Seeing that they had some ideas, Ren Isana immediately smiled and said, "Exactly, that's it. It'll be a bit difficult, though, so do your best!"
Now that they knew what to do, Think Nilvalen and Jibril would likely give it a try. Whether they could actually succeed was another matter entirely.
At that moment, all the Flügel and Think fell into deep thought, pondering the answer Ren had provided. Everyone harbored the desire to break through and become stronger.
But it was simply too difficult. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been stuck for thousands of years. Even if they spent parts of that time slumbering, they were still fundamentally bottlenecked, weren't they?
From the moment of their creation until now, the Flügel hadn't seen much improvement in their strength because they didn't know where their path to advancement lay. Being born with immense power had effectively locked their upper limits.
The only one with a real chance was likely Jibril, being an exceptional, irregular unit. Ren understood their situation perfectly well, but a sliver of a chance was still a chance. After all, trying didn't cost anything.
Watching the group lost in contemplation, Ren didn't disturb them. His figure simply dissipated from Avant Heim, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Natsuki Minamiya.
Natsuki, who was in the middle of her work, jumped in fright at his silent arrival. She glared at him and snapped in extreme displeasure, "You scared me!!"
At the same time, she was deeply shocked. She hadn't sensed even the slightest spatial fluctuation, nor was Ren emitting any aura whatsoever. It was as if he didn't exist at all.
If she hadn't seen him with her own eyes, she wouldn't have believed it. As a spatial mage, for her to completely miss the spatial ripples of his arrival? That was simply absurd.
"Sorry about that, Natsuki-chan. I'll dial it back!" Hearing her complaint, Ren chuckled and adjusted himself to match her spatial dimension.
Once he normalized, Natsuki finally spoke again. "Have you already broken through? Good grief, you actually succeeded. That's incredibly demoralizing!!"
As Ren's nominal teacher, being surpassed by her own student left her feeling quite depressed. Although she had anticipated this the day she took him on, knowing he would break through quickly, she never expected it to be *this* fast.
Reaching Tier 10 in just over a year—hardly anyone would believe it if she told them. Yet, this very scene was unfolding right before her eyes.
"I bet you'll break through quickly too, Natsuki-chan. After all, you've already been thoroughly marinated in spatial laws~!" It sounded a bit crude, but it was the truth. Ren believed that if Natsuki truly wanted to reach Tier 10, she could absolutely do it. She had been studying space from the very beginning, to the point where she could cast many forms of `[Spatial Magic]` without even needing a formula.
Furthermore, Ren could sense that she had already begun condensing the seed of spatial laws. She might only be at Tier 8 right now, but if she wanted to advance, she could likely do so in no time.
He suspected the only reason she hadn't broken through yet was because she was constantly researching spatial laws, aiming to lay a foundation that would take her even further.
In their world, many people had Pandora's backing. Aside from a select few, people like Natsuki who hadn't yet reached their limits were probably being urged by Pandora to achieve breakthroughs on their own.
"Of course. Since you're finished, you should head back. Things here have basically been settled. From now on, ingredients from that world will be continuously shipped to ours, using the world stuck in the middle as a transit station." Natsuki nodded proudly, bringing him up to speed on the situation.
While he was breaking through, Natsuki and the others had finalized negotiations with the other side. The IGO would come here to open up a market, selling their ingredients to this world, which would then be distributed to other worlds.
Moreover, they wanted to introduce their ingredients to this side and cultivate them here. Although Natsuki and her team didn't quite understand why the other side wanted to do this, they discussed it and agreed.
If they could successfully grow those ingredients here, it would be absolutely perfect. That way, they could become self-sufficient, and the other side's system could be popularized without worrying about being held by the throat.
It was safe to say the negotiations between both parties had gone incredibly smoothly. After Natsuki finished explaining everything, Ren nodded. He had a pretty good idea of what Ichiryu was thinking.
It was simple: if someone in their world truly intended to destroy it and wipe out all those ingredients, this side would serve as a fallback. That was exactly why Ichiryu was willing to plant so many ingredients in their world.
In the past, they had no choice but to resort to other methods. But now that there was a hub connecting multiple worlds, Ichiryu no longer had to fear that doomsday scenario. This was undoubtedly great news.
"That's really not bad. So, have you made arrangements for Asuna's world?" Ren asked with a nod. He didn't dwell too much on the affairs of this world; how they managed things was their business.
Ren was only responsible for the big picture. Compared to this world, he was much more focused on Asuna's side. After all, that world was meant to be used as a beginner's village.
