"Looking for someone?" Ais walked up beside Ryoji, remembering he had just been shouting someone's name, and made a guess.
In the middle of the scattered Magic Stones, a green gauntlet lay exactly where the white-haired boy had been standing.
"He must've dropped it in the chaos. Let's go check it out."
A few minutes later.
Inside a stone cavern on the 9th Floor, the two found the white-haired boy. He was holding a pallum girl in his arms who was sobbing loudly. Both of them were covered in wounds, and scorched ant monster corpses lay around them.
Seemed like he'd found his comrade trapped in a monster swarm and had fought hard to rescue her.
"Hey, boy over there, you dropped something."
A light, casual voice drifted into the boy's ears, causing him to turn around in surprise.
Then, THUMP!
Something solid smacked him right on the forehead and dropped into his arms.
"The gauntlet Miss Eina gave me?!"
The boy flailed in a bit of a panic. It was only now that he realized his left-arm gauntlet was missing, and he held it tightly with a look of sincere gratitude. He must've dropped it during the confusion. He'd definitely have to give proper thanks.
As he looked up at the person who returned it, His breath caught in his throat.
The youth standing in front of him looked about the same age as him, but was taller, and his appearance and presence felt like they were blessed by nature itself, so striking that it was hard to look away.
But what drew his gaze even more was the blonde girl silently standing behind him.
Seeing the two of them together, Bell's emotions suddenly became extremely complicated.
"Um… could it be that… the one who saved me earlier was also…?"
"Yeah." Ryoji nodded casually.
"I'm really grateful in every possible way!"
"It's nothing." Ryoji waved his hand dismissively, clearly unfazed by such a trivial act.
"Let's go back," Ais said, urging Ryoji forward. Now that the person had been saved and the item returned, she was eager to see Ryoji's ability value update.
"Sounds good." Ryoji nodded and turned toward the exit.
"Um, wait!" Just as they were about to leave, the boy's nervous voice called out from behind.
"What is it?" Ryoji turned back.
"I know it's sudden… but I heard you're a Level 3 Second-Tier Adventurer. Excuse me, but… is that true?"
"Huh, you know who I am?"
"Y-Yes… I've at least seen a sketch of you…"
It was said that before even receiving a Falna, he had defeated a Level 2 Adventurer as a normal person. Then, after receiving his Falna, he leveled up to Lv.2 in just twenty days, a record that was unheard of.
And not even two weeks ago, rumors started that he had already reached Lv.3.
One impossible feat after another flowed from this so-called "strongest rookie," and his popularity in Orario only kept rising.
Bell had secretly regarded this not-much-older boy as a rival, thinking he couldn't afford to lose to him.
…Of course, it was just wishful thinking.
"Yep. I'm still Level 3 for now." Ryoji replied honestly.
For now.
After tonight, he probably wouldn't be.
"I see… Thank you!"
The white-haired boy took a deep breath and bowed deeply, as if he had come to terms with something heavy.
'What's all that about?'
Ryoji had no idea what was going through the kid's head, but he didn't really care either. Without another word, he walked off with Ais at his side. As they left, Ais tilted her head in mild confusion.
It felt like that white-haired boy kept secretly glancing at her.
But had she met him somewhere before?
Ais tilted her head slightly in confusion, She couldn't remember at all.
Shaking her head, Ais tossed the small matter to the back of her mind and began looking forward to the excitement tonight would bring.
Ryoji – Level 3 (Before Level Up)
Power: A (807) → S (999)
Endurance: B (718) → S (999)
Dexterity: SS (1104) → SSS (1499)
Agility: SSS (1376) → SSS (1999)
Magic Power: D (567) → C (698)
Development Abilities:
Hunter: H
Mana Recovery: I
Magic:
Skills:
Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword
Brave Sword Heart
Charm
"He actually reached 1999… Really amazing." Ais held the newly printed parchment.
Even though she had expected it, her hands still trembled slightly as she looked at the numbers.
"Magic Power is still low…" Ryoji, however, sounded a bit disappointed.
Magic Power had always been the hardest for him to increase. While every other stat surged upward, his Magic Power felt like it was lagging behind. Yet for someone like Ryoji, who relied on magic, that stat mattered a lot.
It could only be chalked up to a lack of natural talent in magic.
Still, for ordinary adventurers, his magic stat would be considered quite good. Some adventurers like Tiona had zero magic power even after reaching Level 5. Even magic-using adventurers typically had stats only around D in this category.
Among all stats, Magic Power is universally acknowledged as the hardest to raise, though this could vary by individual.
"Did you level up?"
"Mm. This is my updated status after leveling up."
Ais took the parchment and skimmed through it.
Ryoji – Level 4 (After Level Up)
Power: I (0)
Endurance: I (0)
Dexterity: I (0)
Agility: I (0)
Magic Power: I (0)
Development Abilities:
Hunter: H
Mana Recovery: I
Swordsman: I
Magic:
Skills:
Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword
Brave Sword Heart
Charm
"Level 4…"
The ability values and skills hadn't changed, except for the addition of the development ability "Swordsman."
With his swordsmanship, gaining the "Swordsman" ability was a given. He probably had the option at every level-up, but just hadn't chosen it before.
Still, "Only twenty days since he reached Level 3, and now he's already Level 4…"
Doing the math, He had gone from Lv.1 to Lv.4 in less than two months.
The official Gods' Gathering, held every three months to assign new titles to leveled-up adventurers, wasn't even due for another half a month. Most adventurers would have gained several titles by now. But Ryoji still had none.
"Thanks, Ais. If it weren't for you, I probably would've needed at least another half month to level up."
"No, it's nothing… I just… can't lose to you."
A flame reignited in Ais's eyes. After reaching Lv.6, she had temporarily lost her sense of urgency, like she'd run out of goals for the moment. But Ryoji's rapid level-up had rekindled her desire to become stronger.
If she slacked off even a little more, she might just get overtaken. She had to train twice as hard!
"Now then, I think it's just about time…" Ryoji clenched his fists.
The power now surging within him filled him with unprecedented confidence. His strength had leapt forward by a huge margin.
Even against a Level 5, he felt absolutely certain he could win.
Which meant, It was finally time for revenge.
(End of Chapter)
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