“My brother’s right, Miss Pereira. First, try using magic. The operating system of your magical power might have changed to a different format due to the new power entering.”

Hearing the brothers’ suggestion, Natalie let out an “Ah!” It was a reasonable opinion.

There was no way she had suddenly lost the ability to use magic.

What the demon lord wanted was to help her grow into an existence worthy of him, not to regress her into a powerless, incompetent being.

That wasn’t the only basis for Natalie’s confidence.

The enormously increased magical power despite the disappearance of the circles. And the dozens of level-up messages cluttering her vision were proof of that.

Besides, though the circles had disappeared, that space wasn’t completely empty.

A circle referred to a solid ring of magical power formed near the heart. In Natalie’s case, who hadn’t fully entered the seventh circle yet, she had six complete rings with the seventh nearly completed.

But now, though all the circles surrounding her heart had disappeared, she felt as if an enormous amount of magical power had condensed to firmly wrap around her heart instead.

Natalie nodded and spoke in a confident tone.

“Then I’ll try using magic. Please step back from me just in case.”

At her words, the team members retreated hesitantly.

Natalie decided to try flight magic first. She had considered testing flame magic, which she used frequently, but worried about creating a dangerous situation if she failed to control its power.

And her flight attempt succeeded spectacularly.

The moment she envisioned the direction and height she wanted to fly, her body soared into the air without her even moving her lips.

“Gasp!”

“My goodness! Was she always this skilled at flying?”

Watching Natalie soar high into the sky in an instant, the team members’ jaws dropped in unison.

“Wow! My goodness! Can it really be like this?”

Exclamations naturally escaped Natalie’s lips as she shot higher than the clouds.

She hadn’t even chanted a spell for flight magic, let alone stomped her foot. She merely thought, ‘I should fly over there.’ Yet in the blink of an eye, she reached the height she wanted. Moreover, she moved faster and more skillfully than any bird, with precise movements.

Excited, Natalie tried changing positions in the air and varying her flying speed. Whatever she intended happened instantly, with results more skillful than expected. A smile never left her face as she moved quickly and freely between the wind and clouds.

Of course, what made her smile wasn’t just relief at being able to use magic or satisfaction with her skills. The countless messages that kept updating while she performed her elaborate air show also contributed significantly to her contentment.

〈Skill ‘Free Flight Lv.38’ has leveled up.〉

〈Skill ‘Free Flight Lv.39’ has leveled up.〉

〈Skill ‘Free Flight’ has reached level 40, greatly reducing magical power consumption.〉

〈Skill ‘Hovering Lv.24’ has leveled up.〉

〈Skill ‘Hovering’ has reached level 25, greatly reducing magical power consumption.〉

The Free Flight skill, which had barely reached double digits the last time she checked, had now reached level 40.

The same was true for the recently acquired Hovering skill. Thanks to reaching level 25 without her even realizing it, Natalie’s movements—flying at high speed, quickly stopping to hover in midair, then changing direction and flying again—resembled those of a hummingbird.

Moreover, either her magical power had increased so much or the magic consumed by flying had decreased so drastically that she couldn’t even feel her magical power diminishing.

After repeating this for some time, Natalie descended to the ground at high speed, just as she had first shot upward. The team members’ mouths remained wide open.

She smiled confidently at them and said:

“Now I’ll try it on all of you! Everyone prepare yourselves! Here I go!”

She couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice. Natalie stretched her hand toward the team members, who still couldn’t shake off their dumbfounded expressions despite her warning. Immediately, their bodies shot into the air. Just as quickly as Natalie had earlier.

This time, exclamations poured from the team members’ mouths.

“Gasp!”

“Eeeek!”

“Aack!”

In reality, these were sounds closer to shock, surprise, or screams rather than exclamations.

Natalie made the team members float in the air like Superman and even spun them rapidly. She didn’t need to chant any spells. As soon as she decided what to do, the magical power extending from her hands bound the team members like marionette strings, making them move according to her intentions.

Again, messages about acquiring new skills and numerous level-up notifications flashed before her eyes.

