The appearance of Starlight had, without question, raised Leo's combat strength by a large margin.
Its quality actually exceeded the category of First Class equipment somewhat, enough to be ranked among legendary weapons, and in this world the only thing that could compare with it was probably the little black knife in Bell Cranel's hand, born entirely of divine craft.
The Hestia Knife possessed nearly limitless growth potential. At present it certainly wasn't as strong as Starlight, and it was still far short even of ordinary First Class equipment, but as Bell Cranel grew, that little black knife would grow stronger and stronger, and in the end it might even surpass Starlight's strength.
Of course, for the Hestia Knife to grow to that point, Bell Cranel himself would have to reach a very high Level.
Lv.5 definitely wasn't enough. In the original work, when he became Lv.5 the Hestia Knife had yet to display power exceeding First Class equipment, so he would need to reach Lv.6 at the very least, perhaps even Lv.7 or Lv.8.
As for now, the Starlight in Leo's hand was one of the highest-quality weapons in this world, far surpassing Udaeus's black sword from before, and the effect of the Star Sword Crossing Skill was stimulated to its utmost, granting Leo an astonishing boost.
In terms of pure strength, Leo now could probably rank near the top among Lv.6 adventurers even without using magic.
Once he used magic, then setting aside King, whose natural limit approached Lv.8, it wasn't impossible for him to fight and defeat an ordinary Lv.7.
At the very least, if Leo faced Udaeus again now, whose potential ability exceeded Lv.6, he was confident he could defeat that Floor Boss without a scratch, relying on nothing but his own strength.
Obtaining his personal weapon, along with learning his third magic, had given him that kind of confidence.
It was just that... the more powerful the personal weapon, the more expensive its value.
"Give me five hundred million valis."
That was what Loki said, and the corner of Leo's eye twitched hard.
He knew that Riveria's Magna Alfs, one of the Five Greatest Staves, had gone for a final price of only a little over three hundred million valis.
True, that had been the result of Loki negotiating with her foul-play-tier haggling ability, and otherwise Magna Alfs would never have closed at that figure, but Loki had been the one handling this deal too, and Leo didn't believe for a moment that she hadn't bargained.
And if it still cost five hundred million valis even after bargaining, then Starlight's true value had to be an astronomical number that would make a person dizzy.
Fortunately, Leo had accepted Fels's request earlier and received an extremely generous reward, and even though most of that reward had been handed over to the Familia for expedition preparations, what remained was enough for him to pay the weapon's cost.
Adding in his savings of over three hundred million valis, plus two grimoires he hadn't used yet, the sum of five hundred million valis was enormous, but in the end Leo handed it over.
"After the goddess Hephaestus forged the little black knife, she only charged the goddess Hestia two hundred million valis, didn't she?"
While handing over the money, Leo suddenly remembered this, and it ruined his whole mood.
A work that employed divine craft, and superior equipment of the kind that grew stronger along with its user, and it was only worth two hundred million?
If that wasn't a friendship price among friendship prices, Leo would eat the Starlight in his hand.
Superior equipment with that kind of growth attribute, unless its ceiling was low, would have countless adventurers and powers across the entire lower world tearing each other apart for it at two hundred million valis apiece.
If he had a chance to get a weapon like that, Leo would gladly pay double or even triple the price to take it, without a moment's hesitation.
Still... Starlight wasn't bad either.
Looking at the white-platinum blade shining in his hand, a feeling of satisfaction gradually welled up in Leo's heart.
Over the following stretch of time, Leo made time between his duties to go down into the Dungeon and test the new weapon there.
Unfortunately, he couldn't go deep into the Dungeon. At most he could wander the Middle Floor region, and the monsters there weren't nearly enough for Starlight to cut. The barest graze tore them to pieces, let alone giving Leo any chance to test the sword to his heart's content.
To test the sword, Leo eventually made a special trip down to the 17th floor and tried the blade on the Floor Boss, Goliath.
The result was that Goliath, a monster specialized in Endurance, had only exchanged a single pass with Leo before one of its huge arms was cut clean off along with a flash of white platinum.
