The white-haired girl chomped down on the bone-in meat, gobbling it up.
Once the meat vanished from the plate, Fiss waved her hand three times.
“Thank you for the meal.”
I learned that this was the custom after meals in this world after I started training her.
Fiss herself didn’t seem to know what it meant, though.
『So, tell me already. What’s your new Attribute, Fiss?』
“Okay, I’ll show you now.”
Fiss stood up and moved in front of a large rock, drawing back her fist.
『Ah, hey! You forgot your gauntlets!』
I used Telepathy, realizing what she was about to do.
She had taken off her armored gauntlets because they made it hard to hold a fork while eating.
Even though her Level had increased, the large rock had also absorbed Mana from the Ferocious Beast Zone and become more resilient. If she punched it with her bare hand, she might injure herself instead.
“It’s fine.”
But Fiss curtly refused and then filled her entire body with Mana.
And when that Mana was consumed, the pressure I felt from Fiss increased several times over.
“──Master Boost, yaah!”
Her fist was unleashed, and a deafening roar echoed.
The large rock caved in, cracks ran through it, and it crumbled into small fragments.
“…That hurt a little.”
As she said, Fiss’s fist, which had shattered the large rock, was slightly red.
But it wasn’t a blood-tinged red.
It was the kind of redness that comes from swelling, like when you clap your hands too hard.
Even after that attack, there wasn’t a single scratch on her skin.
『She’s gotten ridiculously strong…』
Even taking into account that she had reached Level 49 by defeating Dire Beasts, the power of her punches and the strength of her body were astonishing.
It shouldn’t have been possible before.
『Is that the power of the Third Canon?』
“Yes, this is the Iron Man Attribute. A high-level Attribute that heavily focuses on enhancing my Body.”
Fiss said, her Mana clearly increased from yesterday.
The increase in total Mana was also a benefit of the Arcana Rank increase.
『Has becoming an Iron Man given you any new abilities?』
“…Not really. The power of enhancement has increased, but I still can’t interfere with things outside of myself.”
『I see… Maybe it’s because it’s specialized in enhancement that you’ve become so strong.』
Fiss’s base Power was just under 200.
And judging by the hardness and damage to the large rock, it was over 300 after the enhancement. That’s a value comparable to a standard Dire Beast.
That alone was amazing, but Fiss had only done an overall enhancement.
If she concentrated the enhancement on her arms or legs, she could unleash even more powerful blows.
『Then shall we go hunt our next prey?』
“Yes.”
We started moving towards the giant mountain where the Feral Beasts were.
『Still, I never expected Fiss to grow this fast. I was prepared to not have enough time even if we defeated all the Feral Beasts.』
“It’s thanks to you for making such a strong weapon. And for helping me with magic.”
『All I did was that much, and Fiss did almost all the fighting herself. That’s why we’re close to reaching our goal in such a short time.』
My promise with Fiss was to train her until she was equivalent to an Advanced Adventurer.
Now that she had reached the Third Canon, all that was left was to raise her Level to 50 or higher to achieve that goal.
“Come to think of it, an Advanced Adventurer’s Level is 50 or higher, right?”
『Yeah. At this rate, we might head to town once we defeat Hanji.』
No matter how strong Fiss had become, it would be difficult for her to get through the rugged mine alone.
I could manage with Forest Shackles and Air Jump, but it was full of steep cliffs and precipices, and even Demon Beasts appeared.
“…About that, it’s okay if you take me to town after we defeat all the Feral Beasts. That would be easier for Kouya, right?”
Once we were done with the mine, I was planning to head northeast.
Beyond the Scorching Zone was an unexplored land, and from there, I would enter the river again and move.
It was true that it would be more efficient to hunt all the Feral Beasts and then head north to the town, rather than returning to town once, but…
『I’d be grateful, but it’ll still take quite a while, you know? Fiss doesn’t want to stay in a place like this forever, does she?』
“I do want to go home soon… but that’s my problem. You’ve helped me a lot so far, and it’s not like I have anyone waiting for me in town.”
…Come to think of it, Fiss was all alone in the world.
『Then I’ll take you up on that offer.』
“Okay. It’s fine after we defeat three Feral Beasts.”
『Alright! …Wait, what?』
Huh? Doesn’t the number not add up?
There were four Feral Beasts in the mine, and we had already defeated the Red Lizard and the Queen Ant… wait, what!?
“(I didn’t tell her I defeated the Queen Ant!)”
I had been with her for a while, so I thought I had told her.
I kept it a secret when we first met because I was going to send her back to town soon anyway… but now that she knows I defeated the Flame Sea, it’s too late.
It’s not like I was hiding my power during training either… okay.
『Ah, Fiss, actually…』
“?”
『The Queen Ant… “Steel Castle,” right? I already defeated that Feral Beast.』
“What do you mean…?”
『The day Fiss got caught in the collapse, I was fighting “Steel Castle.”』
I briefly explained the events of that day, how I had found the Queen Ant’s nest while digging a hole in the Ferocious Beast Zone.
“So, that collapse was also…”
『…Sorry, it was probably because of my fight.』
“No, thank you. If that hadn’t happened, I would have been caught and killed by the Demon Beasts.”
I wondered if she was trying to be considerate, but I couldn’t tell her true intentions with her usual expressionless face.
And so, we continued to advance through the Ferocious Beast Zone.
『Oh, and the material of the axe Fiss is using is from “Steel Castle.”』
“Eh?”
It’s another story how Fiss’s poker face crumbled at those words.