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While Ronen ventured into the dungeon, the city of Orario was celebrating.
The Zeus and Hera Familias had just defeated Leviathan, a monster that had descended to the surface since ancient times and was one of the three major quest targets.
Before that, they had also defeated Behemoth, the King of the Land—truly victories worthy of celebration.
However, since neither Familia was part of the Guild's official reconnaissance corps, and many of their members disliked standing in the spotlight, a number of them quietly returned home before the celebrations even began.
One such person was Alfia.
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"Welcome back, Sister," said Meteria warmly, greeting her sister returning from the battlefield.
"Mm," Alfia responded. Her cold expression softened slightly upon seeing Meteria.
Both sisters suffered from similar negative skills. Meteria's weaker constitution made her more vulnerable, often falling ill easily.
But now, her face looked healthier, with a noticeable rosy glow—far better than before.
Just then, Alfia's gaze sharpened. She stepped forward, gently cupping her sister's cheeks with both hands and peered closely.
"…You've changed."
"Huh? Changed?" Meteria blinked, then smiled brightly. "Ah, maybe it's because… I got a boyfriend?"
Hmmm ? Boyfriend
A boyfriend…?
Who's boyfriend?
Alfia froze. Her mind blanked.
She'd only been away for two months, and now some theft had made a move on her dear little sister?!
"…Who is it?"
Meteria giggled and pinched her sister's cheek. "You can't act like that, Sis. You'll scare him."
Traitor.... Alfia could practically feel her own arm being twisted behind her back by this betrayal.
Who was this man that dared take her sister?! And what the hell was that old hag Hera doing?!
"I just want to see… what kind of man could win my sister's heart," Alfia muttered with a twitching brow and grinding her teeth.
Meteria found her sister's transparent attempt at restraint both amusing and exasperating. "He's just a normal person. Not even an adventurer."
…Not even an adventurer?????
Alfia's thoughts went completely off track.
Adventurers were at least resilient—she could beat them up in name of training if she wanted to.
But a normal person? That was far trickier.
She couldn't just punch someone's lights out to vent her frustrations.
Truthfully, She wasn't the type to meddle in her sister's choices.
Alfia was more emotionally overwhelmed than actually angry.
If anything, she felt deeply indebted to Meteria due to her own past mistakes.
"…Anyway, what about you? How's your body holding up?" Meteria asked softly.
She raised a finger, and a faint pulse of magical energy spread out. It was subtle, but Alfia immediately sensed it.
She stared at her sister in shock. "You… learned a detection spell?"
Then Meteria's expression turned anxious.
"Oh no… Your body… it's a mess. The nerves are all over the place. And the tissues and cells are severely deteriorated… Is this—nerve disorder?"
It was more than that. Not just the nerves—her body fluids, organs, even cellular integrity were breaking down.
One particularly nasty force stood out: a negative skill effect eight times stronger than what Meteria had.
Alfia was alive only because her sheer willpower and life force were keeping her going.
"I… didn't realize your body had deteriorated this much…" Meteria said, her worry etched into her face.
Alfia winced.
"Where did you learn that magic?" she asked quickly, hoping to distract her sister.
"Oh, this? Ronen taught me. It's called Detection Wave—a type of innate magic. It's really useful!" Meteria's eyes sparkled.
She added, "And Ronen can help treat you too. He developed a magic specifically to suppress our negative skills!"
But then she sighed. "Too bad he went to the dungeon today. He probably won't be back for a while."
Alfia blinked, completely overwhelmed.
"…Let me get this straight. The 'ordinary person' you mentioned… taught you a chantless innate magic spell that can scan the body's condition, has healing capabilities, and went into the dungeon today?"
She rubbed her temples. Her head hurt.
Who was this alien? Where did he come from?
If it hadn't come from her own sister, Alfia would've assumed this was pure nonsense.
But here it was—Detection Wave, able to perceive things even she hadn't noticed in her own body.
"Yes," Meteria nodded. "Ronen said current healing spells just invoke the 'phenomenon of recovery,' but they don't adjust the body. Only a few rare potions can do that."
"But he's been researching ways to regulate the body through magic. He even developed a spell to suppress negative skill effects."
After improving his control over magical power, Ronen discovered the properties of "mana waves."
With this, he could fully monitor Meteria's condition, adjusting her body internally through magic.
Though he couldn't affect the genes themselves, it was more than enough to bring her back to health.
He'd even developed a special branch of magic called Engraving Magic, allowing him to suppress skills with lasting magical seals.
Combined with sacred tree branches crafted into artifacts, the suppression rate reached up to 92%.
Thanks to all this, Meteria's body had improved greatly.
"…Magic to suppress negative skills?" Alfia whispered, eyes wide.
She squinted. "Then I have to meet this guy…"
"Okay!" Meteria beamed. She wanted her sister to approve of Ronen, so she began telling her everything from the very beginning—how they met, and all the things he had done for her.
When she got to the part where Ronen had developed the skill suppression magic in just one month, Alfia was stunned.
At first, she had simply wondered where this stranger had come from.
Now she could only think—what kind of monster was he?
If he could achieve something like that in just a month, then Ronen's talent far surpassed even hers.
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