After explaining everything that needed to be explained, Riveria departed.
She gave Leon three days. Three days later, she would come to test him and check how much he had learned. If his progress satisfied her, she would personally instruct him for a few days.
Leon had no objections to this. After watching Riveria leave, he immediately began flipping through the magic instructional books one by one, memorizing the text at an incredibly rapid pace.
If this had been before he received the Falna, Leon naturally wouldn't have been capable of such a feat. However, after going through two level-ups, his abilities in all aspects had surpassed the boundaries of ordinary humans. His memory had also drastically improved, creating a world of difference compared to before.
The very existence of the Falna was to continuously unearth the latent potential of the human body, bringing forth various powers that an individual could have theoretically attained but couldn't otherwise reach. Throughout this process, the miracle of a "level-up" continuously expanded that potential, increasing their capacity and pushing them to new heights and domains.
The gods described this process as drawing closer and closer to them, moving toward the domain where they resided. Therefore, the higher an individual's level, the closer they actually were to the realm of the gods. Even their lifespan would increase accordingly, and signs of aging would be delayed.
In the face of such a miracle, a mere increase in memory capacity was practically nothing. Moreover, Leon was an adept magic user; the stronger one's mental strength, the more advantageous it was for enhancing memory.
Under these circumstances, Leon memorized the knowledge points in the books at a speed his past self could never have dreamed of matching, gradually realizing just how true Riveria's evaluation of "you completely don't know how to use magic" really was.
Before setting eyes on this knowledge, he truly had no idea that utilizing magic involved so many knacks and techniques.
If one only mastered one or two of these knacks and techniques, it might not create an overly obvious gap compared to other mages. However, once a great deal of them were learned, the advantages when casting magic would become increasingly evident, ultimately leading to a qualitative change.
From the books, Leon spotted quite a few knacks for applying magical firepower. These knacks would teach him how to better concentrate his firepower, extend the range of his magic, and increase the damage, making the originally dispersed magical energy far more lethal.
"If I had learned these techniques for applying magic before this, fighting Goliath definitely would have been a lot easier, right?"
Now that he was aware of the existence of these knacks, looking back at his performance during the battle against Goliath made Leon feel that his past self at that time resembled a completely clueless greenhorn. It was truly just as Riveria had said: he was entirely just taking magic and using it crudely like a brute, without a single shred of a mage's elegance and composure.
Although he always positioned himself as a magic swordsman rather than a pure mage, with his current capabilities, taking on the role of a dedicated rear-guard mage wouldn't pose any problem at all.
His magical firepower under normal conditions had already reached the Lv.5 level, and he had even learned Mage, a high-tier developmental ability that only veteran mages could acquire. Even if the quantity of his magic was a bit low—possessing only one—Meteor Dance was inherently highly versatile. Depending on how it was utilized, it could completely accomplish feats that would normally require multiple types of magic. Therefore, even if he abandoned close combat and served directly as a rear-guard mage, Leon would do just fine.
In fact, Finn and the others were already planning to assign Leon to the rear-guard position of the expeditionary force this time.
It couldn't be helped; if Leon went into close combat, he would merely be an Lv.3 vanguard or vanguard-midfielder. For the Loki Familia's expeditionary force, adding a single Lv.3 vanguard or vanguard-midfielder fundamentally wouldn't offer much help.
But if Leon dedicated himself to the role of a rear-guard mage, he would be no different from an Lv.5 rear-guard mage.
After all, his output capability was right there, genuinely comparable to Lv.5, and could even be further elevated depending on the situation. Failing to place him in the position of a rear-guard mage would be an absolute waste of god-given talent.
This was also the reason Riveria had hurriedly brought Leon here. Only by laying a solid foundation could he properly fulfill the role of a rear-guard mage, and perhaps even become the individual with the highest output capability in the entire expeditionary force, second only to her.
Leon was unaware of the plans harbored by Finn and the others, but this knowledge regarding magic was far too precious to him. He had already realized this point, taking in everything offered without exception, working hard to memorize and study.
During this time, a few familia members also visited this archive. These people were highly surprised upon seeing Leon buried in his studies at the desk, but ultimately none of them chose to disturb him. At most, they would greet him briefly before leaving on their own.
Leon didn't pay much attention to the outside world either, completely immersed in the world within the books, even forgetting to eat lunch.
Fortunately, while he himself had forgotten, someone else remembered on his behalf.
"Here."
A pair of slender, fair hands extended in front of Leon at a certain moment, causing a distinct aroma to drift into his nose along with them.
Leon blanked out at first, before immediately realizing that a familiar figure had taken a seat directly opposite him.
"Ais?"
Leon spoke blankly.
The golden-haired, golden-eyed girl had appeared in front of Leon at some unknown point, her translucent eyes gazing at him, while her hand proffered a fried snack.
