"Lv.6"
Orario, the Orario Labyrinth City.
Recently, there's been another hot topic circulating in Orario.
Just yesterday, the Loki Familia, along with the blacksmiths of the Hephaestus Familia, returned from the Dungeon in a grand procession, announcing that they had successfully updated the deepest floor, breaking through the 58th Floor and reaching the 59th Floor, officially stepping into uncharted territory that no modern adventurer had ever set foot in before.
The news sparked a heated discussion throughout the city.
After their previous expedition failed, the Loki Spring Familia, having made thorough preparations and cooperated with the Hephaestus Spring Familia at great cost, finally overcame their previous difficulties, upgraded their level, and set foot in unexplored territory. This was a memorable event for the entire city and the people of the Lower World.
Many people rushed around spreading the news, praising the Loki Familia's bravery. The guild also announced the news to the public the next day, confirming its authenticity, which made the entire Labyrinth City Orario lively.
The fact that a corner of the city's strongest faction has breached a long-unexplored territory is an incredibly exciting development for humanity, who are hoping to overcome the suffering brought by the Dungeon and truly usher in peace.
For a time, the entire city seemed to be talking about the "Loki Familia," which subtly elevated the already prestigious Loki Familia's status in people's minds, surpassing even the Freya Familia's.
Especially after the Loki Familia members, carrying the spoils of this expedition, began to appear in various corners of the city to handle the spoils and post-expedition matters, wherever they went, people would cheer for them. This made the Loki Familia members feel proud, and they would unconsciously walk with their heads held high and chests puffed out, their faces full of pride.
Little did they know how heavy-hearted the high-ranking members of the clan would feel upon arriving at the 59th Floor and witnessing what had happened there and what existed there.
After confirming the truth that a life-or-death threat had indeed appeared in the Labyrinth City of Orario, Finn and his companions, along with the blacksmiths of the Hephaestus Familia, immediately began their return journey, heading back to the surface as quickly as possible.
Thanks to this, the expeditionary force completed its return journey in less than five days, successfully returning to the family's base camp and home before nightfall yesterday.
After returning home, Finn, Riveria Ljos Alf, and Gareth took Loki to their office and talked all night long.
No one knows what these four key figures of the clan discussed.
Because, after returning to the clan's main camp, everyone fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow, and slept like they were in a deep, unconscious sleep.
Leo, in particular, contributed significantly to this expedition. When dealing with the Corrupted Fairy, he even overexerted his mental energy to unleash the Third Magic, resulting in mental exhaustion and a coma.
Afterwards, although he woke up in a very short time thanks to the effects of the high-level magical elixir, being forcibly awakened like this still put a heavy burden on his mind, so much so that he felt drowsy and listless the whole way.
Unfortunately, on the return journey, in order to avoid any accidents, Leo insisted on continuing to play as a defender, using magic to resolve many unexpected events and ensure the safe progress of the expeditionary force, which only added to his mental strain.
So, after returning to base camp, Leo couldn't care less about anything else. He quickly washed off the dust and filth, then collapsed onto the bed and slept like a log.
Under these circumstances, he genuinely didn't know what Finn and the others had discussed with Loki, and he couldn't care less about it for the time being.
It wasn't until the next day, when it was fully light, that many people, including Leo, who had accidentally overslept, came out of their rooms.
Originally, the day after the expedition's return, according to custom, should have been the day to begin handling the aftermath of the expedition.
But perhaps because he had really been through a near-death experience, Finn told everyone that the cleanup of the expedition had been handed over to the lower-ranking members who had stayed at base camp, and the expeditionary force could rest for a while longer, which was considered a break for everyone.
Loki went even further and announced it loudly.
"Although there's a lot to do and a lot of trouble ahead, for now—let's update our stats!"
Because this expedition involved far more adventure than the last one, and the expeditionary force had to march at breakneck speed to get back to the surface as quickly as possible, no one updated their stats yesterday; everyone was so exhausted that all they wanted to do was collapse and sleep.
