Lefiya had heard Natsuki Minamiya explain Array Magic before. Supposedly, learning this type of magic required a vast amount of knowledge and exceptional talent.
Back in their world, Array Masters were exceedingly rare. She never expected Ren Isana to know it too, which immediately piqued her curiosity. Lefiya followed right behind him, watching closely as he set up the perimeter.
Unfortunately, she couldn't understand a single thing he was doing. She could only watch as Ren Isana buried several Magic Stones into the ground and activated them. A massive Magic Circle instantly took shape, completely enveloping the entire camp.
"Is this giant Magic Circle for early warning, or...?" Lefiya asked out of curiosity, wondering if it was meant for alarms or defense.
"It's for early warning normally. When we leave, it switches to defense. The space covered by the magic will become incredibly sturdy, preventing anyone outside from getting in," Ren Isana explained. *Unless they have overwhelming power and just shatter it by force.*
But if someone actually possessed that kind of strength, would they really stoop to being a petty thief? This Array Magic was primarily designed to ward off anyone below Tier 5.
"That's so convenient. If we can use this deep in the Dungeon, we won't have to take turns keeping watch at night." After understanding how it worked, Lefiya was incredibly envious. This magic was amazing.
*Especially during expeditions. With something like this, everyone could get proper rest,* Lefiya thought to herself. However, she was well aware that this wasn't a magic she could learn right now.
She had only just begun to dabble in the magic of another world and still had a mountain of things to learn. She wasn't in a rush; she could wait for an opportunity in the future.
After finishing the Array Magic, Ren Isana went back to sort out the rest of their gear. Together, they quickly set up a simple camp.
Down here, there was no need to worry about rain or weather, making things much easier. Once everyone had pitched their tents, Ren Isana checked the time and announced, "Everyone is free to do as they please for now. We'll head further down after lunch."
It had taken them less than two hours to descend from Orario, so Ren Isana was in no hurry to dive deeper into the Dungeon immediately.
No one had any objections to this arrangement. The group scattered to wander around, while a few of the girls who were good at cooking brought out ingredients to prepare lunch.
Some of the more curious classmates ran off to check out the nearby market, hoping to find some good loot. After all, none of them had forgotten a crucial detail.
The weapons in their hands were capable of growth; they could be upgraded with new materials to become even stronger. Ren Isana ignored the market-goers. Instead, he sought out Lefiya, intending to learn her magic.
Lefiya's magic was quite absurd. As long as a spell could be learned by the Elf race, she could learn it too. And since Elves were a race naturally attuned to magic, the sheer number of spells available to her was staggering.
However, that wasn't what Ren Isana was after. He wanted Lefiya's [Arcs Ray]. Although it was a single-target spell, it had an automatic tracking effect. That homing capability was exactly what Ren Isana desired.
If he could integrate that automatic tracking into his [Piercing Magic Bullet], the resulting scene would be unimaginable. As for her other wide-area magic, it was already quite similar to his [Piercing Magic Bullet].
The only difference was that hers was fire-attributed. If he wanted to, he could simply alter the attribute of his [Piercing Magic Bullet]. His spell was inherently attribute-less, meaning he could modify it however he pleased.
"Lefiya, could I learn your magic?" Ren Isana asked upon finding her.
Hearing his request, Lefiya paused in surprise. She looked at him in astonishment. "You want to learn my magic? But... my magic wouldn't be of much use to you, right? One of them lets me learn Elf magic, which is similar to what you can already do, and you already have spells similar to my others."
"Whether it's useful or not, I'd like to learn it. Who knows, it might come in handy in the future. In exchange, how about I teach you Ais's [Ariel・Wind Spirit Dash]?" Ren Isana's lips curled into a slight smirk. Manipulating this Elf was actually quite simple.
After all, she was more than a little obsessed with girls, and Ais was her absolute idol. If given the chance to learn Ais's magic, Ren Isana was confident she wouldn't refuse.
Lefiya's reaction was exactly as expected. The moment she heard he was offering Ais's [Ariel・Wind Spirit Dash] in exchange, her eyes lit up like stars.
Even if Ais tried to teach her personally, she wouldn't be able to learn it. But if Ren Isana taught her, that was a completely different story. She could actually learn it!
"Deal!" Without a second of hesitation, Lefiya agreed. Trading her magic for that? She wanted it more than anything.
Ais had overheard their conversation, which gave her a rather strange feeling. Though she felt a bit conflicted internally, she didn't say anything. If Lefiya could learn her magic, that would actually be pretty nice.
