More Effort Is Needed

Twilight Manor, central courtyard.

Today, people were once again sparring here.

Riezel and Ais were unleashing a dazzling flurry of sword light at each other, engaged in an intense Sword Dance.

Unlike before, today's Sword Dance was not only far fiercer than any of their previous matches, but Riezel and Ais themselves were in rather unusual states.

Riezel seemed Transformed. With a casual movement or flash of his body, he could stir up bursts of force. His speed was fast enough to break the sound barrier, while the sword in his hand slashed out countless chilling streaks of sword light. Like a violent storm, they came in an endless, unceasing torrent, attacking Ais at extreme speed.

Facing such a Riezel, Ais no longer fought with only her scabbard as she had before. Instead, she wielded her silver-white saber, darting back and forth through the storm of blades Riezel had woven, repeatedly slashing to deflect the incoming attacks. There was no longer any of her former composure in her every movement.

The male and female Swordsmen fiercely attacked and defended within the rather cramped courtyard, chasing each other at terrifying speeds. Whenever their figures crossed, Blade Light and Sword Shadows filled the air, carving line after line into the ground and thoroughly disrupting the atmosphere, creating a scene like roiling wind and clouds that shook the heart.

"S-So amazing..."

Holding two towels, Lefiya stood to one side watching the match, trembling in fright and looking utterly pitiful.

The sparring match between Riezel and Ais was already so intense that anyone watching would be left dumbfounded.

"Clang—!"

At a certain moment, accompanied by the violent collision of two longswords, the two figures that had been pursuing and crossing each other at astonishing speed finally separated.

Riezel retreated again and again, withdrawing several meters in total.

Ais, meanwhile, only took one or two steps back, faring much better than Riezel.

"..."

The two stared at each other from a distance, maintaining their standoff as the gradually calming air became filled with tension.

Only after a while did they break the standoff and, as though by prior agreement, sheathe their swords at the same time.

"G-Good work, Mister Riezel! Miss Ais!"

Seeing this, Lefiya came to her senses and hurried forward, handing the towels to Riezel and Ais respectively.

"Thank you."

Riezel and Ais thanked her at the same time, extending their hands to take the towels in completely identical motions. It was as though they were looking into a Mirror, giving off an incredible sense of mutual understanding.

"Mm..."

Watching them, Lefiya puffed out her cheeks slightly, unsure whether she felt saddened or jealous.

Unfortunately, neither Riezel nor Ais noticed. They were looking at each other instead.

"Judging by your movements, you should have mostly adapted already, right?"

Ais spoke those words without knowing what feelings she held.

"More or less." Riezel smiled faintly. "Though some transitions between movements still don't feel natural enough, I've mostly adapted. Next, I just need to properly familiarize myself with my current physical strength."

"That's good." Ais nodded while staring fixedly at Riezel. "You really have become so strong. You only just Level Up, yet you already feel stronger than many Lv.4 adventurers I know."

Hearing that, Riezel remained outwardly calm, though his heart was another matter.

In a little over a month, he had risen from a mere Lv.1 Lower Class Adventurer to a Lv.4 Second Class Adventurer. Riezel was quite satisfied with this report card of his.

Even an overpowered protagonist like the one from the original story had taken four and a half months to rise from Lv.1 to Lv.4. Riezel had done it three months faster. If he still wasn't satisfied with that, then he truly deserved divine punishment.

Moreover, whether rising from Lv.2 to Lv.3 or from Lv.3 to Lv.4, Riezel had fully cashed in on his potential. He had only chosen to Level Up after all his abilities had reached SSS, accumulating extremely high latent potential. His foundation was much stronger than even the original protagonist's, let alone an ordinary person's.

On top of that, he had chosen the Development Abilities "Swordsman" at Lv.3 and "Light Armor" at Lv.2, both of which enhanced his own abilities. Combined with the superb swordsmanship he had learned through frequent sparring with Ais over the past month, Riezel might have only just reached Lv.4, but his strength was already no weaker than the more capable Lv.4 adventurers.

That was without even taking Magic into account.

If Magic were included—especially an exceptional enhancement like Wind Spirit Sprint—then Riezel might not be unable to contend with even Lv.5 First Class Adventurers.

One only had to see how Riezel had forced Ais, a top-ranking Lv.5, back one or two steps to know that this was no exaggeration.

This was different from the time over a month ago. It was not the result of launching a surprise attack while Ais was shaken and catching her off guard, but the result of a head-on battle.

Having such strength immediately after reaching Lv.4, it was no wonder Ais had said that.

Still, everything had its pros and cons. Riezel's growth was certainly astonishing, but it also caused his strength to surge so greatly with every Level Up that his body could not adapt to it.

That was why Riezel had been sparring with Ais here: to adapt to his body and to the strength of his current level.

Overall, Riezel truly had grown a great deal and become much stronger.

Although he still felt that he was not strong enough, even Riezel believed he could be proud of reaching this point in just over a month.

