"Woo! As expected of the prodigy from Loki Familia, so strong."
Taro also looked impressed.
He had been an adventurer for several years now and had never imagined someone could rise from level 1 to level 2 in just a year.
After all, he had been working hard for five years and only managed to get two of his abilities to rank D, meaning his proficiency had exceeded 500 points.
Yet, the so-called "great feat" remained completely elusive to him.
Following the strategy they had planned from the beginning, the four of them advanced without any delays, maintaining a steady pace and reaching the 4th floor in an extremely short time.
This was their first stop.
"Let's get used to things on this floor. Although the monsters here are a bit stronger than those above, they still don't pose much difficulty," Alicia said as she drew her short sword, apparently preparing to join the fight.
'That sword.'
'Its quality seemed quite good.'
'Though not exactly a high-grade item, it probably cost around sixty to seventy thousand valis.'
With just a glance, Noah could assess the quality and approximate performance of the weapon Alicia wielded.
Unlike in games, while mages were mages, their way of fighting wasn't just hiding in the back and spamming fireball or lightning spells.
Doing that would first deplete their mana.
If mana ran dry, the mental exhaustion would cause one to faint and collapsing in the Dungeon was equivalent to being defenselessly exposed to danger—how dangerous that was didn't need much thought.
Magic represented powerful attacks and was typically used as a finishing move.
Moreover, just because Alicia was an elf woman didn't mean her strength was weak.
In fact, the power contained within her seemingly delicate body was at least twice that of Taro, who was all muscle.
This was the benefit of ability values and leveling up.
...
"Noah, do you have the 'Assist' skill?"
By the time they reached the 6th floor, after experiencing several battles and collecting a large amount of loot, Noah's backpack was already full.
Yet he still appeared completely at ease.
Noah had previously informed the others that he had only received his Falna a few days ago.
Alicia was probably concerned about his stamina, assuming his ability values were low or even nonexistent.
She was a kind girl.
Could an ordinary child carry something several times their own size and weight?
Let's just say that was nonsense.
Even if one claimed to be born with great strength, there still had to be some basic logic to it.
"Yeah, having a skill like that would indeed be nice," Noah replied.
"Eh?" Alicia sounded surprised. "So you don't have that skill?"
At that moment, Ais also turned to look at him.
Even Taro did too.
Noah nodded without saying anything more.
'Assist' skill was probably the most suitable skill for a supporter.
The skill's effect was to provide corrections when carrying excessive weight.
The heavier the load, the stronger the correction effect.
Seeing that he had no intention of explaining, Alicia didn't press the topic further.
After all, forcibly inquiring about others' skills was considered the rudest behavior in Orario, and could even be seen as a hostile act.
Her guess wasn't wrong.
Noah was indeed relying on a skill's effect to remain so composed.
He was utilizing the effects of the Spellweaver.
Of course, it wasn't truly as effortless as it appeared, since he didn't know gravity magic nor possess gravity-based skills, so he had to take a roundabout approach to achieve this.
The answer was gravity manipulation.
If one observed carefully, they would notice that the ground where he walked was slightly different from where others had stepped.
If it were gravity magic, he might have been able to directly negate gravity to make things easier, but he couldn't do that.
There was a difference between manipulation and control.
By manipulating gravity, Noah distributed the weight across the ground, allowing the earth to help bear the entire load.
This action consumed mana.
With his current mana, he wouldn't last more than five minutes before running out.
So he was actually consuming the power from the magic stones he collected along the way.
After all, if his backpack was full, those magic stones from weaker monsters would have to be discarded anyway, so it was more reasonable to make full and efficient use of them.
"They're coming again! Killer Ants, five of them!"
"Yosh! Leave them to me!"
While Ais was dealing with the monsters in front of her, Taro stepped forward to confront the new enemies.
He swung his great axe, delivering a heavy slash.
In a wide fan-shaped area ahead, three Killer Ants were split into six pieces.
However, due to the excessive force of his attack, Taro's center of gravity was completely committed to his axe, leaving him unable to steady himself or shift into a defensive stance.
The remaining two Killer Ants wouldn't let this opportunity slip.
If Taro were alone, he would have to grit his teeth and prepare to shed some blood as a lesson.
Fortunately, they had Alicia, the mage.
She had already begun chanting when Taro charged out and by now her chant was complete.
Two glistening ice spikes struck the remaining two Killer Ants, directly blowing their heads apart and turning them to dust.
Noah whose standing beside her, witnessed her entire spellcasting process, even hearing the complete chant.
"So this is magic..."
'Ice magic, huh.'
As expected of an elf, one of the only two magical races in the world.
With the Spellweaver's effects, could he achieve something like that too?
Noah analyzed the maximum potential of his current abilities internally, ultimately arriving at a negative conclusion.
To unleash an attack like that, he would need at least a D rank in magic.
Clang!
Clang!
The sounds of battle hadn't ceased yet.
'Strange, why was Ais taking so long fighting against upper-floor monsters given her strength?'
"Wait, what's wrong with that monster!"
Noah followed the voice and saw Ais's petite figure rapidly retreating—no, she was being sent flying.
A massive body emerged from the shadows as a giant one-eyed lizard crawled out.
"One-Eyed Lizard?" Alicia sounded puzzled.
After all, One-Eyed Lizards were only level 1 monsters.
Even with a surprise attack, how could they injure Ais who was level 2?
At that moment, Noah got a clear look at the One-Eyed Lizard and used his Truth Seeker ability to appraise it.
"One-Eyed Lizard"
・Monster
・Enhanced Species
・Latent ability reaches level 2
"Miss Alicia! Taro! Be careful! That One-Eyed Lizard is an enhanced species!"