[The Goddesses' Loving Protection • 5-Star (-)]
[Status Magic]
[...]
[Current Protections:]
[III • 'Goddess of the Forge' Hephaestus's Inquisitive Love I: Gain Development Ability 'Swordsmith I', minor increase in Fire Resistance]
"!!!"
Seeing the information about the protection from her dear friend practically displayed on Levi's back, Hestia couldn't help but puff out her cheeks, even though she had already mentally prepared herself for the fact that many goddesses would fall for the boy beneath her in the future.
Her right hand repeatedly slapped her familia member's back, her words filled with grievance and jealousy: "What's the deal with Hephaestus?"
"If I said I didn't know, would you believe me, Hestia?" Levi felt like he was in a situation he couldn't explain. He had only met the red-haired, one-eyed goddess for the first time today, and the protection, a symbol of affection, hadn't even appeared during the day. Instead, it showed up after he saw her for the second time...
No!
"I get it now!"
Levi slapped the bed board, a look of sudden realization on his face.
"Hestia, think about it. Inquisitive Love. While it is a form of affection, the emphasis should clearly be on the word 'inquisitive.'"
"Oh~~~~" Hestia crossed her arms, looking as if she were saying, 'Go on with your excuses, I'm listening.'
Levi stroked his chin and began to reason on his own, "I told you before that because of [Identity Unknown], I can check the status of my Falna at any time. But this protection didn't actually appear until after we left Hephaestus-sama's workshop. In other words..."
Hestia was no fool and immediately understood the subtext of the person beneath her. "Hephaestus was intrigued by the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryū and the Vision you showed, and that made her curious about you?"
Levi nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, that should be the gist of it."
"Based on this, I have reason to suspect that my protection magic classifies all positive, non-romantic feelings goddesses have for me as Level I. Only when it reaches Level II, or Level III like yours is now, Hestia, does it represent true romantic feelings in the mortal world."
Levi never thought of himself as some kind of irresistible charmer who could make any woman fall in love with him after a simple interaction.
If Hestia knew what her familia member was truly thinking, she would definitely refute it loudly.
The reason gods came down to the mortal world was, ultimately, to seek the [Unknown] beyond their [Omniscience].
And Levi, with his [Identity Unknown] skill captured by the Falna, was without a doubt the biggest and brightest jewel in this world.
Take Hephaestus, for instance.
Hadn't she only met him twice, and already curiosity towards him was stirring in her heart?
If they were to meet a few more times, Hestia had no doubt that her divine friend would follow in her footsteps.
"Fine, I'll let you off the hook this time."
Hestia sighed helplessly. It wasn't like she could lock Levi in the church's basement. Besides, he might be right that Level I affection was still a long way from so-called love, so she decided to drop the topic that would lead to no answers.
"You've accumulated more than enough excelia. So, do you want to level up now?"
"Of course."
Levi's current abilities had already reached the limit for Lv.1, and on the way back, he had also used the designated Development Ability activation ticket he had pulled from the permanent card pool.
Now, everything was ready; all that was missing was the final push.
"Then I'll begin."
With that, Hestia pricked her index finger with a silver needle and lightly drew a line on Levi's back.
Almost simultaneously, the mission panel Levi had open in front of him refreshed.
[Main Quest 'Raise Falna Level to Lv.2' complete. Distributing rewards...]
[Levi Bright]
[Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[Strength: SS1099/SS1099 → I0/SSS1299]
[Endurance: SS1099/SS1099 → I0/SSS1299]
[Dexterity: SS1099/SS1099 → I0/SSS1299]
[Agility: SS1099/SS1099 → I0/SSS1299]
[Magic: SS1099/SS1099 → I0/SSS1299]
[Value after '/' indicates the potential limit for the corresponding ability]
[Currently requires 1000 Valis to increase 1 ability point]
[Development Abilities: Swordsman G, Mage F, Archer G]
[Selectable Development Abilities: Hunter, Spirit Healing, Luck]
[Omitted]
...
[Lv.2 Dimensional Card Pool unlocked.]
[New main quests have been generated:]
[Main Quest 1: Raise Falna Level to Lv.3. Reward: Character level increased to Lv.3, potential limit for all abilities +300, Lv.3 Dimensional Card Pool unlocked.]
[Main Quest 2: Challenge and defeat the 17th floor's Floor Boss, Goliath. Reward: Skill Star-Up Card x1.]
...
It was as if the sound of a key turning in a lock echoed in his ears.
Following that, a tide of power surged continuously within his body.
Every time an adventurer's Falna level increased, their personal 'vessel' was reset and expanded.
Clearly, having pushed all his abilities to their absolute potential limits at Lv.1, Levi reaped the greatest benefits from this vessel sublimation.
Although his stats had reverted to I0, his underlying potential, counting his pre-Falna Lv.0 period, had accumulated to 2098 points!
Hestia's voice came from behind him:
"As expected of my Levi. You got three options for Development Abilities on your very first level up."
"I went to The Guild specifically to look through books related to Development Abilities. Among them, [Hunter] is the most common one for adventurers. After activating it, you can deal more damage to monster types you've fought before, and the effect gets stronger the more monsters of the same type you kill."
"As for [Spirit Healing], it seems only the 'Nine Hells' of the Loki Familia in Orario has it. It continuously recovers magic power. Choosing it would definitely be a huge boost for you, Levi."
"As for the last one, [Luck], The Guild has no records of it. But judging by the name, maybe it increases your chances of encountering good things?"
"In short, of the three Development Abilities, if you want to play it safe, I recommend choosing [Spirit Healing]. If you want to bet on high risk, high reward, go with [Luck]. As for [Hunter], it probably provides the least benefit for you."
After hearing Hestia's words, Levi paused for a moment, then replied, "I'll choose [Luck]."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
After all, he was the one who got it using the activation ticket.
"Alright, then." Hestia wasn't a controlling goddess to begin with. Seeing that Levi had his own plans, she completed the final step of the level up.
[Development Abilities: Swordsman G, Mage F, Archer G, Luck I]
In the original story, the protagonist, Bell Cranel, chose [Luck] during his first Falna update.
This Development Ability could grant immunity to the curse from the skill [Song of the Tragic World's Princess], possessed by Cassandra, who should still be a member of the Apollo Familia at this point.
Furthermore, with the appearance of 'Luck I' on his status panel, the contents of the card pool panel Levi had open also underwent a subtle change.
______
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