Cannot Stop My Steps

Ais knew better than anyone that she wasn't incapable of improvement, but rather that she had reached the limit of her growth.

Just as Leo could sense that he had reached the limit of his current level before each upgrade and could no longer effectively improve his abilities, Ais had also clearly felt the existence of what is called "limit".

Three years have passed since she reached Lv.5, and in those three years she has improved all her strengths to near S level.

That's it. Improving further from there will be extremely difficult.

Not everyone can break through the limits of their ability like Leo.

For most people, reaching the S-rank in ability is already the limit, and very few people can actually achieve that. Apart from a very small number of exceptional individuals, it's already considered quite good for ordinary adventurers to raise their abilities to the D-rank and meet the basic requirements for leveling up.

Ais is undoubtedly a prodigy; she has even raised her skill level from a low level to D, and her other abilities are all close to the highest level, S. How could she not run into obstacles?

Her "Demonic Power" stat, which was just a hair's breadth away from reaching S-rank proficiency but failed to improve after this expedition, proves that she has hit a barrier.

This is undoubtedly telling her that she has reached the limit at level 5, and there is little room for further growth.

Even if things continue like this, it will be difficult for her to accumulate enough experience points to improve her abilities.

This is the main reason why Ais's mood has worsened.

"----And you?"

Instead of revealing her true feelings, Ais asked Leo this question.

Her implication was clear: she wanted to ask Leo how he had fared.

Leo wanted to say that he, like her, hadn't gained much.

But he has already leveled up, and this news will likely be reported to the guild and made public soon, which might make him seem like he's deceiving Ais.

He didn't really want to deceive Ais.

So, even knowing that this would upset Ais, Leo pursed his lips and spoke with a hint of helplessness.

"I'm already level 4."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and there were no other sounds.

The blonde, golden-eyed girl stared at the boy before her, her lips unconsciously pursing.

Lv.4----

Is he already at Lv.4?

Wow, that was fast!

How come he's grown so fast in just two months, while I've been stuck in the same place?

Is he going to aim for Lv.5 next?

How long will it take him to achieve this this time?

A month? Or even less?

By the time he reaches Lv.5, I'll probably still be stuck in the same place, right?

At this moment, Ais finally felt it.

The man before her, who had once been pitifully weak and whom she had brought out of the Dungeon, had caught up with her.

At his rate of development, he'll soon reach the same level as me, right?

In fact, it's possible that he might even surpass me in the near future.

A sense of urgency quietly arose, and the pressure suddenly increased many times over, making Ais feel faintly breathless.

She didn't resent Leo becoming stronger; she just couldn't bear the thought of herself not becoming stronger.

"Why----"

Why can't I achieve this kind of growth rate?

For the first time in her life, Ais felt a sense of jealousy.

Are you alright, Ais?

Leo looked at the girl with some concern, seemingly able to sense the intense emotions surging within her at that moment.

"It's nothing." Ais paused for a moment before saying, "Congratulations."

After saying that, Ais turned and left.

Leo watched Ais's departing figure, unsure whether he should chase after her.

In the end, he gave up the idea of chasing after them.

Let her have some peace and quiet.

At this moment, it seems inappropriate to say anything.

The next day, early morning.

The Twilight Manor will be very lively today, and the entire Orario will be bustling with activity.

--

On their first day back from the expedition, Loki Familia began to deal with the various spoils of war they had brought back.

Whether it's Magic Stone, dropped items, or rare minerals and metals collected from Dungeon, all of these need to be sold to earn money to make up for the huge expenses incurred before the expedition.

Of course, the spoils from this expedition will certainly not be enough to cover the expenses incurred before the expedition.

There was nothing they could do; the expeditionary force encountered worm monsters, resulting in massive losses of supplies.

Losing so many resources before even beginning their conquest of the unexplored territories is a devastating blow to the Loki Familia.

All the supplies purchased before the expedition were discarded, and the large amount of spoils obtained during the expedition were also lost. This time, the expeditionary force only brought back the spoils obtained on the return journey, which was far less than what they had gathered during a normal expedition.

Furthermore, most of the expeditionary force's equipment was dissolved by the worm monsters, including the primary weapons of the first-level adventurers, which were all rendered useless. Therefore, the gains from this expedition were far from enough to make up for the losses; it was a complete loss.

"----Really?"

Loki, upon arriving at Finn's office and hearing the entire story of the expedition from him, dropped the bottle of liquor he had been holding.

Especially when Riveria listed out all the losses and presented them after she finished calculating them, Loki was completely stunned, as if struck by lightning, and his whole body turned ashen.

The people of Orario also learned some things as the Loki Familia members ran around dealing with the spoils they brought back from the Dungeon.

"So— the Loki Familia's expedition was a failure?"

"I've actually run into a new type of monster that can dissolve weapons—that's incredibly unlucky!"

"It's a pity they didn't even reach the 59th Floor, let alone the 52nd Floor, and returned empty-handed."

"It's fortunate that no one was killed."

"Well, as long as our combat strength is still there, that's fine. We can always try again on the next expedition."

That's true—

Such discussions filled every corner of the city.

The Loki Familia's failed expedition, while surprising many, did not generate much controversy.

The losses were significant, and the initial objectives had not been achieved. However, as some have pointed out, at least the Loki Familia's fighting strength was not compromised or lost, so the impact was not too severe.

If this expedition not only fails but also results in casualties, it will damage the reputation of the Loki Familia.

Therefore, while people discussed it, they didn't react much.

Loki Familia didn't take it seriously either; they disposed of the spoils as they pleased, and repaired and purchased new weapons as needed.

