The inn room was quiet, save for the scratching of a quill. Aiden was sitting at the small desk, copying the numbers from his back—which he viewed using a hand mirror—onto a piece of parchment.
He stopped writing and stared at the paper.
"This is wrong," Aiden muttered.
Lyra, who was polishing her red dagger on the bed, looked up. "Wrong how? Did Zanis mess with the Falna update?"
"No," Aiden turned the parchment around. "Look at the jump."
[Previous Status (Morning Day 22): Strength H-130]
[Current Status (Morning Day 23): Strength G-215]
Lyra blinked, putting the dagger down. "You went up 85 points? In one day?"
"A Minotaur kill is a huge feat for a Level 1," Aiden reasoned, pacing the small room. "But 85 points? Standard growth for a rookie after a heavy boss fight is maybe 10 or 15 points. Bell Cranel gained fast because of Liaris Freese, but we don't have a growth skill."
"Or do we?" Lyra tapped her temple. "Check the System."
Aiden sat down and closed his eyes, diving into the Omnifract Interface.
He navigated to the [Growth Tree] tab, which had been grayed out until now. It was pulsing with a dark, rhythmic light.
[System Notification: Compatibility Synchronization at 15%]
[Feature Unlocked: Conceptual Resonance Growth.]
Aiden read the description that unfurled in his mind.
[Conceptual Resonance] The Falna system imposes a "soft cap" on growth based on the soul's perceived limits. However, your souls are contracted to Conceptual Devils.
The Severance Devil embodies the destruction of barriers.
Effect: Strength and Endurance gains are calculated with a 2.5x Multiplier. The concept "severs" the diminishing returns of physical training.
The Reverie Devil embodies the rewriting of reality.
Effect: Magic and Agility gains are calculated with a 2.5x Multiplier. The concept "dreams" of a faster, more potent vessel, and the body obeys.
[Limit Break Protocol Active]
Affinity Stats (Str/End for MC, Mag/Agi for FL) are no longer bound by the standard S-999 cap.
Potential Rank: SS and SSS unlocked.
Aiden opened his eyes, a cold sweat on his neck.
"It's the Devils," Aiden whispered. "They're eating the rules. We have a multiplier. Not as strong as Bell's, but... specific. My Strength and Endurance are skyrocketing because the Devil needs a body that can break things."
"And my Magic?" Lyra asked.
"Same. 2.5x multiplier." Aiden clenched his fist. The I-24 strength he had a week ago felt like a distant memory. At G-215, he was already approaching the mid-tier of Level 1. If this kept up, they wouldn't need months to reach Level 2. They would need weeks.
"We have to hide this," Lyra said instantly. "If the Guild sees us hit S-rank stats in a month, they'll dissect us. Or Freya will come knocking."
"We hide it," Aiden agreed. "We tell Zanis we're growing, but we fake the numbers on the sheets we give him. We buy a Lock Status item if we can find one."
He stood up. "But first, we spend this money. Strength G-215 means I can wear heavier armor without slowing down."
They met Lili at 06:00 hours near the Babel entrance. The Prum was there early, meticulously organizing her massive backpack. When she saw them, her eyes darted to their waists—checking for new gear.
"You didn't spend the money yet?" Lili asked, sounding disappointed.
"We're going now," Aiden said. "You're coming with us. You know the prices better than we do."
Lili perked up. "Shopping? Oh, Lili knows the best spots! Don't go to Hephaestus; they overcharge for the brand name. Go to the Goibniu affiliates or the independent dwarves in the West District."
They spent two hours and 18,000 Valis.
The transformation was significant.
Aiden replaced his patched leather with a Composite Breastplate—hardened steel plates riveted onto a monster-leather backing. It covered his chest, shoulders, and vital organs. He added Steel Greaves and Gauntlets.
Total Weight: 25kg.
Aiden's Perception: Light as a feather. With Strength G-215, the armor felt like a second skin.
Lyra upgraded to a Salamander Wool Tunic (Light, fire/acid resistant) reinforced with a Silver Breastplate. It was sleek, allowing her maximum mobility for her Agility build. She also bought a Focus Ring—a small silver band that improved mana channeling efficiency by 5%.
Lili watched them equip the gear. "You look like a proper vanguard and rear guard now," she critiqued. "But that hammer... it's still just a hammer."
"It works," Aiden patted the iron-banded head. "Let's go. Floor 7."
Floor 7 was the domain of the Killer Ants.
These weren't the stray anomalies they had fought on Floor 2. These were the swarm. The walls of the dungeon here were perforated with holes, and the clicking sound of mandibles was constant.
