The truth was, it wasn't just Asfi. Everyone who watched Leo and Ais fight was badly shaken by the two of them.
As members of Hermes Familia, the people here had traveled far and wide, and because the Familia's work spanned so many fields, every one of them generally had sharper experience and a better eye than most Familias. So they could say with full confidence: the strength these two were showing was absolutely off.
Ais they could set aside. This Sword Princess had already ranked up to Lv.6, and before that all of Orario had only six Lv.6s. As the seventh, her strength was certainly far above an ordinary Lv.5, so while a display like this was surprising, it was at least understandable.
But what was going on with that Monster Rookie?
Hadn't he only just ranked up to Lv.5?
Even if a Lv.5's strength was much greater than a Lv.4's, it shouldn't be this much greater, right?
That was absolutely not the kind of strength a first-class adventurer fresh to Lv.5 should have!
Even Ais had noticed it.
She looked like she was slaughtering monsters without restraint, but the whole time she'd also been keeping an eye on Leo.
Ais still cared about the things Leo had said before they set out, so she was curious just how big his boost had been, and how much of an increase his newly learned Skill had brought him.
Watching Leo constantly adjust himself in battle, constantly adapt to his current abilities, growing stronger and stronger, Ais finally believed it: the boost he'd gotten this time might really be even bigger than her own.
"I... underestimated him after all."
That was the thought that came to Ais.
As for Leo himself, he could feel his own strength in this moment better than anyone.
He knew this level up of his had brought a huge boost.
Just as there was an enormous gulf between low-class and upper-class adventurers, there was likewise an insurmountable gap between second-class and first-class adventurers.
Why did people regard Lv.1 adventurers as low-class, while only Lv.2 and above could be called upper-class?
Because a Lv.1 that hadn't undergone any Rank Up, no matter how much it raised its Status, was still nothing more than within the realm of ordinary mortals.
For a Lv.1 that hadn't undergone any Rank Up, every update of the Status was, in essence, only digging out the potential within them. And no matter how strong that potential was, it would never surpass the realm of mortals.
Only by undergoing Rank Up, evolving one's own "container," could one exceed the realm of mortals and become a transcendent existence.
So no matter how veteran a Lv.1 adventurer was, they were still low-class. Only a Lv.2 or above who had undergone Rank Up could be called upper-class. There was a fundamental difference between the two, forming that enormous gulf between low-class and upper-class adventurers.
Lv.2 adventurers were singled out and called third-class adventurers, which also proved just how special this Level was. After that, Lv.3 and Lv.4 were lumped together as second-class adventurers, and while they were certainly stronger than Lv.2, it still didn't count as a transformation.
But Lv.5 was another matter.
Reaching Lv.5 was another kind of transformation.
In light of this, there was likewise an insurmountable gap between second-class and first-class adventurers. Leo after ranking up to Lv.5 was certainly far stronger than he'd been at Lv.4, and everyone knew that in their hearts.
And on top of that, in this very situation, Leo had learned a new Skill, and one no worse than Star Soul Eternal at that: the rare Skill Star Sword Crossing.
While a blade was equipped, this Skill's effect would trigger, raising Leo's three abilities of Strength, Dexterity, and Agility to varying degrees, and the higher the quality of the equipped blade, the stronger the Skill's effect.
And right now, the weapon in Leo's hand was no worse at all than first-class special armaments.
Wielding a blade no worse than first-class equipment, Leo's Star Sword Crossing effect was naturally greatly strengthened, boosting each of his basic abilities by an outrageous margin.
Add to that how Leo had repeatedly broken through the limits of his Status across several previous Levels, accumulating powerful latent ability, and with the two stacked together, Leo's boost was far greater than that of any adventurer who'd just ranked up to Lv.5.
Loki was right. In terms of Status alone, the Leo of now was absolutely no worse than Ais!
In other words, his Status could already stand on equal footing with a Lv.6!
Ais had only ranked up to Lv.6, gaining a single Level, but Leo was the equivalent of ranking up to Lv.5 and Lv.6 back to back, his Status boosted by a full two Levels!
So much so that Leo now had no choice but to devote himself wholeheartedly to adapting to this drastically strengthened power, working to rein in this wild horse that might break loose at any moment, adapting to his current strength little by little. His performance grew stronger and stronger, and the strength he displayed grew more and more outrageous.
At one point, as Leo suddenly thrust forward, the black longsword in his hand instantly turned into a sharp streak of blade-light. Like a black tornado, it churned the air while running through the bodies of countless monsters, impaling and killing them all.
