Explosive Growth

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/In a closed-off room somewhere within the Loki Familia's Manor…/

'Loki, Ais, Riveria, Gareth, Finn, Tione, Tiona, and Bete could be seen waiting.'

'Pretty much, all of the top brass of the Loki Familia was in this room, something very frequent to be honest.'

'Yet, surprisingly, most were using their casual clothes...'

'Finn was using a more formal attire, as he has a lot of care for his image, Gareth had a simple garb, his favorite to use indoors and walk around in.'

'Loki was using her usual clothes, Riveria was using a cloak as always, her sense of fashion was pretty dull, yet no one complained, no one had the balls to do it though...'

'Tione and Tiona were using a variant of their usual clothes, although the amount of skin they were showing was no less than before.'

'And like Ais, their hairs were all slightly wet due to getting out of the shower not so long ago.'

'Ais was the most surprising, as she had a red scarf around her neck… Although she was using her usual white dress.'

'Everyone seemed to be waiting for Loki to say something, but Gareth was the first to talk:'

"So? What's all the fuss about this time?" Gareth asked with his arms crossed

'This broke the ice and allowed the others to say as well:'

"It seems to be something about Ais' stats right?" Finn asked with a thin smile

After all, not even a minute passed since they started updating her status and Loki screamed...

I wonder what Loki saw that made her do that… Did Ais get a new Skill? That would be...

Yeah, that would be enough to make her scream, but not like that, Loki would already be parading around the city if that was the case...

Or at least she would've tried to do that and Ais would've stopped her, but they seem oddly quiet.

Ais was a bit different in this Expedition, pushing herself much harder than usual and she even went against my orders once… I can't blame her though.

She must be feeling anxious… And even a bit powerless... What she saw before we went on an expedition must've riled her up way more than usual.

Seeing that adventurer grow and being overpowered by him, even if it was just a mock battle where she limited herself...

And the previous fight against that terrorist... Both deeply marked her…

'Finn started to remember that fight…'

'It wasn't an easy fight.'

'After Silver had been knocked out for good, Aetos used the period of time where everyone was unfocused to chant his magic, raising his power to the absolute limit.'

'Finn even believed that for a moment, Aetos may have become comparable to Ottar, perhaps not stronger, but there might've been a chance of him defeating Ottar.'

'And for them, he was a trickier enemy to deal with.'

'With decades of experience and many magical techniques, including even Chant connection, chant canceling, and more. Aetos wasn't something they could take on so easily.'

'It can even be said that he was the hardest enemy they faced to date, even if their fight was rather short.'

'Yet, they still felled him with the combined effort of 3 Level 6's and 4 Level 5's... and Lefiya who was there to heal and support them.'

'However, what mattered here was the process… The way he fought, his expressions during the fight… And the words he said.'

…

—-----------------

/CLANG!/

'Ais swung her sword with all of her might, chaotic wind surrounding her sword and body as she did so…'

'But Aetos easily blocked it, making Ais recoil backward due to the power.'

"Impressive enchant Magic..." Aetos said to Ais, instantly recognizing what she was using

"Too strong though… It makes me remember… Of the wind spirits." He said with a half-smile, stunning Ais frozen

/Clang!/

"Don't take your eyes off me!" Gareth screamed as he slashed with his ax in anger

'But his strength was still lower than the current Aetos!'

"Dwarves are always so hot-headed." Aetos said with a cold expression as he kicked Gareth in the stomach, sending him flying towards a house

'Gareth managed to block the attack, but he was still sent flying across several houses, breaking the wall after all like an artillery shell…'

/FWOSH!/

'Suddenly, from his blind spot, Finn appeared with his spear, thrusting it upward towards Aetos' shoulder!'

"!"

/CUT!/

'But Aetos was still faster than him, moving his back and minimizing his movement, parring the spear away as it cut his shoulder.'

"That was close, but you should've aimed somewhere else. Like my head."

/BAM!/

'He punched Finn in the guts, sending him flying as well.'

'Aetos's gaze went back to Ais as he said:'

"Come, don't just stand there… Fear is the worst you can ever feel in a fight."

"Although I wonder if it'll make a difference... At least he had the courage... No, hew as excited to face me."

'But Ais' did not respond, making Aetos say:'

"Hm... You're blinded by rage, I can feel it, the wind around you screams."

"Your sword is lacking… Limited by your own desires, your vision is like a tunnel, nothing else matters for you apart from what lies at the end of it."

'He then looked at her with a disappointed gaze.'

"He was weaker than you, but I had more fun sparring with him than playing with you."

"His desires were clear, his gaze is at the future, yours remains in the past."

