I, Ritsuka, Siscon Grand Hero

Ritsuka sighed, holding her forehead. Teaching a natural airhead wasn't easy, but thankfully, aside from her personality, Ais's talent was exceptional.

She was so much stronger than before, a gap between an ordinary person and a genius.

Ritsuka tapped Ais's head with the hilt of the Projection Despair Sword she held. With a crisp 'dong,' Ais instinctively covered her head, then looked at Ritsuka with weak eyes.

"You can create weaknesses."

Her helpless gaze suddenly turned serious. The sword in Ritsuka's hand was instantly drawn, attacking Ais.

As a reflex, Ais drew the weapon from her waist. 'Despair Sword' swung up, parrying the surprise attack at the last possible moment.

At this point, the sword in Ritsuka's hand was only a few centimeters from Ais's neck.

"If I remember correctly, the Guild's records mentioned your magic is called 'Wind Spirit Dash,' right?"

"...Yes."

Ais struggled to fend off Ritsuka's sword. The difference in strength was so great that Ais could barely hold her weapon, and Ritsuka's speed made her hesitant to retreat and disengage.

If she did that, she would be utterly defeated.

Ritsuka, not using her full strength, stepped forward and then back, withdrawing her weapon.

She sidestepped forward, Ritsuka's movements like a phantom, sword shadows flashing in her vision. For a moment, Ais was overwhelmed.

"Have you ever thought about wrapping the magic's wind around your sword, forming a spiral cut to enhance the threat of your thrusts?"

Inspired by King Arthur's 'King's Wind Barrier,' Ais possessed an almost similar, even more practical ability. Ritsuka figured it could achieve an effect beyond the 'King's Wind Barrier.'

Upon hearing this, Ais retreated to create distance and then tried raising her sword. "Is it like this?"

"Awaken—Wind Spirit Dash!"

Using a super short chant as a trigger, she activated her [Magic].

Wind formed.

The air currents, visible to the naked eye, swirled around Ais like a dance, her golden hair, shining like alluvial gold, fluttering in the wind.

[Wind Spirit Dash].

Ais's only usable magic.

It was an [Wind] attribute magic that wrapped wind around the body, protected weapons, aided attacks, and increased speed.

Ais painstakingly performed a super-fine operation, controlling the wind around her body and pressing it onto the Indestructible sword blade, gradually forming a spiral vortex centered on the sword tip.

The cutting power instantly increased significantly, and the air hissed and crackled.

"Ais, you can use it. It seems I was being redundant..."

"This is a very good combat technique. If you use it more, it will become instinctive, making it easier to pierce monster hides."

The two swords clashed. Ritsuka, with her superb skill, used similar strength and speed to firmly suppress Ais.

"Besides magic, there's also rapier technique. I can teach you that. How much you can learn depends on yourself."

Because she was fated to leave, Ritsuka wanted to find a way to repay the Familia for their help. Improving the strength of Ais, a new generation Level 1 adventurer, was a good choice.

Moreover, Ais wasn't far from Level 6.

Smiling slightly, Ritsuka took a few steps back, lowering her stance slightly, like a female leopard about to hunt.

A chilling killing intent flashed, and the entire plaza instantly fell silent. At the same time, a fierce glint flashed in Ritsuka's eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up—

"Hundred-Beast Slayer!"

"!!"

Ais's expression changed drastically. She instinctively raised her sword to block. The attack, like a flash of light, surged forward. For a moment, Ais's vision was filled only with sharp sword light.

The divine speed nine-consecutive strikes, the school's ultimate move transformed into thrusts, also achieved an extremely astonishing effect.

With a kick on the ground, stirring up an explosive wave of sound and dust, Ais's figure disappeared. With the wind magic attached to her entire body, she gained a fierce acceleration.

She intended to meet Ritsuka's school ultimate move head-on.

Ais transformed into a gale, as the name suggested, her speed increasing to its greatest ever, barely managing to track the sword's trajectory.

In a flash of lightning, the sound of metal clashing against metal sparked an astonishing fire. 'Despair Sword' flew out of her hand. Ais, her tiger's mouth torn, was sent flying backward, rolling several times on the ground.

"Ais!!?"

Everyone at the edge of the plaza panicked. That unparalleled sword, almost no one could see its trace before Ais fell to the ground.

However, everyone quickly quieted down because Loki stood calmly at the front, watching.

Since Loki, who doted on Ais the most, wasn't nervous, why should they panic? They might as well watch the outcome. That last move was so fast that anyone slightly weaker wouldn't have even noticed the attack.

"Ugh..."

Ais let out a pained groan. Lying on the ground, she lifted her head.

A fine trace appeared on the Indestructible Despair Sword, with scattered fragments of the blade beside it. The Projection Despair Sword had shattered, breaking after colliding with the genuine article.

Of course, the imitation had also damaged the original.

"Ais! Are you okay?"

Ritsuka stepped forward and helped Ais up. Originally, under her control, Hundred-Beast Slayer had been held back somewhat, so it wouldn't have injured Ais. But she hadn't expected this stubborn girl to take the hit head-on.

As a result, one weapon was chipped and the other shattered, with the fragments also cutting Ais.

"Ais!!!"

Riveria, Finn, Tiona, and Tione rushed over, with Lefiya following closely behind, holding a bottle of panacea.

"I... I'm fine..."

Ais's gaze was firm. Ignoring the concern of her companions beside her, she stared intently at Ritsuka, who was supporting her.

