NOVEL FROG [19] : The Weight of Battle: Mika’s Journey to LV2
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"Mika, are you okay?"
Rushing to Mika's side, Airmid and Mellie anxiously looked at his left shoulder, concerned about his injury.
"No problem, the bleeding has stopped."
Mika felt a warm sensation from Airmid and Mellie's concern. Smiling gently, he waved his hand.
"How can that be? I clearly saw your left shoulder get pierced!"
Airmid looked disbelieving.
On the other hand, Mellie seemed to have an epiphany and then lightly knocked on Airmid's head with a playful smile.
"Hey, Airmid, this is the effect of your magic, isn't it? How can you not know?"
"My magic effect?"
Airmid was stunned for a moment, then quickly lowered her head in embarrassment when she realized it.
Seeing this, Mika and Mellie both chuckled.
Airmid's healing magic had a continuous protection effect. Once it was applied to someone, it would keep healing them for a while. The previous battle seemed long but ended quickly. Even now, Airmid's magic was still working, though its effect had diminished.
Mika's smile lasted only a moment before his expression turned serious.
"Now is not the time to relax."
Mika said in a heavy tone, "Mellie, go guard the entrance outside the passage. Prevent anyone from entering here. If you encounter any passersby, tell them we're using bait."
"Got it!"
Understanding the importance of the task, Mellie immediately ran towards the passage.
"Airmid, let's clean up the battlefield quickly. Apart from the phali and magic stones, we can keep other equipment with indistinct features. Everything else will be destroyed."
"Understood!"
Airmid responded crisply but kept glancing at Mika's wound.
Seeing this, Mika reached out and gently patted her head, then spoke softly, "Don't worry. Thanks to you, the wound has stopped bleeding. It just needs a little more healing, which isn't urgent and can wait."
"Okay!"
Airmid nodded slightly and then ran towards the three fallen individuals to complete the task quickly.
Mika shook his head and walked briskly towards where the other four had fallen.
After a search, Mika and Airmid sorted the items that could be kept.
"Huh, are we keeping the shield too?"
Airmid looked surprised at the conspicuous shield among the items.
According to Mika, weapons and armor weren't to be kept.
"It doesn't matter. I saw them take it out from their packs earlier. It should be a concealed weapon."
"Just like we don't dare to use first-level weapons casually in the lower floors, these guys also don't dare to show off this custom-made high-grade second-level shield. After all, no one knows the danger of such behavior better than they do."
Airmid understood.
"You handle this side and pack it in our bag. I'll deal with the bodies."
Piling the seven bodies together, Mika extended his palm towards them.
"Burn, O Fiery Wheel!"
Scorching flames erupted from Mika's palm, quickly engulfing the bodies.
Watching the bodies burn, Mika felt a sense of discomfort. As the adrenaline of battle faded, normal emotions returned, and a sense of guilt surfaced in his heart.
Killing one's own kind was always hard to accept.
Similarly, Airmid and Mellie, standing nearby, also looked uneasy.
Staring at the roaring flames, all three were silent until Mika suddenly spoke.
"Remember this guilt and discomfort. Never forget today's feelings."
"We killed them for our safety. This will likely happen again and again in the future."
Airmid and Mellie shuddered, fully understanding the likely future.
"So, we must never forget today's feelings. We must never get used to killing."
"If we ever become accustomed to killing, we'll become desensitized, and our moral boundaries will keep lowering. Today we kill to protect ourselves; tomorrow, we might kill for gain."
"Remember, we must respect life. We aren't getting stronger to kill but for our dreams."
Gazing at the intensifying flames, Mika spoke continuously.
He wasn't just speaking to Airmid and Mellie but also to himself. This was the path Mika wanted and needed to walk.
"I won't forget."
"I'll always remember."
After listening to Mika, Airmid and Mellie both nodded firmly.
Mika smiled, turned around, and softly said amidst the flying ashes, "Well, let's call it a day. Let's go home, Airmid, Mellie!"
"Yes, let's go home!"
Airmid and Mellie exchanged glances and smiled in response.
...
That day, Mika, Airmid, and Mellie returned home unusually early in the afternoon, which was unbelievable to others.
Usually, they spent so much time in the dungeon that they only returned when it was nearly dark. The last time they came back so early was when they first entered the dungeon.
"Come to think of it, you three have only wandered around Orario briefly when you first arrived. The rest of the time has been in the dungeon. Let's take a rare break."
Yahweh said after hearing about Mika, Airmid, and Mellie's experiences.
Even Mika, who was obsessed with training, didn't refuse.
He knew that the mental stress of killing someone for the first time was significant.
In his previous life, many soldiers retired from the military due to mental issues after their first kill.
Worried about Airmid and Mellie's mental state, Mika readily accepted the idea of relaxation.
After all, girls tend to overthink, right?
So, for the following week, the four members of the Yahweh Familia roamed Orario.
Unlike when they first arrived, they now had accumulated a considerable amount of wealth, enough to spend freely for a while.
Although none of them were the type to splurge.
After a week of rest, Airmid and Mellie recovered their spirits.
The trio, regaining their momentum, immediately dove back into the dungeon.
After experiencing life-and-death combat, Mika, Airmid, and Mellie became more decisive and their swordsmanship sharper.
Thus, in another month of exploration on the ninth floor, they ventured further into the dungeon, reaching the tenth floor.
Even the tenth floor didn't pose a significant obstacle to the trio.
Another month passed.
In this manner, Mika and his companions advanced to the twelfth floor, the deepest part of the upper levels, in just three months.
And it was at this point that Mika's abilities finally reached their limit.
