Loki's Prepared Gift
As Leo absorbed the precious magical knowledge passed down through generations of the Loki Familia like a sponge, the rumors about him not only did not decrease, but instead intensified.
This is because the news that Leo successfully upgraded to Lv.3 was also announced by the guild and became widely known.
The first upgrade took less than a month, but the second upgrade was completed in just half a month. Even though the people of Orario already had a newfound respect for Leo, they were still quite shocked by this news.
"Half a month—is this really an upgrade record that humans can achieve?"
Everyone was secretly marveling at this.
For most people, leveling up becomes increasingly difficult as they progress, but for Leo, reaching Lv.3 actually takes longer than reaching Lv.2.
It's been used very little lately; this is exactly what the gods were saying—something was secretly done behind the scenes, wasn't it?
People were greatly shocked by this, but no longer questioned it as they had before.
After all, this time was different from before. Everyone already knew about Leo's great achievements, that he had successfully defeated the floor master alone, and that he had defeated the level 4 Goliath while only at level 2, crossing two levels, becoming the only adventurer in modern times to have been publicly announced as having successfully defeated a floor master solo.
Such a feat would be more than enough to upgrade a level 2 to level 3, let alone a level 3 to level 4.
Therefore, although people were shocked by Leo's extraordinary leveling speed, they did not doubt the authenticity of the news.
Having successfully defeated the floor master single-handedly, leveling up seems understandable, right?
The group discussed this and quickly accepted it.
Of course, while we may accept it, we will still discuss it when necessary, and there will still be much discussion when it's time to debate it.
Leo's remarkable achievements are destined to become the hottest topic in the near future.
His deeds not only spread widely in Orario, earning him great fame and popularity, but also reached people all over the world through word of mouth among merchants.
Now, everyone knows that an adventurer with an extraordinary growth rate has appeared in Orario. In just one and a half months, he has leveled up two levels from his newly acquired Falna form to become a Level 3, Level 2 adventurer. He has also successfully defeated the floor master alone and eliminated the legendary "Solitary King of the Labyrinth".
Thanks to this, Leo's name has spread throughout the world. In terms of fame, he is no less than many first-class adventurers, and even more famous than some first-class adventurers because he belongs to the Loki Familia, the strongest faction.
Most adventurers crave only a few things, one of which is fame. In just a month and a half, Leo gained a reputation that surpassed that of ordinary first-level adventurers, which drove countless people to madness with envy and jealousy.
If Leo were currently in some obscure small clan, or even some medium-sized clan, he might already be targeted and plotted against by many people, even gods.
Unfortunately, when these schemes and plots encountered the faction known as "Loki Familia," they either had to reluctantly retreat or stubbornly refused to cooperate, getting kicked back by a certain protective Chief God.
Loki has been quite smug lately, walking around with an arrogant air of being the most powerful being in the world. It's said that his smugness has made many gods itching to get their hands on him.
The scoundrel Chief God has no idea what it means to be low-key or restrained. He practically brags to everyone he meets, saying things like, "Oh dear, my kid's been getting into trouble lately. He's already level 3 before I knew it," or "How did you know I have a kid who can solo the floor master?" He acts like a fisherman who's always missed out but suddenly landed a huge catch. He's practically ready to take Leo out for a spin.
Seeing the envious, jealous, and hateful looks and expressions of others, the Chief God felt a surge of smugness and secret pleasure. But when she encountered those with shifty eyes who clearly had ill intentions, she would immediately kick them. Her ferocious appearance was just like that of someone about to trigger Ragnarok. Her protective instincts were completely open, which scared away countless gods with ulterior motives.
Those who dared not offend the city's strongest faction and the gods could only slink back, allowing Leo, who was in the eye of the storm, to receive perfect protection.
Leo then settled down in the library to study various magical knowledge, laying a solid foundation. He then passed Riveria's test and earned the opportunity to learn from her.
This elven royal was very dedicated and immediately began teaching Leo how to Parallel Chanting.
