The mansion's living room had officially transformed from a training session into a high-stakes display of "Gamer Pride."
Professor Vane remained slumped on the couch, his spirit completely broken. He stared at the floor, muttering to himself, looking like a man who had accidentally walked into a room filled with nuclear warheads. Nobody bothered him—everyone was too busy comparing their "equipment."
Asobi bowed deeply toward Haruto, her regal face showing genuine regret.
"Forgive me, Boss. Smoke has a big mouth. I should have kept the connection tighter."
"No, no, it's fine! It was actually pretty cool," Haruto said, waving it off. He turned his eyes toward Lilith, who was still gripping her shimmering rapier, Rose-Thorn.
"So, what kind of spirit comes out of that thing? Introduce us!"
Lilith let out an exasperated sigh, crossing her arms. "Are you a child? I literally just told you! This isn't like your maid's pipe. To get a spirit to 'Awaken' and show its true form, you need to perform a High-Tier Ritual. It requires massive brute force—the spirit summoned is always equal to your own caliber. You have to defeat it or dominate it to make it manifest. I haven't done the ritual yet!"
Haruto looked at Asobi, his gamer brain ticking. "Wait, then what was Smoke's rank? You said weapons don't have levels, but they have ranks, right?"
"Exactly," Lilith cut in, her voice full of awe. "They use the Rank System. E through S... but what your maid has..."
Asobi took a slow puff of her pipe, her voice calm but slightly hesitant. "Smoke is... an SSR Rank spirit."
"SSR Rank?!" Lilith nearly dropped her rapier. "An Awakened spirit is rare enough, but an SSR?! Asobi, please, you have to tell us—what is your actual Level?! You're carrying a world-class artifact!"
Haruto stepped in, sensing Asobi's discomfort. "Hey, don't force her. I don't even know her level yet. It's like a locked quest—she'll reveal it when the time is right."
The atmosphere remained charged even as the "Equipment Showcase" began to wind down. Lilith stared at the spot where Asobi stood, her voice tight with a mix of royal authority and pure shock. "Enough for now. Asobi... I have a lot of questions for you later. Be ready."
Asobi didn't blink. She simply gave a shallow, graceful bow. "My apologies, Your Highness, but I have several household duties that require my immediate attention." Without waiting for a rebuttal, she turned and glided out of the room.
The moment she was gone, Professor Vane finally stood up, wiping the cold sweat from his brow. He tried to force his "strict instructor" persona back on, but his hands were still trembling. He had processed the math: an SSR Rank spirit was the second-highest tier in existence, sitting just below the legendary SSS. Controlling such a weapon wasn't just difficult; it was supposed to be impossible for a "maid."
(Vane's Inner Thoughts): "If that maid were allowed in the arena, she wouldn't even need to fight. One puff from that pipe and Kaelen's entire team would be deleted from reality. I have to make sure Haruto understands the rules—no outside interference, or the Council will execute us all."
"Alright," Vane cleared his throat, regaining his voice. "Since the... 'domestic staff' has finished their display, we are moving to the training room. Haruto, lead the way."
Toya jumped in, eager to be useful. "This way! We've got the best setup in the east wing!"
He led the group—Haruto, Lilith, Vane, and the three Goddesses—down the grand corridor.
The shift in the mansion's atmosphere was palpable as the group entered the high-tech training hall. The walls were lined with rare mana-conducting weapons and tables piled high with tactical diagrams, but the focus remained on the center of the room.
Asobi, meanwhile, was fuming in the hallway. Her face was flushed with a mix of anger and embarrassment. She could still hear the echoing, telepathic laughter of Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra. (Inner Thoughts): "They're really enjoying this, aren't they? Seeing me bow and say 'Sir' to a Level 78... I'll make them pay for those laughs. Just wait until they see what I make of their pride."
Inside the training room, the air grew cold. Professor Vane stood in the center, his posture rigid. He had discarded his shocked expression, replacing it with the mask of a professional elite.
"Listen well, Haruto," Vane began, his voice booming with a newfound authority that cut through the lingering chatter.
"My job here is simply to teach you as I was ordered. I have no personal attachment to you, and I am not here to be your friend. I will not give you my 'best'—I will only give you the 'correct' path. I can correct your mistakes, but I cannot make you perfect. That part is on you."
Haruto looked at Vane, seeing the man for what he truly was: a high-tier NPC performing a critical duty. Haruto's violet eyes sharpened, and he nodded slowly. The weight of his "Goal" pressed down on him—failure wasn't just a loss in a game; it was a one-way ticket back to a world he had already outgrown.
