System silence? Rudy's initial negative impression of Allen.

Allen's face fell. His "Pseudo-Immortality" skill only lasted for six minutes, but its cooldown was 800 days. Given that a year in the Mushoku Tensei world is roughly 300 days, that meant over two years.

If he ever leveled up his Healing Spell to the point where it could regrow limbs, the Mana cost would increase significantly, which would further shorten the skill's duration.

Was this like Barbarian King's ult?

Allen strongly suspected the System was messing with him.

The "6" from last night was proof.

How can that be?

The Healing Spell Rune slot is for the host to recover after combat. As for continuous combat, that's definitely for a life-or-death struggle. And given the peaceful nature of the Mushoku Tensei world, where are you going to find enough near-death situations to grind every day?

Besides, host, consider this: if this rune could be used freely, wouldn't obtaining an Emperor-grade or God-grade Healing Spell Rune later on be equivalent to solidifying the Demon Race's pseudo-immortality?

Add to that Orsted's Dragon Saint Battle Qi defense once it levels up, and you shouldn't even be called Allen; you might as well be called a cockroach. Just clear the game directly; no one would ever be a threat to you.

Allen spit, splattering the System's words, which had suddenly appeared to join the fun, onto the ground.

"Magic above Emperor-grade requires massive Mana consumption and lengthy incantations. It's practically useless in real combat, so no one uses it, right?

I haven't even seen anyone use a God-grade Healing Spell in the main story. Who am I supposed to shake hands with to get a rune engraved?"

"You've got time to pop out and explain runes to me, but why don't you tell me how to increase my Dragon Saint Battle Qi reserves?

You know its current nascent state; I can only squeeze out a few strands of Dragon Saint Battle Qi to dilute into my original Fighting Spirit to improve its quality."

.Contact Orst.

The words suddenly became chaotic for a moment, then, just as they were about to solidify, they dissipated in mid-air.

Allen raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"System?"

No more words appeared.

Allen paused for a moment, then frowned, muttering to himself.

"Ever since I encountered Lokkishi, the System has been acting strangely excited, popping out to interact with me now and then... that never happened before, and now it's disappeared just as strangely."

"If it's because of the phone, it's like losing signal."

"But, every time my Swordsmanship level updates, or my rating updates, it's been very prompt. I haven't noticed any 'lost signal' situations so far."

"Strange."

"Is it world rejection? A cheat's limitation? Or bad phone signal? Or not enough memory?"

.Insufficient information, difficult to judge. However, the answer to your previous question has already been given: contact Orsted. Dragon Saint Battle Qi originated from the Dragon God Style, so it can be inferred that I need to learn the Dragon God Style from Orsted.

It's too early to go see 'Boss Dragon' now. I need to develop more. What if he's in a good mood and spills his guts to me, but I'm too weak to even qualify to kowtow and become his subordinate?

"As for the maximum duration the Healing Spell Rune can sustain 'Pseudo-Immortality': 6 minutes and 36 seconds, requiring an 800-day cooldown to restore Mana. Based on the PVP combat experience in this world, life and death are usually decided within a few moves.

This means that using it for 1 minute every 120 days, or being a 'true man' for 30 seconds every 60 days, is a more reasonable allocation. Of course, this only applies to all-out, life-or-death battles."

"As for normal combat, using moments of respite or taunting to perform intermittent recovery, both Mana consumption and healing effects are sufficient.

Plus, I can feign weakness to the enemy, create information asymmetry tactically, and deliberately expose openings to set up a sneak attack with North God Style or Water God Style."

"Overall, it's a pretty good leveling-up cheat. Looks like I'm not destined to be an invincible protagonist."

Allen stopped muttering to himself.

A pause, silence.

The System's smoky text still didn't reappear.

He raised an eyebrow, then spoke tentatively, asking again.

"System?"

The System didn't respond.

Allen narrowed his eyes, then looked up at the sky.

"..."

"Then, next, I should go see Paul and convince him to take me in. To participate in the major events of Mushoku Tensei, integrating into Paul's family like Lokkishi is the best option."

"Finding a way to gain Rudeus's favor shouldn't be too difficult. The Detoxification Rune, while not as practical as the Healing Spell Rune, is still better than nothing."

