Chapter 126
"There really is a way?"
"Really?"
Ais stepped forward and grabbed Kiriya’s hand.
"Don’t rush. Calm down first." Kiriya turned his hand over and gently held the girl’s fingers, speaking in a low, reassuring voice.
"It’s only a rough idea for now. Whether it’ll actually work still needs to be tested."
"Ahem." Riveria cleared her throat and gave Kiriya a look.
Talking was one thing. Why were his hands involved?
"Okay. What do I need to do?" Ais took a deep breath to steady herself, then tightened her grip on Kiriya’s hand instead.
"Well... this isn’t really the best place for it. We’ll talk once we find somewhere quiet." Kiriya noticed the emotion shifting in the girl’s eyes and smiled.
"You’ve already waited this long. Waiting a little longer won’t hurt, right?"
Ais stayed silent for a while before finally nodding.
The Loki Familia’s group continued forward. With Tiona and Bete both fired up, their pace was very fast.
"Those two are really motivated. Makes things easier for the rest of us."
"Haha, many thanks to our two vanguards."
The other Loki Familia members showered the pair with plenty of praise, but the two were too busy showing off to notice.
Several hours passed quickly like that, and before long, they reached the 18th Floor.
Since they were now on a safe floor, Finn ordered the group to stop and rest for a while so everyone could eat.
Compared with ordinary people, adventurers were on a completely different level physically. Even so, they were still mortal, and they needed food to recover their energy.
Ais did not waste a single second.
She finished her rations as quickly as possible, then went straight to Kiriya.
Under everyone’s shocked gazes, she grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the trees.
Her forceful attitude made everyone’s jaws nearly drop!
"Ais... what is she doing?"
"This... Don’t tell me Ais has fallen for him?"
"No way! Ais is still so young! I don’t approve of this relationship!"
"Give it up. If Ais really wanted that, what use would your approval be?"
"Riveria? Where’s Riveria? Someone’s kidnapping your daughter! Are you going to do something?"
"Stop yelling! Riveria didn’t even object just now."
"Waaah..."
A wave of anguished groans immediately rose from the crowd.
...
"So, what exactly is this method to get stronger?"
Ais stared into Kiriya’s eyes, her gaze full of hope.
Riveria did not speak. Her emerald eyes simply watched Kiriya without blinking.
"Yeah, yeah, handsome! Show us something interesting."
Tiona and Tione had followed as well.
"Since you’re asking so sincerely, I don’t mind telling you." Kiriya cleared his throat and placed his hands behind his back.
"As for how Ais can grow stronger, I have three options: the best method, the middle method, and the worst method. Which one do you want to hear?"
"There are three?"
The girls all looked a little doubtful. Then Tiona raised her hand.
"Then obviously we want the best one."
"The best method is what I told you before. Move properly, study properly, play properly, eat properly, and rest properly... Hey, don’t roll your eyes. I’m serious!" Kiriya’s face turned solemn.
"This is the lifelong wisdom of a sage. There’s nothing fake about it."
The four girls fell silent.
Every one of them looked at him as if to say, Are you messing with us?
"Let’s hear the middle method," Riveria said.
"The middle method is to forcibly open the eight restraints that bind the power inside your body. Once successful, it can multiply your physical ability by dozens of times."
Before Kiriya could finish, Ais, Tiona, and Tione’s eyes lit up.
This was it.
This was the kind of method they wanted!
The blond girl even raised her hand eagerly, only for Riveria to press it down firmly.
Facing Ais’s confused gaze, Riveria remained unmoved. She looked calmly at Kiriya instead.
"And the price?"
"Just what I’d expect from the Nine Hell. You noticed the most important part right away." Kiriya gave her a thumbs-up, then continued.
"First, you need years of training, the kind where you temper your body every day for decades. Without an extremely powerful body, you won’t be able to endure the power released by opening those restraints."
"Second... if you open all eight restraints, you’ll gain overwhelming power, but afterward, you die."
The cold word made all three girls fall silent.
"Your life force burns out in a short period of time. At that point, even a god would have trouble saving you."
"Riveria..." Ais looked at Riveria with a trace of pleading in her eyes.
Riveria’s gaze wavered for a moment, but that softness was quickly replaced by firmness.
She did not mind Ais pursuing strength.
She did not mind Ais becoming stronger. But the price could never be self-destruction.
"What about the worst method?"
"The worst method... is to draw the energy of nature into your body, mix it with your own internal energy, and refine it into a new, powerful form of energy. Once that energy is successfully refined, both physical techniques and magic can receive several times, even more than ten times, their original power." Kiriya paused slightly.
"I call it Sage Mode."
Everyone was stunned.
They truly had not expected Kiriya to have yet another way to greatly strengthen himself.
"What’s the price?"
This time, Ais had learned, so she asked directly.
"The price is that it’s extremely difficult to master," Kiriya said. "And if you absorb too much natural energy, your whole body will turn into a... statue."
The girls fell silent again.
As expected, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"Hey, hey, I have a question." Tiona raised her hand. "These methods... can you use all of them?"
"That’s right. And if something goes wrong while absorbing natural energy, I can knock it back out."
"Choose the worst method." Riveria looked at Ais, with a hint of pleading in her voice.
Although it would be difficult to learn, at least it was still controllable.
More importantly, it would not burn away her life force.
In the end, Ais nodded.
She did not want to make Riveria sad.
"Good. But before training, there are some preparations to make." Kiriya lifted his chin slightly. "Hold out your hand. I’ll show you something good."
"Hm?"
Ais did not understand, but she still raised her hand.
Under Riveria’s increasingly sharp gaze, Kiriya placed his hand over Ais’s.
"Feel carefully."
One second.
Two seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
To Riveria, every second felt unbearably long. Just staring at their joined hands made her patience rapidly wear away.
She felt like an old mother watching her precious daughter hold hands with a delinquent boy riding a flashy motorcycle!
"So... this is hand-holding?" Tione whispered to Tiona beside her.
"Looks like it. Honestly, if he wanted to hold hands, he should’ve just said so. I could do that too." Tiona sounded very unconvinced.
Their voices were soft, but nothing escaped Riveria’s senses. Her mood instantly became even worse, and she shot the sisters a glare.
Finally, Ais’s eyes widened as she looked at Kiriya with clear surprise.
"This... What is this?"
"Looks like you sensed chakra. Not bad." Kiriya nodded, and a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face.
"Chakra?"
The Hiryute sisters looked blank.
"Chakra?"
Riveria also searched her memory, but found no related knowledge at all.
"This energy... is called chakra?" Ais repeated the unfamiliar word.
"That’s right. Chakra." Kiriya spoke calmly, explaining the mechanism and principle behind its creation.
"It’s a new form of energy refined by combining spiritual energy and physical energy."
He wanted to see what kind of sparks would appear when the native beings of this world encountered chakra.
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