Lunoire screamed in terror.
However, Ryuu moved too quickly; before Lunoire's voice could even be heard, she had already activated the magic [Gokou].
This was a slashing magic possessed by Gojouno Kaguya, also a technique passed down through generations of the [Gojou] family—the Iaido Great Sword.
This technique has three stages: the drawing technique [Flash], the continuous attack technique [Double Leaves], and the [Gokou], which combines the technique with the magic of the same name.
If only the magic [Gokou] were used, it would only produce a single sword light. However, when used in conjunction with the drawing technique of the same name, it generates five divine-speed magical slashes from different positions, unleashing an ultimate attack magic akin to a heavenly net.
[Gokou] is a secret technique that the Gojou family has been perfecting for a thousand years since its founding. Due to the Gojou family's unique method of bloodline inheritance, many members of the family possess this magic.
Kaguya taught Ryuu the Iaido Great Sword technique during her lifetime, and Ryuu, living up to her reputation as a combat genius, had already trained this technique to the level of [Gokou].
Five slashes hit Lunoire from different directions. Despite the restrained power, they still left bruises on the body of the robust Lv.4 second-tier adventurer. Lunoire fell, losing her ability to fight.
Before there was even a moment to mourn for Lunoire, the one who rushed to the battlefield was—[Black Cat] Chloe Rollo.
"I surrender, nya, I won't fight anymore, nya!"
Chloe decisively threw down her dagger and hastily abandoned the fight.
Anya, covered in dust, got up, "Ryuu, you idiot, you have no idea how to hold back, nya~"
"That's right, Ryuu is now Lv.5, nya, how could we possibly be your match, nya!"
Chloe also meowed in dissatisfaction.
Lunoire: "I need healing..."
Gulp!
"Sorry..."
Ryuu, no longer in a combat state, immediately realized she had provoked everyone's anger and quickly used healing magic on Anya and the others.
Magic [End Windemere]. A recovery magic inherited from her fellow Familia member Maryuu.
A group recovery magic that takes effect quickly.
The damage Anya and the others suffered was rapidly recovering. However, seeing Ryuu use [Astrea Record] again, the girls' eyes grew even more annoyed.
Lunoire: "I should have said this more than once, but I still want to say, isn't Ryuu's new magic way too cheaty."
Anya: "Yeah, nya, it's just as cheaty as Shirou's projection, nya, so good, I want such magic too, nya~"
Chloe: "Ah, seeing Ryuu level up like this makes me want to go train in the dungeon..."
Originally, everyone was Lv.4, but now Ryuu suddenly leveled up to Lv.5, immediately becoming the target of everyone's envy.
"Stupid elf, don't show such a smug face, nya!"
"I'm not smug, and I'm not a stupid elf!", Ryuu retorted.
"Syr, who holds the record for breaking the most plates in a day at the tavern?", Lunoire looked at the girl beside her, who was watching their fight.
Syr smiled: "It's Ryuu."
"What about the second and third records?"
Syr: "Also Ryuu."
Ryuu was instantly sunk by Syr's words, squatting on the ground, "Gulp!"
Even after leveling up to Lv.5, Ryuu still couldn't shake off the title of "useless elf," and due to her body's lack of adaptation and coordination, she caused even more trouble.
It had been too long since Ryuu's last status update, and the leap in her abilities was too large. Coupled with the direct level-up, Ryuu found it much harder to adapt to her new abilities than usual.
Moreover, she had acquired a very complex magic like [Astrea Record].
[Astrea Record] allows Ryuu to use the magic of her past companions, but she also needs to familiarize herself with those magics to use them properly.
Otherwise, not being able to unleash their full power would be one thing, but using Alise's additional magic [Red Flower Knotweed], Ryuu could easily hurt herself now.
In short, Ryuu still can't fully utilize her strength, and for this reason, she is undergoing special training through combat.
Anya and the others were sparring partners Ryuu had found. The three girls are among the best of the Lv.4 second-tier adventurers. Normally, their combined strength could rival a newly leveled-up Lv.5 first-tier adventurer.
However, Ryuu is not a normal adventurer. She was the strongest among the tavern waitresses at Lv.4, and before leveling up to Lv.5, she had accumulated an exaggerated potential ability, plus her array of magics and skills, making her combat power far exceed what Anya and the others could handle.
Ryuu muttered to herself: "In the end, it didn't serve as training or adjustment at all."
Lunoire: "Useless elf, you know what, your words are really annoying now, if I weren't no match for you, I would definitely..."
Stimulated by Ryuu, Lunoire began to consider leveling up. Her basic abilities were fully sufficient, with her highest strength reaching B780, not far from A level.
For Lunoire to level up, the main difficulty lies in obtaining [Achievements].
"Ryuu, if you want to adapt to your new abilities by fighting strong opponents, there's a good option right now," Syr suddenly spoke.
Ryuu immediately asked: "What?"
"Tomorrow night, the Loki Familia is hosting a banquet at [Hostess of Fertility] to celebrate [Pristine Garden] Alicia's level up to Lv.5," Syr said, "You can try challenging the strong members of the Loki Familia."
Ryuu's eyes lit up: "Alicia..."
'Now that I'm also Lv.5, it's time to settle past scores with you!'
———
Today's [Hostess of Fertility] was more lively than usual, with the rarely opened second-floor banquet hall also put to use.
"What's going on, are there usually this many people?", An adventurer in the tavern's first-floor hall asked in confusion.
"You don't know? Upstairs, the Loki Familia is hosting a banquet to celebrate [Pristine Garden]'s level up," Another adventurer pointed at the ceiling.
