After exiting the artificial labyrinth, Leon returned with Haruhime, Belle, and the others to the library.
They had joined the guild's call for adventurers to storm the artificial labyrinth, and Leon had noticed them among the ranks.
At the time, he hadn't called out to them. But once the battle ended and evilus members were eliminated, he approached them and took them back.
As soon as he stepped foot into the familiar halls of the library, Leon felt an urge he couldn't suppress. He immediately opened his status sheet to update his Falna.
During his earlier battle with the humanoid corrupted spirit avatar, his back had been burning hot—the telltale sign of a significant status increase. He had a feeling that his growth this time was... extraordinary.
Leon Morningstar
Lv.5
Strength: I0 → SSS1999
Durability: I0 → SSS1999
Dexterity: I0 → SSS1999
Agility: I0 → SSS1999
Magic: I0 → SSS1999
[Level Up Available]
Development Abilities: Mage D, Luck G, Spirit Healing G, Berserker G
[Magic]
Thought Body
Son of Light
Son of Darkness
[Skills]
Tenseigan
Divine Protection of the War God
Sky Flame
"...Just one battle, and I leveled up?" Leon murmured to himself, blinking at the status sheet in disbelief.
He had expected a major boost to his stats. After all, that fight had pushed him hard. But he hadn't imagined he'd hit the stat cap in one go and jump straight to a level up.
Still… there was something odd.
"No new development abilities… Maybe because I leveled up too quickly?" He muttered, tilting his head.
"Not that it matters much. The development abilities I already had got enhanced. Even Berserker, which I just picked up, jumped two full ranks."
He stared at the status sheet for another moment before making his decision. No point in waiting. He tapped the Falna and confirmed the level up.
In a burst of divine light, Leon officially reached Level 6—just days after reaching Level 5. A level up that fast would leave most adventurers dumbfounded.
He could feel it, his body had undergone a transformation. His power had grown yet again. But he couldn't accurately gauge just how much stronger he was.
Back when he was Level 5, his base state alone had matched Level 8 adventurers. With all his modes and power-ups active, he had briefly touched the edges of Level 9 combat capability.
Now, with his stats maxed out at Level 5 and leveling up, Leon could clearly feel that his normal state now rested stably at the peak of Level 8. No enhancements required.
He willed it and in an instant, Tenseigan mode activated. A swirl of blue energy surrounded his eyes as power surged through his body but something was off.
Leon frowned. "This is… the same. No change."
Even after transforming, his strength didn't rise. The Tenseigan Mode had once allowed him to jump from Level 5 to Level 8. Now, it barely budged him forward.
His eyes narrowed. "So the Tenseigan has hit its cap."
He remembered the old limits. When in Level 5, the Tenseigan mode brought him to the brink of Level 8. Stacking Hyper Dying Will and the Dying Will Flame pushed him to Level 9.
But now?
He activated Hyper Dying Will Mode next. Flames burned around him, his aura intensifying. And again, no major leap in strength.
Just like the Tenseigan mode, the Hyper Dying Will seemed to have plateaued.
He nodded to himself. "Their limits make sense. These modes weren't designed to scale endlessly."
Still, it didn't mean they were obsolete. Even without amplifying his stats further, the special techniques tied to each mode remained devastating, capable of delivering attacks on par with Level 9.
For instance, Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, and various ultimate techniques in the Hyper Dying Will mode, each were incredibly powerful.
But Leon possessed far more than just those two forms of amplification.
"Then, let's continue."
Buzz!
A deep orange flame suddenly ignited from the ring on Leon's finger.
In an instant, he felt an overwhelming surge of power coursing through his entire body. A dramatic shift, his strength soared past the threshold of Level 9, far beyond what he had reached with the Hyper Dying Will mode alone.
"Just as I expected, Dying Will Flame is vastly superior to the Hyper Dying Will Mode."
"After all, it's a purely idealistic ability… its potential lies entirely in the strength of my will. And my will has always been unshakable."
Leon smiled faintly as the corners of his lips curled up.
"With every leap in my power, my will sharpens further. The more I embrace theDying Will Flame, the greater its amplification becomes."
Feeling the storm of energy swelling within him, Leon slowly lowered his gaze to the paper in his hand.
"It's only been a few days since I last leveled up... and here I am again. I guess I'm not that far off from Ryuu in the original story."
Leon muttered to himself, staring at the stats with a complicated expression.
And the moment he thought of Ryuu, memories of the Astraea Familia surfaced in his mind, specifically, those members who had gone to the distant Sword City.
"It's been quite a while... I wonder how they're doing now." He shook his head slightly, dispelling the drifting thoughts.
There was no point mulling it over.
Leon reached out, lit the paper with a small flame, and let it burn to ash. Then, without a word, he stepped out of the room.
Outside the library, a lively conversation was taking place.
Hestia was seated among Belle and the others, her eyes gleaming with curiosity as she excitedly questioned them about their experiences during the assault on the artificial labyrinth.
Belle and the rest responded with earnest enthusiasm, recounting everything they'd seen and felt during the operation.
Hephaestus, who had accompanied Hestia earlier, had already returned to her own base.
As soon as Leon appeared, Hestia's attention shifted entirely. "Leon! Tell us about your battle."
"Sure," Leon said with a small nod, making his way to her side.
He took a seat next to Hestia and began recounting the intense encounters he'd just experienced.
Belle and the others leaned in eagerly. They had seen Leon reunite with some powerful adventurers earlier, but the conversation that took place had been utterly incomprehensible to them.
Except for Haruhime, the rest of the group had joined the attack under the coordination of the Ganesha Familia, and later, under Finn's command. They had no idea what the demi spirits Leon and the others kept mentioning even were.
But the moment Leon finished explaining, Belle and the others couldn't help but inhale sharply, stunned by the scope of what he'd faced.
The strongest among them was Level 3, yet Leon had fought and slain enemies of Level 7, not just once, but multiple times.
In the artificial labyrinth alone, Leon had taken down three demi spirits and afterward, he entered the Dungeon itself and defeated four more, one of them even being Level 8. Shock gradually gave way to excitement.
"Then… does that mean Leon-sama has already reached Level 9!?" Lili cried out in astonishment, her eyes practically sparkling with admiration.
"That's the level of the Hera Familia's Empress." She added with reverence.
The rest of the group were no different, each stared at Leon with eyes full of awe.
Leon chuckled lightly and nodded. "Something like that."
"Leon-sama is amazing." Lili exclaimed, and without a moment's hesitation, she leapt into his arms, clinging to him like a child to her hero.
With a backing like this, how could she not be thrilled?
"Lili, get down!" Someone protested from the side, embarrassed.
While Leon was recounting his battle experiences to Hestia and the others, a tense atmosphere hung in the Loki Familia's Twilight Manor.
Inside Finn's office, Ais, Tione, and Tiona stood in front of the desk, while Loki, Riveria, Finn, Gareth, and Bete were gathered for a closed-door meeting.
"Ais. Tione. Tiona." Loki leaned forward from her seat atop Finn's desk, crossing her legs and folding her arms with a deep frown. "You three have something you want to tell me?"