Nearly two months flashed by in the blink of an eye.
Isagi and the girls fell into a routine: every time they entered the Dungeon, they would dive headfirst into the [Arena], use up the young man's two resurrection chances, and then return to their life in the city.
Since they didn't carry many supplies and were only on the 5th Floor, they were able to make round trips within a single day.
Daily life returned to how it was before—"commuting" to the Dungeon every day. However, every now and then, Goddess Astrea would forcefully mandate a day or two of rest to ensure both physical and mental relaxation.
And so, Tiona was naturally the first among the three to level up. The girl had originally delayed her level-up specifically to break past her previous ability limits.
Consequently, the Amazon girl—whose [Strength] and [Endurance] were originally "A", and [Agility] and [Dexterity] were "B"—finally leveled up with all four attributes reaching "S". Her highest stat, [Strength], even approached the hard cap of "999".
It even gave Loki the illusion: "Is this girl trying to break the falna's boundaries?"
Tiona's stats were technically still rising, though very, very slowly. It had gone from increasing by ten or twenty points after each Dungeon dive to merely one or two points, or sometimes two or three.
But they were still rising every day!
However, accumulating stats at such a slow pace was no longer necessary. The efficiency and cost-performance ratio were too poor, and human time is limited.
After discussing it with Loki for a while, both Tiona and her Goddess decided to level up first!
At the same time, Tiona didn't forget to cover Loki's big mouth! She absolutely could not let her spill this secret!!
Both the girl and the Goddess knew. Her growth was entirely due to Isagi.
If more people found out, they might all run off to form parties with Isagi!
That was absolutely unacceptable!!
Tiona hadn't forgotten that she was keeping an eye on the boy for Ais.
If the golden-haired sword princess returned from her expedition only to find Isagi surrounded by a horde of new teammates, what would she do?!
Therefore, Loki was absolutely forbidden from breathing a word of this!!
To ensure this, Tiona didn't hesitate to dip into her own small treasury, taking out a portion of her Valis to buy the Soma Divine Wine that her Goddess had been craving.
As for the acquisition channel, she asked around among her acquaintances and the Amazon girls from the Ishtar Familia.
Tiona hadn't held out much hope initially, but surprisingly, she managed to buy the real thing immediately.
Having received the Divine Wine—and after being threatened by her own familia child's small fist—Loki naturally grinned and promised, "I absolutely won't tell a soul!"
However, the red-haired Goddess couldn't help but think.
Tiona's ability values broke the limit because she fought arduous battles she had never experienced before alongside the boy. And she had only joined his party when her stats were already at the peak of Level 3.
What if one started from zero?
Loki couldn't help but wonder... if that were the case, they would surely break the boundaries...
After Tiona, Lefiya was the second to level up.
The Elf girl's other attributes were decent. Although she had trained hard for a while, they ultimately settled between "F" and "D", roughly around four or five hundred points.
Of course, this was already far better than before. Originally, aside from [Magic], Lefiya's stats were almost all in the double digits—the lowest "I" rank.
Back then, even when it was time to level up, she would likely have only fixed them up by a hundred points or so.
That said. As a Mage, the most important stat is, of course, Magic.
[SS 1165]. This was the final [Magic] value the Elf girl settled on before leveling up.
Because Isagi had set a precedent, Goddess Astrea appeared quite calm; she had long anticipated a result like this.
Thus, Lefiya's title, [Thousand Elf], seemed to take on a new layer of meaning.
The titles for Isagi and the girls, including Cecil, had been decided during the Denatus (Gathering of the Gods) a short while ago.
Goddess Astrea naturally didn't attend; the proceedings were relayed by Goddess Demeter.
Lefiya's title was [Thousand Elf]. Loki came up with it.
The basis was, of course, the girl's magic "Elf Ring," which allows her to theoretically learn infinite Elf magic—naturally deserving of the name "Thousand."
Cecil also received the title [Blue Flower of Solingen], which was a tribute to the former captain of the Familia, [Crimson Noble Flower] Alise Lovell.
