"My dear wife, could you help me update my status?"
"Of course, Nathan! Lie down quickly!"
In the basement of the abandoned church, a relaxed Nathaniel asked Hestia to update his adventurer status.
The adventurers of Orario are similar to those in other sword-and-magic worlds, each having their own levels. However, the adventurers of Orario have stats and skills that resemble game panels, complete with various data and abilities. Venturing into the dungeon to fight monsters is how they gain the experience needed to level up.
Nathaniel took off his shirt and lay face down on the bed, while Hestia, without hesitation, straddled his hips. The soft sensation made Nathaniel brow knit, his face showed an expression of pure enjoyment.
Hestia first gently stroked Nathaniel back with her right hand, then pricked her index finger and squeezed out a drop of blood, letting it fall onto his back.
As soon as the blood touched Nathaniel back, it was absorbed into his skin. A flash of light appeared, and a set of data materialized out of thin air.
[Nathaniel]
[LV1]
Strength: A889
Endurance: A889
Dexterity: S999
Agility: S999
Magic: B789
[Magic]
() () ()
[Skills]
[Cheating]
I, Nathaniel, am not cheating!
[Cat's Body]
Have you heard of Tom? Yes, that blue cat. With this skill, you'll possess a body as strong as his. But beware, inheriting his traits means you'll also share his eternal inability to defeat an enemy named Jerry.
[Wolf Wisdom]
You'll gain the wisdom of the smartest wolf wolf on the Green Grassland, Grey Wolf King. However, you'll also inherit his eternal inability to defeat a sheep.
[Bear Power]
You've caught the attention of the Hearth God, and thus, you've gained the power of the Hearth God. That's right, from now on, you can breathe fire!
In the world of Danmachi, adventurer attributes are ranked from F to S, with the lowest F attribute ranging from 0 to 99, and the highest S attribute ranging from 900 to 999. S is the upper limit for ordinary people's attributes.
As one levels break through, new skills appear, and attributes reset to 0.
"Oh! Nathan, your stats have improved again! This time, you've reached two S-rank stats, and they're already at the limit!"
Looking at the data that had surfaced, Hestia exclaimed with joy. As her one and only beloved Familia member, the more powerful Nathaniel became, the happier and prouder she felt.
"This is truly amazing! nathan-kun you only been an adventurer for twenty days, yet your stats are already so high. This is something that has never been heard of in Orario before. With your current stats, nathan-kun, you can level-up to Level 2 right now. This will be the fastest Level 2 upgrade in Orario history!"
While she was excited, Hestia used a piece of parchment to copy the data from Nathaniel back. She then leaned over his back and handed the parchment to him.
"There's no rush to level-up to Level 2. I only have two S-rank stats, and I want to grind a bit more. I'll upgrade once my stats are a bit higher."
Enjoying the sensation of Hestia chest pressing against his back, Nathaniel looked at his stats on the parchment.
"S-rank is just the upper limit for ordinary people, but I don't think that's my limit."
As someone with cheats, the limits of ordinary people didn't apply to him.
"Hmm, Nathan-kun is so amazing. I believe you can definitely break through the limits."
In the original story, Bell had broken through the S-rank limit. Thanks to his cheat skill, "Liaris Freese," his leveling speed was incredibly fast, as if he had a double experience cheat. He reached Level 2 in just one month.
Nathaniel didn't have "Liaris Freese," but he also had a 'cheating' skill. Although he didn't have double experience, his monster grinding speed was several times faster than others. While others might kill a hundred monsters in a day, with his firearms, he could kill several thousand in that time. With full firepower, he could even become a one-man army.
As long as he had enough ammunition, he could push his stats to the limit.
This was why, after only twenty days as a Familia member, his stats had skyrocketed.
After locking the status on Nathaniel back, Hestia jumped down, allowing him to sit up and get dressed.
Looking at Nathaniel, who was leisurely putting on his clothes, and then at the parchment in her hand with his stats, Hestia couldn't help but complain.
"Nathan-kun, no matter how many times I look at your skills, they always seem so strange. The first skill is completely incomprehensible, and the last one too. It's supposed to express my love for you, but why is it called 'Bear'? It's so weird."
Would I tell you that it has nothing to do with you?
Nathaniel silently complained in his heart while getting dressed. The power of the bear? That's the power of Guoba!
When he first transmigrated, he received an achievement called 'Becoming a Transmigrator', which granted him 'Cat Body'. Then, when he became an adventurer, he got another achievement called 'Becoming an Adventurer', which gave him 'Wolf Wisdom'. After becoming Hestia Familia member, he received another achievement called 'Becoming a God Familia', which granted him 'Bear Power'.
From the skill's characteristics, Nathaniel immediately understood what it was. It was the power of the Hearth God, who could breathe fire - the Guoba from Genshin Impact next door!
When Hestia first saw this skill, a string of question marks appeared above her head. She couldn't figure out what a bear had to do with her, the hearth goddess.
"Well, never mind, I don't know how this cheating system works either. After all, it's not something I created."
However, Hestia wasn't one to dwell on things. After a brief moment of confusion, she quickly dismissed her doubts.
What she cared more about was the skill description - "The Gaze of the Hearth God." This made her incredibly happy. What did it mean? It meant that her love for Nathaniel was real!
Her love for Nathaniel had directly granted him a new skill. What did that signify? It meant that Nathaniel loved her too.
"Nathaniel you're amazing!"
Overjoyed, Hestia watched as Nathaniel finished dressing and then pounced on him, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"Thank you for the praise, my dear wife."
Nathaniel gently patted the little head resting against his chest, then glanced at the watch on his wrist. He had even managed to create a mechanical watch to keep track of time while in the dungeon.
"My dear wife, since we still have some time, let's visit Hephaestus. I need to restock some supplies, and then we can go out and celebrate properly! How does that sound?"
"Yay! Let's do it as you said and have a great celebration!"