Sakura and Jackson.
Considering they both surpassed Level 40 while operating solo, it was obvious that their abilities were off the charts.
It was a well-known fact that whenever Sakura joined a party, it usually ended in the group's dissolution... but because both of them typically dove into dungeons alone, their sheer combat prowess was widely recognized.
Each possessed a Title and a corresponding Title Skill: Sakura held the Title of Shrine Maiden, while Jackson held the Title of War Monk.
The Title Skill granted by Sakura’s Shrine Maiden Title was Sacred Purity. At its maximum level, the skill’s effect read: "As long as the user maintains their purity, they are protected by holiness. HP natural recovery rate increases by 4.0x. MP natural recovery rate increases by 2.0x. Damage received is reduced by 50%."
The boost to natural recovery was particularly insane. In a dungeon, an explorer's HP and MP would normally fully recover in two hours. With Sacred Purity at max level, however, it took only thirty minutes for HP and one hour for MP.
Of course, the recovery wasn't fast enough to keep up with active combat consumption, so it didn't mean potions were unnecessary.
Still, it provided incredible endurance. In a standard dungeon, there was usually a five-to-ten-minute interval between monster encounters. Unless you were in a Monster Room, you couldn't just jump from one fight to the next instantly.
This meant that even a few minutes of downtime allowed Sakura to recover massive amounts of HP and MP, enabling him to spam his skills continuously throughout the crawl.
That was precisely why he could fight solo, and being a soloist meant his level rose much faster—or so the logic went.
Additionally, a 50% damage reduction might sound like a cheat, but the reality was that against high-level monsters, the effect wasn't that significant unless the user was already stacked with defense skills.
Reducing 100 damage to 50 was still a hit, and some monsters could easily dish out over 1,000 damage. Against attacks with overkill power, the reduction was practically negligible.
My own full-power attacks infused with Mighty Blade would likely deal tens or hundreds of thousands of damage; halving that wouldn't change the outcome. It was far more effective to invest in Constitution and Spirit while using defense skills to mitigate damage properly.
Still, there was no denying it was an excellent skill.
As an aside, Sacred Purity was often called the "utility skill of the Title Skill world," as it could be obtained through several different titles.
As the name suggested, the user had to remain "pure." As you might expect, the definition of "purity" here meant being a virgin—male or female. The moment they were no longer a virgin, the skill would vanish.
Sakura was... well, he was a male virgin. Yeah.
Furthermore, this skill was famously held by Saito-san as well. In fact, Saito-san was notorious for having multiple Title Skills that required "purity" as a constraint.
Because his combat power would plummet if he lost his virginity, Saito-san—despite being a successful explorer who could easily have found a partner—resolutely maintained his "purity" even now.
But I digress.
On the other hand, the skill Jackson obtained from his War Monk Title was also called War Monk. This was a unique skill that only activated when the user refrained from using highly lethal weapons like blades, arrows, or spears. Instead, they had to fight with low-lethality means, such as wooden clubs, bare hands, or fist weapons.
The trade-off, however, was a massive boost in power. At its maximum level, the effect was: "During combat, all stats except HP and MP increase by 50%. Damage multiplier dealt to enemies is 2.0x."
Yeah, it was basically a general-purpose version of my Goblin Genocider skill.
While it might have seemed weaker than Goblin Genocider, this wasn't an evolution skill. Considering it only cost four Skill Points to max out, it was an absolute bargain. Plus, unlike Goblin Genocider, it wasn't limited to a specific enemy type.
It wasn't even confirmed that the skill couldn't evolve. For all I knew, Jackson might have already evolved it and was just keeping it under wraps.
Jackson fought with his fists, though he wore metal gauntlets. Even so, his raw attack power was several steps below that of a sword or spear.
Even with the 2.0x damage multiplier from the War Monk skill, it didn't quite bridge the gap. Not to mention, the short reach of his attacks put him at a fundamental disadvantage.
To compensate, Jackson used a skill called Mighty Qi—a high-tier version of External Qi—to further boost his damage.
