Liber left the Hostess of Fertility and headed back to his Familia.
He pondered for a moment and sank into his mind. Sure enough, three more stars had appeared in the starry sky.
There seem to be quite a few more people who appeared in the original story. Never mind, I should get back early and update my status. I wonder how much it's increased.
Liber stopped thinking about the stars in his mind and quickened his pace toward Twilight Manor.
Night had fallen deep, and Liber returned to his Familia before heading to Loki's Divine Chamber.
He knocked on Loki's door. "Loki, I came to update my status today."
"Oh, sure. Come on in."
Hearing Loki's reply, Liber pushed open the door and entered.
Loki sat on the bed, guzzling from a bottle of wine. When she saw Liber come in, she set the bottle down.
She motioned for Liber to sit.
Liber followed her instructions, sitting on a chair and baring his back so she could update his status.
"So, how was your first adventure after receiving your Falna?"
As she spoke, Loki pricked her fingertip behind Liber and updated his status.
"It was interesting. Fighting felt great. But after exploring a little, I didn't go too deep. I just got some practice in," Liber replied calmly.
"Good. You're even more mature than I expected. Still, a rookie's proficiency usually doesn't increase much after their first adventure, so be prepared."
As she spoke with Liber, Loki translated the updated status.
"This is pretty amazing. Your proficiency went up so much on your very first update."
Loki sounded surprised as she handed Liber the transcribed status sheet.
Liber took the sheet and examined his status.
Liber Miller
Lv.1
"Strength": I0>>I8
"Endurance": I0>>I5
"Dexterity": I0>>I6
"Agility": I0>>I12
"Magic": I0>>H100
"Oh, not bad, not bad. You gained 131 points of proficiency from just one adventure. That's much faster growth than most people, especially your Magic proficiency. It went up by 100 points in one go."
Loki clicked her tongue in admiration.
Liber looked at his updated status sheet. The growth in his Magic proficiency was somewhat beyond his expectations, but it was a good thing.
The changes in his other abilities' proficiency, however, were hard to describe.
Looking at those single-digit increases in proficiency, he figured they were probably thanks to his skill, [Egoistic Egalitarianism].
"The increases in my abilities other than Magic are a little too small," Liber said with a frown.
"Be grateful. Most people only gain a few points of proficiency at a time once they get further along. Besides, from the looks of it, you mainly used magic in the Dungeon, right?"
Liber nodded. "I mainly cast [Float] on my weapons, then used magic to control them and fight monsters. Also, [Magic Space] lets me launch objects in the space at my enemies."
"I see. So your magic can be used like that." Loki stroked her chin thoughtfully. "That's probably why your proficiency in your other abilities didn't increase much."
Liber murmured, "I thought so. I didn't take any damage, so my Endurance didn't get trained. I didn't run or dodge for long, so my Dexterity and Agility didn't get trained either. And since I used magic to control my weapons, I didn't have to exert my own Strength."
"Come on, don't rush. With your skill, as long as your Magic improves, your other attributes will naturally rise too.
"Your skill's proficiency boost mainly applies to Magic. You don't have much of an advantage in the other areas." Loki reassured Liber.
Hearing Loki's reassurance, Liber fell silent.
He had received two spells through his Falna, and both used little Magic while lasting a relatively long time.
By focusing too much on exploring the possibilities of magic, he had reduced the number of times he fought in close combat. Even if only his Magic proficiency received a growth boost, giving up on opportunities to improve his other abilities felt lazy.
He still needed to keep up a more consistent physical training routine.
Even if his other abilities didn't have a skill boosting their proficiency, and wouldn't improve very much, relying solely on his skill and focusing on using magic to indirectly increase them was still too slow.
Liber thought it over. He should keep up some close combat, move his body more during fights, and improve his reaction speed to sudden situations while he was at it.
"Loki." Liber got dressed and spoke to Loki, who had finished updating his status and turned to look for her wine.