That serious intensity made Ritsuka's expression falter.

"I didn't see it clearly... Can we try again?"

"Your body can't take it. Let's do it another day. I'll work hard to teach you this move."

Section 80: Chapter 73 Unexpected Gains

As dawn broke, Ritsuka, who was extremely sleepy, got out of bed. She opened her groggy eyes and looked around her room.

She stretched, got out of bed, and washed up. Yawning, Ritsuka reached out her hand.

With a shing, the 'Despair Sword' appeared in her hand.

Ais's genuine weapon was now in her possession. Because Ais had fainted during the battle last night, her weapon had sustained some damage.

In the end, Loki decided she should go to the place where the sword was forged for maintenance, and naturally, she would have to pay for the repairs.

Fortunately, the Magic Stones and materials she had previously submitted to the Familia had been converted into Valis with an additional 20% bonus.

Ritsuka didn't realize that the amount was terrifyingly beyond what a Level 1 adventurer could afford...

"Loki, did you see my interest in 'Indomitable'? Gods are truly terrifying."

Ritsuka mused aloud, unaware of Loki's secondary intention. She changed into casual clothes, her nearly waist-length hair cascading down, tied into a ponytail on one side.

"Ugh—so sleepy."

Life in the Familia was too comfortable, and Ritsuka had developed a rare case of laziness. Back at the Emiya Residence, she used to manage to get up early every day to practice Magecraft.

Because of this, it was now incredibly easy for her to use Reinforcement Magic in battle; it had almost become instinctual.

Long-sleeved shirt, jacket, black stockings...

Confirming her outfit was perfect, Ritsuka, with her sword hanging at her waist, pushed open the door and walked out.

Incidentally, she lived quite close to Riveria and Ais.

Knock knock.

Ritsuka gently knocked on the door. She didn't get a response from Ais, but the door creaked open a sliver when she applied a small amount of force?

"She didn't lock the door? Last night, Lefiya must have brought Ais back..."

Muttering about Lefiya's carelessness, Ritsuka quietly entered the room.

The situation was probably similar. Lefiya, having been alone with the person she admired, got lost in her thoughts, became shy to the point of exploding, and then fled the room.

She had closed the door, but wasn't sure if it was latched.

The room was dark. Ritsuka didn't turn on the lights and walked towards the bed. Ais was still resting.

Her body was definitely exhausted. Otherwise, with Ritsuka's unrestrained movements and sounds, Ais wouldn't have failed to notice her.

Extending a finger, a point of light flickered in Ritsuka's hand, and the Crystal Dice was placed on Ais's forehead.

[Ais Wallenstein (Sword Princess)]

[Synchronization Value (47%)]

Success.

Ritsuka narrowed her beautiful eyes, examining the Crystal Dice in her hand. This was something she had suddenly 'realized' last night – a method to significantly increase Synchronization Value.

The moment she touched it, she understood how to use it.

The Crystal Dice, imperceptible to anyone but Ritsuka, was placed on the corresponding character. It caused no harm to the target, and the Synchronization Value would rapidly increase.

A very strange method of use.

Once the Synchronization Value crossed the 30% threshold, Ritsuka would gain a - albeit weakened - version of the character's core abilities.

In other words, a situation where she couldn't exert her full power.

"Swordsmanship, combat experience against monsters, and... the Magic 'Wind Spirit Dash'."

A lower-tier Wind Spirit Dash, not too powerful, but still quite good. Ritsuka was satisfied with this gain.

After all, she had obtained an improvement without doing anything extravagant.

"Sweet dreams, Ais."

Exiting the room, Ritsuka carefully closed the door, then left the Familia's main entrance, carrying her sword.

After greeting the companions guarding the Familia with a question mark, she left amidst admiring gazes. Because of last night's suppression of Ais and her stunning sword skills, she was now respected as a strong individual.

Something feels a bit off. A certain wolf-man's strange gaze made Ritsuka uncomfortable.

Without paying much mind to Bete Loga, an adventurer of Level 5, Ritsuka walked onto the main street and quietly blended into the crowd of ordinary people, heading towards the address Loki had given.

The activities of a Familia are incredibly diverse.

Orario truly lives up to its name as the "Labyrinth City." The majority of Familias are exploration-focused, sustaining themselves by exploring the dungeon (labyrinth). However, there are also quite a few commercial factions.

If one were to leave Orario, in the outside world, one could even find Familias that establish great nations, like kingdoms and empires. Some of these are massive forces formed by gods who were expelled from Orario.

Some Sovereigns harbor mutual animosity, occasionally causing minor disturbances.

Perhaps to avoid further conflict, each faction strengthens its own combat power, and there aren't many gods who don't wish for their Familia to grow stronger.

The concept of a Familia balances the Sovereign's interests with practical benefits.

"It's a bit gloomy. Why is this place so eerie?"

Ritsuka arrived in front of a stone house.

The location was between North Street and Northwest Street, not far from the Loki Familia.

Because it was situated deep within an alley, not only were the houses arranged haphazardly, but the passageway was also very narrow, preventing sunlight from reaching inside.

Calling it eerie was certainly accurate.

"Ganesha Familia, this is it... Is anyone home?"

Ritsuka confirmed the address with a glance downward and called out, but no one responded immediately.

This was a forging Familia that specialized in the repair and creation of equipment such as weapons and armor. Its own notoriety and scale of influence were not particularly impressive; compared to its peer, the Hephaestus Familia, the gap was immense.