Ren Isana raised his hand, revealing a miniature Magic Circle glowing faintly on his palm. It looked incredibly discreet, but it was actually a spell Ren had just cast.
"This way, no one will notice. You all should hurry up and break through to Tier 4; I'll teach you these tricks then," Ren said, lowering his hand.
The group was speechless. So that was it. Many of them had already learned [Perception Magic], but whenever they used it, a terrifyingly bright half-meter Magic Circle would appear under their feet.
Because of that, they rarely used the spell. Ren, however, had shrunk the Magic Circle down to a size that made it completely undetectable.
"You can actually shrink it that much? That's amazing." The girls felt their horizons broaden and resolved to speed up their breakthroughs. A trick like that was just too convenient.
Yukino Yukinoshita thoughtfully asked, "With my talent, do you think I could achieve some of those Tier 4 feats early?"
With [Body Control], she could dominate the power within her body. Even though she wasn't Tier 4 yet, she felt like she might be able to pull it off.
"You haven't tried?" Ren looked at Yukino with a weird expression. *Girl, did I beat you stupid back then? With your talent, how could you not do it if you just tried?*
He really wanted to ask if her brain had broken after he punched her twice back then. She actually never attempted it?
Faced with Ren's questioning, Yukino's composure cracked. She stammered, not knowing how to answer, because she genuinely hadn't tried.
"That's hilarious. With your talent to dominate magic power, wouldn't doing this be a walk in the park? You can already transfer pain to other parts of your body, so dominating your magic power to shrink a spell's output should be child's play, right? Don't tell me you actually thought you had to reach Tier 4 to do it?" Ren's mouth was as venomous as ever.
He roasted Yukino without mercy, almost making her die of anger. Yukino glared at him viciously, then quickened her pace, refusing to speak to this guy anymore.
The others couldn't help but smirk. Yukino was usually quite calm, but whenever she talked to Ren, that calmness vanished completely.
"I'm back." As they walked, Megumi Kato seamlessly slipped back into the group. Asuna turned to her and asked, "Are you sure?"
Megumi nodded, speaking in her usual slow tone. "I'm sure. We are indeed being targeted, and they're still following us. But... they're all pretty weak."
She had originally wanted to go over and knock them all out, but decided against it. They were too weak. If she wanted to, she could have ended them right then and there.
"Don't worry about those guys, they're just annoying. I'll just set up an Array at the base later," Ren said dismissively. They were just a bunch of small fry.
Asuna nodded in agreement. "Let's do as you say, otherwise we'll have to set up night watches."
Deep down, Asuna felt a lingering worry. This might be the first batch, but it definitely wouldn't be the last. They were bound to encounter more trouble here.
And this was while they were still relatively unknown. Once their reputation spread, these thugs would probably hide at the mere sight of them. Thinking of this, Asuna made a firm decision.
She needed to focus on improving herself and growing stronger. After all, in this world, no one knew what kind of enemies they would face in the future.
The group didn't dwell on the matter. If the stalkers wanted to follow, let them. Led by Hestia, they soon arrived at an old bookstore.
Seeing the shop, Ren quickened his pace, walked up to the owner, and started negotiating for a discount. He wanted to buy the entire store's inventory.
This sudden windfall thrilled the owner. After a brief hesitation, he offered a very fair price—after all, if he couldn't sell these books soon, he'd go out of business anyway.
Hearing the price, Ren agreed immediately. "Alright, find some people to pack everything up and deliver it to the Hestia Familia in the Eastern District."
Ren gave him the address. It would be cash on delivery; he would only pay once all the books arrived safely. The owner eagerly agreed and hurriedly called for help to pack up the store.
"You're done buying just like that?" Hestia was dumbfounded by Ren's shopping style. Did it have to be that simple?
It was over just like that?
"What else did you expect? Come on, let's go. He'll deliver it to our door. Next, we need to buy some materials." Ren shrugged and walked out without looking back.
Hestia hurriedly followed. Her horizons had certainly been broadened today. So this was how rich people shopped?
It was ridiculous. She had lived for hundreds of millions of years and had never seen anyone shop like Ren.