An Endurance value at the Lv.5 level, before Starlight's edge, was no match for cowhide, and might not even hold up better than paper.
And so Starlight's second flash took off Goliath's head, and this Floor Boss with a classification Level of Lv.4 died then and there in bitterness.
Watching the giant's corpse crumble into a vast drift of ash, Leo seemed for a moment to see himself of about two months ago.
Back then he had only been Lv.2, and to defeat this super-large-class giant monster he had used every trick he had, and only succeeded in the end by risking his life plus a little luck. He himself had lost half his life doing it and been carried home by his Familia companions.
Now, meeting again this Floor Boss that had once been a lethal threat to him, he had cut it down easily under his sword in less than ten seconds, with only two attacks, without even using magic.
Goliath, which even an ordinary Lv.5 couldn't simply handle on a whim, hadn't lasted three moves in front of him, a newly promoted first-class adventurer who had been Lv.5 for less than half a month.
Compared to when he had been only Lv.2, this strength was worlds apart.
Having felt his own growth once again, Leo returned to headquarters still wanting more.
And in this way, the day of the expedition quietly arrived.
Twilight Manor, the top floor of the Central Tower, outside the God's Chamber...
On the night before the expedition began, a long line had formed here once again.
The members had come here together, queuing to enter the God's Chamber, preparing for one last Status update so they could meet the coming expedition in their best condition.
"...Why can't you people come a little earlier?"
Loki was already somewhat in despair. The hand holding the needle was trembling, and her fingers were covered in needle holes. Anyone who didn't know better would think she had suffered some kind of abuse, the sort of treatment only a certain princess from another world got to enjoy.
At any rate, by the time Leo entered the God's Chamber, his goddess already had the look of someone whose soul had left her body, and he started to feel a little sorry for her.
"...Or, how about I update after I get back?"
Leo scratched his head as he made the suggestion.
"...No need, just sit down for me."
Loki shakily picked up the needle, gritting her teeth, looking like she was going all in.
"Everyone else aside, if a kid like you doesn't update his Status properly, that's the biggest irresponsibility toward the coming expedition and your companions."
Even when others updated their Status, the increase was limited and produced no qualitative change. It was a matter of accumulation, of one more measure of strength meaning one more measure of safety.
Leo was different.
At his rate of growth, every Status update brought an astonishing rise.
The stronger he was, the more confidence the expedition force had, and the more advantageous the coming conquest would be.
So tonight, anyone could skip a Status update except Leo.
Even if her fingers were already pierced through, Loki would prick her toes to update Leo's Status.
If Leo had known what Loki was thinking, he would definitely have turned around and left.
He didn't want this trashy patron goddess's toes sliding around on his back. That was an image he would rather not picture.
"Hurry up and get over here!"
In the end Loki didn't have to use her toes. With effort she squeezed two drops of divine blood out of her riddled fingers, one to unlock and one to update, and Leo's newest Status came out fresh.
Leo Eligos
Lv.5
Strength: H188 → E444
Endurance: H137 → E412
Dexterity: G264 → D558
Agility: G251 → D557
Magic: G292 → D596
Mage: F
Magic Attack: G
Spirit Healing: H
Swordsman: I
"Not bad."
Looking at the contents of the parchment, Leo nodded.
Dexterity, Agility, and Magic had all reached D, and Strength and Endurance had reached E as well. Among Lv.5s this Status would rank in the upper-middle range, not far from the top.
The main reason was that after the anomaly on the 24th floor, Leo had basically not entered the Dungeon again. Every day he was helping the Familia prepare for the expedition, and across a whole day only his morning training and his evening self-study in the library produced any training effect, earning him excelia to grow his own Status.
At most, right after obtaining Starlight, Leo would run down into the Dungeon now and then to test the sword, but that only went as far as the Middle Floors, never deeper.
If not for that, Leo's rate of growth might have been faster still.
"When you get back from this expedition, all of your abilities should break through their limits again, right?"
Loki had gotten used to Leo's inhuman growth rate by now, sucking on her fingers as she spoke.