"And you have the gall to call yourself Sword Princess? Aren't you living in the past too much?" He mocked her with a sly smile

/BAM!/

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Bete screamed as he kicked Aetos from the air

"What an angry guard dog…" Aetos said as he easily blocked Bete's kicked

'He grabbed Bete's leg and smashed him against the ground, making the entire block shake, and making Bete's mind blank out.'

'He slowly raised Bete up and prepared to smash him again…'

"Get you hands…" Tiona said

"OF HIM YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Tione replied with a twisted expression as she swung her two daggers at his neck, looking like a Demon

'But Aetos easily evaded the two, throwing Bete against Tiona and kicking Tione in the arms…'

/CRACK!/

'Surprisingly, Tione resisted the kick with her arms, but the ground beneath her completely caved in, as if a meteor had just fallen…'

"Amazons… Anger seems to run in your veins." He said as he slapped her away

"..."

'Riveria who was far away felt useless, her magic was simply too destructive, and using it here would completely incinerate a large section of the City.'

'And using weaker forms of it would do little to no effect, rather, it would make their fight worse and further damage the city instead of helping.'

'So she could only stay there, gazing at the Elf with a cold and sharp gaze.'

'But Aetos did not care about Riveria, he dusted his clothes and said to Ais one last time in a volume only the two of them could hear:'

"If only… If only you were even half of what your father was."

"Perhaps all of this would've had a meaning."

"!"

"YOU!" She exclaimed in a very angry tone

Don't you dare...

'Wind started to revolve around her in a way it had never done before…'

"INSULT MY FATHER!"

'Even the houses nearby started to shatter into a million pieces as if a tornado had formed within Orario…'

'Ais' expression was completely warped displaying her anger, one she had never felt before…'

"..."

'Aetos looked at her with an ironic smile.'

"If only… This was enough."

"LIL RAFAGA!"

'Ais moved her sword, pointing it at Aetos as she took a step forward…'

—-----------------

…

'Finn closed his eyes as he remembered that.'

Whatever he knew… It doesn't matter now...

After this fight, everyone has changed somewhat…

Tione, Tiona, and Bete have started to train even more than before… They probably felt useless.

Even though they have nothing to blame, they are already very impressive for being able to do anything at all against that opponent.

Riveria was also rather impacted by this… Because his identity was more than just that of a strong Elf… It wouldn't be wrong to say he was her Uncle or a not-so-distant relative…

She has been investigating this matter deeply, and she'll soon go back to her home forest…

Although… It won't be on good terms… She wants answers… And she'll get them.

Ais has become rather pensive, more so than before…

'Finn looked at the scarf on her neck and shook his head.'

"Just spit it out shortie." Bete said annoyed

"Humph, here, take a look yourselves!" She said as she slammed a paper on the table

"It was Ais' stats!"

—--------------

Ais Wallenstein

Level 5

Strength    I-21 -> I-76

Vitality      I-17 -> I-61

Dexterity    I-49 -> H-101

Agility        I-54 -> H-113

Magic        I-60 -> H-134

Hunter G -> F

Abnormal Resistance G

Swordsman H -> G

Magic:

>Ariel

Skills:

>Avenger

—--------------

"..."

/Silence…/

'Gareth's eyes were wide open.'

'Riveria couldn't believe what she was seeing, her eyes twitching…'

'Finn's mind went into overdrive…'

'Tiona's mind blanked.'

'Tione was on the verge of screaming…'

'Bete bit his lips in frustration.'

'Ais touched her hair and looked at the window, feeling a bit embarrassed…'

"See? I told ya it would be shocking." Loki said with a smile

"This… How?... In the first place this…" Tiona said as stuttered

"Is such growth even possible?" Riveria asked puzzled

"It has been over 3 weeks since the last time we updated." Gareth said as he recovered his focus

"Even so Gareth…"

"I know, there is no need to look at me like that." He said as he scratched his neck

"..."

'Tione kept silent, thinking…'

'And so did Bete…'

"Seeing your face, I imagine you have an explanation for this?" Finn asked

'Loki nodded with a smile.'

"Okay, calm down. I do think I have the answer for this." Loki said with a small smile

'She pointed at Ais' scarf.'

"The Scarf? That piece of cloth?" Tione asked slightly confused

"It isn't just a piece of cloth… It's a magic tool… This will take a while to explain…" Loki said with a frown

…

/A few minutes later…/

'After explaining what that item could've been while keeping some details a secret, Loki updated their status and found out a shocking truth!'

'After that, she had everyone apart from the top Executives leave.'

'She wanted to discuss this further with them.'

"To think its effects would extend to all of us…" Riveria said with a frown

'She couldn't understand what was happening, this went completely against everything she knew about Falna and Exelia.'

'Her belief of how an adventurer should grow and their own limits was changing.'

