Final Choice: Mage

"So, should I choose Darkness as my development ability?"

Falan was deeply hesitant over the choices before him.

After all, his current situation was just like that of a protagonist in all sorts of stories.

He possessed magic and talents far beyond ordinary people's—Life Magic and Child of the Dark Elf.

Because of that, he had drawn the attention of all the major factions and had even witnessed history firsthand.

"It's just a pity that the real world has no protagonists."

If he were reading a novel, he might have thought choosing Darkness was perfectly natural.

But the problem was that Darkness had never appeared before, just as Soma had told him.

This development ability called Darkness might be related to Child of the Dark Elf, his evolved skill.

"So should I gamble? Darkness or Mage?"

What if this Darkness development ability overlapped heavily with Child of the Dark Elf?

If Darkness truly gave him the boost in dark-element magic that he imagined—

Then he might indeed become stronger, and faster than if he chose Mage.

But there was uncertainty involved, because who knew—

What effects Darkness actually possessed? In comparison, choosing Mage was the safer option.

"What's wrong? Have you decided?"

Hearing Soma's words, Falan stopped debating with himself.

"Yes. Although Darkness is indeed quite tempting."

"But no one has ever obtained this ability. I don't dare gamble on it. I choose Mage."

"I believe that if Darkness really is connected to my Child of the Dark Elf, it will appear again when I level up in the future."

"At this stage, when I urgently need to increase my strength, I can't risk choosing it."

"I see." Soma wore an expression of unsurprised understanding. After all, as a god,

Soma had seen far too many people. Though Falan had not been in the Soma Familia or spent much time with Him for long,

He had already figured out what kind of person Falan was. How should He put it?

His will was firm, yet he was also a little mad. Under normal circumstances, he was a very steady person.

Though at this moment, he was somewhat crazed by his urgent desire to level up and had not considered Soma's suggestion—

That he first make use of the major Familias' interest in the storage-space magic of Falan's Backpack,

Then go on another Dungeon expedition and use that opportunity to raise all his attributes to SSS.

If all his attributes reached the limit of a single level, it meant Falan would have a better foundation.

Falan rejecting His suggestion had been expected overall. In fact, his current choice was also within His expectations.

Because Falan's madness had a reason behind it. If it had been anyone else, they likely would have long since been driven mad by the pressure brought by the major Familias due to insufficient willpower,

Or they would have been unable to resist being led astray.

"Are you really choosing Mage? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Lord Soma. Do you really want to know what Darkness is?"

"Yes. In the hundreds of years since the gods descended, rare magic and skills may be uncommon, but there are still ways to obtain them. Yet a special development ability unique to an individual like Darkness is far rarer."

"I can only say that those who possessed special development abilities in the past either became strong—truly strong—or died as weaklings. That is why I am actually conflicted about your choice of Mage."

"On one hand, I am quite curious about what abilities Darkness possesses. It gave you the unique Life Magic and the powerful skill Child of the Dark Elf. This Darkness development ability has stirred my desire for the lower world for the first time in a long while."

"But you are right as well. Pursuing a special development ability when you have no strength at all has its drawbacks. You either become one of those powerful predecessors, or your development ability fails to provide help and you die a pathetic death."

Thus, through Falan and Soma's conversation, his development ability was decided as Mage.

[Name]: Falan

[Level]: lv.2

[Ability Values]

Strength: i0

Endurance: i0

Dexterity: i0

Agility: i0

Magic: i0

[Development Ability]: Mage i (New)

Description: Enhances the user's magical power, area of effect, and mental energy consumption.

[Magic]: Life Magic

[Skill]: Child of the Dark Elf

● Enhanced magic effects (doubled for dark-element magic)

● Enhanced magic recovery speed (doubled at night)

● Increased range and area of effect for magic

● Enhanced magic power

● Resistance to abnormal environments

● Free Chant

Witness of History

● All attribute values increase by an additional 5%

"I see, so that's how magic works..."

"What kind of knowledge did Mage give you?"

"Actually, it wasn't much. If you want, I can demonstrate it for you, Lord Soma."

"Alright."

"Clear!" With a single word from Falan, a pile of trash beside him vanished at once.

"Didn't I say..."

"Lord Soma, have you forgotten? I have Free Chant now."

"...It simply didn't occur to me." Soma admitted it directly. For a god as single-minded as Him,

He would rather spend more time brewing wine than remembering such things.

[Dark Spirit, mysterious beyond measure, clear everything before me! Clear!]

As Falan chanted again, he cast the spell once more, and another pile of trash in the room disappeared.

"According to the knowledge I gained from Mage, these two are the same spell."

"They originally belonged to the Life Magic branch and were created through Magic Weaving."

"There is a major difference between them. Before I obtained Free Chant, the first one consumed my own life force."

"After obtaining Free Chant, it is effectively the same as a spell formed through complete Magic Weaving, only slightly weaker."

"Magic chants—the words themselves possess power. It really is fascinating. Different combinations of words create magic of different strength. For example... [Dark Spirit, swiftly manifest Triple Arrow and strike the scouts heavily.]"

A magic circle appeared in Falan's hand, and then three volleys of arrows shot forth.

They flew through the window and struck several people spying outside.

They all retreated. After all, Falan had not possessed such an ability before.

Yet he suddenly had it now. In their eyes, this was probably what leveling up meant.

If that was the case, they might as well wait until they learned what Falan's development ability was.