In the simple room on basement, lit only by the soft glow of a oil lamp, Luki was lying face down on the bed, his back exposed. He felt the slightly rough texture of the sheets against his skin while Hestia prepared to update his Falna.
— Luki-kun, ready? — Hestia's voice was filled with anticipation.
Luki turned his face slightly toward her and, after a moment, replied hesitantly:— Eh... y-yes... rEAdy.
Hestia gave a warm smile, already used to his peculiar way of speaking, and gently sat down on his legs, holding the small silver needle.
— All right. Don't worry, it'll be quick! — she replied, unsure if he would fully understand.
Hestia gently pricked her finger with the needle and let a drop of her blood touch the markings on Luki's back. The Falna began to glow, and magical symbols floated in the air, revealing Luki's true strength.
Name: Luki Bryan
Level: 1
Attributes:
Strength (STR): 10 i
Endurance (END): 11 i
Dexterity (DEX): 10 i
Agility (AGI): 10 i
Magic (MAG): 0 i
Skills: None
Spells: None
— Hmm, looks like everything's pretty much the same... except for endurance, which went up to 11. — Hestia commented, analyzing the numbers. — With the Excelia you've accumulated, I can distribute 30 more points into your attributes. How do you want them allocated?
— Hm... I din't... understand... — Luki replied, his expression a mix of confusion and an attempt to look attentive.
Hestia let out a deep sigh, placing a hand on her forehead. — Right, right... I forgot to explain. My little Luki-kun, pay attention now, okay? I'll try to be as clear as possible.
Luki nodded, fixing his gaze on her, though the language barrier was still a challenge.
— Here's the thing: with my blessing, called Falna, you accumulate a special energy called Excelia. This happens when you do things like defeating monsters in the Dungeon. Got that so far?
— Uh... kinda... Excelia is like... reward? — Luki guessed.
— Exactly! — Hestia celebrated, excited. — I use that Excelia to enhance your physical stats, like strength and endurance. And there's more: when you gather enough Excelia and do something big, like defeating a boss or performing a heroic deed, you can level up!
Hestia paused dramatically, gesturing for emphasis.
— When you level up, your current attributes are absorbed into your body and reset to zero on the Falna. That means the power becomes truly yours, no longer dependent on me. Do you understand that too?
Luki scratched his head, clearly processing as much as he could. — Level up... mAkes pOWer mine. I think I get it...
— Great! So now I need you to tell me how you want to distribute your 30 points. You can think about where you want to get stronger, or focus on what you think you need to improve.
Luki stayed silent for a moment, pondering what he'd heard. He still had doubts about how this system really worked, but one thing was clear: it seemed like a variation of the world he knew.
'In the anime, they never explained that the gods controlled growth like this. It always seemed automatic, based on individual effort. Could this be an alternate world?'
He recalled that in the original work, many adventurers rarely reached rank A in their stats unless they were truly talented. But from what Hestia said, it sounded more like "farming Excelia" than pure talent.
— Luki-kun? — Hestia called, snapping her fingers in front of his face. — Any idea where to put the points?
He turned his attention back to her with a small smile. — Let's pUt... haLF in... StrenGHT and EndUrance. I want to get strONger and hold out... lONger.
Hestia smiled, pleased. — Good choice, my little Luki! Leave it to me.
And with that, Hestia began updating the Falna while Luki watched curiously. He was intrigued by the process, especially considering how much this world seemed to have subtle differences from the stories he knew.
— All done! — said Hestia with a radiant smile.
— What? AlrEAdy? — Luki asked, surprised.
Hestia let out a playful giggle. — Hihihi~ Of course, silly! What did you think would happen? A magic ceremony with light explosions?
— ... Maybe. — He shrugged, a little embarrassed.
She shook her head, sitting on the bed with a sheet of paper in hand. — Don't be silly. Anyway, here are your new stats. Here, take a look.
Luki took the sheet and sat down, adjusting his posture to read. He still struggled with reading, but the text was straightforward enough for him to understand with relative ease. As he read, his concentrated expression slowly shifted into a faint smile of satisfaction.
Name: Luki Bryan
Level: 1
Attributes:
Strength (STR): 10 i (+15) > 25 i
Endurance (END): 11 i (+15) > 26 i
Dexterity (DEX): 10 i
Agility (AGI): 10 i
Magic (MAG): 0 i
Skills: None
Spells: None
Luki stared at the sheet in his hands, the numbers jumping out at him. A heavy sigh escaped his lips as he processed the reality.
— I fEEl... wEAk... — he muttered, his voice low and tinged with frustration.
Hestia, still beside him, tilted her head and watched him with concern.
— Oh, my Luki-kun, it's okay! — She placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to comfort him. — You've just started your journey. It's normal to begin small. No one is born strong, you know?
He stayed silent for a moment, still staring at the numbers. Then he looked up at her and, with unusual clarity, said:
— You were born a goddess.
The statement caught Hestia completely off guard. Her face instantly turned bright red, a mix of surprise and embarrassment flooding her expression.
— What?! — she exclaimed, flailing her hands. — Luki-kun! Where did you learn to talk like that all of a sudden?!
He simply shrugged, as if it were nothing, though the faint smile on his lips suggested he knew exactly the effect of his words.
— Ugh... you really know how to disarm a goddess, huh? Careful or I might disown you, — she muttered, turning her face away to hide the blush.
But her tone quickly returned to normal when Luki spoke again, this time in his usual awkward accent:
— But... this is so liTTle... 26... is nothING compAREd to... um... 999?
Hestia sighed in relief at seeing him return to his usual self, but she also noticed the genuine concern in his words.
— Luki, listen. — She leaned closer again, holding his face in her hands and making him look into her eyes. — Don't compare your beginning to someone else's end. Every adventurer who achieved great feats started just like you: small.
He frowned, absorbing her words, though he still seemed a bit down.
— I... I trY... but it... fEEls hard.
— And it is hard. — She smiled softly, leaning her forehead against his. — But you have something many don't: me. I'll help you grow, get stronger, and one day you'll look back and laugh at how far you've come.
Luki hesitated, but a small smile appeared on his lips.
— I trust... you, Hestia-sama.
She giggled, pulling back and giving him a light pat on the shoulder.
— That's right! Now, let's rest. Tomorrow's a new day, and you've got a lot of work ahead, my little hero.
He nodded, still holding the sheet, but with a different light in his eyes. Her words had brought an unexpected comfort, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he began to believe he had a real chance to become someone strong.