You call this magic?

"Indeed, you actually thought of this way to help our lovely Sword Princess out of trouble. I like him more and more!" Loki chuckled and looked at Ethan with empty eyes. She happened to see Ethan looking at her, so she came up with a plan, "Young man Ethan, come and eat with us!"

"Huh?" Burt asked a question.

"Well...it's not impossible." The dwarf Grace was holding a glass of wine and pouring it into his mouth. He now had a good impression of Ethan. "After all, he paid for this table of food."

"Livilia, what do you think?" Finn looked at the elf mama-san who hadn't spoken much.

"I don't mind." Livilia sighed. She didn't quite understand why things had turned out this way, but... forget it.

Since the three giants all think there is no problem, and it was the invitation of the Lord God, then there will be no problem on Loki's side.

Now Burt's face is full of question marks.

No, what the hell!

Especially when he saw Bell Craney next to Ethan, he felt even weirder.

Did these two people know each other?

So this little bastard is from the Soma clan?

It's the Soma clan again!!

Bert didn't understand why he always had some connection with this clan during this period of time.

"Okay." Ethan smiled and picked up the uneaten food in his hand, patted Bell's shoulder, "Bell, let's go."

"Hey, me, do I want one too?" Bell's face gradually turned pale, especially when he felt Bert's gaze was fixed on his face.

"What do you say?"

"Okay, okay..." Belle made a sad face, picked up the huge bowl of fried noodles that he had only eaten less than half of, and followed Ethan to Loki's table.

Volume 2 Dungeon Encounter (I): Chapter 30: This Is Just a Competition

Because Ethan and Bell are men, they naturally have to sit next to their male compatriots.

Then the seat became.

Finn-Ethan-Bell-Burt.

Finn mainly wanted to talk to Ethan, and Burt just happened to be sitting there.

Bell: ...

Bell's face was pale and bloodless. His complexion was almost the same color as his hair, but he didn't dare to stop eating, for fear that someone would take the opportunity to talk to him.

Now he just wants to hide by eating. It would be best if he could just crawl into the cracks in the ground and no one would pay attention to him.

"Hey, little brat, why didn't you tell me before that you were from the Soma clan?" At this time, Bert spoke to Bell first.

Perhaps it was the wonderful mood he had in the dungeon yesterday that made him think for the first time about taking this weak little guy with him.

But this was a subconscious thought, and Burt himself would certainly not admit it.

"Well, um, you didn't ask." Bell replied stutteringly.

“…”It’s true.

Bert never had the habit of checking other people's household registration.

"Hmph, boring. A small-time guy is just a small-time guy. He can't even speak clearly... Hey, can you drink?" Bert shifted his gaze to the wine glass in front of Bell.

"Drink, drink?" Although Bell is only fourteen years old, he is not averse to drinking.

"what?"

"Yes, a little bit!" Bell quickly sat up straight, as obedient as a puppy.

"It's annoying to see you like this. Come on, drink something." Burt was not polite at all and directly filled Bell's glass with beer. "It makes me angry to hear you talk like this. Act more like a man, a man!"

"Wow, Burt, you actually talk so much to a little kid." Tione, who was sitting next to Burt, said with interest, "Tiona, what do you think...Tiona?"

Tione was just about to tease Bert with her sister, but her sister had disappeared from where she was.

When I turned around, I saw that my sister had actually stuck to Ethan.

"Little—brother—brother~~~"

"Um, are you... Miss Diona?" Ethan was just chatting politely with Finn, when he unexpectedly a head popped up from the side. It had big, energetic eyes, an unconventional short hair, wheat-colored skin that highlighted its health, and breasts as flat as Frillian's... Well, there was only one person in Loki's family who fit this appearance.

"Oh, I didn't expect that the little brother still remembered me. I'm so happy!" Diona is a classic outgoing person, which is also in line with the characteristics of the Amazon race, that is, they have always been very interested in the strong.

After the brief fight with Aisi in the clan, that passionate gaze, was it really her?

"Tiona..." Finn sighed helplessly and looked at Ethan, "I'm sorry, my child may be a little lively, I hope you don't mind."

"Haha, that's not the case. I'm so happy that a pretty girl is willing to approach me, why would I mind?"

Ethan, as always, did not hide his XP.

Tiona smiled even more happily when she heard this. Amazons generally like strong men. It would be even better if the strong man also has advantages such as straightforwardness.

But soon Diona was captured by her elder sister, mainly because she was not allowed to get too close to the leader.

"I wonder what Mr. Ethan thinks of Ai Si? This is just a private conversation, not a formal occasion, so there's no need to worry."

Ethan wasn't sure what Finn meant by asking this question, but he still said:

"She's too impatient."

Whether it was her will to fight Ethan or even the incident that Loki deliberately created, these were all manifestations of her eagerness.

As long as she sees an opportunity to become stronger, she will try it, rather than having a relatively stable plan to move forward steadily.

"Yes, I must apologize to you again on her behalf. Her impatience can sometimes lead her to act impulsively."

What is being talked about here should be the incident where she attacked him due to the influence of alcohol.

"If I remember correctly, the last time Sword Princess's level was publicly announced was about three years ago, right?"

"Yes."

Although it wasn't stated explicitly, Ethan already knew what was going on.

Ais should have reached a bottleneck. She is a warrior who is extremely eager to become stronger, but she is also a very simple child, so she often does not consider the consequences.

Ethan understood her situation very well. In his previous life, he was the kind of student who couldn't find a better way to study, his grades were stuck in the middle and upper levels, and he couldn't climb into the top tier, so he wanted to try every method.

But the more you try, the less progress you make, which leads to further accumulation of anxiety, and you will look for new methods again, which is a vicious cycle.

