After chatting in the courtyard for a while, Leon and Ais parted ways and returned to their respective residential towers.
Leon had originally intended to find Loki and ask her to update his Status to see exactly how much proficiency he had gained and how much he had grown over the course of the day. However, Ais informed him that Loki had vanished shortly after dinner, likely heading out somewhere.
"She's definitely off drinking again, isn't she?"
Leon thought this with a sense of certainty. That "scummy" patron goddess had quite a few personal hobbies; she loved drinking, teasing beautiful girls, and even harassing them. She didn't act like a goddess at all, but rather like a lecherous old man from nowhere—a trait that made her quite unpopular with some.
It didn't help that the Loki Familia was a massive organization. Unlike certain "pauper" deities who only had a few members or even a single follower and were too tight on funds to go out and have fun, Loki had plenty of resources. Those smaller deities usually stayed home and watched over their "children," hoping they would become successful, and thus had time to update their Status every single day. In contrast, the Loki Familia had so many members that it was practically impossible to find their patron goddess for a daily update under normal circumstances.
Generally speaking, unless an expedition was about to begin or had just concluded, members of the Loki Familia rarely sought out Loki privately for a Status update. Thus, after some thought, Leon decided against waiting for Loki's return.
"Anyway, even without a Status update, I can still grow by continuing to train in my current state."
Experience points were things obtained through various actions; they were, quite literally, the phenomena an individual had personally experienced. Though invisible and intangible, they were the actual history lived by a person. The gods simply took this history and converted it into nourishment for growth, rewriting the Hieroglyphs carved onto their children's backs to transform those experiences into concrete strength.
Why did using a certain Basic Ability increase its proficiency? It was because by using that ability, you accumulated the experience of having done so. As long as that experience was extracted and applied, the proficiency of the Basic Ability would rise, the individual's strength would grow, and high-quality experiences that qualified as "Great Feats" could even manifest as magic, skills, or Developmental Abilities. Once this high-grade experience accumulated to a certain threshold, an adventurer could Level Up.
The accumulation of experience points was not strictly dictated by how strong or weak a person was; rather, it was tied to the degree of difficulty involved in the action.
When a Level 1 adventurer encountered a Goblin for the first time, they would likely have to fight a hard battle to defeat it, thereby gaining significant experience from the act. However, once that adventurer reached Level 2, killing a Goblin with a casual strike would be no different than stepping on an ant. Such an act would provide no exercise, no growth, and thus no experience.
Experience accumulation focused on the quality and quantity of the feat and the difficulty faced during its achievement.
Therefore, even if Leon didn't update his Status, he could continue to venture through the upper floors of the Dungeon. As long as he gained actual exercise and growth from those actions, the experiences would remain latent within his body. Once his Status was updated, they would be extracted all at once to serve as fuel for his growth.
In the original story, Ryuu Lion, known as "Gale," had maintained her Level 4 status for several years while engaging in life-or-death battles without a single Status update. When her Status was finally updated years later, she achieved an unprecedented "consecutive ascension," jumping from Level 4 straight to Level 6. This was the ultimate proof of the concept.
Had Ryuu updated her Status midway, she certainly would have reached Level 5, but the situations she faced afterward might not have been as perilously difficult for a Level 5 adventurer as they were for a Level 4. By facing those life-threatening extremes with her Level 4 strength, she accumulated enough "Great Feats" to satisfy the requirements for Level 6.
"If I update my Status and become stronger, I won't be able to gain as much experience from the monsters on the upper floors. I'd have to delve deeper to find opponents suited for me," Leon mused as he walked toward his room. "But by not updating it, I can continue fighting on the upper floors, gaining training from enemies that aren't yet weak to me and continuously accumulating experience for later growth."
Thinking of this, Leon was no longer in a hurry to get an update.
"I'll continue challenging the Dungeon with my current strength and see just how far I can go."
Leon possessed great patience. As long as the future was promising, he could endure his current weakness and take things one steady step at a time. What people feared most was a future they couldn't see—not knowing if their hard work would yield returns. Conversely, knowing that rewards were guaranteed made it easy to persevere.
At the same time, in the other tower dedicated to female members, Ais was also walking toward her room. Suddenly, her back felt heavy as a certain weight pressed against her.
"Ai~~s!"
A bright, innocent voice rang out behind her as someone jumped onto her back and hugged her tightly. Ais turned her head to see a familiar, smiling face—one that perfectly matched the cheerful impression of the voice.
The owner of the face was a girl with healthy wheat-colored skin. She was smaller than Ais but dressed much more boldly. She wore the dancer-style attire typical of the Amazons; her upper body was covered only by a thin cloth across her chest, and a long sarong was wrapped around her waist, leaving her midriff and shapely limbs exposed in a provocative fashion.
"—Tiona."
Ais whispered the name of the brownish-skinned girl holding her. Tiona Hiryute was one of the few people in the Loki Familia whom Ais could truly call a friend. Though she looked like an exotic human girl, she was actually an Amazon.
