The skill Scholar doubled the power, range, and casting distance of his magic. That's why Fron's output was so overwhelming.
On top of that — Reader gave him hyper-level spirit power reinforcement, allowing him to indefinitely sustain combat without exhausting his mental energy.
In summary, once Fron activated his magic, he was basically a mobile artillery.
However — to him, Fireburst was merely his normal attack.
What he truly longed for was a wide-area annihilation magic with an ultra-long chant.
When that one fired, it would surely be exhilarating and refreshing beyond words.
------------------------------------------
With Fron's firepower as a mobile turret in the rear, Welf felt much more at ease.
Whenever the number of monsters exceeded expectations or broke through their defensive range during the advance, he would unhesitatingly transform into a Flame Demon and burn everything to ashes.
However — regrettably, while the efficiency of farming monsters increased, the number of magic stones did not.
"Damn it, my magic stones—"
Welf twitched the corner of his mouth and complained:
"Hey you, why are you so stingy — that's just a few magic stones!"
With the savings accumulated from forging magic swords, he had never experienced the harshness of being strapped for cash, and yet he dared to make snide remarks?
"Have you ever experienced having only 30 Valis on you? Look at my gear: the 'recovery potions' are sponsored by my Familia members, the staff is a gift from Riveria, the backpack is borrowed from Raul, and even the clothes belong to Raul! The only things that are mine are my shoes and underwear!"
"Money can be repaid, but favors are hard to return, don't you understand?"
"..."
Welf was dumbfounded. Watching the handsome blond youth crying bitterly, he didn't know how to comfort him.
"Uh, you wanted to learn smithing for money???"
"Why else? You should know how expensive a mage's equipment, items, and consumables are, right?"
"..."
Fron didn't mention that even with cheat-like power growth, he still had to burn money.
Money, money, money — how could outsiders understand this kind of pressure—
"Well, you're kind of pitiful too. But with your strength, if you diligently explore the dungeon, you'll soon get rich!"
As he spoke, he patted Fron's shoulder with a gratified expression.
"Alright, break time's about over."
"Ah, up ahead is—"
"The passage to the twelfth floor."
The two exchanged a glance and smiled.
"Let's go!"
The twelfth floor is the final floor of the "Upper Floors."
Beyond that is the thirteenth floor, which is part of the "Middle Floors."
Unlike the other Upper Floors, crossing this threshold meant a steep increase in monster strength and spawn rate.
According to Guild data, the potential ability of Upper Floor monsters is judged to be Lv. 1, increasing in strength from the first to the twelfth floor, with twelfth-floor monsters having upper Lv. 1 combat power.
In contrast, monsters on the thirteenth floor of the Middle Floors jump directly to Lv. 2. Adventurers without Lv. upgrades would face a massacre if they ventured recklessly.
Add in the overwhelming spawn rates, monsters with ranged and abnormal attacks, and even a small mistake could spiral into an uncontrollable situation where monsters accumulate faster than they can be handled.
When an adventurer's stamina and energy approach their limits and they start getting injured, recovery becomes impossible. That's when the dungeon delivers the killing blow.
Once the timing is right — that's how it judges.
The accumulated fatigue and small mistakes gradually pile up into despair — that is the dungeon.
"Crunch crunch—"
Welf stopped and looked down at something — a broken branch.
"So this is the dungeon's — 'natural armory.'"
Following behind the blacksmith with a huge backpack while staying alert, Fron responded with an "ah."
"Weapons made from branches and tree trunks, combined with the monsters' natural strength — one hit is basically fatal."
"tsk, the fog's so thick, visibility is limited."
"Be careful. Large-type monsters start appearing here; it's dangerous."
"Don't worry, with this sword—"
"Careful, they're coming — five, no, six — seven of them."
Through the dense fog, dark silhouettes surrounded them from all sides — even Fron hadn't noticed—
"Did the fog affect my perception? Damn—"
"Ah, I'm not a professional scout; I don't have any detection skills."
"Forget it, let's use magic—"
"Ah, no choice—"
All the way here, magic had been used frequently, and with "Flame Burst" consuming excessive mental power, even with skill enhancements, more than a third had already been depleted.
To maintain combat strength, Fron had been using "Mental Recovery Potions" to stay at over 80% capacity since the tenth floor.
Now that they had reached their destination, there was no need to hold back.
As long as enough power was reserved for the return trip, the rest could be freely expended.
"[Meet your end! (Ragnarok)]"
"'Flame Burst'——"
The staff pointed forward — continuous explosions filled the twelfth floor.
"Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom——"
...
『Twilight Manor』
In the courtyard, Ais sat on a bench, blankly basking in the sun.
Subtle emotions flickered deep within her golden eyes, and Fron's image surfaced in her mind.
"Same hair and eye color as me——"
"A strange person, with strange skills——"
"How can I become stronger like him so quickly?"
The doll-like girl was troubled.
"Ais~~~~~~~~~~~~~"
Along with the voice came soft arms and smooth cheeks.
"Hehe, what are you spacing out here for? Let's go shopping together!"
"..."
"Ais——?"
Tiona rubbed her cheek against Ais's pretty face, but seeing no reaction, she blinked in confusion.
"What are you thinking about? Ah— could it be Fron!?"
Then, unexpectedly — the princess actually nodded!
"Mm——"
"It really is! Actually, I'm curious too. That guy's a little weird — hmm — hard to describe, really."
"?"
Ais tilted her head, as if asking: why.
"It's his behavior and mannerisms, like he knows a lot, sort of like Riveria."
"Anyway — he's amazing."
"Bah, weird or not. He's still got a long way to catch up to us!"
A male voice suddenly came from the tree above, making Tiona and Ais look up.
There was Bete, leaning against the trunk with his eyes closed, though his tone sounded quite concerned.
"Yo, Bete. You've been missing lately — I heard you've been dragging Gareth to the warehouse for sparring sessions nonstop. Got provoked, didn't you!"
"Shut up, damn Amazon. You've got some nerve saying that; you're always bruised and battered too!"
"Yay yay — being tsundere again!"
"Damn Amazon, you looking for a fight!!!! If you want trouble, just say so — I'll take you on any time!"
"Heh, who's afraid of who, dumb wolf — watch your feet!"
"Boom——"
"——?"
Ais opened her mouth, not knowing what to do.
Outside the window, amidst the commotion, Finn held his forehead in pain.
"This is the how many-th incident already! This is really——"
"The kids being energetic is a good thing, Finn."
"But this — it's a bit too energetic, Loki."
Holding documents, Riveria placed them on the desk and walked to the window, back facing them:
"Isn't it fine? The kids have grown. Lately, thanks to Fron joining, they've been provoked, right?"
"Ah, that ridiculous growth speed — it'd be strange if they weren't provoked. Hehehe——"
Loki took a sip of wine, smiled, and squinted.
Riveria complained a bit:
"You knew it would turn out like this, didn't you, Loki."
"Who knows, Mama-san!"
"Who are you calling Mama-san——"
"Hehehe, I heard you gave Fron a staff — overflowing with motherly love, Mama-san!"
"Shut up!"