Chapter 67: Stagnant Points, Sylphy's Fatal Question

The snow in Buena Village was very thick.

Four figures, two big and two small, were faintly visible in the wind and snow. The sound of stepping on snow mixed with Rudy's questioning.

"Uncle Roltz, which monsters are the main ones in this riot? I can carry out targeted magic attacks."

Roltz led the way in front. Rudy followed closely behind, and Allen and Sylphy walked side by side behind them.

Roltz glanced back and answered, "Mainly some D-level monsters with strong reproductive ability—forest snakes, giant rats, saw-thorn rabbits, frost tide frogs, martens, red-eyed demon monkeys, frost weasels."

As Roltz listed off the names like dishes on a menu, Rudy's face grew paler.

"So many?"

"There are always many, but this year is especially bad. We should've cleared them out last year. We even asked for help from neighboring villages, but their reports say they're facing monster tides too."

His words were swept apart by the wind and snow, full of frustration.

Unlike the chattering between the two up front, Allen and Sylphy were unusually quiet.

Allen wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He casually cleared snow from around Sylphy's path, his gaze absent-minded, staring off into the drifting flakes.

Sylphy walked beside him, still small and petite—her height only reached Allen's chest. Though she had grown taller this year, Allen had grown even more, making her seem smaller than last year by comparison. Yet time had undeniably left its mark on her.

She was losing the roundness of childhood. Though her clothes were still loose, the lines of her waist and legs now hinted at a girl's figure.

With hands clasped behind her back, she walked in long strides, stepping neatly along the flattened snow Allen had cleared. Her green hair danced in the wind, and in the gaps between, her reddish-brown eyes squinted at Allen's profile as he trudged forward with the mechanical snow clearer beside him.

Crunch.

"Is it better to use fire magic?"

As Lorz and Rudy talked, Sylphy suddenly stepped forward and turned to look directly into Allen's eyes.

"Aren, have you had any troubles lately?"

Allen was caught off guard. "Huh? No? Why do you ask?"

The next moment, Sylphy gave a small hop, her hair fluttering. She gently poked his eyebrows with a finger.

Tap.

Then she stepped back down, continuing forward with her back turned to him, facing him as she walked.

Her voice was soft, unhurried, and carried her usual unique tone as it drifted into Allen's ears.

"If nothing's bothering you, why have you been frowning for the past six months? And you talk less too."

"Really?"

Sylphy tilted her head at Allen's deliberately relaxed brow.

"Not just that. Your eyes look different too. Like there's something far away right in front of you—something you want to grab, but can't."

Allen looked at Sylphy through the swirling snow.

In their line of sight, snow and fog mingled.

[Current stage: Infancy. Cumulative participation score: 90 points.]

[It looks like there's only one step left to full score, but often that last step is a chasm.]

Allen saw the system panel appear. Sylphy's face was on the other side of it, yet he couldn't even force a smile.

A year had passed.

Ninety points were still ninety points.

No progress.

He'd spent the year improving the Greyrat family's favor with his usual methods—but the score never rose.

He'd even approached Mrs. Somar to try improving it.

…Let's not mention how he was scared off by her being too big and too enthusiastic.

Now he was just half a year away from the end of his childhood.

He was getting anxious.

Whether the system's metric was good or not didn't matter anymore—being so close to success but unable to bridge that last gap made him deeply frustrated.

"I mean, system, you always say there's a huge gap. But whenever I ask how to close it, you just vanish. Can't you give me something useful?"

The panel paused for a long time before slowly responding.

[To be honest, if you involve yourself in the event, you might gain something. But if I tell you how specifically, you might never get those ten points.]

"What's with this cryptic stuff? Speak normally."

[...Allen, you're too rational. Too focused on results. You like logic, you're good at analyzing patterns, always seeking the optimal solution, subconsciously choosing to avoid risk.]

[I get it. It comes from the environment you lived in before time-traveling—relying on welfare funds just to attend college. It forged a mindset that values safety and strategy. That mindset has given you certain 'abilities'. You earned the healing magic pattern through it. You responded quickly during the cheating scandal and secured favor with Lilia, Senis, and the rest. You gained a lot of points.]

[But that doesn't mean you're on the right path.]

[Do you understand what I'm saying?]

The dozens of "future visions" jotted in his bedroom memo flashed through Allen's mind. He was stunned. He wanted to argue with the system, but the words caught in his throat and wouldn't come out.

Carefully analyzing every decision, always choosing the most efficient outcome, playing the part of a calm and emotionally stable "adult"...

Isn't that what society demands?

Was there something wrong with trying to avoid unnecessary losses?

As Allen fell silent in thought, the panel shimmered once more—then faded with the blowing snow.

Sylphy had continued walking backward, watching Allen's expression closely. When he didn't answer, she lowered her gaze to the fresh snow at her feet and murmured:

"Allen… could it be that…"

Her soft voice snapped Allen out of his daze. He blinked, disoriented.

"Right… I forgot I was in the middle of talking with Sylphy. That thing she mentioned—'something far away that I can't grasp'—was actually pretty accurate."

"Wait—maybe this gentle, thoughtful girl in her 'white mother' future form could give me a real suggestion?"

Thinking that, Allen refocused, looking down at Sylphy and waiting for her to finish.

Sylphy looked at the snow at her feet, then spoke quietly.

"Could it be that..."

Allen nodded silently, waiting.

"...Are you missing Teacher Lokisi?"

"I miss L—"

"Huh?"

Allen froze halfway through the thought.

The wind and snow continued to rage around them.

But in that moment, everything felt eerily quiet.

Then realization dawned.

"Huh??? Wait, how does that even follow? What does not being able to grasp something right in front of me have to do with missing Lokisi? That logic is a stretch!"

He opened his mouth to argue, but then he noticed—

Roltz and Rudy had stopped.

At some point, both had turned to look back at Allen.

One tall, one short—completely different people with completely identical expressions.

Very serious.