn to update my blessing... What's wrong with you?"
Looking at Loki, who was face-down on the floor in an ORZ position with a dazed and dejected expression, she tilted her head.
"It's rare to see you with that look. Did you get rejected by Aiz for being inappropriate while updating her blessing?"
"Sigh, I'd actually prefer it if that were the case."
"Let's get this straight, Loki. If you start groping later, I'll steal all the liquor you've hidden away."
"I told you, I wasn't being inappropriate! Besides, how did you know I hid any liquor!"
"Found it while I was bored and looking for something to do."
"?"
Maybe I should just send this girl over to the Hestia Familia too.
Loki climbed up from the floor and narrowed her eyes.
Someone like Tiona, who only knows how to cause trouble, would definitely be able to interfere with Aiz and Lynn meeting if I sent her over.
...
"So, you're here to place an order with me?"
The next morning, Lynn sat lazily in the reception room, looking at the three girls sitting in a row before him.
"Coming to another Familia at six in the morning to place an order... If I didn't know better, I'd think you were here to scrounge for breakfast."
"Hehe, you caught us."
Tiona replied without any attempt to hide it.
"I'm totally here for a free meal!"
"Um, I was just passing by and got dragged along."
Lefiya's expression was a bit uneasy.
That was a lie.
In reality, she had just happened to overhear that Aiz was coming to the Hestia Familia and instinctively followed along.
"Finn said he has things to attend to, so he told me to just give this letter to you."
Aiz took a letter out from her bosom.
Compared to her two teammates who each had their own hidden agendas, she was quite serious and responsible, having consulted Finn on what needed to be done.
"Hmm... The order quantity this time is quite large. It seems Finn plans to use them for daily life as well, besides the expeditions."
Lynn opened the letter and took a peek. There wasn't much written inside; what was truly important was the magic stone card within.
While placing the order, Finn had also sent along the deposit for the Compressed Biscuits, showing great sincerity.
"Go back and tell Finn that I'll have the goods ready and delivered within a week."
"I understand."
Aiz nodded silently.
With that, the order for the Compressed Biscuits was successfully concluded.
The next thing to ask about was Lynn's recent progress.
However, just as the words reached her lips, Aiz silently swallowed them back, a conflicted look appearing in her eyes.
Unlike Finn, she spent all her time training and had no idea how to fish for information during casual conversation.
[Why don't you just ask him directly? ]
A mini Aiz in a devil outfit gave a suggestion in her mind.
[No, that would be too rude. ]
A mini Aiz in an angel outfit jumped out to stop her.
[Then leave the conversation to Tiona. With her personality, she'll talk about anything. Maybe she'll end up asking it. ]
Devil Mini Aiz proposed a new suggestion again.
[But that wouldn't be very good. It feels like I'm using Tiona. ]
Angel Mini Aiz rejected it as usual.
[Nothing works! Then you give a suggestion! What's the use of just saying 'no' all the time! ]
Devil Mini Aiz got angry, brandished a weapon, and slashed forward. In an instant, the two mini Aizs were locked in combat.
"Aiz, what's wrong?"
Tiona looked at Aiz beside her in confusion.
After getting Lynn's reply, the other girl had suddenly fallen silent as if she'd jammed, and after a few seconds, even her gaze became hollow.
"Could it be that you ate something bad?"
"No... I didn't."
"No? Hiss~ Don't tell me you're like me and haven't eaten since last night!"
"...?"
The two mini Aiz's fighting in her mind stopped abruptly, looks of astonishment on their faces.
"Haven't eaten since last night?"
"Yeah, I heard we were coming to Lynn's place to scrounge a meal, so I just left my stomach empty to make room."
"Um... We're here to place an order, right?"
Lefiya reminded her somewhat hesitantly.
"Those are just minor details. Anyway, Lynn, when is mealtime here? My stomach is starting to growl."
"Breakfast is already over."
"Eh? For real?!"
"Fake. I just got out of bed."
"Geez, don't scare me like that."
Tiona breathed a sigh of relief.
What she said just now wasn't a lie.
After receiving the task from Loki last night, she had been keeping her stomach empty and hadn't eaten a thing.
Having eaten nothing but biscuits for nearly a month during the Dungeon expedition, plus not eating for over half a day, she could definitely eat three pounds of food right now!
"Lynn! I'm ready!"
"Don't hold back on my stomach, bring it on!"
"While I'm happy to be recognized as a chef, it would be even better if you could pull out some money when you say that."
"Cough... The losses in the Dungeon this time were a bit heavy. I have to save some money to go to the Goibniu Familia to repair my weapon."
A sheepish grin appeared on Tiona's face.
When she and Aiz's group went to the 51st floor before, the worm monsters they encountered would burst into corrosive fluid upon death.
