First-Level Adventurer

"This----"

Seeing Leo fall to the ground alongside the fallen Silverback Ape's corpse, and casually flicking the blood off his small straight sword, Lefiya's eyes widened in astonishment.

She was shocked.

She was terrified.

Because of Leo's performance, and also because of Leo's strength.

"How... how is this possible?"

The girl looked at Leo as if she were looking at something utterly unbelievable.

Without a doubt, Leo's displayed strength far exceeded her expectations, leaving her in disbelief.

"Didn't he only become an adventurer less than half a month ago?"

"Didn't he receive this Falna just eleven days ago?"

"How... how could someone be so strong?"

Lefiya was completely baffled.

As far as she knew, even the most talented adventurer could only improve their basic abilities by two or three stages in half a month at most. Even their best ability was unlikely to improve by more than three stages in half a month.

Even if all abilities are upgraded three or more stages to reach F level, it still won't be enough to deal with the Silverback Ape.

To deal with Silverback Ape, you need at least one ability to reach level D, and the other abilities shouldn't be too much of a hindrance.

But this is definitely not something a newcomer who has been an adventurer for less than half a month can do, and it is even unlikely that someone who has been an adventurer for a month can do it.

The strength Leo displayed far exceeded this limit. He didn't seem like a newcomer who had only received the Falna for less than half a month. He seemed more like a veteran who had been training for several months, or even several years.

This level of strength is absolutely abnormal.

"Could it be some kind of special amplification skill?"

Lefiya, who dared not even consider the possibility that his growth rate was inhuman, came up with this guess.

This is not impossible.

Some adventurers, even with low base abilities, can use special skills to amplify their power, thus demonstrating strength far exceeding their current stats.

For example, why is it that Lefiya Viridis, at only level 3, possesses firepower comparable to a level 5?

One reason is that her "Demonic Power" is always at a very high level before each level up, and the other is that she possesses a skill that can enhance the power of magic—[Fairy Song].

This is a rare skill that can enhance the effect of magic, and if it is limited to offensive magic, the enhancement effect can be doubled.

Thanks to the boost from this skill, coupled with the high-level "Demonic Power" accumulated at Lv.1 and Lv.2, Lefiya Viridis is able to possess magical firepower comparable to Lv.5.

A similar figure is Grandpa Gareth, who possesses two skills that can enhance his most proficient basic abilities.

[Mighty Fist] can increase the value of "Strength".

[Earthly Hard Shell] increases the "Durability" stat and further enhances resistance to attack magic.

With this type of skill boost, coupled with his already S-rank "Strength" and "Durability," Grandpa Gareth is terrifyingly strong in these two aspects. He is a contender for second or even first place in the entire Orario. Apart from the only Lv.7, probably no one dares to compete with him in these two areas. In fact, even that Lv.7 might not be stronger than Grandpa Grace.

Within the Loki Familia, there are several individuals who possess skills that amplify, enhance, and correct fundamental abilities, making them excel in their respective areas of expertise, leaving few able to rival them.

Lefiya now suspects that Leo may also possess this type of skill, and that his skill must be very powerful and rare, otherwise he wouldn't perform so well in all aspects.

"Strength," "Endurance," "Dexterity," and "Agility" —Leo's four basic abilities have likely all been boosted by skills, which is why he is able to demonstrate such strength.

Thinking of this, Lefiya's shock turned into amazement, and the way she looked at Leo changed.

A skill that can boost four basic abilities at once is truly a powerful and rare skill.

"As expected of someone Miss Ais values, she is indeed extraordinary."

Lefiya felt a surge of excitement, as if she had discovered some incredible secret, and her emotions were running high.

When Leo returned in triumph and came before Lefiya couldn't wait to greet him.

"Mr. Leo! I didn't know you were so amazing!" Lefiya leaned forward and exclaimed, "You've only been an adventurer for a short time, yet you were able to defeat Silverback Ape! It's incredible!"