"If you can make it to the 59th floor, then by the time you come back you might even level up again."
For anyone else this would be an extremely difficult thing, but where Leo was concerned, Loki had reason to believe it would become reality.
Unless there were no dangers at all on the 59th floor.
But was that possible?
"Your strength now, even placed within the whole Familia, can rank in the top three."
Loki sighed with feeling as she looked over at Leo, then spoke with a smile.
"You're already qualified now to shelter your companions and shoulder the Familia's future."
Leo naturally understood what Loki meant.
"Don't worry." Leo said calmly, "I'll return in triumph together with my companions."
"I never doubted it for a second." Loki laughed. "I'll be waiting at home for you all to come back."
Leo nodded, then walked out of the God's Chamber.
The Familia's members were still lined up outside in a long queue, one after another beginning their Status updates.
But Ais, Tiona, Tione, Bete, Lefiya, and the others were nowhere to be seen at all.
"Are they training right up to the last moment?"
Coming out into the sky corridor, Leo looked down at the courtyard through the moonlight.
There, the golden-haired girl was swinging her silver saber, training hard.
The next day, early morning.
When the sky brightened, Twilight Manor was already surging with people, bustling and lively, presenting a scene like a general mobilization.
"Lefiya! Hurry up!"
"Coming!"
The Elf girl with the staff in hand came out of her room at her roommate's call, tying her hair tight as she walked toward the courtyard.
"All right! This time I'm definitely catching up to Ais! And passing Leo!"
"We really can't fall behind anymore, can we."
The Amazoness twins walked along together in high spirits, weapons already gripped in their hands.
"Hey! You lot! Don't drag me down!"
The werewolf youth had come to the courtyard early, shouting loudly at Raul and the others who were busy working, and several of them trembled.
As for the Familia's leaders, they were doing the final inventory of supplies, and they exchanged wry smiles at the sight.
"The mood is a lot more restless than during the last expedition."
"Can't be helped. Everyone's been saving up their energy. They've been looking forward to this expedition for a long time, haven't they?"
"Spirit is a good thing, so long as they don't get too impatient. If they're still like this later, we'll remind them."
The Pallum leader, the High Elf, and the Dwarf warrior conversed with one another, far steadier than the rest.
Around then, Leo and Ais had also come out of the tower together and arrived in the courtyard.
"Mr. Leo!"
"Miss Ais!"
The members greeted the two of them one after another, their attitudes respectful.
Leo had gotten somewhat used to this, and he nodded to everyone along with Ais, then came over to the group with Finn and the others.
"Captain, we're here."
Leo greeted Finn.
"Finn, Riveria, Gareth."
Ais likewise called each of their names softly.
"Good, you're here." Finn looked at the young man and woman before him, who suited each other more and more, and smiled. "We're counting on you two this time, Leo, Ais."
"Don't drop the ball, now." Gareth stroked his beard. "The two of you are the mainstays among the mainstays this time. Whether we reach the 59th floor depends on you."
Clearly, both Finn and Gareth had expectations for how Leo and Ais would perform.
During the last expedition, these two had been Lv.3 and Lv.5 respectively, and while they could be counted in the main force, the ones truly carrying the weight had still been the three leaders.
But this time Leo was already Lv.5 and Ais was already Lv.6. Both had made great progress in strength, and with the power of their Skills and magic they could burst even higher. Even if they couldn't take over the leaders' positions, they could shoulder most of the pressure for them.
That left the Familia's leaders with no choice but to hold expectations.
"I'll do my best."
Leo didn't feel any pressure either, and appeared quite calm.
"Mm."
Ais only nodded, as reticent as ever.
Riveria stepped forward and patted the two of them on the shoulder, everything left unsaid.
One of them was her disciple and the other was her daughter, and seeing the two of them growing more and more, she, as their teacher and mother, shared in the pride.
"We're here too! Finn!"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Captain!"
"Miss Ais!"
Before long, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and the others arrived one after another.
"Is everyone here?"
Seeing this, Finn waved his hand.
"Then let's move out!"
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