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Early Morning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Just as dawn broke, the sound of relentless clashing steel rang out from the courtyard.
A silver rapier and a katana clashed dozens of times in the blink of an eye, causing strong gusts of wind to howl, while the nearby flowers and grass shook violently from the pressure.
The battle between the two was so intense that many members of the familia, those watching openly or secretly, were completely stunned.
Because the power levels of both fighters… were totally unreasonable.
"So strong!"
Ryoji was testing out his new strength after leveling up. Having reached Lv.3 with maxed-out Power, his strength had significantly increased once again, far beyond the typical Lv.3 Adventurer.
Compared to when he first arrived in this world without the Blessing (Falna), he was now at least ten times stronger.
If he were to compare arm strength with Kurashiki Kuraudo now, he definitely wouldn't lose, he might even win decisively. By Rakudai world standards, his current physical abilities were absolutely rank A!
His Magic Power hadn't improved as dramatically, but it had still grown about 5 to 6 times stronger than at the start. The upper limits of his Absolute Divine Speed had also risen substantially.
Of course, strength was actually his weakest stat, his Agility was where the real terror lay.
This Agility wasn't just about leg speed, it extended to sword speed too. If he went all out, he could unleash over ten sword strikes in an instant.
And the Blessing (Falna) enhanced everything, not just physical strength, but also hearing, dynamic vision, reflexes, and more. All of it had seen significant improvement.
Compared to himself from just over a month ago when he first arrived in this world, he was now a completely different person, the difference between Heaven and Earth!
But even so,
"Too fast!"
His opponent, the girl, was even stronger.
Because she could unleash dozens of strikes in a single moment. Even with his improved eyesight, Ryoji's vision blurred. Without relying on intuition, he couldn't even track her sword.
Her power also overwhelmingly surpassed his. Her arms were slim and delicate, like they'd snap from a bit of pressure, yet the force behind her sword left Ryoji's arms trembling violently.
Even though Lv.3 Ryoji was already incredibly strong, compared to Lv.5 Ais at her peak, the gap was still massive.
In Ryoji's mind, only someone on the level of that legal loli (i.e., a god-tier character) could possibly surpass her.
"Stop! I surrender!"
Thirty seconds later, Ryoji leapt back and raised both hands in defeat. Ais stepped forward again, thrusting her silver rapier toward him. The sharp wind pressure rushed at him, and Ryoji nearly thought Ais was trying to kill him.
The sword only halted when the tip was right in front of his face.
"What's wrong with you?" Ryoji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and carefully pushed aside the tip of her sword.
Honestly, he didn't think he had done anything to provoke Ais… maybe just patted her head twice? But she also patted his head, so didn't that cancel out?
"It's nothing. Sorry." Ais shook her head and sheathed her silver rapier.
"You were fighting like I murdered your father. Don't tell me it's 'nothing'..." Ryoji rolled his eyes.
All he wanted was to test his newly leveled-up strength. Who knew Ais would go so berserk? She had fought him with nearly everything she had. Despite doing his absolute best, he still lasted less than half a minute before being forced to surrender.
His offhanded complaint, however, made Ais suddenly freeze.
"Come on, have a seat and talk to me." Ryoji sat down on a bench by the fountain and patted the empty space beside him. Worried she might ignore him, he added: "If you don't sort yourself out, it'll mess with your meditation too, you know."
And sure enough, Ais had wanted to refuse, but the moment she heard his words, she hesitated, and then sat down on the bench beside him.
"I had a dream last night." Ais's expression was downcast. "A dream… from my childhood."
Come to think of it, Ryoji didn't know anything about Ais's past.
As a child, Ais had deeply admired the heroes from the stories she read. She longed for a hero who would protect her.
That was a common wish in this world, where heroes were abundant.
When she was six years old, she once accidentally wandered into the Dungeon and encountered a monster.
Just as she was about to be killed by it, her father saved her, just like a hero from a tale.
So, she admired her father immensely.
"I'm sorry... I'm not your hero. I love your mother."
That was what the man had told her back then, with an apologetic expression.
Not long after that, her parents left Orario.
Ais joined the Loki Familia and grew up under the loving care of Loki, Riveria, and the others.
"I've always longed for strength. If I just keep getting stronger… someday I'll-- " Ais whispered quietly.
She didn't finish the sentence, only murmured it under her breath.
That was probably the deepest secret in her heart, something she didn't want anyone to know.
What was clear was her yearning for strength.
But yesterday, she saw Ryoji's ability values.
Ryoji's body was unreasonably powerful.
Leaving aside his astonishing swordsmanship and the bizarre "Absolute Divine Speed" ability, which he had demonstrated so many times that the Familia members all knew of it (though since Ryoji had never actively explained it, no one asked), his base stats were absurdly high.
Ais yearned for strength, and she was indeed one of Orario's top adventurers.
But compared to Ryoji… her "strength" suddenly felt trivial.
Right now, she could still hold an advantage over him due to her higher level. But once he leveled up to Lv.5, no, even just Lv.4, she probably wouldn't be able to beat him anymore.
She was competitive by nature.
But now she felt helplessly frustrated, there was nothing she could do.
In that spar earlier, she had fought with nearly everything she had (except for Magic), and yet Ryoji still managed to hold out for half a minute. That fact alone made her deeply anxious… even envious.
In short, Ais's mindset had collapsed.
"How can I become as strong as you?" Ais stared intently at Ryoji. "Can you tell me? I want to understand your whole appr-- Tch!"
She leaned forward, closing the distance between them. They were now close enough to hear each other's breathing.
Her golden eyes were filled with desperation and desire.
She had worked just as hard as Ryoji, there was no doubt about that. But she knew all too well: just working hard would never allow her to reach the unprecedented heights he had.
"Become as strong as me…?"
Ryoji fell into thought.
There was a way, sure, cheating!
He had a reincarnation cheat, a broken innate skill, and an insane Causation Manipulation-type special ability. With that kind of foundation, it was no wonder he'd grown so strong.
But that wasn't the only reason for his strength.
"Hardship." After a moment of quiet reflection, Ryoji finally answered calmly.
"Hardship?"
"Yeah. If you go through enough hardship… you'll naturally become stronger."
Ryoji couldn't boost Ais's innate talent. He couldn't give her his "Sword-Cutting" special ability either. In that case, there was only one thing he could pass on to her,
Endure hardship.
"I've gone through more suffering than you could ever imagine. That's how I got to where I am now… Just go out and fight. Defeat opponents far stronger than yourself. If you do that, you'll definitely break past your limits!"
(End of Chapter)