As the door behind them closed softly, Leon and Line, having left Finn's office, suddenly fell into a mutual silence.
Neither of them spoke, or rather, neither of them knew what to say.
It couldn't be helped; before this, the two were basically just nodding acquaintances, or perhaps not even that. Aside from sharing the same Familia headquarters and occasionally greeting each other when passing by, they had never spent time alone together like this.
Now, being suddenly told to form a team and explore the Dungeon together, that sense of unfamiliarity was impossible to shake off.
Thus, for a while, neither Leon nor Line knew how to break the ice, causing both to plunge into silence.
Fortunately, this period of silence did not last too long.
"Do you have anything to do today?" Leon finally took the initiative to break the silence, asking Line, "If there are things you need to handle, how about we set out tomorrow instead?"
Hearing this, Line waved her hands in a hurry.
"I'm fine, the work that needed immediate attention has already been processed. The remaining tasks aren't urgent, so it's perfectly fine to leave them for later."
While Line couldn't be considered entirely free right now, the busiest period following the return from the expedition had already passed, so she certainly had time to enter the Dungeon for an exploration with a teammate.
Other Familia members had been entering the Dungeon in pairs or groups successively for the past few days. People like Ais and Bete, who simply couldn't idle around, had even continued to storm the Dungeon rain or shine starting from the second or third day after returning. Only non-combatants like Line, or members assigned to guard duty and patrols, had been staying behind at the headquarters all this time.
Even Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and the others, even if they didn't go to the Dungeon, had begun wandering around outside these past few days. It was evident that the busiest period had indeed concluded.
It was precisely because of this that Finn and the others assigned Line to Leon. Those Familia leaders understood the internal situation of the Familia better than anyone else.
"Since that's the case, how about we set out for the Dungeon right now?"
Leon glanced at the sky outside and noted that it was still early; entering the Dungeon at this hour wouldn't be considered late.
After all, it was still breakfast time, not even eight o'clock yet. Even if it was two or three hours later than their usual schedule of entering the Dungeon just as dawn was breaking, this slight difference was nothing and would not hinder a normal raid at all.
"Alright," Line naturally raised no objections, saying, "I'll go back and prepare my luggage right now."
With that, Line bowed slightly to Leon, then trotted away, leaving the area.
Leon watched her figure recede, and only after a while did he head down the tower.
In front of the Tower of Babel, the Central Plaza.
By the time Leon and Line walked side by side and arrived here together, the gear on their bodies had undergone some changes.
Leon had brought his small straight sword. His waist was no longer hung with several large and small pouches like before; instead, he only carried a single waist pouch for emergencies, leaving everything else behind, which made him look much lighter.
Line was exactly the opposite. Not only was a staff roughly ten feet long tucked into her waist, but she also carried a side bag, and there was even a massive backpack taller than herself resting on her back. Her entire person looked as though she were being weighed down by a boulder, making one seriously wonder if she would be crushed by the gargantuan pack in the very next second.
Walking beside Line, Leon harbored exactly this concern, leading him to speak up more than once.
"Do you want me to carry it for you a bit? That backpack looks quite heavy, doesn't it?"
In truth, this backpack didn't contain many things yet. After all, the two had not entered the Dungeon yet, so they hadn't earned any magic stones or dropped items.
However, at Line's strong insistence, many of the items Leon previously carried had been transferred into this backpack, creating a certain amount of weight.
For instance, the small shield Leon fondly used before was now packed inside this backpack, along with the elixirs required for replenishment, as well as the water and food to be consumed during mid-journey rests—all of these had been requested and taken over by Line.
This inevitably caused Leon to feel a sense of guilt.
These were clearly items for his own use, yet they were all handed over to a girl to carry. This didn't seem quite right.
However, Line rejected his offer with an expression that took it entirely for granted.
"Carrying luggage is originally the job of a Supporter. Mr. Leon is a combatant, so you only need to focus on matters of combat; all other duties should be handled by the Supporter."
Line was clearly accustomed to this type of work and positioning, her expression perfectly normal.
"Besides, despite how I look, I am a Level 2 after all. Carrying a piece of luggage like this is actually quite easy for me."
