Chapter 53: Stepping into LV.2, Multiple Development Abilities

Ryota's hand paused for a moment, blinking in surprise.

Lady Loki, up this early? And even knocking on his door in person?

That was rare.

This goddess of theirs might look carefree on the surface, but was a textbook hands-off manager. She only helped update Status when someone came to her, never making house calls herself like this.

But on second thought, Ryota got it.

"Well, I've been buried over at the Hephaestus Familia for three days hammering away…"

"And the moment I got back, I had that spar with Ais."

If it weren't for the All-Encompassing Divine Eye letting him check his personal status board, he'd have practically forgotten about Falna altogether.

"Yeah, guess it's been a while since I last updated."

He reached out and opened the door. Outside stood Loki alone, one hand on her hip, smiling broadly.

"You're up, huh? I was starting to wonder if you were still sleeping and was about to come back later."

"Lady Loki, you're up early."

"Hehe, well, I was thinking about you, and then I just couldn't sleep!"

She muttered with a grin, squinting her eyes.

"My hands are itching, c'mon, let me see just how much you've changed."

"Alright, I'll leave it to you, Lady Loki."

Ryota turned back toward the table, unbuttoned his shirt, and sat down, baring his back to the air.

Loki stepped forward, skillfully pricking her fingertip with a fine needle.

Plip.

As a bead of divine blood fell, the familiar inscription began to rapidly appear across Ryota's back.

One page after another of data unfurled automatically, numbers cascading like a waterfall before Loki's eyes.

She'd tried to mentally prepare herself, but seeing Ryota's stats with her own eyes still made her mouth drop into a perfect O.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa… am I… am I seeing things?!"

She leaned closer, even rubbing her eyes for good measure.

No matter how much she rubbed, though, those numbers didn't change.

"I swore I told myself to brace for this, but… but still…"

She shook her head helplessly, staring at the flood of data.

"You really aren't going to walk a normal path, are you?"

Though she said that, her eyes shone with unconcealed pride.

That unmistakable joy of seeing her sapling grow into a towering tree — it was written all over her smiling face.

"You flatter me, Lady Loki. So, what's the verdict?"

She deftly drew out a parchment, quickly copying down the flood of stats from Ryota's back.

Then with a snap, she tossed her quill onto the table, opened the parchment, and slid it over to him.

"Here, have a look."

"I mean, I'm fresh out of facial expressions at this point, but try not to scare yourself."

[Name]: Ryota

[Level]: LV.1

[Status]:

· Strength: SS1010–SSS1999

· Endurance: SS1010–SSS1999

· Dexterity: SS1010–SSS1999

· Agility: SS1010–SSS1999

· Magic: SS1010–SSS1999

[Development Abilities]: None

[Magic]:

[Ninjutsu]

· Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, Three Basic Jutsu, Fire Style: Fierce Dragon Flame Jutsu, Teleportation Jutsu

· [New]Lightning Style: Chidori — concentrates high-intensity current in the palm, thrusts forward with powerful piercing force.

[Genjutsu]:

· Demonic Illusions: Shackle Stakes

[Skills]:

[All-Encompassing Divine Eye]:

Insight, Copy, Opening, Genjutsu

Ryota rested his chin on his hand, glancing at his numbers.

"1999, huh… broke into triple-S?"

The instant those words fell, Loki sitting next to him froze slightly, the corner of her eye twitching toward his profile.

Not surprised.

Not proud.

Not smug.

But… disappointed?

Loki was baffled.

Is this kid… disappointed the numbers are too low?

Come on, his double-S stats were already insane before — now he'd reached SSS!

Not just Loki Familia — in all of Orario, no one had ever seen a Status Board like this!

It was a result that had surpassed the limits of every mortal in the lower world!

But Ryota's tone sounded like he was reading off a bad test score.

Loki was stunned at first, then on second thought felt oddly reassured.

This is what a monster's mindset looks like, huh.

A child who always aimed higher — that was a good thing!

Thinking that, Loki's grin returned to her face as usual.

Of course, she didn't realize she'd totally misunderstood Ryota.

He wasn't disappointed in the numbers.

What had made his expression shift was the realization of what he'd been sensing lately — that strange feeling of power constantly stirring awake.

Ever since he'd completed his first Main Branch Quest and got that Dōryoku boost,

Ryota had vaguely felt like something in him was being elevated across the board by some systematic force.

At first he thought it was just an illusion from his Sharingan upgrades — but now, seeing these jaw-dropping stats on the parchment, he finally got it:

He'd already reached the "threshold" for leveling up.

No, not just the threshold — he was practically standing on top of it.

That sense of power about to break free wasn't a trick of the mind — it was reality telling him you should have advanced long ago.

