//As much as I hate the clutter, the systems of all the involved shall be included at the end of the chapter.//

"Everyone ready?"

Leo turned and looked back at the small group of people he brought along to their first, city-authorized, portal raid.

"Let's go!" Mark slammed his fists together, eager to get some more action.

Between his natural growth in the total of two portals he raided with Leo before and the crystals his oldest brother threw at him, he has long since reached the very end of his limits.

In fact, such was the case for everyone excluding Carol, even though the number of Crystals Leo had to throw at each and every one of them varied greatly.

For both Mark and Rob, given how they fought at the very front, Leo only needed a bit less than five mana crystals each to bring them all the way up to the fifteenth level.

A level at which, according to the two of them, they had to complete some sort of achievement in order to unlock their further growth.

The situation with Tina and Millie was a bit different, though.

'They all have advanced-rank class... But to think the girls would pick their classes to maximize the bonus potential they received along with it...'

Mark, with his fiery nature, didn't hesitate to pick a berserk class. On the other hand, Rob, driven by his intense desire to learn more about Leo to compensate for the time the two of them lost, became an investigator.

It was back when their small group challenged the first of the two portals that Tina managed to organize under the military's nose when she also brought up the topic of the only one statistic on everyone's system that didn't seem to grow at all.

When it came to things like level, strength, agility, vitality, wisdom, or mana, things were quite simple. For every level one gained, they would also gain four points they could then distribute between the five other statistics.

But the potential was different.

No matter how much any of them fought, how many crystals they consumed, it stubbornly remained a flat one.

That is, it remained as one all the way until the time Tina defeated the first few fiends on her own before picking a "Genius" class that came with a "Quirkster" special trait.

Back then, for the very first time, her potential grew to whooping... one point two. But it wasn't until Leo's crystals pushed her level higher and higher that everyone realized the value of this simple statistic.

With four points of stats per level and with everyone reaching level fifteen before stumbling upon their first major roadblock, the sum total of stat points they could use was sixty...

With the exception of Tina, who received a sum total of seventy-two stat points.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

In a sense, though, there was a huge cost to this increase of Tina's potential, even if it wasn't associated directly with her class but indirectly, through the class-specific trait of a quirkster. And while it allowed her to use any abilities regardless of their limitations... It also removed her ability to master those...

Or, in other words, stopped her statistics from affecting her abilities.

Still, out of everyone in the group, it wasn't Tina who managed to get her potential to the highest stage.

No.

That would be Millie with her Fae class who came with a trait that limited her three physical statistics to a maximum point of half of her level... While bringing her potential all the way to a whooping one-point-five.

Despite picking this quirky class, Millie remained true to what she showcased during the very first time she entered the portal and supported everyone from the back.

In fact, even with how her trait limited her physical aspects in order to heavily boost her potential, it perfectly suited both her appearance and character but also the role on a battlefield she picked beforehand.

Still, with all four of them reaching the highest level they could before getting stopped by the lack of achievements, there was still one thing that any of them had yet to accomplish.

"Yeah, we are all ready," Tina didn't share Mark's enthusiasm, looking at the military barricades that separated the area of the greenish portal from the rest of the street with a grim look on her face. "We've had enough time to psych ourselves up for it, so there's no need for us to waste time standing here, is there?"

Leo looked over at the girl and even went as far as to nod his head... Only to then turn his eyes and look at Rob.

"Yeah, I'm ready," the middle brother of the Pesterny family understood his assignment and reported, allowing Leo's eyes to turn over and land on Millie.

"I will do my best!"

Surrounded by the charming influence of her aura, Millie put on a lovely, determined smile as she raised both of her hands to the height of her chest only to tighten them into fists and shake those fists a bit as if to showcase just how ready she was.

"Good..." Leo muttered before shaking his head and taking a deep breath.

The young man's hands landed on his hips while his chest puffed up and out.

"I don't think I need any of you need a reminder at this point, but let me give you one anyway. From the moment we step into the portal... I won't involve myself in the fighting at all."

Leo scanned the group of four that followed him over on this assignment.

"I will intervene only if, and I really mean it, your life will be in actual and unequivocal danger. Me saving you, though, will mean that you will lose your right to participate in the raid on the orange portal in two days' time, though."

Leo turned silent before turning his eyes over to Rob who put up his right hand above his head.

"Does one of us failing mean the rest of the group fails too?" Rob asked, only to instantly start to pretend not to see the mocking look Mark gave him.

"What, are you that scared to go in?" Mark jeered, conveniently ignoring all the brave feats of his older brother during their last raid.

"You wish," Rob replied shortly, not sparing any more attention to the youngest of the family than he absolutely had to.

"No, in today's raid, one of you failing will not affect the results of the rest of the group," Leo replied before the small banter between the brothers could turn into an actual fight. "If someone leaves, though, you guys will have to conquer the rest of the portal without their input, though," he added with a smile.

"That's..." Tina spoke out, only to let her hesitation take over as she cut her words short and lowered her face.

"That's reasonable," Rob took on the burden of answering, only to then put a cheeky smile on his face. "Judging by your wording, though, would the same rule apply to tomorrow's raid?"

This time, it was Leo's turn to showcase a cheeky smile.

"No," he replied without even a moment of hesitation. "Tomorrow the training wheels will be off. So, if even one of you will need my help," Leo leaned his head over his left shoulder before taking a step taking a step back towards the portal as if he wanted to enter it with his back first.

"Tomorrow, you act as a group. And so, if one of you fails, you all fail