Inside the Divine Chamber at Twilight Manor.
Loki traced something on Liber's back with her injured finger as she spoke.
"I'm about to give you your Falna, so don't move. Giving the children their Falna is like digging up raw gems—there are always surprises. For me, inscribing Falna on the children is a super fun thing to do."
"I was going to explain the Falna to you, but since you already know a bit about it, I won't go into detail." Loki muttered as she continued drawing.
Suddenly, the finger Loki had been moving over his back came to a stop. She fell silent.
"You hit the jackpot! Hahaha, I knew it—I've got another outstanding kid here!" Loki suddenly burst out laughing.
The unexpected turn of events left Liber utterly confused. He looked back at Loki, who stood there with her hands on her hips, laughing without restraint.
"It's been a while since someone out there asked to join my Familia, and I landed a great catch right away. My luck really has been great since I came down to the Lower World."
Liber asked in confusion, "What... happened?"
With a delighted smile on her face, Loki moved closer to Liber.
Liber turned and held out a hand to stop her, but Loki didn't mind. She straightened up, unable to hide her grin. Her usually narrowed eyes had opened a little, revealing an extraordinary gleam.
"Don't rush. I haven't transcribed your status yet so you can see it," she said, producing a sheet of parchment from who knew where.
"Take a good look at your status. Your talent ranks among the best in the entire Familia."
After finishing the transcription, Loki pressed the parchment against Liber's back. A moment later, she peeled it away.
Having finished her work, Loki handed Liber the parchment she had lifted from his back, her face full of delight.
Liber took the parchment and stared at it.
Liber Miller
Lv. 1
"Strength": I0
"Endurance": I0
"Dexterity": I0
"Agility": I0
"Magic": I0
{--Magic--}
[Levitation]
Magic
(Levitation) to objects and allows them to be controlled.
[][]
{--Skills--}
[Superimposed Fantasy]
increases the effect of training related to the Magic ability.
stronger the belief in matters related to magic, the greater the effect.
[Egoistic Egalitarianism]
raise an ability's proficiency rank, all abilities must be at the same rank.
the ranks differ, proficiency in that ability is automatically distributed to the abilities with lower proficiency.
This was what had been transcribed onto the parchment: the abilities displayed by the divine script inscribed on Liber's back.
The divine script, which had originally been drawn as a jester-like pattern that ordinary people couldn't understand, had been converted into a common language through Loki's transcription and interpretation.
Looking at the parchment, Liber said with some surprise, "One magic and two skills. That's certainly unexpected."
Loki patted Liber on the shoulder like an old friend, then slung an arm around his neck and leaned close. "Ordinary adventurers barely have any magic or skills at all. You've only just received your Falna, and you already have magic and skills. You've got the potential to become a hero."
Loki was overjoyed by this unexpected windfall.
Liber Miller was a genius who could be compared to Finn.
One magic and two skills was a truly astonishing result for someone who had only just received a Falna.
In the entire Familia, only one person had such fearsome talent and potential: the current captain of the Loki Familia, a Level 6 adventurer at the top of Orario, known as the Pallum Hero—Finn Deimne.
It was said that when the current captain of the Loki Familia first received his Falna, he awakened one magic and three skills. Now he had two magics and five skills.
As far as Loki knew, he had more skills than anyone else. He was just one magic short of filling all his magic slots.
Of course, having more magic and skills didn't necessarily mean someone was stronger than a person with none.
After all, in Labyrinth City, Orario, level was the most direct measure of strength.
The power of magic and skills also depended on their actual effects.
But no matter what, the number of Liber's magic and skills clearly showed his talent and potential.
Liber asked with some confusion, "This second skill, [Egoistic Egalitarianism], sounds like a negative skill."
By now, Loki had composed herself. She said:
"Since you know a bit about the Falna, you should know that abilities are ranked according to proficiency. Looked at positively, this skill ensures you won't have any weak spots. It also lets you raise your proficiency in every ability at the same time, and there are many ways to do that.
"The drawback is that if your overall ability proficiency rises too slowly, you'll have to slow down when you want to level up.
"But with your two skills working together, it doesn't count as a negative effect."
Since Liber had only just received his Falna, all five of his abilities were at the lowest rank, I, and each had a proficiency of 0.
Ability ranks didn't increase in a single leap. The proficiency of an ability was usually represented by numbers: 0–99 was I, 100–199 was H, and 200–299 was G, and so on. It was generally believed that S was the highest rank for basic abilities, with a proficiency cap of 999.
The only way to raise proficiency in a basic ability was to use that ability frequently.
To improve "Strength," you had to exert your strength often.
To improve "Endurance," you had to endure pain often.
To improve "Agility," you had to move nimbly and run around often.
And so on. To improve "Magic," you had to use magic frequently.
The more often an ability was used, the more its proficiency increased. But as it approached the maximum value, its growth became slower and slower.
Few people could even raise their basic abilities to rank A or B, and those who could bring an ability all the way to the highest rank, S, were exceedingly rare.
Liber nodded, beginning to understand.
According to the skill [Egoistic Egalitarianism], if his "Magic" proficiency rose faster than his other abilities and broke through from I99 to H100, any proficiency he gained in "Magic" afterward would be directly distributed to the abilities with lower proficiency.
Once his other abilities reached H100, their gains would likewise be distributed to whichever abilities were lower, until all his abilities had reached H100. After that, his abilities would improve normally again.
Loki looked at the Falna on Liber's back and said, "I'll use my ichor to lock your status and hide your Falna, so others can't pry into it."
Loki picked up the needle again, pricked her finger, and pressed it against Liber's back. She spoke to him as she did so.
"Also, I should remind you that the contents of your Falna are the greatest secret for anyone who's received one. Generally speaking, you shouldn't reveal anything about your status to anyone except your most trusted Familia members and your patron deity, in case someone with bad intentions targets you."
Loki's cheerful expression suddenly turned serious. She looked at Liber and said,
"Liber, your talent is especially rare. You'd better not let anyone outside the Familia learn what's on your status."
"I understand." Liber naturally wouldn't casually reveal his trump cards to outsiders.
Loki dropped her serious expression and grinned mischievously. "That said, there's no need to be so timid. There's nothing in all of Orario that our Loki Familia needs to fear. Show off your talent to your heart's content."
Loki stood behind Liber, moving her fingertips over his back. Her finger slid across it, and ripples spread over Liber's skin. His status then vanished from sight, locked away.
Unless Loki herself unlocked it with her ichor or someone illegally broke the seal by force, no one would be able to make it appear.
"Done." Loki wiped away her sweat after finishing everything, looking like she'd just completed a major task.
Liber got dressed as well. Loki then casually burned the parchment that recorded his status.
"It's already pretty late today. I'll have someone set up a room for you. Tomorrow, I'll show you around our headquarters and introduce you to some of the others."
Hearing this, Liber nodded and picked up the backpack beside his feet. "I'm looking forward to what comes next, too, Goddess—no, Loki."
"Good! I'll find someone to take you to an empty room to rest. We'll talk about everything else tomorrow. We'll also have to prepare a welcome party for the new member. Haha, the Familia's going to get lively again."
Loki narrowed her eyes, unable to stop smiling.
Afterward, Liber went with a member of the Familia to rest in an empty room.
Inside Loki's room.
She listened to the footsteps gradually fade away. A faint, inscrutable expression crept into her joyful face as she murmured, "Looks like something fun is about to begin."
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