CHAPTER 74: 074 ARE YOU THIS STRONG NOW?

Happy times always fly by quickly.

After a lively celebration, the Loki Familia’s schedule returned to its normal track.

Everyone had their own business to attend to.

Finn, Revilia, and Grace, these three leaders of the Familia, needed to prepare for the next expedition.

The rest of the members, following the orders of their leaders, began to invest the money earned from the expedition into various affairs.

Theona, Theone, and others went to have their weapons repaired. Bert, having been absent yesterday, got caught and scolded, and today, was dragged off with a sour face to deal with miscellaneous errands. Even Rephia was mingling with a few elves, helping Revilia research information, apparently planning to find out about those new monster species.

In such circumstances, Reiger and Ais were left with some free time.

Both of their weapons were of the unbreakable property; although not maintenance-free, they did not wear down as severely as the other members’. And with Bert already taking care of miscellaneous tasks, they found themselves without any urgent matters to attend to.

Therefore, Reiger once again proposed a sparring session to Ais.

Ais naturally had no reason to refuse.

The girl knew that Reiger needed to properly adapt to the strength of his current stage with each level up in order not to be out of sync.

This time, having leveled up to Lv. 5, Reiger unsurprisingly experienced this discordance and urgently needed someone to spar with, to properly adapt to his current power.

It was an old routine, and Ais casually agreed.

However, the result of this sparring session was completely different from the past.

"Clang—!"

When Ais raised her saber to block a slash that came thundering down like lightning, the astonishing force transmitted through the bright silver short sword made her grunt and step back involuntarily.

Reiger’s figure had completely blurred into a phantom, giving the impression of teleporting within a flash, making him hard to capture.

Even Ais struggled to catch his remarkable speed, her transparent, golden eyes shrinking to the size of pinpoints, tensing up fully, no longer harboring the slightest underestimation.

"Shwish shwish shwish—"

Yet, Reiger suddenly closed the distance to Ais, his Hermit’s Sword transforming into streaks of cold light that surged forth, stabbing towards Ais.

"———!?"

So fast!

Too fast!

Ais barely managed to react, relying on her keen senses and formidable abilities to barely parry, her saber whooshing as she deflected the incoming torrent of blade tips.

But her barely adequate defense led to her continuously stepping back; she couldn’t stop at all.

In contrast, Reiger grew stronger as the battle went on, his movements becoming more fluid. Whether it was his attack speed or mobility, both were gradually increasing, seemingly without limits, making Ais feel as if she was caught in a violent storm, increasingly struggling and stretched thin.

Finally—

"Ting!"

With a resounding sound of metal on metal, Ais’s saber was knocked aside.

"Not good!"

No sooner had this thought flashed through Ais’s mind than the tip of the bright silver short sword was pointed at her throat.

"————"

Ais’s movements came to a complete halt, and her expression froze.

Silence spread around them.

"Sor-, Sorry!"

Caught up in the heat of the moment, Reiger suddenly realized his actions and quickly withdrew the Hermit’s Sword, apologizing to Ais.

"..."

Ais didn’t speak, just fell into silence, her hand slightly clenched.

She had lost...

She had lost to Reiger.

"Ais?" Reiger, seeing Ais fall silent, asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"...I’m fine." Ais shook her head and looked at Reiger with extraordinarily complex eyes, saying, "You’ve become stronger than me."

This was indeed an unimaginable turn of events.

You see, Reiger had only just advanced to Lv. 5, while Ais had been struggling at this level for over three years, her abilities already at the upper limits of the level.

Yet, Ais, a veteran of more than three years at Lv. 5, had today lost to Reiger, a newcomer to this level.

The impact this had on Ais was far greater than she herself had anticipated.

"It’s just practice, it doesn’t mean anything,"

Seeing the complex look on Ais’s face, Reiger immediately guessed what she was thinking and spoke to reassure her.

Indeed, they were only practicing, only sparring, with no life-or-death struggle involved.

To say Reiger was stronger than Ais was premature at this point.

But how could Ais not hear that Reiger was just comforting her?

Practice doesn’t mean anything?

Sparring doesn’t prove that Reiger is stronger than her?

Then what would count as proof, as an indication?

A life-or-death fight?

But how strong Reiger was in a life-or-death situation, Ais had seen it more than once!

If she couldn’t win during a practice session, how could she possibly win against Reiger in that state?

Recalling the scenes of Reiger fighting the crocodile monster at Lv. 1, and the female-shaped monster at Lv. 4, Ais’s feelings grew even more complex.

This complexity lingered even as they declared the sparring session over, and it didn’t dissipate.

Afterward, Ais left.

She left this place and also the Twilight Manor, without a trace of where she went.