This was indeed the truth.
Though not a combatant, her body had undergone a sublimation once before. Even if Line appeared fragile, delicate, and gentle, her physical fitness was still vastly superior to those Level 1 rookie adventurers.
Therefore, even if she looked like she was carrying a backpack larger than herself, she was actually quite relaxed, feeling neither tired nor burdened.
Not to mention her, even if someone else were to carry this backpack, they wouldn't find it overly heavy.
"There are many people just like me, so Mr. Leon really doesn't need to worry about me too much."
Just as Line said, there were many others around them carrying massive backpacks; these were presumably the Supporters of their respective teams.
Among these Supporters, some were teenage girls like Line, while others looked like they weren't even ten years old, likely of the Prum race, yet they still carried backpacks no smaller than Line's with perfectly casual expressions, showing no signs of being burdened at all.
They were, after all, individuals who had received the Grace of God. No matter how low their basic stats were, they would still be stronger than ordinary humans.
A mere human-sized backpack was something even those Level 1s with low stats could carry, so Line, a Level 2, naturally found it well within her capabilities, and carrying one several times larger wouldn't pose an issue.
"Alright then."
Leon also realized he was worrying over nothing. Seeing a girl carrying such a large backpack always made him feel in his heart that he shouldn't just stand by and watch.
But this was an impression influenced by his past concepts. In reality, within this world, many delicate-looking young girls were capable of running around casually with backpacks this large.
Even for those who hadn't received Grace, as long as they weren't of the naturally diminutive Prum race or humans who were mediocre in all aspects, they could easily withstand such a burden.
Dwarves, Beastmen, Amazons—within these three races, even the females possessed physical constitutions stronger than an adult human male, so there was absolutely no need to worry about such trivial matters.
In this manner, under Leon's lead, Line entered the Dungeon.
As a core figure of the Familia's second tier, Line had already followed the Familia's expedition forces into the Dungeon many times, even venturing deep into the lower floors. Thus, even upon entering the Dungeon, this non-combatant maintained a perfectly unphased expression, showing at a glance that she was well-accustomed to the sights of the Dungeon.
However, as Leon continued to forge ahead toward the lower floors, a touch of perplexity appropriately surfaced on Line's face.
"Um... Mr. Leon, which floor are we heading to?"
Line had originally assumed that with Leon's current strength, he would still be venturing through Floors 1 to 4, or at most deepening his reach into Floor 5 or Floor 6.
Yet seeing that Leon still maintained an attitude of continuing downward even after entering Floor 6, Line could no longer contain herself and voiced her question.
In her view, for Leon, who had been an adventurer for less than half a month, traversing Floor 6 should have been his limit, no matter how fast his growth rate was.
Who would have thought that in the next second, Leon, walking in front, would provide an answer that left her utterly astounded.
"We are going to Floor 11."
The Dungeon, Floor 11.
This place, just like Floor 10, was a vast, boundless grassland as far as the eye could see.
Thick fog drifted across this area year-round. Aside from the starting point where the wide staircase extending down from Floor 10 was located, which remained free of fog, all other places would be shrouded in thick mist. Additionally, withered, coarse trees—the armories of the labyrinth—grew scattered around the surroundings. The structure could be said to be identical to Floor 10, only the area was larger and more complex.
In fact, Floor 10, Floor 11, and Floor 12 of the Dungeon all featured this type of terrain; the terrain would only change again once one reached Floor 13, where the middle floors began.
Naturally, while the terrain remained unchanged, the monsters spawned here underwent a variation.
On Floor 11, aside from Orcs, another large-scale monster would appear—the Silverback.
That was an ape-shaped monster whose physical size was even larger than an Orc. Its entire body was knotted with muscles and covered in white fur, with only its hair displaying a dull silver coloration that grew all the way down its back, extending like a long tail.
Although its size was larger than an Orc, it lacked the Orc's trait of having extremely prominent stats in "Power" and "Endurance" while possessing terrible stats in "Dexterity" and "Agility." Instead, its abilities across all aspects were highly balanced and generally high. To put it clearly, it had no weaknesses and was extremely formidable.
