Level up.
It was a term used to describe a phenomenon where an individual gains an absurd amount of high-quality Excelia to the point that it overflows from their container, thus allowing them to grow past their previous limit.
Basically, if you do some awesome shit, you have a chance to defy common sense and grow really strong.
Well, easier said than done.
Half of Orario's adventurers had never experienced it. Even people who had done it found it difficult to do it again.
What actually counted as 'awesome' was still up in the air even now.
Luckily for Gin, hunting down an Infant Dragon and friends turned out to be pretty awesome according to the unknown standards the world had set up.
And so…
"I could level up now, yo," Gin reported to Rehmer the day after his hunt.
"...What did you do?" Rehmer asked calmly, rubbing his temples.
He was taking this news pretty well.
"I shot down an Infant Dragon."
"With your fellow adventurers from the Loki Familia?" Gin shook his head at his question.
Oh, Rehmer's eyes were twitching.
"Alone?"
"Yup."
"Why?"
"Apparently no one wanted to go dungeon diving at 2 A.M. Crazy, right?"
Rehmer gave a polite smile at his response. "My apologies, my full question was supposed to be: 'Why are you so stupid?' Would you mind answering it?"
"Oh, come on." Gin rolled his eyes. "You make it sound like I did a bad thing."
"Then I apologize. I simply want to point out how insane a thing you just did." Rehmer sighed. "An Infant Dragon isn't an enemy a normal Level 1 could slay alone. Not to mention your status as an archer. One wrong move and you would have become a bloody stain on the dungeon floor."
True. The fact that he fought flawlessly even under the influence of Niflheim was nothing short of a miracle.
Maybe being a good person and praying to Hel daily had its effects after all?
"I know. I know. It was a calculated risk on my part." Gin scratched his head. "It might seem insane, but I did everything to ensure I would get out of that fight alive. You might disagree, but that was the right time to do it."
"I understand. My apologies, I am not in a position to comment on your decisions." Rehmer looked a bit conflicted, but he slowly nodded and put his professional mask back on.
"Rather than that, there is something I should say first."
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Congratulations on leveling up, Mr. Hvergel." He smiled.
...
Gin chatted with Rehmer for quite a while, detailing the fight with the Infant Dragon.
By the time he reached the climax, Rehmer looked surprised at the mention of his magic arrow.
"It works similarly to magic swords?" he asked.
"Kinda, I don't know the details for the mechanism and stuff. I had the idea, but Tsubaki Collbrande from the Hephaestus Familia was the one who made it." Gin shrugged. "The damage it caused is no joke, and I know a normal magic sword wouldn't be enough to take down an Infant Dragon."
"You are right. Magic swords that could do so would be prized at around 400,000 to 700,000 Valis, and even then it wouldn't be a one-hit kill." Rehmer nodded. "Your and the Cyclops's invention could revolutionize how rearguards fight from now on. It is by no means a feat lesser than your hunt for the Infant Dragon."
"Is that so?" Gin hummed disinterestedly. It didn't matter to him. They could copy his idea, but they sure as hell couldn't copy his skills.
"Alright, then let's move on to the next topic," Rehmer said, noticing his nonchalance. "Have you decided which Development Ability you are going to take?"
Now they were talking.
Development Abilities.
It was a perk that surfaced each time an individual leveled up. Similar to Skills, it reinforced the ability of the person who had it.
Different from Skills, however, you could actually choose which one you were going to take.
Well, the choices were limited to things you had an affinity for, though.
For example, there was no way in hell someone like him could get [Blacksmith] or [Mixing].
The way you fought before you leveled up dictated which Development Abilities became available to choose from.
For Gin, three choices had emerged.
[Archer], [Mage], and [Abnormal Status Resistance].
Their names were pretty self-explanatory, not to mention the documents left behind by people before him had thoroughly dissected each skill.
[Archer] was a rare skill limited to people who fought mainly with a bow.