Ryota looked at the parchment, eyes narrowing slightly.

"In that case, there's no point in forcing myself to stay LV.1 any longer."

It wasn't just a matter of numbers anymore; his growth had reached a point where it needed to shift gears.

As for the Excelia required to level up? That was the last thing he needed to worry about.

Everything he'd done so far was enough to make the whole of Orario tremble.

With that thought, Ryota turned to Loki's smiling face and said,

"Lady Loki, let's level me up."

"Hehehe, I was just waiting for you to say that!"

Loki rubbed her hands together in a giddy "fly-hand" motion, stepping up behind him to start fiddling with something on his back.

A series of ding ding ding sounds rang out.

The numbers began spinning wildly, finally clicking to a stop.

That marked Ryota's first-ever level-up — from a lower-ranked adventurer to a proper upper-ranked one.

"Whew…"

"Pretty incredible, huh? Never thought you'd break into LV.2 in less than a month."

Loki clapped her hands, beaming.

"Kicking in that door back then was the best decision I ever made in this lifetime."

Hearing all that praise, Ryota scratched his cheek a little awkwardly.

"Let me check your development abilities next—"

"Oh ho, there's quite a few!"

Loki closed her eyes, then rattled off:

"Fist Fighter, Crush, Mystery, Blacksmith, Magic Resistance — five total!"

"Mystery is super rare, so I suggest you go with that one."

She opened her eyes again, gazing at him with an affectionate grin.

"Of course, that's just my two valis."

"You're my kid, and I'll support you no matter what you pick!"

Ryota nodded slightly.

Mystery — true to Loki's words, it was one of the rarest Development Abilities in all of Orario, with fewer than five people ever earning it.

That wasn't just rare; it was a genuine mark of being extraordinary.

At the same time, his attention was drawn to the second option — Blacksmith.

For Ryota, that had a ton of practical value, letting him craft weapons and armor for tremendous gains.

Still, the rarer something was, the more valuable it became.

After three seconds of hesitation, he made a decisive choice.

"Alright then — I'll go with Mystery."

"Got it~"

Loki pressed her fingers to the Falna on his back, a faint glow rising from her touch as she worked with practiced ease.

"You really are the type that makes people grind their teeth in jealousy."

"Not just pulling multiple development abilities, but actually drawing Mystery? If I could, I'd stick you in a shrine and worship you!"

Loki's sigh was half-laugh, half-sincere, unable to hide her excitement and pride.

But then, in the next second, she abruptly changed her tone, sneaking a glance at Ryota with a hint of forced nonchalance.

"Don't you go switching Familias on me, Ryota — I'd hate to see you leave."

Whoa, that sense of crisis showed up fast, huh?

Looked like that blue-ribbon goddess really had given even the bold and brash Loki a scare.

After all, Hestia's "I'd give everything for you" style was a hellish test for any man's self-control.

Still…

Ryota tilted his head to look at Loki, wondering if she'd forgotten something.

Changing Familias — that wasn't something you could just decide on a whim.

You needed both gods to sign off on it, or it was impossible.

Ryota drawled lazily,

"Relax, Lady Loki. Changing Familias… if you don't sign off on it, I can't go anywhere."

Loki blinked, then realized what he meant, scowling hard.

"Y-you… don't joke about stuff like that!"

"I was still in shock from that freak-show status board of yours, alright! My brain short-circuited — totally normal!!"

Grumbling, she gave his Falna inscription one last tap, letting her divine power seal it shut as its glow slowly faded.

"All done, it's recorded."

She handed him the freshly updated parchment.

"Welcome to the family's brand-new LV.2!"

[Name]: Ryota

[Level]: LV.2

[Status]:

· Strength: SSS1999–i0

· Endurance: SSS1999–i0

· Dexterity: SSS1999–i0

· Agility: SSS1999–i0

· Magic: SSS1999–i0

[Development Ability]: Mystery

[Magic]: omitted

[Skills]: omitted

Loki stretched, then reminded him,

"Ryota, you'd better take it easy today."

"Normally, adventurers right after leveling up go through a short adjustment period, and you're no exception."

"Your nerves, your muscle coordination, your mind's control over the new strength — all of it needs time to synchronize."

"In other words, right now your body is probably in overload mode."

Her tone was unusually serious, even those squinting eyes showing a rare glimmer of caution.

"Fighting will help you adapt eventually, but—"

click

Before she could finish, Ryota had already shouldered his pack and was briskly heading for the door, waving a hand without looking back.

"Gotta run, Lady Loki — things to do!"

He could barely wait to see what kind of forging he'd manage now with Mystery boosting him.

Loki's mouth twitched, her arm still half-raised trying to stop him, frozen in midair for a moment.

"You little brat, you just finished leveling up!!"

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