Of course, to Ais and Lefiya, who likewise longed to grow and become stronger, such progress left their feelings especially complicated.

Lefiya in particular, as Riezel's teammate and a witness who had watched him struggle his way up, both admired Riezel and felt discouraged about herself.

"Mister Riezel is already Lv.4, but I'm still only Lv.3. It's so embarrassing."

Lefiya lowered her head in dejection.

Ais beside her also wore a serious expression, feeling an indescribable pressure in her heart.

Even though she could still slightly surpass Riezel for now, seeing him grow at a practically unfair pace gave Ais the urgent feeling that he was about to Catch Up.

After all, she was only Lv.5.

Riezel only needed to Level Up once more to completely Catch Up.

At that point, with the strength, potential, and talent Riezel had displayed, would she still be able to surpass him?

The more Ais thought about it, the less certain she felt. The less certain she felt, the greater the pressure became.

"Don't say that." Riezel shook his head and said to Lefiya, "I only benefited from my skills. With your potential, you should be able to reach Lv.4 very soon too, right?"

At the very least, as far as Riezel knew, Lefiya had already trained her "Magic" stat to Stage C.

According to the rules for Level Up, as long as one Basic Ability reached Stage D, one could Level Up by accomplishing Great Achievements.

Lefiya already qualified to Level Up. All she lacked were High-grade Experience Points that could be considered Great Achievements.

That was not especially difficult.

The Loki Familia had so many First Class Adventurers. As long as they were willing, they could easily carry Lefiya and let her accumulate enough High-grade Experience Points.

Therefore, as long as Lefiya herself was willing, reaching Lv.4 would not be particularly difficult.

What was difficult was becoming a Lv.5 First Class Adventurer.

To rise to that level, ordinary Great Achievements were no longer enough. One had to accumulate more High-grade Experience Points and defeat even stronger enemies.

And achievements sufficient to raise someone to Lv.5 were not necessarily something even the Lv.6 faction leaders could help a team accomplish.

For precisely this reason, while the Loki Familia had quite a few Lv.3 and Lv.4 Second Class Adventurers, it had only four Lv.5 First Class Adventurers.

That was because High-grade Experience Points capable of raising someone to Lv.5 were no longer so easily accumulated.

"I wonder how long it'll take me to reach Lv.5?"

While comforting Lefiya, Riezel was thinking the same thing to himself.

It had taken Riezel seven days to reach Lv.2.

It had taken Riezel fifteen days to reach Lv.3.

It had taken Riezel thirty days to reach Lv.4.

At this rate, could he successfully reach Lv.5 before the one-hundred-day time limit for Dimensional Travel expired?

"Looks like I still need to work harder."

What Riezel was thinking was precisely the sort of thing that would once again leave Ais and Lefiya with complicated emotions.

"Oh, right, Mister Riezel."

Suddenly, Lefiya seemed to remember something and looked at Riezel.

"What is it?"

Riezel came back to his senses and faced Lefiya.

"Before I came here, I ran into Riveria." Lefiya said, "Riveria told me to let you know that once you finish sparring with Miss Ais, you should go see the captain."

"The captain?" Riezel asked in confusion. "Does the captain need something from me?"

"I don't know." Lefiya shook her head. "But since it's the captain, he probably has something important to say."

"Is that so?" Riezel pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Understood. I'll go see the captain."

"Okay." Lefiya had no objections.

"Be careful on the way." Ais also spoke to see him off.

Thus, Riezel walked into the manor in front of the two girls.

"M-Miss Ais, do you have time right now?" Once Lefiya saw Riezel leave, she immediately became somewhat hesitant and bashful as she said to Ais, "Would you like to go out together?"

Lefiya's invitation received Ais's merciless rejection.

"No. I still need to practice for a while."

Feeling pressured and spurred on by Riezel's rapid improvement, Ais had no other thoughts in her heart. She only wanted to seize every moment to become stronger.

"..."

The bashfulness on Lefiya's face immediately became forced. She looked somewhat stiff and as though she were on the verge of tears.

Meanwhile, Riezel crossed the elevated corridor and entered the northern tower.

Within Twilight Manor, Finn's personal room and office were located in the tower directly north among the three towers allocated for men, standing far across from the Great Gate.

Following his memory, Riezel arrived before a room and knocked on its door.

"Come in."

Finn's response immediately came from inside, and Riezel pushed open the double doors and entered the room.

What came into view was an office connected to Finn's personal room.

As the office of the familia's leader, the room was naturally quite spacious. Not only did it have bookcases filling an entire wall, but it also had a vivid carpet and even a tall, rectangular clock, giving it a steady yet warm atmosphere.

Finn sat in the back of the office, behind a large desk that did not suit his small stature at all.

Finn was not the only person in the office. Riveria and Gareth, the other two leaders of the familia, were there as well.

"They're all here?"

Riezel was somewhat surprised.

His intuition told him that something important might truly be about to happen.

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