Gaia was overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority.

  She had done everything she could to live as an adventurer. When she discovered that her skills could only be used outdoors, she camped for days, enduring hunger and discomfort, continuing to use her abilities despite the hardships.

  Considering the power of her skills, she naturally had to venture into remote areas where people were scarce and resources minimal. There were times she nearly perished from the cold, or when she cut back on food to save money and nearly colpsed from exhaustion.

  She had plenty of free time. As a result, she poured herself into studying various texts, seeking ways to make her magic more effective.

  “If I grow this way, I could use it like that. In this kind of situation, this skill might be useful.” She had imagined countless scenarios, accumuting knowledge to prepare herself for every eventuality.

  She studied diligently. After all, you never knew what might prove useful. Even if her skills didn’t grow, if she had the right knowledge, she might be able to enter the Royal Adventurers Academy. She had continued her studies, imagining the worst-case scenario of never manifesting any magical potential. Unfortunately, that worst-case scenario had come to pass.

  To grow her skills, it was crucial to use them repeatedly. However, Gaia's [Artillery Magic] could only be used once per day due to the limitations of her mana.

  To gain advanced proficiency, it was necessary to defeat powerful foes. This meant confronting enemies that were suitably strong retive to her skill level.

  Gaia had repeatedly hunted the unpopur Bronze Duck in less-frequented hunting grounds. While the Bronze Duck was weak in attack, it had extraordinary defence. Even a level 2 swordsman could hardly scratch it.

  However, with [Artillery Magic], she could defeat it in a single hit. The impact obliterated whatever it struck. Though the materials from the Bronze Duck were valuable, the battles themselves cked any real challenge. She simply located the monster and bsted it with magic.

  According to the opinions of veteran adventurers, this method wouldn’t help her gain higher proficiency. Artillery Magic was too powerful, and it felt like she was fighting low-level monsters, not challenging herself.

  Gaia had targeted various monsters, but most either proved too weak, or the risks were too high to sustain the hunt.

  So, she stubbornly continued hunting the Bronze Duck.

  "Why is this happening to me?" she had thought more than once.

  Yet, Gaia was determined not to give up.

  ...

  Gaia’s grandmother had been a gold-ranked adventurer known as Explosion Fme.

  Her skill was Fire Magic, a very basic magic skill, but she had refined it to the point where she rose to the top of the adventurer world.

  Gaia had admired her grandmother. It had been her dream to gain magical powers like her grandmother and travel the world.

  “The purpose of a journey is not to reach your destination. It’s to keep moving forward with hope in your heart every day.”

  That was her grandmother’s saying.

  Because of this, Gaia had tried to live each day with hope.

  But, something wasn’t going quite right.

  The destination seemed so far away that she couldn’t walk forward with confidence.

  Unable to come to terms with those feelings, Gaia entered the Royal Adventurers Academy with a B-css ranking, a result that indicated her ck of ability, despite having aced the academic entrance exam.

  ...

  The first day had gone reasonably well.

  She made some friends, though everyone seemed to treat her with a certain level of distance.

  In truth, they were probably just shy around Gaia, who was tall and beautiful, but she mistakenly thought they were keeping their distance because of her ck of practical experience.

  Everyone around her seemed so impressive.

  Even though only a single day had passed, it already felt like a gap had formed between her and the others.

  It felt like she was a caterpilr crawling along while everyone else had already emerged as butterflies, soaring into the sky.

  She had never felt this miserable when she first acquired her skills.

  “I need to do something about this.”

  Gaia clutched her head, desperately trying to think through her options.

  ...

  While Gaia was deep in thought, Seneca returned to their room. Her expression was unusually grim.

  Yesterday, Seneca had been cheerful all day, so this new look caught Gaia off guard.

  “Welcome back.”

  “I’m home.”

  “Something happen?”

  Gaia asked casually.

  “Well… I thought I was getting stronger, but it turns out it was all just a misunderstanding.”

  “What happened on the first day?”

  “The homeroom teacher is a man called Attalos. He scolded me a little…”

  “Attalos? Meteor Attalos? The gold-ranked adventurer, Attalos Pergamon?”

  “Yeah. You know him, huh? I was told by him that my basics were cking. I don’t know what to do now.”

  “He really id it on thick, huh?”

  “He was the one overseeing the special schorship examination, so we’ve had some interaction. He was just trying to help, but the more I thought about it, the more I realised it’s my fault, and now I’m wondering what I should do next.”

  “I see…”

  Gaia understood that life in S-css would probably be tough, too.

