Talents Emerge, Unexpected Magic

Inside the divine room of Twilight Manor.

Loki used her injured finger to trace something onto Liber's back while speaking.

"I'm about to grant you my blessing, so don't move around. Bestowing blessings upon children is like digging for raw gemstones—full of surprises. For me, carving these blessings is an incredibly fun task."

"I was going to explain the blessing to you, but since you already have some understanding, I won't go into detail," Loki muttered while continuing to trace.

Suddenly, the finger Loki was using to trace stopped moving. She fell into a sudden silence.

"I've hit the jackpot! Hahaha, as expected of me, another excellent child has come along, heh heh." Loki suddenly laughed.

The sudden turn of events left Liber bewildered. He turned to look at Loki, only to see her standing there with her hands on her hips, laughing brazenly.

"It's been a long time since someone asked to join my familia from the outside, and I've drawn a winning card right off the bat. My luck really has been great since coming down to the Lower World."

Liber asked, somewhat confused, "What... exactly is going on?"

With a look of delight on her face, Loki leaned in toward Liber.

Liber turned and reached out to stop her, but Loki didn't mind. She straightened her posture, unable to hide the smile on her face. Her usually squinted eyes opened slightly, revealing an extraordinary expression.

"Don't be so impatient; I haven't translated and printed your status sheet for you to see yet," Loki said, pulling a piece of parchment from out of nowhere.

"Take a good look at your status. The talent you've displayed is among the best in the entire familia."

After translating, Loki pressed the parchment against Liber's back, waited a moment, and then peeled it off.

Loki finished her work and handed the parchment she had peeled from Liber's back to him with a face full of joy.

Liber took the parchment and fixed his gaze upon it.

Liber Miller

Lv.1

"Strength": I0

"Endurance": I0

"Dexterity": I0

"Agility": I0

"Magic": I0

{--Magic--}

[Levitation]

magic.

(Levitation) to objects and allows for manipulation.

[][]

{--Skills--}

[Superimposed Fantasy]

performing training related to magic status attributes, the effect is significantly increased.

stronger the belief in magic-related matters, the stronger the effect.

[Egoistic Egalitarianism]

proficiency levels must be at the same level to increase.

levels are uneven, the proficiency of that status is automatically distributed to the lower proficiency status.

This was the content printed on the parchment, representing the abilities revealed by the sacred text carved onto Liber's back.

The sacred text, which had originally been drawn in a clown pattern that an ordinary person could never decipher, had been converted into a common language through Loki's printing and translation.

As Liber looked at the contents of the parchment, he said with some surprise, "One magic and two skills—this is truly unexpected."

Loki patted Liber on the shoulder like a brother, draped her arm around his neck, and leaned in close. "Ordinary adventurers rarely even have a magic slot or a skill. For you to possess both the moment you receive a blessing... you have the potential to become a hero."

Loki was overjoyed, the surprise feeling like a windfall.

Liber Miller was a genius comparable to Finn.

One magic and two skills was indeed an exaggerated situation for someone who had just received a blessing.

In the entire familia, there was only one person with such terrifying talent and potential: the current captain of the Loki Familia, an adventurer at the pinnacle of Orario, a Level 6, known as the Pallum hero, Finn.

It is said that when this current captain of the Loki Familia first received his blessing, he awakened one magic and three skills; now, he possesses two magics and five skills.

Within the scope of Loki's knowledge, he is the person with the most skills, needing only one more magic to fill all his magic slots.

While it isn't to say that having more magic and skills necessarily makes one stronger than someone without them, in this dungeon city of Orario, level is the most intuitive standard and measure of power.

The strength of magic and skills also depends on their actual effects.

But regardless, the number of magic and skills fully demonstrated Liber's talent and potential.

Liber asked with some doubt, "This second skill, [Egoistic Egalitarianism], seems a bit like a negative skill."

Loki composed herself and said:

"Since you understand the Falna, you should know that status is divided into ranks based on proficiency. Interpreted positively, this skill ensures you have no weak points in your abilities, while allowing your proficiency to increase synchronously across all stats through various methods.

The drawback is that if your overall proficiency increases slowly when you level up, you will have to slow your pace if you wish to advance.

However, since your two skills complement each other, that can no longer be considered a negative effect."

Because he had just received the Falna, Liber's five status parameters were all at the lowest stage, I, and all sat at a uniform proficiency of 0.

Status ranks do not jump up all at once; the status process is usually represented by proficiency, where 0–99 is (I), 100–199 is (H), 200–299 is (G), and so on. It is generally believed that the highest stage for basic abilities is S, with a proficiency cap of 999.

The only way to increase the proficiency of basic abilities is to use that ability frequently.

To increase "Strength," one must constantly expend strength.

To increase "Endurance," one must constantly endure pain.

To increase "Agility," one must constantly run with agility.

By that logic, to increase "Magic," one must frequently use magic.

The more frequently an ability is used, the more the proficiency increases, though growth slows down as one approaches the maximum value.

Few people even reach stage A or B in their basic abilities, and those who can raise an ability to the highest evaluation, stage S, are few and far between.

Liber nodded in realization.

According to the skill [Egoistic Egalitarianism], if his "Magic" proficiency were to increase ahead of other abilities, breaking through from (I) 99 to (H) 100, the proficiency subsequently gained in "Magic" would be directly distributed to the lower-proficiency abilities.

Once other status values reached (H) 100, they would also be distributed to the remaining lower-proficiency abilities until all stats reached (H) 100, at which point the status values would increase normally again.

Loki looked at the Falna on Liber's back and said, "I will use divine blood to lock your status, effectively hiding the Falna to prevent others from prying."

Loki picked up the needle again, pricked her finger, and touched Liber's back. She said to him, "Additionally, I must warn you: the contents of the Falna are the greatest secret of every recipient. Generally speaking, you should not reveal your status to anyone other than your most trusted Familia companions and your deity, lest you be targeted by those with ill intentions."

Loki's cheerful expression suddenly turned serious. She looked at Liber and said, "Liber, your talent is especially rare. Aside from members of the Familia, it is best if you do not let anyone else know the contents of your abilities."

"I understand." Liber naturally would not reveal his trump cards to outsiders so easily.

Loki dropped her serious expression and smirked, "Having said that, there is no need to be too timid. In all of Orario, there is nothing that our Loki Familia needs to fear. Show off your talent to your heart's content."

Loki stood behind Liber, her fingertips moving across his back. As her fingers slid over his skin, ripples spread across Liber's back, and the status vanished; it was now locked.

Unless Loki herself used divine blood to unlock it, or someone used violent means to break it illicitly, no one would be able to make it appear.

"Done." Having finished, Loki wiped the sweat from her brow, looking as if she had accomplished a great task.

Liber put his clothes back on. Loki then casually burned the parchment that had recorded Liber's status.

"It's quite late today, so I'll have someone arrange a room for you to stay in. Tomorrow, I'll take you around to see the headquarters and introduce you to some of your companions."

Hearing this, Liber nodded and picked up the backpack at his feet. "I am looking forward to the life ahead. Goddess—no, Loki."

"Yosh, very good. I'll go find someone to take you to a vacant room to rest, and we'll talk about other things tomorrow. Besides, I still need to prepare a welcome party for the newcomer. Haha, the Familia is going to be lively again."

Loki squinted, unable to stop the smile on her face.

Afterward, Liber followed a Familia member to a vacant room.

Inside Loki's room, she listened to the fading footsteps. Her joyful expression revealed a hint of inscrutability as she muttered to herself, "Another fun thing has begun."