Adventure!
Roy was not at all surprised that he obtained this special Development Ability.
Having lived in a safe and stable country in his previous life, his heart deeply yearned for heroic adventure, making this an alternate version of "Desire for the Hero" (a Skill like Bell's Liaris Freese).
Name: Roy
Level: 2
Strength: 0 (I)
Endurance: 0 (I)
Dexterity: 0 (I)
Agility: 0 (I)
Magic: 0 (I)
Development Ability: Adventure (I)
Skills: My Lord is Here, Blood for Blood
Magic: None
…
"Level up and Development Ability selection are complete," Goddess Astrea smoothly locked Roy's Ability Scores, and the Hieroglyph on his back vanished.
Deities almost never refuse a request from their Familia members. Like parents who want their children to be independent, they offer different options and allow the child to make the choice.
Watching the colorful lives of their children in the Lower World is one of the joys of most deities.
Roy looked at his new Ability Score panel. The LV.2 designation shone with golden light. He clenched both fists, his face flushed. "Power is surging out…"
"Pft!"
Seeing his reaction, Goddess Astrea laughed, flashing a tender, motherly smile. "Don't play for too long. I'll go prepare dinner now."
Roy smiled. Leveling up to LV.2 didn't bring the dramatic surge of power he had imagined. It was rather bland. Raising Ability Scores and leveling up do not instantly boost strength; the body needs time to adapt.
Gazing at her beautiful retreating figure, Roy felt somewhat mesmerized. The Goddess's charm was truly terrifying, even though she wasn't a Goddess of Beauty like Freya.
Once the feeling of cardiac arrest subsided, Roy focused on the other matter.
The Silver Chest he obtained!
Roy clicked "Open Chest" on the panel.
[Silver Chest opened. Congratulations, you have received: Three High-Grade All-Purpose Elixirs, High-Grade Strength Enhancement Potion, Grimoire, Steel Gauntlet (Epic).]
Name: Strength Enhancement Potion
Quality: High-Grade
Effect: Upon consumption, increases one's Strength attribute by 30%. Effect lasts for ten minutes.
…
Name: Grimoire
Quality: Undetermined
Effect: A manuscript that can only be compiled by individuals who have developed the rare Development Abilities "Magic" and "Mystery" to their limit. Reading it forces the awakening of Magic!
…
Name: Steel Gauntlet
Quality: Epic
Attribute: Can withstand all attacks from LV.4 adventurers with all Ability Scores below D-rank, or monsters. Protection capability decreases as durability drops.
Special Effect (Guardian): Triggers a Magic Shield that protects the user from all directions. Each activation reduces durability by 10%.
Durability: 99%
…
Roy's eyes lit up. The All-Purpose Elixirs needed no explanation. If purchased from the Dian Cecht Familia, each elixir would cost 500,000 Valis!
The Strength Potion, the Steel Gauntlet, and even more importantly, the Grimoire that could forcefully awaken Magic!
Roy's gaze was glued to it.
Magic!
The power that triggers supernatural phenomena, possessing immense power, and usually used by adventurers as a trump card.
Roy had seen Ryuu's Ariel several times. When released, it almost instantly wiped out the opponent.
Magic is categorized into two types: Innate Magic and Postnatal Magic awakened by a Divine Blessing.
Innate Magic is tied to racial bloodlines and personal potential, acquired by magical races such as Elves and Spirits through their own potential and training.
Postnatal Magic is related to one's interests and identity regarding certain phenomena, awakened through the Divine Blessing.
Under the Divine Blessing, everyone can possess a maximum of three Magic spells. However, Magic awakening is a rare occurrence. Most people never learn a single spell in their lifetime.
By reading the Grimoire, one could be forcibly inspired and learn Magic. The moment the Grimoire appeared, even Roy couldn't help but show his excitement.
Grimoires were extremely valuable, usually only seen at auctions, starting at 100 million Valis with no upper limit. Even Roy couldn't afford one, and before receiving a Falna, buying one would have been useless anyway.
But now, it was different!
It meant he was about to awaken Magic!
Roy extracted the Grimoire from the system.
It was an ancient, rustic book, about three fingers thick, and seemed unremarkable on the surface.
Roy took a deep breath, slowly opened the Grimoire, and stared intently at its contents. The text was neither the common language nor the script used by various races, nor the Gods' Hieroglyph (Divine Text).
It was like tadpole script, a complete scribble that Roy could not understand at all. The more he read, the dizzier he became, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
It was as if he had eaten a poisonous mushroom. Bizarre, vivid, colorful images floated before Roy, his vision narrowed, and his reflection appeared in a mirror-like surface.
If he were conscious, he would definitely have complained:
Holy cow, ice!
"What Magic do you desire?"
A faint figure, like a ghost, drifted past Roy, posing a question to his soul.
Without thinking, following the deepest choice of his heart, Roy murmured, "Destructive power that can shatter everything, and the most ferocious speed in the world!"
"How truly violent. Combining speed and destructive power… only the thunder in nature can satisfy your demand," the figure, which looked just like Roy as a youth, smiled.
"And then? Is that all?"
"The ability to fight alongside me and never betray me!"
"You want a companion?"
"Calling it a weapon might be more appropriate."
"I see. There are always things that one person cannot resolve in this world. You want a weapon that won't betray you, possessing the immense destructive power and swift speed of thunder. You are too greedy. Can your ambition control this power? It is a double-edged sword!"
"Take it. This is your Magic!"
The lingering sound did not fade from Roy's ears for a long time.
In a trance, Roy smelled a pleasant, refreshing fragrance that delighted his heart and brought great comfort to his fatigued spirit. His nose twitched, greedily inhaling the scent. When he slowly opened his eyes,
He found himself looking directly into a pair of sky-blue eyes.
"Peeking at me while I sleep, Ms. Ryuu, when did you develop this hobby?" Roy couldn't resist teasing the elven girl as usual.
But Ryuu's reaction was different from before. Her voice was like the biting wind of a winter night, cold and sharp. "What are you doing in Lady Astrea's bed?"
Roy snapped back to reality, his eyes wide in surprise. He abruptly sat up. He remembered: he was reading the Grimoire, awakening Magic. Had he succeeded?
Reading a Grimoire did not guarantee Magic awakening; it was possible to fail. Here, one must remember a certain Fox girl who used up Fels' Grimoires worth billions of Valis without awakening a third Magic spell.
[Magic Awakened!]
[Lord of Thunder: No chant required. Freely control and change the form of thunder. The ability score of the lightning is determined by the mental power provided. Can also self-destruct. Controlling the movement of lightning consumes additional mental power!]