Tower of Babel, Plaza.
As night fell, the magic stone lamp posts around the plaza had been lit one by one, their bright light illuminating the towering chalk-white giant tower that reached into the clouds.
Ais stepped out from the giant tower, her dazzling blonde hair impeccable, yet her body was spotted with dirt and disarray.
Even so, the girl still attracted countless gazes, becoming the focal point of the entire area.
"Look quick, it's the Sword Princess."
"The one from the Loki Familia?"
"Still as beautiful as ever, not the slightest bit inferior to the goddesses."
"By the looks of her, she seems to have just come back from the underground city, right?"
"She's really diligent, despite the fact that Loki Familia only recently returned from an expedition, she's in the underground city every day."
"Even though she's already Lv.5, she's still the first among female swordsmen in Orario..."
"I wish I could become a first-rate adventurer."
"How could that be easy?"
In the midst of such discussions, all sorts of eyes were drawn to Ais, filled with astonishment, admiration, envy, and even jealousy.
As one of the most famous figures in Orario, Ais, the flagbearer of the Loki Familia, was bound to attract attention wherever she went, not to mention her beauty that could rival even that of a goddess.
Ais had grown accustomed to this, or rather, she had long since stopped caring.
The girl merely walked with her head slightly lowered, moving through the crowd, her mind on something else.
Or rather, she was thinking about her own affairs.
A glance briefly swept over her own back, and the first thing Ais thought of was her fierce battle of the day and the achievements of the day before.
...
Ais Wallenstein
Lv.5
Strength: D535 → D536
Endurance: D531 → D532
Dexterity: A813
Agility: A810
Magic Power: A888
Hunter: G
Abnormal Resistance: G
Swordsman: I
...
These were Ais's latest stats, updated yesterday after checking in with Loki.
If this information were to be disclosed, surely many in Orario would be astounded, right?
Both "Strength" and "Endurance" have reached the D rank.
"Dexterity," "Agility," "Magic Power" have all reached the A rank.
Even the developmental abilities gained only during leveling up, Ais had as many as three, though their ranks were not high. Still, compared to those who gained no developmental abilities upon leveling up, her achievements were remarkable, enough to arouse envy.
Frankly speaking, Ais's stats occupied the top tier among those at Lv.5.
In Orario, and even on a global scale, when it comes to the Lv.5 category, there will be few, if any, who have higher stats than Ais currently does.
However, thinking about her own stats, what spread over Ais's heart was a slight gloom.
"Too slow..."
This was what the girl was pondering.
These past few days, Ais had been striving to explore the underground city, venturing into floors that normal adventurers found difficult to reach.
The floors she had reached were at least below the 20th level, where every day she faced monsters classified by the guild as at least Lv.3.
In those floors, amongst such swarms of monsters, Ais slaughtered countless foes from dawn before the sky brightened until the dusk when it darkened, returning disheveled and defeated.
But despite all her efforts, after several days, the proficiency of the lower-ranked "Strength" and "Endurance" each only increased by one point, with the other abilities showing no change at all, leaving Ais's mood in a poor state since last night.
The head god had made a few extra comments upon seeing the girl's condition.
"You know, Ais, this is actually quite impressive already. Being at Lv.5 and still managing to grow even slightly after a few days of exploration in floors where monsters are much lower leveled than you is something others certainly couldn't achieve."
The head god, usually with his eyes half-closed, opened them wide, gazing at Ais with rare seriousness as he spoke.
"Which child at your level hasn't struggled for many years, even over a decade, to achieve such results?"
"It's only been three years since you've reached Lv.5, and in that time you've pushed your abilities to be among the highest at Lv.5. This potential is the highest in our Familia, even Finn and Grace didn't grow this fast at Lv.5."
"Of course, I hope you all become stronger and more excellent, but there's a limit to everything. Even us (the gods) wouldn't expect you (the children) to become heroes overnight, right?"
"You're already running very fast, any faster and you might fall."
"So, sometimes you need to know when enough is enough, understand?"
The heartfelt advice from the head god still vividly lingered in Ais's mind.
But Ais was still dissatisfied with the pace of her growth.
Having ascended to Lv.5 over three years ago, Ais was aware that she had achieved results that were commendable by the gods.
However, lately, the growth of her ability scores could be called minuscule, and this created a sense of urgency in Ais.
How could she be satisfied when, like now, after days of arduous battling against monsters in the underground city, her overall ability score had only improved by 2 points?
It was the same recently, even after an expedition with the Familia that took them through the ultra-deep floors below the 50th level for roughly two weeks, battling countless monsters ranked as Lv.4 or higher, Ais's final gain in proficiency was only a total increase of a dozen or so points.
