You are all my wings!

That makes sense.

Iris felt uneasy, as if she had forgotten something.

"By the way, Lyon is still in the guest room. Would you like to see him?"

Thump! Iris tried to get up from the bed, but she accidentally missed a step and fell off the bed.

Damn it, how could I have lost my composure like this for him! Was it because he defeated me last night and then held me back at the crucial moment to prevent me from getting hurt? I've never been this intimate with a man before!

Calm down. He's so goal-oriented; maybe it's just part of his plan. If you care too much, you'll fall into his trap!

A slightly flustered Iris elicited another round of laughter from Granny:

"I really like the handsomeness of this human, but I still have to advise you to be careful. After all, you are not as calm as I am. I am not afraid of being deceived, but you are easily deceived. Humans are the most intelligent race on the continent. Even though their overall status and strength are not as good as our elves, they often covet our beauty and commit kidnapping and abduction."

"And you were just being so infatuated with a guy?"

Iris was speechless.

“Those are two different things. Being deceived by a handsome man is not the same as being deceived by a bad person,” Granny laughed.

Iris pursed her lips, "Be careful, you might get completely swindled one day."

She thought to herself that she did have to be wary of the possibility of being kidnapped by Leon, but since she had made a bet with him, she couldn't break her promise, after all, she was a person of her word.

I've never been to the dungeon with anyone other than my mother.

Let's test his intentions first.

……

Reception room.

Lyon, dressed in a formal suit, sat on one side of the sofa, with Grani and Iris sitting on either side of him.

They each crossed their legs, revealing their long, slender, white calves and beautiful ankles.

Both of them were wearing light-colored slip dresses in a casual style.

Because of her beauty, she looks good in anything.

Grani's beauty is a delicate yet fierce charm, while Iris's beauty is a proud yet charming allure.

As for their posture and expressions, they can only be described as elegant.

Apart from that, there was no other expression.

Of course, to Leon, who was familiar with the two people in front of him, their 'elegance' had a slightly amusing element to it.

An orc maid brought over some black tea.

"This is a fine drink from the land of the East, please enjoy."

Grani gracefully extended her hand in greeting.

Iris then gracefully expressed her gratitude:

"Leon, I want to thank you for healing my injuries yesterday and taking me to Grani's place to be cared for. I hope you won't take my lapse in composure last night to heart. As promised, I will join your ranks."

She was determined to find out if she had been scammed. Looking back, she gradually realized that there was something wrong with the check, but she lacked evidence, since the check had already been returned to Lyon.

Lyon was somewhat surprised that Iris had agreed so quickly before he had even brought it up.

Could it be that the 50% increase in favorability had an effect?

50% is indeed not bad, but it's not enough to transform into a romantic relationship.

50% generally indicates a high level of friendliness, but some people may be enemies, but if they appreciate each other, the level may also reach 50%.

If the success rate is above 60%, there is a slight chance that they will become lovers.

However, due to personality differences, even with a 70% or 80% level of attraction, they may not necessarily become lovers.

With 80% favorability, a little push usually leads to them becoming lovers.

As for 90%, that's a standard that can only be reached by lovers who have gone through life and death together and have a long-term relationship.

100% represents an unwavering commitment.

As for exceeding 100%, that would probably require multiple buffs and events to stack up to achieve that state.

For Leon, the main purpose of increasing favorability is to make it easier to complete tasks and to unlock various female protagonist talents after reaching 90%.

If possible, reaching 100% will likely generate some additional rewards.

This is his only cheat code, so he has to use it well!

Incidentally, this is a summary of a post Leon saw on a gaming forum in his previous life.

A mysterious reward will be triggered if a character of C rank or higher has a favorability rating of 100% or higher.

At the same time, the higher the character's importance in the plot, the harder it is to increase their favorability.

B-rank characters are only successfully conquered by a select few players.

Even for A-rank characters, whether they are only single A-rank or have potential A-rank, I have never heard of anyone successfully winning them over.

S-class, needless to say.

As for Grani, her character panel is not yet activated, presumably because her story level is not high enough, or she is a low-level character who requires certain conditions.

Even without the character panel, Leon was quite familiar with Grani.

This is a popular supporting character.

She was Iris's colleague and "cousin," and was extremely polite to everyone, with exceptional social skills.

Among the elven diplomats of the Kingdom of Horsha, those primarily responsible for communication with the court held a highly important position.

Of course, this is the situation on Grani's surface.

In reality, what lies beneath her outward politeness is a personality as mischievous as a little devil.

She was very polite to outsiders.

She was extremely good at teasing her close friends.

When it comes to taking action, they are proactive and aggressive, never faltering in crucial situations.

Her storyline, along with Iris's appearance, takes place in the first, second, and fourth installments.

After the final battle in the fourth part, he also gained a legendary status by assisting Iris and the other heroines in completing the great task of saving the world, becoming a seventh-tier legend.