"Are you alright?" Leo smiled, seeing that the girl had changed from her previous shy demeanor. "This level is only good for showing off at Lv.1. It shouldn't be anything to you advanced adventurers, right?"

Leo didn't really think there was anything wrong with it.

You should know that Lefiya had been to the deepest realms with the expeditionary force and had seen countless powerful beings and monsters.

It's just a Silverback Ape that appears on the 11th Floor. In Lefiya's eyes, it's probably no different from any other ape she could defeat on the roadside. Even if she could defeat it, in Lefiya's eyes, who is used to the inhuman performances of first-level adventurers, it would probably be no different from a dog-beating expert.

Therefore, Leo did not feel proud; on the contrary, he felt that Lefiya had exaggerated.

"But Mr. Leo, you've only been an adventurer for less than half a month!" Lefiya's admiration remained unchanged as she said, "To have the strength to defeat Silverback Ape in less than half a month—aside from the rumors that some first-level adventurers might have heard about in their youth, this is the first time I've witnessed it firsthand!"

That's because you haven't met the original protagonist yet.

That guy only became an adventurer for about half a month before he was able to defeat the Silverback Ape.

Leo muttered to himself, but maintained a calm expression on his face.

"If you want to admire me, wait until I reach Level 2, otherwise it will feel too incongruous."

Leo shook his head at Lefiya and turned to leave.

As a mere Lv.1 novice adventurer, being so admired by Lefiya, a Lv.2 senior adventurer, made me feel somewhat like a child being praised by an adult, and I felt quite uncomfortable.

Although, I've already reached Lv.2.

Leo then left Lefiya behind and continued deeper into the floors to fight the monsters that appeared in the thick fog.

Imp, orcs, Evil Bat —one monster after another appeared in the thick fog, attacking Leo, but instead of retreating, Leo advanced and took the initiative to meet them.

As he fought, he continuously tried to incorporate Ais's teachings into his practice, slowly but steadily improving his swordsmanship and combat skills, striving to translate the gains from today's sparring into real strength.

Since your abilities are growing rapidly and you don't need to worry about them much, you should pay more attention to your skills to avoid suffering a big loss in this area later.

Therefore, in order to hone his combat skills, Leo deliberately sealed his magic. He would only use magic if there were too many enemies to handle with swordsmanship alone; otherwise, he would only use a sword to fight.

As for the small shield—since Leo's stats were updated and his strength greatly improved, he hardly ever needs that shield anymore.

For Leo, who follows the path of a magic swordsman and prefers high-speed combat, a shield is not an essential piece of equipment; in fact, a fighting style that abandons the shield is more in line with his own self-positioning.

Swordsmanship in one hand, magic in the other—that's how he defines his profession.

The reason we haven't thrown the shield out of the room yet is simply because we might need it in a special situation.

And so, Leo fought with unwavering focus, his concentration far exceeding anything he had ever shown before.

This is also because they no longer need to handle the spoils themselves.

Just as Lefiya said, Leo only needs to focus on fighting; she will handle the rest.

Now, Lefiya followed closely behind Leo, keeping an eye on the battle while deftly digging out the Magic Stone from the corpses on the ground and putting them into her backpack. She also searched for dropped items on the monsters that had turned to ashes after losing their Magic Stone and collected them as well.

She processed the loot just as quickly as Leo killed monsters, and she knew the terrain of the 11th Floor so well that she could find her way even with her eyes half-closed, ensuring she wouldn't be left behind by Leo.

Even more surprisingly, Lefiya would suddenly burst into the battle at the right moment, handing Leo a bottle of stamina-restoring potion, and then quickly withdraw from the battle, leaving the monsters behind. This not only did not affect Leo's combat at all, but also saved Leo a lot of unnecessary effort.

This made Leo realize just how important it is to have an excellent supporter by your side.

"In this way, my strategy efficiency will at least double, maybe even more."

Leo doesn't need to deal with corpses, collect Magic Stone, or take loot. He can even hand over his backpack and weights to his supporters. This makes Leo fight much more smoothly and easily get into the zone, significantly increasing his efficiency.