It strengthened all of your stats while fighting with a bow, strengthened all of your shots, and even sharpened your senses—particularly your dynamic vision.
[Mage] was a rare skill… which only appeared on mages. Riveria had it, so he was pretty familiar with the skill's effects.
It could strengthen your spell effects, widen their range, and make Mind usage more efficient. Basically, stuff that a mage would find useful.
Certainly not for an archer like him!
The last one, [Abnormal Status Resistance], was a pretty common skill which served as the bread and butter for adventurers.
If you met a high-level adventurer, nine out of ten of them would have it—a given since poisonous and venomous monsters lived quite commonly on the lower floors.
"I am going to pick [Archer]." Gin answered resolutely.
It was the only Development Ability that would grant a secondary effect of peace of mind for him. If he picked [Mage], he might as well change the title of his life to [Is it Wrong for a Mage to Part-Time as an Archer?]
That moment would mean the death of his current self.
"Right, it is an obvious choice. It would be wise for you to pick [Abnormal Status Resistance] the next time you level up, though," Rehmer said as he continued to write on his report. "…What is wrong, Mr. Hvergel?"
"No, it's nothing!" Gin sobbed.
To think there would be someone who not only supported his career as an archer but also didn't give him a lecture about how he was better off as a mage!
"You are a good guy, Rehmer."
"…Sure. I believe our talk is concluded. The door is that way." He pointed behind Gin. "I wish you a very good day, Mr. Hvergel."
Leaving the Guild behind, Gin headed home to Helheim.
He hadn't leveled up just yet, with Hel saying that he could take his time to better his stats if he wanted.
Well, truth be told, he had every reason to level up now. Even after the battle against the Infant Dragon, his Dexterity and Magic barely went up.
He was approaching his limit as a Level 1.
Putting off a level up at this point would just gimp his growth.
"The time of awakening has come, huh?" Gin whispered before shaking his head.
Hel had been expecting his level up, but he knew that he couldn't stop with just this.
Stronger than the Fae Queen.
Stronger than the Pallum Hero.
Stronger than the Vanadis Boar.
Those were the exact orders from Hel. He needed to surpass Riveria, Finn, and even Ottar, the strongest adventurer of the Freya Familia.
He still needed a long time before he could achieve that, but he fully believed the day would come.
Because Hel believed that he could do so, there was no reason for him to doubt it.
He stepped in front of Helheim's front door, taking out his keys and opening it.
As the door swung open, he saw Hel's figure standing by the dining table.
What was unusual about this was that rather than the familiar clothes she always wore, she was wearing a pure black chef uniform, holding a knife in each of her hands.
"My champion, welcome to Hell's Kitchen."
Nani?
Gin's spirit tethered between hyper-happiness and super-nervousness as he waited at the dining table while Hel actually cooked in the kitchen.
Hel was cooking for him.
Holy Hel, was he even allowed to be this happy?
What? Was this going to be a recurring thing or was it only a one-off? Dammit!
If it was only a one-off, then could he live on the memory of this day alone?
No, wait, calm down.
Should he just wait here instead of helping his goddess? Wasn't it disrespectful?
He stabbed his own leg with a fork as he tried to get up.
'Be patient, Gin Hvergel.'
Although the experience of cooking together with his goddess would be awesome, Hel herself hadn't asked for his assistance.
Which meant… she wanted him to eat her own personal cooking. Hel's cooking, with all of her love in every bite.
He bit his own tongue to remain conscious as well as to prevent his scream of joy from ringing out.
Dammit, if this was a simple celebration for a level up, then he wanted to level up every day!
"Umu, thank you for your patience, my champion." Hel pushed a cart filled with food toward the table.
Gin tried to help her set up the table, but Hel raised her hand and motioned for him to stay.
"This is the least that I could do for you, my champion. Please, put your faith in my arms and await the feast of Helheim."
She slowly put the dishes on the table. Meats, seafood, vegetables, soups, breads, he even spied some cakes.
His goddess was truly going all out!
