Looking at the paper, Malik was only half listening to his god's words. There it was, that number he had long awaited to increase, had finally gone up. He broke the barrier to level 5. "Now I won't be looked down on by those others. Well, at least not as much." That was when he moved the sheet of paper and noticed a boy staring up at him, gently wagging his tail. "Hmm, what can I do for you little boy?"
Shurry wondered for a moment how to phrase his next words. "Um, Mister Malic? Uhm, what does it feel like to level up?" His eyes wide with the expectation of a perfect answer, this was after the perfect time to ask…
Did he just mess up my name? Malik looked around to see two gods and a dwarf holding back a chuckle. Ah, I guess it's not that messed up. I correct him kindly, and then answer. "Well, first, let me help you out, my name is Malik, not Malic." He said, raising his hand to his chin, entering deep thought. "Now as for how to answer your question…" He glanced at the beading eyes of a child filled with wonder, and hope. Ugh, I've got to make this right, while making it easy to understand? Huh? Wait, do I even understand it myself?
It was then that Leon noticed. He noticed that Malik had finally caught on to the real feeling behind the level up. He chuckled, and gave a smirk, goading his junior teacher on to discover a proper answer.
"Well, I'm not sure if this will make sense to you yet. But, it sort of feels like you realize you can do far more than before. It's honestly not as huge of an increase as I thought it would be. However, there's one thing that I can't deny…" Malik began, taking a look at Baldr and then back to Shurry.
"Hmm? And what's that?"
"You feel much closer to your god, in more ways than one." He added. "Personally, I revere Lord Baldr as an excellent teacher, a guiding light personified. And now I feel like I've become more like him in a way, yet also, different… Sort of like a step towards divinity."
"Hmm… I got the first part… So when I level up my Papa will feel more like me Papa?" Shurry said, happily wagging his tail. "But, what does… A step towards divinity feel like? I don't get it?"
The other three in the room couldn't hold in their laughter anymore. Even Malik chuckled a bit. "Well, that's a unique experience for everyone, at least I think so… Our language doesn't have the words to properly explain it…"
Shurry tilted his head, it was just enough to see his new papa behind Malik. His eyes went wide with a wild idea. He turned and ran over Idunn, and crawled up onto her lap. "Mommy, mommy! I want to learn all the letters, from all the languages! Maybe then I'll have enough words to explain it!" He said with excitement.
"Oh dear, if that's the case, how far will you go?"
"I'll learn all of these things too!" He said pointing to his back.
"Well, I'll teach you until you can't handle it anymore. But you'll have to be good."
"I will Mommy!"
"Alright then, first you need to go out there and get some exercise with Leon. He'll be instructing your physical training. And I'm sure he can handle whatever you dish out."
Without missing a beat, Shurry nodded, then ran over to Leon, tugging on his suit blouse. "Come on let's go, mister Leon! I want to get stronger. And then come back and learn letters from mommy!"
With orders to train the rather young boy, Leon set off with Shurry. Though, it wasn't like he needed an order to do it. While it wasn't his fault, nor responsibility, his inability to protect the young boy ate away at him. If I had been able to sense what was going on earlier, his life may not have been hanging in the balance… At the very least… Perhaps, I too need to acquire more strength. It's been a while since I reached level 7. Perhaps I can level up if we stay parked near Orario for a bit longer this time… It's what, about 2 years until we return? I'll train this boy as much as I can on our way there.
After the two left the room, Baldr began explaining the situation to Malik. And just like everyone had said, Malik ran into the bathroom, and vomited straight into the toilet. "Such a vile thing… I hope they're all dead."
"Oh, they definitely are. I watched the carnage myself. Their souls will be tormented for quite a long time before they get reincarnated. So… If you were planning on having some of your own, it's best to get it done now." Baldr winked.
"I… I see." He murmured, then remembered something. "Oh, Lord Baldr, why did you want to see my-" He vomited once more… "That cleaned me out of my lunch…"
"Well, the reason I wanted to see your status was to recall the feeling of your skills. I'd have asked Leon to do it if you hadn't arrived, so it worked out." He looked at the paper containing Shurry's stats. "I think… Kali had used some of her own power to create that skill he had before. It broke apart while I was updating his status… I can't tell if it was her final divine gift to him, a way to help ward off the thoughts of what happened to him, or if she had just been greedy and used her power to push him a little too far, too fast." He explained, with a sigh. "I can say for sure though, it wasn't a skill he obtained entirely on his own. And thus it vanished, helping to create new skills, and upgrade old ones to make up for it."
Training began, with Leon being the best possible teacher Shurry could have had. And Shurry being the best student. It was clear to see for everyone that ended up watching the two of them.
Shurry would try something, and Leon would effortlessly dodge then point out a single place that Shurry could improve upon… Then he would improve upon it, adapting to the new level of strength he had. To be fair it wasn't all that impressive of a fight, yet.