Chapter 52: Lightning-Style Chakra, and Loki Knocks on the Door

After the mechanical voice in his ear faded, Ryota lowered his head to look at his hand, feeling the chakra flowing through his body.

It was fuller now — far more so than even the previous surge.

An increase of 4000 to his chakra cap was no small thing.

On top of that, the boost to his Dōryoku was significant enough that the familiar dizziness and slight visual shock from his Sharingan appeared for a moment and then vanished again.

But within the three-tomoe Sharingan, there was a power pressing to break through — something faintly approaching the Mangekyō.

And then there was the Lightning-nature chakra.

In the system of the Naruto world, Lightning-nature chakra had some unique properties.

It dispersed easily, making it especially effective in medium- or long-range ninjutsu.

In particular, if infused into metal weapons, it could massively increase lethality, not only improving destructive power, but also causing a shocking, paralyzing effect that greatly restricted an opponent's movements.

At the core of Lightning Release was transforming the chakra's nature —

By compressing and concentrating Lightning-nature chakra into a single part of the body, then unleashing it through high-frequency vibration and energy release, one could create a current with tremendous penetration force, forming powerful offensive or defensive Lightning-style jutsu.

Unlike Fire Release, with its area-of-effect burning damage, Lightning Release leaned more toward pinpoint strikes and high-speed thrusts.

Especially when combined with taijutsu, it could raise instantaneous attack bursts to their absolute limit, like a lightning-flash surprise assault.

Just like—

Chidori.

This A-rank technique focused Lightning-nature chakra into the palm, compressing it and vibrating it at high speed to form a ball of electricity that let out a sharp, birdlike cry as it pierced forward, making for a highly lethal penetration jutsu.

And with the Sharingan to overcome Chidori's blind spot during the charge, it essentially became a one-hit-kill technique.

Now, Ryota possessed not only the wide-area suppression and burning control of Fire Release, but also the piercing and paralyzing thrust of Lightning Release.

Fire and lightning, twin chakra natures — combined with the Sharingan's vision, and the Kusanagi Sword as a medium…

Ryota lowered his gaze to the Kusanagi Sword in his hand, already entertaining the thought of adding lightning to its power.

Fire plus… plus a sword.

Lightning… Lightning Flame Sword?

Why did that name feel vaguely inappropriate somehow?

Shaking those weird thoughts out of his mind, Ryota continued pondering.

Clearly, the rewards from this quest were way beyond what he'd expected.

It didn't take him long to figure out why.

Defeating an adventurer of LV.3 or higher — that was the quest description.

But he, as an LV.1, had beaten Ais Wallenstein, an LV.5!

Between their levels was a massive gap, not to mention Ais was one of Loki Familia's aces, a genius girl famous throughout Orario.

If word of that got out, it would shake any Familia to its core.

And beyond that, this wasn't just a random challenge; it was a Main Branch Quest, with strong ties to the main storyline.

Thinking about it that way, Ryota let out a breath of relief.

"A generous reward… makes sense, I guess."

As the thought crossed his mind, his personal system panel popped up in front of him:

[All-Encompassing Divine Eye System]

[Host: Ryota]

[Chakra Level]: B →A+ (stable)

[Chakra Control]: A+ →S (precise mastery)

[Chakra Natures]: Fire, Lightning

[Sharingan]: Three Tomoe

[Ninjutsu]:

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu (mastered)

Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu (mastered)

Fire Style: Fierce Dragon Flame Jutsu (mastered)

Three Basic Jutsu (mastered)

Demonic Illusions: Shackle Stakes (mastered)

Lightning Style: Chidori (mastered)

Teleportation Jutsu (mastered)

[Taijutsu]: Basic Combat Arts (mastered)

"A+, huh? Makes sense."

"After dumping so much chakra into the fight."

Closing the virtual panel, Ryota casually sheathed the Kusanagi Sword.

But the moment he lifted his head, he realized the Loki Familia crowd behind Loki was staring straight at him in dead silence.

In the very front, Finn was chewing on his thumb, brows knit tight, his sharp gaze scanning Ryota up and down.

Beside him, Riveria's eyes were slightly narrowed, her expression more complex and hesitant than usual.

She stared at Ryota for several seconds, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately falling silent — unsure even where to begin.

Even Bete, who was always putting on a rough, sloppy act, stood there biting down on his teeth, head lowered as he stole glances at Ryota, practically fuming.

As for the rest, each wore a different face —

But none of them were looking at him like a normal person anymore.

They were staring at him like he was something that broke the very laws of nature.

Ryota was already wondering if he should find a chance to slip away.

He was genuinely worried they might tie him up next second and spend three days dissecting him.

Just as he was about to bolt, a familiar silhouette stepped over.

Ais.

She stood right in front of him, staring at him dead-on.

The blonde Princess Doll didn't say anything, her usual blank expression on her face.

But those clear golden eyes held a faint, subtle shift in emotion.

She watched Ryota quietly for a moment, then reached out, gently tapping her finger against his chest as if checking something.

"Are… you hurt?"

Ryota froze, then let out a soft laugh, shaking his head.

"I'm fine. Tough as nails, you know."

Ais didn't reply, just kept staring.