This title was thought up by Demeter, and she had discussed it with Goddess Astrea before heading to the assembly. They both thought it was very fitting.
As for Isagi. The Goddesses discussed it for a while and also chatted with the boy about his thoughts, finally settling on the title [Harvest Knight].
This was also Goddess Demeter's idea. Since the boy and the others were nominally part of the Agriculture Goddess's Familia, giving him such a neutral and fitting title was the best option.
Regarding this, Isagi actually didn't care much, because the thing would change when he leveled up in the future anyway.
Furthermore, he insisted that titles shouldn't be given by others, but "earned by oneself"!
When he does something that shocks the entire city in the future, he will naturally be bestowed with an incredibly badass nickname!!
With that small interlude passed. Goddess Astrea skillfully rewrote Lefiya's status sheet, subtracting a few hundred points from her [Magic] value before preparing to hand it to Goddess Demeter to send to the Guild.
The Guild needed to record and file it, though they wouldn't publicly announce the adventurer's specific ability values, magic, or skills.
Because of the level up, Lefiya also gained a brand new skill.
[Elf Encore / Elf Pursuit] (Spirit Pursuit)
Magic Effect Amplification
Double the strengthening effect for offensive magic
It was a simple and pure skill that strengthened her output capabilities as a Mage. Through this level up, Lefiya's "numerical values" had achieved a skyrocketing improvement.
But these things were relatively easy to understand.
For Astrea, the headache was still Isagi. The Goddess increasingly felt that it wasn't just his exaggerated ability values or his incomprehensible magic and skills...
She was finding it harder and harder to understand the boy's fighting style...
Isagi was the third to level up.
Under the brilliant summer starlight, in the wilderness some distance from Orario, near the ruins of an ancient city named Shurim.
Located to the south of the city and surrounded by vast plains, this place once served as a fortress stronghold in ancient times to fend off monsters endlessly pouring out of the Great Hole.
Now, it had long since become ruins.
Amidst the grass. The Elf girl known as [Gale] was dressed in her usual simple traveler's attire, wearing a dark green cloak and holding a wooden sword.
Facing the boy in the distance, beneath her heavy and messy blond hair, her lapis-lazuli-like green eyes revealed only an expression of disbelief.
She didn't understand what Isagi was doing.
Although he was the one who said he wanted her to come here tonight for post-level-up training.
However... at this moment, Isagi held a Great Bow in his left hand and a short wand in his right. It looked incredibly strange. What exactly was he doing?
The Elf girl couldn't help but tilt her head slightly.
Immediately after, she felt a surge of magic power coming from the Great Bow in Isagi's hand.
Pure white, slender beams of light shot out in an instant. Not one, not two, three, or four... but in the blink of an eye, they covered the sky and earth, endless and continuous.
Isagi, all by himself. He had instantly fired a barrage akin to a rain of arrows from a thousand soldiers, and it was continuous, with absolutely no intention of stopping!
Hah?! Ryuu began to run almost instinctively.
Countless beams of light followed close behind, like a meteor shower falling from the heavens. Not only that, but the Elf girl also noticed something else.
Behind Isagi, phantom images made of glimmering light appeared one after another. They, too, held Great Bows and fired the same rain of arrows toward her.
And so. The quantity of flowing light instantly doubled, weaving together to form a giant, sky-obscuring net that seemed impossible to escape.
So beautiful. The Elf girl's figure was instantly swallowed by the pure white light.
The scorching streams of light turned the surrounding earth into a pitted landscape. Small sparks burning among the blades of grass turned into drifting specks of ash.
Ryuu walked out. Her dark green cloak had a few large holes burned into it, but that was all. She wasn't really injured.
The girl known as [Gale] could dodge with ease even within that magical rain of arrows. And even when she was hit, the difference in levels, combined with her [Mage] development ability (Magic Resistance), reduced the damage received to a minimum.
But this was enough to be astonishing. This junior of the Familia had only just leveled up to Level 3?
