Yo! I apologize for being away for so many days, even though I said it would only be a couple of days.
It turns out that my tooth roots are too big, and I had two teeth extracted in total. The anesthesia didn't work very well on me, and in the end, in addition to the pain, I lost a lot of blood. I've been a little weak because of that and decided to take a few more days off.
Now I'm fine and will start uploading chapters again.
By the way, I have a new fanfic if you want to check it out. There are three chapters on Webnovel for now, but on Patreon you can read up to chapter 23.
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"Mm. It's delicious. If I added cinnamon and cherry, it would be perfect."
Rias stared at him with her mouth open, Akeno had stopped practicing with her lightning bolt, and Koneko had stopped stretching mid-movement.
From the expressions on the girls' faces, it was obvious that they were completely stunned.
"Did you just... eat Buchou's Power of Destruction?"
Akeno slowly opened her mouth to speak.
"Um. Yeah. I can eat energy."
He could consume anything. Whether it be energy, matter, or abstract concepts.
Rias finally found her voice.
"Yuu?! What the hell were you doing appearing like that? And why did you scare me like that?!"
"I'm sorry. I wanted to surprise you."
"O-okay, you succeeded!"
She crossed her arms under her breast as she felt her heart beating rapidly.
He approached the crimson-haired girl and gently touched her forehead.
"I'm back, Rias."
Rias pulled her head away from him while her ahoge swayed above her. At the same time, Akeno leaned toward Yuu and took his hands in hers.
"Yuu-kun, did you miss us?"
"Maybe a little."
Koneko nodded.
"...Welcome back."
"Wait."
Rias suddenly raised her eyebrows.
"Yuu, I've noticed you around several girls. Maybe they're your other Pathstriders, right? That would explain this connection I share with them. So why did you suddenly come here?"
She guessed that the girls around him were his Pathstriders, so there was no need to say anything about it.
"I got a call from Sona."
"Sona? When?"
"Ah, just before I came here."
Akeno tilted her head curiously.
"And what did Sona-kaichou want?"
"When I answered, she was opening her mouth very, very slowly. Due to the time difference, it would probably have taken days for her to utter a single word where I am."
Imagine watching someone speak in super slow motion. Except it's even slower than that. Basically a statue that will eventually speak.
"Then... how do you know what she wanted?"
"I read her intentions."
That's why he had hung up the phone and then arrived at Égida, which was passing at the same temporal speed as Saeko's world.
They were still on their way to the Takagi Estate. Yue had stayed behind in case a monster appeared that the girls couldn't handle.
After all, nothing prevented the Void That Devours All from sending a fearsome monster at any moment in search of the light of hope, which in this case was his Pathstriders.
Rias moved her lips as she smiled.
"So? What did she want? That girl, Sona."
"She seemed to be interested in how I would solve your problem."
And knowing Sona, she didn't want to fall behind Rias. If Yuu really managed to make Rias strong, then it would be a problem for her.
Sona and Rias had always been rivals and friends at the same time. Neither of them wanted to fall too far behind the other.
Rias frowned slightly and was about to speak, but Yuu put a finger to her lips.
"But before we talk about that. How has the training been going?"
Rias's expression immediately brightened, temporarily forgetting her question about Sona.
"It's been going well."
She looked proud as she put her hands on her hips.
"We've been practicing our Exclusive Skills, improving our coordination, and..."
Akeno continued from there.
"And Buchou can finally use her Power of Destruction without magic circles consistently. Although she still lacks control under pressure, as we saw just now."
When she had attacked instinctively, Rias had shown good reflexes, but she had poor impulse control.
"...I've been working on my speed. And on better controlling my strength."
Koneko's role was that of a "Tower." That meant she possessed high defense and destructive force. Even if she had a small body.
'Mm... Even though she has a talent for senjutsu... Wow, Rias has been collecting girls with trauma.'
'Well, they've all been working hard.'
"Let me update your statuses. To see exactly how much progress you've made."
Three devil girls approached him as they now knew the process.
"I wonder if you like seeing us naked, huh, Yuu. So should we get naked?"
Rias flashed a dazzling smile.
