@ShadowX well, it's not like the Mc is getting stronger by himself, he just used an external source to power up, both just got stronger from different external sources, and both had a "background" for happening, not just plot armor.
I understand your point that powering up by effort is more interesting, but these two could be partly attributed to effort too, since both of their paths, that they choose long ago, led to this fateful moment, and all their effort will be put to test right now.
PS: In my haste to type, I typed "fartful" instead of fateful and I laughed for 10 minutes before getting myself together and finish the post...
I understand your point that powering up by effort is more interesting, but these two could be partly attributed to effort too, since both of their paths, that they choose long ago, led to this fateful moment, and all their effort will be put to test right now.
PS: In my haste to type, I typed "fartful" instead of fateful and I laughed for 10 minutes before getting myself together and finish the post...