Only after Ron clearly saw the contents recorded on the parchment did he finally understand—why Hestia's expression just now had been so astonished.
Because the increase in overall ability values could no longer be described as merely exaggerated.
For example.
The prodigy girl recognized by all adventurers in Orario, the "Sword Princess" Ais, once requested Ottar of the Freya Familia to help her undergo hellish special training.
Even then, the total increase in ability values for that day had only just barely exceeded a hundred.
After these two days of exploring the Soul-type Dungeon, Ron's various attributes had all undergone leaps that crossed level boundaries—something that might seem ordinary to others.
But among newcomers, it was downright overpowered!
What do you mean a stat monster?
All I see is day after day of effort and sweat!
Ron was extremely satisfied with his updated ability values.
This sense of reward—where as long as one put in effort, one could receive tangible improvements in ability values—was countless times better than the empty promises his bosses had painted in his previous life.
Moreover...
Considering the level of danger posed by the "Soul-type Dungeon," these gains were exactly what he deserved!
If there was anything truly regrettable—
It was the Magic attribute, which so far had shown no sign of improvement at all, and the key issue was that he couldn't emulate Bell.
After all, when Bell went to eat at a restaurant, there would even be a Goddess of Beauty feeding him grimoire magic tomes.
Relying on the meager income earned from daily dungeon exploration and part-time commissions, if he wanted to save up enough money to buy a grimoire, he would probably have to wait indefinitely.
When Hestia noticed Ron's gaze lingering on the Magic attribute, the girl quickly realized where the problem lay. All of his other abilities had undergone explosive growth, yet the Magic attribute alone showed no sign of progress.
That was only natural.
Ron did not possess the "Magic" skill, so it was only to be expected that he could not improve in that area.
But the moment she thought of this, Hestia felt a sense of powerlessness. Money was one issue; more importantly, even if they had the money, it was not guaranteed that they could secure a grimoire to purchase.
And during dungeon exploration, magic was especially important to adventurers.
"Ron…"
"About magic, I really don't have any solution."
"Of course."
Ron had never expected Hestia to be able to help him with this matter.
As for acquiring magic through postnatal means, relying on grimoires was fundamentally unrealistic. The other method was to depend purely on talent—awakening under some particular trigger.
With a sincere smile, he comforted the girl, whose expression was tinged with self-blame.
"If everything had to be handled by the gods, then what would be the point of having familias? And as for magic, I think it's fine to just let fate take its course."
"Ron…"
He really was very sensible.
Clearly about the same age as ordinary young people, yet Ron possessed a steadiness that did not match his years, along with that unyielding drive to never admit defeat.
The girl sat on the edge of the bed, gently swinging her feet.
"When I came back, I heard that the Dungeon has stopped being open for the past two days. The specific reason is that an abnormal change occurred in the Dungeon, and a floor boss appeared in the shallow layers."
"The Adventurers' Guild was worried about accidents, so they temporarily sealed it off."
"I know."
"What I mean is—are you all right?"
Knowing full well about the 'miracle' Ron possessed, Hestia did not even need to guess. Such a commotion was definitely caused by her own familia member.
But both Ron and Hephaestus chose to keep it hidden.
Only then did the girl realize that the situation was even more serious than she had imagined.
Judging from the overall magnitude of today's increase in ability values, it was very clear that the effort behind it could absolutely not be covered up by simply calling it "talent."
Perhaps the burden on Ron was simply too heavy.
After hesitating for a moment, Hestia raised her head and forced a smile.
"If…"
"If Dungeon exploration really is very difficult, it would actually be acceptable to switch to a commercial familia. It's just that I don't really have much business sense."
"So I'd still have to trouble you later."
Why did this suddenly feel like the tone was going in a strange direction?
Ron smiled and shook his head in refusal. This "Soul-type Dungeon" truly treated people inhumanely, but to give up the path he had deliberately chosen just because exploration was difficult—
That was something he simply could not do.
More importantly, knowing how the plot of this world would develop, he had to seize that vague and illusory future with his own hands, rather than resign himself to waiting for the protagonist to carry him along.
