Three months had passed since Ide and Ur's wedding.
It started as a calm, peaceful day.
BOOM!
But a sudden, massive roar from the mountain behind the town shattered the tranquility.
"Earthquake?"
"No, it came from the mountain!"
"Ah, I get it. It's just Ide and Ur messing around again."
As an earth-shaking wave of magic power erupted from the mountain, the townspeople looked up at the sky. At first, they were terrified, thinking a natural disaster had struck.
But once they realized the epicenter was the mountain, they relaxed and started complaining under their breaths.
Yes, as they suspected, Ide was the cause. After nearly six months of grinding since reaching the "Limit of Human Potential," he had finally broken through again.
Originally, at his training speed, going from "Human Limit" to the "Inhuman Realm" should have only taken four to five months.
But after getting into a relationship with Ur, he spent time every day enjoying life with her, which naturally slowed down his progress.
It took a bit longer, but he succeeded.
His magic power finally crossed the boundary between man and monster, reaching LV9.
In the terms of the Ishgar continent, Ide was now firmly in the "Inhuman" realm.
He had officially stepped into the domain of the Four Gods of Ishgar, the wizards who stood at the pinnacle of the Ten Wizard Saints (specifically, the level of a weaker Spriggan 12 member).
Relying solely on his magic, Ide would now rank somewhere between the lowest and the third seat of the current Four Gods of Ishgar.
"Even without Haki, my magic alone is enough to make me a top-tier powerhouse in the One Piece world now, right?"
After breaking into the "Inhuman" realm, Ide noticed a massive shift in his senses.
His perception of the world had improved drastically.
With magic alone—no Haki involved—he could now challenge the top tiers of the One Piece world.
He had officially reached the level of Admirals and Emperors.
Of course, he was still a distance away from the "King" level occupied by the likes of Rocks D. Xebec or Gol D. Roger.
In Ide's estimation, Rocks' strength was probably equivalent to System Level 10 (average Spriggan 12 member).
As for Imu? That monster was likely well above LV10.
Ide's system panel updated.
[Magic Origin:]
First Magic Origin:
Gains 100 MP every 1 second in Deep Meditation.
Gains 10 MP every 1 second while Sleeping/Resting.
Current Total MP: 0
[Magic:]
Ice-Make Magic: LV9 (+)
"Eh?!"
"My First Magic Origin didn't upgrade?"
"Did it hit its limit?"
When Ide checked his panel, he was surprised to find that his Magic Origin, which usually upgraded alongside his power, hadn't budged. He was still gaining 100 MP per second.
However, the difficulty of leveling up his Ice-Make Magic had increased tenfold.
This meant that getting from LV9 to LV10 would take ten times longer than before. It would take at least three or four years to break through again.
Ide frowned at the realization.
Three or four years was acceptable. But if his Magic Origin still didn't upgrade after reaching LV10?
Then the next level would take another tenfold increase—thirty or forty years. That was terrifying.
"Ide."
"I have good news."
Just as Ide was fretting over his cultivation issues, Ur came jogging up from the direction of the town, her face flushed red.
"What is it, Ur?"
Ide looked up and smiled.
"Ide."
"I think... I'm pregnant."
"Remember last time? We didn't use protection."
Ur leaned in close and whispered.
"Eh?"
"For real?"
Ide instantly threw his cultivation worries out the window. He looked at Ur with a mixture of shock and joy.
Without hesitation, he expanded his Observation Haki to the max, scanning Ur's body.
Sure enough, he heard a faint, tiny heartbeat echoing from her womb.
It was... his and Ur's child?
"Ide."
"To be honest, I'm not ready to be a mother."
"Can I really handle this responsibility?"
Ur leaned against him. The new life had come so suddenly that she felt unprepared and caught off guard.
It was all too fast, too rushed.
"Ur, trust me. You'll be a great mother."
Ide shook his head. He held her hands tightly and looked her in the eyes. "Ur, let's have this baby! I know we can raise her well."
"You're going to be the best mom in the world."
"And I'm going to be the best dad."
Ide promised her.
"Mmh."
"I think so too."
Ur's usual boldness melted away into a gentle nod, her eyes reflecting deep maternal love.
In the days that followed, Ide stopped obsessing over his training. Aside from his scheduled meditation to absorb mana, he spent all his time by Ur's side, taking care of her.
To Ide, nothing was more important than his wife and child.
Perhaps he cared too much, because Ur started feeling uncomfortable.
Seeing Ide fully prepared to become a stay-at-home dad, Ur waved her hands. "Ide, I just got pregnant, I'm not invalid!"
"I can still do a lot of things myself! You don't need to fuss over me so much. Go train! I can take care of myself."
Ur didn't want her pregnancy to delay Ide's training. After spending so much time with him, she understood the weight of the "blood feud" he carried.
She wanted him to seize every moment to get stronger so he could defeat that bastard Imu.
She wanted him to uncover the truth of the Void Century and bring justice to the scholars of Ohara.