"By using self-sealing, you lower the evaluation the Falna System assigns you without reducing your actual strength. That way, when you fight monsters of the same level, you earn more Excelia."
"This is essentially fraud against the Falna System."
Bell said something downright outrageous.
Fraud was common vocabulary among adventurers, but applying it to the Falna System itself… that was something new.
And the Falna System was created by the gods.
To defraud the Falna System was effectively to defraud the gods. If outsiders heard and spread such a thing, it would undoubtedly be treated as high treason against the divine.
Naturally, only Bell would dare say it out loud.
And only Bell would dare use Runes to poke holes in the Falna System; anyone else probably couldn't pull it off.
"Oh!!"
Ais's eyes sparkled instantly. She didn't notice how terrible the word "fraud" was—she noticed something far more important.
"Teacher, does that mean I can use this method to gain combat experience quickly?"
"Of course."
Bell had full confidence in that part.
"Ais, you still remember that battle against the 'Corrupted Spirit's Fetus' during the expedition, right?"
"Mhm."
Ais nodded. How could she possibly forget?
Everyone in the familia had poured out everything they had to defeat the Corrupted Spirit's Fetus. Only by using Haruhime's power to raise their levels did they barely manage to crush it, earning the chance to advance. Finn, Gareth, and Riveria had all promoted to Level 7 after returning from that battle.
"That was my practical application of Falna fraud."
It had been a secret back then, but not anymore, so Bell explained it openly.
"It was Trial II—performed under the premise that the adventurers had no idea what they were really fighting."
"In reality, I had already completely subdued the Corrupted Spirit's Fetus before any of you arrived. That entire fight was essentially me controlling it to fight you."
"That's the truth—but none of you knew that at the time."
"And afterward, it proved the possibility of achieving Excelia in this manner."
To anyone else, "controlling the Corrupted Spirit's Fetus" would sound impossible. Perhaps because of that, the Falna fraud had gone so smoothly.
Yet Bell showed no pride at all. To him, it was merely an experiment to test the Falna System.
Not because only he could do it—rather, because only someone with the right conditions could do it.
That no one had tried before was probably because no one had ever considered a concrete method to defraud the Falna System.
And—more importantly—you couldn't apply Falna fraud to yourself.
Altruistic acts were practically a joke in Orario. No adventurer would willingly do something so stupid. Which was exactly why only Bell—who needed to act altruistically—could accomplish it.
At this point, a hint of regret slipped into Bell's voice.
"But the fact that it only works on others is disappointing."
If it worked on himself, he wouldn't need to challenge a Level 8 Fairy Spirit. He could simply create a Level 8 entity out of himself and earn Excelia that way.
Unfortunately, that wasn't possible—and that truly was a pity.
"...Teacher, if someone else heard you say that, they might strangle you."
Ais genuinely didn't know how to respond to Bell's disappointment. It felt a little… show-off-ish.
Not that Bell had any such intention—Ais knew he was simply stating his "regret," nothing more.
"Maybe."
Bell no longer cared about what others thought. As for whether someone might want to strangle him for what he'd said—Bell could only remark that they probably wouldn't be able to.
He brushed aside such trivial concerns almost immediately.
"Ais, let's head back to the snow hut and rest. We'll be returning soon."
Ais blinked, clearly not understanding what "returning" meant.
"Teacher, returning… to where?"
Her delayed reaction gave Bell a headache. For a moment he wondered whether she'd gotten hit in the head by a chunk of ice during the battle.
"You've only been out here three months—did you forget already?"
"The phased training is finished. Next, we're going back to the familia to see the results produced by combining my research with your practical work."
"…Oh."
Only now did Ais—slower than usual—remember that this had been the plan.
Seeing her completely dazed expression, Bell couldn't help wanting to knock gently on her head to check whether there was water sloshing around inside. Why did it feel like the more she fought, the duller her everyday reactions became?
Don't tell him she really dumped all her stat points into combat… Bell was starting to worry that might be the case.
He already knew Ais could be slow in some areas, but if after three months under his guidance she was still this bad outside of battle… would Riveria come after him?
Regardless, they needed to return. That part wasn't changing.
"Come on."
"Yes, Teacher."
After the fight, Bell brought Ais back to the place they'd been living—an improvised shelter built entirely from packed ice bricks.
Because this wasn't a Safe Zone, Bell had set up several layers of barriers when constructing it.
These concealed the presence of the hut and, using the natural weather of the floor, stirred up stronger wind and snow to obscure it even further.
Under those conditions, Bell and Ais had lived here for nearly three months.
Yes—just the two of them, not returning to the familia, living in this frozen landscape the entire time.
Inside, the shelter was noticeably warmer than the outside world.
In here, they didn't have to worry about hypothermia, and they could conserve a decent amount of stamina.
It was the ideal place to recover after finishing a battle.
And recovery, in this case, mostly meant changing clothes.
Training here was rigorous and fulfilling. Ais had already grown accustomed to this lifestyle—daily scheduled fights, occasional sparring sessions with Bell.
The only inconvenience was how quickly their clothes were destroyed.
Once they got too into the battle, their outfits inevitably ended up torn in all sorts of ways.
Just like today—her entire right sleeve had been annihilated.
Sometimes it was the top, sometimes the back.
And while Bell could heal any injury on her body, he couldn't heal clothing. So sometimes they inevitably ended up with not enough clean outfits.
When that happened, Ais would have to return to the upper floors just to change clothes—even during training periods. And to her, that interruption was painfully disruptive.