Inside the hall, everyone's gaze fell on Ryota, their eyes a jumble of doubt, fear, shock... and even a bit of powerless hope.
The three commanders were all silent. Even the normally carefree Tiona and Tione looked grave.
Lefiya bit her lip, looking like she wanted to say something but didn't dare.
The doll-like princess, Ais, tilted her head, her brilliant eyes fixated on Ryota with relentless focus.
Raul and Bete also lowered their heads, staying quiet.
Obviously, in their minds, Ryota's earlier words had gone in one ear and out the other.
Or rather, in their view, he was just a black-haired boy who'd joined the Familia less than a month ago — too naive to understand.
Because War Games... involved far too many things.
For decades, the Loki Familia and Freya Familia — two of Orario's most powerful factions — had been locked in overt and covert struggles over who was truly "number one."
But if they lost this War Game—
The result wouldn't just be losing Ryota, their promising new star.
It would stamp the Loki Familia with the humiliating mark of "eternal second place."
In Orario, where strength was everything, that stain would be permanent. It would damage their ability to recruit members, shift Adventurer resources away from them, and erode their intimidation power — a lethal blow.
If they lost, the Loki Familia would no longer be considered Freya's equal, but reduced to her backdrop.
In a way, this War Game was a gamble on the entire Familia's future.
Ryota took in the increasingly suffocating atmosphere, the dark, heavy faces all around him, as if these people were already composing their last wills in their heads.
He scratched the back of his head, an awkward smile on his face.
It wasn't that he wasn't taking this seriously — on the contrary, he was extremely confident.
After all, War Games were always the same types: a 1v1 duel, a siege battle...
Those rules were basically child's play in front of his system.
If this had been in the past — sure, he'd have no confidence, especially when faced with a Level 7 monster like Ottar, one of Orario's undisputed powerhouses.
But now?
He had dual Mangekyō Sharingan, Sage Jutsu Chakra, Hashirama Cells, Susanoo...
He was a "remastered otherworld ninja" with every cheat buff imaginable.
Not to mention that world-ending Reanimation jutsu tucked away in his mind.
If he still feared some so-called War Game, Ryota might as well go farm vegetables for a living.
The problem was... he couldn't explain any of this.
What was he supposed to tell them?
That he'd just triggered a Hidden Quest to summon the entire Six Paths of Pain into this world?
That he could solo a Minotaur and a Infant Dragon with one casual swing?
That he was planning to summon two giant Buddha hands to clap together on Orario's city walls someday?
If he tried saying that out loud, Loki would probably drag him straight to the Dian Cecht Pharmacy to check if he'd fried his brain.
So all he could do was watch as everyone put on their "final meal before execution" expressions, his smile twitching at the corners.
A million times he wanted to say you guys are really overthinking it, but the words simply wouldn't come out.
That feeling of being basically invincible, yet having your teammates treat you like a dead man walking...
It was honestly too much to bear.
Loki, seeing the mood sink further and further, finally waved her hand and addressed them all:
"What's with those faces, huh? Ryota's still here, isn't he?"
"Go rest. We'll deal with tomorrow when it comes."
Hearing that, everyone slowly filed out.
The oppressive tension in the air seemed to lift a little, the heaviness draining away bit by bit.
But there was still one person left.
Ais was still sitting on the bench, her golden eyes locked on Ryota.
She neither spoke nor moved a single inch.
Loki leaned closer, trying to steer things along.
"Ais, we've gotta have a private word with Ryota, okay?"
But before Loki could even finish, Ais stood up, stepped right in front of Ryota, and declared:
"I won't let you leave."
Then, without another word, she turned and headed into the courtyard.
Ryota watched the golden-haired girl's silhouette disappear down the corridor — no need to guess, she'd gone to train again.
"Maybe I should spar with Ais... to help her trust me?"
Off to the side, Loki sprouted visible stress lines on her forehead.
"What is up with that girl today?!"
"All these years, I've never heard her say anything like that!"
Loki grumbled, still sneaking glances at Ryota with a look like she wanted to hit him but couldn't bring herself to.
She scratched her head, trying to shake loose the mess of emotions threatening to explode.
Then she flopped back on the couch, arms folded, staring Ryota down for a few seconds before speaking again:
"Freya isn't kidding around."
"Back in the heavens, she was exactly the same — doing whatever she wanted, no one could rein her in. Always pulling stunts none of us could predict."
She sighed again.
"If she'd wanted someone else, we might've just gritted our teeth and handed them over."
Ryota chuckled.
"What if she wanted Ais?"
"Ais's off-limits too!"
Ryota shrugged, laughing a little.
Across from him, Loki massaged her temples and went on:
"Most likely the Guild will send word tomorrow morning."
"So we'll take you, Finn, and the others to hear exactly what Freya wants."
