While Leon was soaking up the precious magical knowledge passed down through generations in the Loki Familia like a sponge, the rumors about him in the outside world did not diminish. Instead, they showed a trend of growing increasingly intense.
This was because the news of Leon successfully ranking up to Lv.3 had also been released by the Guild, making it widely known.
His first rank up took less than a month, and his second rank up actually took only half a month to complete. Even though the people of Orario had already come to see Leon in a whole new light, they were still deeply shaken by this news.
"Half a month—is that truly a rank up record a human being can achieve?"
Everyone gasped in amazement inwardly.
For most people, ranking up became progressively harder the further they went. Leon, on the other hand, actually required less time to reach Lv.3 than he did to reach Lv.2. This was basically just like what the gods said behind his back—he must have secretly activated some kind of cheat, right?
People were profoundly shocked by this, but they no longer harbored doubts like they did before.
After all, this time was different from the last. Everyone already knew about the monumental exploit Leon had accomplished. They knew he had successfully fought a floor boss single-handedly, crossing two full ranks as a Lv.2 to slay the Lv.4 Goliath, becoming the only adventurer in modern times publicly known to have successfully subjugated a floor boss alone.
Such a monumental exploit was more than enough to advance a Lv.3 to Lv.4, let alone a Lv.2 to Lv.3.
Therefore, although people were shocked by Leon's extraordinary growth speed, very few questioned the authenticity of the news. Since he had already successfully subjugated a floor boss by himself, being able to rank up seemed like a perfectly understandable matter, didn't it?
The crowd discussed it in this manner and quickly accepted the fact.
Of course, accepting it was one thing, but discussing it when it was time to discuss and gossiping when it was time to gossip was another. The grand achievement Leon had accomplished was destined to remain the hottest topic for the foreseeable future.
His deeds not only spread widely throughout Orario, creating immense prestige and popularity for him, but were also carried to all corners of the world through the mouths of merchants, becoming known to people everywhere.
By now, the world already knew that an adventurer with an incredible growth speed had emerged in Orario. It took him only a month and a half from the moment he received a Falna to rise two ranks consecutively, becoming a second-tier adventurer at Lv.3. He had also successfully subjugated a floor boss alone, destroying the legendary "Monster Rex."
Thanks to this, Leon's name resonated across the entire world. In terms of fame, he was already completely on par with many first-tier adventurers. In fact, because he belonged to a branch of the strongest faction, the Loki Familia, he was even more famous than some first-tier adventurers.
The things most adventurers desired were nothing more than a select few, one of which was fame. Leon had come to enjoy fame surpassing that of an ordinary first-tier adventurer in just a month and a half, which made an untold number of people mad with envy and jealousy.
If Leon were currently in some obscure little Familia, or even a mid-level Familia of modest scale, he might have already been targeted and plotted against by many people, and even by gods.
Unfortunately, when these schemes and plots encountered the faction name "Loki Familia," they either had to pull back reluctantly or run headfirst into a brick wall, getting completely kicked back by a highly protective primary deity.
Loki had indeed been very smug recently. Walking outside, she carried an arrogant demeanor as if she were second only to the heavens and earth, and her smugness was said to have made many deities grind their teeth in sheer irritation.
The cheap deity simply did not know the meaning of keeping a low profile or exercising restraint. She bragged to virtually anyone she met, saying things like, "Oh dear, kids these days just love to be reckless, becoming a Lv.3 before you even know it," or "How did you know my house has a kid who can solo a floor boss?" She was like a fisherman who usually caught nothing but suddenly reeled in a leviathan, falling just short of parading Leon around the streets.
Looking at the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes and expressions of others, the cheap deity felt a wave of pride and secret satisfaction in her heart. Whenever she encountered guys whose eyes were darting around, clearly up to no good, she would immediately throw a kick their way. Her ferocious manner looked exactly like someone trying to trigger Ragnarok. Her protective mindset was entirely out in the open, which managed to scare off an unknown number of gods with ulterior motives.
The humans and gods who dared not offend the city's strongest faction could only skulk back with their tails between their legs, allowing Leon, who was at the center of the storm, to receive flawless protection.
Leon was thus able to comfortably study various magical concepts in the archives to build a solid foundation. Afterward, he passed Riveria's spot-checks and earned the opportunity to study under her.
