And so, for one reason or another, I wound up receiving training from Leona.

… Actually, thinking about it more calmly, why was I just believing what Leona said?

Well, I can still believe in the Space-Time God Karinisoto.

Damn, my head's all confused! … It's not one of Leona's illusions, right?

I tried ringing the Divine Alarm Clock just in case there was any mental contamination as it should have been able to dispel it, but my perception didn't change. It really didn't seem like my consciousness was tampered with. Gah.

"Sigh… Leona-san…

"

And Soto was sighing by the window like a love-stricken girl.

Her expression clearly said Status Abnormality: Love, but the alarm clock's effect didn't work on her either.

"… Karinisoto Shishido, no, Shishido Karinisoto?

"

My daughter was combining her own name with Leona's last name like a teenager in the throes of puberty.

"Wait a minute, Soto. Are you thinking of getting married? I won't allow it.

"

"Huh—-? I-it's not like that, Papa! I was thinking Leona Masuda Labriheart might be nice too!

"

"I'd rather not become one of Leona's relatives… wait, you could say that Niku is already related to Leona… That's right, Niku would cry, right?

"

"If I made Niku Onee-chan… Master cry, I'd be a terrible Dungeon Core… hafuu.

"

Not good, my daughter has fallen for a bad woman.

What should a father do at times like this…!?

Unable to the answer, the time for the first training session with Leona arrived.

We were alone in the Arena Area. At the very least, Rokuko was monitoring through the dungeon function, so we could be pulled out immediately in case anything happened.

"If you become strong enough to touch me with one hand, I'll resolve it.

"

"… What are you talking about, Leona?

"

"I'm talking about Soto-chan. I don't feel bad about it, but personally, I'm a bit hesitant to get involved with my grandchild's partner.

"

Leona, I'm honestly surprised that you have such sensibilities.

"It would make the family tree quite complicated. I might prefer things to be messy as the Chaos God, but right now I'm Hero Leona. I'm the teacher of Hero Kehma… Ah, should we start with cutting a large rock? It's a classic for heroes.

"

"Are you going to shield your disciple and self-destruct?

"

"Ah, I prefer masters who betray their disciples and become the enemy in the end. I don't dislike the development where the master turns against you.

"

While saying that, Leona cast Super Alchemy and created a large rock in the arena.

"Try cutting this. Super Alchemy, Super Alchemy. Here, use this sword. It's just an ordinary iron sword.

"

"… You want me to cut the rock? With this?

"

As she said, it was just an ordinary iron sword without any peculiarities. I didn't feel any strange magical power either.

"Since this is special training for Super Transformation, you just need to transform into someone who can cut rocks, right?

"

"Oh, that's right. Just transform into someone who can cut rocks.

"

"Also, you can transform into the peak of that person's abilities, right? If you know about them, of course. Oh, by the way, don't try to become a hero. Hero skills can't be replicated by Super Transformation so you won't be able to reproduce them completely.

"

In that case, it would be someone like Haku-san's Four Heavenly Kings or the Imperial Knight Captain Sally-san. I also thought of the Demonland's Dungeon Core, Aidi, but that would likely require using her own magic sword.

I used Super Transformation to turn into Sally-san.

"Oh, how cute. You're one of Haku-chan's kids.

"

"Well, I thought that if it's Sally-san, I might be able to cut the rock.

"

"That's right. Sally-chan can cut it. Give it a try.

"

I took a stance with the sword and tried to cut the rock—kachiing! The sword bounced off, slipping out of my grip and flying away. My hand tingled with numbness.

"… I can't cut it?

"

"Well, you lack the technique. You should have enough strength, so it's just that Kehma-san's skills are really bad. But it's fine if the person you transform into can brute force it with their strength.

"

"I see… That makes sense.

"

It's a simple story. To cut a rock, you need a hundred points. Sally-san has more than a hundred points in strength and technique combined, but I don't have enough technique to exceed the hundred point requirement.

On the other hand, if I just become a being that surpassed a hundred points with just strength, I wouldn't need technique. Then, if I could use technique on top of that, I could even overwhelm the original person.

"Choose your transformations wisely. Since you can add techniques, a hero with Super Transformation could theoretically become the strongest.

"

"So you actually can be helpful.

"

"Nah, I was just saying what it'd be like for me. Also, use your skills. If you're Sally-chan… Super Appraisal… yeah, you should be able to cut the rock with Slash or something.

"

Oh, woops. I'd forgotten skills were a thing. With Super Transformation Lv. 7, I could use the skills of the person I transformed into.

I picked up the iron sword and faced the rock again.

"Slash—Whoa!

"

My body moved on its own with the skill. The iron sword swung down and sliced through the rock.

… Martial skills are amazing.

"Since skills make the appropriate movement for you, you can do this much if your body is strong enough. However, since their movements are almost fixed, they provide a large opening and experts could lose if they used one against each other… It's not good against opponents like the Demon King or Haku-chan.

"

Of course, that also means it's not good against Leona.

… So I have to learn to cut rocks without relying on martial skills. I've got a long road ahead of me.

"I'll create a hundred rocks for you to cut. You can use skills for half of them—Super Alchemy, Super Alchemy…

"

"… And what will you be doing?

"

"I'll be reading a book at the church. Call me when you're done. Teleport.

"

Leona swiftly left the dungeon… Well, I'm somewhat relieved that she seems to be providing me with ordinary training, but also not really.

"Keima, Soto is heading to the church. Should I stop her?

"

"… Yeah, do everything you can, Rokuko! Have Niku give her orders, okay!?

"

Will Soto fall first or will I complete Leona's training first… Isn't this bet way too unfavorable for me?!