Volume 2 Chapter 73 Rie-tan's Transformation (I)
"By the way, did you bring the two of them here just to let me know that they know I'm Omega?"
I asked Kisaragi-san directly.
No point dancing around it.
She wasn't the type to waste time.
"Well, that's part of it, but there's more to it."
Kisaragi-san adjusted her glasses.
It gave off that serious scientist vibe.
I braced myself.
"I brought them here to talk about the possibilities of the 'Trans Potion.'"
"Possibilities?"
My eyebrow twitched.
I didn't like the sound of that.
Not one bit.
"Actually, ojou... drank a 'Trans Potion' from another world."
"Huh...?"
My brain lagged.
Wait.
What?
I gave Kisaragi-san one of the Trans Potions as a sample, sure.
But Rie-tan actually drank one?!
"R-Rie-tan... Is that... true?"
"...Yes."
Rie-tan nodded quietly.
Her expression serious.
It hit me hard.
Kisaragi-san spoke up again, her tone calm.
"The reason ojou drank it was because we found out after creating and analyzing the 'New Trans Potion' that 'you can't learn new skill techniques without side effects.'"
"..."
I swallowed hard.
So that was it...
"I..."
Rie-tan hesitated.
I turned toward her.
"Rie-tan?"
"...I thought I wouldn't be able to fight alongside Takeru-kun if I stayed like this."
"Huh?"
Her words stabbed deep.
I didn't expect that.
"I realized that with my current abilities, I wouldn't be able to explore dungeons with Takeru-kun. After we formed the clan and went into a dungeon, I just kept watching Takeru-kun fight... I always thought that."
"...Rie-tan."
I took a step closer without thinking.
Her expression was a mix of frustration and determination.
"Ah... I wonder what percentage of Takeru-kun's true power is being held back right now?"
She looked up, eyes sharp.
Like she was doing calculations in her head.
"He's probably trying to keep it under wraps so we don't notice. But still, for an F-Class Seeker, that's just way too extraordinary. I bet Takeru-kun doesn't even realize that... Also, he probably thinks this is the level of power an F-Class Seeker should have, but that means the minimum level of a Seeker in Takeru-kun's mind is at this level, right? That just shows how significant the power gap is, even by Takeru-kun's own standards..."
"..."
I was speechless.
Completely blindsided.
I never thought she saw things that way.
With a sad yet slightly frustrated expression, Rie-tan clenched her fists.
"Takeru-kun isn't at fault! I know that! The one to blame is me... my weak self! But that's why... that's why I feel so frustrated about being weak..."
"...Rie-tan."
I took another step forward.
She was always smiling, always calm.
I didn't realize how much this was eating at her.
"It was around that time... when I heard about the 'new Trans Potion issue' from Kanna-san."
* * *
"When I heard that from Kanna-san, I said... 'I want to drink the Trans Potion from another world that Sagawa had.'"
"!"
I turned to Kisaragi-san.
"...Ah. She did say that, for sure. But I was against it."
"Huh? Really!? I thought for sure..."
"Thought for sure...? That I wanted to make ojou drink it?"
Kisaragi-san raised an eyebrow.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
"Well, I mean, if it were Kisaragi-san, maybe..."
"Even I wouldn't think of making ojou drink a Trans Potion from another world."
Her tone was firm.
Dead serious.
"The reason is, of course, that the side effects of the Trans Potion from another world can be severe, both in terms of likelihood and intensity."
"...That makes sense."
I nodded.
That stuff was dangerous, no doubt.
"Yeah. That's why I firmly opposed ojou's suggestion. I opposed it... but ojou was incredibly determined... in the end, I was overwhelmed."
"! Rie-tan went that far..."
I turned back to Rie-tan.
Her gaze didn't waver.
"I... I want to be stronger. I want to take on the unknown dungeons!"
"Unknown... dungeons...?"
"The dungeons beyond the 101st floor. In other words, I'm talking about the 'Abyss,' Takeru-kun."
"...Abyss."
The word hung heavy in the air.
The deepest of the deep.
Currently, there were 120 dungeons worldwide that exceeded 100 floors.
But no one had gone beyond the 100th floor.
The place beyond was called the 'Abyssal Floors area.'
And anything beyond the 101st floor...
That was the 'Abyss.'
Exploration hadn't advanced because...
The monsters there were insane.
A whole order of magnitude stronger than anything else.
It wasn't double or triple the danger.
It was exponential.
And Rie-tan wanted to go there.
"I want to use my Seeker talent to take on the dungeons beyond the 101st floor that no one has seen yet!"
Her voice was steady.
Resolute.
"And for that, I need to become stronger! That possibility just appeared before me. It was... a Trans Potion from another world!"
Her fists trembled as she said it.
Not from fear.
From excitement.
From determination.
I stood there for a moment.
Letting it all sink in.
Rie-tan...
She wasn't just following me.
She was chasing after something herself.
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