This elven royalty was also extremely dedicated and responsible, immediately starting to teach Leon how to perform concurrent chanting right from the get-go.
"If you want to master concurrent chanting, the primary prerequisite is that you must possess the Heart of a Great Tree—a serene mind."
"An unshakeable, calm mindset capable of remaining tranquil under any circumstance is an essential condition for mastering concurrent chanting, and even high-speed chanting."
"Only by maintaining your composure under any circumstance can you split your mind to perform two tasks, or even multiple tasks at once. This allows you to move, evade, defend, and even attack while chanting a spell, avoiding a magical backfire."
Riveria then taught Leon a meditation method that could help him rapidly enter a state of deep concentration and maintain a tranquil mind.
If this meditation method was used proficiently, it could also assist in recovering and converting mental strength during normal times. Even Lefiya was currently using this meditation method, making it a sort of exclusive technique.
At the same time, Riveria would also have Leon practice concurrent chanting in actual combat, making him unleash magic while evading her attacks.
Although she was a mage, Riveria was not entirely lacking in close-combat capabilities. Not only was she skilled in staff techniques, but she was also proficient in archery. Even if her close-combat skills could not match the likes of Ais, whose swordsmanship was extraordinary, her Lv.6 status ensured she still wasn't someone the current Leon could casually mess with.
Consequently, she could leave Leon with a head full of bumps using just a wooden stick, treating him like a punching bag. The pressure she brought to Leon was not inferior to sparring with Ais at all.
However, it had to be said that practicing under such pressure indeed helped with training concurrent chanting, and it even resolved the issue of Leon's physical and mental misalignment after his rank up.
Perhaps because Leon's mentality was indeed quite resilient and easy to adjust, or perhaps because the star-attribute magic with ultra-short chants was truly not prone to causing magical backfires, Leon completed the initial stage of concurrent chanting in just a single day, becoming capable of chanting magic while moving.
By the second day, Leon was already able to perform two actions simultaneously: moving and evading.
On the third day, while moving and evading, Leon could also manage to defend against Riveria's attacks.
This rapid progress caused even Riveria to marvel.
One must know that the most proficient user of concurrent chanting currently confirmed could only manage a total of four actions simultaneously while chanting a spell: attacking, defending, moving, and dodging. Leon had mastered three actions in just three days, which already drew extremely close to the absolute limit of concurrent chanting.
Riveria believed that if Leon were given just a few more days, his concurrent chanting would reach absolute mastery. By then, he would presumably be able to calmly chant magic under any circumstances, and would no longer be forced to rely strictly on raw firepower to fight head-on like he did during the battle against the Goliath.
Unfortunately, Leon had run out of time.
On this day, the Loki Familia officially dispatched personnel to the Guild to submit the report for their upcoming expedition.
Tomorrow morning would be the moment of the Loki Familia's expedition.
This news spread at lightning speed, causing countless pairs of eyes and numerous gazes to turn toward the grand manor known as the "Twilight Manor."
The campaign would begin tomorrow.
On this evening, in front of the deity's chamber on the very top floor of the Twilight Manor's central tower, members of the Loki Familia were lining up one by one, waiting for their primary deity to update their status.
"I'm next! Loki!"
"Hurry up! Let's see how much stronger I've gotten during this period!"
"Hey, stop slacking off and update my status quickly."
Tiona, Tione, and even Bete had arrived here, walking into the deity's chamber in line and urging their primary deity.
"No way—couldn't you guys have come earlier? Why do you have to crowd together at the same time?!"
Loki looked at the countless needle pricks on the fingers of both her hands, her entire body trembling. She was about to go crazy.
Ever since dinner ended, the members had been coming to her door one after another, requesting status updates, causing her fingers to almost be poked clean through.
There was no helping it; the expedition was launching tomorrow. The members, regardless of gender, all wanted to raise their abilities as much as possible to greet the upcoming challenge in their strongest state, lest they end up perishing in the Dungeon due to a slight lack of stats.
It wasn't that Loki couldn't understand this feeling, but if they wanted to do a final status update before the expedition, why couldn't they come earlier? Everyone crowding together was driving her absolutely insane.