Tiona, with tears in her eyes, placed a new order, preparing to spend a huge sum of money to forge another Great Double-Edged Ullr, for which she was mentally prepared to incur enormous debt.

Ais finally composed herself, temporarily suppressing the disappointment of last night. She took the Desperate to be repaired, but it was said that due to the severe damage, the sword could not be repaired in a short time. She could only use the sword lent to her by the familiar who repaired her weapons, and would exchange it for the Desperate after it was repaired.

Finn, Gareth, Tione, and others all commissioned their familiar blacksmiths to reforge their weapons, keeping them extremely busy throughout the day.

Although there is always a mountain of work to do after returning from an expedition, and everyone is always busy like this after each expedition, this time it will definitely be even busier than before. Therefore, not only the expeditionary force, but almost all the members of the entire Loki Familia have been mobilized and assigned a certain amount of work.

Even Leo wasn't spared this time. Along with Raul and other core members of the Second Army, he was assigned to some post-expedition cleanup work, running around the city all day long, so busy that he didn't have time to do his own thing.

However, the news that he had already reached Lv.4 eventually spread smoothly.

"You're already at Lv.4?!"

Raul, who was the first to learn of this, reacted very strongly.

Not only him, but everyone else who had traveled with the two and were handling the aftermath of the expedition was also taken aback.

"You're moving way too fast!"

Even the usually calm and collected Anakitty was taken aback.

"----Is this already Lv.4?"

Alicia's expression also changed, and the way she looked at Leo became somewhat strange.

"There's no need to be so surprised, is there?" Leo felt a little uncomfortable seeing everyone staring at him blankly, so he said, "It's just that we've finally caught up with you guys. You're probably not far from Lv.5, right?"

That's exactly what Leo thought.

Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia are the three people in the Familia who are recognized as being closest to Lv.5. They are the highest-ranking Lv.4 beings, so it wouldn't be surprising if they leveled up to Lv.5 sometime later.

Compared to these three, I've only just reached Lv.4, there's nothing to be surprised about.

Leo's attempt to think this way only earned him disdainful looks from everyone.

"Don't you want to listen to what you're saying?" Anakitty said irritably. "How long has it taken us to get to this point? And how long has it taken you?"

Putting aside everything else, just take Raul and Anakitty for example. They Loki Familia for seven or eight years now, and it has been a long and difficult journey to get to this point. They have expended countless amounts of blood and sweat along the way.

And what about Leo?

He's only been a member of the clan for two months at most!

In just two months, this person caught up with them who had worked for seven or eight years, and yet they say there's no need to be so surprised?

When should we be surprised?

"--When I was Lv.4, you were Lv.1. Now I'm still Lv.4, but you're already Lv.4 too. You're making me feel like I'm losing face as a senior member of my clan."

Raul said this with a bitter face.

Back when Leo was still a trainee member, he was already a Level 4, and he always considered himself a senior member of the Familia, taking care of Leo for a whole year.

When Leo received the Falna and made his debut, he even brought gifts to encourage him and see him off.

In just two months, the newbie who had watched him embark on his journey to the Dungeon had caught up with him and become a Level 4, just like him. How could he bear this?

That's not even the worst part.

"At your rate of growth, you'll probably surpass us soon, won't you?" Alicia murmured with a sigh. "As expected of someone Lady Riveria personally mentored, you should be able to reach Lv.5 faster than us and catch up with the first-level adventurers."

Upon hearing this, not only Raul, but also Anakitty and the other Lv.4s present fell silent.

They all felt immense pressure.

This feeling of the new generation pushing the old one aside, and the old one about to be washed away on the beach, is really unpleasant.

On the one hand, they were happy that such a promising and talented descendant had emerged in their family.

On the other hand, they felt that the reputation of their clan's elders was in jeopardy.

The thought that after so many years of hard work, they had been overtaken by a newcomer in no time, and that the newcomer would soon surpass them and catch up with the top echelons of the clan, filled Raul and the others with mixed feelings.

Ironically, the person involved acted as if to say, "This is nothing."

"I do hope to catch up as soon as possible, so I don't always need others to take care of me, protect me, and worry about me," Leo said calmly. "Therefore, I still need to work harder."

"You still need to work harder?" Raul couldn't help but groan, saying, "You've grown so fast already, and you're still working so hard? You're trying to kill us!"

He felt like he was under immense psychological pressure.

This feeling of both fearing his brother would suffer and fearing his brother would drive a Land Rover was truly making him extremely uncomfortable.

To this, Leo can only say, if you can't kill me, then you'll be the ones getting killed by my shrewdness.

No way.

"The real turmoil is yet to come."

Recalling the worm monster he encountered on the 51st Floor and the female-shaped monster he met on the 50th Floor, Leo's eyes deepened.

"When real disaster strikes, there will be no time to complain about not being strong enough."

Leo left behind these puzzling words before continuing on his way.

He needed to finish the tasks assigned to him as soon as possible so that he could have time to consult with Finn.

"I need to improve my melee skills quickly, otherwise, relying solely on my magical abilities will make it difficult to face the challenges ahead on my own."

The familiar storyline has officially begun, and Orario, which has been peaceful for a long time, is about to usher in another turbulent moment.

The darkness was stirring; they were sharpening their knives, secretly watching the Loki Familia, preparing to strike at the family and the city.

And Ais ----

That girl will also encounter new challenges, including villains who are watching her relentlessly and intend to harm her.

In order to be able to cope with these upcoming difficulties, I must not stop moving forward.