"This—"
Watching Leon land simultaneously with the fallen corpse of the Silverback, casually flicking the blood off his small straight sword, Line's eyes widened, her face completely filled with astonishment.
She was shocked.
She was frightened.
It was because of Leon's performance, and because of Leon's strength.
"How... how is this possible?"
The young girl looked at Leon as if she were looking at something utterly inconceivable.
Without a doubt, the strength Leon displayed far exceeded her expectations, leaving her in disbelief.
"Hasn't he been an adventurer for less than half a month?"
"Didn't he just receive his Falna eleven days ago?"
"How... how can he be this strong?"
Line was completely bewildered.
As far as she knew, no matter how talented an adventurer was, a mere half a month would at most allow them to raise their basic abilities by two or three stages. Even for their most proficient ability, it was highly unlikely to increase by more than three stages in half a month.
And even if all abilities rose by more than three stages to reach Rank F, that still wouldn't be enough to handle a Silverback.
To deal with a Silverback, one needed at least one ability to reach Rank D, and the other stats couldn't drag too far behind for it to be possible.
But this was absolutely not something a newcomer who had been an adventurer for less than half a month could achieve; it wasn't even likely within a month of becoming an adventurer.
The strength Leon displayed greatly surpassed this boundary. He didn't look like a newcomer who had received his Falna less than half a month ago at all; he looked more like a veteran who had trained for months, if not years.
This kind of strength was definitely unnatural.
"Could it be a special booster skill?"
Line, completely daring not to let her thoughts drift toward a non-human growth rate, came up with this hypothesis.
It wasn't impossible.
Some adventurers, even if their own basic abilities weren't high, could use special skills to boost themselves, thereby displaying strength far exceeding their current stat values.
Take Lefiya, for instance. Why could she, at only Lv. 3, possess firepower comparable to a Lv. 5?
One reason was that before each level up, her Magic stat was raised to a very high stage. The other reason was that she possessed a skill that amplified magic power—Elf Ring.
This was a rare skill that could enhance the effects of magic, and if it was limited to attack magic, the enhancement effect could double.
Because of this skill's boost, combined with the high-tier Magic stats accumulated during her time at Lv. 1 and Lv. 2, Lefiya was able to possess magical firepower comparable to a Lv. 5.
A similar case was old man Gareth, who possessed two skills that could raise the basic abilities he excelled in most.
Dvergr Enhance increased his Strength value.
Ardigalea increased his Endurance value, further strengthening his resistance when dealing with attack magic.
With these types of skill boosts, combined with the fact that his own Strength and Endurance had already reached Rank S, old man Gareth's capabilities in these two areas could be described as terrifyingly strong. In all of Orario, he was someone who held a firm second place and contended for first. Aside from that lone Lv. 7, it was estimated that no one would dare challenge him in these two aspects, and even that Lv. 7 might not necessarily be stronger than the old man.
Within the Loki Familia, there were a few others who possessed skills that boosted, strengthened, or corrected basic abilities, allowing them to stand out in their respective areas of expertise to the point where few could hope to match them.
Line now suspected that Leon very likely possessed this type of skill as well, and the effect of his skill had to be extremely powerful and rare, otherwise he wouldn't display such strength across all parameters.
Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility—it was highly probable that all four of Leon's basic abilities received corrections from a skill, which was why he could display such power.
Thinking of this, Line's shock turned into admiration, and the way she looked at Leon changed from before.
A skill capable of boosting four basic abilities all at once was truly an exceptionally powerful and rare skill.
"As expected of someone Miss Ais thinks highly of, he really is extraordinary."
Line felt a faint surge of excitement, as if she had discovered some incredible secret, and her spirits rose remarkably high.
When Leon returned in triumph and arrived before Line, she could not wait to greet him.
"Mr. Leon! You're actually so amazing!" Line leaned forward, speaking repeatedly, "To think you can already defeat a Silverback when you've only just become an adventurer not long ago, it's too incredible!"
"It's alright, I guess?" Seeing the young girl change from her previous timid demeanor, Leon smiled and said, "This level is just flexing within Lv. 1. To upper-class adventurers like you, it shouldn't amount to much, right?"
Leon truly didn't think it was anything special.