"Formation," Aiden ordered. "Lili, center. Lyra, back. I take point."
A red blur shot out of a tunnel. A Killer Ant.
[Threat: Killer Ant (Level 1 - High Defense)]
Aiden stepped forward. Two days ago, he needed [Render] or [Limit Break] to shatter their carapace efficiently.
Now?
He planted his steel-booted foot and swung the hammer. No skills. No Devil activation. Just raw G-215 Strength.
CRACK.
The hammer impacted the Ant's head. The chitin buckled. The kinetic energy transferred through the armor, liquefying the brain matter inside.
The Ant collapsed. One hit.
"Clean," Aiden noted. "No recoil damage."
"More coming!" Lyra called out.
Three more Ants emerged from the ceiling.
Lyra raised her wand. Her stats had jumped too. Magic G-205.
"Heavy sleep."
[Magic: Gossamer - Mass Slumber]
The violet wave that erupted from her wand was denser, faster. It hit the three Ants mid-air. They didn't just stumble; they went comatose instantly, crashing to the ground like stones.
Aiden stepped in. Smash. Smash. Smash.
Three piles of ash in three seconds.
Lili scrambled to loot the stones. "So fast..." she muttered, shoving the fist-sized stones into her bag. "You're clearing faster than a 5-man party."
"We need volume," Aiden said, his eyes scanning the dark tunnels. "Lili, how many can you carry?"
"With this bag? Maybe fifty stones before I slow down."
"Then we get fifty," Aiden said.
They moved like a grinder through the floor. The "Devil Factor" in their stats was evident. Aiden's endurance (H-138) meant he didn't tire. He swung the heavy hammer for an hour straight without breaking a sweat. Lyra's agility (H-105) allowed her to weave between Aiden's swings, delivering precise dagger thrusts to any stragglers.
But the Dungeon, sensing the resonance of their souls, pushed back.
They reached a large chamber known as the "Ant Hill."
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK.
The sound was deafening.
"Swarm," Lili hissed, backing up. "Twenty... no, thirty signatures!"
A massive wave of red chitin poured out of the tunnel ahead. Thirty Killer Ants. A death sentence for a normal Level 1 party.
"Retreat?" Lili asked, her hand gripping the strap of her bag.
"No," Aiden stepped forward, the steel of his new armor clanking. The Severance Devil within him woke up, sensing the density of the targets.
"Lyra, crowd control. Keep them off Lili."
"And you?"
"I'm going to break the line."
Aiden gripped the hammer with both hands. He triggered the skill he had discovered on Floor 6, but this time, he fed it into the new stat baseline.
[Skill: LIMIT BREAK] [Target: Strength G-215 -> Strength E-400 (Burst)]
The veins in Aiden's arms bulged, glowing with a faint, jagged red light. The air around him distorted. For a fleeting second, his strength spiked into the mid-Level 2 range.
He didn't swing at an ant. He swung at the ground in front of the swarm.
[EARTH SEVERANCE]
BOOM.
The impact was catastrophic. The stone floor of the dungeon shattered, sending a shockwave of debris and kinetic force forward in a cone. The front line of ten Ants was blown backward, their carapaces cracked by the flying stone shrapnel.
The formation broke.
"Attack!" Aiden roared, charging into the chaos.
He was a whirlwind of iron. Every swing was a kill. The limit-broken strength allowed him to cleave through multiple ants with a single horizontal sweep.
Lyra was behind him, a dancer of violet light. Every time an Ant tried to flank Aiden, she hit it with a Reverie spike, freezing it in a nightmare long enough for Aiden to crush it.
Lili stood in the back, paralyzed by the violence. She had seen adventurers fight. She had never seen adventurers dominate a swarm like this.
They aren't just strong, Lili realized, watching Aiden ignore a bite to his steel greaves and crush the biter's head. They are accelerating. Yesterday they were struggling with a Minotaur. Today they are treating Floor 7 like a playground.
In five minutes, it was over.
Thirty piles of ash.
Aiden stood in the center, steam rising from his armor. He deactivated [Limit Break]. The backlash hit him—a sharp cramp in his back—but his Endurance absorbed it.
[Combat End] [Resonance Growth Triggered]
[Strength: G-215 -> G-228] [Endurance: H-138 -> H-150]
"Thirteen points," Aiden whispered, checking the log. "In one fight."
He turned to Lili.
"Fill the bag," he ordered.
Lili rushed forward, her small hands flying as she grabbed the loot. "Yes! Yes! We're going to be rich!"
"Rich is a side effect," Aiden wiped ant blood from his visor. "We're just getting started."