The air in the entire room became somewhat stagnant. This deathly silence lasted for a long time.
At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed in disbelief on the status panel emitting a faint glow on the little fellow's back.
[Strength]: A888.
[Endurance]: A888.
[dexterity]: A888.
[agility]: A888.
All perfectly aligned.
All A's.
You have to understand.
This is just a bear cub that was born not long ago, hasn't been weaned yet, and does nothing but drink milk and sleep.
"..."
Even Hanasaka Warabi couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth, her expression somewhat broken.
Then she turned her head to look at her own giant bear, Kyoujin, who had a massive physique, had taken countless hits on the front lines of the Dungeon to protect everyone, and had even taken a fire breath from a Hellhound head-on.
Even though Kyoujin had risked his life in the Dungeon, he had only managed to push his [Endurance] stat to SS.
As for the other attributes.
——Strength A, agility E, dexterity D.
It can only be said to be passable, fitting for the positioning of a heavy tank.
This itself isn't a problem.
One could even say it's excellent.
However.
There is no harm without comparison.
Looking again at the little fellow in their god's arms, whose nose had already started blowing snot bubbles.
Hanasaka Warabi suddenly felt.
This world.
Even under the blessing of a god's Falna.
Some things are still unreasonable.
"My Lord..."
Rin swallowed hard, her fingertips trembling as she pointed at the bear cub sleeping soundly, her voice sounding a bit ethereal.
"Is... is this reasonable?"
"This little fellow was just sleeping in the Dungeon yesterday."
"Hmm..."
Heimer withdrew his gaze.
Even he had a subtle expression at this moment.
He couldn't help but extend a finger.
And gently popped the snot bubble on the bear cub's nose that was expanding and contracting with its breathing.
"Pop."
A soft sound.
The little fellow grunted in dissatisfaction, rolled over, turned its furry butt toward Heimer, and continued sleeping soundly.
"This is probably..."
"Because of the special nature of its skill."
Heimer found a reasonable explanation for this outrageous phenomenon that could help his children find some psychological balance.
After all.
The skill [Little Rookie].
Its effect is based on the purity of the longing for growth.
Human longing is always complex.
Even for the purest Adventurer, while wanting to become stronger, it is inevitable that other thoughts will be mixed in.
Wanting fame, wanting wealth, wanting to protect someone, wanting revenge, wanting to prove oneself, or simply fearing death...
There are too many distracting thoughts.
Once thoughts become mixed, the skill's effect will be discounted.
But this little fellow is different.
Its mind should be nothing but eating and sleeping, occasionally perhaps thinking about how to lie more comfortably on its mother's back.
However.
In the environment of these past few days.
After witnessing the performance of the girls and its mother in the Dungeon.
In this child's heart, which was originally as blank as paper, a very simple instinct should have begun to sprout—
—wanting to grow up.
This child has begun to gradually long to grow up quickly.
So much so that this thought, pure to the extreme, became the highest level of longing under the judgment of [Little Rookie].
—which is commonly known as the [Power of 'I Think So'].
"..."
After listening to Heimer's explanation.
Everyone still looked at each other in dismay.
After all.
Although they understood, they didn't feel comforted.
Instead, they felt even more heartbroken.
For a moment.
The joy and pride originally brought about by their collective promotion to Lv.2 were now significantly diluted by this sudden blow.
An inexplicable pressure hung over the girls' hearts.
After all, even this bear cub that only knows how to sleep can achieve this level.
...
...
"Alright."
Noticing this change in the atmosphere.
Heimer clapped his hands, interrupting the girls' wild thoughts in a timely manner.
He gently placed the little fellow back on the ground.
The little fellow still didn't wake up, rolled twice, rolled to Kyoujin's feet, and continued sleeping soundly.
"There is no need to put too much pressure on yourselves."
Heimer stood up from his chair, his gaze sweeping gently over everyone present.
"Every life has its own growth trajectory, just as flowers have their blooming periods and trees have their growth rings."
"This little fellow has its own opportunities, and you have your own paths."
"Don't forget, you have also created your own miracles."
"Within two days, all members reaching Lv.2 will surely spread to every corner of this world, making all the gods cast their eyes upon you."
Heimer's words carried a convincing power, soothing the anxiety in the hearts of Rin and the others.
"Additionally."
Heimer changed the subject.
"Because you have just finished updating your status and leveling up, your bodies and minds need a process of adaptation; too much is as bad as too little."
