Before they knew it, Leon's party had been exploring Water City for the entire morning.
Those barely five hours felt impossibly short. It was as if one moment they'd just parted ways with Loki Familia, and the next it was already lunchtime.
Jeanne set down the firewood she'd painstakingly gathered and gazed at the massive pool of water near the embankment, along with the thundering blue waterfall beyond it, and let out a sigh.
"The nonstop high-intensity fighting really messes with your sense of time. I can't believe it's already this late."
Leon picked up a piece of dry kindling, bounced it in his hand a couple times to test how dry it was, gave a satisfied nod, then tossed it into the crackling campfire with his gloved hand.
"Time always flies when you're locked in. That's just how it works. Plus this is our first time clearing the Lower Floors. Nobody's saying it out loud, but everyone's tense. Makes sense it'd feel like that."
He'd scrounged up a few tree stumps from somewhere and was already setting up a cast-iron pot over the fire, his knife moving quick and fluid as he prepped fruits and vegetables. Each cut piece landed neatly into the broth.
"Prep's about done. While we wait, I'll update everyone's Basic Abilities. One at a time though. Don't slack off on watch duty."
Leon put the lid on. While the stew simmered, he put the downtime to good use.
As for why he wasn't making a main dish separately? Because the stew was just the first step toward a rice bowl. Once it was ready, all he had to do was toss in the rice.
...
"So, who's first?"
Sitting on one of the tree stumps by the campfire, Leon raised an eyebrow at the women gathered around him.
"Let Laurier and Aura go first."
Jeanne thought it over briefly, then decided to give the elf girls priority. They were the youngest, after all.
"N-No... Jeanne, you should go first. We're not in a rush..."
"What's with the modesty? You were practically bouncing off the walls a minute ago. Go."
Jeanne gave her a light push on the back with an amused smile, and Laurier shuffled over to Leon, looking a little flustered.
Leon pointed at the other tree stump in front of him, gesturing for her to sit.
Then, under the watchful eyes of Jeanne, Rose, Kureha, Aura, and Persephone glancing over from time to time, Leon went through the Falna update for Laurier with practiced ease, finishing in no time at all.
"Congrats, Laurier. All your Basic Abilities except Strength and Endurance, which just cleared 900, have hit the 999 cap on the other three. You're ready to level up."
"Yes!!!"
Laurier nearly jumped off the stump.
"Sit still."
"Oh."
"Sure you want to level up?"
"Yes yes yes!"
Just as Leon expected, Laurier had been dying to rank up. The second he asked, she was nodding without a shred of hesitation.
...
Name: Laurier Swall Title:Race: Elf Level: Lv. 2
Basic Abilities:Strength: S933 → I0 Endurance: S901 → I0 Dexterity: S999 → I0 Agility: S999 → I0 Magic: S999 → I0
Development Ability: Abnormal Resistance I Magic: (omitted) Skills: (omitted)
...
Leon handed the transcribed parchment to Laurier with a grin.
"Congrats, Laurier. From now on, you're not some fresh-faced rookie anymore. You're a full-fledged High-Class Adventurer."
"Hehehe..."
Laurier clutched the parchment in both hands, staring at the information with a dopey grin, feeling like she was floating on air.
"Your turn, Aura!"
Aura sat down naturally on the stump and bared her smooth back, her face flushed as she murmured, "Mr. Leon, if you would."
Jeanne and Rose glanced at Leon, who was keeping his eyes strictly forward with a look of total professionalism, then turned their attention to Laurier's Falna report.
"You picked Abnormal Resistance for your Development Ability? Smart choice."
After scanning the base stats and seeing Laurier's Development Ability selection, both Jeanne and Rose nodded approvingly.
"Hehe, it was everyone's advice, really. Mr. Leon said this Development Ability is super important. Basically every High-Class Adventurer has it, so I went with that. As for Mage, which I also wanted, I can always pick it next level-up. I'm not a dedicated rear-guard caster. As a magic swordsman, survivability comes first."
...
"Congrats, Aura. You've leveled up too."
Aura's stats were nearly identical to Laurier's. They'd been fighting in tandem for so long, it made sense.
Other than Strength and Endurance barely clearing the 900 threshold, a known weak point for elves, her other three stats had all hit the 999 cap.
After reviewing her numbers, Aura chose to level up without a moment's hesitation either.
"For my Development Ability, please select Mage, Mr. Leon."
Her choice was well within Leon's expectations. Unlike Laurier, who fought on the front-to-mid line, Aura operated as rear guard, relying on bow cover fire and magical bombardment to clear the field. For her, Mage took priority over Abnormal Resistance.
"Done. Update complete."
Transcribe, lock, hand over. Smooth as clockwork.
...
Name: Aura Moriel Title:Race: Elf Level: Lv. 2
Basic Abilities:Strength: S901 → I0 Endurance: S905 → I0 Dexterity: S999 → I0 Agility: S999 → I0 Magic: S999 → I0
Development Ability: Mage I Magic: (omitted) Skills: (omitted)
...
Parchment in hand, Aura stood up with a composed expression.
But everyone could still catch the slight upturn at the corner of her lips, betraying the joy underneath.
Leon watched the girl walk away and raised an eyebrow, teasing, "Aura, you don't need to worry about elven etiquette right now. If you're happy, just smile."
Aura kept her elven mask firmly in place and walked a little faster.
He watched her drift over to Laurier's side, the two of them whispering about who-knows-what, then turned his gaze to Kureha.
Kureha knew what that look meant.
"Then I won't hold back. Excuse me, Jeanne, Rose."
She didn't bother with false modesty. After thanking the two of them, she swept her silver hair to one side, revealing the graceful lines and fair skin of her back.
"Here we go."
Leon pricked out another drop of blood and drew a red line down Kureha's back from top to bottom. A sound like a lock clicking open rang in everyone's ears, and the Sword Saint's Falna panel spread out before him.
"Holy shit."
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