Ren Isana and Lefiya's dirty little trade officially commenced. She first demonstrated the spells she knew, then cast them one by one. [Arcs Ray]—this was her tracking magic.
Its power was roughly on par with his [Piercing Magic Bullet]. No wonder she said her magic wouldn't be of much use to him; her spells were essentially just different versions of the magic he already possessed.
After mastering the spell, Ren Isana casually learned the rest of her magic to expand his knowledge base. Not only that, but he also copied her two enhancement skills.
[Fairy Effect]—this ability directly doubled magical attack power. In simple terms, it was a guaranteed magic critical hit.
And [Double Effect]—which was essentially multi-casting. Ren Isana learned that immediately as well. These two weren't exactly spells; they fell more into the category of innate talents.
They were similar to Riveria's [Fairy Anthem] and [Alf's Mark], though Ren Isana felt Lefiya's two talents were far more practical.
A magic critical hit was absolutely fantastic, especially since it was a 100% guaranteed crit. How could Ren Isana pass that up? So, he learned it without a shred of hesitation.
"That's all my magic. Which one do you want to learn?" Lefiya couldn't help but ask after demonstrating everything.
"Just [Arcs Ray]. I want to study its automatic tracking effect and integrate it into my [Piercing Magic Bullet]," Ren Isana replied, openly sharing his idea. *I've already learned the rest anyway; having her explain this one is enough.*
Ren Isana had no intention of hiding his motives. The main reason he wanted this magic was for the tracking effect; everything else was secondary.
Lefiya was stunned by his words. Integrating the automatic tracking of [Arcs Ray] into his [Piercing Magic Bullet]? She mentally pictured the scenario: rapid-fire magic bullets, and then... *Good grief!!*
A sky full of glowing orbs relentlessly chasing down a target—who wouldn't be terrified? Just thinking about it made Lefiya's scalp tingle, but at the same time, she felt a surge of anticipation. If Ren Isana could actually pull it off...!
"Alright, I'll teach you!" Lefiya didn't hesitate. She immediately began instructing Ren Isana, carefully explaining the exact feeling and process of casting the spell.
After listening thoroughly, Ren Isana nodded to show he understood. Once he had "learned" it, he fulfilled his end of the bargain and began teaching Lefiya [Ariel・Wind Spirit Dash].
"Your [Elf Ring] can actually be used to learn this. I'll teach you using Ais's original method. Why don't you try learning it that way?" Ren Isana suggested, looking directly at her.
Lefiya blinked. Was that even possible? She looked at him with doubt. "But my magic can only learn spells belonging to the Elf race..."
She voiced her concerns. She could only learn magic that Elves were capable of mastering. What Ren Isana was suggesting should be completely impossible.
"Then tell me, if I taught this to another Elf, could they learn it?" Ren Isana retorted. *Seriously, why is this Elf's brain so slow?*
*If I teach another Elf, can they learn it? If they can, then why couldn't you?* Faced with Ren Isana's logic, Lefiya froze. Could they learn it? *They... probably could, right?*
Following Ren Isana's logic, if he was the one teaching it, then she could directly learn it through her magic? Realizing this, Lefiya was utterly shocked.
It actually worked like that?! Didn't that mean she could use Ren Isana as a proxy to master magic that wasn't originally meant for Elves?
The thought made Lefiya incredibly excited. It was as if she had just discovered a whole new world. Seeing her reaction, Ren Isana nodded in satisfaction. "Looks like you've figured it out. Let's begin, then."
Her "new world discovery" reaction was highly satisfying to him. *Looks like she isn't completely hopeless. Her brain finally caught up.* Otherwise, Ren Isana was half-tempted to knock some sense into her head.
"Yes, yes! Please take care of me!" Lefiya nodded eagerly. She couldn't wait to try it out. If this really worked, didn't that mean she could learn any magic she wanted in the future just by going through Ren Isana?
At the same time, couldn't she use this method to learn all of Ren Isana's other spells? It seemed like anything he knew, she could learn through this loophole!
*Oh, wait... maybe not.* Her talent required her to know both the spell's effects and its incantation. But Ren Isana's spells only had effects and no incantations—unless, of course, he made up chants for them.
"You should already be very familiar with the incantation and effects of Ais's magic, so I won't bother teaching you that part. Activate your magic, and I'll cast it for you once!" Ren Isana instructed.