Then she blinked, and in those normally distant eyes, a trace of confusion appeared — mixed with a ripple of something even she herself might not have noticed.

She could sense it.

Ryota's presence had changed again.

Not just a recovery of stamina or condition, but a deeper shift —

A level-up in essence.

It was as if, with just that one strike, this man had grown even stronger.

Her mind flashed back to that night in her room, when she'd asked him how he got so strong.

In plain words, he'd said as long as he kept exploring the Dungeon, accumulating combat experience, his power would grow over time.

Back then, she'd only taken it as a casual remark, but now, remembering it —

It didn't sound like an exaggeration or a metaphor anymore.

Looking at Ryota, Ais's gaze began to change.

From simple curiosity, to a quiet emotion she couldn't even name.

"Hey, hey, hey, that's enough!"

Loki huffed as she stepped up, face scrunched in fake annoyance.

"You trying to steal away our Ais or what?!"

"If you ever dare leave our Familia, I'll be the first one chasing you down!"

She said it through gritted teeth, but the way she looked at Ryota completely gave her away.

Those narrowed eyes were overflowing with approval, no attempt to hide it.

The look she gave Ryota was like evaluating a future trump card, or calculating how to lock this monster-grade gem firmly into her own vault.

It was so painfully clear —

Her mouth might complain, but her heart had already claimed him as one of their own.

Ryota, of course, caught onto Loki's complicated attitude, and chuckled softly.

But in the next instant, his heart seized up.

"…Huh?"

A wave of killing intent slammed in from his left.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Lefiya in the crowd, fists clenched, teeth grinding, eyes practically shooting fire.

It was like she had a whole string of floating captions above her head:

— How dare you hurt Lady Ais!

— Why does Lady Ais care about you?

— You… you damn LV.1 bastard!

The sheer level of resentful flame behind her glare nearly blinded Ryota on the spot.

His neck shrank back, and with a quick "gotta run" excuse to Loki and the others, he turned on his heel and bolted for the front courtyard.

Ais stood there, watching Ryota dash away, unmoving for a long moment.

Loki's heart tightened seeing the look on her face.

Oh no, oh no, Ais's about to fall for him, isn't she?!

Or is she having a breakdown from losing to an LV.1?!

The more Loki thought, the more panicked she felt, and she hurried forward.

"Ais, don't worry, it's fine, that guy's just a monster, besides, it was just a spar!"

"Come on, come on, let's go eat something yummy!"

Ais slowly came back to her senses, looking up at Loki and saying,

"My sword broke."

Loki froze.

"Huh?"

Ais glanced at her own right hand, then softly added,

"I forgot to ask him to pay me back."

Loki's face twitched violently.

"That sword—don't tell me that was the spare Goibniu made for you? The one that cost forty million valis?!"

Ais nodded a little.

"It's fine. I'll pay for it for him."

Loki: "…"

Her vision went black and she almost fainted on the spot.

"Y-y-you'll pay for him?! That was forty million!"

Ais only gave a quiet "mm," then turned and walked away.

Behind her, Loki nearly collapsed bawling on the ground for three hundred rounds.

This wasn't being conned out of money — this was being conned out of her heart!

…

The night passed without incident. The Orario breeze blew away the last bit of lingering heat from the day, and the waves that had rocked Twilight Manor slowly calmed.

At dawn the next day, with the streets still quiet, Ryota was already up early.

After washing up, he stood at the window, looking ahead.

Today — he wasn't planning on going to the Dungeon.

Instead, he was ready to tackle the second Main Branch Quest objective:

[Provide a combat power boost for any member of the current Familia (0/1), incomplete, reward unknown]

Ryota tapped his fingers lightly against the wooden window frame, thinking fast.

"The simplest way to complete this… would be to team up with someone and help them out in a real fight."

But there was a problem —

Reality wouldn't allow that.

Just picking a random Familia member, then teaming up, fighting, mentoring them?

That was way too suspicious. Way too easy to expose him.

So far, there were only a handful of core members in Loki Familia Ryota trusted.

He'd already helped Lefiya conquer her mental block, but the others…

Other than Raul, who was LV.4, the rest were veteran LV.6 powerhouses.

Those small fries in the upper floors — they could squash them with a flick, Ryota wouldn't even be able to help at all.

"…Not realistic."

Ryota shook his head.

"Then there's only one choice."

"If I can't go with them into the Dungeon, then I'll just give them gear!"

He wasn't sure if the system would count that as "combat power boost."

But Ryota had always been a man of action — when in doubt, do it first and see what happens.

Besides—

His gaze dropped to the Kusanagi Sword leaning in the corner.

That head-on clash with Ais yesterday, even though he'd won, had cost him dearly.

The Kusanagi Sword was now riddled with cracks, the blade clearly on the verge of shattering.

Time to find it a replacement.

Ryota turned, grabbed his coat, swung on his backpack, and checked the valis inside.

"First, head to the Adventurer's Guild trading center—"

"See if there's any usable materials I can scoop up."

"Then go to the Hephaestus Familia."

"It's about time to forge something new."

Ryota was just about to grab the doorknob when—

knock knock

A familiar voice called through the door:

"Ryota, you awake?"

"Want me to update your status?"