It was too slow.
So slow that it caused discontent in Ais.
So slow that it cast a shadow over her heart.
Especially after seeing others growing at what could only be described as an unfair rate, what emerged in Ais's heart was not just discontent, but urgency and restlessness.
At this rate, when would she become strong enough?
"Fool's Obsession...?"
Ais recalled that unheard-of, unseen skill, her mind full of complicated thoughts.
A skill that could accelerate growth, elevate the potential ceiling.
Why didn't she have such a skill?
"...What kind of obsession is needed for that skill to manifest?"
The abilities discovered by the grace of gods, whether magic or skills, all related to one's nature or interests.
In other words, they were the crystallization of thoughts, the fruit of fantasies.
It sounded like magic that could turn fantasies into reality, where mere thought could make things happen, but in fact, it was not so.
In this world, almost everyone desired rapid strength, but none among them had awakened such a rule-breaking skill that could speed up growth and increase potential, right?
If it were so easy to have, then why didn't she have it?
Could her desire and feelings to become stronger be weaker than others?
Therefore, merely fantasizing about having a skill like "Fool's Obsession" was surely not enough.
The more exaggerated the skill, the more astonishing the effects, the greater the test of one's heart and nature; only when these aspects were acknowledged and intensely resonated, could they be transformed into substantial abilities reflected in one's divine blessings.
So—
"Exactly what kind of obsession led to his awakening of such a skill...?"
Ais found herself deep in thought over this question, with an image of that seemingly calm and composed man, whose eyes held a fierce and passionate glint, dominating her mind.
Ais Wallenstein yearned for strength.
An immense yearning.
Because she harbored a tragic wish, a grudge.
For that, she must become stronger as quickly as possible.
With that tragic wish, that grudge, the girl was still seeking the secret to strength today.
However, just as Ais was about to leave the square and walk onto the main street, she noticed some commotion.
"Head to the guild quickly...!"
"We must report this...!"
"Something's gone terribly wrong!"
"An anomaly has appeared on the 6th floor, there are already casualties among adventurers...!"
A group of adventurers who were clearly just back from the underground city were in disarray, yelling in the street, their panic-stricken looks and blood-stained bodies causing Ais to halt in her steps.
"An anomaly?"
At the mention of this term, which typically sent shivers down adventurers' spines, Ais slightly furrowed her brow.
Especially the latter part of the speech caught Ais' particular attention.
"Some have seen a male human swordsman battling an unknown monster with an elf mage girl by his side?"
As it happened, Ais was aware of such an unusual duo.
A pair she had just learned about today, a surprising combination even for her.
It was a topic she had overheard from her family members discussing as she left the house that morning.
"Could it be Reiger and Rephia?"
A feeling of unease grew inside Ais.
In the upper floors, where parties usually come in threes, what were the chances of encountering another duo of a human swordsman and an elf mage coincidentally?
Ais didn't think so.
"The 6th floor..."
Muttering to herself, Ais turned and began to run.
Her destination, the Tower of Babel.
...
In the underground city, on the 6th floor.
As soon as she arrived, Ais' unease turned into reality.
The reason was simple.
Before her eyes, in the level where usually only novice adventurers explored, lay many adventurers with sophisticated equipment and obvious strength, who should have been venturing deeper, their bodies lifeless on the ground.
Their deaths were gruesome, some disemboweled, others left with only limbs and fragments; the crimson blood smeared across the floor and walls made even Ais feel deeply uncomfortable.
It told Ais that indeed an anomaly had occurred here, that a powerful monster had appeared.
The image of the deeply-impressive human man and the beloved kinswoman lying in a pool of blood flashed through her mind. Ais shook her head vigorously to cast the thoughts aside, her pace quickening unconsciously.
"Is it this way?"
Before long, Ais detected loud noises, like the sounds of combat.
She hurriedly rushed toward them.
Soon, Ais reached the battlefield.
Then, she saw a familiar figure.
"Rephia!"
Ais called out instinctively.
But the kinswoman, who would normally run over happily upon hearing Ais's call, was now just staring blankly ahead.
Ais followed her gaze and likewise fell silent.
"Roar!"
The large frame characteristic of a big species emerged within the narrow passage, unleashing a deafening roar.
The roar was filled with anger, ferocity, wildness, hysteria, and, at the end, even traces of fear.
Ais then saw a giant monster she had never encountered before, howling in agony.
In front of it, a figure drenched in blood was charging, sprinting forward.