Having returned to his room and put down the Hermit’s Sword, Reiger thought of the complicated look and expression on Ais’s face when she left and ultimately stood up.

"No, I can’t just ignore that girl."

Reiger was worried, so, he left the room to look for Revilia.

...

At this time, Revilia was in Finn’s office, discussing matters with Finn and Grace.

"You won against Ais in sparring?"

Hearing Reiger’s explanation, not only Revilia but also Finn and Grace were stunned.

"Good kid, are you that strong now?"

Grace was astonished.

That was Ais, viewed by the gods as the most talented person from the lower realm before Reiger appeared.

Although young, in many people’s eyes, Ais had already been one of the strongest Lv.5s, even capable of challenging higher levels with "Wind Spirit Swift Walk," comparable to Lv.6.

The title of the strongest female swordsman was by no means just talk but backed by true ability.

Without a doubt, within the Loki Familia, Ais was the strongest adventurer after the big three.

For such Ais to lose to Reiger in sparring, it was no wonder the Headquarters Camp was so surprised.

"It was just a sparring match, and I was lucky to win one move."

Reiger still held to this explanation.

Unfortunately, the big three were not fools.

"If it were just luck, Ais wouldn’t have been so upset." Finn looked at Reiger with a meaningful gaze, saying, "You should know that better than anyone."

Reiger suddenly fell silent.

Did he understand?

Of course, he understood.

He might say that, but in reality, Reiger also realized from the sparring that his strength had indeed surpassed Ais’s.

There was no helping it; his potential was too high, and his abilities to grow stronger were each more formidable than the last, all combat-related and able to amplify his power. With the compounded effect of these potential and developmental abilities, even if Reiger had just reached Lv.5, he was no less than anyone else of that level.

So what if Ais was at the top of Lv.5?

Without skills to increase her strength, without other magic to surpass Reiger, and with only one developmental ability, "Swordsman," that was effective against Reiger—and even then, at a lower level than Reiger’s—how could Ais win against him?

If there were other areas where Ais was ahead of Reiger, that would be a different story.

For instance, with swordsmanship, as the strongest female swordsman, if her skills were superior, and she could turn the tide with her prowess, it wouldn’t have been impossible.

The problem was that Reiger had completely learned this most commendable skill of Ais’s, taking away any advantage she might have had against him.

Add to that the potential abilities accumulated by Reiger over the previous four levels, and now, he had truly surpassed Ais in every aspect.

And if magical factors were also considered, Ais stood even less of a chance.

Ais only had "Wind Spirit Swift Walk," how could she compare to Reiger who had mastered the same magic, as well as a variety of other magics?

Reiger was no fool; he could see and figure this out.

Ais, too, had come to this realization, which was why she was so deeply affected.

Thinking this, Reiger felt somewhat guilty.

Seeing his troubled look, Revilia spoke up.

"Don’t feel guilty," said Revilia, "It’s not your fault."

"That’s right," added Grace, "If you had sought to hurt Ais on purpose, that would be a different story, but you were just performing normally, sparring as usual. Where’s the mistake in that?"

"Ais certainly doesn’t blame you. She’s probably blaming herself," Finn observed quietly, "She’s always been in a rush to succeed, always pursuing strength, and apart from becoming stronger, there’s been practically nothing else in her eyes."

"Your winning a move today might’ve made her feel very weak, that she has been quickly surpassed by someone, and that’s why she’s taken such a hit."

"Simply put, she’s panicked."

Upon hearing this, Reiger also fell into silence.

Finn’s assessment was incisive, cutting right to the heart of the matter.

Reiger himself knew that Ais was dissatisfied with her own growth and craved strength. Finn and the others certainly knew this too.

It could only be said that Ais already harbored this discontent, this tendency, and Reiger’s sparring outcome was merely a catalyst.

"So what do we do now?" Reiger asked, "We can’t just stand by, can we?"

"Of course not," said Revilia, her brows tightly furrowed, her voice laced with concern, "Given her character, she has by now probably dived into the underground city, potentially planning to do something dangerous."

The current state of Ais was even more worrisome than Bert’s was yesterday.

At least Bert should have some sense of restraint.

Ais, on the other hand, did not.

If that girl acted recklessly, she would truly risk even her life.

"It seems we can’t just stand by." Finn pondered for a moment before saying, "I’ll send someone to look for her."

"I’ll go too."

Reiger spoke up without hesitation.

"Let me come too," Revilia turned to Finn and said apologetically, "Sorry, I’m a bit worried about that child."

"No problem, go ahead," Finn agreed with a nod, "It’s not urgent anyway, let’s bring Ais back first."

Everyone promptly nodded in agreement.