'If Loki's words were correct, then it was an item that could instigate growth beyond one's own limit, speeding it up in the process.'

'One of the many reasons why growth started to slow down as your status increased was because of how you were slowly approaching your limit, and the closer you are to it, the slower the progress becomes.'

'In other words, it was an item meant to speed up the growth of a being and increase his/her potential without side effects.'

'But Riveria always believed that it was impossible to go beyond one's limits.'

'That was why she always told Ais to not overdo, and why she always tried to impede Tione and Tione from throwing themselves into danger.'

'She still believes that her methods were correct, however, she is now starting to understand that there is something to strive for beyond your limits and that it is indeed possible to go beyond it…'

'Although it's still a matter of how to do it and if it's worth it in the first place.'

'Because with her decades of experience as an adventurer, she has never heard of anyone who broke his limits, it surely isn't something simple to do in the first place.'

"What should we do?" Riveria asked Loki in a serious tone

'Loki did not reply, instead, she opened her eyes slightly and smiled.'

"We'll keep it of course."

"... I'll go with you desition." She said as she closed her eyes, thinking

"Few people know about its existence, and in the first place, is there anyone better than us to keep it safe?"

"She is right Riveria."

"Whatever its true effects are, it is clear that it does have an effect on the normal growth of an adventurer and that it would cause a pandemonium if people were to find out about its existence."

'Finn turned his face to Loki and continued:'

"I'll trust your words for now and believe it holds no harm to Ais, so in the meantime, we need to figure out what to make out of this situation as a whole."

"Ais will continue to grow and so will everyone, however, this may destabilize the Familia's current teamwork as Ais will continue to grow at an accelerated speed while the others won't be able to keep up."

In 3 weeks my status grew more than in this entire year added…

Ais' development will surely skyrocket.

However, this will also mean that Bete and the others will be left behind, and this will create a small rift that needs to be closed up as soon as possible.

Or at least, this rift may cause them to start doing reckless things… Like going deeper in the Dungeon in small groups or even... Alone.

'One of the reasons why their growth speed was decreasing, is that as Level 5's and 6's, the only suitable place for them to train is the Deep floors and bellow.'

'And for a normal team, going there would take days, Ais might arrive there earlier, but she would have to put in some effort.'

'Every day, go beyond the 35th floor and back... It isn't really effective. Especially for Finn, Gareth, and Riveria.'

'That is why the Loki Familia does Expeditions every once in a while, it's not just for resources, but also to increase their status.'

'Meanwhile, Ais and the others would always train in the Dungeon, while the top executives were always occupied with work...'

"So in essence, it's a growth-oriented item. And it not only affects Ais, but all of us at the same time." Gareth said as he scratched his beard

"It has a very long story and you said this item is rumored to exist among the Gods…"

"So... Isn't that going to be a potential problem? If someone else ends up recognizing it?"

'Loki shrugged and said:'

"Still, sealing it up somewhere is too much, and I don't think it's that hard to…"

"Ahhhh! Whatever, we can discuss more later." Loki said with a serious expression

"Instead, what we should be paying attention to is not on that, but on the person who gave that item to us… Or better put, gave it to Ais." Loki continued saying with a half-smile

"I think it's time for us to visit that boy and ask him a few questions… He may know more about the overall situation than us after all."

After all, from our investigations, before the Item got in the hands of that bastard, it was in that guy's hands...

Ever since Ai-tan got it from him, she hasn't been the same…

I need to go there personally and beat him up from trying his hand at my Ais!

"However… What do you plan to learn from him?" Gareth asked

'Loki looked at Gareth and said:'

"First, the overall situation, anything is better than what we have... Witch is very little."

"Second, Ais' origins were always a very sensitive mystery, one that we kept quiet about for a long time."

"This matter is definitely tied to her, and even if it's futile, we need to check everything and see what we can learn." Loki said seriously

Especially since our main lead was cut off in that fight.

"So I think we should visit him... Instead of waiting for him to come to us again."

Let's give him a surprise... Hehe.

'The mystery of Ais' birth… It was something that occasionally passed through Loki's head.'

'She knew much more than those 3, things even she was unwilling to share.'

'However, there is still a lot she didn't know, things she wanted to learn.'

'And strangely enough, this entire matter seems to be centered around that very mystery… There is no way Loki would ignore it.'

'It was time to once again delve deep into this mystery she had given up figuring out!'

'And her first target was…'

…

/Further down South, within the center of Orario, within a private exchange room…'

"That'll be… Exactly 673K Valis." Said the Guild worker as she counted the value of the items on the ground

"Please wait a moment so we can provide you with the payment." He said to Silver with a small bow

'Silver nodded and sat down on his chair as he whistled in peace.'

"Today was a good day…" He said with a smile

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