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The newly emerged Skill was equally extraordinary, another multi-effect Skill that enhanced both mana defensive power, while also boosting attack power during sword fights. It was truly a rule-breaking ability.
Two consecutive sword-related Skills, both extremely powerful and rare, yet he had absolutely no talent for Magic. It was likely that all his innate Skill points had been allocated entirely to swordsmanship.
Loki was starting to get a more complete understanding of Ryoji's heavily skewed innate skillset.
"What are you planning to do?" Loki asked with a gleeful smile, full of interest. "With this ability value, leveling up is definitely no problem, though it looks like you haven't quite hit your limit yet…"
In truth, he was already very close to it.
It seemed like his Endurance could only increase by a few dozen more points. As for Magic Power, judging by his lagging performance in that area, the cap might be around D at best, unlikely to reach C.
"Let's level up." Ryoji didn't hesitate in the slightest, this was exactly what he came here to do.
True, if all ability values were pushed to their limits before leveling up, the stat gains would be greater in the next stage. But to Ryoji, there was no need to be fixated on that. After all, with his crossing-over ability, the Blessing(Falna) was just one of many paths to getting stronger. There was no need to cling to the Falna tree alone.
More importantly, he valued his time.
In three days, the Loki Familia was heading out on an expedition, an event that would let him gain a huge amount of Excelia. He absolutely couldn't afford to miss it. If he did, it might take two or three times longer to acquire that much Excelia again.
And to Ryoji, time was the most valuable resource.
He had to grow as quickly as possible before the cooldown of his crossing-over ability reset, so he could return to the Rakudai world and fulfill his promise to his Senior Sister.
"Let's do it then!" Loki was immediately fired up, her hands trembling with excitement. The most mysterious child to descend to the Lower World was about to complete a level up in her hands.
"Oh right! This level up will also trigger a unique Blessing, a 'Development Ability'!"
"Development Ability?"
"That's right! Simply put, it's a type of ability that emphasizes specialization. Think of it as a bonus granted during level up…"
Starting from Lv.2, each level up may trigger one or more Development Abilities. Adventurers can choose one to learn, although sometimes none will appear at all.
Development Abilities include things like Hunter, Blacksmithing, Abnormal Resistance, Mage, Mixing, and so on. Whether or not they appear depends on the individual's Excelia pattern.
For example, if someone is frequently poisoned or paralyzed by monsters, they might get Abnormal Resistance when leveling up.
"What's my Development Ability?"
"Swordsman and Hunter."
The Swordsman Development Ability enhances growth and combat for sword users — but its effects were already outclassed by Ryoji's two Skills: Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword and Brave Sword Heart.
Hunter, on the other hand, boosts certain ability values when fighting monsters you've previously defeated. It's an ability that can only be earned by rapidly slaying a large number of monsters in a short time.
"I recommend Hunter! It's a very popular ability, even among the gods! And it only appears when leveling up from Lv.1 to Lv.2. After that, it's gone. Compared to that, Swordsman is basically useless for you."
True enough.
Although the Hunter activation condition, fighting monsters you've already beaten — wasn't particularly ideal, it was still far more useful than the practically redundant Swordsman Development Ability.
"Then I'll choose Hunter."
"OK!"
Truth be told, Ryoji would have preferred to pick Swordsman, it matched his natural sword-user nature the best. But in all things, efficiency had to come first.
In the upcoming expedition, Hunter would definitely prove effective, whereas Swordsman would be completely meaningless. Since that was the case, he might as well wait until he upgraded to Lv.3 before choosing Swordsman.
The ability values on Ryoji's back began to show signs of sublimation. Loki, full of enthusiasm, began scribbling and sketching on them, radiating wave-like patterns from the center.
After a short while, the level-up ritual was complete.
Ryoji Lv.2
Power: I (0)
Endurance: I (0)
Dexterity: I (0)
Agility: I (0)
Magic Power: I (0)
Development Ability: Hunter: I
Magic: —
Skills: Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword, Brave Sword Heart
From Loki's hands, Ryoji accepted the new parchment and carefully reviewed his updated ability values.
First, his Level had increased to 2, and all basic ability proficiency values had been reset to 0.
But that didn't mean all his prior efforts had gone to waste, far from it. They had been transformed into hidden parameters. Ryoji could clearly feel that he was now completely different from the version of himself just before the level-up.
"Leveling up means the sublimation of your vessel. After a level-up, your vessel gets a massive upgrade, now all you have to do is keep accumulating proficiency again."
That was Loki's explanation.
Accumulate Excelia, reach the limit, upgrade the vessel. Then accumulate more Excelia, reach another limit, and sublimate again… This endless cycle was the very essence of leveling up.
And the higher one's Level climbed, the closer they came to the realm of the gods.
There was even a rumor that when an Adventurer could no longer level up, they would truly transcend and become a god themselves. But that was just a legend whispered among mortals. There was no actual evidence for it, and the gods themselves always avoided responding to such speculation.
"Hunter doesn't seem to have a Proficiency bar?"
"Right. Development Abilities don't have Proficiency, only Levels. But they're very hard to raise."
So that's how it was.
Just how hard were Development Abilities to raise?
For example, when Ais leveled up to Lv. 2, she also gained Hunter as her Development Ability. But even now, years later, her Hunter level was still only 7.
To put things in perspective: Ais was now 16 years old, and it had been 8 years since her first level-up to Lv.2. In that time, Hunter had only increased from Level 1 to Level 7.
But from another angle, reaching the pinnacle of a Development Ability meant reaching a level of mastery that no other mortal in the lower world could compare to, perhaps even surpassing the gods themselves.
There was once a sage who maxed out the Development Ability Mystery. Through that ability, he accidentally created a Philosopher's Stone, an artifact that granted immortality. Even the gods had never achieved such a feat.
That's how powerful a fully developed Development Ability could become.
Unfortunately, when that sage brought his Philosopher's Stone to his Chief God in joy and excitement, the god smashed it to pieces right before his eyes and burst out laughing at his devastated face.
After that, the world never saw a second Philosopher's Stone, and it became nothing more than legend.
Loki told that story to Ryoji, a tale that truly embodied the essence of a fairy tale.
(End of Chapter)