Over the subsequent period, Leon's daily life fell into a set routine.
Every morning upon waking, he would first spar with Ais in the central courtyard, learning from Orario's strongest female swordswoman. Afterward, he would depart from the Familia's headquarters alongside Line, who always had all the supplies prepared, and head to the Dungeon for a full day of exploration.
With Line providing support, Leon could fully immerse himself in the exploration and combat. He continuously defeated monsters to accumulate experience points, honed each of his basic status parameters, and gradually absorbed the various techniques Ais had taught him during battle to elevate his overall combat proficiency.
His spoils were also accumulating at an incredibly rapid pace. Currently, the money Leon earned in a single day exceeded one hundred thousand Valis. Once he ventured into the 12th floor, his efficiency grew even higher, occasionally netting him over two hundred thousand Valis, a feat that left Line thoroughly astonished.
As for the evenings, upon returning to the Familia's headquarters, Leon would usually exchange just a few words with Ais and Line before heading straight back to his room to sleep. He entirely lacked the rich nightlife typical of other adventurers.
After all, having pushed his limits all day, he had absolutely no interest or energy to go out and enjoy himself at night. Such leisure would have to wait until he grew stronger and had more room to breathe.
Loki, Finn, and the others seemed to be keeping a close eye on Leon, though they no longer stepped in to disrupt his pace.
Everyone knew that Leon had entered a high-speed sprint phase. As long as he raised his basic status parameters, he could proceed with a Level Up, joining the upper ranks of adventurers, who made up less than half of Orario's total population.
At a time like this, no one wanted to disturb him, not even Loki.
She was in no rush to update his status either; Leon would naturally come to find her whenever he felt the time was right.
And that moment did not take very long to arrive.
On a certain day half a month later, Leon arrived at the divine chamber and found her.
"Please update my status."
Leon appeared quite calm.
"Heheh, I've finally been waiting for this day."
As if anticipating something, Loki let out a series of excited chuckles. She had a premonition that she was about to receive a massive surprise.
However, she never could have imagined that the surprise would be this monumental.
Leon Eligos
Lv.1
Strength: C623 -> SS1054
Endurance: D545 -> SS1011
Dexterity: C639 -> SS1063
Agility: B717 -> SS1142
Magic: A831 -> SSS1279
"Huh...?"
When Leon's latest status was revealed before Loki, the deity who was known for her unbridled and reckless nature in both the heavenly realm and the lower world was reduced to utter stupefaction.
She rubbed her eyes, confirming again and again that she hadn't misread the text, before letting out a foolish laugh.
"Ha, haha... Am I dreaming? How on earth am I seeing something this absurd?"
SS?
SSS?
What exactly was this?
In the Falna, did such stat tiers even exist?
Wasn't the limit for the children of the lower world supposed to be S?
What the hell were these SS and SSS ranks supposed to mean?!
"Finally..."
While Loki remained hopelessly trapped in her own daze, beginning to question the very meaning of her divine existence, Leon stared at the parchment in his hands and murmured softly. At this moment, even he could not help but feel a slight sense of surrealism.
Though he had anticipated it and hoped for it, seeing his status truly break through the theoretical limitations just like the original protagonist to reach SS and SSS still caused a faint surge of excitement within him.
"This is my limit at Lv.1."
Though he hadn't managed to raise every single stat to SSS, Leon was already highly satisfied.
The original protagonist's cheat was already absurdly powerful, yet even he had only reached SSS in a single stat, with the rest remaining at SS. For Leon to catch up and match that level was already an incredibly difficult achievement.
Although the Outsider development ability removed the hard limits on his status, allowing him to grow regardless of racial or latent potential boundaries, it certainly had its thresholds. It was already remarkable that it ensured Leon would not fall behind races like Dwarves, Elves, Beastmen, or Amazons; it couldn't possibly allow him to match the gods and grow entirely at a whim.
This was, after all, a miracle bestowed upon the lower world by the gods. Leon could rely on it to stand above all mortal races, but he could not use it to transcend the gods themselves.
Therefore, this current status represented his peak at Lv.1. To surpass this limit, he had to advance to the next stage, which meant a Level Up.
