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"We're back!"
In the northern district of Orario, a formation of eight towering spires stood like a forest of spears. A group of around thirty people, some carrying, some pushing various supplies, returned to the front gates.
"Open up!"
"Thanks for your hard work!"
The gatekeeper greeted Finn and the others respectfully, then opened the massive doors.
"I'm beat!"
"I want meat, tons of meat!"
"All I want is a good night's sleep..."
Voices of exhaustion, yet oddly full of energy, echoed from the returning expedition party. Their enthusiastic chatter drifted into the stronghold, drawing the attention of the home-guard members, who gathered at the windows to see what was happening.
In no time, the entire Twilight Manor came alive.
"Wooooh! Welcome back, everyone!"
The crimson-haired Chief God Loki came barreling out of the central tower, dashing excitedly toward the expedition party.
"I was soooooo lonelyyyy!"
"Eh?!"
Almost like they had rehearsed it countless times, Riveria, Ais, Tiona, and the others nimbly dodged aside in perfect synchronization. Lefiya, caught off guard and unsure where to run, was promptly tackled by Loki.
"Loki, there were no casualties during this expedition, though we didn't reach a new floor. I'll report the details to you later."
"Got it~"
Loki looked over the party with a smile full of relief and joy at her children's safe return.
But when she saw several girls crowding around Ryoji, asking him all kinds of questions and fussing over him, her expression immediately darkened.
"What're you all chatting about? Let me join too!"
"Nope."
"Once Loki joins in, the fun's over."
"Ehh..."
Their blunt rejection revealed an underlying truth: Loki was hardly treated like a god within her Familia anymore.
As the lights brightened within Twilight Manor...
In the grand dining hall, members of the Familia laughed loudly as they drank and exchanged stories. The expedition group excitedly recounted their adventures, while the home team looked on enviously.
Ryoji's heroic exploits were once again the talk of the night, drawing many to urge him to drink, but he politely toasted each one with tea instead of alcohol, one by one.
"Anyone who wants their ability value updated tonight can come to my room, but no more than ten! I can't handle more than that!"
"What do we do? Go or not?"
"I just want to sleep. Tomorrow's fine."
"Yeah, good point~"
After dinner, most of the tired members chose to return to their rooms to rest.
Ryoji made a stop at the bath to wash off the dust and fatigue, then headed up to Loki's room at the top of the central tower.
Just as he arrived, Ais was walking out of the room.
She held a piece of parchment in her hand, clearly just finished updating her stats, but her expression didn't look happy at all.
"What happened?"
"...My ability value barely went up." Ais lowered her head and handed him the parchment.
Ryoji glanced over it.
Ais – Lv.5
Power: D (549) → D (555)
Endurance: D (540) → D (547)
Dexterity: A (823) → A (825)
Agility: A (821) → A (822)
Magic Power: A (899)
Hunter: G
Abnormal Resistance: G
Swordsman: I
...
The growth could only be described as miserable.
Every stat had only increased by single digits. The total increase was barely even 20 points. Her Magic Power didn't budge at all. And this was after an entire expedition. Ais had slain who knows how many monsters, yet this was all she gained.
This must be the limit of her "container", her current growth ceiling.
What's more, a Level 5 adventurer mowing down monsters that are Level 4 or below barely earns any Excelia. But monsters at Level 5 or higher are exceedingly rare, making it much harder to level up the higher you go.
Even though Ryoji was leveling up quickly now, once he reached Ais's level, the situation would be the same, it would take a huge amount of time and effort to gain even a single level.
"You want to update too?"
"Yeah."
"…Can I take a look?"
"Of course."
Ryoji stepped into Loki's room and Ais followed him back in.
"Ohh, I knew you'd show up on the first night." Loki sat at the edge of her bed, sucking her finger, grinning like she'd expected this all along.
"Alright, off with your top. Let me see just how much you've grown… Eh, Ais-tan, step outside for a sec."
"?"
"Come back in a bit."
"…Okay."
Ais tilted her head, a little confused.
But she still obediently stepped out, giving Loki a sigh of relief.
Ais-tan, Ais-tan… I'm scared you'd be overwhelmed if you saw him naked!
Two minutes later.
"…Alright."
Loki's voice called out again from inside the room.
Ais immediately opened the door and re-entered, almost impatiently.
Inside, Ryoji was just finishing putting his clothes back on.
"Here." He handed over a piece of parchment.
Ais took it with barely concealed anticipation, her gaze dropping onto the surface.
Then her expression froze.
On her usually unreadable face, an intense look of disbelief appeared.
Ryoji – Lv.2
Power: I (0) → S (999)
Endurance: I (0) → S (999)
Dexterity: I (0) → SSS (1371)
Agility: I (0) → SSS (1783)
Magic Power: I (0) → C (634)
Hunter: I
…
Total increase: over 5,000 points.
Was she seeing things? Or was this world just messing with her?
No, of course not.
This was very, very real.
Even Loki looked completely out of it, drooling slightly with no awareness of it at all, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer shock.
"Amazing…" Ais murmured softly.
Really amazing.
She had never seen anyone this powerful.
He'd said earlier in the afternoon that he might grow by four to five thousand points, and he actually did it.
Especially Dexterity and Agility, he had broken into the SSS-Rank. That tier was practically unheard of, completely beyond anything Ais had ever imagined.
Over 999 Proficiency points…?
She stared, bewildered, almost lost.
It felt like her understanding of the world couldn't keep up anymore.
She even began to doubt herself; was she really such a failure that she hadn't even reached a single S-rank stat?
"…I'm leaving." Ais clenched her fist so tightly around the parchment it almost crumpled in her hand.
Her voice trembled as she excused herself and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Snnnkkk!"
Startled by the sound of the door shutting, Loki snapped out of her daze and quickly slurped up the drool at the edge of her mouth.
"Is my Ais-tan okay? I'm really worried Iyaaa~!"
Though she had been temporarily knocked senseless by shock, Ais's reaction hadn't escaped her eyes, and concern flashed across her face.
"Alright, Loki, let's talk about this new discovery."
Ryoji sat down in front of Loki again, this time directly facing her.
He had a soft, gentle smile on his face, completely different from his usual shameless grin. It was as if a warm, pink glow surrounded him, complete with sparkles and shoujo manga-style visual effects.
In that instant, Loki felt like her sanity nearly evaporated.
Assaulted by sheer beauty, her mind went blank, her limbs went weak, and her heart flooded with an overwhelming urge to claim this boy for herself.
"S-Stop… Don't… don't use your charm skill in front of me…"
Loki's face flushed with passion, her voice barely resisting and melting with desire.
She looked like she could break into song at any moment.
(End of Chapter)