One had to remember that Line had accompanied the expedition force to the deepest regions of the Dungeon, witnessing countless powerhouses and mighty monsters.
A mere Silverback that appeared on the 11th floor probably looked no different from a stray dog on the street to Line. Even if he could defeat it, to Line, who was accustomed to the non-human performances of first-tier adventurers, it would probably just look like he was highly skilled at beating dogs.
Therefore, far from feeling prideful, Leon felt Line was exaggerating.
"But Mr. Leon, you've been an adventurer for less than half a month after all!" Line, however, did not alter her admiring attitude in the slightest, continuing, "To possess the strength to defeat a Silverback in less than half a month—aside from hearing about such feats in rumors regarding the youth of some first-tier adventurers—this is the first time I've witnessed it with my own eyes on the spot!"
That's because you haven't met the original protagonist yet.
That guy also managed to defeat a Silverback around half a month after becoming an adventurer.
Leon murmured to himself internally, while his face maintained a calm expression.
"If you want to admire me, let's wait until after I reach Lv. 2, otherwise it feels too out of place."
Leon shook his head at Line and turned to walk away.
Ultimately, he was just a Lv. 1 rookie adventurer. Being held in such high regard by Line, a Lv. 2 upper-class adventurer, always made him feel a bit awkward, like a child being praised by an adult.
Even though he was already capable of ranking up to Lv. 2.
Leon left Line behind, continuing to press deeper into the floor and fighting the monsters that materialized within the dense mist.
Imps, Orcs, Evil Bats—various monsters appeared one after another in the thick fog, lunging at Leon, only to find him advancing instead of retreating, actively meeting them head-on.
As he fought, he continuously attempted to integrate Ais's teachings into his movements, slowly but steadily improving his swordsmanship and combat techniques, striving to convert the gains from today's sparring into actual strength.
His stats grew rapidly without requiring too much worry on his part, so he had to place more emphasis on technical skills, lest he suffer a major setback in that area in the future.
To this end, under the conscious intent to hone his combat techniques, Leon actively sealed away his magic. Unless there were simply too many enemies to handle with swordsmanship alone, he would not employ magic; otherwise, he would only use a single sword to face his foes.
As for the small shield—ever since Leon's stats were updated and his strength had grown significantly, he barely had any use for that shield anymore.
For someone walking the path of a magic swordsman and leaning toward high-speed combat, a shield was never a mandatory piece of equipment for him. In fact, a combat style that abandoned the shield suited his self-positioning much better.
Swordsmanship in one hand, magic in the other—this was his professional positioning for himself.
The only reason he hadn't left that shield behind in his room by now was entirely out of consideration for special circumstances where it might come in handy.
In this manner, Leon fought with single-minded devotion, his concentration far exceeding his past efforts.
This was also due to the fact that he no longer needed to process the spoils of war himself.
Just as Line had said, Leon only needed to focus on fighting, and she would handle everything else.
Right now, Line followed firmly behind Leon. While keeping an eye on the battle situation, she used deft techniques to dig out the magic stones from the corpses on the ground, placing them into the backpack on her back, and searched for dropped items on the monsters that turned to ash upon losing their magic stones, collecting them as well.
The speed at which she processed the spoils was not a single beat slower than Leon's monster-slaying speed. She understood the terrain of the 11th floor so well that she could find her way even with her eyes squinted, ensuring she wouldn't be left behind by Leon.
Furthermore, Line would suddenly slip into the fray at the appropriate moments, handing Leon a potion for stamina recovery, and then swiftly retreat out of the engagement zone to shake off the monsters. Not only did she completely avoid disrupting Leon's rhythm, but she also saved him a great deal of unnecessary effort.
This allowed Leon to profoundly experience just how important it was to have an excellent supporter by one's side.
"With this, my clearing efficiency can increase by at least double, if not more."
Completely freed from the need to process corpses, harvest magic stones, or collect loot, and even being able to hand over his backpack and extra weight entirely to a supporter, Leon found his combat much more satisfying and could enter his flow state far more easily. His efficiency could be said to have multiplied.
The benefits brought by this were immense.
First, the efficiency of earning money definitely increased alongside it; this point was beyond doubt.
