After being out and about for the first time in a while, Leon had a much clearer, and much more frustrating, picture of the current state of Orario.
By all rights, an adventurer like him, the standard "ears closed to the world, eyes only on grinding the Dungeon" type, should treat strength gains as priority and life as the side hustle, no matter what was happening in the city.
What's more, because of the System, he'd poured almost all his effort into accumulating Excelia and gold. Add in the houseful of girls who needed "looking after," plus the various odds and ends that came with being a familia head, and pretty much every last drop of his remaining mental bandwidth had been wrung dry.
It left a man as busy as Leon with no spare attention to spend on the city's undercurrents.
But as Evilus's moves grew more brazen and sweeping, even pretending not to notice was no longer an option.
The attack on Rivira at the Under Resort was iron-clad proof of that!
"Damn it. Can't even grind the Dungeon in peace, you lot just had to start something..."
Leon strolled along the road home.
One hand held the umbrella, the other carried his groceries. Stepping over a puddle, the thought of how Evilus's interference had thrown a wrench in his entire grinding plan made him curse again under his breath.
"Whatever. Hurry on home. The Excelia's stockpiled enough anyway. I'll bump the level first, then settle the score with them later!"
These past ten-plus days, the daytime had been rough, with Jeanne and Rose "punishing" him in every conceivable way over the Kureha incident. It had left him pretty sour...
But come nighttime...
According to Laurier and Aura's private observations, their two big sisters, during morning training for a stretch... for some reason, their movements always looked a little "feather-light," as if they couldn't put any strength into their bodies...
Even their footing wobbled, knees inexplicably weak and unsteady.
Were Jeanne and Rose deliberately taking it easy?
In Leon's own words, with that touch of vengeful satisfaction:
Since you put me through "trials" by day to make my life miserable...
Then don't blame me at night when I return the favor in kind. A "trial" of equal magnitude, one that'll be just as "unforgettable" for you!
That said...
The unyielding grit those two showed genuinely caught Leon off guard.
Even when the mental strain left them dazed and barely upright, they bit down hard and refused to give in.
Damn!
That stubborn, huh...
Leon's competitive streak flared up on the spot...
And that was exactly the source of the "anomalies" Laurier and Aura had been noticing for a while.
"I'm home."
Pushing open the courtyard gate, Leon stepped under the eaves and started folding up the dripping umbrella, peering into the living room through the window as he did.
Same as always.
He'd noticed a strange phenomenon: the moment it started raining outside, the entire household, except for him, went completely quiet. Even Laurier, normally the liveliest of the bunch, was curled up on the sofa right now, looking drowsy and listless.
If even she was like that, no need to mention the rest.
Looking at his colorful collection of beauties all lounging lazily on the sofa, the corner of Leon's mouth lifted. He changed his shoes and walked inside.
Rose covered her mouth with a small yawn, eyes half-lidded, voice floating soft.
"Welcome back."
"..."
Leon looked at her drowsy, half-dreaming expression, then glanced at Jeanne, who was leaning against her, already deep in sleep.
He walked over and gently draped a thin blanket over Jeanne, lowering his voice.
"Rain like this is the best for sleeping."
Rose murmured a sleepy "Mm," tipped her head back into Leon's chest, and nuzzled in like a cat finding a warm spot.
Leon stroked her back lightly with one hand while his gaze drifted slowly across the living room.
Once he confirmed everyone was sound asleep, his thoughts shifted, and he silently summoned that panel that only he could see.
His gaze swept over the Basic Abilities and finally settled on the Assets and Excelia rows.
...
Assets: Reserve Funds: 3.62 million | Cash: 522.9 million
Excelia: 5,101 points
...
5,101 points...
Last time, after I added to my potential, the Excelia Pool had 219 points left over. Twenty days or so of dealing with the Loki Familia partnership talks, less than a month, and I've actually farmed up 4,882 points...
Averaged out, that's about 250 a day...
By Lv.2 standards, that efficiency is middle-of-the-road. About on par with other adventurers.
But... 250 a day, that's the cap of my current floor, nowhere near my real cap.
To make sure he could turn around within a single day, Leon had been hanging around the 15th floor.
With his chantless, instant-cast magical attacks, if monster density were dense enough, even doubling that to 500 a day would have been a leisurely walk for him, given his bottomless mana pool.
Unfortunately... the 15th floor's monster respawn rate simply couldn't keep pace with his brand of brute-force grinding.
Hah, cutting it close. 5,101 points just barely on the line.
This Excelia, no more, no less, exactly enough to max out my Basic Abilities...
If I hadn't run into that Almiraj Monster Party on the 14th yesterday, the numbers really would've been touch and go... and that would've meant kissing today's rest day goodbye.
After grumbling to himself a bit, Leon turned his eyes once more to the Basic Abilities panel.
Strength: 401 | Endurance: 588 | Dexterity: 445 | Agility: 471 | Magic: 992
Over these twenty-some days, on top of harvesting Excelia, he'd been growing through the constant combat himself.
Of his five Basic Abilities, every stat aside from Magic had risen by an average of around 100 points. Magic was the real outlier, rocketing from 607 to 992, a staggering 385-point jump!
This Magic growth speed... that's the Instant Cast doing the work, isn't it?
The more I use magic, the faster Magic itself grows, and it tempers my mental fortitude as a side benefit. Two birds, one stone...
Shame this only works for fast, ultra-short, and short-incantation spells. As for those long-incantation, super-long-incantation siege mages? Heh. The efficiency they get for training Magic... just thinking about it is depressing.
After taking his shots at the plight of other mages, Leon's gaze sharpened.
Total Excelia required: 1,198 + 1,011 + 1,154 + 1,128 + 607 = 5,098 Current Excelia: 5,101
Three over, but... that's enough!
System, allocate them!
His thought landed!
On the panel, the numbers once again began their familiar dance!
He'd been through this many times now...
And yet every single operation still sent a thread of tension through him.
One second...
Three seconds...
Nine seconds...
As time began to flow again, the pace of the shifting numbers gradually slowed.
In the end, behind every Basic Ability, the cap value came to rest at 1,599.
Looking at that "level-up plus sign" pulsing with its tempting glow, Leon didn't hesitate for an instant. He pressed it.
Level: Lv.2. Great Feat conditions met. Level-up available. Confirm level-up?
Confirm.
Level-up successful.
Level: Lv.3.
...
There was none of the surge of excitement from his previous level-up. Leon's expression was calm and unruffled, even with a hint of breeziness.
But the slight tremor in his fingertips silently betrayed the surge in his chest.
Just then, Rose stirred restlessly in his arms, lazily cracking open one eye. Her voice came out rough with sleep.
"...Level up?"
Leon brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and answered softly.
"Mm."
At the affirmation, a tender smile spread across her lips.
"Then... I'll cook tonight?"
Leon nodded, completely unsurprised, the corner of his mouth quirking into a teasing curve.
"Then... I'll leave it to you, our personal little chef?"
Rose let out a small huff against his chest, voice slipping into a pout.
"Hmph. If you focus on Jeanne tonight and leave me out of it... I'd happily whip you up a proper feast as thanks."
At that, Leon tightened his arm around her on purpose.
"No can do. You two are sworn sisters. Whatever you take, you take together. Wouldn't be fair to make Jeanne handle it alone."
"Hmph!"
...
...
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