〈Derived skill ‘Levitation’ acquired.〉

〈Skill ‘Levitation Lv.1’ has leveled up.〉

〈Skill ‘Levitation Lv.2’ has leveled up.〉

〈Skill ‘Levitation Lv.3’ has leveled up.〉

…

〈Skill ‘Levitation Lv.15’ has leveled up.〉

What was meant to be a brief demonstration only stopped when the new skill reached level 15. Natalie had considered, ‘Since I’ve already started, should I get the level to 20?’ but desperate cries came from various points in the air.

“E-enough! Miss, that’s enough now!”

“We’ve definitely confirmed you can use magic well! You can let us down now!”

“Miss! Me first! Urk, my stomach is churning, urgh!”

Seeing Muki cover his mouth as if about to vomit, Natalie immediately returned the team members to the ground.

“Urgh, bleeeeegh!”

As soon as he touched the ground, Muki emptied all the food he had eaten onto the floor, identifying each type. Looking at him, Natalie blamed herself. She had been too excited by the level-up messages flashing before her eyes to properly check the team members’ conditions.

“I’m sorry. I must have used too much force.”

“No, it’s just that this is our first experience with this, so our bodies were momentarily shocked.”

Muki shook his head while hastily wiping his soiled mouth. The other team members also added comments while rubbing their chests as if their stomachs were churning.

“It’s not excessive, it’s incredible. It seems we’ll need to train harder if we’re going to fight alongside you in the future, Miss.”

“With this level of ability, you could take on the demon lord even if he appeared right now.”

The team members looked pleased with her growth but also strangely anxious. The cause of this anxiety was revealed in Bertel’s concerned advice.

“Since it’s power shared by the demon lord, we can’t just be happy about it. Please be careful when you actually face him, as we don’t know how that power might be used.”

Natalie, who had been beaming, returned to a serious expression and nodded.

She had to agree, having had similar thoughts when she was instantly subdued by the demon lord the previous night.

“I will.”

Silently observing the situation, McClain stepped forward.

With a strangely rigid face, he looked around at the team members and instructed:

“Then it seems it’s time to return to the imperial capital. Prepare to depart.”

※※※

Natalie wanted to meet with McClain for a detailed discussion before departing for the imperial capital.

About her suddenly increased level, the numerous new skills that had appeared, and the magical power system that had changed significantly from before.

However, strangely, meeting him proved difficult.

It wasn’t because he had too much to prepare or because time was too tight. He had already finished his tasks by the time he instructed the team members to prepare for departure.

McClain was busy for a different reason. Whenever Natalie tried to meet him, he was either sparring with someone or intensely focused on solitary training.

Even now, the McClain before Natalie’s eyes was swinging his sword with sweat-soaked hair.

Moreover, he looked so tense, as if about to enter an arena, and extremely urgent that it was difficult to even call his name casually.

But Natalie’s mind was equally urgent. After hesitating briefly, she finally called out to him, stopping his training.

“Um, Sir Lindhart. I have something I’d like to discuss…”

Normally, he would have immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed over as soon as she approached. But this time something was different. Though he clearly sensed her presence, he pretended not to notice and continued training. Even when she called out to him after waiting impatiently, he gestured for her to wait a moment.

In the end, she was able to talk with him, but not for long.

Even that was just a brief exchange of questions and answers.

“So what level have you reached now?”

“My level? I think I’ll soon pass 90, but that’s not what’s important…”

“Then you’ll soon receive the final quest.”

“Final quest…?”

When she asked what he meant, not immediately understanding, a heavy answer came back.

“Defeating the demon lord.”

“Ah…”

Natalie’s heart grew heavy too. She wondered if this was why he was suddenly training so relentlessly without rest.

Seeing her expression darken, McClain continued in a slightly softer voice.

“You should now be able to use all the items we’ve collected so far, so from now on, you’ll need to get accustomed to using them as well.”

“Ah, that’s right. I should practice with each one.”

“Time is tight, so whatever you do, you’ll need to hurry. After we arrive at the imperial capital, report the situation to the Emperor, and then prepare to depart again, there won’t be much time.”