Second, the training efficiency for each ability also rose, allowing Leon to grow more rapidly.
Finally, Leon could focus entirely on polishing his combat techniques, refining his swordsmanship, and improving his ability to face enemies.
This was killing three birds with one stone, giving Leon every reason to be pleased.
"Roaaaaaaar—!"
Amidst Leon's increasingly proficient combat, a new kind of monster let out a roar, rapidly closing in.
It was a monster with a physique equal to a human youth, standing on two short legs, its forelimbs bearing seemingly sturdy claws. It carried armor on its back, its body encased in segmented carapace divided into several bands, and its scaly skin extended all the way to its head, forming an angular shape that looked like it was wearing a helmet. It was an armadillo-like monster.
This was a beast that, like the Silverback, only began to appear from the 11th floor onward: the Hard Armored.
It was similar to the Killer Ants that began appearing on the 7th floor, both possessing rigid shells. However, its abdomen and chest, which were not protected by the shell, were soft and vulnerable. Compared to the Killer Ants whose entire bodies were shielded by hard outer carapaces, its weaknesses were much easier to target.
Nevertheless, the hardness of the Hard Armored's shell far surpassed that of the Killer Ants. Its defensive capability was something other upper-floor monsters could not hope to match, making it verifiably the toughest monster in the upper regions.
It was generally believed that in close-quarters combat, it was virtually impossible for a Lv. 1 adventurer to defeat this monster alone. Among the clearing recommendations provided by the Guild, one of the biggest reasons they suggested that a rookie adventurer's basic abilities should reach Rank B to S before attempting to clear the 11th and 12th floors was precisely due to the presence of Hard Armoreds on these two levels.
Therefore, alongside the Silverback, the Hard Armored was viewed as a flagship monster of the 11th floor. Aside from the Infant Dragons—a rare species whose overall numbers were so scarce that fewer than five existed, capable of entirely annihilating a group of lower-class adventurers, and viewed as floor masters in the upper regions where no True Floor Boss existed—the Hard Armored was supposed to be the most difficult monster to deal with.
Facing this monster, which was so hard that breaking its defense was basically impossible without specialized armaments, Leon's approach was completely straightforward.
"Meteor Dance!"
The short incantation surfaced and concluded as rapidly as a ripple. Facing the armored armadillo monster charging forward with a roar, Leon unleashed the magical power he had been sealing away.
Boom!
Like a shooting star streaking across the sky, the spell pierced through the dense mist and directly struck the Hard Armored. Amidst a booming explosion, it blasted apart the creature's incredibly rigid shell, even blowing its entire upper body to pieces, leaving only two legs standing on the ground in a wretched death.
This attack, which destroyed even the magic stone along with it without leaving a single fragment behind, caused Line, who was catching up, to freeze in her tracks.
It took quite a while before Line snapped out of it.
"So, Mr. Leon possesses magic as well."
What a beautiful spell...
Line generated the exact same thought as Ais.
However, Line did not overlook the sheer power of that magic either.
"To be able to blow away half of a Hard Armored's body in a single strike, the power of that magic is also incredibly strong."
Line's impression of Leon was constantly updating.
Ultimately, Line also arrived at a thought identical to those held by the leaders of her Familia.
"Perhaps Mr. Leon can become a pillar of the Familia, just like Miss Ais and Miss Tiona."
A pillar of the Loki Familia meant only one thing.
It meant becoming a first-tier adventurer.
A first-tier adventurer was a title that could only be used to describe those who had reached Lv. 5.
There were fewer than forty such individuals in the entire city of Orario, and only seven within the entire Loki Familia. Consequently, every time a first-tier adventurer was born, it could trigger a city-wide celebration.
If Lv. 2 was a height that could only be reached by a fraction of those possessing talent, then Lv. 5 was something that could only be achieved by true chosen darlings of heaven.
Although Line was merely a Lv. 2 non-combatant, having witnessed the heroic combat figures of the first-tier adventurers countless times, she now saw a capacity equal to those existences within Leon.
Thinking about how her own Familia would gain another future first-tier adventurer, Line felt genuinely happy and full of anticipation.
And realizing that the person she was supporting was precisely such an existence, Line's motivation grew even stronger, and she worked even harder to process the spoils of war.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi