Secrets of Growth

I found the eye of the giant tentacle.

Touching the eye, it had no substance.

Cappuccino felt a difference in the texture of the air inside and outside the eyeball.

Beyond this was a Dream.

‘(How can this be?)’

Win was slightly astonished.

The overlapping of Dream and reality was somewhat acceptable, but crossing over from reality into the Dream World was incomprehensible through logical reasoning.

She shelved the question.

Instead of doubt, confidence filled her.

She had entered the Dream World once before.

The confidence that she could become one with the world at that time welled up within her.

It was a bit scary, but,

The world’s strongest Hunters were by her side.

Although weakened,

They were incredibly reliable.

“Chris.”

“Should I go in first?”

“No.”

Cappuccino asked Chris.

“You know Amel tamed the frog, right?”

“Of course? The Dream Frog?”

“Would you believe me if I said that’s my true form?”

“…?”

“I’m that frog.”

Chris’s face went blank.

Hongyeom also raised a question mark.

“What are you talking about? You’re a frog? So you used Polymorph? Like a Dragon?”

“Similar. You can think of it as evolution.”

“Hee. You can evolve a Monster? I’ve been doing this for over a year, but I didn’t know that.”

Hongyeom scanned Cappuccino up and down.

Then, she tilted her head.

“But why are you revealing that?”

“I’m not confident in my fighting. So, before entering enemy territory, there’s something I want to confirm.”

Cappuccino stood neatly in front of Chris and Hongyeom.

“You see an information window above my head, right? Tell me what color it is.”

Chris frowned.

Even if she was a Dream Frog.

It was difficult to see a cute girl with green hair as a Frog Monster.

Hongyeom was different.

Since it was a game, she thought it was the royal road.

She saw the information window.

[Magic Beast Witch Cappuccino]

Green letters.

“…Wow.”

It exceeded her expectations by several levels.

She thought she tamed her on the 29th floor?

Hongyeom’s level was 81.

Green letters meant a 5-level difference.

A 5-level difference above and below.

At the lowest, level 76.

At the highest, level 86.

But from level 80 onwards, Monsters became completely different.

At best, she’d be below level 80… but.

‘Still, it’s too high to call her a pet.’

“Green.”

“I knew it.”

“You knew?”

“Before, when a Clan member made up of level 79 Hunter Heroes saw me, they said it was green letters too. I was wondering what it was like now.”

But she sighed in disappointment that the color hadn’t changed.

Green letters meant a 5-level difference above and below, so the level range was twice as wide compared to other letter colors.

Before humanization.

Before becoming a Witch.

She was definitely at least level 74 when she was green letters at level 79.

Even though she must have grown while becoming a Witch, she was still green letters at level 81.

Monsters didn’t have fixed levels.

They were only assigned a color based on the Hero’s level.

The level of a Monster was very volatile.

Just looking at Succubus Queen Nanos, level didn’t necessarily mean strength.

Cappuccino knew why her level was so high, but Hongyeom didn’t.

“How can you grow so fast?”

“Pardon?”

“Amel and you, your growth is too fast. If you have a secret, share it. I’ll give you whatever you want in return.”

“….”

The secret to growth.

“My case is special. It’s structured so that I get stronger as Amel gets stronger. Hmm…”

If she shared Amel’s experience, she could acquire that combat experience.

How much she internalized it was entirely up to her, but experience sharing itself sharpened the sword even if she had never swung it.

She had fought Heroes in an alleyway before.

Even though she only used swordsmanship, she overwhelmed them 1 vs 20.

Judging by the amount of Magical Power, they were probably around level 60 on average. They were paper tigers full of hot air, but still, she overwhelmed Heroes who were level 60 in terms of physique.

In addition to that swordsmanship,

Her Phantasmal Dream Ability as a Dream Frog was considerable, and she even gained the wisdom of a Witch, which led her to understand her Phantasmal Dream Ability several steps deeper.

She had also been practicing making her Dreams more concrete, using Amel’s Dream as a training ground.

The ring she was wearing. Witch Win herself, who resided within it, could cast Magic.

Win also grew day by day by sharing Amel’s experience and giving advice. Amel often showed a scientifically applied form of Electrical Ability, which expanded Win’s perspective on Magic.

She had absorbed the essence of the Ancient Nightmares to become humanized and even inherited the Magic Beast Grimoire.

In particular, her experience sharing with Amel was structured so that she grew as Amel grew.

Due to the difference in physical conditions with Amel, her direct combat ability was not as strong as Amel’s,

But that experience synergized with her Phantasmal Dream Ability and Win’s Magic Ability.

She hadn’t really thought about it, but,

‘Looking at it this way, this…’

‘(I’d say your current level is about Amel’s level?)’

Of course, she couldn’t respond 1 vs 1, but she could refer to it.

Green letters based on level 81.

Green letters meant equality.

Amel’s strength was almost on the same line as level 81.

‘And me too.’

Cappuccino’s lips twitched.

‘Well, in my case, the Phantasmal Dream Ability would be a big part of it.’

Then suddenly.

She knew the reason for her growth.

Then what was the reason Amel could grow so quickly?

Amel herself had been wondering about that part.

But she thought it was a good thing and just brushed it off as a game.

Cappuccino couldn’t just brush that part off and pointed out that the strength in Full Dive could be transferred to reality as it was.

Then Amel’s rapid growth was abnormal even considering it was a game.

There must be some kind of mechanism.

She retraced her memories.

And examined it objectively as a third party.

“It’s okay if you don’t know. You and that sister of yours must have monstrous talent. I understand. I was like that too.”

Hongyeom showed off.

“If you’re born with overwhelming talent, it’s natural to be above others with just a little effort.”

“….”

Could that be it.

Looking closely at Amel’s growth process, there were elements that suddenly flashed through her mind.

Skill.

Aptitude.

Talent.

And effort and experience.

‘(Could it be something like this?)’

Win said.

As Cappuccino’s Phantasmal Dream Ability increased, Win also shared Amel’s experience through Dreams.

Win speculated, and through that speculation, Cappuccino reinforced her intuition.

Cappuccino’s thoughts were not wrong.

Amel’s growth was abnormal.

Her talent was genius-level,

But that alone couldn’t explain it.

First of all, the experience and effort she had accumulated during her Unawakened Hunter days must have become potential.

Amel, who handled Mana with a body that didn’t have Mana, could handle Mana from a different starting line than others.

While others handled Mana with a ruler marked in 1-meter units,

Amel could have a ruler with markings down to units smaller than 1 millimeter.

The experience of eating Magic Stones and handling Mana, even weakly, with no Mana, became the experience of handling a small amount of Mana, and she had finely divided the units of Mana she could handle.

Moreover,

From the point when she could handle Mana without Mana, her talent was already extraordinary.

It was as if a genius among geniuses with innate talent had been making extreme efforts that even a dullard would make.

Also, Electricity was life force.

Awakening her Electrical Ability,

She would have unknowingly spread her Electrical Ability in all directions and spread her Electrical Ability even from the opponent who became her enemy to sense every movement.

She could feel movements and flows that were usually invisible more sensitively than anyone else.

The fact that Amel could steal the opponent’s technique at a glance was thanks to her Electrical Ability.

It seemed to have been possible from the beginning, but by awakening her Electrical Ability, she was able to easily steal even complex and difficult advanced techniques.

Moreover,

Above all,

This world was a game.

But it was reality.

Movements like the real thing were possible, and phenomena like the real thing could be created.

In such a world, there was something called ‘Skill’ that fixed and standardized techniques.

It was possible to use a technique once learned with the same sensation by making it a Skill,

And the Skills learned in that way enabled unconditional upward growth.

To borrow the expression of a martial artist,

She could not forget enlightenment.

The fact that she could recall the feeling of enlightenment every time she repeated a Skill acquired through enlightenment was the best thing for a martial artist.

Aptitude seemed to make it easier to acquire Skills, so Amel, who had scored 100 points on it, could not forget even a moment of enlightenment and could maintain the high point she had scored through enlightenment as it was.

Effort, experience, talent, Skill, Aptitude.

These five elements continued to breathe fantastically, drawing an exponential growth curve.

Of course, Geass’s help was also there.

The Outsider’s sociality gave her an excuse to be alone,

The narrow vision of Berserk led to concentration,

The Mana recovery power of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians became a reliable supply and continued to sustain her relentless growth sprint.

Even that would gradually draw a gentle curve after passing a certain high point,

But Amel was a Summoned Hero.

She came from a scientific world.

Electricity was the field that science had most deeply pioneered.

Every time growth seemed to slow down, her Electrical Ability exploded scientifically and blew the growth curve to the very top.

The experience where that moment was most prominent was the rampage in the Duel Arena.

The duel with Hongyeom.

In that duel, Amel increased her output to counter the heat, and thanks to the increased output, she was able to cause superconductivity, and through superconductivity, she was able to try more diverse things.

She went to the point of almost killing Hongyeom, who boasted the power to steam the city.

After that, thanks to that explosive power, she was now running towards the Dream World on the giant tentacle, so Amel’s growth sprint showed no signs of stopping.

All the underlying elements were becoming an infinite engine for growth,

Unless Amel herself stopped, her growth would not stop.

‘….’

‘(….)’

When she actually analyzed Amel’s growth,

Everything made sense.

She thought she was an incomprehensible monster, but she was within a comprehensible range.

If she had the conditions, anyone could ‘theoretically’ become a second Amel.

…Really?

At that moment when she doubted the conclusion.

───Zzzzzzz─!!!

Lightning soared.

Amel was over there.

When they went to the place where the lightning struck, there was a giant with only its upper body, resembling a cloud giant, collapsed.

Amel, on the back of the collapsed giant, waved her hand as if she had been waiting.

“You came just in time.”

She got off the giant’s back and tapped the floor.

“There seems to be a core of the tentacle under here. Let’s catch it together.”