If Ren knew what she was thinking, he would definitely roast her. *Sure, you're hundreds of millions of years old, but you spent all that time as a shut-in in the Heaven Realm. It'd be a miracle if you had seen it!*
After buying the books, Ren and the group headed straight to Babel Tower. He purchased the necessary materials at the Guild's shop, then went to meet up with the rest of his classmates.
The other students had also finished their shopping, adding another fleet of delivery carts to their return procession.
They had been busy all morning. By the time they returned to the Familia manor, it was already noon. The newly hired cooks had also arrived. After Ren had them settle in, he immediately got to work.
Lunch was prepared by the cooks. With these new additions, the Hestia Familia finally felt like a proper, lively Familia. Otherwise, with just their small group, it would have been far too desolate.
After eating and drinking their fill, Ren had his classmates help process the materials. Then, he began tinkering, preparing to set up the Array Magic for the Familia's base.
He had already figured out the layout while buying the materials. He only knew a few Array Magics, but by combining them with his existing knowledge...
Ren had integrated them to create a brand-new Array Magic—one that combined a Meditation Array, a [Spatial Barrier], and a [Protection Magic] barrier.
The materials for this endeavor cost Ren nearly 5 million Valis. It was a hefty investment, but for the sake of everyone's safety and peace of mind, it was necessary.
This was the first time the classmates realized Ren had this skill up his sleeve. It was truly incredible. Sora, in particular, found out from Megumi Kato that Ren had long since set up a Meditation Array at their residence back home, which made her green with envy.
"When we get back, Ren, you absolutely have to come to my house and set one up in my room! Please!" Sora finally understood why Asuna and the others were improving their magic so rapidly.
*You guys are basically cheating! Why didn't you tell us you had something so good earlier?* She could easily afford the cost of setting up an Array. It wasn't like she lacked the money!
"You never asked. I thought you all had one," Ren looked at Sora weirdly, acting as if it was strange that she didn't.
This made Sora roll her eyes wildly. She couldn't help but complain, "I never thought about hiring someone to set one up at home! I always assumed those things were only found in schools or specialized meditation centers."
It could only be blamed on her lack of experience. But now that her eyes were opened, she wasn't the only one tempted—the rest of the class was practically drooling over the idea.
After all, everyone knew how to meditate instead of sleeping now. Having an Array to assist them would be an unimaginable boost to their progress.
"Alright, we'll talk about that when we get back. For now, let's get this Array set up. I'll prepare the materials first, and later, I'll draw the lines while you guys fill them in," Ren said, immediately springing into action.
Setting up such a massive Array by himself would definitely take more than an afternoon, which was why Ren enlisted everyone's help.
He only needed to establish the key nodes and draw the Array's outline; the others just had to fill the grooves with the prepared materials.
Ren brought out several large buckets and slowly began mixing the materials needed for the Array. Covering all three buildings required a substantial amount of resources.
Just mixing the materials took Ren nearly two hours. Once that was done, he grabbed a thick wooden stick without resting and began drawing the Array across the Familia grounds.
Under Ren's direction, the others carefully filled the grooves he carved with the stick. Everyone pitched in—Ren drawing in the front, and the rest meticulously filling in the back.
A few students were even assigned to keep watch, ensuring no one accidentally stepped on the materials and ruined the Array.
Since everyone knew the Array's purpose, they cooperated flawlessly. With their combined efforts, Ren slowly brought the massive Array to life.
Meanwhile, in a large room on the third floor of the central building, Natsuki Minamiya, Yor Forger, and Shizuka Hiratsuka sat by the window, sipping tea and watching Ren work below.
Seeing the Array Ren was painstakingly drawing, Natsuki was genuinely astounded. She slowly began to notice the intricacies. "This is absurd. I just taught him the [Spatial Barrier] yesterday, and he's already using it today? And the other two embedded magics are ones he learned on his own?"
The nesting technique commonly used by Array Masters had been perfectly executed by Ren, embedding several Arrays together to produce multiple effects.
She had only taught him that [Spatial Barrier] yesterday, yet he was already applying it. It was simply too heaven-defying.