What do you call this? This is called being stubborn but blocked at both ends.

"In that case, I have a suggestion." Ethan's lips curled up into a smile, "Let's find a place and arrange a sparring match."

At this time, all the cadres of Loki's clan, including the main god Loki, focused their attention.

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that." Bert said fiercely, "Who do you want to fight?"

"Of course it's your Sword Princess." Ethan looked in Ai Si's direction, meeting her longing gaze. "What do you think, Sword Princess?"

I miss you so much!

Sword Lady's mind was now full of thoughts of having another fight with Ethan, but she had always been taught to be obedient and not act recklessly. In front of so many people, she just opened her mouth but was unable to say her answer.

Like the previous apology, I could only muster up the courage once, and it was really difficult to do it a second time.

"Ais." Finn lowered his head and thought for a while, ignoring Burt's eyes, and looked up in the direction of Ais.

After seeing Finn's eyes, she immediately understood what he meant, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Mr. Ethan, please let me fight with you." The "Sword Princess" looked firm and sharp, like a sword drawn from its sheath.

"Ah, at this stage, there's nothing we can do to pull her back." Loki laughed, then quickly ran to Livilia to calm her down. "Alright, alright, Mama-san, this is just a sparring match. It'll be fine."

Ethan nodded.

"I will show my true abilities within the scope of the competition."

At this time, Loki and others had no idea what he meant.

It's time to settle the accounts.

"And, Mr. Burt." At this time, Ethan looked at Burt again, "You should be free too, right?"

"...What do you want to do?" Bert narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice.

"Can we have a 'teaching game' with my Bell, showing him some mercy?" Ethan said, pressing on Bell's head.

"Oh ho?"

Volume 2: Dungeon Encounters (I): Chapter 31: The Real Reason for Contacting Loki

Loki clan, open-air training ground.

Located in the Dusk Mansion at the northernmost part of Orario, the Loki Family serves as a refuge during disasters. The area covered by the Mansion is quite large and is equipped with all the facilities that adventurers need. As one of the two largest families in Orario, the Loki Family's heritage is quite exaggerated.

Just like the [Battle Wilderness] of Freya's family, Loki's family will naturally not neglect the training facilities for family members. Not only is the area large, but it is also very close to the base of the Dean Kate family who specializes in treatment. If anything happens, they can be sent there immediately.

At this time, Ethan and Ai Si were standing in the training ground, confronting each other.

The crowd of onlookers consisted of almost all the idle members of Loki's family. Why "almost"? It was because Burt was currently beating up Bell in a smaller training ground.

The difference in strength between the two was indeed huge, but since it was a teaching match, Burt wouldn't just beat Bell so hard that he couldn't even get up.

Although he has a bad temper and foul mouth, he will still do his job well if Finn and Loki remind him to do so.

Plus, he did have a slight interest in Bell that he was unwilling to admit.

"Mr. Ethan." First, Ai Si raised her sword and thanked him, "I am willing to fight with me again."

"Don't think too highly of me, Sword Princess." Ethan said casually, "What if I'm just planning revenge?"

"..." At this moment, everyone who knew the inside story turned their eyes to Loki, and Loki could only look up at the sky.

What could she do? She was in the wrong and deserved to be scolded by Ethan, but being stared at by her own children was so uncomfortable.

Ugh.

"Did you change your weapon?" Ethan was a little curious, looking at the rapier in Ess's hand, which was completely different from the previous one.

That weapon seems to have the attribute of being "indestructible", right?

"Something went wrong during the expedition." Ai Si's expression visibly fell, but she immediately cheered up. "It's okay, Mr. Ethan. This sword will do."

"Okay... By the way, I remember you are good at using a quick sword, right?" Ethan said with a smile.

Without waiting for Ais's response, Ethan raised his left hand, and a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, landing steadily in the palm of his hand and forming a spherical golden lightning.

"Is this... magic?" Finn frowned. "Furthermore, it's clearly unstable magic like lightning, yet he's firmly restrained in his hands. Livilia, what do you think?"

"I've never seen magic like this." Livilia shook her head. Although she was a knowledgeable elf, she couldn't say that she had seen all the magic in the world.

This made her even more curious.

"I suggest you activate [Wind Spirit Sprint] as soon as possible."

Ancient Dragon Prayer [Thunder Strike], fixed, mastered——

Ethan absorbed the lightning ball into his body. In an instant, the power of lightning quickly wrapped him up, forming a very conspicuous lightning coat.

Dark Magic [Ritual Weapon: Thunder Flash].

This was his current lightning magic, which was relatively weak. It was just a sparring match, so there was no need to risk his life with Ais.

Ethan's sword was also incorporated into the thunder and lightning. At this moment, every sword he struck was enchanted with thunder and lightning.

At this time, Ethan's black hair was even dyed with golden dots.

The onlookers all showed shocked expressions.

"It's very similar to Ai Si's magic. It seems to be the type that enhances close combat... Was he using this kind of magic before?" Finn asked.

"No, it's another kind of magic that seems to be able to create weapons." Livilia clearly remembered that the magic Ethan used before was definitely not this kind of magic.

"Tempest (Wake up)!" Aisi had no time to think. After seeing Ethan's changes, she knew that she had to activate [Wind Spirit Sprint] as soon as possible, otherwise... she would lose.

When the whirlwind blew, the two rushed towards each other almost at the same time, but Ai Si found that she was a step slower.

Just when she was halfway through the swing, Ethan's sword struck her sword accompanied by lightning. The wind, which could both defend and attack, could not stop the lightning wrapped around the sword.

Suddenly, she felt a tingling sensation all over her body, as if she had been electrocuted.

Yes, no matter how fast the wind is, how can it be faster than thunder?