She stood up, motioning for Ryota to lie down.
"You went down to the Dungeon again today, right? Come on, let me update your status."
"If we really lose, I might never get to feel this nice solid back again!"
Ryota couldn't help laughing.
"That's one way to put it..."
Still, he pulled off his shirt and lay down on the sofa.
The moment he settled in, he felt warm blood trickling across his back, bringing a faint, ticklish sting.
Behind him, waves of magic rippled outward, gradually forming letters only Loki could decipher.
She watched the numbers appear, the corners of her mouth twitching, wanting to say something — but she swallowed it down, then sighed deeply.
"...Tch."
Her expression had gone stiff, almost blank, as she mechanically copied down the data onto parchment, then handed it over.
"Here. Take it."
"For real, if I didn't check on you every day, I'd swear you were cheating."
Ryota grinned, accepting the parchment and glancing over it:
[Name]: Ryota
[Level]: Lv.2
[Status]:
· Strength: i0-C777
· Endurance: i0-C777
· Dexterity: i0-C777
· Agility: i0-C777
· Magic: i0-C777
[Development Ability]: Mystery H
[Magic]:
[Ninjutsu]
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Style: Fierce Dragon Flame Jutsu, Lightning Style: Chidori
[New]Lightning Style: Chidori Stream: releases widespread lightning for area attacks, can also be used defensively.
[New]Lightning Style: Chidori Sharp Spear: transforms Chidori into a long-spear shape, longer range but lower power.
[New]Puppet Master Jutsu: controlling puppets to fight.
[Genjutsu]
Demonic Illusions: Shackle Stakes
[New]Tsukuyomi: pulls the target's mind into an illusion world where the pain they suffer is identical to real pain.
[Skills]:
[All-Encompassing Divine Eye]
Insight, Copy, Opening, Genjutsu
[New]Amaterasu: unleashes massive black flames that burn until the target is reduced to ash.
[New]Kamui: freely shift between real space and a different dimension, can also pull enemies into the alternate space, and allows the user to phase through attacks.
[New]Susanoo: awakens deep soul power, manifesting a godlike warrior avatar with tremendous defense and destructive force.
Reading over his own report card, Ryota was very satisfied.
Sage Jutsu Chakra and Hashirama Cells, things buried in his bloodline, not showing up was perfectly normal.
As for the ninjutsu and genjutsu, he was already well aware of them.
But what made Ryota happiest was that the hardest development ability to raise — Mystery — was finally progressing steadily.
Loki sprawled across the sofa, legs dangling off the armrest, yawning as she teased him in her usual lazy tone:
"I've always wondered, Ryota — every time you update your status, there's another pile of weird new stuff: skills, magic, enough to open a whole shop with... but I won't ask why."
"As long as you come home alive, as long as you can stand here in front of me... no matter what you turn into, I'm satisfied."
Ryota was briefly stunned, then let out a quiet "mm" in reply.
Looking at this usually sloppy, mischievous goddess showing such simple, weighty emotion —
That silent trust and acceptance —
Maybe that was exactly why he'd chosen to join the Loki Familia back then.
"Alright, alright, status update's done — go get some rest in your room."
She waved him off.
"Tomorrow we've gotta drag you to the Denatus... you know, I was actually planning to get you a proper title at that meeting, but then Freya just had to butt in and ruin the whole thing."
The "Denatus" she mentioned was the regular gathering of Orario's gods every three months, where they traded gossip, shared intel, and granted Adventurers their new titles after leveling up.
That was where Ais's "Sword Princess," and Bell — that hopeless white-haired mother-con protagonist not in this world — got his "Little Rookie" title.
But compared to a War Game, those leisurely, gossipy god meetings had to step aside.
"Ah, but hey — once we win the War Game, I'll get you an even cooler title!"
"How about 'Loki Familia's Black-Haired Hottie,' sound good?"
Ryota: …
"I think you should probably run that by Finn first, Lady Loki."
Because there was no way he was trusting your weird sense of humor!
Back in his room, shutting the door behind him, Ryota finally felt all the tension that had been wound up all day slowly relax.
He tossed his pack aside, flopped face-first onto the bed, and stared at the ceiling.
A War Game.
Loki Familia versus Freya Familia, the ultimate clash between two of Orario's most powerful factions.
If they lost, it wouldn't just be about a "title." It would be their entire reputation, standing, resources — their future for decades to come, all on the line.
And every bit of that pressure was falling on his shoulders alone.
"Man... talk about pressure."
He sighed, but at the same time, a smile crept onto his lips.
Because deep down, he was excited.
It was like destiny itself had built him the biggest stage imaginable, a place to show off everything he had.
As he was thinking this, that familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind, completely without warning:
[Ding— Wheel of Fate begins to spin—]
[Main Quest Stage Three activated]
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