Akira, accompanied by his companions, walked alongside Ais and her comrades as they returned together to the base, their steps light yet steady.
"So Akira already made it to the middle floors on his own? That's truly impressive." Finn remarked, genuinely taken aback after learning Akira had come up from the deeper floors.
"Yeah, no kidding. At his age, I was still bumming around in the upper floors." Gareth let out a hearty laugh, stroking his beard.
At that moment, Alise wrapped her arms tightly around Akira from behind, rubbing her cheek against his and beaming with pride.
She happily said, "Hehe~ Akira's a prodigy I picked up in Orario! Under this captain's rigorous training, he's going to become our familia's ultimate trump card!"
As if carried away by her own enthusiasm, she began spinning in circles with Akira still in her arms, laughing brightly like a child showing off her prize.
When she finally came to a halt, dizzy but delighted, Akira calmly placed his hands on either side of Alise's flushed face and leaned in, the tips of their noses nearly touching.
He said, "Captain… could you please put me down?"
His gaze was steady, his breath brushing her cheek.
Alise froze, her eyes wide, then she quickly yelped, "S-Sorry, ahahaha!"
Then, she scurried forward to walk ahead of the group, her red ears poking out from beneath her hair.
Seeing this, Akira's lips curled into a quiet smile.
While Finn and the others remained focused on the journey, Kaguya and Lyra glanced at each other knowingly, having noticed Alise's unusual behavior.
Meanwhile, only Ryuu remained steadfast, silently inspecting Akira's body for any hidden injuries.
"Good grief! Hugging each other in public like that… have you no shame, you airheaded captain!?" Kaguya dramatically embraced Alise from behind, making sure everyone could hear.
Then, she whispered slyly into her ear, "You actually blushed."
Lyra joined in with a playful grin, nudging Alise in the ribs with her elbow. "Wow~ Usually you've got the skin of a rhino, but one look from Akira and you're pink as a peach. What gives?"
Alise faltered for a second, fidgeting with the hem of her clothes before finally mumbling, "W-Well… his face was so close… We almost kissed…"
As the girls in front whispered in flustered tones, the conversation in the rear shifted toward graver matters.
"Akira." Finn called out directly, his tone laced with curiosity.
"The divine-powered monster… you were the one who defeated it, weren't you?"
"Mm, yeah." Akira replied casually, his eyes still resting on the flustered trio ahead. "I did."
Finn blinked at his directnessand asked, "Then… did you meet a god in a black robe with purple hair? Did he say anything?"
Akira nodded and said, "He talked a lot of crap. But his goal was clear—he wanted me to join his familia. Said I had the potential to be a valuable piece in their twisted little game."
"So it's just like with Ais..." Riveria murmured, recalling the eerily similar encounter from before.
"But why?" Finn muttered, thoughtful.
"Why did he release his power now? Last time he did, the industrial district was hit at the same time…"
At those words, something clicked in Akira's mind.
He raised his hand and replied matter-of-factly, "Ah, that might be my fault. I was planning to weaken Evilus and maybe… send that god back to heaven permanently."
The entire group came to a dead stop. Even Alise and the girls up front stopped whispering and turned back to stare at Akira in disbelief.
Seeing everyone's expression, Akira simply shrugged and let out a breath. "Unfortunately, I failed."
Finn stared at him, his expression somewhere between admiration and bewilderment.
He said, "It's already astonishing that you even had that idea, let alone acted on it."
Before Akira could respond, Kaguya and Ryuu grabbed him by the head simultaneously, each examining him like inspecting a rare specimen.
"My head's fine, you know…" Akira sighed, utterly resigned.
Riveria stepped forward, arms crossed, her brows furrowed.
She asked, "Are you really one of us? I knew the people from my homeland were obsessed with learning, but even they wouldn't go this far."
Lyu stepped forward anxiously, her voice laced with concern. "Akira, that kind of ambition is dangerous."
Only two voices sounded out with unfiltered admiration.
"Akira, you're incredible." Ais said earnestly.
"Haha! If you're aiming that high, kid, you might just surpass us all someday!" Gareth added with a bellow of laughter.
Thwack!
Riveria smacked Ais on the head with a swift hand chop and said, "You are absolutely forbidden from adopting that kind of thinking! I can tolerate your disregard for Loki, but show some respect for the gods. That includes you too, Akira."
Finn finally stepped in to ease the tension. "Alright, alright. The important thing is that no one got hurt. Akira only acted with the intention of protecting peace."
"Hahaha, that's my member alright! You even dared to judge a god!" Alise announced proudly, puffing her chest out.
Lyra groaned. "Don't make this worse than it already is..."
— — —
Inside Astraea's private quarters, word had already spread among the familia that Akira had slain a divine-powered enhanced species. Everyone was eager to see how much his stats had improved.
As they gathered around, Astraea pricked her finger, allowing a single drop of divine blood to fall onto Akira's back. Sacred text glimmered into view.
Name: Akira
Level: 1
Strength: SS1064 → SSS1626
Endurance: SS1041 → SSS1627
Dexterity: SS1121 → SSS1638
Agility: SS1116 → SSS1639
Magic: SSS1384 → SSS1950
[Skill]
Dark Eyes
– Magical power that can change and develop at will, close to infinite.
Immortality
– Increases the ability to recover slowly. Upon death, the player will be resurrected immediately and enter an accelerated recovery state. If the player dies again during the recovery state, he or she will not be able to be resurrected again. The limit is once per day.
Awakening
– Clear the path, awaken yourself, and accelerate growth
Astraea gazed at his back in silence, thoughts swirling in her mind.
She asked, "Akira, before slaying that black wyvern… did you by chance descend to the 17th floor to challenge Goliath?"
That question made Akira freeze. He blinked, wide-eyed.
"Wait—how did you know?! I haven't even told anyone yet!"
Sighing, Akira scratched his head and said, "Well… yeah. I fell to the 17th floor during a collapse. I thought about heading to the 18th floor for a breather, but well—Goliath happened to respawn right then."
He puffed out his cheeks, aggrieved. "So I had to take care of it first..."
Alise and the others watching him speak couldn't help but wince in sympathy. Even Astraea sighed, exasperated.
With your speed, escaping Goliath should've been easy...
Still, after she finished transcribing the stats onto a parchment, the parchment was passed around silently.
One by one, shocked expressions overtook the faces of the familia members, followed by loud exclamations from the hallway. The sheer jump in stats was enough to shake the foundation of their understanding.
Astraea then spoke again, her expression bright, "Akira, your feats today were great. Your abilities have evolved, your achievements legendary. So, tell me—are you ready to rank up?"
Akira's eyes gleamed. "Yes. I am."
[T/N: Why didn't he go to SSS 1999 OR 2999 OR EX 9999 or whatever? The same reason Bell didn't.]
Astraea smiled gently and said, "Then let's begin."
As Akira lied down, Astraea's hand moved gracefully, divine blood tracing the falna with glowing radiance. The touch tickled slightly, but he welcomed the sensation.
''From today onward, I am a Level 2 adventurer. In the battles to come… my power to protect others will grow stronger than ever.'
"Akira." Astraea whispered, her voice bringing him back to the moment.
"The level up is complete. You can now choose a development ability. Choose wisely."