Liber, lying on his bed, had no idea that the executives of his Familia were discussing this unusual situation.
He was simply thinking about what he had seen in the Dungeon.
The brilliant flash of Lefiya's magic, which had wiped out its target in a single blow, and the Amazon Sisters' effortless punches and kicks that pulverized monsters.
The densely packed monster horde that had once struck fear into his heart was crushed by first-class adventurers as if they were playing around.
The monsters he had dreaded were easily wiped out with a punch or a kick, while the monsters he had racked his brains to hold back were nothing worth mentioning.
"Strength. It all comes down to strength."
Liber sighed.
After experiencing the incredible destructive power of this magical world, his desire for strength had only grown.
He abruptly sat up.
He clenched his fists and felt his physical abilities had risen by a great deal, while his magic power had grown several times over.
He silently recalled the moment he had asked Loki to update his status.
Liber Miller "Strength": G261>>E402 "Endurance": G262>>E401 "Dexterity": G264>>E402 "Agility": G260>>E403 "Magic": F300>>D500 ...
"All your abilities have increased by nearly eight hundred points. Just as absurd a jump in proficiency as before."
Loki marveled at the changes in Liber's status, which she had copied down.
She had thought it would become harder to gain proficiency as his abilities rose.
His rate of growth would gradually slow down, but it hadn't slowed at all in the past few days.
She couldn't help grumbling to herself.
Liber got dressed, took his status sheet from Loki, and studied it carefully.
Loki went over to her storage chest and crouched down to rummage through it for some fine wine.
With her back to Liber, she asked, "How did your first day adventuring with Lefiya go?"
Thinking back over the day's events, he covered his head with one hand and said wearily, "It was awful!"
"Huh?" Loki had just found the wine she wanted. She picked up the bottle and stood, then turned toward him in confusion at his words.
Seeing the look of misunderstanding on Loki's face, he hurriedly waved his hands.
"Lefiya's a wonderful person, really excellent. I meant everything else we ran into in the Dungeon."
Liber explained earnestly to Loki.
Still holding the bottle of wine, Loki looked even more confused.
"We ran into a lot of trouble in the Dungeon. It's a long story. How should I even explain it to you?"
He looked troubled as he considered how to put everything into words.
"If there's that much to tell, then don't bother. You didn't go any deeper into the Dungeon than last time, did you?"
As she spoke, Loki turned and sat cross-legged on the bed, resting the wine in her lap as she wrenched the cork free.
"No, we didn't. We only spent a while on the fifth floor, but—"
"If it was only the fifth floor, there's nothing to worry about with the two of you."
Liber had been about to tell Loki what happened that day, but she interrupted him.
She pulled out the cork with a "pop," then raised the bottle and gulped down the wine.
"Ah!"
After drinking for a while, Loki rested the bottle in her lap again. A flush had already begun to spread across her face.
"If something really happened, tell me another time. It's already so late."
Loki set down the bottle and waved at Liber, hiccuping as she spoke.
"All right, then. It wasn't anything major, anyway. I'll tell you when we have time."
Liber glanced at the late hour, then at Loki, who was already a little tipsy, and replied helplessly.
"Oh~ yeah! With your abilities now~ you can start thinking about leveling up before long~"
Loki kept drinking. Her already tiny eyes, difficult to make out at the best of times, were now narrowed to slits.
At Loki's suggestion, Liber began to consider it.
For adventurers, gaining magic or skills was certainly something to be happy about.
But if they had to choose between magic, skills, and leveling up, most adventurers would choose to level up without hesitation.
This was especially true for Level 1 lower-class adventurers, who looked forward to leveling up more than anything.
To them, neither the wondrous magic they could see before their eyes nor the skills with their strange effects could compare. Even the usual increase in their abilities came second.
What they wanted most was the complete transformation that came with leveling up.
Because advancing from Level 1 was the only way to truly set foot on the path to the extraordinary.
It wasn't just because only adventurers at Level 2 or above had any real say in Orario.
It was also because the proper name for Falna was "the blessing of the gods."
It was the most precious gift the gods had given to the lower world.
Before leveling up, Falna was seen as an accelerator for growth. At this stage, its role was to help those who could already grow become stronger more quickly and more fully.
So while it was accelerating their growth, it depended on the adventurers' own qualities and potential.
If they still had room to improve, Falna could speed up that process, helping them draw out their potential by accumulating experience.
But if their potential had already been completely exhausted, then, unfortunately, Falna couldn't accelerate their growth out of thin air, no matter what.
That was why the levels of proficiency among adventurers varied so much.
Even if adventurers who had exhausted their potential constantly trained and went on adventures to accumulate enormous amounts of experience, they couldn't increase their proficiency by even a single point.
For that reason, even at Level 1, adventurers could differ in strength depending on their abilities, yet they still remained within the bounds of ordinary people.
In the lower world, every race and every person had what was called a limit.
At Level 1, even without Falna, time could make those who truly pursued their limits.
Whether they were dwarves with great strength, beastfolk with incredible endurance, elves with extraordinary magic, or the unfortunate humans and prums, it was the same for all.
To surpass that limit, one had to stop being "human" and step into the extraordinary.
Even if someone had completely exhausted their potential at Level 1 and could no longer make the slightest progress, leveling up would still bring a transformation of their entire being.
It was like a container for holding water changing in both capacity and material: its capacity grew, and its material became stronger.
After leveling up, one was elevated to a different plane. Even if their growth had already ground to a halt, they could still make progress again and grow stronger.
To the gods, their children's process of leveling up was like a ritual, bringing them gradually closer.
The higher their level and the more times they transformed, the more complete their evolution became, and the closer they drew to their "parents."
Could this not be a path to godhood, too?
Besides, levels could not be raised just like that.
For one thing, an adventurer needed at least one ability to reach rank D.
For another, they needed to accomplish a great deed and obtain higher-quality experience to break through to the next level.
Without sufficient ability, an adventurer couldn't withstand the transformation brought on by evolution.
It was like building a house: without a deep, solid foundation, you couldn't build very high.
As for obtaining high-grade experience by accomplishing a great deed, it was like gathering the materials a character needed to level up in a game.
It wasn't the same for everyone.
A great deed—
It could be earned by defeating an enemy far stronger than oneself.
It could also be earned by enduring a harsh and punishing environment.
Even completing a difficult, challenging trial through wisdom and skill could earn one a great deed.
Once someone accomplished something like that, they would receive the high-grade experience needed to break through.
When they accumulated enough of this kind of experience, they could advance to a higher plane and take another step toward becoming a "god."
For Liber, receiving Falna and adventuring in pursuit of a level-up felt less like playing a game and more like the path to godhood of a hero from his memories.
Heracles was the greatest hero in ancient Greek mythology.
He endured countless hardships and completed twelve impossible trials. The Greeks praised him widely, and after his death, the gods recognized him as "Hercules."
Ever since Liber had received his blessing, he had wondered whether the gods of this world were hoping for the birth of a "Heracles."
He didn't know.
Seeing that Loki was dead drunk, he ended his reverie.
Liber then left the Divine Chamber without making a sound.
Before you continue