Because it was her first time and she didn't have any intel, she stabbed right in and ruined her weapon.
The repair costs for a First-Class Adventurer's equipment are very high, let alone for something in a state close to being scrapped.
Forget paying Lynn for food; she was currently about to shoulder a massive debt just for the weapon repairs.
"Oh right! How about this!"
"I'll train with you, Lynn, to offset the food costs!"
Just then, Tiona seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up as she proposed a solution.
"I'm not interested in small fry."
"Calling me 'small fry' is going too far, hey!"
Tiona raised her hand in protest: "Let's have a fight! I'll prove I'm not small fry!"
"You alone aren't quite enough."
Lynn stood up from the sofa.
Tiona waving her hand in protest, Aiz with a hesitant expression not knowing what she was thinking, and Lefiya looking back and forth.
Looking at the three girls with their different expressions, he gestured toward the room door not far away.
"Think of it as some pre-meal exercise. All three of you come at me together. Let me see what you're capable of."
Lefiya: "Huh?"
Aiz: "!!!"
Nice job, Tiona!
...
Hestia Familia backyard.
Aiz was no stranger to this place.
Over a month ago, this was where Aiz had followed Lynn to learn Ripple.
Tiona and Lefiya had also been present back then, but they were hiding in the shadows peeping, something Aiz didn't know.
"Lynn, it looks like someone's already here."
Entering the backyard, Tiona immediately noticed the boy swinging a sword not far away.
Because she often ran over to Lynn's place to scrounge food and drinks, Tiona had an impression of most of the Hestia Familia members.
But this white-haired boy looked a bit unfamiliar; it was her first time seeing him.
"Is he a newcomer to your Familia?"
"Technically, he's from the Soma Familia," Lynn replied.
At the same time, Bell, who was practicing his swordsmanship, noticed Lynn and the others and immediately ran over to greet them.
"Captain Lynn, good morning!"
"Morning, Bell. Why didn't you go to the Freya Familia for training today?"
"My master said my training is mostly done, and it's better to go to the Dungeon to gain practical combat experience now."
Actually, one could also gain practical combat experience at the Battlefield Plain.
However, combat experience against people and combat experience against monsters are two different things.
To turn Bell into a qualified warrior, Hedin had given him the task of soloing his way down to the twelfth floor.
"In short, that's how it is."
After explaining the sequence of events, Bell scratched his head and continued.
"After all, the last time I went to the Dungeon, I was chased around by Goblins for a long time. I'm a bit nervous now."
"Since I woke up early anyway, I figured I'd train in the yard for a bit and go to the Dungeon after eating breakfast."
"I see. Well, do your best."
"Yes! I will work hard!"
"Wait! This isn't something that can be solved just by working hard!"
Listening to the bizarre conversation between Lynn and Bell, Lefiya's eyelid twitched, and she couldn't help but interject.
"The twelfth floor is the boundary between the upper and middle floors. Letting a noob... a newcomer adventurer who was chased around by Goblins go solo down to the twelfth floor, isn't that just sending him to his death!"
"I agree with that. After all, not everyone is a monster like you, Lynn. It's safer to form a party."
Tiona chimed in with her agreement, and beside her, Aiz gave a slight nod of approval.
Though they didn't know why Bell was training with the Freya Familia or why he had taken Hedin as his master,
this task was clearly unreasonable.
If he were truly sent to explore the Dungeon alone, the next time they saw him, he would likely be a corpse.
"Everyone, thank you for your kindness."
Faced with the warnings from Lefiya and the others, Bell showed a rare expression of determination.
"I understand everything you're saying, but Master Hedin said that one cannot become strong by only caring about safety."
"Captain Lynn also said that he has experienced many life-and-death crises to reach where he is today. Only by overcoming the trials of life and death can one accumulate deeds and grow strong quickly."
"Exploring down to the twelfth floor alone is indeed dangerous for me right now, but I see it as a challenge. I will work hard to achieve it for the sake of becoming stronger."
"..."
The atmosphere in the courtyard fell silent.
Looking at Bell's determined face, Lefiya and the others, who were about to say more, were stunned.
Those who could break through to become high-level adventurers were, without exception, people who had experienced life-and-death crises.
Because of this, they knew very well that what Bell said was true; only this way could one become strong.
But knowing the method and actually doing it after knowing are two completely different things.
"Overcoming life-and-death crises..."
Aiz murmured softly.
Perhaps moved by the scene, seeing Bell at this moment was like seeing her past self.
However, without power, one has no voice; the Level 1 Bell couldn't command too much of her attention.
Compared to Bell's determination, she was more concerned about what he mentioned regarding Lynn.
"Lynn, during the days we were away on the expedition, were you still challenging your limits?"
