"Congratulations on your promotion to Level 6, Charlie. You've grown even stronger."
Connected directly to Charlie's soul through their contract, Aishia was the one who most clearly sensed the increase in her contractor's power. Not only that, she herself automatically grew stronger every time Charlie leveled up.
"I need to test how much I've improved so I can better control my body. Aishia, Est, stay here and protect Kei while I'm gone."
Charlie clenched his fist. His new power made him feel invincible. Of course, he knew it was just a temporary illusion from the sudden surge.
"No problem. If Charlie encounters an enemy, call me or Est immediately."
Aishia agreed easily, her eyes radiating full confidence.
On the other hand, Est only nodded lightly.
"Make sure you come back, Onii-chan."
"I'm off."
Opening the worn-out room window, Charlie shot forward.
*WHOOSH!—BOOM!*
His speed instantly broke the sound barrier. His body moved so fast it scraped the atmosphere blocking his path. A sonic boom echoed in the sky, and a small fiery tornado formed around him from the super-high heat of air friction. In an instant, he vanished from sight.
"…"
After Charlie left, Aishia turned to Kei. Compared to Est, she was better at reading human emotions, so she knew Kei was hesitant and full of questions.
"You want to ask, right? As long as I can answer, I will."
"Is that okay? I don't want to cause trouble."
Kei remained cautious, not wanting to offend them. A year surviving in a post-apocalyptic world had turned wariness into second nature.
"In your eyes, do we look like bad people?"
"…"
Aishia's direct question silenced Kei. After all, if they meant her harm, she was completely powerless to resist.
"Sorry for suspecting you."
"No need to apologize, Kei. On the contrary, it's a good quality. If you were naive, you wouldn't have survived until now."
"Aishia-san…"
Relief, embarrassment, and warmth mixed in Kei's heart. It had been so long since she'd received genuine care like Aishia showed. She was too used to betrayal and human malice, so when someone was kind, she couldn't trust it right away.
"…"
Meanwhile, Est simply watched the interaction between Aishia and Kei in silence. From the start, she wasn't the sociable type.
"Charlie-san doesn't seem like the kind of thug who'd tattoo his body. So I was a bit curious about the 'tattoo' on his back. Especially since it doesn't look like a normal tattoo."
Finally, under Aishia's gentle persuasion, Kei voiced the doubt weighing on her mind.
"Indeed, Charlie doesn't like tattoos. What's on his back isn't a tattoo—it's the manifestation of Falna."
Since it wasn't a big secret, Aishia told Kei without hesitation.
"Falna?"
It was a term Kei had heard in their earlier conversations. Though she was a top student who entered Shuchi'in Academy's middle school division on scholarship, she knew nothing about Falna. And that was normal—on the contrary, if Kei did know about Falna, that would be suspicious.
"Ah, if it's something others shouldn't know, you don't have to tell me. I'm just a little curious, that's all!"
Worried she'd touched a sensitive topic, Kei hurriedly waved her hands.
"It's not a secret at all. Falna is known to everyone—even children—in our original world."
"I see. Thank goodness, I'm not troubling Aishia-san."
"So? Still want to know about Falna?"
"Yes, please!"
Since Aishia offered, Kei nodded enthusiastically.
Deep in her heart, a small hope began to sprout. Maybe… if possible, I want supernatural power too. She didn't need to be as strong as Charlie—just enough to protect herself.
Kei knew that no matter how cleverly she avoided danger, the day would come when she could no longer run. For her, it was only a matter of time before she fell into the hands of evil men and suffered a tragic fate—raped until pregnant, then discarded like used tissue.
"…"
Unaware of Kei's inner thoughts, Aishia began explaining Falna in simple, easy-to-understand terms, even for a complete novice.
"Falna is a divine blessing given by gods to humans, meant to guide and awaken their hidden potential. Those who receive it cease to be ordinary humans and become members of a Familia."
"So Falna is… basically a guiding power?" Kei asked, trying to confirm.
"Exactly."
Aishia gave a faint smile, pleased that Kei grasped it quickly.
"Falna helps humans grow faster. For those who can't awaken their talents on their own, Falna acts like an amplifier."
"Falna also allows ordinary people to turn their potential into visible numbers. As long as they keep working hard, they grow stronger. And once they see that growth, they're motivated to work even harder. That's what Falna does."
Aishia paused briefly, letting Kei absorb the information.
"Wait a second, Aishia-san! You said Falna is given by gods? Gods really exist?! And why do gods give Falna to humans?"
The more Kei learned, the more questions flooded her mind.
"I don't know if gods exist in this world, but in ours, gods walking among mortals is commonplace."
Next, Aishia gave a brief introduction to the history of the gods descending from Heaven to the Lower World, explaining how they left Heaven and limited their powers to experience a more interesting life among mortals.
"Haaah… This completely shatters my worldview about gods. Their actions—seeking pleasure to escape boredom—aren't much different from humans. No, their behavior might be even more extreme."
Kei groaned while rubbing her temples. The image of gods she'd imagined as grand, wise beings crumbled, replaced by bored deities seeking entertainment through human interaction.
"I get it. So Charlie-san's power comes from Falna given by a god!"
Kei concluded excitedly, thinking she'd grasped the root of Charlie's strength.
"You're only half right, Kei."
"Eh? So that's not it?"
Confident in her assumption, Kei was shocked by Aishia's correction.
"In Charlie's case, Falna acts more as a catalyst. The power within him isn't something Falna gave—it was already there before he received it. Falna just turns it into visible data."
"For ordinary people, Falna is an extraordinary blessing. For the talented, Falna makes their potential manifest early. But for someone who's already realized their potential, Falna merely measures what's already there."
"Of course, I'm not saying Falna doesn't strengthen Charlie. After all, Falna converts life experiences—Excelia—into real power. However, so far, Charlie's strength comes from himself or was obtained from various sources. Falna only boosts parameter stats and grants Development Abilities upon leveling up."
Aishia's statement was completely accurate. If one traced the origin of each of Charlie's abilities:
—Spirit Art, Spirit Contractor, Infinite Essence, and Prodigy Swordsman were magic and skills from the Karasuki Rio template.
—The Chosen Savior was a skill given by Alaya and Gaia to every third-cycle Savior. In other words, it wasn't unique to Charlie—nine others had it too.
—Six Eyes, Immortality, and Senrigan were rewards from Gaia and Alaya after Charlie completed Quests in the Planar World.
—Crystallized Wisdom, Armor of Fafnir, and Dragon Slayer were skills Charlie gained after slaying the Evil Dragon Fafnir in a certain Planar World.
—And most recently, God Hand and Nine Lives were unexpected gifts from Heracles.
Then what about Falna? Aside from Development Abilities and converting Excelia into parameter stats, its role in granting Charlie actual skills and magic was barely felt. Falna did accelerate his growth thanks to various effects of The Chosen Savior, but his core abilities came from elsewhere.
Thus, Aishia wasn't wrong in interpreting Falna as more of a catalyst—a tool that facilitated and sped up the process, not the source of power itself.
"That's… truly amazing. So Charlie-san was already an extraordinary man even before receiving that blessing."
Kei stared at the spot where Charlie had vanished. Her admiration now ran even deeper.