Early morning.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As soon as the sky began to lighten, the continuous clashing of steel echoed from the central courtyard.
A silver rapier and a katana crossed blades more than a dozen times in the blink of an eye, stirring fierce winds that caused the flowers and plants along the path to sway violently.
The intensity of the battle between the two left many members of the familia, whether openly or secretly watching, utterly stunned.
Because the strength of the two combatants was utterly unreasonable.
"So strong!"
Eiji was testing his power after levelling up.
Having reached Level 3 with maxed-out stats, his strength had increased significantly compared to before, far surpassing that of an average newly promoted Level 3 adventurer.
Compared to when he first arrived in this world without any blessings, he was now at least ten times stronger.
If he were to compare raw strength with Kuraudo Kurashiki now, he wouldn't lose—in fact, he could easily overpower him. By the standards of the Rakudai world, his physical abilities had undoubtedly reached Rank A!
Though the improvement in magic power was relatively smaller, it was still five or six times greater than before, further raising the upper limit of his Absolute GodSpeed.
Of course, strength could be considered his weak point. His agility was where the true terror lay.
This agility wasn't just reflected in his footwork but also in his sword speed. At full power, he could now unleash over a dozen slashes in an instant.
The blessing's enhancement was comprehensive—not just physical abilities but also auditory acuity, dynamic vision, reflexes, and more had all seen substantial progress.
Compared to when he first arrived in this world a little over a month ago, he was practically a different person now!
But even so—
"Too fast!"
The girl opposing him was even stronger.
Because she could unleash dozens of slashes in an instant, overwhelming even Eiji's significantly improved vision. Without relying on his intuition, he could barely keep track of her sword.
Her strength also completely overpowered his. Despite her slender arms, which looked like they might snap with a little too much force, the sheer power behind her strikes left Eiji's arms trembling.
Though Eiji, now at Level 3, was undoubtedly strong, the gap between him and Ais—who was at the peak of Level 5—remained vast.
In Eiji's mind, the only ones who could surpass Level 5 were likely at the level of that expired lol!.
"Stop, I surrender!"
After half a minute, Eiji abruptly leapt back, raising his hands in surrender.
Ais took a step forward, her silver rapier thrusting out once more.
A sharp gust of wind rushed at Eiji's face, making him almost think Ais was trying to kill him.
Only when the tip of her sword was right in front of him did Ais finally stop.
"What's wrong with you?"
Eiji wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and cautiously pushed the rapier's tip aside.
Honestly, he didn't think he'd done anything to provoke Ais. Sure, he'd patted her head twice, but she'd done the same to him—didn't that make them even?
"Nothing. Sorry."
Ais shook her head and sheathed her rapier.
"You were fighting like I was your father's murderer—how could there be nothing wrong?"
Eiji rolled his eyes.
He'd just wanted to test his post-level-up strength. Who knew Ais would go all out, attacking him with near-full force? Even after giving it his all, he'd barely lasted half a minute before being overwhelmed.
His offhand remark, however, made Ais freeze.
"Come, sit down. Talk to me."
Eiji sat on a bench by the fountain and patted the empty spot beside him. Worried she might refuse, he added,
"If you don't sort out your feelings, it'll affect your meditation, you know."
Sure enough.
Ais had been about to refuse, but at those words, she hesitated before finally sitting down on the bench.
"Last night, I had a dream."
Ais's expression darkened.
"It was from my childhood..."
Come to think of it, Eiji knew nothing about Ais's past.
As a child, Ais had deeply admired the heroes from stories, longing for one who would protect her.
In this world where heroes were commonplace, such a wish wasn't unusual.
When she was six, she had once accidentally wandered into the Dungeon and encountered a monster.
Just as she was about to be killed, her father saved her—just like the heroes in the stories.
Because of that, she idolized him.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not your hero. The one I love is your mother."
Yet at the time, the man had apologized to her with those words.
Not long after, both of her parents left Orario. Ais joined the Loki Familia and was raised with affection by Loki, Riveria, and the others.
"I've always admired strength. If I keep getting stronger, someday I'll..."
Ais murmured softly.
She didn't finish the sentence, only continuing in a whisper.
That was likely her deepest secret—something she didn't want anyone to know.
Her admiration for strength was the only truth.
But yesterday, she saw Eiji's status.
Eiji possessed strength that defied common sense.
Beyond his impossibly refined swordsmanship and his unique Absolute GodSpeed—which had been demonstrated enough times that most familia members knew about it, though they didn't ask since Eiji never explained—his raw abilities were extraordinarily powerful.
Ais admired strength, and she was indeed one of Orario's rare elite adventurers. But compared to Eiji, her strength seemed insignificant.
Right now, she could still overpower him due to her higher level. But once he reached Level 5—no, even at Level 4—she likely wouldn't be his match anymore.
She was competitive, yet she couldn't help but feel helpless.
During their earlier fight, aside from magic, she had held nothing back. Yet Eiji had still lasted half a minute, leaving her feeling even more frustrated—even jealous.
In summary, Ais was having a mental breakdown.
"How can I become as strong as you?"
Ais stared intently at Eiji.
"Tell me. I want to know everything about you!"
She leaned in, closing the distance between them until they were close enough to hear each other's breathing.
Her golden eyes burned with desire.
She worked just as hard as Eiji, but she knew that effort alone would never let her reach the unprecedented heights he had.
"Become as strong as me?"
Eiji fell into thought.
There was a way—cheating!
He had the advantage of being a transmigrator, granting him unimaginable talent and a Causation Interference ability. With that foundation, he had achieved his current strength.
But his strength wasn't solely due to that.
"Hardship."
After a moment of contemplation, Eiji finally gave his answer.
"Hardship?"
"Yes. When you endure enough hardship, you'll naturally grow stronger."
Eiji couldn't enhance Ais's innate talent or grant her a supernatural ability. So the only thing he could teach her was this:
To endure hardship.
"I've suffered unimaginable hardships to reach where I am today... In short, keep fighting. Defeat opponents far stronger than yourself. That's how you'll surpass your limits!"
***
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