"But S999 isn't truly the limit." Astraea said softly, her eyes calm yet profound.
"That number… it only seems like a limit because most people can't even dream of reaching S in the first place."
The closer one's stats approach the so-called threshold, the harder it becomes to break through.
Every increase takes double—no, perhaps triple the effort. It's like trying to climb a mountain that gets steeper with every step.
And the cruelest part?
Even if you pour in endless sweat, even if you risk your life day and night, you still might not make the slightest progress.
"That's the reason the gods never made SS the official highest rank."
Astraea continued, "But Akira, there are indeed some who've surpassed the barrier of S999. They've broken through to SS. So I believe you can too. No—I know you can."
She spoke with a finality that resonated in Akira's heart.
Indeed, seven years from now, a boy—Bell Cranel—would prove the same truth.
His story shouted at Akira across time. As long as your potential hasn't run dry, as long as you face mighty foes again and again, you will rise.
The status board was never a ceiling—it was a sky. Beyond 'S', there is 'SS'. Beyond 'SS', there's 'SSS'. And even that isn't the end.
SSS1300+… SSS1400+… SSS1500+...
So where exactly is the limit?
Akira raised his chin, his eyes blazing with determination as he looked into Astraea's gaze.
"I understand now, Astraea-sama. I'll surpass my limits and show you!"
Astraea felt her heart ripple as she looked at the child before her. She smiled warmly and wrapped him in a hug full of justice and love.
"You definitely will." She whispered close to his ear. "My brave hero."
[Personal Information]
A resolve began to bloom in Akira's chest, fierce and unwavering. He would protect the Astraea Familia from the looming storm ahead.
Wielding a one-handed sword in his right hand and an elegant spear in the left, Akira surged forward.
The winds howled around him, wrapping his body like a tempest. He didn't even spare the imps a glance as he sprinted directly toward the orcs and silverbacks that awaited.
A clash of steel and flesh rang out as Akira's blade met the orc's armored fist.
The deadlock lasted just a moment. Then, Akira leaped back, narrowly evading a retaliatory blow.
Then, with lightning reflexes, he thrust the spear into the orc's nape, using it's skull as a platform to pivot mid-air. With a clean arc, his sword flashed and the orc's head fell clean off.
Then just a moment later, the silverback swung its giant fists. Just before impact, Akira moved.
He stepped onto the fist crashing toward the earth, ran up its arm, and with a single, fluid movement, decapitated the towering beast.
Once their strongest had fallen, the remaining orcs and imps were nothing. One by one, they were cut down—until silence reclaimed the dungeon floor.
By the third day of his exploration on the eleventh floor, Akira had grown powerful enough to defeat a silverback, even while fending off multiple threats.
Strength: D563 → C689
Durability: D542 → C686
Dexterity: C642 → B787
Astraea's eyes sparkled as she looked at the updated parchment. She gently touched the glowing numbers, as if reaffirming they were real.
"Akira, you did it. You've crossed a threshold others can barely even glimpse."
She leaned forward, smiling meaningfully. "If others found out about this, you'd be the talk of Orario. I wouldn't be surprised if even Loki or Freya herself tried to poach you."
Akira didn't flinch. He simply looked at his goddess with unwavering loyalty.
He firmly said, "Astraea-sama… I'll never leave your side. And this—this isn't my peak. The real show's only just beginning."
Thick mist blanketed the eleventh floor of the dungeon, making visibility tricky but not impossible.
"Oi, is that guy even human? No way a Level 1 can move like that…"
"He's from the Astraea Familia, right? I saw him with Scarlet Harnel a few days back. Weren't they famous for turning people away? Are they recruiting again?"
"Wait, didn't I see that kid on the tenth floor earlier? What the hell's he doing, already fighting on the eleventh?"
Akira's name spread like ripples in water, carried by the awe-struck voices of adventurers.
What was he doing while all this buzz swirled around?
Facing a silverback ape.
The beast's iron fist thundered toward him, blowing wind through Akira's hair as magic surged through his veins.
Power exploded in his limbs, and he met the blow head-on—fist against fist. The impact blew the fog away, revealing the battlefield in startling clarity.
Akira was thrown back several meters, blood trailing from his hand. But despie that, he had a grin stretched across his face. He had moved the silverback back.
He stepped forward again.
His fists flew faster, wrapped in howling wind. As the silverback's punch neared, Akira's fists struck faster than the eye could follow, battering every inch of the beast's exposed skin.
With a final, thunderous blow, the silverback's arm erupted in blood—bone shattered, muscle torn.
The once fearsome beast backed away in terror. It let out a hollow roar and turned tail, trying to escape.
But Akira didn't let it do that. He soared into the air, his right leg wrapped in howling wind, forming a whirlwind of pressure around him.
His body became a missile, and his foot—the hammer of judgment.
With a single, explosive kick, he pierced through the silverback's back.
But he didn't stop there. He extracted its magic stone, and stepped firmly on the ground and slid over, the wind on his body, cracking the ground beneath him.
His hands were swollen, his arms sore. But his spirit blazed ever hotter.
"That's enough for today." He muttered.
He retrieved a potion to heal his battered limbs before turning toward the exit.
Three days. That's how long he'd spent boxing with silverbacks.
And now? He could win with his fists alone.
A lone adventurer watching from afar mumbled in disbelief, "Is he... really just LV 1?"
Back on the first floor, Akira spotted a peculiar rooster with bright yellow-green feathers. His body reacted before his mind caught up.
He switched his class to Swift Master, vanished, and reappeared in a blur—his blade executing a flawless slash.
The creature collapsed.
Jack Bird. A rare monster, not dangerous, but fast—absurdly fast. If it noticed an enemy, it would escape immediately.
Akira picked up the golden egg it dropped—worth at least a million valis—and tucked it safely into his [Backpack].
He couldn't wait to return home and show it off to his Familia.