Twilight Manor, Central Tower top floor, Deity Room.
In this slightly cluttered room, Leon had already taken off his shirt, exposing his back. Loki dripped bright red divine blood onto it, unlocking the Falna seal and revealing the epitaph containing the clown pattern.
"Drip————"
As the second drop of divine blood fell, the epitaph on Leon's back rippled like the surface of water.
The sacred letters began to float up.
A bright, ethereal light illuminated Loki's face, which was directly facing Leon's back.
Extending her finger to manipulate something on the status values on Leon's back, Loki's fingertip suddenly froze at a certain moment.
After a long while, Loki's voice sounded as if it were echoing from a very distant place, speaking in such a manner.
"As expected, it's just as I anticipated."
The main god did not know whether to cry or laugh, and in the end, she could only state the facts purely.
"Congratulations, you can level up again."
Leon Eligos Lv.3
Strength: H144 → SS1031
Endurance: H107 → SS1027
Dexterity: H189 → SS1069
Agility: G235 → SS1094
Magic: F346 → SSS1386
Mage: H → G
Abnormal Resistance: I → H
These were Leon's final status values at Lv.3.
"As always, every single basic attribute has broken past the limit. Four attributes reached SS, and your most proficient attribute reached SSS. Even two development abilities have been elevated. I bet you used magic quite a lot during this expedition, didn't you?"
Loki translated and copied down the status values, handing the parchment to Leon while curling her lip as she spoke such words.
"I couldn't have avoided using it even if I wanted to." Leon took the parchment, his gaze dropping onto the contents written on it, as he spoke, "During this expedition, my role was a back-row mage. I basically had no opportunity to leave the rear guard and go to the front lines to fight. By the time we arrived at the ultra-deep floors of the 50th floor, if I didn't use magic, there was simply no way I could be a match for the monsters there."
"Therefore, I could only use it."
Leon's words only earned a roll of the eyes from Loki.
"Are you trying to say that even though you barely utilized the basic attributes related to close combat, you still managed to elevate those four basic attributes to the point of breaking past the limit?"
If you want to boast insincerely, just say it straight out right here. Don't go outside and say it, otherwise, I'm afraid you'll get beaten up.
Although Loki did not say this sentence out loud, the meaning was fully conveyed.
"I'm just saying that without doing this, I wouldn't have been able to get by at all." Leon replied testily, immediately after crumpling the parchment in his hand, saying, "Since I can level up, then help me level up."
In any case, his status values had already been trained to the peak, so there was absolutely no need to wait further.
"You've decided, right?" Loki didn't feel anything was amiss either, confirming one last time, "Then I will directly help you level up."
Saying that, Loki operated upon Leon's back, which was emitting a flashing red light. Her fingers slid about in a flurry, causing all the floating sacred letters to fly back and reassemble into the epitaph.
"There, that's done."
Locking Leon's status values once more and allowing his back to return to its bare state, Loki copied down the brand-new status values and handed them over to him.
Leon Eligos Lv.4
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Mage: G
Abnormal Resistance: H
Spirit Healing: I
The sublimation of status values was perfectly completed, and the level up was also confirmed. All basic attributes had been completely reset, while the attributes from the previous level were once again transformed into latent abilities accumulated within, building Leon's increasingly solid foundation.
Lv.4—this was already the highest level below a first-class adventurer.
Under the circumstance where there were fewer than forty first-class adventurers in the entirety of Orario, adventurers of this level were already the core of the city's mainstay forces, representing the strongest combat tier apart from those less than forty top-tier combat assets.
An adventurer of this level would be a core figure in the second tier even within the Loki Familia, and likewise, they would not be an absolute nobody within the Freya Familia.
Perhaps, in the eyes of many first-class adventurers, an adventurer of this level could not yet be called a truly powerful expert, but they would not ignore the existence of this tier either; they would view them as "chasers" who had already caught up to their footsteps.
Seeing an immobile Lv.1 adventurer, they would ignore them.
Seeing an Lv.2 adventurer, they would look down on them.
Seeing an Lv.3 adventurer, they would look down from above.
But upon seeing an Lv.4 adventurer, most of them would already look them straight in the eye.
This was the gold standard of Lv.4.
Yet from the time Leon had just received the grace of the Falna to reaching this height, he had only used two months of time.
Regarding this, even Loki did not know how to express her wonder anymore.
