The sparring match between Leon and Ais lasted until the sun climbed high into the sky, illuminating the entire Twilight Manor with sunlight.
"Let's stop here."
Seeing that Leon was already on the verge of collapsing, a brief flash of doubt flickered through Ais's transparent golden eyes, followed immediately by her speaking those words.
"Tomorrow... shall we continue?"
Ais asked quite seriously.
"Let's continue."
Leon took a deep breath, suppressing his ragged breathing and the aching pain throughout his body before nodding his head through gritted teeth.
Since he had decided to walk the path of a Magic Swordsman, mastering swordsmanship was an absolute necessity; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to stand on the front lines.
Once he leveled up to Level 2, Leon also intended to seek guidance from the mages within the Familia regarding concurrent chanting techniques, learning how to cast magic amidst intense combat.
Generally speaking, regardless of what kind of magic was being activated, extreme concentration and precise chanting were required. Otherwise, a lapse in focus would cause a loss of control over one's mana, resulting in a magic ignition failure or backfire. Not only would it fail to harm the enemy, but it would also injure the caster instead.
Therefore, when using magic, casters would without exception remain rooted to the spot, focusing entirely on their chant to prepare for the spell's activation, unable to perform any other actions.
This was precisely why mages required companions to protect them. Without comrades acting as shields, they could not focus on chanting and unleashing their spells, leaving them as passive, stationary targets for enemy attacks.
However, a segment of high-ranking mages possessed the ability to maintain a focused mind for magical chanting while simultaneously executing other movements.
Attacking, defending, moving, evading—experienced mages could maintain their mental focus to chant and unleash magic while executing these four actions, thereby breaking free from their reliance on companions. Even without teammates protecting them, they could maneuver through hordes of monsters and freely unleash magic to annihilate enemies. This was concurrent chanting.
Unfortunately, mages were rare to begin with, and mages capable of concurrent chanting were even fewer, with only a handful capable of it even within the Loki Familia.
Yet, for a Magic Swordsman who needed to fight on the front lines and unleash magical attacks while locked in fierce combat with enemies, concurrent chanting was an indispensable skill.
Before this, although Leon could also unleash magic during combat, he did not do so while actively trading blows with enemies. Instead, he would pause when he needed to cast, standing in place just like any other mage, abandoning all other actions to focus his mind on the chant before releasing the spell.
If any other mage did this, it would undoubtedly be an act of suicide. But because "Meteor Dance" was a super-short chant magic, Leon barely needed any time to complete it. Thus, he was able to find openings in combat, pause briefly, and unleash his magic.
Because the incantation was extremely short and the time required to activate the magic was minimal, Leon was able to seize fleeting opportunities to pull it off.
However, this was only possible because the combat situations hadn't been intensely fierce. If he encountered a battle where he couldn't afford a single distraction or pause to chant, where not a single moment of breathing room could be found, Leon would be completely unable to unleash his magic.
Therefore, concurrent chanting was likewise something Leon had to learn.
For now, it was fine. He was only adventuring in the Upper Floors of the Dungeon, where it was difficult to encounter the kind of ultra-intense, life-or-death struggles that left zero breathing room, so the immediate need for concurrent chanting wasn't urgent. But once he entered the Middle Floors, the number of monsters he would have to face would surge drastically, and the difficulty of the conquest would increase immensely. He wouldn't be able to find opportunities to cast magic with such ease and composure.
In light of this, Leon intended to formally learn concurrent chanting after reaching Level 2.
This should not be an impossible task to achieve.
Although concurrent chanting was exceptionally difficult to learn, to the point where only a small minority could manage it even in an urban powerhouse like the Loki Familia, Leon's magic was a super-short chant. Requiring very few incantation lines during fierce combat would naturally lower the execution difficulty of concurrent chanting.
If he, like the original protagonist, possessed a swift-strike magic that required no chanting whatsoever, he wouldn't even need to learn concurrent chanting; he could simply raise his hand to unleash magic, activating it no matter how fierce the battle became.
As for the present... learning swordsmanship from Ais was still the higher priority.
An adventurer's combat strength did not depend solely on their basic status parameters; technique and strategy were equally vital.
As long as one's combat techniques and tactical acumen were deep enough, it was entirely possible to overcome strength with weakness.
