'I guess this is happening then.'
Judas thought as he watched the crowd gathering in anticipation, murmurs rising like a tide around him.
Even the three leaders of the Loki Familia remained silent... which could only mean one thing.
This sudden, out-of-nowhere sparring match had earned their silent approval.
'They must want to see it for themselves...'
'What I can do... where I stand in the pecking order...'
For most, this was just an exciting bout between him and the Sword Princess.
But for the leaders, it was a test... a quiet examination to gauge the depths of his power.
"Hey Judas! You're gonna need this!"
A familiar voice broke his train of thought.
He turned to see the red-haired goddess Loki walking toward him, a grin on her face and a pair of black gauntlets in her hands.
Járnglófar.
"Thanks."
Judas said, accepting them without hesitation.
"Give 'em a good show."
Loki smirked, patting his back before turning away.
He didn't look back.
His eyes were fixed solely on his opponent.
From the start, Ais' golden gaze had never left him.
She stood poised, her hand resting lightly on her sword's scabbard.
The moment their eyes met... everything else vanished.
In the next heartbeat, both shifted into their battle stances.
Judas drew a deep breath.
His heart pounded like a war drum.
Magic flared to life around him... glowing magic circles materializing in a halo of light that spiraled along his body.
He began layering his strengthening spells one after another.
From Level 2 to Level 3.
From Level 3 to High-Grade Level 3.
From High-Grade Level 3 to Level 4.
His entire body was now cloaked in several layers of light, forming an aura that blazed like a miniature sun... radiant, golden, almost divine.
Then, before anyone could blink... Ais moved.
A blur of gold and white, she closed the distance in an instant.
Her scabbard sang through the air, a silver arc aimed straight for his neck.
Clang!
Judas raised his arm just in time, the edge of her weapon scraping against the black steel of his gauntlet, sending sparks flying.
A shockwave rippled across the clearing, dust scattering as their feet dug into the ground.
Ais spun gracefully, her second strike coming from the side.
Judas twisted, barely deflecting the blow before countering with a heavy kick that forced her to leap back.
'Even though I managed to fend off her attacks, the force of the impact still managed to rattle my body.'
His arms trembled faintly, the shock from Ais' strikes reverberating through his muscles and bones.
If it had been an ordinary level 4, they would've already lost their footing, their rhythm broken and their movements thrown off completely.
But Judas was not worried in the slightest.
'My healing skill can take care of it...'
Faint wisps of smoke rose from his skin, curling like threads of vapor in the air as his regeneration quietly activated.
The warmth spread through his arms and chest, mending the micro-tears in his muscles and reinforcing his bones.
He flexed his hands once, feeling strength return to his limbs.
The ache faded, replaced by the familiar steadiness of his restored body.
However, from their brief clash just now, a realization flashed through his eyes.
'Compared to Alise or Kaguya... she seems a bit lacking.'
Her movements were sharp, her strikes swift and deliberate... there was no denying her talent.
But to Judas, who had crossed blades with the executives of the Astraea Familia, there was a noticeable gap in technique and skill.
It was as if she specialized in fighting monsters, but wasn't as adept when it came to battling other people.
For a split second, they stood apart again... Ais' hair swaying in the aftermath.
The silence that followed was deafening.
The spectators immediately sensed the shift in magic power and were stunned by the drastic change in aura surrounding Judas.
"Are my senses deceiving me, or did the rookie just get stronger out of nowhere?"
"Level boost?"
"Wait... did he just stack a bunch of strengthening magic on himself?"
"What kind of magic is that?"
"This is cheating!"
The crowd couldn't help but exclaim aloud.
Shock filled their eyes... even as they witnessed it firsthand, they had a hard time believing it.
"Amazing! So this is the person that Miss Argonaut admired."
Tiona spoke, sparkles in her eyes.
Even if she couldn't use magic herself, she could still sense the sheer amount of mind he was gathering.
"A super rookie... I thought Bell was already impressive, but this is on another level."
Tione muttered quietly.
"What the hell... he's a Level 2, but why do I feel like he's stronger than me?"
Raul spoke up, trepidation in his voice.
Just the aura Judas was releasing made the back of his neck tingle.
Anakitty... a black-haired catgirl and a Level 4 just like him... didn't say a word, but the look on her face said everything.
Her sharp feline eyes tracked Judas' glowing figure and she couldn't help but clench her fists tightly.
Although they had seen him being able to respond to Bete's attack earlier, their clash was so brief they chalked it up to luck... a mere fluke.
But now, it was different.
Their instincts, honed through years of adventuring, told them one thing.
Judas was the real deal.
As for the mages, their astonishment came from something else entirely.
"Magic circles? Did he already obtain the Mage development ability?"
"Forget about that! I'm more surprised he can cast multiple spells at once!"
"Multi-casting? I'm not seeing things, right?"
"The number of magic he's using exceeds three! I thought only Princess Riveria and Lefiya could do that!"
A female elf wearing a mage's robe exclaimed with a shaken voice.
There was a rule regarding the Falna that most people had come to accept...
The maximum number of magic slots a Falna could provide was only three.
For most adventurers, that meant mages could only learn and wield up to three different spells at most.
But there were two people who had broken that rule.
Riveria Ljos Alf and Lefiya Viridis.
Their ability to use more than three magics was well-known throughout the world.
They were such anomalies that even Altena... a nation famed as the Country of Mages... was said to resent them.
Amid the chatter, Lefiya's grip on her staff tightened, her teeth pressing against her lip.
'Even though the fight had just barely begun... everyone's already worked up.'
Finn thought to himself as he scanned the faces of everyone present.
There was a clear reason behind their reactions.
Judas Spade... while everyone knew he wasn't an ordinary adventurer... was still, in their eyes, a newcomer.
A junior. A new little brother who had only just joined their ranks.
And yet... here he was, standing toe-to-toe with Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess herself.
That simple fact was enough to stir something inside every single member of the Loki Familia.
Excitement. Envy. Anticipation.
Now that their junior, who had barely settled in, was displaying power that easily surpassed most of them... it lit a fire in their hearts.
A competitive spirit burned to life.
No one wanted to be outdone.
No one wanted to admit that the new guy, the rookie who had just joined, was already standing leagues above them.
It wasn't hatred. It wasn't resentment.
It was pride.
Like watching a younger sibling suddenly rise higher than you, achieving something you couldn't... it left a strange sting in the chest.
'They feel as if their pride as seniors is being challenged.'
Finn thought, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
'But that's not necessarily a bad thing... if this lights a fire under them, then Judas' arrival might just be the best thing that's happened to this familia in a long time.'
His gaze turned toward the center of the field... where two figures stood locked in silence.
'Judas Spade... let's see what you can do.'
It was at that moment that Judas' influence quietly began to take root within the Loki Familia.
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