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I decided not to give in to regret. My average status had increased by 172, which meant that my total stats were now 1,200 higher. Yet, I couldn’t pinpoint the reason. It might have been attributed to Demigods’ rapid growth rate, but something told me that wasn’t it.

As such, I resolved to try a different approach.

“OK, GODGLE.”

{What is it?}
{So that’s how this works.}
{Well, yeah. You can usually contact me whenever you want. If God is available, God will speak with you.}
{Hearing you speak in the first person is a bit unsettling, but whatever. I have a question. When the heroes get stronger, does my status increase as well?}
{That’s right. Did God forget to mention that?}

God said, trying to suppress his laughter. His voice sounding like an old man’s was even more annoying.

{You just realized you hadn’t mentioned it, didn’t you?}
{Did you get the Mind Reading skill?}
{Will you give it to me?}
{No. And even if God did, you wouldn’t be able to read God’s thoughts.}

I had suspected as much. This just highlighted the vast gap between a God and a Demigod.

{I don’t need Mind Reading. Instead, give me a skill that helps me control my strength.}
{You’re already doing that without a skill. If you weren’t, you’d be destroying doors each time you touched them and killing people just by bumping into them, Fi.}

I had to admit, God was right. I’d never noticed anything unusual in my day-to-day life, and I certainly hadn’t killed anyone. The worst I had done was go a bit overboard during combat.

{Fi, God thinks you can’t control your strength during fights because you’re still not accustomed to it.}
{That makes sense. I guess I should experiment more.}
{You will only feel like your upper limit has slightly lifted if your status increases because it is already so high. With this in mind, you only need to learn to hold back once, as the feeling will remain the same.}
{In that case, I’ll try it.}
{Do your best… Though you might not have to. Just do it in moderation.}

As God said this, I heard a sound akin to a phone call disconnecting. I was beginning to view God as a fascinating old man. The information he had provided was quite valuable.

Given that I became stronger alongside the heroes, I could speculate that my average status might eventually reach between 4,000 to 5,000. I wondered if such power was necessary in this world where legendary heroes only averaged a status of 250.

Moreover, I also possessed the Hero skill, which could increase my status. If I wanted, I could easily boost my true status by about ten times for a brief period. This also meant that if Ichinari tried his best, he could perhaps reach an average status of 2,500.

If he combined that with effective skill usage, he might even reach 5,000, but he could only sustain that for about ten seconds. That was the limit of the human body. And I was certain that Ichinari would be utterly exhausted after such exertion.

Though having one’s status increase meant that one was less likely to die, so it was a good thing. I also figured it wouldn’t be wise to change my weapon while I remained in this town.

With my schedule now clear, I decided to stay at the Collegium to gather more information.

◇◇◇

By gathering information, I meant using the Spy skill to stay hidden in the Collegium’s rest area. The Spy skill was incredibly useful; even if someone passed by, they wouldn’t notice me, making it perfect for eavesdropping.

Today, for instance, I learned about slaves. It was a practice I suspected existed but hadn’t confirmed until now. Some Adventurers purchased them to carry baggage or used them as human shields.

The presence of chains around the necks, wrists, and ankles of slaves made bracelets unpopular in this world.

Those identified as slaves had a Slave Spell cast on them, which prevented them from harming their masters directly or indirectly. For example, in an indirect manner, a slave couldn’t intentionally show contempt for their masters.

In other words, it functioned similarly to my Contract skill.

There were many other nuances, but most details didn’t surface in the conversation. The fact that discussions about slaves occurred openly in public settings like this surprised me, and I began to question if this was the norm.

One could purchase a low-quality slave for a large silver coin, while a high-quality slave could cost up to a large gold coin. It seemed unwise to purchase a cheap slave.

I overheard a conversation where the main issue discussed was the failure of a cheap slave after purchase. When my two former classmates heard this, they frowned—a typical reaction, I thought to myself. Yet, it was admirable that they managed not to express their disapproval openly.

Afterward, they approached the reception, deep in thought, and I moved to a position where I could hear their discussion.

“What should we do?”
“You mentioned this would bring us closer to receiving permission, but how close exactly?”

Fujiwara questioned the receptionist while Fumitsuki stood by with a contemplative look.
(Yes, yes. It’s important to find that out,) I thought.

The receptionist was probably around the same age as Fujiwara and Fumitsuki, or slightly older. I guessed she was 17, but Fujiwara still spoke to her politely. I admired his respectful demeanor, especially considering how some people treat service workers.

“It seems the Collegium Duchesse has also taken an interest in you. Once you complete this request, you will be asked to undertake a monster-slaying task, after which you will receive Duchesse’s approval,” the receptionist explained.

“I guess that’s way better than just doing requests randomly, right?” Fujiwara responded.
“You’re right. Besides, if we don’t learn to handle monster-slaying tasks, we’ll have trouble later on,” Fumitsuki added.
“Got it. We’ll accept that request.”

“Thank you very much. However, please don’t overexert yourselves. If you feel it’s too dangerous, come back. It won’t change how the Duchesse views you,” the receptionist advised.

Whoa, they accepted it, I thought.

I hadn’t known that the head of the Collegium had taken an interest in them. It seemed that as long as they did the bare minimum and survived, they’d receive the permit.

Originally, failing would lower a person’s evaluation at the Collegium, making advancement difficult. However, since the head of the Collegium alone had the authority to grant permission to cross the border, they had no reason to fear; his opinion of them wouldn’t change.

This ensured that taking excessive risks and dying was now completely out of the question.

“In this case, Yume, I’ll lead and you follow after me.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best not to drag you down.”
“I’ll also signal if we need to run away.”

After exiting the town, the two of them checked around to ensure no one was watching before they began running. Almost immediately, their presence vanished. In Fujiwara’s case, he was so adept that even I was close to losing sight of him and completely losing track of his presence.