During this period, besides conducting special training for Alise, Kaguya, and Ottar, Elise also deliberately set aside time to visit the Dungeon for a five-day expedition.
The floor she reached was...
The volcanic region of the forty-fourth floor.
There were many fire-attribute monsters there. For Elise, who possessed the Seven-Element Sacred Demon Sword, there was practically no attribute capable of restraining her. The battles were exceptionally easy.
Some may have already noticed that Elise did not spend much time on Floor Bosses. That was because she had begun to encounter a bottleneck with her Great Feats.
If not for the skill Limit Break, which allowed her to stack excess ability points onto her Great Feats, Elise did not even know how she would eventually reach Level 9.
Her requirements for Great Feats were simply too enormous!
When she advanced from Level 1 to Level 2, her Great Feat had been soloing Goliath and defeating Level 6 Ottar in single combat. At that time, she had already met the conditions for leveling up, which proved those accomplishments had been sufficient.
But now she was Level 2. What had she done during this time?
Soloed Amphisbaena.
Soloed Udaeus.
Soloed Juggernaut.
The average level of those three monsters was basically above Level 6. Yet after Elise eliminated them, her Falna had not immediately entered a state where she could level up.
That alone proved her Great Feat requirements had grown even more demanding.
Even with Limit Break allowing her to continue improving, it could not fundamentally solve the issue.
Her speed in farming ability points far exceeded the speed at which she could obtain Great Feats.
But now, there was finally a change.
After returning to her Familia, Elise checked her status once more. According to Astraea, this time her ability values had become even more... peculiar.
Astraea still remembered that when Elise leveled up from Level 1 to Level 2, her abilities had already been maxed out at 1999. That had been unbelievable enough.
But now, as Astraea gazed at Elise's smooth back, she fell into a long silence.
Max—2999.
The upper limit of her ability points had directly increased by one thousand.
How should she put it...
If it was Elise, perhaps it was not strange at all.
During this time, Astraea had been shocked more than once because of Elise's actions, hadn't she?
However, this time, choosing Elise's Development Ability was somewhat difficult...
Hunter
Healing
Mystery
In all of Orario, it was almost impossible for these three Development Abilities to appear simultaneously, because any one of them alone was incredibly important.
First, Hunter. Elise had slain quite a few monsters recently, and its appearance perfectly reflected that.
Hunter was a Development Ability specialized for dealing with monsters. When fighting a monster one had previously battled, all attributes would increase. In a city where adventurers earned their living by slaying monsters for magic stones, this ability could be said to be the most suitable of all.
Then there was Healing. There was no need to elaborate. Just by the name alone, its effect was obvious—an increase in healing output.
As for what triggered its appearance...
It was probably because Elise had used healing on Alise and Kaguya many times.
Yes... many times.
But the final option, Mystery, was the one Elise did not quite understand.
The effect of Mystery should be the crafting of magic items. Yet she had not been particularly involved with such things recently. So why had it appeared?
However, now was clearly not the time to dwell on that question.
"What is your choice, Elise?"
Behind her, Astraea was also hesitant. All three options were excellent.
In other places, it might not matter much, but in Orario, Hunter was absolutely top-tier.
Healing was the greatest safeguard for an adventurer's life—any Familia would treat its holder as a treasure.
As for Mystery, its numbers were exceedingly rare. It was regarded as an ultra-rare high-tier ability. Those who possessed it were almost all major figures.
Elise slowly closed her eyes. She had already reached her answer.
She was encountering level bottlenecks now. That meant before each level up, she would have a great deal of spare time. She could not truly become a monster-slaying machine running into the Dungeon every single day.
Not to mention she still had to train her Familia members.
Moreover, Elise was an agent from the Lord God Space. She possessed limitless possibilities. She needed to choose the ability that would best serve her future growth.
Hunter could only be used against monsters. It would certainly be effective against monsters in this world, but would it work on monsters in other worlds?
Not necessarily.
And what if she traveled to a world without monsters? Would that Development Ability not become mere decoration?
Healing could increase her healing output, but...
That was all.
Although Elise knew healing magic and was proficient at it, it was not her specialty. She could do it well—but it was not her main path.
In the endless worlds, what mattered most was ultimately one's own overwhelming strength. Healing, while powerful, could only serve as a supplement. It could not become her core.
That left only the final option.
"As expected, this is the one."
Elise shifted her gaze to the last Development Ability...
Mystery.
Judging from its effects, it was the ability to craft magic items.
And she was quite curious what strange creations she might produce once she possessed it.
After maxing out her ability points in the future, she would have plenty of time to study this ability in depth.
"It seems you've made your choice. Tell me your answer, Elise."
"Lady Astraea, please select Mystery for me."
"Yes, I was thinking the same. Hunter and Healing would both restrict your development to some extent. Only Mystery holds limitless possibilities."
Astraea nodded in agreement. Under the operation of divine blood, Elise leveled up once more.
For her first level up, Elise had spent nearly half a month maxing out all her attributes to 1999 and obtained the Development Ability Ego.
Now, for her second level up, she had spent nearly three months maxing all attributes to 2999 and obtained the Development Ability Mystery.
"It seems all the drop materials I've been stockpiling from endless monster farming will finally be useful."
Not only materials from this world—she also possessed Urm Manadyte from another world, as well as spirit ore from yet another.
Would the Development Ability of this world function on materials from other worlds?
Elise could hardly wait to try.