"You brat are just a freak, I completely give up."
She could only utter such a lamentation.
Leon ignored this version of Loki, turning instead to look at his newly acquired development ability.
"Spirit Healing... is it?"
This development ability also had another name, called "Spirit Recovery."
As the name implied, this was a development ability that possessed the effect of automatically recovering mind power.
Once mages consumed their mind power, if they wanted it to recover, generally they either directly consumed magic potions, borrowing the effects of the potions to recover, or entered a deep state of rest, such as sleep.
But after acquiring the development ability of Spirit Healing, mages no longer needed to undergo deep rest to recover mind power; they could automatically recover mind power while utilizing magic, replenishing it as they used it. The degree of recovery was determined by the rank of the development ability.
If the ability rank of Spirit Healing was high enough, it could even achieve a state where the recovery was swifter than the consumption.
To put it clearly, with this development ability, as long as there was sufficient time, magic potions would never be needed again. Therefore, for mages whose mind power consumption was vast, this development ability was an extremely precious and rare ability. At least in the entire Loki Familia, apart from Riveria, no one else possessed this ability.
"This is a development ability that only appears in the very late stages. I have never seen a situation where this development ability could be triggered at Lv.4. I don't know if it's because others didn't mention it, or if it could originally be triggered at this level but the conditions are relatively harsh, so no one has accomplished it until now."
Loki was also clicking her tongue in wonder at this.
"Of course, it's also possible that you brat are relatively special, and maybe only you can accomplish this matter?"
Thinking of Leon's special skill that still could not be deciphered to this day, Loki was intensely curious.
Hearing Loki's words, Leon similarly had some suspicions about whether "Outworlder" was exerting force behind the scenes, causing him to trigger this development ability at Lv.4, but this was undoubtedly a good thing.
His dependence on mind power was originally higher than others; up until now, there had been countless times when he encountered insufficient mind power and could only chug magic potions frantically to recover.
But what if during a certain battle, his magic potions had already been exhausted?
Then his proud magic abilities would likely be entirely ruined.
The development ability of Spirit Healing, which could automatically recover mind power, came quite timely, greatly alleviating Leon's pressing need.
Once it was elevated to a certain height, causing the recovery speed of mind power to accelerate, the situation of insufficient mind power should be very difficult to encounter again, right?
Looking at his various development abilities, as well as the "Magic" attribute that had once again reached the SSS stage before leveling up, Leon became deep in thought.
"My capability in magic is already strong enough. Next, perhaps I ought to properly elevate my capabilities in close combat."
Leon had never forgotten from beginning to end that his role was not that of a pure back-row mage, but a magic swordsman capable of going to the front lines to fight and breaking away from the protection of his comrades.
Right now, his capability in magic was already very strong, capable of possessing firepower comparable to Lv.5 while at Lv.3, and also utilizing it to defeat a Floor Boss while at Lv.2. Now that he was Lv.4, his capability in this aspect had certainly strengthened by another massive wave, far exceeding the scope that his current level ought to have.
His three development abilities were also all related to magic, and even his skills were related to magic; the reinforcement toward magic was already extremely excessive.
Then, next, he ought to properly elevate his capabilities in close combat, thoroughly transitioning into a mature magic swordsman, lest he repeat what happened during this expedition—only able to cast magic in safe zones, where even when facing the female-type monsters it was Ais who was charging and breaking enemy lines, while he himself could only open the distance and avoid their sharp edge.
"To elevate capabilities in close combat, merely conquering the Dungeon and continuously vanquishing monsters to accumulate experience points is not enough."
Leon thought for a moment, and a plan suddenly surfaced in his heart.
"Perhaps I can make a request of the Captain?"
Unlike Ais, who completely did not know how to teach people and could only continuously correct others' mistakes through practical sparring, Finn was a true master of the technical school.
The physical potential of the Pallum race was originally weaker than other races, unable to even compare to humans who were mediocre in all aspects. Knowing this point, Finn continuous polished his own techniques for decades like a single day, utilizing technique to compensate for the deficiencies in physical capability. This caused this Pallum captain's combat techniques to reach perfection, where looking at the entire Orario, he was likely at a level capable of securing the second place and vying for the first; even that "Warlord" of the Freya Familia dared not say he was definitely stronger than him in this aspect.
