In a certain Anime, Steins Gate, there was a famous theory known as "convergence."
Its full name was the "world line convergence theory."
Convergence meant that world lines would eventually lead toward a shared result.
When a world line produced something that did not conform to causality, it would correct itself, making the world presented before people perfectly satisfy the laws of cause and effect.
So far, there were several events Rayleigh had deliberately interfered with.
The first was bringing Zanpakutō into Orario, strengthening their wielders and allowing them to play as great a role as possible during the Great Feud...
However, Rayleigh did not know what the losses had been like in the original world line, so he could not determine whether everything he had done had truly produced a positive effect.
And then...
There was the most crucial point.
The people who should have already "fulfilled their mission" had not died.
For example, Alfia.
Her "ending" should have been guiding the heroes of the new generation during the Great Feud, helping them step onto a new stage, tempering their will and conviction, aiding their growth, and finally using her own life to contribute a massive amount of experience to those who came after her before dying.
That was one ending.
The other ending was that she never took part in the necessary evil plan, chose to raise Bell Cranell instead, and eventually overcame her terminal illness through the power of family love before ultimately defeating the Black Dragon.
But now...
Both of those endings could no longer be reached.
Alfia, who no longer had a special mission, seemed to have become free.
She was no longer bound by inevitable fate.
But was everything truly that simple and smooth?
If the world was not being controlled toward a certain direction and was only progressing through coincidence, then why could he "foreknow" anything at all?
Had he truly changed "their" fates?
Or had the convergence of the world line simply not begun yet, and sooner or later, fate would be corrected back into place?
"Hoo."
"I really have gotten stronger, huh. I even have the luxury to think about questions like this now."
Shaking his head, Rayleigh stood up and picked up his forging hammer.
But after lifting the hammer, he stood in place again, seeming to think about something.
After quite a while, he put the hammer down, returned to his room, lay on the bed, and scattered the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
...
Early the next morning.
Before he even opened his eyes, he smelled something pleasant.
It was Alfia's scent.
Sitting up, Rayleigh looked beside him and saw Alfia seated elegantly on a chair, reading a book titled The Witch.
"What's wrong?" Rayleigh asked in confusion.
Because until now, Alfia had never done something like this before.
Coming all the way to his bedside just to read?
That probably was not the reason.
"I should be the one asking you that," Alfia said, sounding somewhat helpless.
She gently raised the book and covered her face, her eyes also closed.
But Rayleigh had the feeling that she had deliberately averted her gaze and was refusing to look his way.
'Hm?'
Alfia hesitated for a while before saying, "Perhaps because there is a soul-level connection between us, I can sense some of your... will."
Rayleigh froze for a moment.
Then he activated his spiritual sight and observed himself and Alfia.
Sure enough, he saw a faint Reiraku, like a red thread, connecting the two of them.
It was likely because of this that he had been able to obtain part of the [Price of Talent] skill from her.
"You said you can sense my will. What exactly does that feel like?" Rayleigh asked curiously.
After all, it had made her come straight to his bedside.
Alfia pinched the corner of her book, then said, "It feels like being seen through an object."
Cough!
Rayleigh suddenly choked on his own saliva and started coughing.
Because Alfia's words had startled him.
If he had really done something like that, it would have been pure suicide. She would absolutely kill him.
"As your magic—no, your Reiatsu grows stronger, that feeling has changed from something very vague into something much clearer."
'Stronger.'
Hearing that, Rayleigh fell into thought.
It was related to Reiatsu.
In other words, this connection might become even stronger in the future.
Did that mean his [Gif Blessing: Minor] still had the possibility of evolving?
For example, turning into [Medium] or [Major]?
It was possible.
However, if this skill grew stronger, would the side effects appear along with it? That was a problem he had to take seriously.
"Alfia, I'm going to check the black market and see if I can get my hands on an update potion. After that, how about we update your status?"
'Hm?'
Alfia froze.
After thinking for a moment, she nodded.
She immediately understood Rayleigh's intention.
He wanted to confirm whether she had obtained one of his skills, just as [Gif Blessing] had appeared on Rayleigh through the connection between their souls.
Rayleigh's skills might also appear on Alfia.
Update potion was a secret medicine that could update status without requiring the patron god of a Familia to personally perform the process.
"That thing isn't cheap."
"Hehe."
Rayleigh laughed softly.
Money?
He no longer remembered how much he had!
And even if he had none, he would still find a way to get it.
Alfia fell silent.
She stood up, turned her back to Rayleigh, and said, "Are you going to keep sleeping? It should be time for treatment, shouldn't it, my personal doctor?"
"Yes, yes."
...
For half a day, Rayleigh searched every black market and underground market he could ask about, but he could not find anyone selling update medicine.
Update potion was rare, so it was only normal that he could not find it.
However, there was still one place that might have it.
Rivira.
The town of Rivira, located on the eighteenth floor's safe floor, the "Under Resort," was completely outside the Guild's management.
Familias on the surface could barely interfere with what happened there, and there were also many black markets around Rivira.
The possibility of buying it there would be much higher.
Thinking of that, Rayleigh immediately took action.
"It shouldn't have been that long, but coming back to the Dungeon feels strangely nostalgic."
Rayleigh was not fully armed today. He had only brought Hyōrinmaru and Ruri'iro Kujaku with him.
Following the long line into the Dungeon, Rayleigh waited until the crowd had spread out, then immediately began moving at full speed.
His entire body appeared only once every so often, as if he were flashing through space.
Continuously using Shunpo to travel was no longer much of a burden to the current him.
His figure swept over the heads of groups of War Shadows and goblins.
The monsters did not even have time to react, and when they tried to track his scent, they found that it had already gone so far that it vanished.
Even his traces and sound had disappeared.
Experiencing the thrill of moving like the wind and lightning, Rayleigh even activated Shunkō.
And so, in the upper floors of the Dungeon, a streak of white lightning appeared, racing through the caves at terrifying speed.
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