"Oh, I see, the Loki Familia has gained another first-tier adventurer, as expected of them..."
"Feels like if they keep this momentum, it's only a matter of time before the Loki Familia surpasses the Freya Familia."
"Shh, such words should be spoken cautiously..."
The red-haired goddess descended from the second floor, standing in the middle of the staircase, one foot on the railing.
"Today's honey wine is on me, everyone celebrate to your heart's content," Goddess Loki shouted, and the adventurers on the first floor immediately got excited.
"Woooooh!!! Long live the Loki Familia!!!"
The banquet's atmosphere spread throughout the entire tavern, with adventurers ordering more food and drinks, contributing more to [Hostess of Fertility]'s sales, making even the boss Mia grin from ear to ear.
"Ais, why are you wearing a mask?", Riveria walked up to the girl and asked in confusion.
"N-no reason, I just think this mask looks cool...", Ais adjusted the fox mask on her head, her voice betraying her guilt.
Little Ais was actually worried about being recognized by Emiya, which would reveal her false identity in front of Riveria, and then she'd be in big trouble.
However, little Ais didn't know that, as the only person wearing a mask in the entire venue, she was even more noticeable, and her hiding was completely meaningless. If Emiya were present, he would only spot her faster.
Fortunately, Emiya wasn't here at all.
"I'm sorry, Lady Riveria, Shirou had an urgent matter and couldn't attend the banquet. I apologize on his behalf," Ryuu bowed respectfully to the elven princess, "As a token of his sincere wishes, Shirou made these pastries for you."
However, the serious-faced Ryuu couldn't help but complain in her heart, 'Shirou's 'urgent matter' is actually going to the pleasure district to take care of a fox girl...'
These past few days, Emiya had been very busy, forging in the Hephaestus Familia's workshop during the day and spending the night in the pleasure district, making it rare for Ryuu to see him.
For this, Ryuu was quite dissatisfied, but remembering it was part of Goddess Astrea's plan, she could only choose to endure and forgive.
"It's alright, compared to a banquet, of course, important matters come first," Riveria said understandingly, picking up a honey fruit cake and elegantly placing it in her mouth, "Mmm, very delicious."
Riveria said: "It's specially made to suit our elven tribe's taste."
"Lefiya, go share these with everyone."
"Yes, yes, Lady Riveria."
Ryuu watched as the cute elven girl somewhat clumsily responded, took the plate from her hands, and ran towards the direction of [Sword Princess].
'Only in the Loki Familia can you see so many of our own kind,' Ryuu couldn't help but think.
"Shirou-kun... is not here?", The protagonist of today's banquet, Miss Alicia, seemed a bit downcast, "It's been many days since I last saw Shirou..."
"Unfortunately, Shirou cannot attend the banquet today," Ryuu spoke, her lips slightly curving, though the angle was so small, it still appeared as if she had no expression.
At least, she could see Shirou every day, and only a few people, including herself, knew about Haruhime's situation. There was no way Alicia could know about it.
Thinking of these, Ryuu's mood improved quite a bit.
"By the way, Ryuu—", Alicia looked at the elf girl, lowering her voice, "Have you, leveled up?"
Whether the level has increased cannot be told from the appearance, Alicia sensed the overflowing magic power from Ryuu's body.
This indicated that Ryuu's recent level ascension was not just a minor improvement, but so significant that she was temporarily unable to adapt to her body's enhanced capacity.
Originally, after Alicia leveled up, relying on the level difference between Lv.5 and Lv.4, her magic power intensity surpassed Ryuu's. But now, Alicia could feel that she was completely surpassed by Ryuu, even to say the gap was not small.
"Yes," Ryuu nodded, "For now, please keep it a secret for me."
"...Although I don't know what you're planning," Alicia said, "Sure, I'll keep it a secret for you."
Besides Alicia, Riveria, who possesses the [Fairy King's Seal], should also be able to sense the change in Ryuu's magic power and deduce that Ryuu has leveled up. However, Riveria wouldn't proactively ask, and if Ryuu didn't mention it, she would assume the matter didn't exist.
"Want to have a match with me to try it out?", Ryuu was eager.
Alicia immediately responded,"I refuse."
Ryuu was puzzled, "Why?"
"Do you know how many years I've been grinding at Lv.4 before I leveled up?", Alicia rolled her eyes at Ryuu, "I'm just an ordinary person, not a monster like you who levels up faster than flying, nor do I have that kind of outrageous combat power."
There are differences even within the same level; Ais, who just leveled up, could single-handedly kill Lv.6 monsters, and young geniuses like [Ferocious Wolf], [Raging Snake], and [Great Cleave] all have their unique skills.
As for Alicia, she's not a genius, at least not like [Sword Princess] and [Gale].
Alicia knew that her ability to level up was partly due to time, her experience was much longer than Ais and Ryuu, slowly accumulating enough ability values over the years; and partly due to luck, having unexpectedly achieved the feat of "first kill of the Black Goliath."
Alicia: "With your talent, you probably have the combat power of a seasoned Lv.5 right after leveling up. Sorry, I have no interest in being abused, at least not by you..."
Ryuu: "...Somehow, what you're saying sounds a bit off."
"Anyway, if you want to fight, don't come to me," Alicia said, "Even if you defeat me, there won't be any sense of accomplishment or gain... Instead, you might want to challenge the geniuses in our familia."
"Whether it's [Ferocious Wolf] or the Amazon sisters, these people are warmongers and would definitely be willing to fight a match with the famous [Gale]."
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