Upon leveling up, all current stats would be reset and converted into nourishment to expand his underlying "container." Only then could he unlock even greater potential.
"It's time. Please grant me the Level Up," Leon told Loki, completely disregarding her current state of shock.
"Oh..."
Loki's face remained blank, as though her soul had departed. Moving like a mechanical puppet, she rigidly began the procedure.
"Which development ability do you intend to choose?"
Loki sounded exactly like a quest-giving NPC, asking in a daze.
Development abilities were specialized parameters that could only be randomly unlocked and learned when an adventurer leveled up, serving as extra auxiliary traits outside the standard basic attributes.
Whenever an adventurer elevated their level, they had a chance to trigger this bonus, which would be appended below the five core attributes of Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic. The key difference was that development abilities did not have proficiency points; they only possessed ten distinct ranks from I to S. Furthermore, unlike basic attributes, they would not reset to I0 upon subsequent level ups, and the difficulty of raising them far exceeded that of standard stats.
Their core function was to further enhance a specific special trait or professional capability of an adventurer. For instance, the previously mentioned Blacksmith ability was a development ability that only crafters could obtain during a Level Up. A blacksmith possessing this ability could imbue their creations with special attributes and forge specialized armaments. Otherwise, no matter how superb their craftsmanship, they would ultimately produce nothing more than ordinary iron weapons.
Naturally, not everyone could trigger the learning of a development ability upon leveling up. Whether one could unlock them depended on the cumulative experience points they had gathered up to that point, which meant looking at what actions the individual had taken and whether they met the unlocking criteria for specific abilities.
If one lacked the corresponding experience or failed to trigger the necessary conditions, they would not acquire any development ability even if they successfully leveled up.
Loki mechanically informed Leon that his current Level Up had triggered three distinct development abilities.
The first was Hunter. This was a development ability that could only be learned when rising to Lv.2. Its trigger condition required defeating a massive quantity of monsters within a short period, making it exceptionally difficult to acquire and highly prized. Adventurers who obtained this ability would receive a status boost whenever they engaged in combat with monsters they had previously faced and defeated. It was an ability specifically tailored for monster hunting.
The second was Abnormal Resistance. This could only be unlocked after being subjected to status ailments. Adventurers in Orario frequently faced the toxic wing powder of Purple Moths in the upper floors of the Dungeon, making this ability relatively easy to obtain in the early stages. Its effect allowed the user to resist negative statuses such as poison. While unglamorous, it was undoubtedly highly practical for adventurers who had to face all manners of distinct monsters within the Dungeon.
These two development abilities were widely known throughout Orario due to the presence of the Dungeon, and many adventurers had acquired them, including the first-tier adventurers of the Loki Familia.
For example, Ais had acquired Hunter and Abnormal Resistance at Lv.2 and Lv.3 respectively, showing just how practical and common these two choices were.
However, Leon did not choose either of these options like the vast majority of adventurers. The development ability he chose to learn was the third one he had triggered: Mage.
"...Are you certain you want to choose Mage?"
Loki regained a fraction of her focus, appearing somewhat surprised by Leon's selection.
"Yes," Leon stated with absolute certainty. "I prefer abilities with broader applications and greater overall impact over passive traits that only trigger under strict conditions."
Hunter was indeed a valuable asset for adventurers who spent their time exploring the Dungeon, but it only took effect against enemies that had already been defeated once, and it was strictly limited to monsters. If one encountered a new type of monster or a non-monster adversary, it rendered itself completely useless. Therefore, since he had other choices, Leon wasn't particularly fond of this development ability.
The same applied to Abnormal Resistance; it was only useful when one was actively afflicted by a status ailment, and it wasn't a guarantee of absolute immunity. If one encountered a status ailment that far exceeded the tier of their development ability, they would still be affected. Otherwise, anti-venom potions wouldn't be nearly as popular as they were.
Thus, Leon leaned heavily toward selecting Mage. This was a development ability whose learning conditions could only be triggered by those who excelled in magic.