Finn's "Dexterity" had also been trained to S, sufficient to prove that his techniques and accomplishments in combat were exceptionally strong.
He could completely consult this master of the technical school, letting him train his combat techniques and elevate his capabilities in close combat.
"Right now, I am also not lacking in status values. Even if it cannot match the 'Magic' attribute, my 'Strength,' 'Endurance,' 'Dexterity,' and 'Agility' have also broken past the limit at every level, reaching the SS stage."
"Therefore, I do not need to deliberately go and train various basic attributes related to close combat; in terms of physical fitness, I am absolutely outstanding among the same level, where even those true close-combat experts cannot match me."
"What I lack is merely technique—the artistry capable of perfectly unleashing the capabilities related to close combat."
Thinking of this, Leon already had a decision in his heart.
A few minutes later, Leon left Loki's Deity Room.
Outside the door was a blanket of silence. It seemed that apart from Leon and Ais, no third person had come over tonight, eager to update their status values.
Therefore, when Leon left Loki's Deity Room and arrived in the hallway outside, only Ais, who had completed her update a step ahead, was in the hallway.
The young girl was standing before the window, gazing at the night sky outside. The night wind blew through her hair, causing her long golden hair to sway with the wind; the scenery was as beautiful as a painting.
However, Leon clearly sensed that Ais's mood was not very good right now.
No, it should be said that Ais's mood was absolutely terrible.
This caused the joy regarding leveling up in Leon's heart to diminish by a lot.
"————Is it over?"
The young girl detected Leon's appearance, turned around, and looked toward him, her tone not showing any obvious change.
But Leon could still sense that Ais was suppressing her emotions, doing her utmost not to expose them before him.
Regrettably, she did not know that after interacting for an entire year or more, Leon had already learned the technique of finding out her true inner activities from her subtle expressions and the changes in her gaze.
Hence, Leon stepped forward, asking straightforwardly.
"What's wrong with you?"
Leon deeply knew that in dealing with the young girl before him, any beating around the bush was unnecessary.
Asking directly was perhaps more suitable than any method.
Ais raised her eyes slightly, falling silent for a long while before handing over a piece of parchment she had been clutching in her hand to Leon.
"Can I look at it?"
Leon knew what was written on it, which was why he asked this question.
Ais said nothing, merely nodding her head, handing the parchment over to Leon.
Leon focused his gaze to look, and immediately after, he instantly understood why Ais's mood would be so terrible.
Ais Wallenstein Lv.5
Strength: D549 → D555
Endurance: D540 → D547
Dexterity: A823 → A825
Agility: A821 → A822
Magic: A899
Hunter: G
Abnormal Resistance: G
Swordsman: I
This was Ais's current status values, and it was a brand-new version that had just been updated.
It was just that the magnitude of elevation of this freshly produced status values was truly far too low.
Leaving aside the fact that the development abilities had completely failed to elevate for the time being—after all, these were originally abilities that were relatively difficult to elevate, where not everyone could easily elevate them like Leon—even the basic attributes had almost entirely failed to elevate, at least failing to elevate to the extent of the next stage. What difference did this have from not elevating at all?
The total proficiency of all capabilities increased by 16 points, among which the proficiency of "Magic" remained completely unmoved————
The expedition lasted for about half a month in total. As the indisputable main combat force within the Familia, Ais had slaughtered an unknown number of monsters, among which were included powerful monsters residing in deep floor regions as well as existences like the female-type monsters. In the end, not a single capability was actually able to elevate to the next stage; this was already explicitly telling Ais that she had completely failed to experience even a shred of growth this time.
Seeing this sort of thing happen to a young girl yearning to become stronger, how could her mood possibly turn out well?
Leon silently returned the parchment to Ais. After deliberating for a moment, he spoke.
"This is a very normal occurrence. You have already reached the topmost domain of Lv.5; wanting to continue elevating is inherently not of small difficulty."
The closer the proficiency of a basic capability was to 999, and the closer it was to the highest evaluation of S, the smaller the magnitude of growth would be, and the greater the difficulty of elevation would be—this was something everyone was clear about.
And Ais's "Magic" was already close to S, while attributes like "Dexterity" and "Agility" had already reached A. The remaining "Strength" and "Endurance" were not capabilities she was proficient in, so the difficulty of elevation was naturally very vast.
But this turn of phrase from Leon only earned Ais's silence.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi