Sitting beside Leon, Ais's transparent eyes, which originally sparkled like brilliant gold, trembled slightly before dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Clearly, Leon's straightforward words had dealt her a significant blow.
Yet, Leon acted as if he hadn't noticed and continued speaking to himself.
"The reason I can grow this fast, barring any accidents, should be due to the skill I just mentioned to you," Leon said slowly, his eyes fixed on the courtyard scenery ahead. "It's a special skill whose content even Loki couldn't decipher, and whose name couldn't even be translated."
"Even though it can't be deciphered, the only explanation for my rapid growth is this skill. Otherwise, no matter how great my potential, it would be impossible to surpass your record from when you leveled up to Lv.2 by such a wide margin."
"Normally, I just dive into the dungeon as usual and haven't done anything special. So, you can entirely rule out the possibility that I did something specific to achieve this speed."
Based on all of this, Leon concluded that Ais wouldn't be able to raise her status as quickly as he did.
After all, that was a skill unique to him alone. There probably wasn't a second person in the entire world who possessed it, and it was impossible for Ais to suddenly acquire such a skill. Therefore, wanting to become stronger at the same pace as Leon was basically an impossibility.
"An undecipherable... special skill?"
Ais lifted her eyes slightly, looking somewhat surprised by this revelation.
In this world, could there really be a skill that even a god couldn't decipher?
What kind of skill could possibly possess such an effect?
Amidst the disappointment in her heart, curiosity inevitably began to surface.
"Remember to keep it a secret for me." Seeing Ais look over, Leon immediately smiled and said, "Only you and Loki—well, maybe the Captain and the others know about this. No one else does."
Even though they belonged to the same Familia, Leon didn't really want others to know about this skill.
It couldn't be helped. An adventurer's magic or skills, aside from being influenced by their personal experiences or obsessions, could also be the manifestation of their true essence.
The most typical example was the original protagonist, whose skills were almost entirely born from his personal obsessions.
"Liaris Freese" manifested because of his deep affection and intense admiration for Ais, who had saved him.
"Argonaut," as the name implied, was the manifestation of his desire to become a hero.
"Ox Slayer" awakened because of his drive to defeat his fated rival and overcome his past shadows.
Just looking at the names of these skills made it obvious what kind of desires and obsessions he held. If others found out, it would practically lay his inner mind bare, leaving his deeply hidden secrets with nowhere to hide.
By the same logic, if Leon's "Outworlder" could be deciphered, someone like Loki would likely deduce his origins just by looking at the skill name.
At that point, his identity as a reincarnated individual would probably be exposed right away.
Precisely for this reason, even with Ais, Leon didn't want to reveal the true details of "Outworlder." He could only tell her it was an undecipherable special skill, and that his rapid growth was suspected to be a result of it.
Loki, Finn, and the others likely had similar suspicions, so Leon didn't mind sharing this much with Ais.
But other people were a different story.
In this Familia, Leon was ultimately only close to Ais. Most of the others were just acquaintances. Currently, he was at most on good terms with a limited few like Line and Raul, but not to the extent that he could lay everything bare to them.
It wasn't a lack of trust in his Familia companions; it was simply that everyone had their own privacy. No matter how good the relationship, one wouldn't necessarily want to disclose everything.
Although Ais couldn't hear Leon's inner thoughts, she could generally understand his perspective.
She, too, had a skill that she couldn't carelessly reveal to the outside world.
"Avenger." If even a single detail of this skill were leaked, it would expose the intense hatred buried deep within her heart.
Therefore, Ais had never revealed the existence of this skill to Outworlders. Only Loki, Finn, and the other two leaders were aware of it, making her situation almost identical to Leon's.
In truth, people like Leon and Ais, who hid information about their own magic or skills, were not uncommon within the Loki Familia.
Because it might expose the secrets of their hearts, their obsessions, or their ugly desires, they could only conceal these things, hiding their wounds and silently licking them alone in a corner.
The only ones who thoroughly understood these members' situations had always been their primary deity, Loki, and the three Familia leaders. Those four also understood that these were not matters to be casually disclosed, so as guardians, they were willing to help keep the secrets and subtly guide them, hoping that one day they could face themselves and step out from the shadows of their hearts.
This was also the reason why, even though Leon never mentioned his origins, Loki and the others were willing to let him keep hiding his secrets once they confirmed he was harmless.
They weren't the type to pry deeply into other people's secrets. As long as they confirmed the secret posed no harm to themselves or the Familia, they could completely turn a blind eye, waiting until the person fully trusted them and was willing to confess before stepping in as proper listeners.
They possessed such patience and understanding, which was why the members trusted them implicitly and were willing to give everything for them and the Familia.
In other words, Leon's situation was really nothing unusual in the Loki Familia, and it wouldn't cause Ais to feel any resentment.
She herself had never confessed her skills to Leon, so for Leon to share this much with her was already more than generous.
Thinking this way, Ais had no idea that Leon actually knew exactly what she was hiding, including the skill and background she refused to reveal to Outworlders.
"...I won't tell anyone."
Ais simply made the promise, though her tone sounded rather downcast.
It seemed that failing to obtain the secret to rapid growth from Leon still left her feeling quite disheartened.
Looking at Ais, who made no effort to hide her dejection, Leon couldn't help but reach out and stroke her smooth, golden hair.
"Actually, you don't need to look for ways to get stronger from other people at all," Leon said. "In my view, you already possess an incredible latent potential that others don't have. As long as you can unearth it, you definitely won't lose to anyone."
After all, she was someone who had once shocked the entire Lower World by achieving the fastest level-up record. Ais's potential was entirely plain to see.