"Jin-sensei taught him a bit. That protection barrier is what he taught him. As for the meditation one... he probably learned it himself by looking at the one in the classroom," Shizuka Hiratsuka said, already numb to it all.
No matter what bizarre things Ren pulled off, she wouldn't be surprised anymore. She'd just accept it as a matter of course. After all, this kid's learning ability was truly terrifying.
"It seems our world is going to produce a truly remarkable figure," Natsuki was completely won over by Ren's talent. She was growing increasingly excited to see what kind of things Ren would bring back to their world.
At the same time, she made a firm resolution: she had to protect this kid at all costs. She couldn't let any accidents befall him. Thinking of this, she turned to Yor. "Yor, please keep a close eye on this kid from now on. Don't let anything happen to him."
Hearing Natsuki's words, Yor nodded. She looked down at Ren with a solemn expression and promised, "Rest assured, Minamiya-sensei. I know what to do. As long as I'm here, no one will harm a single hair on Ren's head!"
If the gods of this world really dared to make a move on Ren, they wouldn't mind causing a massive uproar and calling for backup from home. When that time came, their world might just gain a few more God Slayers!
The two teachers reached a silent agreement: no matter what, Ren had to be protected. As long as he could grow, he would absolutely become a pillar of their world!
Ren was completely unaware of the conversation happening above. He wasn't paying attention to Natsuki; his entire focus was on drawing the Array.
The sky gradually darkened, but their work was far from over. For several hours, Ren maintained a high level of concentration, meticulously perfecting every detail of the Array.
The other students followed him without a single complaint, filling in the materials bit by bit until Ren finally drew the last stroke and stopped.
The students responsible for filling the materials quickly finished the final section. With everything in place, Ren announced, "Alright, everyone head inside for now."
Hearing Ren's instructions, the group hurriedly nodded, grabbed their tools, and evacuated the area. They gathered together, looking at Ren with curious eyes.
This was the first time they had experienced something like this, so they were eager to see what would happen next. The Array was complete, and because it was dark, the materials they had filled in were now emitting a faint, eerie silver glow.
Ren took out the Magic Stone he had specifically bought to serve as the core from his Spatial Ring. It was the size of a fist. If this thing were sold back in their world, the price would skyrocket.
But in this world, it was incredibly cheap. After all, the Dungeon produced a massive amount of Magic Stones every day. If you weren't afraid of danger, you could even go into the Dungeon and pick them up off the ground.
However, Ren believed that it wouldn't be long before the Dungeon in their world opened to the public, and the price of Magic Stones there would plummet to be just as dirt cheap as here, given the sheer volume of output.
Ren took the Magic Stone and walked over to a spot marked by a wooden stick. A small pit had been left here, lined with Array materials.
With his perception fully unleashed, Ren used a bird's-eye view to inspect the entire Array. Finding no issues, he began injecting Magic Power into the Magic Stone in his hand.
As Ren's Magic Power flowed in, the Magic Stone activated, emitting a dark purple glow—its natural color. The activated Magic Stone looked like a purple luminous pearl in Ren's hand, exceptionally dazzling in the dim environment.
Without hesitation, Ren tossed the Magic Stone into the prepared pit. The moment it landed, the materials ignited like gunpowder.
Light erupted from the pit and rapidly spread across the entire base. The silver materials instantly turned purple, finally forming a colossal Array.
If someone were looking down from the sky, they would see the entire Hestia Familia manor enveloped by a massive Magic Circle.
Ren had successfully activated the Array he spent the whole afternoon building. The entire Hestia Familia base seemed to be bathed in a purple glow.
With the Array activated, Ren began to anchor it, fusing it completely with the land. The Magic Power within him poured endlessly into the ground.
This massive influx of Magic Power made the Array shine even brighter, but the sight left Natsuki Minamiya dumbfounded. *Does Ren really have that much Magic Power?!*
She had originally planned to step in and help, knowing full well that anchoring an Array of this scale required a colossal amount of Magic Power. In her eyes, Ren shouldn't have had enough. Yet, in the blink of an eye, reality slapped her right in the face!