"You haven't eaten, right?" the girl said softly. "Bought this for you."
Hearing this, Leon turned his gaze toward the fried snack.
It was a food item made by coating mashed potatoes in flour and deep-frying them—the fried potato puffs that had quite a high appearance rate in the original world.
Leon knew that this kind of snack could be considered one of the very few favorite foods of the usually desireless doll-like girl, a treat that she secretly loved to eat on the sly.
"Thank you." Leon accepted the fried potato puffs. Sniffing the deep-fried aroma wafting from them, he smiled at the girl and said, "I was actually wondering why I hadn't seen you around. So you went out to the streets?"
"Mhm." Ais nodded, speaking with characteristic brevity. "The expedition is coming up. My weapon needed maintenance."
Because even during normal times, the girl would frequently dive into the Dungeon whenever she was free, the usage rate of her beloved sword was quite high, requiring frequent maintenance and servicing to suffice.
Even if Ais's Desperate Sword possessed the unbreakable attribute and wouldn't be completely destroyed, using it frequently would still cause its blade to suffer wear and tear, leading to a decrease in sharpness.
If it were normal times, that slight drop in sharpness wouldn't matter much. However, the expedition was fast approaching, and the familia's expeditionary force would delve deep into domains below the 50th floor. The monsters there were so tough that even if they stood still and let someone hack at them, a weapon with insufficient might probably wouldn't be able to cut through them at all. Coupled with the fact that the expedition lasted a very long time and the frequency of combat was extremely high, it was best to bring weapons in their absolute peak condition to ensure peace of mind. Consequently, members of the familia had recently been reducing their time spent going to the Dungeon and getting all their weapons repaired.
"I see."
Leon nodded, expressing his understanding before biting into the fried potato puff in his hand.
The girl kept staring at Leon's movements, watching him eat the fried potato puffs without moving an inch.
"Do you want to eat?"
Looking at Ais like this, Leon found it somewhat amusing while speaking up as if to tease her.
"No." The girl shifted her gaze away with great difficulty, making her delicate, pretty face assume an expressionless state as if to demonstrate her own iron will, saying, "I have already eaten."
"I thought as much."
Deeply agreeing, Leon continued to nod, and then without a shred of mercy completely finished off the fried potato puffs in his hand, causing a look of regret to surface on the girl's face.
"When I passed out, you were the first to come over, right?" Leon finally brought up the incident from last time, looking straight at Ais as he said softly, "Really sorry for the trouble, Ais."
"No trouble." Ais shook her head, meeting Leon's gaze as she said with utmost seriousness, "After all, we had a promise."
That was right. Unlike the others, Ais was invited over by Leon specifically to back him up.
Ais had kept this matter in mind the entire time, remaining exceptionally serious and focused. During Leon's battle, she had never shifted her gaze away from his body for even a second, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword without a moment's pause, ready to strike at any time.
"You succeeded." Ais looked at Leon with an expression harboring emotions he couldn't quite decipher, saying, "Congratulations on defeating the Floor Boss."
"Just luck, that's all." Leon let out a bitter smile, tapping the books in front of him as he said, "See these? These are what Riveria made me read. They made me deeply realize just how lucky of an occurrence it was for me to be able to defeat Goliath."
He truly felt now that his ability to successfully defeat Goliath relied not on strength, but on luck.
It wasn't that he wanted to underestimate himself, but rather that the more he understood how to properly utilize magic, the more Leon could recognize just how reckless and chaotic his past self had been that day.
Relying on that kind of wild, carpet-bombing style of combat to successfully defeat a Floor Boss—if that wasn't passing through sheer good luck, Leon wouldn't even believe it himself.
However, while he didn't believe in himself, Ais trusted his capabilities far more than he did.
"That's not true." Ais looked straight at Leon, speaking with absolute seriousness, "You are very strong."
"In some aspects, you are stronger than me."
This was the most direct thought within Ais's heart after witnessing that battle.
That incredibly brilliant shooting star that dispelled the darkness and pierced through space remained clearly etched within her heart, making it impossible for Ais to forget over the past day or two.
Not just her, but many people deeply remembered that scene, remembering that brilliant shooting star.
The brilliant starlight of that moment had not only illuminated the entire 17th floor of the Dungeon, but had also shone through the hearts of quite a few people, leaving an impression that could not be forgotten for a very long time.
"You are already Lv.3 now, right?" Ais brought up this matter.
"Yes." Leon confirmed Ais's words.
"I really envy you."
Ais fell silent for a moment before uttering her most genuine sentiment.
To actually level up again and grow stronger in the span of a mere half-month—Ais truly did envy Leon in her heart.
"Don't worry." As if seeing through Ais's inner thoughts, Leon smiled and said, "You will grow stronger too."
Ais pursed her lips and spoke no more.
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