Even Ais had to rest for a night because of this, unlike before when she was in a rush to update her stats, which shows how tired she was this time.
Only today, under Loki's organization, did the members of the expedition team finally remember to update their stats, and they all lined up in long queues on the top floor of the Central Tower where the Chief God's bedroom was located.
Tiona even made a bold statement on the spot.
"This time we must catch up with Ais!"
This bold statement is not merely empty talk.
After all, this expedition was a tremendous adventure for them, pushing them to their limits.
Whether it's the death battle in the "Dragon Pot" before heading to the 59th Floor, or the final battle with the Corrupted Fairy on the 59th Floor, these are hurdles that even first-level adventurers would find difficult to overcome.
When these barriers are overcome, the Falna from the gods will transform them all into nourishment, allowing them to reach new heights.
Then-
"Yay! I've finally reached Lv.6!"
In the corridor Divine Room, Tiona was jumping and hopping around, holding a parchment that recorded her ability values.
On that parchment, the level section clearly stated these words: "Lv.6".
This innocent and carefree Amazonian girl finally got what she wanted.
"Hmph, finally caught up with the commander."
Tione stood to the side with a pleased expression, also holding a piece of parchment. The level on it had been updated; it was no longer Lv.5, but a completely new stage, Lv.6.
"Just kidding, how can you keep losing to nobodies?"
Bete Loga grinned with a rare smugness, his usually grumpy face now filled with a joy he rarely showed. It was clear he hadn't fallen behind his Amazonian sisters, with whom he'd always bickered, and had also reached Lv.6.
Even Lefiya Viridis, holding the parchment recording her ability values, shared it with Lefiya and the others with a joyful expression.
"Great! I've finally reached Lv.4!"
The elven girl's face lit up with joy, overflowing with happiness; she was overjoyed.
That's right, Lefiya Viridis has also leveled up this time, from Lv.3 to Lv.4, officially becoming one of the second-tier members closest to the first tier.
In the original story, Lefiya Viridis chose not to level up her "Demonic Power" stat at this point because she hadn't yet reached the highest S-rank. However, this time, spurred on by Leo, Lefiya Viridis had been secretly working hard and had already reached A-rank in "Demonic Power" before the expedition. Upon returning from the expedition, her "Demonic Power" stat successfully broke through to S-rank.
At this stage, upgrades can be performed directly.
Besides Tiona, Tione, Bete Loga, Lefiya Viridis, many members of the Loki Familia present were cheering and jumping for joy, indicating that they had all made significant gains. Some had leveled up, some had seen a substantial increase in their abilities, and some had even learned new magic or skills, greatly improving their strength.
Of course, there are also those who stop making progress.
"Damn it, it still won't work this time?"
Raul stared at the large "Lv.4" on the parchment, feeling an indescribable sense of loss.
"It seems I'm still quite a distance from becoming a Level 1 adventurer."
Anakitty was also there, sighing and groaning.
"Lv.5 is a completely new stage, a completely new realm. The difficulty of upgrading is incomparable to the previous levels, which shows that our accumulation is still insufficient."
Alicia, on the other hand, appeared more composed and calm, comforting the dejected group and showing the tolerance of an older sister.
It has to be said that Lv.5 is indeed very difficult to achieve. Even though several Lv.6 members were created in this expedition, none of the core members of the Second Army who were all Lv.4 managed to advance to Lv.5, which is really quite laughable.
Ais, holding her ability value record sheet, stared blankly at the stark contrast between the cheering and dejected Divine Room.
"Ais! Ais! Look! Look!"
Tiona ran over and shoved her stats record sheet in front of Ais.
"I'm level 6 too! I've finally caught up with you!"
Upon hearing this, Ais said something that seemed genuinely heartwarming for Tiona.
"Yes, congratulations, Tiona."