Of course, the world was saved, but most of the weak were also wiped out, so his goal remained unchanged: to become the strongest!

Even if it means growing more and more wings in order to become stronger, and accidentally getting caught up in a battleground, I'm willing to do it!

"Leon, although it may be presumptuous of me to ask, are you really a first-tier mage? Why is your magical power so abundant? Also, how do you manage to cast spells so quickly?"

Seeing that Leon seemed to be deep in thought, Iris took the initiative to start a conversation.

She planned to subtly probe to see if the other party had any flaws or was truly suspicious.

Chapter Twelve: Leon's Lies

Lyon already had an answer to Iris's question.

"After all, I have two professions, so it's perfectly normal for my magic power limit to be increased, isn't it?"

"But your magical power is already close to that of a normal third-tier cultivator, isn't it?"

"Have you forgotten that my second job was as an astrologer? That's also a job that focuses on increasing magic power while neglecting to improve other attributes."

This is a lie.

Although Iris's favorability rating has reached 50%, her reliability as a teammate still needs to be improved.

Lyon couldn't possibly have revealed his secrets from the start.

When necessary, he can also use the aura of trust to enhance the effectiveness of his lies.

However, since we're just chatting now, there's no need for that.

Lyon isn't so pathetic as to need skills to improve the credibility of his everyday lies.

"But how do you manage to cast spells at such a speed..."

“Iris, some things involve personal secrets, and even if you are Lyon’s friend, you should be mindful of boundaries.”

Granny smiled and stopped Iris from asking further questions, then gracefully apologized to Lyon:

"I'm sorry, Lyon, but Iris is still quite young and doesn't understand these things."

"No, it's not really a secret. It's just a matter of practicing enough until you become skilled."

Lyon didn't mind revealing the reason for his fast spellcasting speed.

It's more accurate to say that as his fame grows, he will inevitably attract many people who covet his skills.

Therefore, it would be better to proactively mention some of the reasons so that they would back down.

"As you can see, due to my background as a quasi-baron, I lack the funds to purchase magical items to upgrade to the second tier. Therefore, I can only delve into the field of spellcasting, waiting to raise enough funds or find suitable items in the dungeon. Fortunately, I have almost raised enough funds recently."

That's also a lie.

The truth is, Leon already had a target for the item that would allow him to obtain it, so that the rank boost he would receive after advancing in rank would be maximized.

Hearing this, Iris seemed to be thinking. Did he think that she suspected him because he brought up the source of the funds?

It seems I need to act more normally.

Lyon continued:

"Because of a lack of money, I devoted myself to practicing magic. I slowly discovered the secret to high-speed casting: sufficient casting practice and imagery training. As long as you do these two things, anyone can achieve no-casting magic and high-speed casting at a low level."

That's also a lie.

In fact, after Leon awakened his memories of his past life's games, he knew that these two points were the most crucial.

What's missing is just some minor adjustments to the details and direction.

In Lyon's previous life, there was a so-called 10,000-hour rule.

The same principle applies to casting spells.

However, if you can't find the right direction to train, you'll often end up doing a lot of useless work.

Many people even give up practicing because they don't see results in the early stages.

Leon, on the other hand, used his gaming experience from his previous life and his exploration after awakening his memories to find the most efficient way to improve his proficiency.

First, through comparing and exploring the game and the real world, he confirmed the correct direction of his practice and determined that he would definitely achieve results if he practiced until the end, so he was able to persevere.

Unlike many people, he lacks enough unwavering confidence to keep practicing.

Secondly, there is imagery training.

After learning real magic using the magic books in his family, which he was born into as a baron, he began his imagery training.

Lyon then discovered that the more precise the magical imagery, the more mana it could conserve and the faster it could be activated.

Therefore, his training focused more on precision and speed.

For example, one can use simple line drawings and meditation to repeatedly improve the speed of constructing imagery.

After many attempts, he discovered that imagining the physical and chemical reactions of various phenomena produced the most outstanding magical effects.

Combining the above discoveries, he mastered the four common magic systems and quickly mastered them to the point of being able to cast spells without incantation.

Because he quickly reached the point where he could perform all four types of magic without chanting, the core skill he gained when he became a mage was the extremely rare high-speed mana regeneration.

After becoming a mage, he was able to practice more basic spells by utilizing his high-speed mana regeneration skill.

And strive to conceive of the physical and chemical reactions involved, and develop them into magical images that can be used instantly.

These processes, though seemingly simple, took him five years.

It also includes training for the second profession, Shadow Walker, involving practicing corresponding magic and combat skills, and physical conditioning.

Of course, Lyon himself was enjoying it.

Compared to the impoverished baronial family and the various troubles of being targeted by old noblewomen because of his handsome looks, practicing magic was simply too much fun.

At this moment, Lyon couldn't help but recall his past days of practicing magic and being moved by it, and a look of nostalgia appeared on his face.