Around seven o'clock, morning training ended.
Ronan had already prepared breakfast. It was a simple meal of bread, fried eggs, fruit, milk, coffee, jam, and a few light side dishes. It was easy to eat and suited everyone well.
Of course, Ronan had also prepared bacon. He originally thought that since Aura and Lorie were Elves, they might not like meat.
To his surprise, the two of them ate it without any problem.
"Uh, do Elves not avoid meat?"
Ronan held his knife and fork, looking confused.
Jeanne, who had just made herself a sandwich, also looked over with curiosity.
"In stories, Elves are close to nature..."
Aura glanced at him and said nothing. She kept eating calmly in small bites.
Lorie pouted.
"Those stories are fake. Bards just make things up, and then everyone believes them! We aren't that picky. We just prefer fruits and vegetables, but that doesn't mean we don't eat meat."
Ronan blinked. His friend Luvis, who was also an elf, suddenly came to mind. Luvis had recently reached Level 2 and was doing quite well. Then Ronan remembered something. Right. When he had gone to the tavern with him, Luvis had also eaten meat and drunk big mugs of beer. Ronan had completely forgotten about that.
After Lorie's explanation, Jeanne's view of Elves changed a little.
"I'm sorry. Legends about Elves are everywhere. Most people just believe them without thinking."
Ronan also reminded himself that in the future, he had to be careful not to judge things he did not understand based on old ideas.
Time passed quickly. After they finished eating, a light drizzle started falling outside.
The three of them sat near the window in the living room and studied quietly until it was time for afternoon training.
Opposite the two Elves, Jeanne looked down at her notes. They were training notes made specifically for Lorie and Aura.
The main idea was to train them based on their Magic and Skills.
Taking Lorie as an example:
Looking at her combination of Skills and Magic, her role was clearly that of a fast Magic Swordsman. She was suited to fight in the middle line or on the flanks. Her tactics should focus on dealing with enemies that slipped through the front line, supporting the vanguard, and protecting the rear.
As for Aura, she was a classic backline Mage. She could support the team with Magic, strengthen her allies, and strike hard at important moments. That was the role she was best suited for.
Based on Lorie and Aura's strengths, Jeanne and Ronan had made a detailed training plan. It covered stamina, combat techniques, battle sense, and awareness of the whole battlefield, all to improve their ability to fight.
Of course, anything that required real skill had to be left to someone who knew what they were doing.
Ronan knew he was still an amateur, so the job of teaching them naturally fell to Jeanne. He put on his equipment and headed straight for the Dungeon.
The purpose of this trip was simple. First, he wanted to practice his new Magic in real combat and gain experience. Second, he needed to raise his Status faster. Jeanne's strength was rising quickly, and that put pressure on him.
If he truly had no way to keep improving, he might have relaxed long ago since Jeanne could support him.
But the reality was that he had the ability to keep up with Jeanne.
To Ronan, since he had been given this chance, not working hard would be wasting it.
"I'm leaving. Don't be lazy, especially you, Lorie!"
"Hmph!"
Dungeon, Upper Floors, 5th Floor.
Fully armed, wearing a hooded cloak and a long robe, with a mask covering everything but his eyes, Ronan leaned on his staff and entered a small room along an irregular route he knew well.
This had been his favorite place to train. Monsters appeared here at a steady but manageable pace, with at most two appearing at a time, and sometimes three. It perfectly fit his need for safety and steady progress.
This time, he stopped on the 5th Floor to test Fireball's damage against monsters and see how useful it was in real combat. He immediately thought of this old place.
"Wagagagagaga!"
As soon as he arrived, his familiar old opponents gave him a welcome.
"Goblins again. Same old opponents."
Ronan looked up slightly. His eyes were calm under the shadow of his hood, and he smiled faintly behind his mask.
He moved at once.
He lowered his body into a lunge, turned, raised his arm, and pointed his staff forward. Mind flowed out of him and gathered into magic. His eyes and the magic crystal on the staff lit up with blue light.
A flame appeared at the tip of the staff, expanded, and began to spin while compressing. In an instant, a large fireball formed at the head of the staff.
"Fireball!"
Ronan shouted the Magic name in a low voice. In the next second, his body jolted.
Whoosh. Boom!
The orange fireball shot forward, heating the air along its path. In an instant, it exploded between the two Goblins.
"Holy...!"
A loud blast echoed through the room. Flames burst out, and the ground shook slightly.
The shockwave brushed past his face. Ronan raised his arm to protect his face and squinted, staring at the center of the explosion.
A few seconds later, the dust cleared. The result of the fireball appeared before him.
The two Goblins were dead. Their charred remains were scattered across the floor, and neither of them was intact.
The floor that had been hit by the fireball had a small crater. It was slowly repairing itself at a visible speed.
"This power..."
Ronan took a sharp breath.
That was pure force.
"Damn! This is on a completely different level from Cinder! I didn't even hit them directly, and just the shockwave and heat killed them instantly?"
"Tsk... the damage is too high. No... it's way too much!"
The result of the first real combat test was far above Ronan's expectations.
He looked at the staff in his hand and realized something.
"The staff's boost is strong, but that's not the only reason. The most important reason is that the staff strengthened the power of my casting."
"Since my Status increased, my Mind is nothing like before. Add Demon King Emblem and Sharp Mind on top of that, then combine it with Fireball itself... Of course it exploded like this."
Cinder was far weaker than most instant Magic, but Fireball was already close to short-chant Magic.
Furthermore, he had just used an instant-casting technique, which weakened its final power. Even so, getting this much power was excellent.
Not to mention, he could stop using instant casting and take more time to charge it, increasing the damage even further.
After all, the Grimoire had a chant for Fireball.
After understanding the reason, Ronan's grin grew wider.
"I wonder what would happen if someone took this fireball directly. With this kind of power... even an adventurer focused on defense would probably be badly hurt, right?"
Now that he had his answer, Ronan no longer hesitated. He turned around and began heading toward the lower floors.
The 5th-floor monsters were no longer enough for him to test Fireball properly.
If he wanted to truly test the limit of Fireball, the only thing he could think of for now was the rare dragon species, the Infant Dragon, which appeared near the end of the Upper Floors.
But with his cautious style, he definitely would not go there alone.
There would be plenty of opportunities in the future. There was no rush.