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**Name**: Mika
**Level**: LV.1
**Ability Scores**:
- Strength: A899
- Endurance: S993 → S994
- Dexterity: S924
- Agility: S912
- Magic: A871 → A874
**Magic**: 'Heavenly Fire: Catastrophe'
**Skill**: 'Danger Sense'
==========
"It's almost at the limit!"
Yahweh shook her head as she looked at the paper detailing Mika's ability scores.
Then, she looked at Mika seriously and said, "We need to prepare for your level-up."
Mika silently nodded.
He had been prepared for this level-up, knowing that he had trained for a year and a half longer than Airmid and Mellie. Even if his training efficiency over that period was only equivalent to half a year of theirs, Mika had spent a total of seventeen months training. (This includes six months in the Demon Slayer world and eleven months in this world.)
"Looks like my talent isn't top-notch, but it's still pretty good," Mika said with a grin.
"It's average. Without Mellie's magic, it would have been tough for you to raise your ability scores to S level."
"Well, you're right."
Mika was well aware of his physical limitations. Compared to races like the beastmen and Amazons, who had exceptional physical talents, humans were indeed average. Apart from a few geniuses, it was nearly impossible for humans to reach S level in basic ability scores at LV.1.
But that was only at LV.1. As levels increased and the body evolved, humans would no longer be inferior to other races in various talents at higher levels. Mika was able to catch up to other races at lower levels thanks to his two significant advantages: Mellie's potential-enhancing magic and the additional training time from his world-hopping.
"Mika, do you want to stay at LV.1 a bit longer? Your endurance and magic still have potential for improvement, and your other scores might continue to rise," Mellie suggested after Mika completed his ability update.
Mika was taken aback but quickly rejected Mellie's suggestion. Although this world was the world of Danmachi, it didn't mean that divine blessings would be his most crucial power system in the future. Mika, who could traverse different worlds, didn't need to reach the peak of the divine blessing system. Outside of Danmachi, there were various other systems.
Therefore, Mika needed to visit more worlds, experience more power systems, and find the one that suited him best. Or perhaps combine multiple systems to create the path most suitable for him.
"This is enough."
The divine blessing system in Danmachi world wasn't like a cultivation system that required perfection. If maxing out all ability scores would significantly boost combat power, Mika wouldn't hesitate to stay longer at LV.1. But the reality was that the gains from such extended effort were negligible compared to the time spent.
"Alright, if that's your decision, we have no objections."
Mellie and Airmid walked over to Mika, and Mellie asked seriously, "So, are we preparing for your level-up?"
"That's right!"
Mika replied with a smile, "It's time to achieve a great feat."
==========
After deciding to level up, Mika began considering suitable monsters for his feat.
Soon, Mika determined the ideal monster for his feat: the Infant Dragon.
Infant Dragons only appeared on the eleventh and twelfth floors and were very rare. According to the Guild's statistics, there were only about five Infant Dragons across both floors. Despite spending a month on the eleventh floor, Mika and his companions hadn't encountered one yet.
Though they lived on the upper floors, Infant Dragons were exceptionally powerful even among LV.2 monsters. They were stronger than the elite mid-level monsters like Minotaurs (though Bell considered them weaker, he faced a Minotaur trained by Ottar and wielding adventurer weapons, making it incomparable).
Hence, Infant Dragons were known as mini-floor bosses on the upper floors. Mika believed there was no more suitable monster for his feat in the upper floors.
As for venturing to the middle floors? Mika hadn't even considered it. The middle floors were true hell compared to the upper floors. Only the top LV.1 adventurers or many LV.2 adventurers hunted monsters there. They hadn't ventured to the middle floors because they weren't confident they could survive.
"Choosing the Infant Dragon, huh? It's the best choice in the upper floors, but it's hard to find!" Mellie said with a helpless expression after hearing Mika's decision.
"Don't worry, if we keep looking, we'll find one eventually," Airmid comforted.
Hearing Airmid's reassurance, Mellie laughed before Mika could respond, "Indeed, we just need to search thoroughly."
"We can run the whole time, ignoring other monsters."
"Running the whole time will test our reflexes."
"No worries, we can do it."
Listening to Airmid and Mellie's discussion, Mika smiled widely.
Yahweh, noticing this, jumped up and hooked her arm around Mika's neck, pulling him close to Airmid and Mellie.
"Let's plan our next actions carefully!"
Yahweh exclaimed happily.
...
The next morning.
Walking on the deserted road, Mika, Airmid, and Mellie headed briskly towards Babel Tower.
After last night's discussion, they hadn't come up with a feasible plan, as everything depended on the appearance of the Infant Dragon. Without encountering it, any plan would be futile.
Just as they arrived at the base of Babel Tower, they were drawn to the crowd gathered around the bulletin board.
"What's happening now?"
Before Mika and his companions could think further, the information from the bulletin board reached their ears from the surrounding crowd.
"Ais Wallenstein of the Loki Familia killed an Infant Dragon and leveled up to LV.2! She took only a year, breaking the record of Hera Familia's Alfia, who took a year and a month!"
"Wow, Alfia's record was broken! She was a prodigy!"
"I heard Ais Wallenstein is only eight years old!"
"What a monster."
Hearing the constant chatter, Mika and his companions were momentarily stunned.
"Ais Wallenstein... that's the blonde girl who follows Nine Hells, right?"
Airmid asked Mellie curiously, knowing that Mellie had been frequenting the Loki Familia to learn magic from Riveria.
"Yes, that's her!"
Mellie smiled proudly, recalling how she recognized Ais's talent early on.
"Ais, huh."
Memorizing the bulletin's content, Mika turned seriously and said, "Let's go, our adventure begins now!"
Living in the same era, Mika didn't want to be left behind. He, too, would achieve a great feat.
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