The main god of the Take-Mikazuchi Familia was a prime example. As a deity ruling over "martial arts," he possessed combat techniques that transcended the adventurers of the Lower World, bordering on divine skill. Even with his divine power sealed, leaving him with capabilities equivalent to an ordinary human, he could defeat twenty Level 4 adventurers purely through martial expertise, and could even contend with or defeat a Level 5 in a one-on-one scenario, which was absurdly ridiculous.
Such an absurd feat was something only a deity could accomplish, and it had to be a deity whose divine domain was related to combat. Inhabitants of the Lower World could not possibly possess combat arts that reached the divine realm. Setting aside using a normal person's capabilities to defeat a first-tier adventurer, even relying on pure martial art to cross a single tier to defeat an opponent was fraught with immense difficulty.
At the very least, Ais, as Orario's strongest swordswoman, was incapable of such a feat.
Relying solely on pure swordsmanship, this genius swordswoman was also unable to defeat enemies across tiers, unless the opponent was a completely mindless monster.
Of course, that premise applied only if she relied strictly on swordsmanship.
If she wasn't restricted to swordsmanship alone, then by leveraging her unique magic and skills, fighting across tiers was by no means impossible for Ais.
Thinking up to this point, Leon could not help but look toward Ais.
Perhaps sensing Leon's gaze, Ais hesitated for a moment before softly asking a question.
"Would you like to go to the dining hall for breakfast together?"
Hearing this, Leon snapped out of his thoughts, smiled, and shook his head.
"No, I'll just grab a quick bite outside in a bit."
Even though he had formally joined the Loki Familia and shed his title as an apprentice member, Leon still rarely ate in the dining hall.
It couldn't be helped; if he ran into a certain someone who found him eyesore, he would inevitably face a round of humiliation.
Leon had no interest in being humiliated by that tsundere werewolf, which was why he seldom went to the dining hall to eat together with everyone else in the Familia.
Ais was clearly aware of this point as well, which was why she had hesitated just now.
"I see."
Ais pursed her lips and nodded her head.
The two agreed to train at the same time tomorrow before finally parting ways.
Leon walked toward the tower where his room was located, preparing to change out of his dirty clothes and wash away the grime.
Ais, on the other hand, had no such need. She hadn't shed a single drop of sweat, let alone been stained by dirt; the current Leon lacked the ability to force her into such a state.
Only...
"It's a little strange..."
Gazing at Leon's receding back, confusion stirred within Ais's heart.
In the past, during their sparring matches, Leon would inevitably end up battered and bruised, leaving Ais—who struggled to control her strength—feeling quite remorseful.
Yet this time, although Leon still looked quite disheveled, Ais had noticed that he hadn't sustained any actual injuries.
Even after rolling across the pebble-strewn ground, today's Leon hadn't suffered so much as a scratch. This level of Endurance parameter should not belong to a newcomer who had been an adventurer for less than half a month.
Furthermore, during the sparring just now, Ais had also keenly noticed that Leon had suddenly wanted to move several times, only to abruptly suppress and halt his own micro-movements.
That appearance looked exactly as though he were holding something back.
Ais did not know why Leon would exhibit such behavior.
She only realized one thing.
And that was, this man whom she had brought back from the Dungeon was keeping something—a secret—from her.
As this thought flashed through Ais's mind, a wave of dejection that even she herself failed to register suddenly welled up from the depths of her heart.
"Leon... is keeping secrets from me now."
Upon the young girl's exquisite, ordinarily expressionless face, a distinct look of dejection surfaced.
Leon remained entirely unaware that his deliberate performance of suppressing his own capabilities had already aroused Ais's suspicion, and had even caused this emotionally detached girl to feel dejected and let down.
After returning to the tower, he immediately washed his body clean, changed into fresh clothes, and left his room to head for Finn's office.
Just moments ago, a Familia member had informed him that the executives wished for him to pay them a visit after completing his training.
"Is there some kind of matter?"
Leon wondered in his heart, though his pace did not slacken. He quickly arrived at Finn's office and met the three leaders of the Familia.
"We didn't take up too much of your time, did we, Leon?"
Finn sat as always behind his luxurious office desk, looking like a young child imitating an adult at work, seated in a chair that seemed entirely mismatched with his frame, as he smiled at Leon who had just entered the door.