Within the upper domain of Floors 1 to 12, putting aside a portion of special existences, the Silverback was a monster that stood almost at the apex. Unless one was an experienced adventurer capable of confronting it alone, facing such a monster by oneself was no different from encountering a nightmare.
Yet, despite this being the case, today there was a pure newcomer who had been an adventurer for less than half a month, drawing his sword and attacking the opponent without a single shred of fear.
Pfft!
The instant the howling sound of wind rang out, a figure swept past the Silverback's side at high speed. The sharp straight sword in his hand effortlessly sliced through the tough muscles of the opponent's thigh, causing a massive, grim wound to appear, oozing a vast amount of blood.
"Groooaaarrr...!"
The Silverback, whose body was massive enough to resemble a building, let out a piercing howl of pain. It extended its massive palm, attempting to grasp Leon, but found itself entirely unable to capture Leon's form.
This was not because the Silverback's speed was too slow, but because Leon's current speed was simply too fast.
In the original story, when the protagonist dealt with a Silverback, his own "Agility" had barely reached the D rank, yet that was already sufficient to contend with the Silverback, let alone Leon.
Leon's "Agility" had already reached the B rank; compared to the Silverback, this speed was vastly superior.
Consequently, the Silverback could not touch Leon at all, left to be ruthlessly trifled with by Leon, whose form moved like the wind.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Leon's figure continuously dashed around the perimeter of the Silverback. The small straight sword in his hand unleashed streaks of sword light, landing either on the Silverback's legs, on the hands it extended over, or even on its abdomen and back, continuously inflicting damage upon the opponent's body.
As the increasingly agonizing cries of the Silverback echoed in his ears, Leon's attention was not entirely focused on the opponent's body. Instead, he recalled the words Ais had spoken during their morning practice session.
"You need to learn one thing: to be able to launch an attack instantly from any posture."
"Also, keep your eyes fixed on the opponent, but keep your field of vision broad."
"When attacking, you must not hesitate or think for too long. When defending, you must be accurate. Do not rely too much on your five senses; you need to cultivate a combat instinct that belongs to you."
Recalling these words from Ais, a shred of comprehension gradually surfaced in Leon's eyes. While his figure continued to cycle around the Silverback, the attacks in his hands grew increasingly natural.
He was no sword prodigy; even his current beyond-normal growth rate was entirely courtesy of his status as a "Transmigrator."
Had he lacked this status, he certainly would not possess a skill as broken as [Outworlder].
Furthermore, the effect of [Outworlder] only operated on his basic stats; it offered no substantive assistance toward Leon's learning of swordplay or combat techniques.
Therefore, to refine this aspect now, Leon could only continuously practice, continuously implement it, and continuously apply it within actual combat.
As the saying goes, diligence can make up for a lack of talent. Coupled with his underlying physical fitness, his reaction speed and reflexes would also grow stronger as his stats increased. As long as he was willing to put in the effort, Leon believed that these techniques were things that could not stop him.
Pfft!
As Leon once again evaded the Silverback's massive hand, his figure shot out like a sharp arrow, leaping high toward the Silverback's chest. The small straight sword in his hand turned into a flash of light that swept across, slitting the Silverback's throat.
"Gurgle...!"
The Silverback instantly clutched its blood-spurting throat, its eyes bulging out as if it were struggling to survive.
Leon's attacks, however, did not halt because of this at all.
Leon well understood the logic of taking an opponent's life while they were down.
Thus, taking advantage of the opportunity while the Silverback clutched its blood-spurting throat, Leon stepped off the opponent's chest to leap high once more, springing into mid-air before diving downward, targeting the top of the opponent's head.
Pfft!
In the next second, the blade of the small straight sword plunged straight into the Silverback's skull, piercing deeply into it.
All of the Silverback's movements ground to a halt at this very moment, and the roar in its mouth also ceased abruptly, no longer able to break free.
After a long moment, the massive form of the Silverback slowly collapsed, crashing heavily onto the ground.
Before that happened, Leon had already extracted the small straight sword pierced into the top of the Silverback's head, executing a leap to land on the ground alongside the giant carcass of the Silverback.
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