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What happened in Loki's God's Chamber was known to no one besides the leaders and executives of the Loki Familia.

But from that day onward, the members of the Loki Familia were surprised to discover that, for some reason, the executives had started going out every other day.

Bete, Tiona, Tione, and even Ais, who had suddenly become more taciturn than before, appeared at Twilight Manor far less often. They ran out early every morning, ignoring even the handling of loot and the celebration banquet after returning from the expedition.

This left many members of the Loki Familia puzzled, sparking quite a bit of discussion.

"What's going on with the executives?"

"Why have they been running out every day lately?"

"Is there something important they need to deal with?"

"I heard people saw the executives entering the Dungeon before dawn and not coming back until late at night. Did they suddenly decide to work their asses off?"

"But why?"

Everyone was full of questions. Some even went to ask The Big Three among the leadership, only to receive an even more baffling answer.

"They're just feeling pressured. Don't mind them. Let them do as they please."

That was the unified explanation The Big Three gave to the outside world, leaving the Familia members who heard it rather bewildered.

"Pressure?"

"The executives feel pressure too?"

"Who could possibly put pressure on them?"

That was the most incomprehensible part.

Unfortunately, the leaders had no intention of explaining. They merely smiled and brushed aside the matter of the executives, leaving the members who cared about it no choice but to suppress their doubts.

Riezel learned about it as well. Though he found it a little unexpected, he was not surprised.

Just as Loki had said, knowing there was someone with cheat-like powers catching up from behind would make anyone with even a little ambition or competitive spirit feel pressured, much less these executives, who were already geniuses.

They were not like The Big Three, who were older and vastly more experienced. They inevitably still had a desire to compete and refuse to admit defeat.

Or rather, in terms of age, the executives were all quite young.

Take the Amazon twin sisters Tiona and Tione, for example. Though they were already Lv.5 First Class Adventurers, they were actually only seventeen years old, the same age as Riezel was in this life.

Ais, Orario's Strongest Female Swordsman and the record holder for the fastest Level Up to Lv.2, was only sixteen this year—one year younger than Riezel in this life.

Bete was somewhat older, already twenty-two this year, but compared with The Big Three among the leadership, he was still a young man.

After all, Finn, that Pallum who looked like a human toddler, was already forty-two this year. Gareth was fifty-six, and Riveria, a long-lived Elf, was said to be second only to Loki in age within the entire Familia. No one dared say exactly how old she was, much less ask, for fear that Orario's Strongest Mage would reduce them to ashes with a spell.

Compared to leaders like them, executives such as Ais were completely young people. That was why Gareth complained that they were rash and immature.

Under such circumstances, although Riezel was a newcomer, he belonged to the same age group as Ais and the others.

In that case, it was only natural for them to see him as a rival.

Even though Riezel knew that, if his age from his previous life were included, he was definitely older than the executives and was probably younger only than The Big Three among the leadership in the Familia, in everyone else's eyes, he was undoubtedly still a young junior.

That greatly stimulated the competitive spirit of all those talented young men and women.

"So Loki knew this would happen and deliberately used me to provoke them?"

Riezel figured that out, but he had no objections.

It was perfectly normal for the patron God of a Familia to want the children under their care to work harder and improve more.

If his arrival could motivate the geniuses in the Familia and make them work harder, that was certainly a good thing.

Of course, considering Loki's personality, that lousy patron God probably also wanted to watch the show and enjoy the spectacle.

Because of that, Riveria protested to Loki for quite a while, making the patron God grovel and apologize for who knew how long before Riveria finally calmed down.

Riezel had heard Loki mutter something once.

"The only one I need to worry about is Ais-tan. If that girl gets pushed too far and does something reckless, Riveria will probably smash my head in with her staff."

Riezel took Loki's muttering to heart.

Because he had noticed that, ever since learning the details of his Ability Value, Ais's emotions seemed to have become somewhat unstable.

To begin with, she was not good at expressing her feelings and came across as somewhat aloof. That was why people teasingly called her the Puppet Princess. Normally, she was extremely quiet, making it difficult for others to guess what she was thinking.

After that day, Ais not only became even more taciturn, but also started leaving early and returning late every day. Whenever she came back, she was filthy. Compared to Riezel, who loved seeking excitement and kept venturing into floors his current Ability Value could not safely explore, returning battered and exhausted every day, she was no better.