"Fair enough, Professor," Haruto replied, his voice dropping into a serious, resonant tone. "You fulfill your duty as an instructor, and I'll fulfill mine as a student. Let's get to it."
The training hall's temperature seemed to drop as the weight settled over the group.
Lilith leaned against a weapon rack, sighing. .
"This part is getting a bit boring, but it's a necessary evil. We need to dissect every single one of Kaelen's weaknesses before the sun goes down."
Suddenly, Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra stepped forward as one.
"If he is training, we are training," Bellona declared, her hand twitching toward her blade. "We aren't here to be wallflowers. We will fight in the arena too."
Toya pumped his fist.
"Yeah! Me too! I don't want to be the only one sitting on the sidelines!"
Professor Vane let out a dry, sharp laugh.
"My job is to train, and I'll train whoever is in front of me. Let's see if your stamina matches your talk. But remember—you three 'attendants' are effectively Level 6 students in the eyes of the Academy. This is a training regimen for the big boys. Don't fall behind."
The three Goddesses didn't flinch; they just exchanged a knowing, lethal look.
Vane then turned to the Princess. "Your Highness, you should return to the Palace and rest. This environment is... intense."
"I've already spoken to my father," Lilith replied, her expression turning uncharacteristically serious.
"The King himself has his eyes on Haruto now. We have to get him ready. There is no room for 'rest' when the crown is watching."
Haruto froze. The air in his lungs felt heavy. "The King? The actual ruler of this world's code is watching me? How did a Level 4 'glitch' like me get famous this fast?"
Ivory's eyes glowed with a dim, calculating light. She stayed silent, but her mind was racing through the warnings Elara had given them.
Ivory's Internal Logic: "Elara was right. The 'Big Players' have noticed the anomaly. We thought we were playing a simple school-rivalry game, but the world-building here is far more tangled and dangerous than it looks on the surface. We are no longer just fighting Kaelen; we are fighting the System's hierarchy."
Professor Vane cleared his throat, his posture shifting instantly. He offered a respectful, almost rhythmic bow toward Ivory, Bellona, and Lustra, his voice dropping the harsh instructor tone for a moment.
"My sincerest apologies, ladies," Vane said smoothly.
"I must ask you to step back and take a seat. This specific training session is calibrated for Level 6 and below. Since you three possess power that is clearly far beyond that threshold, your presence in the center might interfere. Please, make yourselves comfortable while I... 'correct' these boys."
The three Goddesses exchanged a look of pure amusement. Ivory gave a small, regal nod, Bellona smirked as she crossed her arms, and Lustra blew a playful kiss toward Haruto before they all glided to the back of the hall.
The Hidden Trap: Vane's Ambition
As the girls stepped away, Vane turned his back to them, a sharp, greedy glint in his eyes.
Vane's Internal Logic: "This is perfect. If I train these underdogs and they somehow win, my name will be legendary. I'll tell the King I turned 'trash' into 'gold.' And if they lose? I'll just say Elara gave them a broken foundation. Either way, my reputation stays clean. Now, let's see if I can break this Level 4 brat."
The Stamina War: Physical Logic vs. Mana
"Alright, enough talk!" Vane barked, his voice bouncing off the reinforced walls. "Stamina is the fuel of the soul. If you can't move, you can't win. Drop and give me everything you've got! We go until someone's heart gives out or their arms snap. Start pushup!"
Lilith stood by the wall, her eyes locked onto Haruto. She looked stunning, the ambient light of the training room making her royal features glow. Haruto glanced at her and felt that same flicker of doubt: "Is she actually into me, or am I just her escape plan from Kaelen? Man, this world's 'Romance Quest' is the hardest one to solve."
The Count Begins:
Vane watched Toya confidently. To a Royal Instructor, a Level 5 (Toya) should always outlast a Level 4 (Haruto). It was basic math.
100 Reps: Both were fast. Toya was grinning, trying to impress the Princess.
500 Reps: The grin vanished. Toya's face turned the color of a beetroot. His Level 5 mana was burning through his oxygen, and the heavy-gravity floor was punishing his joints. Haruto, however, was a statue in motion. No sweat. No heavy breathing.
1,000 Reps: CRASH. Toya hit the floor. His muscles seized up, and he lay there panting like he'd just run across the entire kingdom.
But Haruto didn't even blink.
1,200... 1,500... 2,000...
Haruto kept going, his 3,000% muscle density acting like a hydraulic press. He wasn't using mana, so there was nothing for the gravity to "drain." He looked completely refreshed, his movements as sharp as the first rep.
Vane's jaw dropped. He
walked over to Haruto, staring at his triceps in disbelief.