At this moment, Ren Isana was acting like a middleman. He learned magic directly from others and then flipped it to sell to Lefiya. Hearing his command, Lefiya immediately complied.
She hurriedly began her chant: "I beseech thee in the name of Alf. Sages of the forest, noble brethren, answer my call and gather upon the meadow!"
"Bonds intertwined, the promised banquet, dance in a spinning ring. Come forth, Elf Ring! Lend me your power!!" Following the incredibly long incantation, Lefiya's magic was unleashed.
Now in her active magic state, Lefiya stared at Ren Isana with burning eyes, signaling for him to begin. Her heart pounded with anticipation, desperately hoping this would work.
If it succeeded, learning new things in the future would be a breeze. Just the thought of it left her trembling with excitement.
Seeing that she was ready, Ren Isana immediately began his explanation. Guided by his words, Lefiya quickly entered a state of deep focus. The magic that was originally impossible for her to grasp was now slowly being absorbed into her repertoire.
The moment Ren Isana spoke his final word, Lefiya opened her mouth and chanted, "Awaken, Tempest!"
As her voice fell, verdant Magic Power swirled around her body. Her eyes widened in sheer disbelief. It was incredible—she had actually learned it just like that?
Lefiya's mouth hung open, her eyes brimming with pleasant surprise. It actually worked! Wasn't this just too amazing?
"Alright, you should know exactly how to use it from here on out, so I don't need to teach you any further." Seeing her successfully cast the spell, Ren Isana nodded in satisfaction.
It was exactly as he had predicted. Having finished his part, Ren Isana turned to leave, but Lefiya hurriedly called out, "Wait, Ren-san! I have an idea!"
Realizing that she could genuinely learn magic this way, Lefiya was thrilled. A bold thought suddenly sprouted in her mind: what if Ren Isana learned her [Elf Ring] and then taught it to others?
Could other people also rapidly learn magic from him, just like she did? Driven by this thought, she eagerly asked, "Can you learn my [Elf Ring]? If you can, could you teach it to others?!"
Her rushed question instantly made Ren Isana realize what she was getting at. He looked at her with an amused expression. "Don't be too greedy now. I can't learn that magic of yours!"
Of course, that was a lie. Even though he had already learned it, Ren Isana had no intention of teaching it to anyone else. Lefiya's magic was simply too broken.
In his hands, it had evolved into a magic that could learn *all* magic. If he let that loose into the world, it would be absolute chaos. There was no need to spread it around.
Furthermore, Ren Isana decided that he would alter his Falna later. The next time Hestia updated his Falna, he would make sure certain things remained hidden.
Otherwise, every single spell he had mastered would be fully displayed on his back. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it was better to keep things concealed.
Modifying his Falna was something he could easily do now. After all, he spent his free time studying his own body and had long since figured out how to tamper with the Falna interface.
Yukino Yukinoshita's talent, [Body Control], allowed absolute dominion over everything in one's body. It was practically a perfect talent, wasn't it? Through his research, Ren Isana had discovered countless applications for it.
If he wanted to, he could even gather all the Divine Blood Hestia had inscribed onto his back and pool it into a single spot. He just hadn't bothered to do so yet.
"Just try it! There's no harm in trying!" Lefiya, however, refused to give up. If it was possible, she desperately wanted Ren Isana to master this magic.
Then, she could relearn it from him, transforming it into a completely new spell that she could teach to others.
Looking at the stubborn Elf, Ren Isana was speechless. *Fine, I'll humor her,* he thought, before sighing. "Alright, tell me how it works."
"To use someone else's magic with this spell, you must first grasp the target magic's effects and incantation, and then summon the Elf Ring." Lefiya began chattering away, eagerly explaining the operational logic of her magic to him.
Her eyes were filled with anticipation as she looked at him. She wanted nothing more than for Ren Isana to successfully learn it.
Their interaction had caught the attention of Asuna and the others, who had overheard their entire conversation. Now, it wasn't just Lefiya—Asuna and the rest of the girls were equally hopeful that Ren Isana could learn it.
If he really managed to learn Lefiya's magic, everyone would definitely be lining up to ask him for lessons. The spell was simply too enticing.
A magic that allowed you to learn *any* magic—how could anyone not be tempted? Learning this one spell was equivalent to learning every spell in the world. Even if one had to spend their entire life researching it, it would be worth it.
Because the moment you mastered this magic, you essentially graduated from the need to learn anything else. Asuna and the others had never imagined that Lefiya's magic could be so ridiculously overpowered!