"To complete Parallel Chanting, the primary condition is to possess the Heart of the Great Tree (Serene Heart)."
"Maintaining a calm and composed mindset under any circumstances is an essential condition for completing Parallel Chanting or even high-speed chanting."
"Only by remaining calm in any situation can you multitask, or even perform multiple tasks simultaneously, moving, dodging, defending, and even attacking while chanting spells, thus avoiding accidental Demonic Power explosions."
Riveria then taught Leo a meditation technique that could help him quickly enter a state of focus and maintain mental tranquility.
If one becomes proficient in this meditation method, it can also help with the recovery and transformation of mental energy in daily life. Even Lefiya Viridis is now using this meditation method, which can be considered a unique skill.
At the same time, Riveria will also have Leo practice Parallel Chanting in actual combat, allowing him to evade her attacks while casting spells.
Although she is Mage, Riveria is not entirely without melee combat abilities. She is skilled in both staff and bow techniques. Even if her melee combat skills are not as good as those of the likes of Ais, who are highly skilled in swordsmanship, at her level 6, she is still not someone that Leo can easily mess with.
Therefore, she could beat Leo to a pulp with just a wooden stick, using him as a dog-beating stick, and the pressure she put on Leo was no less than when she sparred with Ais.
However, it must be said that such pressure does indeed help with practicing Parallel Chanting, and even resolved the problem of Leo's mental and physical dislocation after leveling up.
Perhaps it was because Leo had a good mindset and could adjust easily, or perhaps it was because the Star-Attribute Magic chanted in a very short time was less likely to cause Demonic Power explosion, but in just one day, Leo completed the initial Parallel Chanting and was able to chant magic while moving.
By the second day, Leo was already able to perform both moving and dodging maneuvers.
On the third day, Leo was able to defend against Riveria's attacks while moving and dodging.
The speed of this progress amazed even Riveria.
It's important to know that the most skilled user of Parallel Chanting, as confirmed so far, is someone who can attack while chanting magic.
There are only four actions in total: defense, movement, and dodge. Leo completed three of them in just three days, which is extremely close to the limit of Parallel Chanting.
Riveria believed that if Leo were given a few more days, his Parallel Chanting would be fully mastered. At that time, he would be able to calmly chant magic in any situation, unlike when he was forced to rely on firepower to fight Goliath.
Unfortunately, Leo no longer had time.
On this day, the Loki Familia officially sent representatives to the Guild to submit a report on their upcoming expedition.
Tomorrow morning marks the start of Loki Familia.
The news spread rapidly, drawing countless eyes and gazes to the Long Mansion known as "Twilight Manor".
The battle begins tomorrow.
That evening, in front of the Divine Room on the top floor of the Central Tower of the Twilight Manor, members of the Loki Familia lined up, waiting for the Chief God to update their stats.
"Next up, Loki!"
"Hurry up! Look how much stronger I've become in this time!"
"Hey, stop slacking off, hurry up and update my stats."
Tiona, Tione, and even Bete Loga all arrived here, lining up to enter the Divine Room, urging their respective Chief God to hurry.
"Wait a minute—couldn't you guys have come earlier? Why are you all huddled together like this?!"
Loki looked at the countless needle marks that had appeared on his fingers, and his whole body trembled.
She's going crazy.
Starting after dinner, the group members came one after another, demanding updates to her ability values, which nearly pierced her fingers.
There's no other way; the expedition starts tomorrow, and all the team members, regardless of gender, want to improve their abilities as much as possible to be in top form for the upcoming challenge, lest they perish in the Dungeon due to a lack of skill.
Loki could understand that feeling, but if it was about making a final stat update before the expedition, why couldn't they have done it sooner?
Everyone was huddled together, keeping her incredibly busy.
Here's what people are saying about it.
"Of course, we need to train until the very last moment to maximize our ability stats."
"If we don't work harder, we veteran cadres will all be surpassed by these upstart young men."
