After everything had been settled, the Loki Familia packed up and returned to Orario.
With the current state of the Kali Familia, Loki surmised that they wouldn't be causing any problems anytime soon.
"I think this should be good."
Now that things had finally calmed down, Judas sat cross-legged in the corner of the training grounds and placed a perception-blocking barrier around himself.
After all, he wasn't the only one using the place.
"Look, Judas is training again."
"He's already so strong, yet he works so hard."
"Let's train as well... we may not be able to catch up, but we should at least not fall behind."
The members of the familia spoke among themselves, quickly picking up their training equipment and beginning a series of sparring matches with one another.
To them, it looked like Judas was meditating, which, as far as they understood, was a form of training for him.
Since he had put up the barrier, the members of the familia, including Ais and the others, made sure not to disturb him.
"Ais! Let's spar!"
Tiona declared with a wide, bright smile.
"Mnn."
Ais nodded, and the two soon stood across from each other with their weapons readied.
"I want to train with you guys, too!"
Lefiya requested hurriedly.
Seeing the eagerness on the young elf's face, Tiona had no reason to refuse.
"Sure! The more the merrier!"
"You guys… we were supposed to go out, relax, and do some shopping today."
Tione murmured with a strained smile.
They had originally planned to take it easy and hang out together, but after seeing Judas being so diligent, they had instinctively stopped what they were doing and felt stimulated to train instead.
'Though I can kind of understand it…'
Tione felt her fingers twitch.
She had the urge to grab her weapon and join in the action.
In their eyes, Judas was by far the most talented person they had ever seen, yet even someone like him trained consistently without slacking off.
Anyone who watched him would naturally feel a surge of motivation welling up inside them.
She looked toward the spot where Judas was training, even though she couldn't see through the cloudy barrier.
Then she glanced around at the rest of her familia working hard.
A strong sense of camaraderie filled the air, but the ambition in their eyes burned hotter than ever.
Compared to her past in Telskurya, the atmosphere here was like night and day.
It was warm, vibrant, and felt like what a home should be.
"Hey! Don't leave me out!"
Tione shouted excitedly, joining the fray as she jumped in between Ais and Tiona.
As for Lefiya, she was already sprawled on the floor with swirls in her eyes.
She was only a Level 4, so simply being able to keep up while sparring against two Level 6s was already an achievement in itself.
Looking outside through the window of the main manor, Loki and the three main executives watched with smiles on their faces.
"It's early in the morning, and the training bug has already hit the familia. Everyone's working really hard."
Gareth said with a hearty laugh.
"Haha, the moment Judas returned, everyone suddenly became like this."
"Well, I don't blame them. After seeing someone like Judas train so diligently, even I feel the itch to grab my spear and head down there myself... or maybe take a trip into the Dungeon."
Finn commented, light smile on his lips.
"Finn, we have a lot of paperwork to do. As the leaders, it would set a bad example if we slacked off."
Riveria reminded him, glancing over her shoulder at the towering piles of documents sitting on the desk.
"Ahaha, I was only saying it. I didn't actually mean it."
The Pallum captain replied with a wry smile.
Riveria shook her head, turning her gaze back out the window.
Her eyes first lingered on Ais, who was currently in the middle of an intense free-for-all against Tiona and Tione.
Then it shifted to the cloudy barrier farther away, inside which Judas was training.
'I wonder... what is going on in there right now?'
Although she had seen his status sheet before, Riveria had a feeling there was more to his strength than he had revealed.
Thinking of that boy, her gaze softened for a moment, and she couldn't stop herself from showing a gentle smile.
...
Inside the barrier, Judas sat in a lotus position and activated his mana core.
A resplendent glow manifested within his chest as five tiny stars lit up simultaneously around it.
Of the five stars, three revolved rapidly around his mana core, moving so fast that they formed rings of light.
Another star revolved as well, though at a slower pace than the others.
The final tiny star, the one farthest from the mana core, remained almost completely still, barely moving at all.
But compared to before, instead of appearing dull, it now shone with light.
Seeing the state of his mana core, Judas smiled in satisfaction.
Not only that, with his eyes closed, he could sense the microscopic tears in his mana circuits mending themselves back to perfect condition.
Glowing circuitry-like lines appeared across the surface of his skin.
'That feels so much better.'
Judas thought as he savored the sensation.
The flow of his mana, which had felt clogged and restricted for far too long, now poured through his body smoothly.
If he had to describe the feeling, it was like being sick with a stuffed nose for hours, only for your airways to suddenly clear up so you could breathe properly again.
Ever since he shattered his core, he had been forced to endure that suffocating restriction.
'I think I'm already on the cusp of being able to perform Fourth-Tier spells again.'
Judas thought as he raised his palm to eye level.
Using his mana core, he summoned the beginnings of a Fourth-Tier magic circle.
However, just before he could complete it and activate the spell, a searing pain stabbed through his chest, as though a knife coated in molten lava had pierced his heart.
'Close... but once I reach 95 percent, I should be able to complete it without any issues.'
He canceled the spell, and the pain immediately disappeared.
'Although I could force myself to use Fourth-Tier spells now... doing so would only cause my repair progress to regress.'
Thinking that, Judas shook his head and resumed his meditation, gathering the surrounding mana around himself.
Now that he could finally use his mana core to some extent, the magic circle he had previously inscribed in the training grounds to gather mana for him had become obsolete, so he dissolved it without hesitation.
With his mana core now partially restored, he could gather mana on his own.
It also meant he no longer needed to occupy so much space in the training grounds, making things more convenient for everyone else.
After several hours had passed, Judas slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath.
'94.5 percent.'
'Just a little over a week, and this phase will finally be complete.'
Just as he was about to stand up and dispel the barrier surrounding him...
It was as though he had been struck by lightning.
Judas froze completely.
There was a stirring sensation deep within his soul that he couldn't ignore.
'What the...'
His vision suddenly blurred, and a wave of intense dizziness forced him back down to his knees.
Then, without warning...
Unknown, fragmented memories came flooding into his mind like a broken dam.
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