Hestia hummed a little tune in the kitchen, and the aroma of steaks wafted out as the spatula flipped.
Ying Ping took the opportunity to bring up the system interface and unhesitatingly added all 10 free attribute points to [Stamina].
"This way, I believe that when I complete tomorrow's daily quest training, I won't have that near-death experience, right?"
Ying Ping couldn't help but look forward to it.
As the stamina value on the Shadow Monarch's panel jumped from 3 to 13, a warm current instantly flowed through his entire body.
He felt his muscle fibers instantly strengthen, and even his breathing became longer and easier.
"Stamina directly became 4 times what it was!"
Ying Ping clenched his fists, a hint of excitement on his face.
"My dear Hestia~"
He nudged the stove, "Can you update my ability values for me?"
"Eh? Now?"
Hestia turned, holding the spatula, her apron dusted with flour, "At least wait a while. You just finished training; how could you have gotten stronger…?"
"Please~"
Ying Ping put his hands together, looking at her expectantly, "I really feel like I've gotten stronger, so can you just update it~"
Seeing his playful demeanor, Hestia chuckled, extending her jade-like finger to gently tap his nose.
"Oh, really~ Ying Ping-kun is sometimes just like a child~"
Hestia turned to lower the flame, her blue ribbon swaying gently with her movement, "Even if you feel an improvement…"
"Please!"
Ying Ping suddenly hugged her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head, "I really feel stronger!"
"Whoa! Let, let go!"
Hestia's face flushed as she broke free, then she helplessly took out a silver needle from the drawer, "If there isn't much improvement, you're not allowed to cry, okay?"
"Don't worry, I'm old enough; of course, I won't."
Ying Ping nodded vigorously.
Hestia actually understood Ying Ping's excitement.
Because she had heard that many newcomers who had just received the divine grace sometimes pestered their main god like this.
When the divine blood dripped onto Ying Ping's back, Hestia's expression suddenly froze.
Her fingers trembled as she traced the newly formed sacred characters, her blue pupils contracting violently: "Ying Ping-kun… this, this is impossible!"
"What did you do?! What's going on?!"
The data on the Black Sacred Fire Emblem clearly showed:
[Endurance]: I0 → H313
"Endurance increased by three, over three hundred!?"
Hestia's voice was filled with shock, "Just from a short while of training…!"
She suddenly looked up, her small face flushed with excitement, "How did you do it?"
Ying Ping blinked blankly: "Huh? I just followed what Hestia said and trained seriously first."
He leaned closer to look at the imprinted parchment, pretending to widen his eyes in surprise, "Eh, it really improved a lot!"
Hestia suddenly pounced on him and hugged him tightly, her petite body trembling slightly with excitement: "That's amazing! I've never seen such astonishing growth speed!"
She looked up, her eyes shining like stars: "Ying Ping-kun might be a once-in-a-century, no, once-in-a-millennium genius!"
"Really? This must all be thanks to Hestia~"
Ying Ping took the opportunity to lift her up and spin her around, making the loli goddess shriek and hit his shoulder.
When he put her back down, he found her looking at him with an unprecedentedly serious gaze.
"Tomorrow…"
Hestia took a deep breath, "You continue to train like this at home, then I'll take you to the Adventurer's Guild to complete your adventurer registration."
She suddenly pinched Ying Ping's ear, not daring to use force, but sternly instructed: "Remember, you absolutely must not enter the dungeon without permission! You must wait for me to prepare your equipment!"
"Yes, My Goddess!"
Ying Ping smiled and agreed, but in his heart, he was already looking forward to tomorrow's training plan… The next day, the morning light streamed through the church's broken stained-glass windows.
Ying Ping carefully moved his body, trying to free himself from the loli goddess's octopus-like embrace—
Her slender arms were wrapped around his neck, and one leg was possessively draped over his waist.
"This is killing me…"
Cold sweat broke out on Ying Ping's forehead.
He had felt the soft touch of the delicate body in his arms all night.
Combined with the faint scent of the goddess, it pushed the 30-year-old single man's body to its limit, nearly causing him to lose control several times.
"Hestia, wake up, I'm getting up now~"
Ying Ping gently pinched Hestia's nose, and as she frowned and released her grip, he successfully escaped.
"Mmm, just a little more sleep…"
Hestia rolled over and fell back into a deep sleep.
"Oh my goodness, the goddess is too cute."
After getting up, as Ying Ping tucked in the covers for the sleeping loli goddess, he noticed a strand of blue hair clinging to her slightly parted lips.
Ying Ping couldn't help but lean down and place a light kiss on her smooth forehead.
He murmured to himself in an almost inaudible voice: Hestia, if there's a next time… I won't be a gentleman anymore.
After saying that, Ying Ping turned and walked into the kitchen, preparing to make a simple breakfast for the two of them.
In the kitchen, he hummed a song while frying eggs, the sizzling of the pan intertwining with the chirping of birds.
