At the Freya Familia's stronghold, the battlefield plain.
Thud! Thud!
Heavy impacts rang out continuously. Yet within the vast arena, there was no one else to be seen, nor any unnecessary equipment. Only two figures—one large, one small—were locked in combat.
The burly boar-man gripped his greatsword and viciously thrust it toward his opponent.
With something so enormous, one clean hit would likely be enough to utterly crush that petite figure.
Yet, surprisingly, not a single strike from the boar-man's greatsword connected. Every sudden assault was narrowly evaded.
Even so, the boar-man did not grow discouraged. He continuously adjusted his stance and movements, attempting to find an opening in the small girl's defense.
These two were Ottar and Elise.
After all, today was the agreed-upon day of Elise's transaction with Freya.
So early that morning, Elise had followed her patron goddess Astraea to the Freya Familia's stronghold.
It had to be said that compared to the temporarily rented stronghold of the Astraea Familia, Freya's base could truly be called luxurious.
The sheer size of this training ground alone was nearly comparable to their entire Familia headquarters. It was extravagance at its finest.
Elise silently set a goal for herself.
In the future, the Astraea Familia's stronghold must be no worse than this.
Thus, after Freya personally cleared the area, the entire arena was left nearly empty, with only Elise and Ottar remaining, prepared to give it their all.
As for the two goddesses, they had taken seats high above in the arena and begun a tea party.
Freya sipped from her teacup while watching the battle unfold below.
Before long, she noticed something was off.
According to Ottar's earlier description, although Elise was strong, she did not possess overwhelming suppression in a head-on clash. She had to avoid Ottar's monstrous strength.
But now...
Elise was still evading Ottar's attacks, yet occasionally she was able to clash head-on with him.
Could it be...
"Astraea, she leveled up, didn't she?"
Calling out to the goddess of justice beside her, the goddess of beauty spoke in a tone of certainty.
"As expected, nothing escapes you, Freya." Astraea admitted with a smile.
"Yes, Elise has indeed leveled up. Last night, she successfully broke through her limits and reached Lv2."
Hearing Astraea's confirmation, Freya's gaze sharpened.
She leveled up last night...
And judging from previous intelligence, the time it took Elise to go from Lv1 to Lv2 was less than half a month?
What an astonishing leveling speed.
And from Astraea's expression, she must have reached the absolute limit of her ability points before leveling up...
In other words, the same S-999 as Ottar? Astraea had truly found a monster.
One must remember, the current timeline of Orario was twelve years before the main story.
What did reaching Lv2 in half a month even mean?
Just look at Ais and Bell.
Ais had spent an entire year reaching Lv2, already setting Orario's fastest leveling record—until a certain rabbit shattered that myth by achieving it in a single month.
But now...
Ais had not yet come to Orario, and Bell was still playing in the countryside. Before they had even begun, they had already been surpassed by Elise.
Freya stared at Elise for a long time without even blinking.
"Aren't your eyes dry from staring so long, Freya?"
Astraea's voice came from beside her, snapping Freya back to her senses.
"If you keep staring at something for too long, your eyes will grow tired. You might even risk going blind."
It was a warning.
Astraea was still wary that Freya might set her sights on Elise. Otherwise, she would not have come along in person.
"Thank you for the reminder, Astraea."
Freya did not seem concerned, or rather, she could not make any unnecessary moves right now. The transaction had only just begun. Astraea's vigilance was normal. The preparations she had made for Elise were not yet complete. There was no need to rush.
"However, I do have a question... I hope you can answer it."
"What is it?"
Freya turned her gaze back to Elise, a trace of confusion flickering in her eyes.
"You should know that we gods can see through the inner selves of children in the lower world."
"But for some reason..." Freya deliberately paused, observing Astraea's reaction before continuing, "I can no longer clearly see Elise's inner self..."
"It's as if it is blocked by a layer of light. I cannot perceive the full picture."
Astraea understood exactly what Freya meant.
This was not a power that should appear in a human.
No matter how strong a person was, no matter how high their Level or how broken their skills, it was impossible to hide from a god's gaze.
Especially for a goddess like Freya.
Seeing through souls was as natural to her as eating and drinking.
Yet she herself had never expected that there would come a day when she could not see through a child of the lower world.
"To be honest, at the beginning, I was the same as you, Freya. I could not fully see through Elise either."
"But now it's different."
"After all, she is my child."
"We've experienced so much together and grown familiar with one another. Whether I can see through her or not, I must shoulder the responsibility of being the head of my Familia."
"Responsibility..." Freya murmured softly, then laughed. "Yes, that responsibility must be borne."
"Isn't that precisely why I chose to cooperate with you, Astraea?"
Her gaze shifted away from Elise and toward the boar-man at her side.
At this moment, only Ottar remained in Freya's eyes. That look she gave him—how should one describe it...
Affectionate?
Proud?
There were complex emotions mixed within it.
"Through his battle with Elise, Ottar is gaining far more experience than before. As his patron goddess, I am truly pleased."
"He is becoming more and more beautiful."
When Freya first met Ottar, she had said something similar.
"You are beautiful." Those were the first words Freya had spoken to him. And now, once again, she praised his beauty.
There was only one reason.
Ottar was undergoing transformation.
Transforming toward a higher realm.
Clang—
With the sound of colliding blades, the battle in the arena finally came to an end.
Ottar's greatsword was embedded directly into the wall. His entire body was covered in blood, yet even so, his eyes shone brilliantly as he stared at Elise without shifting his gaze in the slightest.
That was... a new goal.
Ever since the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia had departed, it had been a long time since Ottar had felt this way.
The feeling of giving everything he had and still seeing no chance of victory.
Meanwhile, the petite golden figure before him casually flicked her blade in a dazzling flourish and spoke with a smile.
"Your performance was truly impressive, Ottar."
"If ten were a perfect score, I'd give you a hundred."