"Seventh-tier magic…!"
"A fully armored Ironclad Spider in its second form—taken down in a single strike?!"
As the massive creature crumbled into black ash before their eyes, Yuri Alpha merely watched with calm indifference. To her, this level of power was only natural—no, trivial—for a Supreme Being like Ren Kuroda.
But for the rest of the Blue Rose members, the scene might as well have shattered their understanding of reality.
They stood frozen, eyes wide, mouths slightly open, completely stunned.
Even Evileye, who had already braced herself mentally, couldn't hide the faint flicker of shock in her gaze as she looked at Ren.
To Blue Rose—and indeed, to the entire Kingdom—witnessing someone capable of casting fifth-tier magic was already extraordinary. But that was only because their world was so limited in perspective.
Evileye herself, the feared "Vampire Princess of Ruin," was also capable of wielding seventh-tier magic.
Earlier, when she judged that Ren's strength might rival her own, she had already suspected that he might be another seventh-tier magic caster. That was why she had deliberately suggested letting him deliver the finishing blow—to test him.
But what she hadn't expected…
Was that Ren not only could use seventh-tier magic—but that the sheer destructive force of it would be this overwhelming.
Back when Blue Rose had fought the Ironclad Spider before, it had been Evileye herself who used seventh-tier magic to finish it off.
And yet, the result had been nowhere near as clean.
The spider hadn't died instantly—it had thrashed wildly in its final moments, injuring several of her teammates before finally collapsing.
Of course, that had been under less-than-ideal conditions. Evileye had been simultaneously buffing her allies and clearing out lesser enemies at the time.
But even at full strength…
She wasn't confident she could reduce the Ironclad Spider to ashes in a single spell like this.
Which meant—
This adventurer named Ren Kuroda… as a magic caster, he was stronger than her.
The conclusion felt absurd.
And yet, the evidence was right in front of her.
—
Sensing the weight of everyone's stares, Ren inwardly cursed.
…Crap.
He'd taken Evileye's warning about the spider's "high resistance" at face value and instinctively used a stronger fire spell.
What he hadn't accounted for was that her definition of "high resistance" and his own were operating on completely different scales.
The overall power level of this world's humans was far lower than he'd anticipated.
That was precisely why he'd instructed Yuri earlier to hold back as much as possible—to avoid standing out.
And yet now…
A single, fairly standard seventh-tier spell had completely blown his cover.
"…My class is a bit… unusual," Ren said at last, forcing a composed expression. "I'm not just an ordinary magic caster. The spells I use tend to be significantly stronger than others of the same tier."
It was a vague explanation—borderline nonsense, honestly.
He had no idea whether they'd buy it.
"…A rare lineage, like Lakyus's?" Evileye murmured, falling into thought. "That would explain why both your third-tier and seventh-tier spells are noticeably stronger than mine."
To Ren's surprise…
She accepted it.
Just like that.
The other members of Blue Rose, meanwhile, were less concerned with the power of his magic and more focused on the sheer fact that he could use seventh-tier spells at all.
After all, in this world, reaching the fifth tier already placed someone in the so-called "Hero realm."
Even the strongest human magic casters known could only reach the sixth tier at best.
Seventh-tier magic?
That was the stuff of legends.
Still, despite their shock, none of them were tactless enough to pry further into Ren's secrets.
Everyone had their own hidden pasts.
After all—even among their own team, wasn't Evileye herself someone who wielded power far beyond human limits?
—
"No wonder you were so confident about coming here without supplies, Ren," Lakyus said with a bright smile. "If you can use seventh-tier magic, then our chances of clearing this ruin just skyrocketed!"
"Even among seventh-tier spells, that one was exceptional," Evileye added quietly from the side. "Because of your unique class, its power likely exceeded standard seventh-tier magic… it might even rival something closer to the eighth tier."
Ren scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"…Let's not place too much faith in me just yet," he said. "To be honest, after entering this ruin, I've started to think coming in without supplies might have been… overly reckless."
"My spells are stronger than average, yes—but they also consume far more mana. And we don't even know how many layers this place has. If this keeps up, I might end up running dry before we reach the end."
He was trying—desperately—to dial back expectations.
After that last display, he really needed to lower his profile a bit.
"I see… so you trade higher mana consumption for greater spell power," Lakyus nodded thoughtfully. "That's quite a rare specialization."
Her gaze then shifted to the long blade at his waist.
"So that's why you carry a sword? In case you run out of mana and need to fight up close?"
Gagaran crossed her arms and grinned. "Makes sense now. I was wondering why a magic caster like you would bother with a weapon. Turns out it's your backup plan."
Ren paused for a second.
"…Yeah. Something like that."
At this point, he wasn't even going to argue. They'd already constructed a perfectly reasonable explanation on his behalf.
—
"Alright, now that we understand your situation, we'll need to adjust our strategy," Lakyus said, slipping back into leader mode. "From here on, try to conserve as much mana as possible until we encounter a truly dangerous enemy."
"You're our trump card now, Ren."
"And if you do run out of mana, don't worry—I'll have Gagaran stick close and keep you safe."
Gagaran immediately stepped forward and slapped Ren on the shoulder with a hearty laugh.
"Leave it to me! As long as I'm alive, I won't let a mana-dry mage like you die in here."
She leaned in slightly, flashing a mischievous grin.
"And hey, if you really want to thank me… how about spending the night with me?"
Ren didn't even hesitate.
"…Hard pass."
There wasn't a shred of doubt in his voice.
He had absolutely zero interest in "driving a tank."
"Gagaran!" Lakyus snapped, exasperated. "We're in the middle of a dungeon raid—can you please take this seriously?!"
But as she spoke—
She suddenly felt it.
A sharp, unmistakable surge of killing intent.
Lakyus stiffened.
Because just moments earlier, when Gagaran had made her bold "offer"…
Standing silently at Ren's side—
Yuri Alpha had released a chilling aura that made the air itself feel like it had dropped below freezing.
...
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