Three months passed.
It felt like time had flown by, but...
My days always began the same way.
I would wake up in the goddess’s arms, then head for the Dungeon after leaving her behind with a slightly disappointed look.
Ever since meeting the goddess Freya, I had the feeling she wanted to keep carrying me around all the time.
By the time the sun began to set, I’d come home completely drained, eat the warm meal the goddess had prepared, and end the day by updating my Status.
A simple, repetitive, happy daily life.
And in the process, I had changed beyond comparison from three months ago.
First, our home had changed.
It was no longer that small, creaking room in the dusty clock tower.
With the money I’d earned, we had found a modest but cozy two-story house not far from the center of Orario.
Turns out if I worked hard on my own, I could actually save up enough to buy a house.
Managing to get my own home in just three months, something I’d never done in my original world, was honestly moving...
Lady Istarot now enjoyed freshly baked soft bread and fragrant tea every morning instead of hard crusts.
Watching her happily tending flowers in the garden or reading books in the study was the greatest motivation I had for bleeding and sweating my way into the Dungeon.
My hunting grounds had also moved deeper into the upper floors.
The 12th Floor, the final gate of the upper levels.
There, I made a daily habit of hunting the rare monster that was practically treated like a monster rex: the Infant Dragon.
For a month already, Lady Istarot had been urging me over and over to level up.
“Nia, you’ve already piled up more than enough high-level Excelia. You’ve even achieved the feat of soloing an Infant Dragon. It’s time to level up.”
What she said was true.
For an LV1 adventurer to hunt the strongest rare monster in the upper floors alone was, by itself, a sufficient feat.
Over the past three months, I had been accumulating high-level Excelia at an abnormal rate—Excelia that other adventurers would have built up over long periods in parties.
But I refused.
My goal wasn’t simply to move on to the next level.
It was to completely fill the vessel that was LV1, leaving not a single drop of Excelia behind.
To raise all my basic abilities to S rank 999.
That was the graduation requirement I had set for myself at the first level.
Though worried, the goddess ultimately respected my stubbornness.
And tonight, at last, the moment of graduation had come.
“Now then, Nia. Shall we see how much stronger you’ve become today?”
Lady Istarot stroked my back with a mixture of anticipation and tension in her expression.
I, too, lay down on the bed as usual.
The warm, ticklish sensation spreading over my back.
As always, new information was carved into it.
But today, the goddess’s reaction was different from usual.
Her hand, which had been steadily brushing down my back, suddenly hesitated.
She rubbed her eyes as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, then looked back down at my back.
A moment later, a trembling voice reached my ears.
“N-Nia...! Look at this!”
She pulled me up and showed me the parchment bearing my Falna, her face a mix of shock and delight.
────────────────
Nia
Race: Pallum
LV1
Strength S 999
Endurance S 999
Agility S 999
Dexterity S 999
Magic S 999
Development Ability
Hunter Resistance Investigator Archer Genius
《Magic》
【Enchant】
• Chanting style: “Let fate be bestowed.”
• Enchantment magic
• Permanently bestows a random effect on equipment
• By consuming additional Mind, a desired effect can be guaranteed
• By consuming additional Mind, the effect level can be increased
《Skill》
【Master of Arms】
• Rules over weapons
────────────────
All basic ability values were 999.
The maximum that could be contained in the vessel of LV1.
Of course, compared to the original story where the protagonist was stacking up SS and SSS, it might not seem like much, but that was only because [Blessing of the Hero] was absurdly broken...
“You did it... Nia...! You finally did it!”
Lady Istarot hugged me tightly, overcome with emotion.
I couldn’t hide the feelings swelling in my own chest either.
Three months.
Just three months and a few days.
Back when I was living in my original world, I never put in this much effort...
I really had grown a lot.
“I did it, Goddess.”
I whispered as I hugged her back.
My goddess, the one and only god who had saved me.
For someone who had fallen into another world and was floundering around like a beggar, slowly dying, reaching this point had only been possible because she was here.
“Now, it’s time to choose, Nia.”
Level up.
In other words, rank up.
Once the Status reaches its limit and enough high-level Excelia has been accumulated, one can move on to the next stage.
And in that process, the adventurer chooses one ability from among the Development Ability candidates that have manifested based on their experience.
“Let’s see... There are quite a few. Hunter, Resistance, Investigator, Archer... and... hmm?”
She tilted her head.
“There’s also something called Genius. I’ve never heard of that one before.”
At her words, my heart began pounding hard.
Hunter, Resistance, Investigator, Archer. All excellent abilities that suited my fighting style.
Hunter probably increased the Excelia gained from monsters I’d already hunted, Resistance increased overall resistance, and Investigator and Archer were likely tied to the weapons I used.
But I didn’t even remember the one at the front.
Genius.
Just hearing the name made it sound insanely broken.
I had no idea what kind of effect it had.
But usually, when a rare ability like this shows up, it’s only polite to pick it.
Besides, I’ve always had a bit of a hipster streak...
More than a stable, mainstream pick with predictable performance, I was naturally drawn to the unknown hidden pick whose power I couldn’t even guess.
“I’ll go with Genius.”
“...Are you sure? The others might be much safer and better choices. Genius is a gamble—you don’t know what kind of power it will give you.”
At her worried gaze, I grinned and answered,
“That’s exactly why I’m choosing it. I don’t know what it does, but it’s rare, right? I can’t resist that.”
At my answer, Lady Istarot stared at me for a moment as if at a loss for words, then burst out laughing.
“Fufufu, yes. You really are that kind of child. Very well. I respect your choice.”
She laid me back down on the bed.
“Now then, I’ll begin the level up.”
A single drop of divine blood flowed from her fingertips and fell onto my back once more.
There was no special light, no grand ritual.
It was just like a normal Status update.
The warm, ticklish sensation spread across my back, and after a while the goddess quietly spoke.
“It is done.”
With a smile brighter than anything I had ever seen, she handed me a new parchment.
────────────────
Nia
Race: Pallum
LV2
Strength I 0
Endurance I 0
Agility I 0
Dexterity I 0
Magic I 0
Development Ability
Genius I
《Magic》
【Enchant】
• Chanting style: “Let fate be bestowed.”
• Enchantment magic
• Permanently bestows a random effect on equipment
• By consuming additional Mind, a desired effect can be guaranteed
• By consuming additional Mind, the effect level can be increased
《Skill》
【Master of Arms】
• Rules over weapons
────────────────
All my abilities had returned to 0, but the power surging through my body was on a completely different level from before.
So this is level up...!
It really is on a whole different scale from LV1.
Now that I was LV2, I should start challenging the middle floors too.
Come to think of it, I leveled up in just three months, didn’t I? I’m basically a record holder.
I’m definitely going to draw a lot of attention...
Would I end up with some weird nickname or something?
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