Inside the Dungeon, Tsubaki, who had been moving at an accelerated pace, suddenly spoke up: "Speaking of which, there's something I've been meaning to ask since yesterday."
Upon hearing this, Levi didn't stop but turned to glance at the black-haired, red-eyed girl, indicating he was listening.
"We haven't met many times, but I feel like I have a pretty good grasp of your cautious nature."
"And?" Five cat-paw-shaped ice constructs materialized around Levi, instantly freezing a mushroom monster to death. The elemental shield surrounding him and Tsubaki also solidified at that moment.
Perhaps noticing that the relationship between her goddess and the young man beside her was a bit too intimate, Tsubaki didn't treat him like a stranger and asked directly, "Aren't you at all worried that your 'abnormality' will be discovered by those thrill-seeking gods on the surface?"
"I mean, look, it's only been three days, tops, since you reached Level 2, yet you're already starting to accumulate the feats for Level 3."
"Even if you wear a hood every time you go out... not to brag, but I'm a little bit popular in Orario. I usually have a lot of eyes on me. Being seen with me once or twice is one thing; we could brush it off by saying my goddess and your goddess are friends, and I'm helping you out as a favor between them."
"But if it happens too often and too frequently…" Tsubaki paused here. "Levi, none of the gods or captains who have successfully built up their Familias are fools."
Tsubaki was advising Levi. She didn't want this friend, who could provide her with unique armaments, to have his wings clipped by Orario's thrill-seeking gods for one reason or another before he had a chance to grow.
In truth, Levi didn't need the one-eyed smith to spell it out for him. Having learned about the city's circumstances from the anime in his past life, he understood that his actions were a bit too conspicuous.
In fact, his initial plan had been to steadily and slowly raise his Falna level.
But…
"Yesterday, while I was getting used to my body on the 16th floor, I ran into a pitfall trap. To avoid falling to my death, I had to use some life-saving skills."
Tsubaki poked the shield next to her. "You mean this barrier magic you cast on me?"
"That's right." Levi nodded. "It was just a coincidence, but members of the Loki Familia, most likely from their second team, happened to be fighting the Floor Boss on the 17th floor at that time. If I'm not mistaken, information about me should have already reached the Loki Familia's three leaders and many of its core members by the time they returned yesterday."
Tsubaki raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Then you really are unlucky."
The Loki Familia was one of the two strongest factions in Orario. Although their three leaders were decent enough, they had so many members that there were bound to be some big mouths who would accidentally spill important information after a few drinks.
In other words, the fact that Levi reached Level 2 in less than a month after receiving his Falna would likely spread throughout Orario very soon.
Even if he and Lady Hestia were willing to play dumb and continue presenting him as a Level 1, they couldn't stop other Familias and gods from probing.
And once the information was confirmed to be true...
Tsubaki didn't need to be a genius to guess that what awaited Levi was an endless stream of trouble.
"So, that's why you're trying to accumulate the feats for Level 3 before anyone can make a move?" Tsubaki asked after putting the pieces together.
"Yes, but that's not the whole story."
"???"
Seeing Tsubaki's confused expression, Levi paused for a moment before stating calmly, "The resources I currently have are enough to push my Falna to the peak of Level 3."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Damn it!"
After a long silence, Tsubaki let out a curse.
Reaching Level 2 in a month was certainly enough to attract attention.
But if Levi could actually achieve the feat of going from Level 1 to Level 4 in a single month…
"No wonder Lady Hephaestus sees something special in you," Tsubaki said with a wry smile. "Forget her, even I want to strip off your clothes right now and see just what kind of skills you've awakened."
"I haven't explained my situation explicitly, but Lady Hephaestus has probably figured it out. If you're really curious, you can go back and ask her. Just please, help me keep it a secret afterward, if you can."
"Don't worry, I'm not a blabbermouth." Tsubaki said, slinging an arm around Levi's neck. "Still, I never expected our agreement to be fulfilled in such a short time."
"After you accumulate the feats for Level 3, have you thought about how you'll get the feats for Level 4? Going to the Deep Floors, or challenging Goliath solo?"
Feeling the softness against his cheek, Levi shrugged. "That will depend on whether the speed at which I accumulate Level 3 feats meets my expectations."
He hadn't forgotten that due to the massive amount of potential he had accumulated, his true strength was actually a full level higher than his current Falna level.
It was the same three days ago. Other adventurers often only needed to defeat a single Level 2 monster to easily gain enough feats to level up.
But when Levi did the same, it wasn't that he didn't gain any feats, but the amount was minuscule.
You could say it took the deaths of several hundred 'bulls'—that is, Minotaurs—for him to secure his promotion.
If a similar process was required to reach Level 3, it wouldn't be too bad.
A few hundred monsters, if he was fast, would take less than a day—the deeper one went into the Dungeon, the fewer adventurers there were, and correspondingly, the more monsters.
What truly worried Levi was a further reduction in the feats he earned.
Which would lead to him spending too much time on the Lower Floors.
The Dungeon's malice towards adventurers was limitless.
On the Upper and Middle Floors, other adventurers helped share the pressure, so it might not be obvious.
But on the Lower Floors and especially the Deep Floors, where you were unlikely to meet anyone unless you were specifically looking, all sorts of 'Irregularities' would gradually become commonplace.
To put it another way, if possible, the less time an adventurer spent in the depths of the Dungeon, the better.
Otherwise, the probability of encountering danger, and even death, would continuously rise.
As it turned out, Levi's worries were not unfounded.
After spending more than a day, almost two, to descend to the Great Azure Waterfall, he attacked and defeated his first group of monsters—Blue Crabs.
Looking at the progress bar on his status panel, which had increased by a mere 0.02%, even Levi, who had mentally prepared himself, found it hard to keep a straight face.
"How does it feel?" Tsubaki, acting as his guardian, asked while picking up the magic stones from the ground.
Levi sighed. "Just as you guessed. The monsters on this floor are way too easy for me."
"Then let's stick to the plan and head to the area past the 30th floor to accumulate feats."
"Alright."
_____
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