Upgrade

At home, Falan looked over a sheet of paper recording the status values from this expedition. (End of previous chapter.)

He felt deeply moved, yet could not help falling silent.

He had spent more than three years in Orario before finally becoming an adventurer.

Now, just over two months had passed, and he already met the qualifications to reach lv.2.

That was half the previous shortest record. It could be said that this made him even more dangerous.

(During the Evils Familia's reign, many records may have been lost. Otherwise, with the scale of the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia, if Zeus could raise Bell alone and give him the qualifications to level up within a month, there was no reason those two Familia would not have had such adventurers during their prime.)

"Lord Soma, let me think about whether I should rush to level up..."

This was truly worth considering. After all, his "Backpack" had become Xiang Beibei.

If his newly awakened skill, Child of the Dark Elf, was exposed now, he would be in even greater danger.

It could be said that breaking the record for the fastest level-up brought both benefits and drawbacks to Falan.

The benefit was that he could break free from the restraints of lv.1 and level up more effectively, increasing his strength.

But the downside was that he would become the focus of Orario's gods. There was a good chance another Divine Assembly would be held because of him.

"Should I level up, or not?" Honestly, it was a difficult choice.

Leveling up was naturally good, since it would allow him to grow stronger faster.

Not leveling up would let him keep a low profile for a while. After all, the "Backpack" and this expedition—

Had already brought him into the sight of Orario's gods. He did not want to keep drawing attention to himself.

A protagonist in a novel acting high-profile from beginning to end? That was simply impossible.

Being too high-profile and too arrogant could get people killed in the real world.

"I should level up..."

After all, if he did not level up, perhaps his status values could continue increasing before then.

But Falan was already at the threshold of leveling up. This was one of the world's restraints upon adventurers.

Every additional point of status was now almost impossible to gain. After all, Falan was not currently on a military expedition.

Relying only on himself, breaking through his current average SS status values was already extremely difficult.

"Have you really decided?"

At the rebuilt Soma Familia residence, the god asked heavily.

"Yes. Even if, as Lord Soma said, the higher the status values accumulated at each level, the deeper the foundation for the future... I'm only lv.1 right now. If someone wants to make a move against me, I may not even be able to protect myself. Without the present, how can there be a future?"

"All right. Perhaps you are right," Soma said dejectedly. In the end, it was the gap in values between gods and mortals.

To a god who had lived in Orario for many years, letting Falan accumulate more for a while—at most one or two months, until the next military expedition—would allow all his status values to reach SSS.

But while one or two months might be brief in His eyes, it was still not a short period for adventurers in Orario.

Slowly, Soma said, "Turn around... Wait, use your Backpack to put away the equipment on my table first. Take off your clothes, then lie down." After a long absence—cough, cough, just one day—Falan once again felt the warmth of divine power flowing into his body.

The warmth gradually turned into unbearable heat. He felt as though his back were being scorched.

Is this what leveling up feels like? Falan could not help feeling uncertain. Maybe it is. This is my first time leveling up, after all.

What he did not know was that Soma was greatly shocked while leveling him up.

As an old Familia, although it had long since declined, Soma had still leveled people up before.

So this is a level-up with average status values as high as SS, with even one at SSS?

Unlike past level-ups, Soma did not need to guess the answer.

With such high status values, the energy required for Metamorphosis during a level-up was also greater than what ordinary people needed.

Still, He was not worried. After all, Falan was someone He had taken a liking to after so long, and he had even endured the effects of Divine Wine.

This little bit of heat brought by leveling up was nothing in His eyes. Falan should be able to endure it as well.

A few minutes later, the burning sensation behind Falan slowly faded, as did the golden light enveloping him due to the divine power of his level-up.

"Congratulations. From now on, you are a first-class lv.2 adventurer."

"Mm, thank you, Lord Soma. I just wonder..."

"See for yourself."

Soma casually tossed the freshly imprinted status sheet to Falan.

Caught off guard, Falan hurriedly reached out to grab it several times, only for the paper to seem determined to oppose him.

After missing several times in a row, he could only properly inspect the information once the paper landed on the table.

[Name]: Falan

[Level]: lv.2

[Ability Values]

Strength: i0

Endurance: i0

Dexterity: i0

Agility: i0

Magic: i0

[Development Ability]: ???

[Magic]: Life Magic

[Skills]: Child of the Dark Elf

● Enhanced magic effects (darkness-element effects doubled)

● Enhanced magic recovery speed (doubled at night)

● Expanded range and area of effect for magic

● Strengthened magic power

● Resistance to abnormal environments

● Free Chant

Witness of History

● All attribute values increased by an additional 5%

"What Development Ability are you planning to choose?"

"Uh, Lord Soma, what can I choose from?"

"Mystery, Smithing, Mixing, Mage, Healing, Abnormal Resistance, and Dark."

"I would recommend Mystery and Mage."

"Mystery goes without saying. It is essential for making magic items and is very suitable for a magic-focused adventurer like you."

"Mage is also magic-focused, but unlike Mystery, it is geared toward magical offense."

"As for Abnormal Resistance and Healing, you have Child of the Dark Elf, so you probably do not need them."

"Then..."

"Dark?"

"Mm. I have never seen this Development Ability before. Perhaps it is related to your Child of the Dark Elf skill."

...I see. This time, seven Development Abilities had appeared when I leveled up.

Smithing and Mixing were both support-type abilities, so Soma did not recommend that he choose them.

Healing and Abnormal Resistance happened to overlap with Child of the Dark Elf, so there was no need for them either.

Although Mystery, like Smithing and Mixing, was a support ability leaning toward crafting, it differed from the other two. The magic items it could create were especially useful for magic-focused adventurers in prolonged battles.

Mage, on the other hand, was a burst-focused magical offense ability. For example, Nine Hell, Riveria Ljos Alf, was said to have relied on Mage and Healing at lv.4 to become a magical artillery platform comparable to lv.6.

Working together with Loki Familia captain Finn Deimne, she had been enough to strike down several Evils Familia that possessed multiple lv.6 adventurers. The power of Mage was evident from that alone. Yet compared to Mystery and Mage—

Dark, a Development Ability even Soma had never seen before, attracted Falan's attention even more.