"You're as boring as ever, Ikeros."
--------------------------
The whispers of two gods hidden in the darkness foretold that the forces lurking in the shadows of Orario were once again beginning to stir.
But with the fall of their sole financial backer, the Ishtar Familia, the phenomenon was once again neutralized.
Without the support of vast funds, the progress of constructing the man-made dungeon Knossos would be delayed again and again.
Even just the supply of rare materials such as Magic Stones, Orichalcum, and Adamantite had already become a troubling issue.
Not to mention that the external trade channels had always been controlled by the Ishtar Familia.
The entire Evilus now resembled a bull trapped in a swamp, possessing plenty of strength and countless schemes, yet ironically its throat was unexpectedly seized by the factions on the surface.
"Accident? Besides the Goddess of Fate, who else dares to toy with destiny? What mortals of the lower world see as coincidences are nothing more than arrangements made by hidden hands behind the scenes."
In Orario's Fifth District, inside the tavern "Blazing Bee Pavilion" located in a deep alley of the bustling streets, Fron downed mouthful after mouthful of the spicy yet fragrant blood-red mead, greedily finishing an entire large cup before slamming it onto the bar counter with a "bang," laughing with drunken delight.
"The Goddess of Fate? Tch… boring."
Sitting beside Fron on a high stool at the bar was a Werewolf, Bete, a fellow executive of the Loki Familia.
It wasn't that he didn't want to invite the others of the Familia out drinking, but compared to drinking, the Renard Haruhime, whom Fron had brought back the night before, was far more attractive to them.
A magic without side effects that can raise the recipient's level by one whole rank, Uchide no Kozuchi, isn't that terrifying no matter how you look at it?
In just a single day, even the normally airheaded Sword Princess Ais, who was only ever interested in Fron and training, along with other high-ranked adventurers of the Familia, had gained firsthand experience of that terrifying growth.
For adventurers at level 6 like Ais, being able to experience level 7 power ahead of time had given them precious insights regarding the strength.
Because of this, Bete and Fron were now out drinking together, celebrating as brothers-in-arms.
"Those bastards, always hiding in the sewers playing hide-and-seek, sewer rats are livelier than them."
Speaking of the Evilus, who were already enemies of the Loki Familia, and remembering the hatred between them, Bete downed his mead and cursed out loud.
Hearing the werewolf's complaints, Fron only smiled faintly.
If before reaching level 6 he still felt urgency, pressure, and fear of the unknown, Now, with his current strength, he no longer needed to pay attention to their petty tricks.
...
Name: Fron Algorn
Title: Weaver of Night
Level: Lv.6
Stats: Strength: I0 → A834 | Endurance: I0 → A834 | Dexterity: I0 → A834 | Agility: I0 → A834 | Magic: I0 → A834
Development Abilities: "Mystery F" "Blacksmith E" "Mage D" "Healer D" "Escape E" "Abnormal Resistance D" "Spearman F" "Shatter F" "Recovery H" "Harmony I"
Magic:
「Surtr」
· Enchantment Magic
Skills:
「Reader」
· Super-domain mental strength enhancement
· Effects doubled at night
· Immunity to mental pollution
「Scholar」
· May choose two development abilities each time
· Can learn magic without slot limitations
· Power greatly increased when using magic swords or magic tools
· Doubles magic's power, range, and scope
「Infinite Super magic」
· Knowledge accumulation strengthens spirit
· Knowledge accumulation strengthens magic
· Magic power synchronously amplifies all attributes
(Current accumulation: 44.1%)
「Magic Dominator」
· Instant casting
· Super-domain attribute enhancement
· Super-domain magic enhancement
· Consumes large amounts of spirit, mana, and stamina when activated
「Thinker」
· Enters full concentration in adversity
· Automatically exits concentration after adversity ends
Special Moves:
· Surtr's Flame (Surtalogi)
· Surtr's Blaze (Surtalogi)
· Surtr's Inferno (Surtalogi)
...
Holding a glass full of chilled wine, Fron recalled the updated status sheet he had received from Loki this morning, and his mood was superb.
After the wars in the "Great Tree Sea" and the "Man-Made Dungeon Knossos," his stats had begun to grow again after reaching Lv.6, and after adapting to his new strength, his growth had once more entered a rapid phase.
From rank I to rank A, a leap that was unimaginable under normal circumstances.
Meanwhile, his development abilities such as Healing, Escape, Abnormal Resistance, Spearman, Shatter, and Recovery had all leveled up as expected, some by one rank, some by two.
Beyond stats and abilities, his overall foundation was also filling out.
In addition to the changes on his status sheet, the new skill Thinker along with its bug-like Focus had already been tested in real combat, and after integrating it into his fighting style, Fron's peak combat power had seen significant improvement.
The final surprise was when he slew the Heavenly Bull in an instant, his magic Surtr underwent a deeper awakening, excavating its true essence, and as a result, his ultimate moves evolved with a new form.
The third form: Inferno. The "Fire" form, the "Blaze" form, and the "Inferno" form, the three forms of all his ultimate moves.
In terms of power, naturally, they were worlds apart.
With Surtr's destructive amplification and essence of opposition fully unleashed, the third form's ultimate move could instantly drain all his mana for a single strike, the terrifying destructive and penetrative power was enough to guarantee death for even Lv.7 adventurers.
Even Ottar, the "King" whose defensive techniques were honed to perfection, would not be an exception.
With such a trump card in hand, Fron's heart was full of confidence.
The schemes and plots of the Evilus and Enyo now appeared to him as nothing more than clownish antics.
Sometimes he even wondered, perhaps this was exactly the mindset of those bored gods?
"Hey, when are we going to take on that mission?" Bete ordered another drink, his face full of annoyance when he brought up the task weighing on them.
"Looking for clues about those rats? The day after tomorrow, maybe. Anyway, since the search is within the city, as long as we keep control of Daedalus Street and the entrances to the man-made dungeon in the sewers, sooner or later those bastards will crawl out."
Though he said so casually, Fron was secretly considering the situation: since the enemy already knew they held one of the Keys, they would surely not act rashly.
Most likely they would throw out bait or create a disturbance somewhere in the city, and then… take the chance to retrieve the key once held by Goddess Ishtar.