Strength: H116 → SSS1101
Endurance: H121 → SSS1101
Dexterity: H189 → SSS1101
Agility: H198 → SSS1101
Magic: D588 → SSS2001
"Mm… Level 2's accumulation has reached its peak."
Even with the growth rate deliberately restrained—without undergoing extreme training inside the Training Space—there was still a limit to how long he could hold back his own advancement.
Today, that limit had finally arrived.
Loki sat behind Tsunayoshi, holding the latest status sheet, her chin resting on his shoulder as she handed it over for him to see.
"So, you've hit the cap, huh?" she asked with a mischievous smile.
Tsunayoshi studied the paper carefully and nodded. "Yeah. I could feel my growth slowing down these past few days."
"That means you're done with this phase. Any more effort you pour into your status now is just wasted time."
He understood perfectly what she meant.
Even though he still felt himself improving, the pace had dropped drastically. Continuing down this road would bring diminishing returns—no longer twice the result for half the effort, but the other way around.
In this state, it was meaningless to keep grinding for marginal growth.
What he needed now was a chance to advance.
"Then… for promotion to Level 3, I'll have to challenge Goliath, right?"
"If you want to level up quickly, that's your only path," Loki confirmed. "But listen carefully—you'll have to face him with your own power. Using your puppets won't count. The Feat gained from victory wouldn't transfer to you."
"I figured as much," Tsunayoshi replied. "When I was helping Hephaestus-sama and Tsubaki stabilize the divine 'Feats' inside their puppets, I realized it right away. Anything my puppets achieve stays with them—it doesn't pass to me."
His constructs were strong, but they could never replace the growth that came from his own hands.
He knew exactly what Feats represented.
A Feat is born from a person's courage to challenge the impossible—
to climb mountains that others deemed insurmountable, step by step, without shortcuts.
Only by conquering those peaks could one earn true glory.
And that glory was the Feat itself.
No puppet, no proxy could ever replace that.
A coward hiding behind an artificial shell would never reach the summit.
So, to earn his next step, Tsunayoshi would have to face it head-on.
Of course, that didn't scare him.
He'd seen enough, learned enough, and grown enough to know that his courage hadn't faded with comfort.
Loki casually tossed the paper aside and slung her arms around his neck from behind, her legs wrapping playfully around his waist.
"Don't worry," she whispered with a grin. "If it's you, you'll be fine."
She rubbed her cheek against his, her tone half playful, half reassuring.
"If you don't want to rush it, our expedition is just around the corner. With your strength, you'll be fine even against deep-floor monsters. You could always use the expedition to reach Level 3 first—then take on Goliath afterward."
"Which choice do you think is better?"
Loki chuckled softly. "That's up to you."
Both paths were viable: one bold, one steady.
After a short pause, Tsunayoshi replied, "Then… the steady path. I'll use this expedition to reach Level 3 first. Once that's done, I'll go after Goliath."
Loki nodded, satisfied. "Good call. When there's no pressure, patience is the better route. Besides, after your last upgrade, you started feeling the coordinates of that other world, didn't you? Once you level up again, the sensation should grow stronger."
"I hope so," he murmured.
Indeed, with each increase in power, his sensitivity to the interdimensional coordinates had grown.
At Level 1, he couldn't sense anything.
At Level 2, faint echoes of the other world began reaching him—like the weak pull of a distant signal.
It confirmed his theory: the stronger he became, the clearer the connection.
Just like a beacon and its receiver—the power acted as the frequency that aligned them.
"Don't worry," Loki said softly, resting her head on his shoulder. "Things will keep moving in the right direction."
Tsunayoshi smiled faintly. "Yeah… you're probably right."
"Of course I am," she teased, flicking his forehead.
That was her role—to ease the burden from her children's hearts, to remind them not everything had to be fought through alone.
After a while, she loosened her hold, hopping down and flopping lazily onto his lap.
"The expedition's outline is already settled," she said. "It'll be a joint expedition between three Familias—ours, Hephaestus's, and Astraea's."
"Hephaestus will handle logistics, while we and Astraea lead the main assault."
"With our combined strength—and your spatial abilities as support—we're heading deeper than ever before."
Tsunayoshi's gaze sharpened. "So, new floors?"
"Exactly," Loki said, smiling mischievously. "With three Familias working together, we might just reach the sixtieth floor this time."
He could already picture it—the descent through uncharted layers of the Dungeon, the unknown monsters, the oppressive pressure of the deep zones.
"If Finn, Gareth, and Riveria can fully control their new powers," Loki continued, "then reaching those depths won't just be possible—it'll be guaranteed."
"With your ability to shift parts of the expedition team into the Rest Space, we can avoid splitting the main group. No more getting isolated by the Dungeon's whims."
That was the danger of exploration—once the Dungeon decided to separate a party, chaos followed. But now, with his spatial control, they could resist that force.
Unpredictable events could finally be made predictable.
Tsunayoshi nodded. "Then I'll make sure of it. If my power can stabilize things, I'll use it to its fullest."
He wasn't boasting—he was certain.
The creator of beasts, the master of constructs—his Monster Creation wasn't just a skill. It was a system of endless possibilities.
Loki smirked, her voice barely above a whisper. "That's the spirit, my little genius."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]