Amazons were a martial race of females known for being bellicose, outgoing, and scantily clad. The tribe consisted entirely of women; they could not give birth to half-breeds, and their offspring were always female Amazons. Because they needed males of other races to reproduce, they had a cultural habit of "capturing" men. Due to their uninhibited nature regarding romance and intimacy, other races often viewed Amazons as shameless, and many members of the race were quite open to the "entertainment" industry.
Yet, despite this reputation, the girl named Tiona lacked even a hint of the race's typical worldliness. Instead, she was as innocent as a sunflower, cheerful and optimistic.
"I saw everything, Ais!" Tiona laughed happily, pressing her weight against the blonde-haired girl's back. "You were waiting in the courtyard for Leon the whole time until he came back, right?"
Evidently, Tiona had witnessed the entire interaction between the boy and girl in the courtyard. Or perhaps, she wasn't the only one? After all, quite a few people in the Loki Familia were paying attention to this pair.
"—Yes." Ais did not try to hide it, mostly because she saw no reason to. She nodded and said, "I was a little worried about him."
The girl was always straightforward and concise. Tiona, however, had her own thoughts on the matter.
"Ais, aren't you a bit too concerned about the newcomer you brought back?" Tiona giggled. "That smelly wolf Bete has a lot to say about it. He says you're wasting your time paying so much attention to a 'small fry.'"
Just as Tiona finished her sentence, another voice rang out.
"Ignore that mangy wolf. He only says things like that because he's got issues."
Following those words, another girl walked over slowly. She was an Amazon just like Tiona; in fact, their faces were identical, as if carved from the same mold. However, this girl had long, waist-length hair, a much more curvaceous figure, and a far more composed aura. She lacked Tiona's childlike innocence and didn't seem like a typical boisterous Amazon at all.
"—Tione."
Ais greeted her as well. Tione Hiryute was Tiona's elder twin sister. The two were almost always together and were considered a beautiful sight in the Loki Familia, second only to Ais. It was worth noting that both sisters, like Ais, were Level 5 adventurers—two of the only four elite executives in the entire Loki Familia. Aside from the three Level 6 leaders, these four Level 5 executives were the highest-ranking and strongest members of the faction.
"I heard from the Captain that the kid received his Grace today and officially joined the Familia, right?" Tione crossed her arms and smiled. "Today was his first time adventuring in the Dungeon. How did he do?"
It seemed that compared to her sister, who was more interested in personal gossip, the elder twin cared more about the boy's actual performance. This was likely because Tione, who claimed to be the Captain's "right-hand woman" and was madly obsessed with the Pallum hero, couldn't help but pay attention to anyone her Captain was keeping an eye on. Though, she was also quite curious about the relationship between the two youngsters.
Ais lowered her gaze and spoke softly.
"He reached the 5th floor."
At those words, both sisters raised their eyebrows simultaneously.
"The 5th floor?" Tiona said with surprise. "He dared to go to the 5th floor on his very first adventure?"
"I wouldn't have guessed it," Tione muttered, looking somewhat impressed. "That kid usually seems so grounded. I didn't expect him to be so bold at heart. I'm starting to look at him in a new light."
"He said it wasn't part of his original plan," Ais explained quietly. "He only dared to enter the 5th floor because he obtained magic."
"Oh?" Tione became even more intrigued. "He actually got magic?"
"So we weren't seeing things earlier," Tiona said, clapping her hands. "I was wondering why his hand was suddenly glowing. So it was magic!"
"I wonder if the Captain saw it," Tione added, her thoughts never straying far from her crush. "Gaining magic right after receiving Grace... it means the kid has potential and is worth cultivating, doesn't it?"
"If Lefiya finds out, she'll probably get super competitive," Tiona said excitedly, imagining the scene. "That girl is so jealous of how Leon gets to be around you all the time and receives your concern. I've lost count of how many times I've seen her hiding in a corner spying on you two, biting a handkerchief with tears of blood in her eyes!"
Ais tilted her head, a question mark practically appearing over her head, seemingly unable to comprehend what that meant.
"Well, this kind of thing is still too early for you, Ais. Don't worry about it," Tione said, patting Ais on the shoulder meaningfully. "All you need to know is that if that kid wants to stand by your side, he's going to have to overcome quite a few hurdles."
"Isn't that great? It's so romantic!" Tiona squealed. "Overcoming one obstacle after another just to be with the princess—that's the kind of story and treatment only a hero gets!"
"You..." Tione's expression slumped as she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "You really need to read fewer hero stories."
"What's wrong with that?" Tiona huffed. "Hero stories are great! I love them!"
The sisters began bickering in the hallway as if no one else were there, while the blonde-haired girl watched them in silence, no longer interjecting.
"A hero...?"
Ais still didn't grasp the deeper meaning behind the twins' words. She was notoriously slow when it came to matters of romance and didn't even realize they were teasing her. She simply repeated the word "hero" to herself, and as she did, a sense of longing and sadness filled her downcast eyes.
Night slipped away in silence. This was not the end, but merely the beginning.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi