Chapter 192: If You Want to Level Up, Then Defeat Me!
"Ais, how long have you been with me?"
Suddenly, Ethan asked Ais a question out of nowhere.
"Twenty-one days."
Ais answered.
Yes, for twenty-one whole days, this little tail had been following him everywhere.
Not only in the Dungeon. Even in Orario, Ais would come looking for him. Several times, when Ethan wanted to get intimate with Haruhime, she interrupted him.
Even when he wanted to go on a date with Artemis, it ended up going nowhere because of Ais.
When watching the anime, Ethan had liked this princess of the Loki Familia quite a bit. Although she did not speak much and had a blank personality, she was a good person. Those traits could even be considered part of Ais's charm.
However, after interacting with her in reality, he realized that anime was anime, and reality was reality.
Having a blank-faced girl follow you every day meant you really could not do anything. That was especially true for Ethan, who was a transmigrator with his own secrets.
"After twenty-one days, you've been wandering the Dungeon with me every day. We also train and fight often. So, what did you actually gain?"
"..."
Ais fell silent.
What had she gained?
It was not as if she had gained nothing. With [Eternal Arms Mastery], Ethan's combat skill was far beyond hers. Even three Ais together could not compare to him in battle.
But that was only combat skill.
As for actual strength, she had barely improved. The current Ais had already reached a limit, and the best way for her to grow stronger was to level up to Lv.6.
However, the opportunity that originally belonged to Ais had somehow fallen into Ethan's hands instead, and she had lost her chance to level up.
Over these twenty days, Ais had still worked hard, but her improvement was limited. Most of it was in combat, and that was only icing on the cake.
"So, are you trying to persuade me to go back?"
Looking at Ethan, Ais slowly said this.
She was not stupid. Recently, she could clearly feel that her presence had become somewhat troublesome for Ethan.
"I'm not trying to persuade you to go back. I'm trying to help you."
"Help me?"
"That's right. As a Lv.5, you've already reached your limit. If you want to go further, you can only level up to Lv.6. Expanding your 'vessel' will be far more effective than continuing like this."
"How do I do that?"
Leveling up to Lv.6 had always been what Ais wanted. However, she had never succeeded.
As for Ethan, in just a few months, his level had risen rapidly. A month ago, he had already reached Lv.5. Ais even suspected that if she did not level up soon, Ethan might reach Lv.6 before her.
"It's very simple. For you, leveling up is not actually difficult. You already meet all the conditions. What you lack now is only a 'trigger.'"
"A trigger?"
"That's right. That 'trigger' is to defeat me head-on. That achievement will become your great deed, or in other words, your chance to level up."
"If I defeat you, I can level up?"
Ais did not understand the more complex parts, but she understood the general meaning.
She did not know much about triggers or anything like that. But she understood one thing: if she defeated Ethan, she could level up. For Ais, nothing worked better than a real fight.
"That's right. As 'All the World's Evil,' defeating me will naturally be a great deed."
Clang!
The moment Ethan finished speaking, Ais moved. [Desperate] instantly left its sheath at her waist, and she thrust straight at Ethan.
This sudden attack left Ethan rather helpless. She really was impatient.
Clang!
The black sword that had been sealed away for a long time was drawn by Ethan once again.
At the same time, the malice of [All the World's Evil] began pouring out from Ethan.
Using himself as a sacrifice to help Ais level up to Lv.6 was the best method Ethan could think of. Aside from this, making Ais stronger was honestly too difficult.
It was not that Ethan was selfless. He had simply been forced into this. This deal had been decided by Freya and Loki, the two Familia goddesses, so Ethan could not refuse easily.
Clang! Clang! Crack!
Ethan and Ais's battle began. Their weapons clashed again and again, creating crisp metallic sounds.
In this battle, Ethan did not use any other power, nor did he plan to.
After all, he was feeding Ais moves and pushing her toward Lv.6. So in this fight, he could only lose. He could not win.
Bang!
The two fought fiercely. However, they had both forgotten that they were still inside the Dungeon.
...
"Hm? What's that sound up ahead?"
Elsewhere, Tsubaki arrived nearby with a huge bundle on her back.
Inside that enormous bundle were elite weapons, all forged by her own hands. They had cost her a huge amount of time and effort.
"Is that Ais and Ethan?"
Although there was still some distance between them, Tsubaki recognized the two people fighting at a glance.
Ais held a thin sword and attacked Ethan from every angle, while Ethan calmly dealt with every strike with ease.
Clang!
Another collision rang out as [Desperate] and the black sword clashed again.
"Tempest."
All at once, a green wind swept up and wrapped around Ais's body and sword.
"Mana Burst."
Boom!
Ethan also used his own move. A huge amount of magical energy became his source of power, directly strengthening his body by a large margin.
Bang!
The second stage of the battle began. Their speed, strength, and the damage they caused to the surroundings all rose to a higher level.
The breeze around Ais cut through the air, and the green wind greatly increased her speed, making her movements incredibly agile.
On the other side, Ethan's body was also greatly strengthened by Mana Burst, and his speed naturally increased as well.
Because this concerned whether she could "level up," Ais brought out her full strength.
And after following Ethan for some time, she also wanted to know exactly how strong he truly was.
…
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