"Pretty much. A lot has happened recently."
Because of the Spirit Devouring Barrier incident, he had been placed on the Dungeon's blacklist, and he frequently encountered abnormal situations when going to the Dungeon lately.
While not as extreme as a Floor Boss mutation, monster rampages or encountering powerful rare species had become the norm.
Of course, for him, this didn't really count as challenging his limits.
In reality, the one truly challenging himself was Jujutsu Lynn.
That unlucky kid was either being attacked by Jogo or ambushed by Sukuna, repeatedly teetering on the edge of life and death every time.
A skill with such harsh trigger conditions as [Survival Instinct] had only ever been used by Jujutsu Lynn so far.
"Alright, let's end the small talk here."
Having Bell clear the area for a moment, Lynn led Aiz and the others to the center of the courtyard.
"Let's finish this quickly, then I'll go make breakfast."
"Lynn, aren't you going to use a weapon?"
A look of confusion appeared on Tiona's face.
The tachi, Raikiri, which Lynn usually used, was not on him right now.
He just stood there empty-handed, seemingly intending to engage them in hand-to-hand combat.
"No weapon. I know a thing or two about unarmed combat as well."
"Heh, then I won't hold back."
Tiona loosened up her arms.
Although she also used weapons, that was for the convenience of dealing with monsters; in reality, what she was truly skilled at was brawling.
This could also be seen from her Development Abilities.
[Fist Strike: G], [Crush: I]—all of them were Development Abilities related to close-quarters combat.
"Aiz, you can just use your weapon normally."
Lynn looked toward Tiona's side. "Don't worry about hurting me. Or rather, you'd better try to achieve that."
"If you can injure me today, as a reward, I'll teach you a method to become strong quickly in a short period of time."
"Become strong quickly in a short time?"
The hesitating Aiz was stunned for a moment.
Seeing that Lynn didn't seem to be lying, she cast aside her hesitation and drew her weapon from her waist.
Seeing this, Lefiya followed suit and took her staff from her waist, her face still carrying a faint sense of bewilderment.
Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here?
The Elf Maiden, who had only followed along out of curiosity, suddenly felt a bit of regret.
Magic wasn't as easy to control as close-quarters combat; she was truly worried about injuring Lynn.
"Lefiya, I'll leave the support to you."
Just then, Aiz's voice rang out.
In order to obtain Lynn's method for becoming stronger, she made a rare request to Lefiya.
"Yes! Leave it to me!"
Lefiya's spirits were instantly lifted.
"It seems you're ready."
Lynn waited for their conversation to end and crooked a finger.
"Since you're ready, let's start directly. Don't say I didn't give you a chance—you go first."
"Heh! Then I won't be polite!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tiona took the lead and charged.
Knowing that Lynn was not one to boast idly, she had no intention of holding back and went all out immediately.
Superhuman strength capable of shattering deep-floor monsters gathered in her fist as Tiona aimed a punch straight at Lynn's chest.
But at that same moment, a palm swept past without warning, casually parrying the strike to the right.
"Eh?!"
Tiona's eyes widened suddenly.
It was like hitting cotton; she could feel her strength being neutralized by that casual deflection.
Under Lynn's guidance, her body involuntarily tilted to the side.
And at that same moment, Lynn's other hand grabbed her arm.
Her vision flipped upside down, and by the time Tiona reacted, her teammate's face was already right in front of her.
"Waaah! Aiz, get out of the way!"
"!!!"
Aiz, who was following right behind Tiona, was startled.
As a bystander, she understood even more clearly how amazing what had happened in that instant was.
Seeing Tiona being taken down and thrown back in just a couple of moves, she didn't hesitate to move to the side.
But at that same moment, another sound of breaking air rang out.
"Oh no—!"
As if realizing something, Aiz subconsciously raised her weapon and slashed toward her side.
"Nice reaction."
The blade was caught between two fingers.
"But the power is a bit lacking."
Immense force surged along the blade, pulling Aiz forward into a stumble, and she immediately raised her leg to counterattack.
However, this move was also within Lynn's expectations.
Just like with Tiona a moment ago, Lynn accurately caught her calf.
Perhaps because it was a casual visit, Aiz was wearing everyday clothes today, and a smooth sensation came from his palm.
After a casual squeeze, Lynn held the sword with his right hand and the calf with his left, throwing Aiz out in a bizarre posture.
"Huh? For real?!"
In the rear, Lefiya's eyes went wide.
Watching Tiona and Aiz flying toward her one after another, she stood frozen, just as she was about to release her magic.
What's the situation?
Two First Class Adventurers were taken out in seconds?!
"Lefiya! Get out of the way, aaaaaah!!!"
Thud!
Thud!!!
...