Still, despite saying that, Otto's eyes flashed with a hint of hesitation—
Otto thought of another, more reliable chess piece, but the right time had not yet come. Revealing it too early might create even more variables, leaving Otto somewhat undecided.
"But the best choice does not necessarily lead to the best ending... Take Welt Joyce, for example..."
Void Archives seemed genuinely unafraid that Otto would lock it away in solitary confinement as it kindly reminded him.
"Heh..."
Otto merely chuckled at that.
"Why not?
At the right time and in the right place, make the right choice for the good of the entire world..."
Half a Month's Results and Leveling Up
"Ninety-seven..."
"Ninety-eight..."
"Ninety-nine..."
His throat was as dry as parched, cracked earth, without a trace of moisture left, making it difficult for Gwen to even make a sound. It felt as though every drop of water in his body had left with his sweat. He could only count silently in his heart as his arms, already at their limit, trembled while lifting the barbell that weighed a thousand pounds.
With only the final step left before completing today's training, Gwen did not relax in the slightest. Following the proper technique, he slowly bent his arms and shakily returned the barbell to its rack. The breath he had been holding finally escaped, and he began panting heavily.
Two weeks had passed since the day Anna began teaching him how to use these basic exercise machines.
Over those two weeks, every day of Gwen's life had been incredibly fulfilling—
Every morning, he woke early to train with You Lan Dai Er and Anna. After breakfast, he studied theoretical knowledge alongside the reserves, who were four or five years younger than him yet generally taller. After lunch, he enjoyed a high-quality nap like a dead dog, then spent the afternoon training his body...
Because his body had been far too weak, Gwen could not even train at the same level as the other reserves. He could only train alone according to the plan devised by You Lan Dai Er and Anna, two active B-rank Valkyries.
Although the scientifically supported training regimen would not harm Gwen's physical foundation, every session still left him utterly exhausted. It allowed him to fall asleep the instant his head touched the pillow and enjoy high-quality rest every day.
Yet under this constant training and nutritional supplementation, even though only half a month had passed, visible changes had already appeared in Gwen's body.
His once pale and slender limbs had visibly thickened, making him look far less frail than before. His entire body had grown more solid.
Even without looking at his status panel, Gwen could feel that his body had become stronger.
And the leveling system's panel displayed Gwen's improvement even more clearly—
Gwen—lv1 Strength—D511 Endurance—D599 Dexterity—E413 Spirit—EX Energy—D500 Energy System: None
In just half a month, both Gwen's Strength and Endurance had broken through the five-hundred mark, while his Dexterity had barely reached E rank. It was progress at an astonishing pace.
If the early-stage values in this leveling system were the same as the Falna in DanMachi, then placing Gwen in the DanMachi world would probably create a new urban legend—
Before the protagonist with the experience buff known as "Liaris Freese" appeared, Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess who held the record for the fastest leveling speed, had still taken a full year to reach lv2.
And if he could maintain his current pace, Gwen estimated that he could max out his stats and level up within a month.
That was practically the speed of Bell, the protagonist who might as well have been cheating, and far surpassed the Sword Princess Ais whom Loki had bragged about for years.
Of course, although Gwen had shed an untold amount of sweat for these numbers, he did not credit all of it to his own effort and exceptional talent.
Gwen clearly understood that reaching a level nearly comparable to a cheating protagonist without an experience buff also relied on some external assistance—
Over the past half month, every few days, Gwen had been summoned to a laboratory and made to soak in a nutrient pod for several hours, like someone taking medicinal baths in a neighboring wuxia or fantasy setting.
Although the staff had never told him exactly what it was, the sheer comfort spreading through his body afterward was enough to confirm that it was extremely valuable.
Gwen was not thick-skinned enough to attribute an investment of money that his past self would likely never earn in a lifetime to his own hard work.
The medicinal baths every few days and the physical examinations that followed were also part of why Gwen dared to train without restraint, unafraid that this exhausting regimen would damage his physical foundation.
His gaze slowly moved up from the dramatically changed stat values and settled on the "lv1" after his name, which remained dim and showed no sign of leveling up.
Although he was still some distance away from raising his stats to 999, Gwen had already begun considering how he should level up.
"If leveling up here works like it does in DanMachi, then I might need to apply for a virtual training room..."
Recalling the limited information he had about the DanMachi world, Gwen pondered inwardly.
The Invitation Letter he had sent out earlier had received no response, and as a reserve without the opportunity to carry out missions, the only way Gwen could think of to obtain a "Great Achievement" was the virtual training room.
Though the enemies inside were merely simulations, their combat strength was guaranteed.
At the very least, the vast majority of enemies recorded there could crush Gwen with ease.
Defeating enemies simulated by the virtual training room might also allow him to obtain a "Great Achievement."
Of course, although Gwen felt that his leveling system greatly resembled the Falna system of DanMachi, and had therefore been treating it according to the circumstances of that world—
That did not mean Gwen had forgotten that this was merely speculation.
While considering ways to obtain a "Great Achievement," Gwen was also considering other possible methods of leveling up...
Just as Gwen closed his eyes and thought while waiting for the fatigue in his body to ease, something cool suddenly touched his forehead. His mind, slightly weary from the strain on his body, instantly jolted awake.
Opening his eyes instinctively, Gwen met a pair of bright wine-red eyes and the radiant smile on a charming face.
"Rita?
You're back?"
With just one glance, Gwen recognized the newcomer as Rita, who had been away on a mission for half a month.
"Mhm. Being recognized at a glance seems to mean Rita still holds some place in your heart..."
Though she spoke humbly, Rita's lovely face wore a faintly mischievous smile as one finger rested against her lips.
"After all, Rita, you were one of the people who visited me every day with You Lan Dai Er during that month. How could I possibly forget?"