In response to this, the crowd had this to say:
"Of course we have to train until the very last moment so our stats can increase the most."
"If we don't work hard, we veteran executives are going to be overtaken by the wild guy who came after us."
"Anyway, you're just idling around with nothing to do all day, so this is the only time your value can be reflected. Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and do it."
Tiona, Tione, and Bete all spoke up in succession, making Loki really want to curse someone out.
"Damn that Leon! It's all because of you!"
Loki knew very well who the culprit behind this phenomenon was.
Because of a certain someone's extraordinary and skyrocketing growth speed, every single member of the Loki Familia had been thoroughly stimulated over the past month or so. Everyone, including Ais and Bete, dived into the Dungeon every single day, working far harder than ever before.
In particular, Leon recently ranking up to Lv.3 by soloing a Lv.4 floor boss had brought no small amount of pressure to those veteran members.
Executives like Tiona, Tione, and Bete all understood one thing after witnessing that battle. That was, that man was closing in on them, and his speed was exceptionally fast. A Lv.4 floor boss—being able to subjugate even a creature like that proved that man was no longer far from the domain they occupied.
Consequently, whether it was the cheerful Tiona, the Tione who was obsessed with the Pallum captain, or Bete who always talked about small-timers, basically all of them were feeling anxious.
Without exception, a sense of urgency emerged in their hearts, as if a single moment of slacking off would allow them to be completely caught up to and surpassed by someone they had previously viewed as a source of amusement. They simply couldn't afford to idle around at home any longer.
Even though Finn and the other Familia leaders had already issued instructions for them to rest well during this period before the expedition and stop going to the Dungeon, they still sneakily slipped into the Dungeon or found a hidden spot to conduct self-training.
Even Ais was like this. Having been banned from going to the Dungeon, she quietly hid in a corner to practice her sword swings, simply not daring to stay idle.
Even the members of the second tier like Raul felt a sense of urgency in their hearts as they watched Leon, who dove into the archives early every morning and trained concurrent chanting with Riveria.
A certain elven girl had even started competing with Leon over this, likewise waking up exceptionally early every day to run to the archives and flip through books. When she saw Leon and Riveria training concurrent chanting, she would glare at him fiercely from the shadows before leaving dejectedly.
Due to her immaturity in mindset and spirit, a certain elven girl had not yet been permitted to undergo concurrent chanting training. Every day, she focused only on meditation and chanting techniques, currently remaining a stationary magical turret.
Under such circumstances, watching Leon come from behind and start training concurrent chanting with her own master naturally didn't feel good in her heart. The result was that this elven girl also secretly practiced in private, and was now also lining up to update her status.
Loki saw all of this clearly, which was why she cursed at a certain self-unaware training maniac.
And this person quickly appeared right before her eyes.
"Update my status too, Loki."
The completely self-unaware man arrived at the deity's chamber with a perfectly composed expression, speaking to his primary deity.
"—Get out."
Loki twitched the corner of her mouth, pointing at the doorway and shouting furiously.
Despite her words, Loki ultimately updated Leon's status anyway.
Leon Eligos Lv.3
Power: I0 -> H144 Endurance: I0 -> H107 Dexterity: I0 -> H189 Agility: I0 -> G235 Magic: I0 -> F346 Mage: H Abnormal Resistance: I
"The progress this time isn't that major, huh."
Translating the status into the common tongue and copying it onto a parchment to hand to Leon, Loki spoke in a casual manner.
Well—with the overall stat proficiency increasing by a total of around 1,000, Loki didn't even know when she had become calm enough to describe this level of progress as "not that major."
Leon, however, didn't find it strange.
"I didn't go to the Dungeon this time, spending all day soaking in the archives and only doing some training with Riveria. Being able to achieve this level of growth even so is already quite decent."
Leon looked at the freshly minted stats with considerable satisfaction. Not going to the Dungeon, not sparring with Ais, and only doing some concurrent chanting training with Riveria, yet still achieving such growth—there was indeed no reason to be dissatisfied.
Loki actually thought this was quite decent too, but she just didn't want to say nice things to this rascal.
However—
"Since you came over yourself, I'll give you the gift I prepared for you."
With that, Loki pulled out a bundle.
"A gift?"
Leon was taken aback. This cheap deity had actually prepared a gift for him?
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