That jaw-dropping sight made even Ais's movements stall for a moment.
Asfi and the rest of Hermes Familia were left even more stunned, staring blankly.
"...Asfi? Is that really a Lv.5?"
Lulune, gripping her dagger, spoke to Asfi beside her, her voice trembling.
Asfi said nothing, only watching Leo steadily, her gaze deep.
And so Leo's group pushed toward the Pantry while cutting down monsters the whole way, moving at an astonishing speed.
Leo and Ais seized this chance to work hard at adapting to their bodies and abilities, so as to bring out the full extent of their strength.
Wherever the two passed, they stripped the ground like locusts, moving as if through empty, undefended land. Every monster in their path was cut down without mercy, and even the few that slipped through the net would be cleaned up by Hermes Familia, led by Asfi.
To reach the Pantry as fast as possible and complete this thorny request, the group even gave up on the resources along the way.
Magic stones and drop items, for instance, unless they were an especially precious type, no one even bothered to pick up. So both Leo and Ais aimed their attacks at the magic stones inside the monsters, going for one-hit kills.
Or take the materials unique to Floor 24: those too the group gave up on without a second thought.
The Large Tree Labyrinth of Floors 19-24 had one distinctive feature: it grew many precious herbs and raw materials with special effects.
Years of research had confirmed that many of the herbs here could be eaten directly, with fast-acting stamina recovery or antidote effects. If used to mix potions, those effects could be made even stronger, which was why the raw materials here were highly valued by the major commerce-type Familias. Even the glowing moss that formed the labyrinth's light source could sell for quite a lot once brought back to the surface. It was, in short, a treasure trove.
There was also a kind of fruit-bearing tree here that produced beautiful red and blue gems, its formal name being the Jewel Tree and its nickname the Money Tree. It was extremely valuable, but unfortunately the one guarding this tree was the strongest monster on the floor: the Green Dragon.
The Green Dragon's latent ability could match a Lv.4, just like the mighty dragon guarding Cadmus' Spring on Floor 51. It always kept watch beneath the Jewel Tree and was rather troublesome to deal with, but for Leo and Ais, who possessed Lv.6-class Status, it naturally wasn't any especially tough opponent.
Even so, after discovering the Jewel Tree the group still chose, with iron will, to give it up and head straight for the Pantry, leaving quite a few money-loving members, Lulune included, teary-eyed.
Leo silently memorized the spot, even marking it on the map. If he ran short of money later, he wouldn't mind making a trip, dealing with the Green Dragon, and harvesting the Jewel Tree.
Even though he already had a huge savings of over 300 million valis, the exclusive weapon currently being forged for him was a sword-staff combined armament that fused the functions of a longsword and a magic staff. It didn't take much thought to know it would be expensive, and his savings might not really be enough.
If his savings fell short when the time came, Leo would definitely have to figure out a way to make money.
"Come to think of it, if this request gets completed, there'll be a generous reward, right?"
Leo recalled what the man in black had said.
On that, Leo figured he could look forward to a nice payout.
Others didn't know this man in black's identity, but Leo knew it all too well.
That man in black was extremely famous in the lower world. He was a rare mage who had trained both Development Abilities, Mystery and Mage, to their limits, born in a great nation of magic, who had once succeeded in creating the Philosopher's Stone that could grant eternal life. For this he became renowned across the lower world under the name Sage, and had already survived eight hundred years to this day. At some unknown point he joined the Guild and became one of its behind-the-scenes decision-makers.
His true name was Fels, one of fewer than five holders of Mystery in the entire city. He could craft Grimoires, and most of the Grimoires circulating within the city came from his hands, with only a few having flowed in from outside.
In other words, he was very rich.
If Leo remembered right, in the original work, the reward this man prepared for whoever completed this request included more than one Grimoire.
When the time comes, I could use one of them too.
Leo thought to himself quietly.
Don't forget, Leo had only two Magic to this day.
An adventurer could hold at most three kinds of Magic, and he was still one short.
Once this trip was over, if he could smoothly obtain a Grimoire, Leo would definitely use one on himself, and might even use more than one.
There was no helping it. A Grimoire could fail when used, and if it failed at that point, then he'd just use a few more and see.
If he could learn a third Magic and then get his exclusive weapon, his strength was bound to gain another boost.
With this thought in mind, Leo kept charging forward, killing enemies while pressing on.
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