In a world that possessed extraordinary power, he had to keep growing stronger.
Looking at Hestia once more, he gave his own answer.
"I used to really yearn to become an adventurer, but the objective conditions didn't allow it."
"But now—"
"Having finally come to Orario, I have to consider whether this might be the only opportunity of my entire life!"
"…"
This was an exceptionally heavy dream!
It was also because of trust that Ron chose to place this weight—comparable to the weight of his life itself—into the newly established Hestia Familia. After hearing his words, she raised her head.
She looked at the sunny, cheerful boy in front of her.
Hestia only felt that Ron seemed to be glowing!
"Then you really have to seize it properly. With the Dungeon closed for these two days, what are your plans? If you feel very tired, it's fine to relax a little."
The girl took the initiative to extend an invitation.
She recalled that ever since Ron arrived in Orario and joined the familia, he had been constantly immersed in the Dungeon. After finishing exploration, it was nothing but dull, monotonous training, with no free time at all.
"As for me~"
"Um…"
"I also have days off. If you want to stroll around Orario, I'd be very happy to be your guide!"
"Thank you, Lady Hestia."
But a sigma man must know how to resist a goddesses' charm.
Ron shook his head seriously. "I think now isn't the time to relax yet. At the very least, I should wait until I've pushed my exploration depth through to the second floor before resting."
Hestia could feel Ron's ambition.
She was very gratified.
It was just that—how should one put it—wasn't this goal a bit too conservative? Because of that, she was almost embarrassed to boast about it in front of Hephaestus!
...
Even though the Dungeon had temporarily stopped being open, he could afford to sleep in a little.
But the habits Ron had developed through strict self-discipline remained completely unchanged. After washing up in the morning, he carried out his daily training in the courtyard of the "communal dormitory."
This kind of training might contribute very little to improving ability values. What he valued more was the help that a solid foundation in swordsmanship would provide during exploration.
"Judging by the current trend."
"To reach the second floor, I'll at least have to deal with a Goblin Guard. Isn't that thing a bit too outrageous?"
Yesterday's successful slaying of the monster
had been purely thanks to the formidable killing power of Lefiya's magic. If it had been him instead, Ron was very clear about one thing—the floor boss was absolutely not something he could try to brush against.
The vast disparity in size and strength.
Shield-thrust style.
A wheelchair tactic that required no real operation, but it would probably get him sent flying the moment he faced the Goblin Guard head-on.
The only solution Ron could think of was kiting—making use of his own speed advantage. As for whether the weapon in his hands could actually deal substantive damage to a floor boss, Ron remained doubtful about that point.
"Now that things have come to this."
"I might as well grind hard first. After the Dungeon is reopened, I'll raise all my ability values evenly to F rank before considering breaking through to the second floor."
With no sparring partner available, Ron trained alone with a wooden post. His sword swings were extremely fast. Each strike landing on the post caused the bamboo sword to ring out with a crisp sound.
As his strength gradually increased, occasional bamboo splinters even sprayed outward.
Just as he was training so intently that he forgot himself, a girl wearing a light-gray kimono, with black hair smoothly draped over her shoulders, walked to the entrance of the communal dormitory.
The girl looked half-asleep.
Yet her bare, unadorned face, without a trace of makeup, carried a kind of languid beauty.
When Mikoto saw Ron already training so early in the morning, her eyes were filled with surprise. Thinking about the Dungeon's temporary closure, the girl immediately felt enlightened.
No wonder he had been able to advance so quickly from a newbie rookie to a qualified adventurer!
A faint breeze carrying a chill swept across her face, dispelling any lingering desire to go back to sleep. With this chance right in front of her, she truly wanted to talk with this boy—this youth shrouded in an air of mystery from head to toe.
And so, Mikoto took the initiative and walked toward Ron. When she noticed the boy pause his movements, turn around, and look at her with friendly curiosity in his eyes, she gathered her courage.
"Um…"
"I was wondering if I could talk with you for a bit. Would that be all right?"
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