The benefits of this are enormous.

First and foremost, the efficiency of making money definitely increases along with it, that's beyond doubt.

Secondly, the efficiency of training various abilities has also improved, allowing Leo to grow more quickly.

Finally, Leo can focus on honing his combat skills and swordsmanship to improve his ability to fight.

This is killing three birds with one stone, so Leo has no choice but to be happy.

"Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"

As Leo gains more and more confidence in the battle, a new monster roars and charges forward.

It was a monster with a physique similar to a human boy, standing on two short legs, with seemingly strong claws on its forelimbs, wearing armor on its back, and covered with several strips of scales on its body. The scales extended all the way to its head, forming angular shapes, making it look like a helmeted armored rat monster.

This is the Hard-Armored Rat, a monster that appears from the 11th Floor onwards, just like the Silverback Ape.

Similar to the Killer Ant that appear starting from the 7th layer, it has a hard exoskeleton. However, its abdomen and thorax, which are not protected by the exoskeleton, are soft and vulnerable, making them easier to target than the Killer Ant that are protected by a hard exoskeleton.

However, the Hard-Armored Rat's carapace is far harder than that of the Killer Ant, and its protective ability is unmatched by other upper-level monsters, making it arguably the toughest monster in the upper realm.

It is generally believed that it is almost impossible for a level 1 adventurer to defeat this monster alone in melee combat. The guild's strategy guide suggests that new adventurers need to reach the BS level in order to conquer the 11th Floor and 12th Floor, one of the biggest reasons being that there are Hard-Armored Rat on these two floors.

Therefore, the Hard-Armored Rat and the Silverback Ape are considered the main monsters of the 11th Floor. Apart from the rare "Baby Young Dragon" monster, which is so few in number that it can wipe out an entire group of lower-level adventurers on its own and is regarded as the floor master in the upper floors where there is no "Solitary King of the Labyrinth", the Armored Rat should be the most difficult monster to deal with.

Faced with a monster whose defenses were so tough that they were practically impenetrable without special weaponry, Leo's approach was quite decisive.

"[Meteor Dance]!"

The brief incantation appeared and ended swiftly like ripples, and Leo released the magical power that had been sealed away as the roaring armored rat monster charged towards him.

"Boom!"

Like a meteor streaking across the sky, it pierced through the Hard-Armored Rat directly. With a deafening roar, it blasted away the rat's incredibly tough shell, even blowing off its upper body, leaving only its two feet standing on the ground, a gruesome death.

This attack, which Power of Destruction even the Magic Stone, leaving not a single fragment behind, stunned Lefiya, who had caught up with them.

It took Lefiya quite a while to come to her senses.

"So, Mr. Leo also possesses magic."

What beautiful magic!

Lefiya had the same thought as Ais.

But Lefiya did not underestimate the power of that magic.

"That magic was incredibly powerful, capable of blasting half of Hard-Armored Rat's body away in one blow."

Lefiya's impression of Leo is constantly being refreshed.

Finally, Lefiya also had the same idea as the leaders of the Familia.

"Perhaps, Mr. Leo can become a pillar of the familia, just like Miss Ais and Miss Tiona."

The pillars of the Loki Familia —that means only one thing.

That is to become a Level 1 adventurer.

The title "Level 1 Adventurer" can only be used by those who have reached Level 5.

There are fewer than forty people in the entire Orario, and only seven in the entire Loki Familia. Therefore, the birth of a Level 1 Adventurer always causes a city-wide frenzy.

If Lv.2 is a height that only a select few with talent can reach, then Lv.5 is a height that only the truly gifted can attain.

Although Lefiya was only a Level 2 non-combatant, she had witnessed the heroic fighting prowess of Level 1 adventurers countless times, and now she saw in Leo a capacity equal to those beings.

The thought that her family would soon have another future Level 1 adventurer filled Lefiya with genuine joy and anticipation.

Knowing that she was supporting such a being, Lefiya's enthusiasm grew even stronger, and she worked even harder on the spoils of war.