Simply incredible! Are all adventurers these days like this?!
On the other side, Isagi had fallen into a powerless state of mental exhaustion.
[52 Seconds]. This was the maximum time he could sustain the ultimate technique named "Left Bow" after leveling up.
To maintain subsequent combat capability, he should probably only activate it for 5 to 10 seconds.
Isagi silently thought to himself. Moreover, this move had limited effectiveness against high-speed, powerful enemies like Ryuu-senpai.
Not only could he not move while releasing it—although it didn't require chanting, he had to rapidly and rhythmically fill it with magic and fire.
In a sense, if he wanted to move, he would have to learn the [Concurrent Chanting] that Lefiya was learning before.
Right now, the most he could do was adjust the direction of the Great Bow, roughly tracking the opponent's movement trajectory.
That was why, facing Ryuu-senpai just now, most of the attacks missed completely and had no effect.
Conversely. If used against large, slow-moving targets, it would become extremely effective.
Furthermore, Isagi felt that the current "Left Bow" couldn't be considered a true [Ultimate Technique].
It was just a trick utilizing the characteristic of the Great Bow Cecil crafted for him—which allowed battle arts to fire magic arrows one-handed—combined with the complex [Glimmer Echo] to realize a certain kind of "Magic."
The most critical issue was that its ammunition wasn't infinite; it depended on his Mind (Mental Power). That was the real problem!
He didn't have a solution for now. So, during the time he was grinding his ability values, Isagi had tentatively come up with a new [Ultimate Technique].
That is—
...
"It's my turn. Please advise me, Senpai."
While Isagi sat on the ground resting to recover his mental strength.
Lefiya was somewhat impatient to demonstrate what she had gained after leveling up, including the results of her training during this period with both her compatriot Filvis and Goddess Astrea.
She was like a fangirl about to perform in front of her idol.
Lefiya looked at Isagi nearby, thinking to herself that she must show Mr. Isagi just how amazing she was now!
At the same time, this was her first meeting with Ryuu.
Previously, the Familia senior had been somewhat "evasive."
She didn't dare to see the Goddess, only secretly asking Isagi how the Goddess was doing, what the situation with the Familia was, and so on.
It wasn't until today, when Isagi told Ryuu that Lefiya wanted to ask her for advice regarding the application of magic.
Only then did the girl, as a senior, nod to express her agreement.
Ryuu was actually a bit embarrassed, although she was also curious about what the Familia's junior was like.
"Please watch, Senpai. This is my magic!"
"High elf, warriors of the forest..."
Lefiya began chanting her [Fusillade Fallarica]. Meanwhile, in the distance, Anya and Tiona were making a huge racket in the grass.
It was intense. Since everyone was here today, the training had turned into something of a "camping" activity.
Tiona and Anya were truly "evenly matched opponents." Both were currently Level 4.
In terms of ability values, the Amazon girl was lower, but her combat techniques made up for it, especially since Anya hadn't been an adventurer for many years.
This resulted in Anya lacking experience fighting enemies of the same level, or even stronger ones.
Previously, when they were grinding stats in the Arena, the idiot cat girl would occasionally come running on her days off to play with him and the girls, just like before.
Unexpectedly, she and Tiona got along quite well.
Probably because they were both idiots?
In the distance, the clashing sounds of the Cat Person girl wielding a golden spear and the Amazon girl wielding a large blade were truly lively.
On the other side. Lefiya had already completed her chant.
Six crimson lights converged at the tip of the girl's staff. But strangely, they didn't fire off directly as usual; instead, they stopped in mid-air.
Visibly. Just controlling the magic to stay in place consumed a lot of Lefiya's energy—holding it in without shooting is indeed hard, Isagi couldn't help but think as he watched the show.
Sweat trickled down the girl's forehead, but she remained determined to complete the "Magic" she had in mind.
And so. The chant began again.
While maintaining the previous round of [Fusillade Fallarica] stationary, Lefiya started a new round of magic chanting.
