Need to Put in Effort?

Vivian's explanation finally made Shien understand why she had said his growth potential in all aspects was so high.

"If you can defeat a Golem that's about ten levels higher than you under these conditions, then your growth potential in all aspects must be very high to have been able to do that, right?"

That's what Vivian believed.

It was only logical that in a situation of the same level, a warrior focused on strength would lose to a warrior who was both strength and defense-oriented, and could even use magic.

Therefore, if one's growth potential in all aspects was very high, then upon leveling up, all their abilities would be sufficiently enhanced, and the overall increase would naturally be far greater than for those whose abilities only improved in one or two aspects.

However, this was under the premise that other conditions, including skills, were not taken into account.

If one had learned combat skills and could also raise them to a certain level, then the situation would naturally be different.

Levels were the hardware, and skills were the software; only when both were present could truly powerful strength be formed.

Thus, only those whose own levels and skill levels were sufficiently high were strong. Those who only possessed the former were like simpletons who grew bodies but not minds, while those who only possessed the latter were like sickly individuals with minds but no bodies. Neither situation was good.

In short, to calculate a person's strength, one had to consider both their level and their skills comprehensively.

Perhaps Shien is the type who has superior advantages in level growth but is at a disadvantage in skill acquisition.

Vivian thought silently to herself.

Although, generally speaking, this should be impossible.

As mentioned earlier, being able to raise one's level to ten proved that one had a certain talent. Logically, even if they were not particularly gifted, they should still be able to acquire some simple skills.

What exactly is going on?

Vivian looked at Shien, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Shien was also lost in thought because of Vivian's words.

This was because Shien remembered one of the effects of his Unique Skill—[Heaven's Grace].

In addition to its exceptional effects on acquiring and enhancing skills, Shien's [Heaven's Grace] also had another effect: "Upon leveling up, all ability types are increased to their maximum value."

Before, Shien hadn't understood what this effect meant.

Now, Shien understood.

This effect means that when I level up, all my abilities can be enhanced to the maximum extent, right?

Whether it was strength, durability, magic power, or even reflexes, all aspects could receive the maximum enhancement upon leveling up. This was the true manifestation of the effect.

In Vivian's words, Shien had the highest growth potential in all aspects.

This forced Shien to once again recognize how excessive his cheat was, making him feel even worse.

The bigger the cheat, the harder it is for me to keep it hidden.

Shien sighed inwardly.

Suddenly, Shien thought of another question.

What is the standard for the level bonus granted by the Sacred Sword?

Since the abilities that could be enhanced upon leveling up varied from person to person, being related to individual talent, aptitude, and training direction, what abilities would the Sacred Sword's level bonus enhance for him?

Moreover, what would be the degree of enhancement?

It's not like the effect of [Heaven's Grace], where all ability types are increased to their maximum value, is it?

At the very least, when using the Sacred Sword, Shien could feel that his magic power was not increased.

As for other aspects, based on Shien's current rate of improvement, by the time he reached level 100, he would likely be stronger than the level 100 granted by the Sacred Sword.

Thinking about this, Shien formed a rough conclusion based on his experience.

The Sacred Sword's level bonus likely enhances all abilities except magic power equally.

To give an example.

When Shien leveled up himself, all his abilities increased by the maximum value of "ten."

The Sacred Sword's level 100, however, distributed "one hundred" equally among all abilities except magic power. Converting this, it was equivalent to giving Shien an increase of "one" in all abilities except magic power for each level.

This way, by the time Shien reached level 100, all his abilities would reach a level of "one thousand," making him naturally stronger than the "one hundred" bonus granted by the Sacred Sword's level 100.

Of course, this was just an example.

But, based on Shien's own feelings, by the time he reached level 100, he would definitely be stronger than relying solely on the Sacred Sword's level 100.

If nothing else, just the magic power alone, which the Sacred Sword did not enhance, but Shien's own level increase would enhance, was already a difference.

But the Sacred Sword also has other effects, so it's not fair to say it's worse than my Unique Skill.

However, if that were the case, Shien's Unique Skill also had other effects.

Both had their own strengths.

It was just that Shien possessed both.

This must be why that Goddess believes I have the greatest hope of defeating the Demon Lord?

Shien muttered to himself.

Afterward, "Alright."

Vivian clapped her hands, drawing the attention of everyone present.

"Now, we have a general understanding of Shien's strength. Although he's still a rookie, I believe his potential is much greater than we initially thought." Vivian looked at Tier and the others, asking, "You all feel the same, right?"

Tier, Lumya, and Merika remained silent, offering no response.

"What do you think, Tier?"

As if anticipating this, Vivian turned to Tier.

"Let's continue on our way."

Tier didn't give any answer. After a brief silence, she coldly uttered this sentence and then returned to the carriage on her own.

"Wait a minute!"

"Tier!"

Lumya immediately rushed after her, and Merika quickly followed.

Their behavior, which seemed like deliberate avoidance or evasion, made Vivian sigh in exasperation.

Shien, not thinking too much about it, also prepared to get back into the carriage.

However, as he passed Vivian, she said something to him.

"I hope you don't blame them," Vivian said with a sigh. "They don't dislike you. It's just that they've encountered some unpleasant things in the past, so they're a bit overly cautious of you, who just joined."

This statement made Shien stop in his tracks.

After a moment's thought, Shien could roughly understand what had happened.

"A party with so many exceptionally beautiful female adventurers... it's no wonder they'd run into trouble."

Shien could understand that much.

"I'll maintain an appropriate distance, please don't worry."

Shien smiled at Vivian and then directly returned to the carriage.

Vivian was taken aback for a moment, and then felt exasperated again.

"That's not what I meant by keeping your distance..."

Vivian had only meant that it would take considerable effort and time to gain Tier and the others' trust and become closer to them.

Who would have thought that Shien would immediately choose to keep his distance without hesitation?

"What a strange newcomer," Vivian muttered, returning to the driver's seat.

The carriage, which had stopped, began to move again, continuing its journey with the sound of its wheels.

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