A Cliché Multiverse Story

"Alright. That's enough."

Asahi stopped Ais from casting any more Ariel spells. Through Riveria and Ais, he had observed the limitations of the magic system in this world. All magic spells required chants. The spells that required longer chants were usually more potent. It was to be expected since none of them could directly manipulate an element. It was fine for Ais, but Riveria was severely limited by this magic system.

'Can they awaken an element?'

He asked the goddess who created this world.

"No. If I added that, this world's history would be changed, but there is one exception—you. My love can teach them the elements with the Natural Mentor skill. Aimi can't compete with your affinity to elements since she only has the darkness element. You're the most qualified person."

Asahi sighed. 'I'll think about it later.'

Raising the natural mentor skill will take a lot of teaching to upgrade. He just brought it to E-Rank during his lessons with Ais. If he can't do it in time, he'll just summon a Diva for Ais and Riveria if she becomes his.

Riveria saw Asahi concentrating hard on something. She couldn't find anything that required this much focus around here.

'He looks better like this.'

His unruly charm was the opposite of the refined beauty of an elf. She didn't hate elves per se, she just hated how immature and arrogant they could become, especially the cream of the crop of the elven race, High Elves.

[—Riveria: Affection +4]

Asahi blinked his eyes and turned to Riveria. "Mom, it's time for your training."

He was in the mood to bully some high elf.

"Huh?"

Riveria uttered a confused sound, only to be teleported into the worst floor of the dungeon.

58th floor.

The floor where Fomoire, the goat demons, spawned.

"Riveria, I want to see your limits. Show me what a high elf princess can do."

Riveria stared at him, barely keeping her calm. "You want me to kill Fomoire?"

She could do that without a hitch.

"Yes. But there is a catch," Asahi grinned, giving her a bad premonition. "If you can't kill one thousand Fomoire, you'll be punished."

"Punish?" Riveria frowned. "You are not my father."

She wouldn't let anyone else dictate her future. Loki was an exception as her goddess and her benefactor who helped her escape the boundaries of her homeland.

"Don't you want to improve at magic?" Asahi asked, giving a frown of his own. "No matter what others say, your magic spells suck."

His words dealt a massive blow to her pride.

Her complicated expression made Asahi smile. He stepped closer and rubbed her head. "It was just an honest opinion from my standpoint. I admit you're an incredibly strong adventurer and leader. If you wish to conquer the dungeon, you'll need more than that."

Riveria didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his consolation. He was belittling her without being a jerk about it. The warm feeling flooding her senses seized her ability to hate or even dislike him.

[—Riveria: Affection +3]

"I'll give you the power to rival gods."

His offer akin to a devil's temptation reached her ears.

She brushed his hand aside. "I don't need it."

She denied him without a single thought. She earned level 6 through years of hard work. She wouldn't throw away her integrity to become his puppet. His punishment might be related to sex and the likes. She wasn't going to lose her freedom for power.

Ais couldn't understand why Riveria was denying Asahi's help. She had been with Riveria since she came to Orario, so she knew Riveria and her desire to grow stronger. That raised questions in her mind. Why would Riveria not accept Asahi's training?

'Is she afraid of punishment?'

Ais felt a smile tugging at her lips. She could no longer swim thanks to Riveria's punishment. She would be more than happy to help Asahi in returning some pain to Riveria.

Asahi looked at Riveria with a mild disappointment. "Here I was thinking of giving you a chance to contract a Diva."

"Diva?" Riveria's curiosity was piqued. "I never heard of them."

"Have you seen my spells?" Asahi said and summoned Phenex's wings. The blazing wings that always caught Riveria's attention with their exotic looks. "They are not mine but borrowed from a Diva, a being closer to god in nature."

Asahi aroused the scholar inside Riveria. Asahi finally revealed the secret behind his overpowered magic spells.

'Is he talking about spirits?'

The spirits were superior to humans in terms of controlling elements. Even then, she doubted any spirits could rival Asahi's feats in the dungeon.

"Tell me more."

She forgot about the 'punishment' part in the face of a new potential race. Asahi chuckled as he pointed at the Fomoire horde.

"Show me first."

Riveria nodded reluctantly, only to realize she forgot her staff in her room. The staff was made of mithril and holydite. The nine catalysts embedded in the staff amplified the spell's effect and reduced the magic power consumption. It was easily one of the best if not the best weapon in the entire world.

"Also, I wasn't going to force you to do anything. The punishment was just a lie to push you harder."

Riveria didn't know whether he was lying or not. But she chose to trust Asahi on this one. "I forgot my staff."

"Staff, hmm. It's better to do it without staff in my opinion."

It would show her capability without her fancy weapons—her raw strength as a magician.

"I can," she said with a sigh and eyed the Fomoire horde in the distance. "It'll take more effort."

"Well then. The Fomoire horde is far smaller than last time," he said and beckoned Ais.

She approached and looked at him, only to receive a gentle pat on her head. 𝐟𝚛e𝐞𝙬𝗲𝒃𝓷𝒐𝘃e𝒍.c𝑜m

"You won't fight today." 𝒇𝑟e𝙚𝑤𝙚𝐛𝗻𝐨ν𝚎𝘭.c𝐨m

Ais stared at the monsters that could spur her growth, yet she couldn't fight them. With a determined nod, she said, "Okay…"

Asahi summoned his spear and got ready to distract Fomoire for Riveria. A rather good warmup for his next adventure into the 60th floor.

A jade magic circle appeared underneath Riveria as she began her chants.

This was just a prelude to Riveria's nightmare.