"I already sent someone over yesterday. Shizuka Hiratsuka went," Natsuki explained while organizing the documents in her hands. Naturally, she placed great importance on that other world as well.
The higher-ups had even drafted plans overnight. If they waited any longer, development would probably already be underway. One should never doubt their efficiency—anything that could help the new generation grow would be treated with the utmost priority by everyone.
They were incredibly eager for the new generation to mature. Of the first batch from the spiritual energy revival, aside from a very small minority who managed to rise up, most had faded into mediocrity. The second generation had quite a few talents, and the third generation was currently growing, but the fourth generation needed just as much attention.
The appearance of a world that could serve as a beginner's village would undoubtedly allow future generations to develop much better. They could use less time to grow stronger and perhaps even reach greater heights.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, huh? I suspect she tagged along because she wants to learn something too, right?" Hearing that Shizuka Hiratsuka had gone, Ren immediately started poking fun. There had to be plenty of things in that world that attracted her enough to make the trip.
"She's quite eager to improve herself, especially after seeing all of your strengths constantly growing. She's been stuck at a bottleneck for a long time. If she gets surpassed by everyone in your class, she'll lose face," Natsuki said, the corners of her lips curling up slightly at the mention of it.
That woman was simply too lazy. It was only now, with her students on the verge of catching up to her, that she finally felt a sense of urgency. Otherwise, she wouldn't be working this hard.
"I'll head over and take a look. I'm off, Natsuki-chan~!" Ren just smiled at that, offering no further comment. He gave Natsuki a quick wave and prepared to head over.
"Wait. Since you're going, swing by the neighboring world and bring that girl named Erina Nakiri with you. I promised them a few training quotas." Just as Ren was about to leave, Natsuki hurriedly called out to stop him.
Wasn't this just perfect timing? She had originally planned to just toss the girl into an academy in the other world, but since Ren was heading there anyway, she might as well have him take her along. It wasn't like this kid had anything else to do right now.
"Erina? Got it, I'll make a trip!" Ren was a bit surprised but didn't overthink it. If it was her, Natsuki had probably promised their side something.
With that said, Ren's figure vanished from the spot. In a flash, he arrived at Totsuki Academy. Glancing at his surroundings, a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
At this moment, the spatial portal had been relocated to the back mountain of Totsuki Academy. The entire mountain had been leveled into a massive plaza, and a wide road leading outside had been constructed.
Judging by the lingering magical aura, Natsuki must have sent people over to build this. She was planning to completely transform this place into a transit hub. And it seemed they weren't letting Totsuki Academy off the hook either? Instead, they were expanding it?
After briefly sensing the situation, Ren roughly understood what Natsuki and the others were thinking. While the ingredients were great, they still needed chefs to cook them. Therefore, Totsuki Academy was in high demand.
In the future, they could have Totsuki help train chefs, use the ingredients from the Toriko world, and continuously funnel the resulting dishes back to their side to help everyone grow stronger.
That wasn't a bad idea at all. After a brief moment of appreciation, Ren quickly pinpointed Erina's location. Locking onto her coordinates, he vanished and reappeared directly inside her room.
Currently, Erina was lying on her bed in her pajamas, reading a manga. Seeing her like this—especially the deep cleavage exposed by her posture—Ren couldn't help but give two mental thumbs up. *You certainly eat well, Erina.*
"Hello!" Ren suddenly called out to greet her. Erina, completely engrossed in her own world, had no idea someone had entered her room. The abrupt voice made her jump out of her skin.
"Waaaaah!!! Hey, what are you doing?! Why are you suddenly in my room?!" Erina shrieked, her face flushing so red she practically turned into a steaming kettle. She hastily pulled the blanket up to cover herself, staring at Ren in absolute panic.
"Sorry, I didn't know you'd be dressed like that. I just followed your aura here; I had no idea what you were doing. Pack your things and come with me~!" Ren explained with a beaming smile. He then turned and walked toward the door, phasing right through it like a ghost to wait outside.
Right at that moment, Hishoko, having heard her lady's scream, was preparing to rush in. But before she could even open the door, she saw Ren phase right through the solid wood. The sight nearly gave her a heart attack.
"A ghost!!!" Hishoko screamed at the top of her lungs. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor, staring at Ren with eyes full of terror. In her mind, only a ghost could walk through walls like that. It would be weirder if she *wasn't* terrified!
Power Stones, reviews, and comments— really helps a lot
Want to read ahead? Get access to 50+ extra chapters on my Patreon:
patreon.com/Aragai_Sama