Leon agreed with that wholeheartedly.
Never mind Jeanne and Rose; anyone the invitation chose and summoned here was, without exception, exceptionally gifted.
Without some signature skill, no matter how perfectly you fit a certain someone's tastes, the invitation absolutely wouldn't give you the time of day. Only those who had both beauty and strength would be picked by that picky cheat.
Leon breathed out a puff of white, turning the skewers over on the grill at a leisurely pace, and replied offhandedly:
"Fair point."
"Oh, right. Now that you mention it, that reminds me of something."
"?"
"Come to think of it, our levels aren't low anymore, and we're more than halfway down the road to becoming Second-Class Adventurers. But from my own research and experience, Basic Abilities are kind of a mysterious thing."
Mysterious?
"Let me tell you, from what I understand, just because you train your Basic Abilities to the limit at a low level doesn't mean you'll easily hit the peak at a high level too."
The moment he said that, the few people around him looked over with curiosity.
Iri, who'd been listening as earnestly as a student, had eyes positively sparkling with curiosity:
"Why can't you train your Basic Abilities to the limit at every level? Is there... some reason behind it?"
Leon grinned:
"That's our Iri, going straight to the heart of it."
"Because... leveling up your Falna isn't like playing a game, where you can max out every level just because you want to."
"For instance?"
"For instance... some people, at low levels, might be able to train their Basic Abilities all the way up to the A stage (800+) or even the S stage (900+) through all kinds of limit-breaking, life-or-death battles, like the Baptism. But once their level climbs to Lv. 3, Lv. 4, then Lv. 5, Lv. 6, these people might discover a cruel truth, which is that no matter how hard they try, their Basic Abilities will only ever stop at the B (700) or C (600) stage, and they can't train them up any further if their life depended on it."
"And that's their limit."
"Without higher Basic Abilities, their combat ability drops, and so their success rate at attempting Great Feats naturally gets dragged down too."
"The end result is, they get stuck at a certain level and can't climb any higher."
"And that's exactly why the vast majority of Adventurers in Orario can't level up."
"As for what causes this, my guess is... it's probably tied closely to each person's ultimate potential."
"Of course, let me cover myself here. This is just my personal guess, that's all."
Hearing this, even Laurier, who'd just finished her snowman with a face full of delight, slowly let her smile fade and fell into thought.
"Potential, huh..."
"This Adventurer profession really does come down to talent."
Rose, noticing the mood had cooled, crouched by the stove and turned the skewers a few times. Then she clapped her hands to get everyone's attention, that ever-gentle smile on her face:
"Alright, everyone. Let's drop these heavy topics. Here, the skewers are done!"
"You can eat now!"
"Hehe, skewers, skewers, skewers!"
The little elf's face changed, and she came scampering over first.
"Rose, can I please have a veggie skewer!"
"Sure!"
"I want a beef skewer!"
"Chicken!"
"A veggie and chicken combo, thank you, Rose!"
"Okay, okay, there's enough for everyone!"
Leon, the head chef of the cookout, had long since done his part and stepped aside.
With several finished meat skewers in one hand and a cup of liquor in the other, he stood off to the side. Watching the little courtyard fill with laughter amid the falling snow, a contented, fatherly smile spread across his face.
"After finishing studying and training, eating grilled skewers in a heavy snow with a bit of liquor, this kind of simple life really does have its own flavor!"
But just as he opened his mouth to bite into that fragrant piece of beef...
Kureha's blazing gaze locked onto him once again.
"..."
Leon was speechless. The Sword Saint was having another one of her episodes.
"Ahem, dear Sword Saint, we've done Baptism every single day for the better part of half a month. Even with Iri's healing magic to fall back on, the mind can't take it. How about... we rest a few days? Once our bodies and minds are back to full, we restart the program. What do you say?"
As he spoke, his eyes darted around, and he squeezed out a smile:
"Uh, if your hands are really itching and you want to test out how much you've improved lately, why not go blow off some steam in the Dungeon? How's that for a suggestion?"
Having been gently turned down by Leon, Kureha had felt a little let down at first.
After all, a wheelchair Mage like Leon, who could play tactics, take a beating, and had an especially thick health bar, was a rare, premium-quality punching bag in her eyes.
Even though she'd never beaten him once to this day, that feeling of being able to unload at full power and fight to her heart's content fascinated her.
Even if she always had to pay some "price" for it late at night, she still tirelessly sent Leon her match requests.
"The Dungeon!?"
"Yeah! I've been so caught up in the joy of Baptism lately that I forgot all about a great place like the Dungeon!"
"It's time to go test our recent progress on some monsters!"
"And I'm sick of cutting down people anyway, a change of pace would be nice!"
...
Kureha's drive went straight to maxed out. One moment she was sending Leon a battle match request, the next... the only one left in the little courtyard was Leon, all by his lonesome.
Gazing at the suddenly empty courtyard and the snow drifting down without a sound.
He sipped his whiskey alone, sinking into thought.
"Did I say something wrong? How'd they all run off to the Dungeon just like that?"
Of course, with the strength of their group, Leon didn't have anything to worry about. It was just routine practice anyway; they wouldn't go too deep, at most messing around on the floors before the lower ones.
"Whatever. The crafting materials are just about all gathered these last few days, so let me get cracking on that high-capacity Wonder Pack. Saves Jeanne and Rose nagging me about it."
"Right, I've still got 'Potion Recipe: Wild Mixture' and 'Wondrous Potions: A Basic Guide' to study after that."
"Tsk, they're all Lv. 4 already and still grinding this hard. My own level-up feels like it counted for nothing..."
He let out a soft sigh, settled back onto his little folding stool, and went back to enjoying the quiet of a cookout in the snow alone.
But fate doesn't bend to your wishes, and this quiet, solitary daily peace was shattered by a sudden turn of events...
That all-too-familiar glow of the Summoning Array actually bloomed a second time, lighting up once more without any warning and catching Leon completely off guard!
With a resonant hum...!
"Agh! My eyes!"
"Holy shit!"
...
...
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