Riezel found that somewhat concerning.

After all, he knew what kind of person Ais Wallenstein was, and he knew what sorrowful wish she carried in her heart.

When he had asked Ais to teach him magic before, Riezel had said those words precisely because he had seen through that.

"I really want to become strong as quickly as possible."

Those words could also be said to be the greatest reflection of Ais's heart.

It was because of those words that Ais had been moved and agreed to teach Riezel magic.

Thus, Riezel knew very well that the girl named Ais Wallenstein, like him, longed to become stronger—more than anything.

If his growth had provoked this girl into doing something reckless, Riezel himself would not feel good about it.

She had taught him magic and even swordsmanship. Riezel truly did not want Ais to be driven into losing her mind because of him.

So Riezel decided to have a proper talk with Loki about it.

However, Loki looked utterly unconcerned.

"Relax, we know what we're doing."

In the God's Chamber that night, Loki updated Riezel's Ability Value as usual while chatting with him.

"We know better than anyone how reckless Ais-tan can be. We're definitely keeping an eye on her. It hasn't reached the point where you need to worry."

There was not the slightest concern on Loki's face. Instead, she looked completely relaxed. One hand moved across Riezel's back, while the other held a bottle of liquor. She drank mouthful after mouthful until her face turned red.

"Are you sure you can keep it under control?"

Riezel ignored the drunkard and merely asked with a frown.

"Don't worry, don't worry." Loki grinned drunkenly. "Once it gets too hard to watch, Mama will step in and stop her."

By "Mama," she meant Riveria, right?

Indeed, as the senior elder of the Familia, Riveria possessed a warmth that ordinary royalty lacked. Among the Familia's leaders, she cared for the younger members the most.

She was like a mother, watching over countless people in the Familia. Ais in particular had practically been raised by Riveria since childhood, making her little different from Riveria's own daughter.

That Elf Royalty had even shown warmth and concern toward Riezel, who had only just joined the Familia. Right now, she was probably the one secretly paying the closest attention to Ais's condition.

If that was the case, then once she judged that Ais could not be allowed to continue like this, she really might intervene.

"Alright!"

As Riezel sank into thought, Loki's loose, lazy voice reached him.

"Here, this is your latest Ability Value."

Loki handed Riezel a sheet of parchment.

Riezel took it and looked it over.

Riezel Brihaut

Lv.1

Strength: D555 → C678

Endurance: D548 → C666

Dexterity: C623 → B772

Agility: C637 → B793

Magic: I0 → F314

"Man, that's another ridiculous jump in growth."

Loki gulped down more liquor. It was hard to tell whether she was trying to get herself drunk so that Riezel's growth rate would stop making her scalp tingle, or whether she had truly grown used to it. She wore a smiling expression.

"Every ability increased by more than 850 points in total. The growth in the 'Magic' category especially could scare a God to death. You've been using Ais-tan's magic quite a lot recently, haven't you?"

Loki clicked her tongue in amazement.

She was right.

For the sake of improving his "Magic" category, Riezel had indeed focused on magic training lately and used magic very frequently.

And the facts proved that Riezel's initial decision to learn Ais's magic had unquestionably been a wise one.

Ultra-short incantation enhancement magic was extremely convenient and easy to use. It took only one second to activate, and unlike other spells, its effects did not vanish after firing off a single blast.

The effects of enhancement magic lasted for a while and did not immediately disappear.

During that time, Riezel was effectively using magic continuously.

With such frequent magic use, the results naturally showed in the growth of his "Magic." Combined with the nature of enhancement magic itself, he still had to charge into battle and fight at close range after casting it. That also trained his other ability categories, allowing him to improve on both fronts without neglecting anything.

"Still, the growth rate of my other ability categories has slowed."

Riezel said that much, at least.

"Be grateful, brat." Loki rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Look at the stage your Ability Value has reached. If it didn't slow down, I'd start wondering whether you were really human or the illegitimate son of some God."

According to the principle that basic abilities grew slower the closer they got to Stage S, Riezel already had two abilities at Stage B. Naturally, his basic abilities could no longer grow as quickly as before.

It was completely reasonable for the pace to slow down.

"By the way, with your current condition, you should be able to prepare for a Level Up before long, right?"

Holding her bottle, Loki stared at Riezel and said that.

"So? What do you think?"

Hearing that, Riezel fell into thought.

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