The Weight Training Begins

Thor was still enthusiastically recommending skill techniques to Lefiya.

"I personally recommend [Disintegration Ray]. It's a fascinating spell that can disintegrate any form of existence."

He paused, glimpsing a higher-dimensional vision.

"If you're strong enough, even disintegrating a god is as easy as snapping your fingers."

"D-disintegrate a god?!"

Lefiya was completely stunned.

A spell that could disintegrate gods? Was this really something he could casually teach her?

Just imagining such power sent a shudder deep into her soul.

For a moment, she didn't even know how to react to the absurd and terrifying situation.

She instinctively took half a step back, her voice barely audible. "M-Mr. Thor... I-I already have three spells recorded in my magic slots... I don't have any spare slots to learn a new spell..."

In Orario, the number of spells an adventurer could hold was fixed and limited.

It was determined by the essence of one's soul, like a stone tablet carved in advance.

Everyone had at least one slot for recording a spell, and three was the maximum.

"Oh, I see..." He nodded in understanding.

"No matter." Thor's voice returned to its usual calm. "If you really want to learn it... it's not impossible."

"Huh?"

Lefiya jerked her head up, her clear green eyes widening until they were round as saucers, filled with shock and disbelief.

She wondered if the battle had damaged her ears.

Teach her a fourth spell? How could that be possible?!

Even the gods claimed that the laws of the soul couldn't be changed! They were a destiny branded upon every adventurer from the moment of their birth!

Her heart pounded wildly as an utterly absurd feeling washed over her.

"Y-You can... teach me... a fourth spell?"

"Of course," Thor replied casually, as if he were stating something trivial, like moving a rock. "But that would cost extra."

He was the creator's will that had brought the Starry Heavens into being.

To him, changing the so-called innate, fixed "talents" of surface-dwelling creatures and altering the rules governing their souls was as easy as plucking a string of the universe.

It would only take about 100 [Stardust].

Lefiya froze, her mind going blank. The sheer amount of information nearly made her crash.

If Loki hadn't said those things last night,

she would have unhesitatingly taken Thor for the most arrogant, outrageous, and shameless liar in Orario's history!

The reality before her was confirming, in an absurd and suffocating way, the incomprehensible "greatness" and "phenomena" Loki had spoken of.

Lefiya opened her mouth, her mind in complete disarray.

A fourth spell? Changing the rules of the soul?

This was completely beyond the limits of her understanding, and she couldn't make a decision right away.

Thor didn't press her.

He turned to Bell, his voice unchanged. "Bell, gather the Magic Stones."

Without another word, Bell quickly collected all the Magic Stones from their recent fight and handed them to Thor.

The spoils from this encounter were quite generous. Combined with the Magic Stones Bell had gathered from his solo hunt the previous night, they had just enough to condense a new Stardust.

Thor held out his hand, palm facing upward.

The pile of Magic Stones Bell had collected instantly crumbled to dust. Countless tiny points of light rose from it and gathered, swirling above Thor's palm before collapsing inward.

Thor gently blew on them, as if brushing away dust.

The core of the lights suddenly burst with brilliance, then stabilized. A brand-new [Stardust] hovered quietly in the air.

Ais watched in silence the entire time, her eyes intently following every detail of the creation.

Lefiya instinctively held her breath, watching the dazzling scene.

The Stardust's light wasn't blinding, but it held a depth and grandeur that reached straight into their souls, making them feel as though they'd glimpsed the birth of the universe.

"It's... so beautiful..." Lefiya murmured unconsciously, completely captivated by the tiny point of light.

Thor smiled at that. "Thank you for the compliment. This is the smallest unit of my power, and one of the basic forms that make up the laws of the universe."

After giving that brief explanation,

Thor raised his other hand, and with a slight lift of his fingertips, another brilliant Stardust slowly emerged from within him and hovered in the air.

He held one in each hand and offered them to Ais and Lefiya.

"Since I promised you," he said, his gaze sweeping over the two young women, "I'll keep my word and train you properly. Now, swallow these."

Ais and Lefiya gazed at the Stardust hovering before their palms. Its light flowed as if it held an endless river of stars.

They were breathtakingly beautiful, dazzling enough to leave them spellbound.

Ais didn't hesitate. She cupped the Stardust meant for her in both hands and swallowed it without a second thought.

Seeing how decisive her senior was, Lefiya pushed down her reluctance to part with the beautiful creation and followed Ais's example, carefully lifting the Stardust to her lips.

It was unbelievably light. She couldn't feel its weight at all.

The Stardust felt cool as it entered her mouth, with a... well... refreshing sensation that cleared her mind. It tasted a little like... mint?

Lefiya instinctively brushed it with the tip of her tongue, trying to catch its unusual flavor.

"Don't try to savor it," Thor said with an amused, helpless smile. "You can't lick my Stardust into melting."

"Mm..." Lefiya's pretty face instantly flushed scarlet. Embarrassed by her little action, she quickly swallowed the Stardust.

The moment the Stardust reached her stomach!

A terrifying, irresistible force erupted from deep within her abdomen!

It was as if an invisible whirlpool existed inside her, frantically sucking away the strength she had painstakingly built through training at an unprecedented rate!

"W-What is this?!" Lefiya clutched her lower abdomen in alarm, her body swaying as it lost the strength to support itself.

She had no idea what was happening.

At the same time, Ais furrowed her brow and rubbed her own lower abdomen.

She could clearly feel the powerful suction taking effect within her. The strength that had once filled her was rapidly fading, and her body was growing heavy and sluggish.

Only then did Thor explain calmly.

"My power hasn't recovered yet, so I can't train you at your current levels of Lv. 5 and Lv. 3. I've temporarily sealed your strength back to Lv. 1."

He saw the two young women's expressions turn grave, their movements already showing signs of strain, and added, "You can think of it as... a special kind of weight training."

"I see..."

Ais tried clenching her fist. The wind magic that had once surged through her had vanished, as if she'd never possessed it.

But deep in her eyes, a purer flame had begun to burn.

She had never tried this kind of training before.

Lefiya also felt as though she'd been wrapped in a heavy leaden coat. Even breathing was more difficult than usual.

What a mysterious power...

Thor quietly watched the two of them.

Unlike when he'd had Bell swallow Stardust and used its power to guide him into learning a skill,

the Stardust the two women had swallowed would continuously collect the magic or energy within their bodies, then begin refining and "reproducing" it.

Just as he used the energy in Magic Stones to refine Stardust, this method would also allow him to condense more Stardust.

He could already foresee that by the end of these seven days of training, he would have gained over 100 Stardust.

By then, he would recover some of his divine power...

"By the way, Ais, I haven't asked what skill you want to learn yet." He'd been asking Lefiya what spell she wanted to learn and still hadn't asked Ais what she wanted.