She was genuinely happy that her companion had gotten what she wanted.
After all, no one knows better than her just how frustrating it is to put in tremendous effort but remain stagnant and unable to get stronger.
Tiona didn't want to be left behind by her best blonde friend and wanted to catch up with her to reach new heights—a feeling Ais understood.
Back then, when Ais saw Leo rapidly catching up to her, Ais was just as anxious and impatient.
Therefore, seeing her friend's wish fulfilled, Ais was happier for her than anyone else.
"Thank you!" Tiona hugged Ais, rubbed her incredibly smooth cheek, and said happily, "Judging from your expression, you seem to have gained quite a bit as well?"
"Mmm." Ais nodded gently. Although no smile appeared on her face, it was still clear that she was in a good mood.
She certainly reaped considerable rewards.
Although she didn't level up or learn any new magic or skills, her overall proficiency improved by about 300 points, allowing several of her basic abilities to break through to new levels.
Don't underestimate the fact that a combined increase of 300 points in all skill proficiency is not much.
As we all know, the higher the level, the slower the proficiency of each ability will improve.
Under such circumstances, once you reach level 6, the rate at which you improve your proficiency in various abilities can only be described as snail-paced.
Take Ais's own experience as an example. She was already the world's fastest level-up record holder before the "World's Fastest Twin Stars," and could be called a favored daughter of heaven. However, it took her more than three years to raise her overall proficiency to more than 3,000 points at Lv.5.
It took about 1000 days to raise the overall proficiency of all abilities to over 3000 points. That's an average of only about three points per day. And that's for the overall proficiency of all abilities, not just a single basic ability. This shows that the proficiency improvement speed of each basic ability is already very slow at Lv.5, let alone Lv.6.
As for someone like Leo, who can increase his ability proficiency by hundreds or thousands of points in a very short time, even at Lv.5, that's simply a pipe dream.
Under normal circumstances, even a prodigy like Ais would need several months or even half a year to slowly accumulate those 300 points of proficiency.
In other words, this move saved Ais several months, or even half a year, of effort.
Such a gain is considerable.
Only----
"Leo's gains are definitely greater than mine."
Ais said this in a low voice, making Tiona blink.
"That's true," Tiona muttered. "We've gained so much, and that guy performed so well, so brilliantly, so desperately on this expedition. With his monstrous talent, how could he possibly have gained less than us?"
Ais and Tiona exchanged bewildered glances.
The same thought flashed through their minds at the same time.
"----Could it be that he got promoted too?"
That's what Tiona said.
Ais didn't answer, but in her heart she had already given an affirmative answer.
Recalling that person's diligent performance during the expedition----
I recall that person's selfless act of saving his companions in the "Dragon Pot," falling into the Vertical Shaft, and single-handedly holding off all the monsters flying in from other floors on the 58th Floor—
Then I recalled the scene on the 59th Floor, when that person raised the platinum-glowing sword, unleashing his full power to summon twelve calamity-like Star Beast, driving the Corrupted Fairy to the brink of destruction, and finally even transforming into a lightning-fast comet to pierce the Corrupted Fairy's body with a single strike—
Ais was absolutely certain that person would chase after them.
Leo Eligos Lv.5
Strength: E444→SSS1335
Durability: E412→SSS1318
Dexterity: D558→SSS1491
Agility: D557→SSS1427
Demonic Power: D596→SSS1588
Mage: F→D
Magic Attack: G→E
Mind Healing: H→F
Swordsman: I→H
Divine Room, as this new ability value appeared before Leo, Loki's delighted voice followed.
"All abilities are SSS, reaching their maximum potential."
"Not only that, but all aspects of development capabilities have also made great progress, especially the first three, which have all advanced by two stages in one go."
Congratulations, you've leveled up!
--
The stats on Leo's back flashed red, fluctuating wildly.
Just as Ais had predicted, Leo caught up with them.
He will also reach Lv.6.