Mana Burst is a chantless magic, and the gray fog training space that comes with the Proficiency Boost Ticket can quickly replenish mana, stamina, and health.
Moreover, there's no need to rest in that space; every minute, even every second, can be used to practice the corresponding skill.
As a result, after 'The Goddesses' Loving Protection,' which had no proficiency to begin with, Levi successfully maxed out his second skill.
That said, the magic 'Mana Burst' still had enormous potential left to be explored.
After all, of the four advanced applications Levi had planned, only 'Ten' and 'En' had truly been developed to their limits.
As for the newly acquired 'Blade' and 'Shield,' perhaps because his 'Mana Manipulation' proficiency wasn't high enough yet, he could currently only enhance his weapons and armor directly. He couldn't yet project his mana like a sword beam or form a barrier around himself capable of repelling attacks.
Levi wasn't one to get bogged down in minutiae.
Since his enhancements to 'Mana Burst' had hit a bottleneck, it was natural to shift his energy to other skills that could boost his immediate combat strength.
For example...
—Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū.
Like Mana Burst, this was a skill Levi had acquired ten years ago.
But the proficiency growth between the two was on completely different levels.
This was normal, however. The limiting factor for Mana Burst had always been Levi's own mana.
Martial arts like swordsmanship and archery, on the other hand, were not only linked to stamina but also required the baptism of real combat.
In fact, since entering the Labyrinth City until today, Levi's Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū proficiency had already risen from Proficient 1% to Proficient 9%.
And this wasn't even his limit—after all, due to his cautious nature, Levi had never truly challenged a powerful enemy.
Real combat led to rapid growth in martial skills, but the accumulated daily practice was not entirely useless.
A 10-day Proficiency Boost Ticket was activated in his inventory, and after one second in the real world, the experience bar for Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū increased by 1%.
10%... 11%... 12%...
21%... 31%... 40%...
Each 10-day Proficiency Boost Ticket provided Levi with about 1% proficiency at the Proficient rank.
The 100-day tickets provided ten times that amount.
When the five Mana Recovery Potions that had been sitting in his inventory for ten years were finally depleted.
A minute later, the skill proficiency for 'Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū' on his status panel quietly reached Proficient 61%.
Levi had been able to train himself day after day for ten years; he was someone who could endure long periods of solitude. If not for the current lack of methods to quickly recover mana aside from potions and sleep, he would have been prepared to use up all the Proficiency Boost Tickets he had on hand.
Even so, the young man lying in bed had already decided that after returning from the Dungeon tomorrow, he would go to a nearby pharmacy to buy several Mind Recovery Potions. He was determined to raise his Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū to the Master level before entering the Middle Floors the day after tomorrow.
'Time to sleep.'
It was still early, but Levi's mind was clearly drained.
He wasn't at the point of instantly passing out, but his concentration was definitely waning.
Just as he was about to close his eyes to rest, the bedroom door was gently pushed open.
The bright moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the face of the twin-tailed goddess, who had just finished her bath and changed into a bathrobe.
Her appearance was so pure.
It made one hesitate to approach, yet also inexplicably want to defile it.
"Hestia?"
The weariness that had been creeping into Levi's mind was jolted away by the girl's appearance.
Seeing his stunned, almost flustered expression, Hestia's lips curled into a slight, somewhat suggestive smile. "That's right, it's me~"
"What are you doing here?"
Although he had some idea, Levi couldn't help but ask.
"Me?" Hestia pointed to herself. Far from acting shy like a young girl, she went straight for the kill. "Hehehe~ Of course, I'm here to rest with my boyfriend~"
With that, she let out a little 'heave-ho' and leaped, pouncing onto the young man's body.
Levi rubbed his nose. "Isn't this moving a little too fast?"
He was very fond of Hestia, and it was precisely for that reason that he wanted to win over her heart bit by bit.
However, the young man, in both his past and present lives, was merely human. As a member of a short-lived race, before becoming a truly long-lived being, he couldn't possibly understand the perspective of long-lived, let alone immortal, beings.
"Eh? Fast?" Hestia tilted her head in confusion, not quite getting Levi's meaning at first.
But she had lived as a goddess for tens of millions of years. Even as a virgin goddess, she knew a great deal.
She immediately covered her mouth and giggled.
"I never thought you were so innocent, Levi. I originally thought you'd be more of the aggressive type~"
Levi shrugged. "Can't be helped. What can I say? I want to win both your body and your heart."
"My, my~ Such smooth words, especially for someone who smells so clean."
"That's because from the first moment I saw you, Hestia, I decided I would give my first time to you."
Hestia pushed against Levi's chest. "A boy saying things like that won't make a girl's heart flutter at all."
"Really? I don't believe you. Your heart is pounding so fiercely right now, Hestia."
Why do you think that is? Shouldn't you be asking your hand that's moving lower and lower down my waist?
Hestia puffed up her cheeks while holding down the young man's increasingly bold right hand. "Don't move. I just came to rest with you today."
"Alright." Levi had just finished training. Although his goddess's appearance had stirred some of his primal instincts, his energy was low. He simply held the lovely girl in his arms, lay back down, and slowly closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Hestia."
Hestia lay in the young man's embrace. Just as she was about to speak, she heard faint snores from above her head. Realizing Levi was truly exhausted, she smiled softly and wrapped her arms around him in return.
'Goodnight, Levi.'
...
The next day, late afternoon.
Levi, carrying a backpack full of Magic Stones, walked out of the Dungeon entrance.
He had ventured down to the ninth floor today, the absolute limit recommended by The Guild for solo adventurers.
Because his normal combat strength was already at the mid-to-high end of Lv.2, he didn't encounter any major incidents throughout the day, even on the ninth floor, which bordered the tenth where a Monster Rex could potentially spawn.
Instead, a trivial incident occurred after he had exchanged all his harvested Magic Stones for Valis and went to a shop near his home base called the 'Blue Pharmacy' to buy a few Mind Recovery Potions.
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