"It's no trouble. This is Lady Riveria's order, and I'm quite curious about you too. For a human to have magical talent like us elves—it's quite rare."
Fron rubbed his nose and laughed awkwardly:
"Every race has its exceptions. I've seen Pallum mages, human mages, even Amazoness mages—but never a dwarf or beastman mage."
------------------------------
Miss Alicia, the elf, sat formally upright, facing Fron across the table. But his gaze kept being drawn elsewhere—some majestic structures were luring his eyes.
Noticing his distraction, she smiled faintly and nonchalantly began to explain:
"Beastman's and dwarves also have individuals who awaken to magic, like Mr. Cruz and Mr. Bete."
"But individuals don't represent the average potential of an entire race. You understand what I mean, right?"
As she spoke, she blinked and asked Fron if he understood.
"I get it. Elves are called a magical race because most of you can naturally use magic, just like beastmen generally have beast transformation abilities."
"Exactly."
"Of course, after the descent of the gods, we received the 'God's Blessing.' Using it as a medium, we began to unearth the potential of individuals. That brings us to the issue."
"Because of limitless possibilities, every race gained the opportunity to awaken magic. As a result, magic began to diversify."
"In summary, modern magic can generally be divided into two categories: innate and acquired."
"Innate is self-explanatory—it refers to magic tied to one's aptitude or racial foundation. Magical races since ancient times can actively learn magic through inherent talent, cultivation, and rituals. Though their attributes tend to be fixed, the effects are broad and powerful."
"As for acquired magic—"
Alicia looked into Fron's golden eyes and said seriously:
"Acquired magic is potential unearthed using 'God's Blessing' as a medium. A more accurate term might be 'self-actualization.'"
"It's highly random. Not just us mortals—even the gods can't fully comprehend it."
"There are infinite divergences within unknown rules. What's important is that it's greatly influenced by experience points."
"As for what magic is, you could describe it as a matter of interest."
"This aspect is especially crucial for acquired magic."
"For example, taking interest in something, feeling identification, hatred, admiration, sorrow, worship, making vows, desires—under the God's Blessing, these emotions become crystal clear."
At that point, Riveria interjected.
"Speaking of your magic, I can't imagine what kind of interest you must've had to awaken such an excessive magical attribute—"
"…"
Fron looked awkward, like sitting on pins and needles. Destruction attribute and all—that wasn't something he asked for.
"Have you studied your own magic attribute in detail?"
Faced with the solemn inquiry from a elf royal, and Alicia's curious gaze, Fron opened his mouth but then looked down.
"Not really. I just use it instinctively, like wielding a sword. I only know it's powerful—like really high temperatures. After using it, even the dungeon floor melts. And—it's not very friendly to weapons and armor."
"…"
Riveria and Alicia exchanged a surprised glance. It seemed even more over-the-top than Ais's magic.
"Destruction, huh? That's a very broad category. Your equipment expenses might be unimaginable."
"…"
He was already mentally prepared—deep down, he had the sense that his magic could destroy weapons and gear. This attribute was extreme, affecting both enemies and himself equally.
"From this, we can probably infer that your core magical ability is the destruction of an entity's physical structure, possibly even energy structure."
"In terms of application, that would manifest as 'anti-force' or 'opposition'."
Elves really knew how to explain magic in a way that was easy to understand—even someone as inexperienced as Fron could grasp it immediately.
It had nothing to do with power—just foundational knowledge.
"As for the specifics, that's something you'll have to discover on your own."
"Alright, next we'll go over some basic knowledge to give you a well-rounded understanding of the magic system."
From then on, Fron buried himself in the library, immersed in the world of magic.
From basic theories, to ritual components, to fundamental materials—a huge stack of books that he eagerly absorbed.
When Ais, Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, and the others returned from the dungeon and heard that Fron was still studying in the library, they were stunned.
"Amazing, he's been in the library all day? I could never do that, no way."
"Reading books has none of that blood-pumping thrill. Fighting's where the passion is!"
Lefiya trembled—Amazoness warrior types, as expected—were so aggressive.
"He's still working hard to grow stronger?" — That was Ais's inner thought.
No one knew when Loki appeared, grinning as she pounced on the unsuspecting Lefiya.
"I'm super excited about his next status update, you guys!"
Tione asked curiously:
"He should've already met the criteria to level up, right? Like that time he defeated a level 2 sabertooth single-handedly."
"Yeah, he's long been eligible."
"That fast? It hasn't even been a month!"
Bete kicked the door open—he had returned unnoticed.
"Loki, jokes have their limits. That guy leveling up in under a month—that's just—"
"Hehehe, Bete. Feeling the pressure? Maybe that kid Fron will catch up to you all in six months!"
BANG—Bete left.
"Hahahahaha! Bete like that is too funny, I'm dying!"
"Loki, your jokes aren't funny at all."
"…"
"Hey hey hey, don't start messing around now!"
And so, from that day on, for some reason, the Loki Familia base became eerily quiet.
Before dawn each day, members would begin disappearing one by one.
Their deity Loki was left all alone in the mansion, unable to get close to any of the girls.
All she had for company now were Finn, Riveria, and Grace.
"Sigh…"
"Loki, your mood's been down these days—something happen?"
Finn asked knowingly with a smile.
"Hey, that's mean, Finn!"
"But this is good, right? With everyone in this state, the next expedition might bring major breakthroughs. Maybe they'll push past the 50th floor in one go."
"Enough. Hmph. The Denatus is today, I'm going!"
"Uh… How long has it been since she attended one of those?"
"No clue. It's been a long time, anyway."
"I heard from a little birdie that she's going to show off in front of a certain goddess—"
"Gods really have too much time on their hands."
"Otherwise, why would they descend to the lower world?"
The three top leaders chatted idly, killing time.
...
Meanwhile—
After finishing his daytime magic lessons, Fron dove into his workshop once more.
After ten or so days of progress, he was becoming increasingly skilled—crude but detailed, his craftsmanship improving steadily.
Over this time, he'd created several items: a pair of gloves, leather boots, a cloak, and a large backpack.
Combined with his first creation, a belt, he now had the basic gear of an adventurer.
Today's task was to make a backup weapon—a short sword.