Chapter 214
Freya merely rested one hand against her cheek and smiled.
"My, Hestia. Do you really have so little confidence in yourself?"
"What did you say?"
Hestia immediately bristled.
"Are you truly that afraid I’ll get close to Kiriya and completely capture his heart and body?"
Freya’s smile grew even more radiant.
"Or is the bond between you and him only that fragile?"
Hestia’s heart skipped a beat.
Freya had struck precisely where it hurt.
Even so, she refused to show weakness!
"Hmph! I’m only saying what Kiriya would have told you himself."
"Is that so?"
Freya was about to press her advantage when Kiriya’s voice came through the Divine Mirror.
She turned toward it.
...
"You really are built like a fortress."
Kiriya staggered over to Ottar and examined the wounded boaz.
"What do you intend to do with Lady Freya?"
Even with his body shattered and bloodied, Ottar’s expression remained calm.
"What am I going to do with her?"
Kiriya blinked.
"You can all keep training, exploring the Dungeon, and doing whatever you normally do. We can spar again whenever the opportunity comes up."
"As for your goddess... she only needs to stop bothering me."
The entire point of proposing the War Game had been to test the limits of his current strength.
That goal had been achieved so there was no reason to drag things out further.
Ottar’s expression shifted slightly.
"That is all?"
"What else were you expecting?"
Kiriya shrugged.
"Do I have to tie your goddess up, lock her in a dark room, and do unspeakable things to her before you’ll be satisfied?"
"You are a true warrior."
Ottar drew a deep breath and closed his eyes.
"You don’t need to tell me that."
Kiriya chuckled.
Then he spotted a slender figure in the distance, and his eyes immediately lit up.
He walked over.
"Well, hello there, beautiful."
Kiriya smiled at Ryu.
"How did it feel defeating the Freya Familia?"
"You never needed me here, did you?" Ryu asked.
"No."
Kiriya nodded without hesitation.
Ryu’s expression immediately began to darken.
Before the storm could fully form, he continued,
"But when you said, ’You helped me, so naturally I’ll help you,’ you looked far too cool for me to refuse."
Ryu gave a quiet huff.
The corner of her mouth tried to rise, but she quickly forced it back down and maintained a composed expression.
"I still have work at the tavern. I’m going back."
"Huh? Then the next time I need your help, may I ask for the honor again?"
Kiriya hurriedly called after her.
"I’ll consider it."
Ryu paused briefly.
She had not refused.
Then she quickly left the battlefield.
...
"See, Freya?"
Hestia planted one hand on her hip and covered her mouth with the other, looking unbearably pleased with herself.
"Kiriya doesn’t care about you at all."
"My, what a wonderfully distinctive child."
Freya cupped her cheeks, her eyes glistening.
"It only makes me want him even more."
"You fucking bitch..."
Hestia’s small fists clenched.
"Do you understand a single word anyone says to you?"
"Now, now, Hestia. There’s no need to become so upset."
Freya smiled soothingly.
"I understand your demand."
"From this moment onward, unless that child willingly accepts me, I will no longer force the matter."
"That should ease your concerns, shouldn’t it?"
"Hmph. You’d better keep your word."
Hestia turned and marched away with the swagger of a victorious general.
Freya watched her leave.
"You guard him so fiercely against me, yet show that child complete trust."
Her gaze shifted toward the departing elf reflected in the Divine Mirror.
"How terribly biased of you, Hestia."
Freya fell into thought.
...
The legend of Kiriya single-handedly defeating the Freya Familia remained the hottest topic in Orario.
For Kiriya himself, however, life soon returned to normal.
He still spent part of every day in the Dungeon’s deep floors, relentlessly training and raising his ability values.
That remained an essential part of his routine.
The only major addition was his morning practice.
Every day, from the moment he woke until it was time to enter the Dungeon, Kiriya traveled to the outskirts of Orario to train with Ryu.
After helping him during the War Game, Ryu had finally cast aside the burdens that had held her back and resumed working openly as an adventurer.
Kiriya immediately suggested that they spar regularly, allowing both of them to improve their combat skills.
It gave him more time with the beautiful elf and helped deepen their relationship, while also making him genuinely stronger.
Two benefits for the price of one!
...
Time passed swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, an entire month had gone by.
Kiriya
Level 4
Strength: F 304 → S 913
Endurance: F 339 → S 990
Dexterity: F 367 → S 978
Agility: F 356 → S 967
Magic: F 378 → S 1001
Magic:
Forest of All Things
Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality
Blade Storm
Skills:
Strong One’s Wish
Demonbane
Mirror Calm
Divine Will Sharingan
Development Abilities:
Mage (G)
Luck (H)
Spirit Healing (H)
Kiriya stared thoughtfully at the parchment containing his updated Status.
After a month of training, every one of his ability values had risen dramatically and reached the S-rank threshold.
As those values increased, the potential of his sage body was drawn out even further, increasing his total chakra reserves again.
By his conservative estimate, he now possessed roughly two hundred and forty Kakashis’ worth of chakra.
At the same time, Kiriya had never neglected the development of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Thanks to his unique Skill, Divine Will Sharingan, he could convert his own spiritual energy into the special power required for his Sharingan to evolve, continuously nourishing and strengthening his eyes.
With the combined support of his sage body and Divine Will Sharingan, repeated use of the Mangekyō had not damaged his vision.
On the contrary, both the quantity and quality of his ocular power continued to rise, steadily advancing toward a higher stage.
Kiriya had a strong feeling that, if things continued at this pace, he could awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan within a year.
When that happened, his ocular power would undergo another tremendous transformation.
Of course, that time could be shortened considerably if he found a large supply of exceptionally pure energy.
The real question was where he could obtain something like that.
The cursed spirits of the Jujutsu world had been useful, but he had already exorcised most of them in bulk. Returning there would mean waiting around for more to appear, and Kiriya had no intention of wasting that much time.
"Then I’ll have to search somewhere else."
He considered several possibilities before finally settling upon one destination—The Nasuverse.
That world possessed something extraordinary.
The Holy Grail.
If he managed to obtain one, could its enormous magical energy accelerate the evolution of his Sharingan?