She wasn't like Leon or the original protagonist, who relied on broken skills to accelerate their growth. Achieving the fastest level-up record was entirely based on her own potential and effort, something no one could match.
Her parents had even more extraordinary origins. Having inherited their bloodline and talent, it was impossible for Ais to be inferior to any individual in the Lower World.
Therefore, the potential hidden within her body was absolutely beyond ordinary imagination, which was why she had awakened such magic and skills in the first place.
It had to be said that both Ais's magic and skills could absolutely be considered cheats.
If she used her magic and skills simultaneously, fighting across levels would be a simple matter. Under the right conditions, she could even challenge opponents two or even three levels higher. This kind of ability was something that probably couldn't be found anywhere else in the Lower World.
Lefiya merely possessed firepower two levels above her current rank. If Ais went all out, utilizing both her magic and skills, she possessed combat capabilities two or even three levels above her current rank. There was absolutely no point in comparing the two.
Unfortunately, Ais's magic and skills were far too dangerous to use, especially "Avenger," which symbolized the hatred in her heart and carried the risk of destroying her. As a result, she had banned herself from using that skill for a long time.
Still, this only proved what kind of grand power lay dormant within Ais's body.
"If—and I do mean if—you can fully unearth the power hidden within your body, completely control it, and remain unharmed by it, would you still need to mimic anyone else's way of getting stronger?"
Leon spoke softly, causing Ais to look up involuntarily.
"You—"
Ais looked at Leon in astonishment, seemingly very shocked by his words.
Leon's words gave Ais the feeling that he already knew the things she had been hiding all this time.
But how could that be possible?
Seeing that the young girl was startled by him, Leon didn't bother to explain and simply smiled gently.
"Anyway, I just feel that there is absolutely no need for you to chase after someone else's back or learn their way of getting stronger."
Leon's voice seemed to come from a far-off place, turning ethereal.
"If you want to become stronger, the most correct approach should be to face yourself, pursue the things hidden deep within your own heart, and work hard on yourself. You don't need to seek help from others at all."
Having said his piece, Leon didn't say anything further. He just gazed out at the central courtyard while continuing to stroke Ais's overly smooth long hair.
Ais didn't resist Leon's close gesture either, staring at him blankly as she fell into a very long silence.
"Oh my, what on earth are those two talking about?"
In the sky corridor connecting the towers, the Amazon girl hiding there to peer into the courtyard couldn't help but speak up, breaking the quiet hanging over the area.
"The distance is too far, I can't hear a single bit of the conversation at all."
Tiona expressed her dissatisfaction, her complaints coming one after another, which thoroughly annoyed her twin older sister who was also hiding there to spy on the courtyard.
"Can you stop talking so much? We couldn't hear in the first place, and with you making noise here, now we really can't hear anything."
Tione really wanted to kick her constantly muttering younger sister away, the irritation on her face almost overflowing.
However, Tiona completely ignored her irritable older sister.
"Look, look! Leon is making his move!" Tiona suddenly grew excited, clamoring, "He touched Ais! He really did!"
The scene Tiona saw at this moment was exactly the moment when Leon couldn't help but reach out to stroke Ais's hair.
This didn't just get Tiona excited; it also caused many intentional onlookers to let out hushed gasps one after another.
"That guy Leon... actually dared to make a move on Miss Ais!"
"Whew—that kid is pretty bold."
"Daring to lay a hand on our Familia's Doll Princess, those lousy men are probably going to burst with anger this time."
"Oh my, I actually think those two look quite good together. What was that phrase Loki used again?"
"Great to ship?"
"Yes, yes, exactly that feeling."
"Those forward-thinking gods always manage to come up with words we don't understand but leave us deeply impressed."
"I also know a phrase the gods often use at times like this to describe us. What was it... an auntie smile?"
"I just hope Leon doesn't get ambushed in the dark by those hot-blooded, lousy men."
A group of female members had unexpectedly hidden here first thing in the morning, spying on the interactions between the boy and girl in the courtyard, chatting about it with immense enthusiasm.
Leon and Ais trained together in the courtyard every day, so blatantly that it was impossible for anyone in the Familia not to notice.
Especially today, as Leon had just leveled up, he was currently the center of attention. The members were all very curious to see how this newcomer—who had taken less than a month to level up and broke the world record held by the Doll Princess whom everyone in the Familia took pride in—would perform.
As it turned out, they weren't disappointed.
They had witnessed the entirety of the fierce battle between Leon and Ais just moments ago.
With this, they finally accepted that Leon had truly set this unbelievable record and become a Lv.2.
However, compared to that matter, the interaction between Leon and Ais suddenly sitting on the long bench instantly drew everyone's attention, causing their topic of discussion to shift in a flash.
Of course, just as they had said, most of the male members who witnessed this scene were absolutely furious.
"That bastard, he only just rose to Lv.2, and yet he already dares to so brazenly reach out and touch Miss Ais?"
"What's it going to be like when he reaches Lv.3 or Lv.4?"
"If he dares to stroke her head at Lv.2, won't he dare to touch anything at Lv.3 or Lv.4?"
"...Should we find a time to chop his hands off?"
The male members began conducting sinister, secretive discussions in the corners, which even included the very people who had been crowding around Leon just a moment ago, feeling thrilled and excited about his level-up.
Evidently, Leon had truly drawn a lot of hatred this time.
And it wasn't just the hatred of the male members; he had even drawn the hatred of a certain female member.
"Accursed rogue! Scoundrel! Pervert! Shameless, vulgar male!"
The beautiful elf girl stared intently at Leon's hand stroking Ais's hair, biting the railing and cursing while shrouded in a dark aura.
"Hurry up and let go of your claw already!!!"
The elf girl was about to burst with rage.
Yet through all of this, Leon remained completely oblivious throughout.
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