Faced with Rita, who clearly wanted to tease him, a boy who could barely be considered a young lad, Gwen chose to tell the truth. He met those wine-red eyes without avoiding them.
"...
It seems Rita was right to come here first after handing over her mission..."
Hearing Gwen's answer, the curve of Rita's lips deepened, and the smile on her face became gentler. The hand she used to wipe away his sweat also became more tender.
"Come, close your eyes..."
"Mhm..."
Gwen nodded slightly and closed his eyes as Rita instructed, letting her small hand use a cool handkerchief to wipe across his face as he enjoyed the refreshing sensation it brought.
A Coincidence of Thought with Rita
Rita gently wiped the sweat from Gwen's cheeks. Looking at his face, which had gained a little more definition than she remembered but was still undeniably adorable, she could not help sighing inwardly—
Partly because the world would soon lose another adorable child, and partly because of Gwen's future.
Although she had spent half a month away on a mission, Rita had not entered communications silence. She had still learned about Gwen's general circumstances from You Lan Dai Er.
Though she did not know why Gwen had chosen to embark on this path, Rita almost immediately identified the culprit as her respected Lord Bishop—
Based on what she had learned about Gwen during their month together, Rita did not believe that he would suddenly choose on his own to join the reserves, a decision entirely unsuited to his body.
And the only person capable of making that happen was clearly Otto...
Unlike the comparatively innocent You Lan Dai Er, Rita knew more about Otto's true face hidden beneath the sunlight. She also understood more clearly Otto's unusual attitude toward Gwen, reaching a conclusion similar to Gwen's own—
Gwen was probably an important chess piece in some plan.
Rita could do nothing about that. She could only offer whatever insignificant help she could and pray that Gwen would survive until that unknown plan came to an end.
As for Otto simply wanting to cultivate Gwen, a visitor from the Sea of Quantum, out of pure kindness?
Without any visible benefit, that was nothing but wishful thinking.
"Thank you, Rita."
Soon, Rita had wiped the sweat from Gwen's face with her handkerchief. His face now carried a faint floral fragrance as he slowly sat up and smiled at Rita in thanks.
"You're welcome... Consider it compensation for not being able to pick you up from the hospital as promised..."
Looking at Gwen, who acted like a little adult, Rita could not help feeling a surge of affection—
He was a different type from Lord You Lan Dai Er as a child, but he was just as adorable...
"It's just a pity that such an adorable child will grow up so quickly after training this hard..."
Though the thought was somewhat improper, Rita's smile remained flawless, without the slightest fault to be found.
"Eh, you had a mission to carry out, Rita. Do I look like the kind of person who nitpicks over such things?"
Gwen, still unaware that he was currently a young boy, naturally had no idea what the maid before him was thinking. He simply smiled and shook his head.
"Then Rita will take that as your agreement..."
Rita chuckled and stood up. The smooth black stockings on her long legs reflected a captivating glow beneath the lights.
She reached out and pulled Gwen to his feet. Seeing that he did not stagger, Rita could not help smiling.
"It seems your training over this period has been quite effective..."
Even without Gwen's detailed current data, Rita was familiar enough with his physical condition to know that completing this level of training would have been utterly impossible for him half a month ago. Even if he had somehow managed it, he would have collapsed completely and might even have needed to remain bedridden for a while.
Yet in only half a month, Gwen had made such tremendous progress that even Rita could not help feeling surprised.
"As they say, 'The more sweat you shed in training, the less blood you spill in battle.' If you don't train hard, you'll bleed on the battlefield."
Gwen merely gave an honest smile and answered cheerfully.
Gwen took the beautiful maid's praise as nothing more than recognition of the results of his hard work—
Naturally, Gwen was also aware of just how abnormal the enormous progress he had displayed was.
But at Destiny Headquarters, which possessed the most advanced equipment in the world, Gwen could not pretend to be weak even if he wanted to. So he might as well display everything openly.
With You Lan Dai Er as a precedent for "as long as you work hard, you can definitely do it," Gwen estimated that Destiny—or rather, Otto—would be more accepting of his rapid progress.
Moreover, based on Gwen's understanding of Otto, even if this chess piece showed an extraordinary rate of progress, as long as he did not become uncontrollable like Siegfried during the Second Honkai War, the chances of being eliminated were not high.
After all, You Lan Dai Er and Rita might have been coincidences, but then there was Amber's visit and Anna Schariac, who appeared to have merely been assigned by the system as his instructor...
If Gwen's guess was correct, these girls who had met and befriended him without any apparent intention were also part of Otto's vast net meant to bind this chess piece.
As long as those bonds were numerous enough and strong enough, the chance of this chess piece escaping control would be lower, and so would the chance of being directly discarded...
And as long as he was given time to develop, it remained uncertain who was the hunter and who was the prey—
The total increase of more than a thousand stat points over half a month had largely dispelled Gwen's fear that he would become one of the countless mediocre lv1 adventurers for the rest of his life.
"Mhm, it seems you already possess a warrior's resolve, Gwen. Keep working hard...
But be careful not to overtrain..."
Hearing Gwen's words, Rita nodded lightly, her gaze growing even gentler.
An adorable, obedient, and sensible child was simply too lovable to Rita.
"Don't worry. I may not be particularly clever, but I won't blindly push myself without thinking. I'll definitely train according to the plan."
Sensing Rita's sincere concern and affection with his keen spirit, Gwen's smile became more genuine as he gave her his assurance.
"Then... what would hardworking trainee Gwen like to eat tonight?"
Taking advantage of the precious little time before Gwen's body fully developed, Rita reached out and patted his head, smiling as she asked.
"As for me, I don't really know much about fine food..."
Before you continue