[Dungeon quest completed. Please return within twenty-four hours. Remaining time…]
Roy did not hesitate and immediately clicked "Return." After defeating Goto, the looks the special forces members gave him and Ryuu were clearly off.
They had most likely received certain orders.
For a Level 4 adventurer to clash head-on with a modern nation's war machine would be extremely difficult. Fearing that several helicopters might suddenly appear out of nowhere, Roy did not dare to delay.
Before everyone's eyes, Roy and Ryuu vanished directly, leaving behind a crowd of utterly dumbfounded people.
They returned to the Stardust Garden.
As expected, Ryuu went to take a bath. An elf's cleanliness would not allow her to tolerate the blood stains clinging to her body.
Roy began counting the rewards from this dungeon run.
[Teammate Ryuu Lion killed twenty-one parasitic creatures. Congratulations, you have obtained 2,650 attribute points. Kill count has reached twenty—additional reward obtained: Silver Treasure Chest.]
Adding the 1,200 attribute points from hunting down Goto, the total came to 3,850 attribute points!
Name: Roy
Level: 1
Strength: 780 → 1685 (SSS)
Endurance: 998 → 1622 (SSS)
Dexterity: 1120 → 1433 (SSS)
Agility: 1330 → 1452 (SSS)
Magic: 0 → 1698 (SSS)
Skills: My Lord Is Here, Blood for Blood
Magic: None
…
Roy tapped away on the panel, spending attribute points like flowing water and pouring them into his abilities.
In total, he spent 3,662 attribute points.
That left 188 points, but then Roy discovered that he could no longer allocate them. Literally—his ability panel displayed: "Unable to continue adding points."
Roy seemed to understand.
The system's enhancement of abilities was not unlimited. It would only help him reach his own inherent limit.
In other words, if he were willing to spend a huge amount of time adventuring, he could also grow to this level on his own. The system's point allocation merely shortened that time drastically.
"All SSS… looks like my talent isn't bad." Roy looked at this luxurious set of abilities. Seeing it like this, maybe he wasn't just an ordinary person after all.
Even the world-famous Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, had never been able to break through to SS rank, remaining stuck at S rank.
Since ability values could not be increased indefinitely, Roy no longer felt any psychological burden about leveling up.
[Great feat achieved. Do you wish to level up?]
Roy did not click "Level Up." Instead, he went to find Goddess Astraea, letting her have some sense of participation.
When Roy asked her to help with the level-up, the first thing he saw on Astraea's perfect, beautiful face was disbelief—followed by gratitude, and even a hint of emotion, as tears nearly welled up in her eyes.
It left Roy completely baffled and somewhat suspicious.
Could this be a useless goddess?
Fortunately, Astraea's hair was not blue. Otherwise, Roy would truly have been frightened.
Goddess Astraea set aside the kitchen utensils she had been holding and happily pulled Roy back to the room.
Her soft, boneless little hand felt delicate and smooth, like warm jade, making Roy's thoughts inevitably wander.
If Ryuu was like an unripe, slightly astringent kiwi, then Goddess Astraea was a fully ripe white peach—plump and graceful, brimming with temptation, yet carrying the intellectual charm of a mature woman. Less bewitching, more elegant and dignified.
At this moment, Astraea was extremely excited, like a child who had found a new toy.
Roy silently prayed, hoping she would be reliable. If not, he would have to do it himself.
The level-up began.
Goddess Astraea pricked her finger with a silver needle, letting divine blood drip onto Roy's bare back. Ability values formed from sacred letters began to surface.
As expected, the full SSS-rank ability panel gave Goddess Astraea quite a shock.
She stared at Roy's handsome profile, her rosy lips slightly parted. A long time passed without her uttering a single word.
The level-up process continued as the sacred letters shifted.
Roy also watched his own ability values. The luxurious all-SSS panel gradually faded away, replaced by a new panel—everything at 0 (I). The difference was that his level had become LV.2!
The LV.1 panel had not disappeared; it was hidden within his body, continuing to enhance his strength.
Judging purely by numbers, he now looked like nothing more than 0 (I). In reality, however, if he went head-to-head with a LV.2 adventurer whose abilities were all around five or six hundred, he would not be at a disadvantage at all.
"Development abilities you can choose from are Abnormal Resistance, Hunter, and Adventure. Which one do you want?" Goddess Astraea's gentle voice sounded beside Roy's ear as she carefully explained the characteristics of the three options.
[Congratulations on reaching LV.2. Available development abilities: Abnormal Resistance, Hunter, Adventure!]
Roy could see the new prompt panel as well.
Development abilities were additional abilities that could be learned upon leveling up, usually serving as a kind of secondary specialization. For example, a blacksmith would choose Smithing to enhance weapon or armor crafting, while an alchemist would choose Mixing to better brew potions…
Skill awakening depended on an adventurer's will, while development abilities were related to what one had recently experienced.
Abnormal Resistance—having encountered poisons recently, this could be obtained upon leveling up. It allowed resistance against abnormal states such as poisoning. Dungeon mushrooms, red umbrellas, white stalks—others eat them and lie flat forever, but if you eat them, you might only feel a little dizzy.
Hunter—having slain a large number of monsters recently, this could be obtained upon leveling up. When fighting monsters one has previously killed, one's own ability values would be enhanced. It was a rare ability, highly favored by both gods and adventurers.
As for Adventure, Goddess Astraea herself had rarely seen such a development ability. According to her speculation, it was probably obtained by people who loved exploration and proactively headed into dangerous places when leveling up.
Note that this was not for any purpose—purely for the thrill.
Ordinary adventurers who entered the Dungeon for money or fame did not qualify.
As for its exact effect, even she did not know.
Do not assume that gods are omniscient.
"Ability values" were merely a trigger. They could excavate possibilities that a person might never have had the chance to discover in their entire life, giving them concrete form as explicit abilities.
Through the accumulation of countless experiences, they could transform and evolve—like seeds buried in the soil, blooming into different flowers depending on the environment.
Only in this aspect was there a mysterious realm even gods could not fully perceive. That was why, whenever rare skills appeared, all the gods' eyes would glow green with excitement.
The Adventure ability before them was undoubtedly even rarer than Hunter—enough to drive the gods into a frenzy.
Goddess Astraea did not know its concrete effect, but Roy could see it through his panel.
[Adventure: The blessing bestowed by the Goddess of Fate upon the brave. By proactively heading into dangerous places, one's ability values, recovery, luck, and more are greatly increased!]
Roy spoke with firm resolve.
"Goddess Astraea, I choose the Adventure development ability!"
Hearing this, Goddess Astraea gave him a reproachful yet helpless look. The appearance of such a development ability made her seem to understand the nature of this particular child of hers.