"Umu, your backs are beautiful. Ah, it's not just that. My blood needs direct contact with the skin on your backs to properly update your Status."
He had already explained that before, so the girls gave him a sidelong glance. The more excuses one made, the more one gave oneself away.
He just wanted to see them naked, right?
Anyway, they had no problem with Yuu seeing their naked bodies, so they took off their shirts one by one. They also removed their bras as they turned around to expose their backs.
When they lay face down, Yuu bit his thumb, letting drops of white blood fall.
The blood glistened upon contact, being absorbed into their skin and disappearing.
He ran a paper across their backs and realized that Rias could level up.
"I see. So that's why I've been feeling heavy in my soul lately..."
All of her stats were SSS, which meant she had reached the maximum stat.
With her stats skyrocketing, it was normal to experience that feeling of heaviness in her soul. That's why a promotion was necessary, and she gladly accepted.
Rias Gremory went from level 32 to 33.
When she became a Pathstrider, she was at level 31. However, during her first seven days of training, she had already leveled up, although she had not maximized her stats.
Akeno Himejima has leveled up for the first time, going from level 26 to 27. She did not maximize all her stats, but focused more on her Magic. However, the increased gravity her body was subjected to every day, even while she slept, caused her Strength and Agility to also reach their maximum.
Koneko Toujou went from level 22 to 23, and her Strength, Agility, Dexterity, and Endurance stats reached the SSS rank, so there were no problems with leveling up.
"Two levels in less than 15 days. I do feel stronger."
She opened and closed her fists as she nodded.
"Well, the higher the level, the harder it is to level up. Eventually, gaining a single level could take weeks."
Or months. Or years if they really reach high levels.
However, they had the passive skill Aegis' Blessing. One of its effects is that the greater the affection the girls feel for Yuu, the faster they can gain stats to level up.
For that reason, the girls leveled up quite quickly in the apocalypse.
After today's battle, they could even go up to Level 3.
Once Rias and her Peerage were dressed again, Yuu projected a three-dimensional map of the Égida Forest into the air.
It was detailed, and what could be seen there was beautiful. Green-topped trees filled the space, and among them were some trees shining in different colors depending on what kind of fruit they contained.
"This is Égida Forest. This is where you will do your next training."
The little white-haired kitten watched with fascination.
"Those glowing trees contain Attribute Fruits. I guess you've heard about them before from this world's system. If you consume them, you will get permanent increases in your stats."
"So, fruits that permanently increase attributes. Yuu-kun, do they have any side effects?"
Akeno had a curious look as she stared at the colorful trees, and to answer her questions, Yuu shook his head.
"They have no negative effects. But once you reach Level 50, they will no longer have any effect on you."
As he said that, he also explained that as they consumed the fruits, the subsequent fruits would give them fewer attributes until they stopped completely at level 50.
"Also, keep in mind that each fruit is protected by guardians."
He enlarged a section of the map, showing what appeared to be a wyvern made of crystal.
"This one, for example, is a Level 40 Crystal Guardian. You can't defeat it using elements. You need brute force."
"Ara~ Sounds exciting. But it's a shame, it seems to be made for Koneko-chan."
Yuu brought up another projection.
"You also have access to the Battle Simulation."
The image showed the moment when a selected part of the area was filled with runes before returning to normal. Then that area was filled with enemies. Seeing those enemies, the girls paled.
"Here you can face virtual versions of any enemy I know. From dragons to gods. The difficulty level is adjustable."
"So it's not real, huh. Yuu, you've really made enemies with these beings. I feel terror just looking at them."
Rias rubbed her arms.
"It feels real. The pain you will experience is real. The experience is real. You can even die."
The three looked at him in surprise.
"Die?"
"In the simulation, yes. Your consciousness will experience death completely. The pain, the fear, and everything that comes with dying."
"But after 'dying,' you'll wake up with no physical harm. Just the memory. And potentially psychological trauma if you're not prepared."
Battle Simulation was made with the intention of giving the Pathstriders extreme training.
In Yuu's opinion, it was quite effective because nothing prepares you better for real death than experiencing virtual death repeatedly.
Akeno spoke thoughtfully.
"So it's both physical and mental training."
"Exactly."
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