"Noah."
The goddess Hephaestus sat in her chair, legs crossed, holding a book in her hands.
Her face was illuminated by candlelight as she looked over with gentle eyes.
Being a god, she didn't even have to worry about nearsightedness.
"You're the only child in our Familia who properly knocks and waits for permission before entering."
"Ha haha."
Noah let out a dry laugh.
'After all, blacksmiths as a species were always... how should I put it, either crude or unrestrained.'
"So, what brings you here? You must have some business with me."
Hephaestus wore a smile, seeming to have already seen through the purpose of his visit.
As a god, she had existed for hundreds of millions of years.
As the patron goddess of the children in her Familia, she had witnessed over a dozen generations of human lifetimes.
Throughout this time, she had seen countless children.
She could generally guess the reasons behind the children's actions with about eighty to ninety percent accuracy.
"If it's convenient for you, could you update my status for me?"
"Hehehe, just as I thought."
"Uh."
"Ah, I don't mean anything strange by that. It's only natural that you'd be eager to know your growth right after receiving Falna."
"As you say." Noah had nothing to hide.
Moreover, this was his own patron goddess.
"Every child is like this at first. Besides, children who have just received the Blessing do need to update their status more frequently initially. If you don't promptly convert experience into personal strength, you won't have sufficient protection in the Dungeon."
Indeed.
How deep the Dungeon truly extended remained unknown to this day.
Upon entering the Dungeon, the monsters on each successive floor grew stronger than those on the previous ones.
However, on the first floor, even ordinary soldiers without the Divine Blessing could defeat monsters through tactical advantages.
When the accumulated experience from defeating monsters was converted into personal status, adventurers could grow stronger.
After growing stronger, they would battle even more powerful monsters, repeating the cycle until they achieved great deeds and reached their moment of sublimation.
Sublimation—the process by which beings of the lower world, regardless of race, transformed toward a higher dimension.
Status was divided into five parameters: Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic.
Falan or The Divine Blessings could unlock the potential of Familia members.
After receiving the Blessing, status could be enhanced through various means.
Status also had tendencies, primarily related to race.
For example, dwarves tended toward Strength in their status, elves toward Magic, while humans, to put it simply, were average.
Not outstanding in any particular aspect, yet without any severe weaknesses either.
Noah had never once entered the Dungeon, making it easier to clearly assess the improvements brought by the effects of Truth Seeker.
"Then I'll trouble you with it."
Just as when he received the Blessing, he took off his upper garment and sat in the chair.
"I'll begin now."
Hephaestus gave notice, then dripped her divine blood, causing Noah's status to manifest on his back.
Beautiful divine script floated in mid-air, with numbers rapidly changing behind each parameter.
"Noah."
"Yes?"
"You said you haven't entered the Dungeon, correct?"
"That's right. Since receiving the Blessing, I haven't experienced even a single battle. I spent the entire day today helping out at the blacksmith shop introduced by the head chef."
Hephaestus nodded. "Then indeed, these status improvements must be due to that skill's effects. Rather than me explaining, it would be better for you to see for yourself."
Noah took the transcribed status.
[Name]: Noah
[Level]: LV.1
[Status]:
Strength: I72
Endurance: I65
Dexterity: I53
Agility: I55
Magic: I99
[Magic]: (Empty Slot)
[Skills]:
Truth Seeker :
・Can appraise objects upon contact; the closer the contact, the stronger the effect
・While repairing equipment, has a certain probability of comprehending the equipment user's experience to facilitate growth
・When crafting items, has a probability of raising the finished product by one grade
Spellweaver :
・Can directly manipulate magical power
・Can directly manipulate elements
Denier :
・Nullifies one instance of fatal damage while removing all abnormal status effects; can only activate once within 24 hours
A total of 344 status points gained?
Generally, the first status update should show significant improvement, but that was under the condition of battling in the Dungeon.
He had merely triggered his skill's effects a few times—the two situations couldn't be compared equally.
But were these numbers of his considered high or low?
Among the people he knew, this was probably an improvement not worth mentioning, since high-level adventurers were essentially a bunch of cheaters to begin with.
In Orario, never think your cheat is strong.
Take for example the protagonist of the era who would appear in Orario in the coming years, Bell Cranell.
He reached LV.2 from LV.1 in one month.
His leveling speed never slowed afterward, with total parameter gains exceeding 3000 per status update, plus he could freely break status limits—a real genuine monster.
Of course, that was the only exception in this world.
As a hero candidate watched by the gods, compared to that monster, he was already tens of thousands of miles behind just at the starting line.
'Can't use that guy as a reference.'
"Lady Hephaestus, what level would you consider this growth to be?"
In the end, it was indeed better to ask the experienced goddess.
The half-understood knowledge gained through screens and text paled in comparison to the Familia's patron goddess who had existed for eons.
"Simply put, I underestimated your Truth Seeker skill." Hephaestus said with a serious expression.
"This amount of proficiency is what ordinary people would need to achieve through several life-and-death battles. Though it's only at the level of ordinary people."
'I see.'
'So ordinary adventurers, even through life-and-death struggles, could at most reach this level. But if it were those cheaters, their growth speed would definitely far exceed this degree.'
It seemed that starting today, he had joined the ranks of the cheaters too!
"Anyway, Noah, promise me one thing first: don't let anyone other than me know about this skill for now."
Having value worth keeping secret meant this skill was enough to be coveted by other gods.