He didn't notice that behind the bedroom door crack, a pair of beautiful blue eyes were secretly observing him.
"That child… he actually kissed me…"
Hestia covered her kissed forehead, her cheeks as red as ripe apples, and her heart beneath her pajamas pounded like a startled deer.
"Pretend to be asleep, pretend to be asleep…"
When she heard Ying Ping's footsteps approaching, she immediately burrowed back into the covers, closing her eyes tightly, even her tiny toes curling up nervously… As the morning light faintly appeared, Ying Ping completed his second [Preparation of the Strong] training for the day.
"Indeed, after significantly increasing my stamina, I wasn't as tired after this training."
"I can even do without status recovery."
Ying Ping wiped the sweat from his chin, looking at the 10 new free attribute points on the system panel, and this time, he unhesitatingly put all of them into [Strength].
If he wanted to defeat monsters in the dungeon, regardless of other stats, strong power was naturally indispensable!
After becoming stronger, his muscle fibers released a warm current.
Ying Ping punched the air, creating a faint whooshing sound.
He struck a stone with force, leaving a crack on its surface.
"That's incredible! My strength has also increased several times! I feel like I could even compete in weightlifting!"
Ying Ping flexed his wrist, then looked at the system panel.
[Shadow Monarch Leveling System]
[Level]: LV1
[Strength]: 15
[Agility]: 5
[Stamina]: 14
[Intelligence]: 5
[Magic]: 0
[HP]: 105 / 105
[MP]: 0 / 0
[Skill Slots]: Empty
[Inventory]: Empty
"My HP even increased; that's good. It's time to go back to Hestia to update my Falna stats."
Ying Ping was very satisfied with this rate of improvement.
He felt that this method of getting stronger instantly just by daily training was truly captivating.
When he returned to the church basement, Hestia had already finished breakfast and was waiting for him, swinging her legs.
"Ying Ping-kun, welcome back~"
She scurried over, but suddenly stopped when she got close, her cheeks flushed as she handed him a towel, "Th-that... was your training smooth?"
As Ying Ping took the towel, he held her hand and, amidst her gasp, pulled the loli goddess into his embrace: "Of course, thanks to Goddess-sama's blessing."
He lowered his head and rubbed her cute ahoge, "I feel like I've gotten stronger again."
...When the stats were updated again, the moment she saw the numbers,
Hestia covered her mouth with a small hand, her blue eyes wide and round.
"Strength increased by 327?!"
"Dexterity and Agility also increased by more than 50 points each?!"
Her hand, holding the parchment, trembled incessantly: "Oh my god, there are no skill bonuses, what on earth is going on?!"
"You haven't even been to the Dungeon to defeat monsters, and after only training for two days..." "Because I want to take Hestia to live in a big house early."
Ying Ping laughed and ruffled her hair, but was then tightly hugged by a sudden pounce from her small body.
Hestia clung to his neck like a koala, her eyes shining astonishingly: "Hehe~ My child is the best! Ying Ping-kun, let's go register at the Guild right now!"
She suddenly leaned close to his ear, her warm breath making Ying Ping stiffen, "As a reward for getting stronger... I'll let you hold me a little longer tonight~"
Ying Ping looked at the goddess in his arms, her face flushed with shyness but feigning composure.
He suddenly felt that this kind of daily life, full of anticipation and heart-pounding moments,
was perhaps more enjoyable than the power-up brought by the system.
However, to maintain such a happy daily life, one must rely on power.
Without power, all happiness is a castle in the air, and nothing can be protected.
[Name]: Ying Ping
[Level]: LV1
Strength: I0 → H327
Endurance: H313 → H350
Dexterity: I0 → I52
Agility: I0 → I51
Magic: I0
[Development Abilities]: None yet
[Magic]:
Skills: None yet
...In the Falna system of DanMachi, an adventurer's ability values can be roughly divided into ten ranks.
Among them, I corresponds to the range of 0-99.
H corresponds to 100-199.
G corresponds to 200-299.
F corresponds to 300-399.
E corresponds to 400-499.
D corresponds to 500-599.
C corresponds to 600-699.
B corresponds to 700-799.
A corresponds to 800-899.
S corresponds to 900-999.
In addition, there are extraordinary values, which can be divided into SS and SSS ranks.
Among them, SS corresponds to 1000-1199, and SSS corresponds to 1200-1999.
There might be even stronger ranks above that, but no one has ever reached them so far.
In Orario, generally over ninety-nine percent of adventurers do not reach SS level in any single ability.
And a regular adventurer only needs one single ability to reach D rank, plus one [Feat], to meet the minimum upgrade conditions.
A [Feat] can be an achievement in a certain field, the simplest being defeating a monster stronger than oneself.
Then one can upgrade from LV1 to LV2.
Don't underestimate the difference of just one level; nearly half of the adventurers in all of Orario are stuck at LV1.
Between LV1 and LV2, there is a huge gap in strength.
Higher-level adventurers simply have more advantages and stronger ability values than lower-level adventurers.