"This kind of thing is supposed to be private to each person. The gods also have an agreement never to reveal information about their Familia members' abilities. But since you're the only two people from another world, I wanted to ask first: the two of you won't betray each other, will you?" The goddess held the paper in her hand and looked at Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu with a serious expression.
"Absolutely not," Zhang Ruofeng replied calmly but firmly. He despised betrayal more than anything, especially betraying a friend. He knew Xin Mu had feelings for him, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to love her. Still, betraying someone who loved him would be like using them and then throwing them away. He would never do that.
"I swear I won't," Xin Mu said, her gaze even more resolute as she raised her hand.
"Good." The goddess smiled happily. As long as the two of them didn't betray each other, it would be all right even if they eventually left her Familia.
"Then I'll reveal your growth, Zhang Ruofeng." The goddess handed him the paper. As he looked over his stats, she continued, "Your strength has risen to H101. I have to say, your growth in strength really startled me." And with good reason: a strength score above H100 meant having the same strength as a dwarf, a race renowned for its power. Zhang Ruofeng had reached the strength of a dwarf without God's Blessing, and that would leave other adventurers speechless.
"I think it might be because I'm familiar with how to use my strength, and I understand my body and how I naturally exert myself," Zhang Ruofeng offered. The goddess agreed. If you knew how much force you could put into a full-power attack without injuring yourself, a few days of training could improve your strength. Zhang Ruofeng was growing almost like a newborn adventurer, so knowing how much he could do from the start naturally helped him immensely.
"Your agility has risen to I85, dexterity to I80, and endurance to I99. The growth in every one of your abilities is astonishing." The goddess was utterly astounded by the numbers. She had never seen anything like them among the members of her Familia. Her Familia was known as Flowers Blooming in the Midsummer Night, and every member was exceptionally talented. But this nearly anomalous growth had left her truly shocked.
"Actually, your growth might be related to the skill you unlocked." The goddess gestured for Zhang Ruofeng to look further down, where he saw a new skill listed. Zhang Ruofeng knew what skills were: simply put, they were passive abilities. This world didn't use that term, though. Abilities that could be released by chanting were called magic, while those that required no magic power and were always in effect were called skills. Obtaining a skill in this world required meeting complex and stringent conditions. Some people only gained one when they leveled up, so most level-one adventurers had no skills. Discovering magic was even harder. The main reason it was rarer than skills was that a person needed enough talent—and leveling up didn't unlock magic, only a skill.
Zhang Ruofeng's skill was called "Knowledge of the Otherworld Adventurer." "That's a pretty casual name."
Zhang Ruofeng looked at the skill's name and smiled wryly. But its effects were astonishing. Because he possessed knowledge from another world, it adjusted his growth, strengthening the rate at which his abilities developed and increasing his chances of unlocking skills. However, since he couldn't understand how magic was structured, his magic power would be extremely difficult to develop, and his chances of discovering magic were lower. Specialization effects: strength, endurance. Experience points: EP/10000.
"This is the first time I've heard of a skill like that." Fura had a fairly easygoing personality, and among the gods, only the goddesses of beauty surpassed her in looks. She got along well with both gods and goddesses, and she'd never heard of a skill like this when they discussed their children's abilities. After all, Zhang Ruofeng and Xin Mu were the only people from another world.
"Guess this is what it means to be from another world." Looking at the experience-point display at the bottom, Zhang Ruofeng almost laughed out loud. "Even the fact that I think of this world as an RPG is somehow being reflected in my abilities?" Comparing the numbers to what he remembered from anime, he realized he might be growing faster in a day than other people did in a month or even six months. The main reason was this skill, which adjusted his growth and made his abilities improve rapidly. After his stats updated, he could even feel a faint, warm ache, proof that his body was developing.
"Well, I'm very happy for you, but you should go outside now." While Zhang Ruofeng was checking how his body felt, the goddess mercilessly ordered him out. "Unless you want to watch Xin Mu undress in front of you?"
Zhang Ruofeng saw the goddess's mischievous smile and could only sigh. His goddess really was a strange deity with a Witch's personality.
"I don't mind." As Xin Mu spoke, she started to undo the buttons on her chest. Zhang Ruofeng had no choice but to run outside without even taking his clothes with him.
"Hahahaha..." Hearing the goddess's soft laughter behind him, Zhang Ruofeng could only shake his head helplessly. It had only been a day, and Xin Mu was already teaming up with Fura to tease him. His future really didn't look promising.
When Xin Mu and Fura came out of the room, they found Zhang Ruofeng gently wiping down the arm guard he'd used that day with a piece of white cloth. It was stained with quite a bit of blood, and if he didn't clean it properly, the surface of the metal might corrode.
"Xin Mu's abilities have been revealed too. She has the same skill as you, 'Knowledge of the Otherworld Adventurer.' Her specialization is enhanced agility, and her agility has already reached H10. Her other stats are mostly below 50, with only dexterity above that. Her strength and endurance are both around 0. I asked Xin Mu about it, and she spent most of today by your side, helping you out, so her abilities improved much less than yours. But remember, if you both want to go home, you'll need to become top-tier adventurers. You can't protect Xin Mu too much." The goddess spoke to Zhang Ruofeng. Seeing him carefully tend to his weapon made her very happy. The gentle look in his eyes as he wiped it even made her feel a little fluttery. This boy had so many sides to him: sometimes calm, sometimes indifferent, sometimes excited, sometimes gentle. Even she, a goddess, was curious about him. Gods had practically no resistance to the unknown.
"You must be exhausted today. You should get some rest. The hot water's ready, so which of you wants to bathe first?" the goddess suggested.
"Ladies first. I still need to check how my body's doing." After Zhang Ruofeng said this, Xin Mu didn't say anything more. She knew what he was like. You could call him upright, and he knew about all kinds of games when discussing them with his friends in the Anime Club: adult games and all kinds of porn. But could you call him a perverted shut-in? Most of the time, his gaze was so clear that girls who spent enough time with him developed a strong sense of trust and reliance on him. Zhang Ruofeng was good at reading people, had never lusted after anyone, and was considerate toward everyone. Xin Mu knew a few younger girls who had confessed to him despite knowing she liked him. Zhang Ruofeng had turned them all down, but it seemed none of them had cut ties with him. He always treated them like ordinary friends. It had taken Xin Mu three years to get close to his heart, and she was finally almost there. Sometimes Zhang Ruofeng was drawn to one of her gestures or smiles, which was already a lot. As for everyone else, Xin Mu knew he smoothly pushed them out of his world, leaving them as insignificant passersby.
"Monk." Zhang Ruofeng heard Xin Mu call him by the nickname his other friends had given him. Knowing she was teasing him on purpose, he smiled wryly and watched her head upstairs.
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