Ais Wallenstein
Lv. 1
Strength: D591→D593 Endurance: D559 Technique: B788 Agility: A800→801 Magic: I80→91
Ais's brows furrowed.
Unconsciously, her grip tightened.
The status update sheet she had received from Loki began to crumple in her hand.
"Ais, this is a path everyone walks. Don't take it so hard."
Loki's words fell on deaf ears. It was a known fact that as [Abilities] increased, growth slowed, eventually hitting a plateau where progress stopped entirely.
The more time she spent with Finn, Gareth, and Riveria—and especially the time she spent with Vesta—the more the black flames gnawing at her soul had diminished.
But they hadn't vanished. The black embers remaining within her were merely biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to use Ais herself as fuel and erupt into a raging inferno that would consume everything.
Just like right now.
"Ais."
Loki's voice was flippant as usual, yet she couldn't entirely hide the deep concern she felt for her child.
Ais snapped back to reality at the sound of her voice, but it wasn't enough to steady her trembling heart.
Her [Status] had stopped rising. The strength that had grown every single day had finally stalled.
Her recent progress had been sluggish. There were even days when her numbers didn't budge at all.
It happened most often on the days she spent training exclusively with Vesta. She had reached a point where personal training was no longer enough. Even venturing into the Dungeon had ceased to yield significant results.
She didn't ask why.
She didn't have to.
Ais already knew.
A limit. The ceiling of Ais Wallenstein's existence had been drawn with cruel, absolute clarity.
That was all it was.
"Lo... Loki..."
"Yeah."
Seeing her child on the verge of tears, Loki cast aside her usual playfulness and answered with genuine solemnity.
Ais lived for the sensation of becoming stronger.
While she had absorbed the [techniques and nuances] taught by the three executives and Vesta, the most tangible proof of her progress had always been the numbers on her [Status].
Growth she could see with her eyes and feel in her muscles had been her primary driving force. She believed that as long as she worked hard, she could grow stronger—and if she never stopped, she could eventually seize the thing she desired most.
But now—
It's... too low...
The maximum value for a [Status] was 999.
The fact that her growth had stopped well before that meant this was the absolute upper limit of Ais as an individual.
A year and a half after joining the Loki Familia, Ais had finally hit a wall.
"...[Rank Up]."
The moment the words escaped her lips, the faces of everyone present stiffened.
"What do I have to do... to raise my Level?"
Ais had heard fragments of knowledge about it.
[Rank Up]. The sublimation of the vessel.
The sole ritual that allowed an adventurer to transcend the limits of mind and body to ascend to a higher stage.
Facing the questioning girl, Bara, one of the veteran Amazons, spoke up.
"...That's not something a brat like you needs to know."
"Hey, Bara—"
"Shut it, you old geezers."
Other members tried to interject, but they quickly fell silent under Bara's sharp glare.
"Don't go blabbing carelessly and put Ais in danger."
Ais had always lived in the spotlight. As she grew closer to her comrades, they, in turn, grew to understand her.
Those who knew the ruinous path Ais was walking could never tell her the truth.
They could not tell her that the condition for a [Rank Up] was a feat so legendary it would astonish even the gods.
They knew all too well that if she learned this, the small girl would stop valuing her own life entirely in pursuit of that goal.
Their intentions were good. Truly, they were.
But good intentions do not always guarantee a good result.
"What does that mean...?"
"Ais... this is for your own good—"
"What is it... what is it, what is it, what is it!"
They had overlooked two critical facts.
First, Ais was not so naive that she wouldn't realize they were hiding something, even if they were this blunt about it.
And second—
***
What are they talking about? Don't be ridiculous.
The vagueness of their words was suffocating; Ais could no longer bear it.
I want to be stronger. I have to be stronger. I must be stronger.
She couldn't afford to stand still. She didn't have the time.
The wall she had encountered for the first time—an invisible but undeniable presence—fueled her desperation. It was a manifestation of her deepest fear: the possibility that she could no longer move forward.
Masking her rising anxiety with irritation, Ais abruptly turned and bolted from the scene.
"Ais?!"
She ignored her goddess's voice. That wasn't what she needed right now.
What she needed, what she wanted...
Ais ran toward the place where her answer resided.
Toward the person she believed could give her what she sought.
After running breathlessly, she saw a flicker of white flame.
