Chapter 54: The Bottleneck of Attribute Values

Hestia pricked her fingertip and let a drop of divine blood fall onto Bell's back.

[Name: Bell Cranel

Lv.1

Stats:

· Strength: G284 → E487

· Endurance: F304 → D524

· Dexterity: E421 → C674

· Agility: E474 → B787

· Magic: F346 → B784

Magic:

"Four-Dimensional Space":

· Storage

"Lightning Command":

· Quick-Cast Magic

· Lightning Manipulation

Skills:

"Personal Training":

· Early Bloomer

"Heaven's Luck":

· High Luck]

"He's growing so fast!"

Hestia could hardly believe the numbers. This rate of growth was downright abnormal.

Hephaestus walked over to Hestia and glanced at Bell's updated stats. Even though she'd mentally prepared for Bell's rapid development, seeing it firsthand still shocked her.

"This is beyond expectations. Compared to the growth from his first time in the Dungeon, it's nearly identical. Normally, when an Adventurer reaches around 500 in their attributes, they hit a bottleneck—it becomes much harder to grow at the same pace. But four of his five attributes are now over 500, and there's no sign of that growth slowing down."

Hephaestus understood—this didn't mean there wasn't a limit, just that Bell's cap was much higher than most Adventurers'.

Maybe 600.

Maybe 700.

Maybe even 800.

'If that's the case, then maybe... 999 isn't an impossible threshold for this child.'

The idea echoed through Hephaestus's mind.

For the vast majority of Adventurers, breaking past 999 was a fantasy. That number essentially represented the ceiling of what a normal person could achieve in their lifetime. But throughout Orario's history, a few had managed to surpass it—and those individuals had carved their names into legend.

They were known as "Heroes."

Of course, that was the Orario of the past, not the Orario of today.

Since the fall of the last heroes, almost no Adventurers have managed to surpass the 999 attribute limit. That "almost" includes nearly every Adventurer currently active in Orario.

'Now that the age of heroes has ended... is a new one about to rise?'

In that moment, Hephaestus realized it—this child, Bell Cranel, was the hero born of this era.

But this era's "Hero" was vastly different from those of the past.

In earlier times, heroes often emerged in an age where "heroes drew heroes." Many powerful Adventurers would rally around a central figure, rising together.

This era, however, was completely different.

Today's "Hero" didn't trust others and refused to accept companions. And the god of this so-called hero? She doted on her child to the point of spoiling him, indulging his every whim.

'Ugh... is this generation of Orario's hero already doomed?'

'I just hope he opens up to other Adventurers someday.'

Bell's distrust toward others was all too apparent. Hephaestus wasn't sure whether that would ever change, but all she could do was hope that someone would break through to him. After all, tackling the Dungeon solo wasn't exactly a walk in the park.

"His growth is unreal. Hard to believe he's only entered the Dungeon twice and already accumulated this much. At this rate, he might hit his limit in under a month."

Ordinary Adventurers would need three to four years to reach this level of progress.

Even top-tier talents would take at least one or two years.

Bell had done it in less than ten days. That wasn't just surpassing—it was transcending. The former could be reached through sheer effort; the latter was out of reach no matter how hard you tried.

But this was just the beginning. Real adventuring began after the basics were laid.

To reach Lv.2 from Lv.1, one had to risk their life—take on monsters stronger than themselves—and accomplish feats so great that even the gods took notice. Only by amassing enough remarkable exploits could one take that next step. Otherwise, they'd remain stagnant forever.

'He'll definitely go for it.'

'That look in his eyes says it all. He won't settle. To gain strength, he'll take that step—no matter the cost.'

Hephaestus believed it without doubt.

Bell finished putting his clothes back on after the Status Update. Oddly enough, he didn't feel significantly stronger. Maybe the physical growth would kick in a bit later, something his body would gradually register.

Or maybe it was just his imagination.

"Bell-kun! You've grown so much today!"

No one was happier about Bell's progress than Hestia.

This time, his growth was just as impressive as last time—if not more. As Hephaestus had mentioned, 500 was the attribute bottleneck for most Adventurers. Beyond that, growth would slow dramatically, almost as if the Falna was nudging them to start achieving great deeds to break through to Lv.2.

Yet even with multiple attributes over 500, Bell showed no signs of slowing down. If anything, he was still accelerating.

"Bell-kun, maybe you'll be the one to break through this era's attribute limits."

Bell caught the meaning behind her words and asked immediately.

"Goddess-sama, have there been others who broke through those limits before?"

"Of course! Rare, but they did exist. Some Adventurers have surpassed the attribute limits, going beyond even what the Falna was designed to handle. But only those who exceeded even the gods' predictions ever managed to break through the ceiling."

'I see... that makes sense.'

Bell nodded thoughtfully at her explanation. He had always believed such people must have existed. It only made sense. Maybe there weren't many of them, but certainly not none.

"But everyone hits their own bottleneck eventually. You might too, Bell-kun. And when that time comes, don't get frustrated. Attribute values reflect your aptitude. Most people slow down when they hit a wall, but all you need to do is keep building up your achievements."

Hestia was doing her best to prepare him—to warn him not to let frustration get the better of him when that day arrived.

"Please don't worry, Goddess-sama. I won't let myself get emotional over my limits. I probably understand better than anyone that everyone has a breaking point."

Bell understood bottlenecks well. But he wasn't afraid of them.

He was just deeply curious—wondering where his own limit might be.

...

(40 Chapters Ahead)

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