During the subsequent journey of exploration, the girls went from constantly exclaiming in surprise to becoming accustomed to it.
After all, it was no longer surprising for Rhode to do something unexpected.
This idea was quickly solidifying into a fact.
On the eleventh floor, Rhode attached crimson flames to his black blade with his right hand, and conjured a blade of crimson flames with his left, experimentally using a two-sword style to wipe out a swarm of evil bats that caused considerable trouble for new adventurers.
On the twelfth floor, facing Hard-shelled Rats whose specialized defense far exceeded Lv1 stats and could curl up to almost completely defend against all physical attacks.
Rhode used Nize's Wind Claw magic, tearing them apart with fierce gales.
On the thirteenth floor, battling Silverback Apes with immense arm strength.
Rhode replicated the Dwarf Asta's ironclad defense to block their attacks, then used Selty's lightning magic to coldly shatter their throats.
On the fourteenth floor, Rhode chanted Ryu's magic, completely crushing the Dungeon Worm.
On the fifteenth floor, Rhode used the Amazon girl Iska's double punch, smashing the Crystal Cockroaches to pieces.
On the sixteenth floor, Rhode changed his combat method again, using Leyana's Demonic Flames combined with Noin's Acceleration magic, employing a kiting strategy to eliminate a pack of Hellhounds.
.....
Rhode utilized [Cunning Mouse's Wisdom] to quickly familiarize himself with the girls' techniques and magic in combat, and under the girls' guidance, he attempted to combine them through practical experience, clearing his way unhindered to the eighteenth floor.
"I originally expected to encounter the Dungeon King on the seventeenth floor, but Goliath seems to have been defeated before, and it will take at least seven days for him to respawn. What a pity."
The girls walked through the large forest in the eastern part of the 18th floor.
Alise, holding Rhode's hand, mysteriously said she wanted to take him to a good place to see, but she kept getting lost, and in the end, the reluctant Nize had to lead the way.
Iska regretted not encountering Goliath this time. Before setting out, everyone had secretly discussed using Goliath's drop item to forge a piece of armor for Rhode.
Lyra and the girls had once, to help Rhode identify his weaknesses, role-played as enemies to deduce how to counter Rhode's endless methods, and the conclusion was simple and crude.
—Overwhelming stats.
Hidden beneath Rhode's seemingly omnipotent attack methods was a huge hidden danger: the inability to improve his stats.
As long as this issue remained unresolved, Rhode's upper limit would be locked.
"Rhode, do you know what level you are roughly at now?"
Walking to Rhode's left was Noin, a sixteen-year-old girl with swaying dark brown short hair.
She was considered part of the middle group in the Familia, serving as a vanguard, wielding a handy one-handed sword and a small round shield.
Unlike Kaguya, who possessed top-tier close-quarters combat ability in the Familia, and Ryu, who excelled at parallel chanting, she had no special abilities.
While she undoubtedly possessed the highest level of skill among Lv3s, to put it nicely, she was dependable; to put it less nicely, she had no unique strengths.
She was the kind of girl who had no outstanding abilities whatsoever, everything was perfectly average, symbolizing the conventional traits of the human race.
But she was precisely the one who provided the most valuable advice during Rhode's process of integrating techniques!
As the vanguard's "third hand," she always stood guard behind Alise and the others, perfectly handling offense, defense, and target switching, acting as the team's lubricant.
Without her, the team's defensive line would collapse in an instant; this was no exaggeration.
Rhode, who had already removed Suzuka's blessing, gulped down a panacea, recovering his greatly depleted magic power, and gasped for breath.
"Don't keep me in suspense. Don't worry, feel free to give your sharp critique. I'll try not to get defensive."
"Haha, Rhode is really impatient."
Noin let out a cheerful, airy laugh.
"Assuming no other factors are considered, and from the perspective of fighting monsters, Rhode can be seen as Lv3 before his magic runs out. If it's an instantaneous maximum burst, he might even reach Lv4! This is already incredibly impressive!"
Of course, the latter was based on Rhode stacking all buffs in advance through chanting, and then releasing them all at once.
"But if your goal is to be an adventurer, then you are currently at most Lv2."
In short, he was Lv3 in PVE and Lv2 in PVP.
Noin looked seriously at the tired Rhode.
"Can you understand the difference?"
The panacea began to heal his subtly torn muscles. Rhode let out a long breath and, already mentally prepared, said,
"....Because of the difference in durability and various stats, my magic might not hit the opponent, and even if it does, it might not necessarily defeat a Lv3 existence in one blow."
"But a Lv3 attack, if it hits me, will either injure or cripple me."
In short, without considering divine power, Rhode was a glass cannon.
The majority of adventurers in Orario were only Lv1. Lv2 adventurers were already the mainstays of ordinary Familias, and those who leveled up to Lv3 were all strong individuals who had overcome difficult feats.
When facing such opponents, one must never underestimate their wisdom!
Rhode's mimicry and versatility looked impressive, but once they discovered Rhode's weakness, the situation would rapidly deteriorate.
This was what Noin wanted to warn him about.
"However, if this conversation of ours gets out, I don't know how many times people will stare us to death with envious eyes."
Noin's expression was subtle, and her gaze towards Rhode was like looking at a monster.
"After all, even the Doll of the Loki Familia hasn't progressed as exaggeratedly as Rhode. In just a few days, he has gained at least Lv2 combat power… it's simply outrageous among the outrageous."
As for the so-called growth limit, that's something only strong individuals have the luxury to worry about.
Ninety-nine percent of adventurers in Orario don't even reach Lv2 in their entire lives; Lv3 is already the peak they can usually reach.
He felt a slight squeeze on his right hand. Rhode turned to look, and Alise's cheerful, sunny eyes unusually showed a worried expression.
"Although I don't know why Rhode is working so hard, I also know that trying to persuade you to give up is impossible."
"But… you will have a way to solve the growth limit, right?"
Rhode thought of the newly activated Interdimensional Wish function of the system and the refreshed worlds, giving Alise a reassuring look.
"Don't worry, I already have an idea."
Alise's emerald-like eyes gazed at Rhode, and a relaxed smile bloomed on her face.
"Is that so…"
She puffed out her chest, showing a smug expression.
"I knew Rhode wasn't the kind of guy who would be limited by such a small thing! Humph humph humph!"
Leyana, the human mage walking behind, seamlessly took over the role of the tsukkomi (straight man) in Lyra's absence.
"I wonder who was the one who was so worried they were almost crying all the way here."
"Uh, it certainly wasn't the pure and beautiful me. Perhaps it was some immature, stubborn fairy!"
"Idiot Captain, don't seriously dump the blame on Ryu, who isn't here! If she, who admires you, found out, her filter would surely break!"