Hel took her seat beside him after all of the dishes had been set.
"I am aware that this is naught but a modest feast compared to the feat you have accomplished, my champion, but please know that my joy over your growth could not be contained by this small altar alone." Hel looked sullen. "Not having a suitable celebration for you is… unfortunate. To think that this would be the first occasion where I regret my divine limits."
"What are you talking about, my goddess?" Gin smiled wryly. "If you prepared more than this then I would run out the door and hunt those dragons some more. Even this is more than I deserve, to be honest."
"…You speak the truth, as usual." Hel smiled sweetly. "Then eat your fill, my champion. Devour any who stand against us."
"Thank you for your grace, my goddess!" Gin took the first dish, a steak which had been cut sideways.
Hel probably did it to ensure that it wasn't raw on the inside.
As he took his first bite… his world surprisingly didn't explode in a myriad of colors, but still… This was probably the best food he ever had.
"My champion, is it good?" Hel asked worriedly from the side.
Gin turned to her, keeping his expression under control as he adopted a very familiar persona.
"All nine worlds bow down to your skill and palate. Even this mighty hunter is smitten by it. In other words…" he declared to her. "Umu, as expected of my goddess."
"…Umu."
As always, Hel's happy smile somehow triumphed over his own gluttony.
"The time of the awakening has come," Hel said solemnly as her fingers danced on his back. "Your hunt for the golden bird, your survival against the lancer, your trial with the Little Tempest, your training with the Fae Queen, and in the end, your triumph over the dragon. Every moment of your journey paved the road to it."
Her recounting really brought back a lot of things to his mind. Now that he thought about it, it had only been eight months since he met her. It felt just like yesterday when he met Hel for the first time.
He had been a simple hunter.
Now he was Hel's champion.
"Embrace the power within you, and be reborn again. Gin, my champion," Hel said as she patted his shoulder. The update was done.
He was finally a Level 2.
It was weird.
He knew that the change after leveling up wasn't so instantly noticeable, but somehow, rather than feeling strong, he felt… sleepy.
What the hell was this? This feeling of having all of his Mind taken away…? Mind Down? But he didn't use magic at all.
"My champion. Here is your status. Your reward for awakening is the birth of a new skill." Hel's words hardly registered in his mind.
The sleepy haze was just too strong.
"My goddess." Gin turned to her for a second before closing his eyes. "Sorry… I just feel… sleepy."
"…I see. Then rest well, my champion." Hel patted his head as he fell asleep. "Your newly awakened skill is merely taking its toll."
'New skill?'
Hearing those last words, he mustered the last of his strength to stay conscious even for a moment.
There, on the status paper, below Niflheim, he saw another word taking form on the previously empty paper.
[Éljúðnir]
And so, he dreamed of his last moments.
...
An unfamiliar hall lit by torches.
He saw two familiar people battling each other. A girl and a man traded slashes and blows as they dueled.
Did he know them?
He did. They were his beloved siblings. His brother and his sister.
That was wrong. He didn't have a brother. The only people he considered his siblings were Ais and Riveria. Who were they?
"Very well. You will die fighting for your cause. I shall defend my homeland!" his brother declared, as he pointed his blade at his sister.
His brother had the upper hand; his sister was in danger. He needed to move. Even if it cost him his life.
The world seemed to slow down as he charged toward the man.
Not to attack him… but to end the fight once and for all. He had had enough of this conflict.
He jumped in to take the blow meant for his sister.
A flash of steel, and he found himself lying on the cold floor.
"-!" His brother called out to him, calling his name. "-Please, speak to me!"
"…Your sword… lay it down for me." Gin whispered out between gasps of pain. "…Needs more from you, not just your strength… What we need is… caring… and warm hands… and tears."
He viewed a single drop of tear falling from his brother's eye. He smiled… everything would be alright now.
"That's the way… Try to be at peace…"
His brother's and sister's cries accompanied him as he fell to the darkness.
And he finally woke up from his dream.