"Since you're idle all day long, this is the only time you can show your value. Stop talking nonsense and get to work."
Tiona, Tione, and Bete Loga all said the same thing, making Loki really want to curse.
"Damn Leo! It's all because of you!"
Loki knew very well who was responsible for this phenomenon.
Because of someone's extraordinary and rapid growth, every member of the Loki Familia has been spurred on for the past month or so. Ais and Bete Loga, in particular, have been spending every day in the Dungeon, putting in far more effort than ever before.
Especially recently, Leo's solo kill of the Lv.4 floor master to reach Lv.3 has put considerable pressure on the veteran members of the guild.
After witnessing that battle, Tiona, Tione Bete Loga, and other cadres all understood one thing.
That is, the person is approaching me, and at a very fast speed.
The fact that the level 4 floor master could defeat that thing alone proves that the man is not far from reaching their level.
So, whether it was the optimistic Tiona, the infatuated Tione who was obsessed with the Prum leader, or Bete Loga who kept referring to himself as a nobody, they were all basically getting anxious.
Without exception, they all felt a sense of urgency, as if if they relaxed, they would be completely overtaken and surpassed by someone who had previously been just a source of amusement, and they simply couldn't stay idle at home any longer.
Even though Finn and other clan leaders had given instructions for them to rest well in the time leading up to the expedition and not to go to the Dungeon, they still sneaked into the Dungeon or found a secluded place to train on their own.
Even Ais was the same way. Forbidden from going to the Dungeon, she would secretly hide in a corner to practice her sword skills, not daring to be idle at all.
Even members of the Second Army like Raul felt a sense of urgency watching Leo, who went into the library early every morning to train Parallel Chanting with Riveria.
One of the elven girls even took it to heart and competed with Leo over this. She would get up early every day to go to the library to look through books, and when she saw Leo and Riveria training Parallel Chanting, she would glare at him fiercely in the dark before leaving dejectedly.
Due to her immaturity in mindset and spirit, the certain elven girl has not yet been allowed to undergo Parallel Chanting training. She focuses only on meditation and chanting techniques every day, and is currently just a stationary emplacement.
Seeing Leo catch up and train in Parallel Chanting with her master under such circumstances, she naturally felt bad.
As a result, this elven girl also secretly practiced behind the scenes and is now queuing up to update her ability values.
Loki saw all of this, which is why he started berating that ignorant and clueless King of the Roll.
And this person soon appeared in front of her.
"Also, please update my stats, Loki."
The man, completely oblivious to his own limitations, calmly entered the Divine Room and spoke these words to his Chief God.
"Get out of here."
Loki, with a smirk, pointed at the door and began to curse.
That being said, Loki still helped Leo update his stats in the end.
Leo Eligos Lv.3
Strength: 10 → H144
Durability:10→H107
Dexterity: 10 → H189
Agility: 10 → G235
Demonic Power: I0 → F346
Mage: H
Magic Attack: 1
"The progress this time wasn't very significant."
Loki calmly said, "The lieutenant general translated the ability values into Common Tongue, copied them onto parchment, and handed them to Leo."
Hmm... Loki's overall skill proficiency increased by about 1000 points. He didn't even know when he was able to calmly describe this level of progress as "not a big improvement."
Leo, however, didn't find it strange.
"I didn't go to the Dungeon this time; I spent all day in the library, only doing some training with Riveria. For someone to have grown to this extent like that is already quite impressive."
Leo looked at the newly generated ability values with considerable satisfaction.
Without going to the Dungeon or sparring with Ais, and only doing some Parallel Chanting training with Riveria, the result is still such growth, so there's really no reason to be dissatisfied.
Loki actually thought it was pretty good, but he just didn't want to say anything nice about this brat.
But----
"Now that you've come all this way, let's give you the gift we prepared for you."
As he spoke, Loki took out a package.
"Gift?"
Leo paused for a moment.
This scumbag Chief God even prepared a gift for himself?