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Ryoji pulled up a stool and sat down in front of Loki, taking off his dusty upper garment to reveal his pale back, which immediately caught Loki's attention.
"Cough Cough... Let's begin!"
Loki took a needle from the clutter by her bed, pricked her index fingertip, drew out some blood, and pressed the Divine Blood onto Ryoji's back, tracing some ritualistic patterns.
Ripples like water waves spread across Ryoji's back, and the original Sacred Text gradually faded, replaced by new ability values. Loki quickly glanced over the basic abilities, focusing her attention on the Skill section.
Shortly afterward, her expression tightened slightly.
A new Sacred Text had indeed appeared in the Skill Window. However, it didn't seem to be what she had been expecting.
"It might take a bit more time," She thought to herself.
"Alright, here you go." Loki translated the ability values into the common language, copied them onto parchment, and handed them to Ryoji.
Ryoji took it, his gaze briefly flickering to the full-length mirror in front of Loki's bed, where he could see the Sacred Text on his back reflected.
His eyes flickered slightly, but he remained composed as he looked down to examine the parchment.
''Ryoji Lv.1''
''Power: I (0) → I (31)''
''Endurance: I (0) → I (27)''
''Dexterity: I (0) → I (48)''
''Agility: I (0) → I (55)''
''Magic Power: I (0) → I (4)''
''Magic:''
''Skill:''
''[Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword]''
· Unyielding: Can continue fighting even when on the verge of death.
· Reaching the Final Boundary: When fighting with a sword, one can maximize the potential of oneself as a swordsman.
......
"You must have gone to a pretty deep floor, huh?"
"I spent the day on the 10th Floor."
"No wonder. Mortals have a rapid growth period when they first become Adventurers. On average, they can reach around H in half a month, but that's for rookies. You were already a professional contestant, and you went to such a deep floor to level up, so this progress is normal. However, it should slow down later!"
The essence of the Falna (Blessing) is to turn one's experiences into nourishment for growth. In other words, the more one experiences, the faster they grows. This means that as long as one keeps fighting and gains enough Excelia, they can continue to grow.
Eventually, they will become closer and closer to the gods.
"By the way, did you know, kid? Skills are largely tied to one's essence, or interests." Loki showed a sly, fox-like smile. "It seems you've been on the verge of death often, huh? And your Magic Power is quite interesting too. Even though you don't have Magic, it still increased."
The timing of Skill activation doesn't follow a set pattern, but after a thousand years of observation, the gods have figured out the conditions for their appearance. The appearance of a Skill depends not only on the tendency of one's Excelia but also on one's essence and interests. Your essence determines what kind of Skill might appear.
Ryoji's Skill [Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword] likely refers to the nearly ten years he spent honing himself as a sword, while the "Unyielding" part of the Skill clearly points to his repeated near-death experiences.
Not only that, but in Loki's eyes, the increase in Ryoji's Magic Power was even more peculiar.
Basic abilities only improve through corresponding training.
For example, Endurance only increases if one is constantly taking hits, whether from people or monsters. One must train in this aspect for Endurance to grow.
Conversely, if one never takes any hits, Endurance won't increase at all.
Similarly, Magic Power only increases when one uses Magic.
Magic Power is a mental energy that is only used when casting Magic. Therefore, Magic Power only increases after using Magic. Ryoji doesn't have Magic, yet his Magic Power increased on its own. This suggests that there must be something hidden within his body related to Magic Power.
Or perhaps, he has an innate Magic within him.
Ryoji remained silent, tacitly acknowledging this.
"Anyway, although I'm very curious, I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. Everyone has their secrets, after all." Loki shook her head, carelessly swaying the bottle of alcohol.
"Thanks." Ryoji nodded in gratitude.
The atmosphere in the Loki Familia was indeed not bad. Although it was pleasant, he had just joined this Familia, and his relationships with the people here weren't strong enough yet. If the secret of his "Absolute Divine Speed" were to leak out, it could attract unnecessary trouble.
If one day he found that the members of this Familia could trust him unconditionally like his Senior Sister, then it wouldn't be too late to share.
"But what's up with this Skill?" Ryoji looked down at the bottom of the parchment where the Skill Window was, feeling somewhat puzzled.
The Skill [Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword] seemed to have two effects, which could be considered very powerful. The first effect was easy to understand, meaning "Battle Continuation."
But the second effect was more difficult to grasp.
Maximizing the potential of oneself as a swordsman, what does that potential refer to?
"This kind of situation happens often. The explanations of Falna (Blessing) are like riddles; you'll understand after you experiment with it yourself later." Loki waved her hand as she spoke, shaking the bottle of alcohol in her arms, her face displaying a mischievous smile. "Alright, you should hurry back. I want to enjoy this little guy properly!"
"Also, one more thing. If I want to make an appointment in the future, how many days will it take for me to get updated?"
"Mm? Ah, right, about that..." Loki held her chin with one hand, thinking seriously for a moment.
"You're a rookie, so you should get more attention. But if you want updates every day, that would be a hassle for me... How about this: we update every three days, how does that sound?"
"Every three days... that works." Ryoji pondered briefly, not dissatisfied with the arrangement.
Everything comes with its pros and cons. Joining a top-tier Familia like Loki's would inevitably mean losing something in other aspects. Not being able to update every day was a bit inconvenient, but every three days was still reasonable.
Ryoji put on his upper garment and turned to leave Loki's room.
After he left, Loki didn't immediately open the bottle. The impatient look on her face gradually faded, replaced by a wise expression that was completely different from her usual carefree demeanor.
She was very interested in Ryoji.
Not only did he possess a charm that even gods would envy, but his body also held many other secrets. He was indeed a very intriguing human.
If other gods found out, they would surely be entangled with him endlessly. But since he had already joined her Familia, there was no need to rush. Unlike other gods who would hastily pursue new discoveries, she wouldn't act that way.
Moreover,
"Familia is family... That guy Ouranos really knows how to say pretty things."
Loki walked to the window, gazing at the magnificent Pantheon on the northwest street. Gods should treat the children of their Familia as their own family. This had been a rule followed for thousands of years since the gods descended to the world of mortals.
Thanks to this, Loki's personality had changed quite a bit.
For the sake of her Familia, she no longer stirred up wars like she did in the heavens. If she were to act recklessly, her Familia would inevitably be dragged down, causing her children to become targets of scorn.
"Ma, it's fine to wait until he wants to talk."
The serious expression on her face completely disappeared, and Loki happily picked up the bottle, aiming it at her mouth, and began to blow into it.
"Puha! Refreshing~!"
(End of Chapter)