"Yeah? What is it?" Loki replied casually.
"I think I should work on my close-combat ability. I'd like someone to train and guide me."
"If that's what you want, I'll ask around the Familia and see who has time to train you," Loki replied somewhat casually.
"Thank you," Liber said earnestly.
"Don't mention it. Even if you just asked someone directly, I doubt the others would refuse."
"Go get some rest. I'll find someone suitable to train you and let you know when I have time."
Loki gave Liber her instructions with a helpless look.
Liber nodded and left Loki's room.
Watching him leave, Loki pondered for a moment.
"What an amazing kid. But who would be suited to his fighting style?" Loki wondered with a troubled look.
"Close combat, huh? I'll go ask the others."
With that, Loki also left the room.
After Liber returned to his room, he washed up a little and lay down in bed.
"I should go a little deeper tomorrow. Today's fights weren't intense enough."
Liber thought, feeling somewhat eager for battle.
Feeling the significant increase in his Magic and the vigor coursing through his body after his status update, Liber decided that on future adventures, he would go deeper into the Dungeon and get used to fighting with his body. He didn't need to limit his use of magic, but he also had to train his physical strength more.
He used all the Magic he had left to cast [Magic Space], expanding the space.
As his Magic dwindled, the space grew along with it. When Liber had used up all his Magic, he sensed that the space he carried with him had nearly doubled in size.
With the weakness and dizziness brought on by using up his Magic, Liber fell into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, after leaving the room, Loki hummed a little tune as she strode briskly down the hallway.
"Finn's too busy. He probably won't have time to train him. Gareth's fighting style isn't very suitable for teaching, and as for... Bete's got too foul a mouth. He probably won't have the patience."
Loki walked along briskly, muttering to herself.
"Well, I'd better talk it over with Riveria first and see who'd be a good fit."
Then she quickened her pace toward Riveria's room.
Loki cheerfully reached Riveria's door, knocked casually, and hurriedly opened it.
"Mama, mama, I came to play with you."
"Don't use that embarrassing nickname, Loki."
Riveria looked at Loki, who had barged in without asking, and spoke with some exasperation.
"Oh, sure, Riveria. Hey, Ais is here too. Ais—"
Loki shamelessly answered Riveria, then spotted the girl sitting across from her and excitedly lunged at her.
Ais calmly chopped Loki on the head as she flew toward her.
Loki cried out in pain from the chop, then flopped on the floor and loudly demanded comfort.
Riveria rubbed her forehead and watched Loki make a scene in front of her before speaking.
"Quiet down, Loki. Ais has something to ask me about and just sat down. What brings you here?"
Loki stopped shouting. "It's nothing dangerous. A rookie needs some close-combat training, so I came to talk it over with you."
"Close-combat training? Finn and Gareth aren't suitable, and Bete probably won't be willing. Tiona and Tione would probably agree, but the Amazonian fighting style is too dangerous and unsuitable. That leaves Raul as the best choice."
Riveria recommended a candidate to Loki.
"Then Raul it is. I'll find him in a bit and tell him."
Loki stood up as she spoke.
"Loki, I want to train the rookie."
Ais suddenly spoke, her expression serious.
"Waaah, Ais wants to get close to a man! I can't take it!"
Hearing Ais's words, Loki clung to her, making a fuss and groping her with her hands and feet, putting on an exaggerated act.
Riveria watched as Ais struck Loki in the waist with her elbow again, leaving Loki writhing on the floor.
Ignoring Loki, who had been hurt, Riveria turned to Ais in surprise. "You'd certainly be suitable, but why do you suddenly want to train a rookie?"
Ais hesitated. "New member. We haven't gotten close. I want to make a friend."
Riveria smiled warmly. "You want to make a friend. That's a good thing. Then you should make sure to train him well."
Ais nodded earnestly, her face still somewhat youthful.
"No... don't..."
Loki writhed on the floor, reaching out toward Ais and moaning weakly.
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