Only this time, visibly, the girl's chanting speed became much slower.
But eventually, it was completed, and new crimson lights emerged around her again. Six "arrows" became twelve.
However, Lefiya's chanting was far from over. She began to release magic again while maintaining the existing ones.
After a long time. Eighteen, twenty-four, thirty...
The crimson light almost burned half the night sky red. The roaring magical power was so overwhelming that just looking at it made one feel its surge.
Ryuu was stunned. She realized that the magic the Familia junior was releasing right now looked very much like her own [Luminous Wind].
That was also a magic capable of condensing "magic light orbs" around oneself. Through a special "fire command," one could choose to fire them individually or pour them all out at once.
However. Her own magic was originally designed to create magic orbs suspended around the body, so once formed, it didn't require mental strength to control.
The current Lefiya was obviously different.
She was forcibly using her mental strength and magic control techniques to alter the original form of the magic?!
As a Magic Swordsman. Ryuu could feel the complexity involved. It was something that sounded simple but was incredibly difficult to execute.
The vast majority of Mages simply did not have such exquisite techniques for controlling magic.
Chanting the magic and releasing it was enough for most Mages.
There was no need to think about more complicated things. But clearly, that wasn't enough for Lefiya.
The reason was simple: "The opponents encountered are too strong."
So she had to rack her brains to figure out how to make herself stronger. Not just raising ability values.
She had to improve her techniques in using power, finding ways to obtain even greater attack power and destructive capability.
That's right. Why did Lefiya think of keeping her most destructive wide-area magic beside her after chanting instead of releasing it?
It was because of the realization that "quantitative change leads to qualitative change."
The power of six fire spears exploding simultaneously was certainly terrifying, but what if the number increased?
Twelve, eighteen, twenty-four, thirty, thirty-six, forty-two...
Lefiya was currently testing her limit, and the answer finally settled at "sixty." This was the strongest limit of magical bombardment she could achieve from full status to completely draining herself!
"[Fusillade Fallarica · Modified · Ten Thousand Arrows!]"
This was a name Isagi had come up with.
Accompanying the Elf girl's final shout, the sky full of fire rain wove together. Truly like scorching meteors falling from the heavens, drawing long, magnificent trails, they all blasted toward where Ryuu-senpai was standing.
Now, Ryuu didn't dare stand still.
Unlike Isagi, who couldn't really be counted as a Mage, Lefiya was also Level 3, but the destructive power contained within the magic she released with all her might had transcended her level.
Never mind Level 4; even a Level 5 adventurer would likely have to avoid this sharp edge, right?
Run! That was the only thought in Ryuu's mind.
Fortunately, because she subconsciously focused on a single impact point, the area covered by the falling fire rain wasn't too large.
But the destructive power was indeed astonishing!
Accompanied by deafening roars and explosions.
Even Tiona and Anya, who were fighting happily in the distance, looked over.
Isagi even momentarily thought he saw a small mushroom cloud rise.
Pitch-black smoke accompanied by raging fire blasted the place where Ryuu-senpai had just been into a scorched crater at least dozens of meters in diameter and five or six meters deep.
Everything inside was buried by the chaotic magic power.
Terrifying! Is this what a Mage is?
Lefiya looked at this scene in disbelief. The thrill of realizing the idea in her heart almost made the girl, who was now completely exhausted, cry with excitement.
The girl subconsciously looked at Isagi nearby, like a cute puppy begging for praise.
If Elves had tails. Lefiya's would definitely be wagging furiously right now!
Seeing the thumbs-up the boy gave her, the girl's heart was fully satisfied, and she almost melted with happiness!
Of course. Impressive as it was, Lefiya's magic required continuous "optimization."
Because training and actual combat are different.
Just now, the Elf girl stood motionless in one spot, chanting for probably fifteen or twenty minutes, and couldn't be disturbed in the slightest—stalling the already chanted magic while chanting new magic.
