Chapter 453 - 453 - Leon: I'm Glad, You've Grown

White mist escaped from the corner of his mouth with each breath, and once Kureha went all out and carved the last monster into pieces with afterimages at six strikes a second, he let the magic go and let out a long breath.

Keeping a Blizzard that wide running for so long in this high-heat desert, holding the field down and controlling it, honestly, put a certain amount of pressure on him. It was harder still when he had to split his attention to protect the others as well. That he could pull off this kind of precise control was thanks to hard work making up for lack of talent, plus years of effort and sweat, finally paying off today.

Killed Lv.3 monster, Excelia +0.1

...

Killed Lv.4 monster, Excelia +1.0

Killed Lv.4 monster, Excelia +1.0

...

Killed Lv.3 monster, Excelia +0.1

...

Leon glanced at the fast-scrolling notification panel, closed it, and said to the group:

"Come on, let's head over!"

Leon led Laurier and the others down the frozen slope, sliding elegantly with Secret Art: Ice Floe. Once he landed he breathed out a puff of white and asked Persephone and the others:

"Those few new monster types we hadn't run into, what are their numbers like?"

Persephone walked across the snow with it crunching underfoot, took the leather gloves Leon handed over, and answered while pulling them on:

"About what we predicted. Basically all top-end Lv.3. The Sand Jackals have high speed and attack, but their defense is pretty mediocre. By feel, maybe entry-level Lv.3? But in Agility and Dexterity, they're absolutely top-tier Lv.3."

"What you need to watch out for is that Sand Jackals are probably pack monsters. Your Blizzard just set them off and a whole nest came out at once, around twenty of them."

"They're dangerous, especially for Mages and Strength-type fighters, and their claws and fangs are venomous too. Iri, come analyze the toxicity." Persephone pointed at a fully intact corpse she'd deliberately left behind.

Iri nodded seriously and said, "Right away," then took a set of magic sample containers from her Wonder Pack, knelt on one knee, and carefully started working on the Sand Jackal's claws and fangs.

Leon and Persephone watched Iri work smoothly through it while they kept talking.

"And then there's the Desert Worm."

Her expression turned grave as she said it.

"That's the most dangerous thing in Sand Land."

"The Desert Worm can burrow and move underground, and on top of its huge size, its Strength and Endurance are terrifying. The armor on its surface is dense and also elastic, so ordinary slashing damage and blunt damage can hardly break through without some special method. The best approach is piercing, like Jeanne's Banner Lance. It should be a defense-specialized monster, and on numbers alone it's absolutely top-tier Lv.3."

"Add the huge size, and the best way to subjugate a Desert Worm is in pairs, working together. One attacks, one stands by and swaps in at any time, providing ranged cover while watching the ground once it burrows."

"That keeps the risk to a minimum."

"For solo subjugation, the recommended level is Lv.4. Without Lv.4 I wouldn't advise picking that fight, it isn't worth it. Don't forget this is Sand Land. Rather than burning a lot of stamina and focus under this heat to take down one Desert Worm, you're better off conserving strength for more unknown challenges."

Leon glanced at that terrifying giant, over twenty meters long, then quickly jotted Persephone's hard-won field notes down in his notebook.

"Got it."

"We'll handle it this way from now on, build up experience in combat, and refine it step by step."

He snapped the notebook shut, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Persephone, watching Laurier, Aura, Margaret, and Iri bustling around clearing the battlefield the moment the fight ended. Off to one side were Rose and Kureha maintaining their weapons with oiled cloth, and further off was Jeanne, who had gone straight to running Revelation at full output the instant the fight ended, keeping watch with a solemn look on her face.

Leon took a deep breath and clicked his tongue.

"Sand Land... it's got everyone strung tight. Nobody's as relaxed as they were on the earlier floors."

Persephone drew her longsword and wiped the blade carefully with a cloth soaked in maintenance oil, answering without looking up:

"Easy for you to say. You're a Lv.5 bigshot now, of course Sand Land isn't much pressure for you. But have you thought about Iri and Margaret? They're only Lv.1."

Leon had nothing to say to that and quietly shut his mouth.

Then her tone shifted and softened.

"Still, there's truth in the saying: the bigger the storm, the more the fish are worth."

"Once Iri, Margaret, Laurier, and Aura have been through the baptism of fire that is this Expedition, as long as they make it back to the surface safely, what they take away from it will be far beyond ordinary. Add your Beloved's Blessing on top of that, and someone might level up again."

"Heh."

Leon's mouth curled up. He lifted his chin, squared his shoulders, and raised his eyebrows smugly.

"Of course. Without the goods, who'd dare drag Lv.1 rookies out to train on Lv.3 and Lv.4 floors?"

"Bringing along rookies is a privilege reserved for the big shots."

Persephone held the longsword upright in front of her and turned her wrist, tilting the blade slightly. The mirror-like face of it reflected her and Leon.

She looked into Leon's eyes in the steel and laughed softly.

"You've grown. I'm glad."

What kind of flowery line is that?

But Persephone was right.

Apart from the big Familia like Loki, Freya, and Ganesha, who else could bring Lv.1 rookies all the way down to the 32nd floor to train? Without real strength and the confidence to keep the rookies safe, forget the 32nd floor, they'd barely manage on the 13th.

That Leon and the others could do this much was already something to be proud of.

...

Half an hour later.

The battlefield was finally cleared.

"Desert Worm teeth and soft hide, these materials are rare stock for making Antidotes and armor. The soft hide especially. A good portion of the armor in second-class adventurer equipment needs it as the main material."

"And then all the venom fangs, tail stingers, and pelts. Tsk, tsk, the drop rate has gone up, and you can see it with your own eyes!"

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