"And Miss Tsubaki Cobrand should be in the workshop of the Hephaestus Familia right now, busy and stressed out trying to repair and maintain the weapons you damaged yesterday."
"So."
"During this idle period without suitable weapons, you can have free time after you finish breakfast later."
"Those who want to go shopping can go shopping, those who want to sleep can sleep, and you can also go see the scenery of Orario."
"Don't be nervous."
After all.
From the moment they arrived in this world until now, they have been like wound-up clocks, either fighting or on the way to fight, and they haven't really had a good look at this legendary Labyrinth City.
Thus.
After receiving comfort from their god.
The mood of Rin and the others also eased.
"In that case!"
Hanasaka Warabi cheered.
"Can I take Kyoujin to stroll around the city? I want to see if there is any beef jerky suitable for him to eat!"
"As you wish."
Heimer nodded with a smile.
"But remember to keep an eye on Kyoujin."
"Got it!"
"Then I want to go to the bookstore!"
Kikakujuo Mary raised her hand, her eyes shining with the light of thirst for knowledge.
"I want to see the books of this world, and knowledge about magic theory..."
"Of course you can."
Heimer nodded and agreed to each one.
...
"Phew..."
With that.
The girls left Heimer's room together.
Kyoujin also picked up the bear cub that was still sleeping soundly on the floor and went back to the room to catch up on sleep.
Heimer let out a long sigh.
In just two short days.
A group of Lv.2s.
In the eyes of any god, this is an achievement worth popping champagne to celebrate.
So.
His system should have some response by now, right?
Thus.
Heimer had a thought.
He unfolded the system interface that had always been quite low-key.
This system, which had awakened one month after he descended to the lower world,
was usually frighteningly inconspicuous, remaining virtually invisible except for when it issued the beginner's gift package.
It didn't even have a notification sound.
'I wonder if it's broken...'
Thinking this, Heimer couldn't help but complain while checking.
Immediately after,
he noticed a bright red exclamation mark hanging on the envelope icon in the upper right corner of the semi-transparent system interface.
'...'
Heimer extended a finger and tapped the air.
[Detected that all initial members of the host's Familia have been promoted to Lv.2]
[Stage mission completed.]
[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward:]
[1. World Screening (Intermediate) X1: Can specify a general direction to randomly screen a world for exploration.]
'...'
Alright then.
Better than nothing.
The key point was the World Screening.
Although his Familia was already established and he wasn't in a hurry to recruit from another world immediately,
as a god who believed in preparing for a rainy day, it never hurt to take a look first.
Moreover,
Heimer was also somewhat curious.
In this vast sea of dimensions, which world might be the next one to intersect with him.
'Intermediate World Screening...'
Heimer stroked his chin.
Back then,
the Primary World Screening had taken a random chance and directly bumped into World Number S-14 — the world of Armed Girl's Machiavellianism.
This time,
with the Intermediate World Screening, he hoped the randomly selected world would be a bit stronger.
'System, use it.'
Heimer decisively issued the command.
[Command confirmed.]
[Consumed item: World Screening (Intermediate) X1]
[Initiating first random world search...]
[Worldline disturbance in progress... Sea of possibilities churning...]
...
...
Accompanied by the system's prompts,
Heimer felt the space around him begin to distort, the familiar scenery of his room gradually fading away.
A wave of fluctuation spread out from him as the center,
penetrating Orario where he was, piercing through the crystal walls of this world, and projecting his consciousness, or divine sense, into a boundless ocean composed of countless points of light.
Heimer's consciousness traveled through this sea of light.
Each point of light was a world.
Some points shone brightly like stars, emitting powerful energy fluctuations; others were dim like candles in the wind, as if they could be extinguished at any moment.
[Setting world screening criteria...]
[Condition one: Existence of high-potential suitable candidates.]
[Condition two: World rules have a relatively high tolerance for divine interference.]
[Condition three: Initial landing point is relatively safe.]
[Screening complete...]
[Locking onto target...]
As the system prompt concluded,
in Heimer's vision, the boundless points of light began to extinguish in large swathes.
Finally,
his gaze was guided by the system, focusing on one particular point of light emitting a faint black glow.
[Target world locked: World Number G-404]
[Alias: black bullet]
[Analyzing world information...]
[World Number G-404]
[Current anchor point location: Tokyo Area]
[World background summary]:
As Heimer's gaze lingered on the panel,
he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Images of this world, long buried deep in his memory, were awakened.
This world...
How to put it,
was definitely a world that would make Hestia sick to her stomach.
Not because of the monsters called Gastrea.
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