After leaving the room, the task of bringing Fron a book was already assigned to Lefiya.
"I'll go too."
Suddenly, Ais, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.
The Three Executives exchanged glances, seemingly understanding something, and said nothing, walking off with Loki.
"Ais-san, are you feeling unwilling? That such an anomaly finally appeared."
"Yeah. There must be a way to get stronger quickly."
----------------------------------------
Sitting at the bedside, Fron quietly gazed out the window.
A large area of vegetation covered the park, bringing a refreshing feeling.
Speaking of which, this room was located on the fourth floor of the "Twilight Manor," and he had chosen the corner-most room.
This was related to his quiet personality.
The south-facing room offered a full view of Orario's rich and fantastical scenery, which uplifted his mood.
Knock knock knock—
"Mr. Fron, I'm coming in."
After knocking, Lefiya, a little nervous, entered holding a book.
"This—this is the book you wanted. I wasn't sure what type you liked, so I picked one according to my own preferences."
"Thank you, Lefiya."
After expressing his thanks and taking the hardcover book, he saw the title: An Interpretation and Explanation of Parallel Chanting Techniques, author: Riveria Ljos Alf.
Fron's eyes lit up, and he smiled:
"Perfect, this is exactly what I needed."
"Really? Well, that makes sense, Mr. Fron. You must have just started learning magic techniques."
"Yes, after all, I've only been an adventurer for a few days, and I can't compare to someone like you who has received formal education from the 'School District.' Frankly speaking, I'm self-taught."
Past experience showed that compared to formally trained individuals, self-taught people usually lacked competitiveness in basic theory.
Especially with magic, where the knowledge is extremely valuable and mysterious—if not for joining the Loki Familia, learning about magic would be as difficult as climbing to the heavens.
"N-no, Mr. Fron, you're really amazing—defeating a Level 2 barehanded while being only Level 1. But I—"
Lefiya looked a bit dejected.
Seeing her like this, Fron chuckled and shook his head.
No matter how high her level was, she was still just a 14-year-old girl after all.
"Lefiya, as far as I know, you're a pure rear-guard magic-user. Your job is to chant powerful spells and decide battles with overwhelming blasts, so why are you discouraged?"
"Um—Lefiya is very strong, you know."
With golden shoulder-length hair, golden eyes, and a beautiful face comparable to a goddess, the emotionless girl spoke warm words.
"Ais?"
"Yes, Ais Wallenstein."
Fron looked at the emotionless girl in a daze, speechless.
"A-Ais-san, saying I'm amazing and all—"
Then—
The elf girl kept squirming, steam practically rising from her head.
'Hey, what are you so shy about??? Lily???'
"It's true, Lefiya is very strong."
"Ais-san—"
"Ahem—"
Fron couldn't watch any longer. Why was the conversation between these two so difficult?
"Um, Ais, you probably have something you wanted to discuss, right?"
The girl nodded and stared at him with eyes that seemed to see through everything.
"I want to know how to get strong quickly, like you."
"..."
He was truly stumped.
A dignified Level 5 Sword Princess was asking a Level 1 rookie how to get stronger—
"How should I put this."
Fron looked at his own stat sheet and had some idea as to why he was able to improve so much without studying.
"You two don't need to stand. The room's a bit simple; there's only one chair. If you don't mind, you can sit here."
He pointed to the edge of the bed, motioning for them to sit.
"O-okay."
Seeing Ais sit down without hesitation, the elf girl quickly sat beside her.
Turning his head to look out the window, breathing in the fragrance of the two girls beside him, Fron organized his thoughts and began to speak.
"You've seen my skill, right?"
"Yes—"
The two girls nodded obediently.
"That makes it much easier to explain. It wasn't something complicated to begin with."
Facing the girls, Fron smiled.
"'Infinite Super Magic' allows me to use accumulated knowledge to improve my attribute values."
"So I secluded myself in the library to experiment with my skill, reading book after book, and eventually I discovered—"
"Even a fairy tale book can improve my attribute values."
"Ah—"
At this, Lefiya gasped with her hand covering her mouth, and Ais opened her eyes wide in shock.
An unbelievable fact was laid before them.
"Of course, acquiring knowledge isn't endless. Just like the books in the stronghold's library will eventually all be read, my skill judges knowledge in a simple way: the unknown!"
He finally got to the point.
"The unknown? That's almost like the gods themselves—"
The impact on Lefiya was understandable; the girl was somewhat dazed.
Fron nodded in agreement with her:
"Only unknown knowledge can increase attribute values, and the degree of increase varies between different types of knowledge."
"The more powerful the knowledge, the greater the boost, like magical knowledge."
He patted the book containing magical knowledge in his hand and exhaled.
"That's why I can grow stronger so quickly."
Ais and Lefiya understood.
Fron's power came from knowledge — extremely pure.
"But... increasing attributes so much in a single day, Mr. Fron, you must not have explored the dungeon much..."
"Lefiya, technique, strategy, and experience are all knowledge."
Ais said firmly.
Fron smiled.
"Ais is right, Lefiya. That's why I can grow so much stronger in a single day."
"When I enter the dungeon a second time, the growth may not be as much, since I've already absorbed the 'basic' knowledge."
"A—amazing——"
"I understand now. Thank you for explaining this to us. After all, it involves your personal secrets——"
Ais got the answer she wanted, but a hint of disappointment flashed deep in her eyes.
"It's nothing. We're all companions in the same familia; it's better that everyone understands each other."
Fron saw through the change in the girl's mindset, but he didn't know how to comfort her. Perhaps this was the drawback of never having been in love.
"Um, when I reach Lv.2, I might be able to help you."
"?"
Ais tilted her head slightly in confusion, her lips forming a へ shape as she quietly waited for him to continue.
'So—so cute—'
Fron admitted that he was charmed.
Then he realized he was acting like a fool and quickly coughed twice to ease the awkwardness.
"With the help of magic tools, it won't be a problem."
"As far as I know, the reason leveling up becomes harder as your level increases——"
"What is it?"
As she spoke, Ais looked a bit anxious, even pressing her upper body directly against Fron's, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly.
This——
This sudden assault didn't mean much to the emotionally inexperienced girl, but how could Fron endure it? His face turned red.
"Um, Ais! Mr. Fron is still injured."
"Sorry."
The girl pulled back slightly, though she was still pressed against him. He sighed in relief.
"Ahem, it's the 'vessel' bottleneck issue. The bottleneck, or limit, can be overcome with appropriate methods."
"As far as I know, when most adventurers' stats reach D, which is 500 points, their growth rate noticeably slows down."
As he spoke, he took a piece of paper and a pen from nearby and drew a curve on it.
"At this point, they've entered the bottleneck period."
Ais and Lefiya listened to Fron's theory like serious students.
"Raising stats to the S range, which is over 900 points, is extremely difficult. Only a few can reach it and that is also thanks to racial advantages."
Like Finn, Gareth, Riveria, and of course, monsters like Ottar.
"So the question is, what causes the bottleneck?"
"What is it?"
"It's the strength of enemies as experience, and one's own talent."