  “So, starting tomorrow, I’m going to train thoroughly. With Maiol.”

  Seneca’s tone grew resolute, and Gaia was startled.

  There was a fire burning in Seneca’s eyes, and seeing it sparked a warmth in Gaia’s chest.

  “I want to be stronger, too. But I don’t know how,” Gaia said before she realised she had spoken those words out loud.

  “No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I don’t feel like I’m getting any stronger. I feel like I’m not moving forward at all.”

  Seneca looked straight into Gaia’s eyes.

  “What do you want to do once you’re stronger, Gaia?”

  “…I’m not sure. But I think I want to travel, to adventure. I want to face both the good and the bad, and when I look back on it, I want to say, ‘I’m gd I did that.’”

  Seneca could feel the passion radiating from Gaia.

  “I don’t expect to be rewarded, but since I gained my skills, I’ve been stuck in the same pce. I’m frustrated because it feels like I’m not making any progress.”

  Gaia looked upwards, as though seeing something no one else could.

  “Seneca, this world seems to have adventures where the journey itself holds more value than reaching a destination. Can you believe that?

  It sounds ridiculous, but I’m longing for that kind of adventure.

  I’m so inexperienced, but I can’t stop yearning for that kind of journey!

  And yet, I can’t seem to move forward.

  I want to try, but I can only use my magic skill once a day.

  I want to grow stronger, but it feels like that opportunity is being taken away from me. It’s so frustrating.

  …I don’t know what to do anymore.”

  Seneca thought for a moment, then gently pced her hand over Gaia’s and spoke.

  “Gaia, why don’t we make this daily struggle our adventure?

  You’ve already begun an adventure, one where you’re facing your own strength and seeking to grow stronger.

  It might be a difficult road, and there’s no guarantee you’ll be rewarded.

  But there’s no way that fighting on like this has no meaning.

  So, let’s adventure together.

  I want to experience that kind of journey too! I want to travel with you!”

  Seneca squeezed Gaia’s hand firmly.

  Gaia hadn’t even realised that tears were streaming down her face until now.

  “Maiol, is that alright with you?”

  Seneca turned towards the door. At the sound of a soft click, Maiol and Prautia stepped in, both with tear-filled eyes.

  “You heard all that?”

  Gaia’s voice cracked as she asked.

  “We came to discuss our curriculum, but the conversation had already started. Sorry.”

  “Sorry,” Prautia added quietly.

  Seneca looked at Maiol, gauging her response.

  “If Seneca’s made up her mind, then I’m fine with it.”

  Seneca and Maiol exchanged a knowing look and nodded simultaneously.

  “Gaia, let’s team up this weekend. I don’t know if we’ll get along, but I want to be there, watching your adventure up close.”

  “I’m also interested in the kind of adventure Gaia’s talking about. It aligns with my own goals too.”

  “Are you sure? I’m in B-css, you know?”

  “I know I used to care about being a special student, but… it doesn’t matter. We might even end up holding you back.”

  “I don’t think that will happen.”

  “Well, let’s try teaming up for a bit and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else.”

  “Right.”

  Seneca and Maiol were smiling as they encouraged Gaia.

  “Prautia, you’ll come too, right?”

  Maiol looked at Prautia, as though it was a given.

  “W-Will it be alright?”

  “Of course! It’s just a coincidence that we ended up in the same room. Let’s push ourselves as much as we can.”

  “I understand. Thank you so much.”

  “Thank you!”

  The four of them shared a smile.

  “By the way, what was that about you two wanting to become gold-ranked adventurers?”

  Gaia asked with a pyful expression.

  Seneca and Maiol exchanged a gnce before speaking.

  “We want to become gold-ranked adventurers as quickly as possible—”

  “...and defeat a dragon—”

  “We’re going to become heroes!!”

  Gaia and Prautia stared, wide-eyed, at the two of them, who were boldly decring their extraordinary ambitions.

  ...

  Meanwhile, the members of the S-css were considering how to recruit Seneca and Maiol into their parties.

  Their abilities were so impressive, and in order to make accomplishments, they desperately wanted the two of them to join their weekend expeditions.

  However, due to being called by Attalos, they hadn’t had time to properly recruit them.

  Had Attalos not summoned them at that moment, Gaia and Prautia might never have ended up adventuring with Seneca and the others.

  Had Gaia not opened up about her worries, had she not spoken her feelings aloud…

  Had Maiol not overheard the conversation just then…

  So many factors had converged, and now Gaia was about to embark on an adventure with trustworthy companions.

  That day, Gaia’s destiny truly began to shift.