An adventurer who acquired Mage would receive substantial assistance from this ability whenever casting magic, including but not limited to amplifying the power of spells, expanding the area of effect, and optimizing the efficiency of their own Mind pools. To put it simply, it was an all-around amplification and optimization unit for magic.
Acquiring Mage was also proof of being a high-tier spellcaster. The mages within the Loki Familia had basically all learned this development ability, including Riveria and Lefiya. Since this ability provided benefits in every scenario where magic was utilized, there was no way Leon would pass it up.
From his own attribute tendencies, Leon could also tell that his most proficient basic parameter was Magic. Just as Ais and the others had noted, he was highly suited to becoming a mage or a magic swordsman. Given that context, Leon naturally had to choose this development ability to provide a comprehensive boost to his magical capabilities.
"Mage certainly suits you well, but you must think this through. You only get one opportunity like this; once a development ability is locked in, there's no way to change it later."
Loki instinctively offered a word of caution.
"Furthermore, the trigger conditions for Mage aren't overly strict. Even if you don't pick it this time, you'll have opportunities to trigger and learn it during future level ups. Hunter is different; it's a trait that can only be triggered when stepping up to Lv.2. If you don't choose it now, this development ability will never appear again."
It was precisely for this reason that this specialized anti-monster trait appeared so precious. Not only because its effects were significant, but because it could only be learned when reaching a specific tier. Once missed, the opportunity was gone forever.
Yet, Leon remained resolved to pass it up.
"If I can defeat a monster once, I can naturally defeat it again. I have no need for a development ability to aid me in that."
Had it lacked that restriction of only working on monsters he had already defeated once, Leon might have given it some consideration. Thus, he did not alter his mind and firmly stood by his choice.
"I'm merely giving you a heads-up so you don't regret it down the line."
Loki didn't say much else; or rather, she simply wasn't in the mood to say more. What kind of development ability to choose was ultimately the individual's choice, and as a guardian, she couldn't overstep and interfere too much.
Thus, Loki locked in the development ability for Leon, formally completing the first level ascension of his life.
Leon Eligos
Lv.2
Strength: I0
Endurance: I0
Dexterity: I0
Agility: I0
Magic: I0
Mage: I
With that, Leon's status was updated once again.
His basic attributes had all been reset upon leveling up, but the stats he had accumulated prior to the ascension didn't simply vanish. Instead, they remained active behind the scenes as hidden character parameters.
If two adventurers leveled up at the same time and had their stats reset simultaneously, then—excluding the internal influence of magic, skills, and development abilities, as well as external factors like combat techniques, equipment, and experience—the determination of who was stronger came down entirely to whose basic attributes were higher before the Level Up.
The side with the higher accumulation of basic attributes would become far stronger after leveling up. This was the primary reason why Leon had chosen to remain at Lv.1 even after meeting the requirements to level up, electing to push every single parameter to its absolute peak before taking the leap.
Only by establishing a solid foundation and building a perfect base could he secure a much greater advantage and potential compared to anyone else.
Evidently, having honed every basic parameter beyond the theoretical limitations to reach SS and even SSS at Lv.1, Leon would not only be vastly stronger than other fresh Lv.2 adventurers upon reaching his new tier, but the foundation he built at Lv.1 would also thoroughly expand his core capacity, granting him far superior latent potential.
"So this is what it feels like to reach Lv.2?"
Leon raised both hands, clenching and opening them repeatedly, yet he failed to perceive any overly obvious change.
"It seems I'll still have to head to the Dungeon to test it out."
Lost in his own thoughts, Leon departed the divine chamber on his own, leaving Loki standing entirely alone in the room.
The main goddess still looked somewhat foolish and dazed.
Only after a long while did she suddenly leap to her feet and charge straight out of the room.
"Finn! Riveria! Gareth!"
The goddess sprinted down the corridor at a velocity she had never once displayed since descending to the lower world, screaming like a lunatic.
"Something massive has happened—!!"
That night, the entire Loki Familia was thrown into an uproar.
However, the main deity who had sparked the commotion completely ignored everyone, charging straight into the northern tower and bursting directly into Finn's office.
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