No, it was an illusion. It was a man with hair so transparent and white it resembled a flame.
He was clutching his head, lost in deep, troubled thought. Watching him, Ais tried to regulate her breathing.
Her breath was ragged. Was it from the sprint? Or was it something else?
She didn't know, and she didn't care. In this moment, she simply wanted to speak with him.
She approached him.
She told herself it would be rude to jump straight to the point. She decided she would start with some casual conversation before bringing it up.
"How do I [Rank Up]?"
...Wait, what?
Before she realized it, the words had slipped out on their own.
A look of sheer bewilderment crossed the man's face.
No. That's not what I meant to say...
"I have to get stronger... I have to, but I've hit a wall."
Despite her internal panic, her mouth continued to move of its own accord.
Like a child pleading with a parent, she babbled foolishly, unable to even catch her breath.
What kind of expression was she making? Why was she saying these things?
She didn't know, but a sliver of hope flickered within her.
Yes, this man is different from the others—
"I... I can't tell you that..."
"...What?"
The moment those words left his lips, Ais's mind went as blank as the man's hair.
"...Wha—"
"Ais-san..."
"What is that supposed to mean...?"
The sound of his refusal filled her head, and then a thought followed.
"You... of all people... you shouldn't do this to me..."
"..."
It was a pain more agonizing than a monster's fangs, more piercing than the spears and swords of her rivals—
"Why are you... doing this too..."
Hot tears welled up in her wide eyes.
At that moment, the man's face twisted in anguish.
Or perhaps it only seemed that way. The world around her wavered, and hot droplets began to stream down her cheeks.
What Ais felt toward Vesta—this heartache that hurt more than any physical wound—was something she had never experienced before.
"...Traitor."
It was the feeling of betrayal.
***
What are the conditions for a [Rank Up]?
There was only one reason why someone would ask such a question.
So she's hit a wall...
I had gone through so much before I ever hit my own plateau that I didn't feel it as acutely, but I had heard from acquaintances that adventurers who hit a wall are often consumed by a desperate impatience.
The realization that one can no longer grow stronger is a crushing burden. Especially for someone like Ais-san, who is so obsessed with strength.
If nothing else, I could understand that longing for power. I was a man who had spent countless days cursing my own weakness.
Actually, "cursing" was too mild a word. I still resent myself to this day.
The weakness that allowed me to save no one.
The guilt of being the only one to survive.
Those feelings constantly gnawed at me, threatening to drag my mind into the abyss of ruin.
To be honest, if I weren't taking care of Ais-san, if it weren't for Materia-san's counseling or my sparring matches with Maxim-san, I might have lost my grip on reality and thrown myself into the Dungeon to fight until I died.
And yet, the fact that I couldn't even bring myself to throw away the life that everyone else had sacrificed themselves to leave me felt utterly pathetic.
I didn't know everything about Ais-san, but I knew enough.
She was likely in a state just as unbearable as mine.
I cast a discreet glance around and saw people watching us from a distance.
Lady Loki and her children. They must have followed her.
The eyes are the windows to the soul. Even vaguely, you can tell what someone is thinking by looking at them.
I couldn't see Lady Loki's eyes, but the atmosphere was clear.
They wanted Ais-san to remain in the dark.
"..."
I was torn. What was the right choice?
Should I tell her the truth? Or should I hide it?
For her immediate well-being, hiding it was the correct path. But would it actually matter?
Ais-san would eventually push herself to the brink of destruction in her impatience, and she would continue that cycle until she either [Rank Up]ed or died.
And I believed she would eventually [Rank Up]. For some reason, I was certain of it.
No matter what happened, I couldn't imagine a world where Ais-san simply died.
...Wait.
A question occurred to me.
If I truly believed that, then why was I—
Then there's no reason to hesitate, is there?
If the outcome was inevitable, wouldn't it be better to just tell her?
And yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even knowing that hiding the truth would only make her resent me, my lips remained sealed. I refused to let the truth out.
"I... I can't tell you that..."
Before I knew it, the words had escaped me.
"..."
Ais-san didn't get angry or lash out as I had expected.
"...Traitor."
She simply wept, shedding heavy tears like the young girl she actually was.
God, really.
I didn't want... to see that expression.
How did it come to this?
A pain more intense than when my internal organs were being ripped apart tore through me.
Something inside me began to erode, piece by piece.
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