DH : [47] First Step! (Patreon)

Under the peak strike of his sword, the vital spot received a fatal blow. The already heavily injured infant dragon inevitably reached the end of its life.

Bang!

The crimson eyes of the infant dragon dimmed visibly at an astonishing speed, its colossal body, devoid of life, shattered like a fading figurine, swiftly losing color and luster. Exploding into countless ash-black fragments with a muffled sound, then fading away into nothingness. Only a large rhombus-shaped magical stone and a sharp, slender dragon horn lay quietly on the ground, proving its past existence.

No one noticed the subtle change in Aiden's injured right hand at this moment.

As numerous fragments turned into flying ashes and disappeared, a small amount of ash was directly absorbed by Aiden's injured right hand.

At this moment, including the Loki Familia, everyone was immersed in the splendor of Aiden's strike. Although the Loki Familia's women's group was knowledgeable, only they knew that Aiden had become an adventurer just a month ago.

"Fantastic!" Seeing Aiden's exquisite strike, the sword-wielding youth who had run halfway raised his longsword and cheered loudly, as if he had slain the infant dragon himself.

"Well done, young lad!" Dunn, who sweated for Aiden, couldn't help but cheer for his strike.

"This evasion... this strike..." Lefiya's cherry lips widened enough to fit a banana.

Although Lefiya was a mage, she admired Sword Princess Ais, and her basic appreciation ability was still there. With this strike, she seemed to see Ais's shadow.

"This strike, whether it's evasion or the speed, power, and timing of the strike, can be said to be flawless." Tiona, also a melee fighter, observed more.

"Although we can all do it, he's only Level 1." Tione's arms crossed in front of her chest, her tone showing no less surprise.

This posture made the trenches on her front armor even deeper, but the naturally bold Amazon didn't care about it.

"Hey, hey, Riveria, do you think if it were Ais, it wouldn't be difficult for her to do the same thing at Level 1?" Tiona leaned in beside Riveria, who had watched Ais grow up, her tone different from usual, showing some seriousness.

The usually carefree Tiona was serious because the target Aiden had bet to surpass was the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein.

Although both were Level 5 adventurers of the Loki Familia, Tiona knew very well the gap between herself and Ais. Even though they were both Level 5, Ais was the most famous Level 5 in the Loki Familia, and even in the entire Orario.

Ais's renown throughout Orario wasn't just because of her glorious beauty and seemingly aloof yet naturally innocent personality.

You see, Ais was known as the strongest female swordsman in Orario. With her otherworldly appearance and extraordinary swordsmanship, the gods bestowed upon her the title of Sword Princess.

It's easy to imagine how highly the gods regarded her. It could be said that Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess, was the strongest Level 5 adventurer in Orario, ordained by the gods themselves.

And Ais's fame didn't just spread among the gods; among Orario's adventurers, she was an eternal legend. Her legendary achievements in conquering the dungeons made her deserving of the nickname War Princess among adventurers.

"I'm not sure." Riveria halted her almost completed magic chant, gently shaking her head, her delicate brows furrowing.

Riveria, who cared deeply for Ais and seemed to exist like a mother figure to her, understood Ais better than her teammate Tiona. She was well aware of how terrifying Ais's talents were.

When Ais was just eight years old, still an adorable little girl, she reached Level 2 within a year, becoming an advanced adventurer. This was partly due to the training mechanism for newcomers in the Loki Familia and her own delayed growth, otherwise, it could have been even shorter. Nonetheless, Ais's advancement from Level 1 to Level 2 within a year set a world record, becoming the adventurer who took the shortest time to level up from Level 1 to Level 2.

The experienced Riveria could clearly see that after this battle, Aiden, who successfully hunted down the infant dragon alone at Level 1 and achieved enough great feats, had a high probability of directly leveling up to Level 2 upon returning.

Moreover, according to what Tiona and the others said, Aiden had only become an adventurer a month ago. In other words, he had leveled up to Level 2 in just a short month.

Although comparing 15-year-old Aiden to 8-year-old Ais was highly unfair, even if Ais were still Level 1 at 15, Riveria couldn't be sure if she could achieve what Aiden had.

This wasn't just about breaking Ais's record; it was likely a terrifying record with no precedent or successor. Furthermore, Aiden's strike also showcased his astonishing combat talent.

"Is Orario about to witness another Sword Princess?" Riveria pondered.

The astonishment, cheers, confusion, and discussions of everyone around echoed in her ears.

The reactions of the Loki Familia women's group... whether shocked, solemn, or contemplative... were all within her view.

As for why Aiden cared so much about the Loki Familia's evaluation and ignored the cheers of the old man and the young man behind him?

Rainbows from a beautiful girl and rainbows from an old man and a regular young man... of course, as a heterosexual teenager, he would pay more attention to the beautiful girl. 

Moreover, the Loki Familia women's group was not just about pretty faces.

Even after leveling up, Aiden was no match for any of these girls except for Lefiya. Everyone present was a core member of the Loki Familia.

There was the strongest Level 5, Sword Princess Ais Wallenstein; Level 5 Tiona Hiryute; Level 5 Tione Hiryute; and Level 6 Riveria Ljos Alf.

Isn't the strong's astonishment and discussion more satisfying than ordinary people's cheers?

"Is this the pleasure of showing off in front of others? No wonder so many people enjoy reading power fantasy novels."

"It feels so refreshing, it makes me want to burst into song as if I'm flying freely."

The plain and unadorned short sword maintained its striking pose, with droplets of blood slowly trickling down, staining the otherwise unremarkable blade with a hint of crimson. Facing away from the man duo, whose names he didn't yet know, and towards the Loki Familia women's group, Aiden savored the pleasure of showing off in front of others, with a smirk involuntarily forming at the corners of his lips.