In Ryuu's view, this was already whimsical, something a normal person couldn't do.
If, on top of this, she had to run, defend, and dodge enemy attacks, that would be fundamentally impossible, right?!
But what if? As long as the initial idea isn't wrong, slowly, through constant combat verification, a perfect solution will eventually appear.
This is what it means to exceed one's limits!
Not just in terms of ability values, but doing things that were once impossible but are now possible!!
Even having talent isn't enough! It requires even more arduous effort and persistence!!
"What kind of enemies are my Familia juniors fighting to need to go to such lengths..."
Ryuu just felt it was incredible.
At the same time. She felt a certain long-lost... watching the boy and girls who had already run over, gathered together, talking and laughing about Lefiya's "Brand New Magic."
Ryuu's heart was touched slightly. She hesitated.
Not knowing if she should walk over right now...
But it wasn't over yet!
Isagi, who had been sitting and resting for a long time, stood up again.
Drinking a mana recovery potion, and thanks to the development ability [Spirit Healing] chosen after leveling up, his mental strength was now recovering slowly anytime, anywhere.
Even if depleted, he didn't need to sleep to recover like Lefiya did before.
He was now back in fighting condition!
"Ryuu-senpai."
"Ah..."
The Elf girl, who was dazing in the grass, saw the boy walking toward her, putting on a pitch-black cloak.
For some reason, in a trance. Ryuu felt Isagi's figure seemed to blur, as if he were blending into the boundless night of the grasslands.
Were her eyes playing tricks on her? The girl thought so, even rubbing her eyes.
Then she saw Isagi reach his hand into the darkness beneath the cloak and pull out the weapon known as the "Glimmer Greatsword" from within.
"?"
Was there really something wrong with her eyes? How did a weapon appear out of thin air in the boy's hand!
She wasn't seeing things.
The cloak Isagi was wearing was a "Mystery Item" Asfi had just finished making a few days ago—[Pandora's Shadow]. You could tell by the name that the woman named it.
He had originally wanted to call it "Storage Artifact" or something, but Asfi had looked at him with a face that said, "I don't understand at all, what is this guy saying!"
Sigh. Asfi used the [Micro Primordial Residue] containing the Dungeon's unique magic that he had picked up before, plus some materials dropped while he was grinding stats in the Dungeon during this period—the drop rate in the Arena was indeed low, but grinding all day seemed to yield a few items.
The resulting Mystery Item.
The effect was simple: it made items "non-existent" in the form of "lightlessness," allowing them to be stored in the darkness within the cloak.
Basically, it's a storage artifact. And what [Pandora's Shadow]? His name was catchy and self-explanatory!
The space inside the cloak naturally wasn't infinite. After putting in the weapons he usually used, it was basically full.
Asfi said it could be expanded in the future, provided he found larger chunks of [Primordial Residue], provided more "Dungeon Magic," and better materials also containing Dungeon magic, etc...
The woman was very interested in the strange materials he dropped in the Dungeon.
Ever since that party up, she would frequently run over to go to the Dungeon with him. However, Isagi seriously suspected she was just making excuses to slack off and rest.
Because he was grinding stats, he didn't need her to do anything. Asfi coming along was purely to eat and sleep outside the Arena...
"Please watch, Ryuu-senpai. This is my Ultimate Technique!"
"?"
Facing the boy walking over with a greatsword, his incredibly serious expression forced Ryuu to get a little nervous.
"Ryuu-senpai, you're not allowed to move."
"Oh..."
"You're not allowed to fight back either, only defend."
"Mm..."
"Also, don't use magic, and..."
"I got it!"
Isagi explained every detail until Ryuu nodded repeatedly, promising to abide by the "rules" he set for her.
Watching this, the girls in the distance were dumbfounded. Thinking, Why is Senpai acting like a child in front of the boy? Who is the senior and who is the junior here?!
Even strangely. Lefiya, who was happy just a moment ago, narrowed her eyes slightly watching this scene. She felt that Isagi-san and Ryuu-senpai had gone through a lot of things that neither she nor Cecil knew about...
