Leon had no idea that at the Denatus, his existence had quietly shifted from "flying under the radar" to "somewhat of a name worth knowing."
Not that he would've cared much even if he had known. With the tools he had at his disposal now, a little attention was hardly worth losing sleep over.
He wasn't the same guy anymore. Not the bottom-rung Adventurer scraping by at Lv. 1, grinding just to keep the lights on. He'd climbed to Lv. 3, unlocked Instant Cast, and could punch well above his weight class. At his own level he was untouchable, and even a Lv. 4 couldn't walk away clean. By any reasonable standard, he'd graduated past the phase where his reputation outstripped his ability to back it up. With his current strength and team behind him, this budding fame wouldn't bring trouble. If anything, it might open doors.
Case in point: the Goddess of Beauty herself, Freya, showing up at Demeter's doorstep to negotiate a deal on the Monster Hunter Special. You couldn't ask for a better example.
...
Dungeon, Lower Floors, Floor 25: Water City.
After efficiently collecting every last material and spoil from the battlefield, sweeping the area clean to make sure not a single Magic Stone or even a shard was left behind, Leon's party grabbed a quick bite and some water, rested briefly, then pushed deeper in.
With Jeanne's "radar" providing early warning and Persephone's experience guiding them, the group followed the path carved along the sheer cliffside, threading their way into a labyrinth of layered, overlapping caverns laced with waterways and brutally complex terrain. They moved carefully and slowly.
Even with the detailed maps Loki Familia had provided, this was their first time exploring the area. Water City was completely unfamiliar territory, and the going was rough. They had to stay on constant alert for aquatic monsters ambushing from the waterways flanking the path, while simultaneously dealing with enemies pouring out of every branching tunnel.
Overall, the difficulty of exploring Water City wasn't even in the same league as the cave labyrinths or the Great Tree Labyrinth above it.
"Heads up, everyone!"
Kureha drew her beloved blade and went full throttle, her silver-white hair streaming behind her as she blurred into motion. Her straight-edged tachi cut through the air like a downpour, each stroke seamless, weaving a net of silver death around her. Every monster unlucky enough to be within her reach was carved into chunks without mercy.
Monster remains and Magic Stones clattered to the ground in a heap. The sheer visual impact of the scene was staggering. Even after witnessing it more than once, seeing it again still left two of them slack-jawed.
"We're all the same Level. How is the gap this wide?"
Aura shot a sideways glance at her friend, then silently got to work collecting the drops.
"Phew..."
The burst over, Kureha sheathed her blade.
That brief skirmish, and she'd handled it clean. No wasted movement, no hesitation. But that kind of high-intensity burst fighting burned through her stamina at a brutal rate. From where Leon stood, even through her custom-fitted breastplate, he could clearly see the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she caught her breath.
Leon scanned their surroundings. One second these monsters had been lurking, waiting for their chance to strike. The next, they'd been reduced to neatly sectioned chunks of meat. The corner of his mouth wouldn't stop twitching.
He took a deep breath and looked at Kureha, still breathing hard, his expression complicated.
He never would've guessed. On the surface, Kureha was the kind of drop-dead gorgeous woman you'd see on a magazine cover. But the moment monsters showed up, she fought harder and more ruthlessly than any of them.
Especially once she locked into full concentration mid-combat. Every trace of emotion vanished from her eyes, and she cut down monsters like it was as natural as eating or breathing.
From an outsider's perspective, her composure was borderline terrifying.
Even granting that she'd been a Sword Saint in her previous life, her mental fortitude shouldn't have been hardened to this degree, right?
Zero emotional fluctuation. Slaughtering monsters with the casual ease of wringing a chicken's neck...
All he could say was: absolutely terrifying.
At the very least, back when he'd first started out as an Adventurer, Leon knew for a fact he couldn't have stayed that perfectly calm no matter what came at him.
"Hey, Kureha."
"How about I update your Basic Abilities?"
Water City. The fact that Adventurers called this place the "New World" said everything you needed to know. This floor was a completely different beast from anything above it, showcasing a far deeper and more dangerous side of the Dungeon.
Sure, Kureha could pull off the feat of fighting above her Level through her broken skill set, her battle-hardened technique and tactics, and a combat will forged through countless fights until it was hard as steel. But that was limited to short bursts. After each burst, her stamina would bottom out and leave her weakened, making her combat effectiveness wildly inconsistent.
That kind of fighting style was manageable on the Upper Floors, even the Middle Floors. Those regions were still technically the Dungeon's shallow end. Neither the spawn volume nor the spawn frequency was anything too crazy.
But the Lower Floors were a different story entirely.
What hit everyone hardest on the way down was the sheer density of monster encounters and the constant ambushes from the waterways.
High spawn rates. Large numbers per wave. Cheap shots from every angle. The gaps between fights were practically nonexistent.
In that kind of combat environment, Kureha's burst-style fighting was outright dangerous.
And the fix was simple enough: update her Basic Abilities.
Between the massive Excelia she'd stockpiled, her continuous training, and the nonstop high-intensity combat since entering Water City...
That was exactly why Leon suggested updating her stats on the spot.
"Huh? Right now? Here?"
Kureha's eyes widened slightly, staring at Leon in surprise.
Leon grinned at her startled expression.
"Honestly, it only occurred to me when I was updating my own stats just now."
The moment the words "field update" left his mouth, every party member who'd been busy with their own tasks immediately looked over.
Come to think of it, Leon had been the only one constantly leveling up and updating recently. Everyone else, Jeanne and Rose included, hadn't had their abilities updated since the Monster Rex fight.
"Me too! Me too!"
Laurier sprang up from beside a Blue Crab carcass, Carving Knife held high, hand shooting into the air.
And it wasn't just her. Over on the other side, Aura's face clearly showed she was tempted too as she gathered spoils.
"Alright, looks like everyone's pretty eager for an update."
"My bad for not thinking of it sooner. I was planning to do a batch update for everyone after the Expedition wrapped up. By then, everyone should've been able to rank up easy."
"But who could've predicted the Dungeon would roll out the red carpet with a Super Monster Party the second we hit Water City? What was I supposed to do? I had to take those free levels with tears in my eyes."
He didn't spell it out, but everyone knew.
That Monster Party hadn't just been a jackpot for Leon alone. Every single person here had walked away with massive gains.
Kureha, Laurier, and Aura especially. Fighting two full Levels above themselves against a Super Monster Party composed of monsters with potential Basic Abilities at Lv. 3... Between the stat training and the Great Feats needed to level up, after that battle, their numbers had probably blown past the ceiling.
And that was precisely why Leon had proposed the field update.
"Alright, since everyone wants in, let's find a safe spot to set up camp. We can knock out lunch at the same time."
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