And as one might expect from someone with External Qi, Jackson also possessed the Internal Qi skill. He was one of those rare explorers who could fight while simultaneously healing his own HP.
As I've described, both of them possessed powerful skills befitting high-level explorers.
When watching their usual streams, I'd seen Sakura use his high recovery to burn through HP and MP every fight, utilizing various skills to unilaterally demolish hordes of monsters...
"Ha! Hah! Tei!"
However, in this relentless situation where there was no time to rest, the advantage of Sacred Purity didn't seem to be doing much. He was holding back on his skills, instead using composed movements to dodge enemy attacks and striking vitals with his naginata whenever an opening appeared.
It lacked the flashiness of his typical streams. His kill speed was slower than that of the other parties. Yet, the way he skillfully maneuvered through the swarm, picking them off with precision without taking a single scratch, spoke volumes of his true ability precisely because it wasn't flashy.
And just because it wasn't flashy didn't mean it wasn't captivating. If anything, Sakura’s lustrous long black hair, his red hakama, and his dignified, lovely expression were drawing the viewers' eyes more than ever.
『Sakura-chan, so beautiful...!!』 『She’s so elegant...!!』 『You've passed my Wife Qualification Exam (^-^)』 『Isn't it crazy how he’s holding his own against this many monsters without even spamming skills?!』 『I didn't know Sakura-chan was this strong...』 『He joins parties sometimes, but he's fundamentally a solo explorer. Of course he's strong.』 『Let's get married. I love you. I want you to have three of my children. We'll buy a house in the suburbs.』 『It's your fault that I... I used to be normal... but now my life is a mess because of you, so take responsibility...!!』 『Unforgivable... I won't allow it...!! If you're trying to steal my Sakura-chan's attention, I'll kill you... I'll kill you, Leveling Junkie Bro!!』 『The chat is full of degenerates lol. The usual, then.』
Whether they had lost their minds or their sanity, the creeps were having a field day. Wait, why was I catching stray bullets here?! What did I ever do?!
Meanwhile, Jackson was facing a pack of Kobolds. Like Sakura, he was maneuvering without relying heavily on skills. His fists were shrouded only in the light of his Fist Aura; he wasn't even using his Fighting Spirit.
Despite that, there was no waste in his movements as he blocked with his gauntlets, parried, and counterattacked. He was constantly on the move, ensuring he was never surrounded by the superior numbers. He was in total control of the battlefield. There wasn't a hint of panic on Jackson’s face; he remained perfectly calm and collected.
More than just "strong," he was "skillful."
It really drove home the impression that he was a solo explorer who was intimately familiar with combat. I mean, he was seriously impressive. Was he some kind of martial arts master?
His performance was also less flashy than his usual streams since he wasn't using many skills, but the reaction on Jackson’s channel seemed overwhelmingly positive.
『The Monk is so stroooong!!』 『Kill 'em all, Jackson!!』 『Beating monsters to death with your bare hands feels so goooood!!』 『Fists are the best! They're the ultimate weapon!!』 『Destruction! Violation! Destruction!! Violation!!』 『The Monk is the best!! Send those monsters to the afterlife!!』 『He’s always strong, but he feels even stronger today, doesn't he?』 『Maybe it just feels that way because he's so quiet?』 『Usually he’s punching things while screaming "Buraaaaa!! Go to your grave!!" lmao』 『Even the Monk minds his manners when other people are around www』
I occasionally watched Jackson’s channel, so I knew what they meant... like the viewers said, Jackson was much quieter and better behaved today.
Thinking about it, the reason was immediately obvious.
This stream was special; there were a lot of people watching who wouldn't normally tune in.
Plus, it was a government-sanctioned mission... being a mature adult, Jackson probably felt he couldn't just let his true self loose in a setting like this.
Anyway.
As I had observed, both Sakura and Jackson were incredibly powerful. Being soloists, their movements weren't flashy and their skill usage was restrained, but that only made them feel a cut above the rest.
But then—what about the three whose levels were even higher than theirs...? To put it simply, they were in an entirely different dimension.