Clang! He sheathed his sword.

He continued on his way.

The sun set over Buena Village.

The evening glow painted the white walls of the Greyrat Family mansion, the Knight's residence in the village, a fiery red.

Just like Lilia's face.

Her red hair was neatly tied back, with bangs framing her face, looking incredibly soft.

Her black and white maid's uniform was well-tailored. She stood behind a second-story window, her gaze, magnified by her glasses, quietly fixed on the courtyard below.

Following her gaze, in the setting sun, two adults and one child stood in a surprisingly spacious country yard not far away.

A beautiful blonde woman and a handsome, tall, and robust man had their backs to her, reprimanding a child who stood with head bowed, saying nothing.

It was originally a scene that appeared quite harmonious.

That is, if one ignored how the man, while obscuring himself with his body, was still running his hand ceaselessly over the white dress on his wife's back, right in front of their son.

'The master and mistress have such a good relationship. They're full of energy and passion every night. I can hear everything so clearly.'

Thinking this, Lilia subconsciously touched her own back, her eyelids lowering.

In the yard.

"Rudy, we clearly agreed last night that we'd practice Swordsmanship this afternoon, so I could check your recent self-study progress. Why did you run off and only just come back now?"

Rudeus hung his head, awkwardly looking at the grass on the ground beside him, scratching his face with a wry smile.

"Well, it's because I went to scout the terrain and investigate plants. I got carried away… Haha, cough, cough."

Paul squinted at Rudeus, his hand tightening a bit more. Beside him, Zenith, who was supposed to mediate, felt a slight twitch in the vein in her forehead. But with Rudy still in front of them, she could only maintain her smile and not lose her temper, the blush on her face growing hotter and hotter.

The words she had prepared to mediate with were completely forgotten.

Paul spoke in a muffled voice.

"Rudy, tell me the truth."

Hearing this, Rudy quickly straightened his body, clutched the plant dictionary tucked under his arm, and, bowing deeply, answered seriously.

"Although I genuinely went to scout the terrain and investigate plants, the thought of arriving late to avoid practicing with Father did indeed cross my mind. I apologize!"

Paul smiled and nodded, then turned to Zenith, winking and making faces.

"Well, wife, go make dinner. Rudy and I have a man-to-man agreement to fulfill, cough! Cough, cough, cough!!"

Zenith reached back and patted her ruffled white house dress, then, with a fake smile, elbowed Paul in return.

She then crouched down and spoke gently to Rudy, who was looking at her dress with the clear eyes of a child.

"It's okay if you don't want to practice Swordsmanship with Father next time, but you have to say so in advance. Not seeing you come back all afternoon really made Mama worried."

"What?! Rudy is perfectly willing to practice Swordsmanship!"

"Dear, you clearly don't understand the situation!"

Rudy watched his parents, whose four hands were intertwined and twisting, seemingly arguing but actually flirting, and he made a wry, speechless expression.

Hey, you passionate old couple, watch your behavior!

A short while later, their flirting ended. After Zenith walked away, Paul shifted his gaze from his wife's backside, leaned down, and whispered into Rudy's ear.

"Hey, hey, tell me the truth, did you go around lifting girls' skirts?"

Don't project your own thoughts onto others, Lord Paul!

Yelling inwardly, while outwardly putting on a childish grin, the 34-year-old NEET suddenly sensed something.

It was the feeling of a venomous snake crawling on his body.

What is this feeling? It's a gaze. Someone is watching me, and it's that kind of scrutinizing gaze I hated most in my previous life.

His intuition drove him to ignore Paul's subsequent teasing and turn his head to look at the yard gate not far away.

A male middle school student with frighteningly thick eyebrows and a sturdy build was looking at him.

No, not frightening, he just possessed a pair of sharp, inverted "eight-shaped" saber-like eyebrows, which made him appear overly sharp. His hair was disheveled and pushed back, and his entire being exuded a sharp aura.

But Rudy was generally not good at dealing with people with this kind of imposing presence.

It instinctively reminded him of the school bullies who had picked on him.

The bully was stroking his chin, watching him with interest.

Their gazes intertwined.

The bully raised an eyebrow, as if he had seen something amusing, and a playful smile appeared on his lips.