"Gospel—"
Without warning, a sonic boom resounded across the entire plain, causing the ground to tremble violently. If an ordinary person were exposed to such a terrifying sound, their eardrums would probably rupture in an instant.
However, all three people present were unharmed, for each of them stood among the very finest adventurers.
This was Alfia's sound magic. Although its chant consisted of only a single word, its power rivaled magical bombardment produced by an ultra-long chant.
Not only that, sound was invisible and intangible. Ordinary people had no way to defend against it at all. Even Riveria and Gareth had fallen to this attack in the original story.
Faced with such a terrifying strike, Elise had no intention of dodging. Instead, she raised her sword in one hand and met it head-on.
Whoosh—
She did not use any special technique. She merely swung her sword.
However, this was no ordinary sword strike. It was infused with Elise's Prana.
Combined with ability scores that far surpassed those of ordinary adventurers, Elise managed to neutralize the attack through sheer force with nothing more than a basic slash.
"You have some skill, but..."
Elise blocking the attack so effortlessly did not exceed Alfia's expectations. If she could not even manage that much, there would have been no need for both of them to fight her.
That was right—both of them!
"Alfia isn't your only opponent!"
A steady male voice rang out beside Elise as a pitch-black shadow instantly engulfed her position.
Boom—
Clad from head to toe in heavy black armor, the man brought his greatsword crashing down toward Elise.
Elise merely watched the attack descend before... swinging her own sword to meet Zald's blade.
Clang!
The two swords collided in midair, producing a tremendous metallic reverberation.
The force of a downward strike was completely different from that of an upward swing. The strength of a man and a woman differed, and the disparity in power between adventurers of different levels was even greater.
Yet despite all that, Zald's expression changed drastically.
The longsword in Elise's hand was not even half as thick as his greatsword, yet after receiving his full-power downward strike, it did not budge in the slightest.
She was clearly only Level 5, yet her raw strength surpassed that of a Level 7 like him who had already exceeded the limits!
How was that possible?
The upper limit of an ability score was S-999. Even someone who maxed out every score could not possibly surpass Zald, unless...
The moment that thought appeared in his mind, Zald realized something.
"Don't tell me you..."
Bang!
Before Zald could finish, the strength behind Elise's sword rose another level, sending his entire body flying.
"Cough, cough... Did you feel that, Alfia?"
Zald coughed twice, then quickly rose from the ground and turned to Alfia beside him.
"Yes. That overwhelming strength is nothing like what a Level 5 should possess, unless..."
Alfia had clearly noticed it as well, and her expression became far more solemn.
"She's like you—someone who has exceeded the limits of an adventurer's ability scores! Otherwise, she could never have surpassed me in strength!"
The adventurer ability scores published by Orario's Guild were divided into ten ranks, from I to A, followed by S. The highest possible score was 999.
However, Alfia's ability scores had surpassed 1,000. While others could gain up to 999 points before leveling up, Alfia gained even more with each level.
As their levels increased, that disparity would only grow wider. Elise was undoubtedly the same kind of existence!
No, she was unquestionably an even greater monster than they had imagined!
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack?"
Elise casually flicked her sword. She had not used so much as a single spell. With nothing more than her physical strength and Prana, she had already suppressed both of them in that brief exchange.
"What is the upper limit of your ability scores?"
Although they had determined that Elise was stronger than them, they had no idea just how strong she was.
They might as well ask. They were not certain whether Elise would answer anyway.
However, after hearing the question, Elise replied without the slightest hesitation.
"The upper limit of my ability scores? Right now, it's 5,999."
Every time Elise leveled up, the upper limit of her ability scores increased by another thousand. By now, it had accumulated to 5,999.
"What?!"
The moment she said that, Zald and Alfia were both dumbfounded.
5,999?
Was she serious, or was she joking?
No, Elise probably would not lie under these circumstances. But if it was true, it was simply too unbelievable!
That was equivalent to Elise gaining six levels for every one level someone else gained. Since Elise was currently Level 5, that meant...
We're only Level 7, but she's already effectively Level 30?
Then what's the point of fighting? Is this trial even necessary?
"Although I don't know what you imagined to make those expressions, it isn't what you think. The upper limit of my ability scores increases every time I level up. It has only now reached 5,999. It wasn't that high at every level."
"That's also why obtaining enough Great Feats has troubled me for so long..."
Phew!
Only after hearing that did the two of them breathe sighs of relief.
If Elise's ability-score limit had always been that high, this battle would have lost all meaning long ago. She could probably defeat the Black Dragon by herself.
"As you are now, you still aren't enough. You'll have to use those items, or this battle simply won't be able to continue."
"After all... I haven't even used a single spell yet!"
"..."
Although Elise's words irritated them, they had no choice but to admit that she was telling the truth.
Without using something special, they had no way to fight Elise at all—just like Ottar before them!
"I never imagined the day would come when I found myself in this position. The new generation truly does surpass the old!"
"Then let's get this over with!"
With that, the two no longer hesitated. They reached into their pockets and took out the items Elise had given them earlier.
Potions!
Ever since their physical conditions had deteriorated, Zald and Alfia had withdrawn from the front lines.
Although they could still overwhelm countless adventurers, they had never been able to fight at full strength.
Elise, however, had made extensive preparations for them. Potions that enhanced multiple abilities, Stigmata, and specialized equipment—she had equipped them with everything!
Only in this way could Zald and Alfia reach the minimum threshold required to provide Elise with absorbable Great Feats, just as Ottar had before them.
Gulp, gulp!
As several glass bottles fell to the ground, the aura emanating from Alfia and Zald changed violently. If it had resembled a waterfall before, it had now become a tsunami!
Their strength had not merely risen by a small amount!
"This is unbelievable. You can actually create potions this miraculous?"
Their strength had not only increased. Alfia and Zald even felt as though the illnesses, pain, and injuries within their bodies had vanished entirely. It was simply inconceivable!
"The enhancement is only temporary, and there are side effects, so we'll need to finish this quickly."
"Don't worry. Once this is over, I'll help you eliminate those side effects."
Elise pointed her sword toward them as multicolored motes of light began gathering around her.
"Let's see what the coming battle has in store!"