"Of course not." Leon shook his head and inquired, "Is there something you need from me, Captain?"
"There is indeed a matter." Finn nodded, wasting no time as he cut straight to the chase, saying, "Loki told us that you wish to hire a supporter from the outside, is that correct?"
Leon had indeed mentioned this matter casually to Loki the previous evening while updating his status parameters.
"Yes, I do intend to hire a supporter."
There was nothing to hide about this matter, so Leon directly nodded and admitted it.
"You've already reached this step, how truly fast," Gareth, who was sitting nearby, lamented. "We thought you would have to train in the Upper Floors of the Dungeon for several months before reaching this stage."
Hearing these words, Leon could roughly guess that his extraordinary growth speed had likely already become known to the three Familia leaders before him.
Thinking about it carefully, this wasn't a surprising development either.
With a member whose growth speed defied normal conventions appearing in the Familia, others might be kept in the dark, but these three leaders certainly needed to be informed.
Loki was not a deity who gossiped recklessly; even when dealing with family members of the same Familia, that seemingly highly eccentric main god would occasionally prove dependable, acting as a proper guardian who wouldn't carelessly blabber about a child's secrets.
However, Leon's existence could, to a certain extent, exert a major influence on the development and future of the Familia, so Loki was bound to inform Finn and the other two about this.
This included the existence of Leon's unreadable special skill, which Finn and the others surely knew about by now.
The conversation that followed also confirmed this point.
"With your current status parameters, as long as you do not enter the Middle Floors and stick to adventuring in the Upper Floors, you shouldn't encounter any danger," Riveria cautioned seriously. "But you are a newcomer after all, and your experience in handling sudden emergencies within the Dungeon is still insufficient. Therefore, whether it's us or Loki, it is quite difficult for us to feel at ease letting you hire an outside supporter."
How could outside supporters ever be as trustworthy as one's own family members?
They only accepted employment from adventurers to earn money, working odd jobs for them. If danger arose, they would undoubtedly turn tail and run without a second thought, and might even use the adventurer who hired them as bait to buy themselves time to escape.
Within the Dungeon, incidents of adventurers turning on one another were far from rare. The vast majority of adventurers entered the Dungeon precisely to acquire wealth, fame, and treasures.
In the event that Leon hired a supporter with ulterior motives, and that person, upon seeing Leon raking in massive amounts of magic stones and drop items to the point of being on the verge of making a fortune, suddenly gave in to greed and wished to swallow the spoils entirely, what would happen then?
This was exactly what Finn and the others were worried about.
Perhaps with Leon's current strength, he wouldn't end up in a desperate situation within the Upper Floors, but if he were targeted by a treacherous peer and fell into a trap devised out of sheer greed, that would absolutely be far more dangerous than encountering any hazardous terrain.
This sort of thing was something even experienced adventurers could fall prey to, let alone Leon, a newcomer who had been an adventurer for less than half a month.
Naturally, Leon had not failed to consider such possibilities.
"But if I don't hire from the outside, who within the Familia would be suitable to act as my supporter?"
Leon let out a wry smile.
Then, he heard the following words.
"Why do you assume there is no one within the Familia suitable to be your supporter?" Finn, as if seeing right through the misgivings in Leon's heart, lost his composure and laughed. "It's true that there are no other newcomers at Level 1 like you within the Familia, but not everyone is a combatant."
"Within our Familia, there are still some non-combat personnel who do not fight on the front lines and specialize strictly in rear support."
"If you don't mind us old folks meddling in your business, we can introduce a supporter who is suitable for you."
This was the primary reason Finn and the others had called Leon here.
Hearing Finn's words, Leon's eyes lit up.
"Would that be alright?" Leon spoke with a touch of concern. "Won't it be too much trouble for that person?"
"Of course not." Riveria shook her head, offering reassurance. "That child is not a combatant. When there are no expeditions, she basically handles chores around the headquarters. Letting her accompany you into the Dungeon for some experience isn't a bad thing either."
"We have already called her over," Gareth said, stroking his beard. "She should be arriving just about now, shouldn't she?"
The moment the words left Gareth_s mouth, a knock resounded upon the office door.
"Um... may I come in?"
A voice rang out from outside the door, carrying a hint of nervousness.
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