Unaware of the "complex" thoughts of the girls in the distance!
Isagi had no choice. Before, they hadn't agreed on terms, and barely a few seconds into the training, he was sent flying by the Familia senior.
He almost croaked!
Ryuu was also very embarrassed about it; she really didn't know how to control her strength.
It was like this when training with others in the Familia before; Kaguya used to scold her every time. But back then, everyone was around the same level, so it was fine.
But now it was different. When Isagi was sent flying last time, Ryuu was truly scared, almost thinking she would have to commit seppuku to apologize, just as Kaguya used to say...
"Okay, that's about it." Having adjusted all of the senior's "training parameters," Isagi finally took his greatsword and stood not far in front of her.
"Hu..."
Taking a deep breath. Isagi wasn't joking; what he was about to use was indeed an [Ultimate Technique].
Suddenly stepping forward, he swung the weapon and slashed!
The heavy greatsword erupted with a sharp whistling of wind in the boy's hands. Swift and powerful—this was the most direct numerical change brought by leveling up.
Regarding this. Ryuu naturally used the wooden sword in her hand, which was also her customary weapon [Alvas Lumina] (Elf Stream), to parry.
Strictly speaking, this was a "Staff Sword."
It was a second-class armament made from the branches of the Great Holy Tree in her hometown, the Lumina Forest, allowing it to serve as a sword while simultaneously possessing the attributes of a "Magic Staff."
However, Ryuu naturally remembered Isagi's instructions and didn't use magic.
But even so, she easily blocked the boy's slash. Moreover, she was familiar with the "Glimmer Greatsword" in Isagi's hand.
Ryuu knew. Next, a phantom slash would follow immediately, combined with Isagi's [Glimmer Echo].
Making every swing of Isagi's sword actually repeat four times!
Furthermore, when the latter two slashes arrived, the greatsword in the boy's hand would swing from another direction.
Ultimately, with continuous swinging, countless magnificent blades composed of glimmering light would appear before her eyes, slashing at her from all directions simultaneously.
Isagi had previously called this "Phantom Sword Dance"!
To be honest, Ryuu thought it wasn't bad. It was actually quite cool.
But the [Ultimate Technique] the boy wanted to demonstrate now wasn't this.
"Phantom Sword Dance" posed no threat to Ryuu, even if the Elf girl couldn't move, couldn't counterattack, and could only block and dodge to a limited extent.
Not only because of the gap in ability values. But also because the boy's sword-swinging movements were predictable.
With a heavy weapon like a greatsword, no matter what, every swing carries intense inertia—the faster the swing, the more true this is.
Therefore. Either pause after each slash to readjust the sword's direction, or follow the inertia and slash back and forth at limited angles.
Ryuu understood this well. She was an all-rounder Magic Swordsman, so she could precisely predict Isagi's next slash and perform a watertight defense against it.
But that was before. It was different now, because...
Ryuu was suddenly stunned. Her hand did not feel the sensation of blocking the boy's greatsword slash.
Instead. A pitch-black blade suddenly appeared before her eyes.
"!!!"
In a tiny fraction of a second, the scene from a moment ago flashed through the Elf girl's mind.
After swinging the greatsword, the boy neither continued the combo nor adjusted his direction. Instead, both his hands and the weapon followed the momentum and vanished into the darkness inside the pitch-black cloak at his side.
Then. The greatsword disappeared. Replacing it, Isagi pulled a pitch-black long knife (Katana) from within and stabbed directly at her.
That bizarre strike, completely devoid of "inertia," arrived abruptly.
Ryuu barely managed to tilt her face up instinctively, watching the blade pass almost touching her eye, scattering a few strands of blond hair.
"What is this?!"
"[Cancel]."
Isagi said.
Borrowing the power of the mystery item [Pandora's Shadow], the boy reproduced a taboo from his memories into reality.
And this. Was an [Ultimate Technique] that belonged only to him.
___
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