After confirming that he would not be leveling up for the time being, Leon left Loki's divine chamber.
"Something big is about to happen..."
Watching Leon's departing back, Loki suddenly stood up. With a look of intense excitement on her face, she paced back and forth in the room before slapping her thigh.
"No! I have to go talk to Finn and the others!"
With that thought in mind, Loki rushed out of the chamber and sprinted toward the tower where Finn's office was located.
Inside Finn's office, situated in the tower on the north side of the Twilight Manor—
Just as it had been when Leon arrived earlier, the three leaders of the Loki Familia were gathered together, processing the Familia's internal affairs.
Having just concluded an expedition not long ago, the entire Familia was still busy with the aftermath. As the leaders, Finn and the others had far more tasks to handle than anyone else. Unlike the younger executives—who neither had to deal with difficult paperwork nor perform the chores of common members—they didn't have much leisure time for their own pursuits.
Before Loki's arrival, the three heads were in the middle of discussing some business.
Now, however, they no longer had the mind for it.
"Total combined ability proficiency increase of over 3,000?"
"Meeting the requirements for a Level Up in just ten days?"
"This—"
Hearing the words spoken by the incredibly agitated Loki, Finn, Riveria, and Gareth couldn't help but simultaneously doubt their own ears.
"Is... is this true?"
The usually rational and steady Riveria was now a picture of bewilderment. Her eyes were filled with disbelief; she simply could not accept what she was hearing.
"I say, you haven't been drinking and fallen into some daydream, have you?" Gareth asked in a gruff voice, his brows knit tightly together in suspicion.
"What kind of daydream could be this beautiful? This isn't even the kind of thing I'd dare to dream of normally, alright?" Loki was still dancing around with excitement, shouting back, "If I were going to have a beautiful dream, I'd be dreaming of pretty girls! Why would I dream about that brat?"
The mouths of the Big Three twitched in unison. But honestly, that sentence was remarkably persuasive.
"So—everything you just said is true? You aren't playing a joke on us?"
Finn remained calm, though he had instinctively begun biting his thumb. This was a habitual gesture he performed whenever he was contemplating something important or undergoing a mental brainstorm. Clearly, the Pallum captain was actually stunned by Loki's news.
There was no way not to be stunned. The information Loki brought was far too shocking.
"This is too incredible. It's hard to believe." Riveria was still questioning the reality of the situation.
"Indeed. Growth speed like this shouldn't even be possible," Gareth agreed with Riveria. "Forget about us, even Ais couldn't come close to this. Are you trying to tell us that the person she picked up in the Dungeon a year ago is a super-genius who can leave our Princess so far behind she won't even see his back?"
Forget about them; no one in Orario would believe such a thing.
Eight years ago, an eight-year-old girl had leveled up to Level 2 at an absurd, abnormal speed. That event remained fresh in everyone's memory to this day. Taking only a year to go from a fresh rookie who had just received Grace to reaching the peak of Level 1 and successfully ascending to Level 2—becoming an Upper-Class Adventurer—was an achievement that shattered the record for the fastest Level Up in history. It sent Orario—no, the entire world—into an uproar.
Furthermore, she was neither a member of a magically gifted race like the Elves, nor a race with naturally high physical potential like Dwarves, Beastmen, or Amazons. She was a Human, a race whose physical and mental capacities were generally far below others.
Therefore, even now, it was a feat that countless people discussed with relish. It would not be an exaggeration to say it was an achievement worthy of the history books.
Yet now, regarding such an unbelievable achievement, Loki was telling them that another Human had turned it into a joke?
A total proficiency increase of over 3,000 and meeting the level-up requirements in ten days—it was just as Loki said; one wouldn't even dare to dream of such a thing.
"I knew you wouldn't believe it, so I made a copy of the kid's status."
Loki gave a devious snicker and tossed a piece of parchment onto the desk. "See for yourselves. Seeing is believing."
Hearing this, Finn and the other two immediately turned their gazes toward the parchment. Then, they saw the staggering content that they would not be able to forget for many years to come.
Leon Eligos, Lv. 1
Strength: I 0 → D557
Endurance: I 0 → E496
Dexterity: I 0 → D581
Agility: I 0 → C644
Magic: I 0 → B752
"This—"
Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all felt a shock to their systems. They exchanged looks and then fell into an indescribable silence.
"Well? You believe it now?" Loki said triumphantly. "And don't say I saw it wrong or wrote it down wrong. In the decades since the Familia was founded, when have I ever misread or miswritten your status?"
That had indeed never happened.
Thus, the moment they saw the parchment, the three of them knew it was real. No matter how incredible or hard to believe it was, the facts were right in front of them, leaving them no room to escape reality.
"...If this is true, then it only proves one thing."
After a long time, Finn, still biting his thumb, was the first to break the silence.
"Proves what?" Riveria hadn't reacted yet.
"What else could it prove?" Gareth laughed heartily. "It proves the secrets on that boy are even bigger than we imagined!"
How could a normal human have such staggering growth speed? Even if the Grace bestowed by the Gods allowed the children of the lower world to grow stronger on equal footing, there was a limit.
The Grace of the Gods was not a miracle that allowed one to become infinitely strong; it was a catalyst. Its essence was to excavate the hidden possibilities within the people of the lower world, materializing the potential that people could not discover, utilize, or reach on their own. Then, through the act of "Leveling Up," it expanded the human body as a vessel, allowing them to possess a stronger, larger, and broader future.
In other words, if an individual's potential was insufficient, then no matter how many monsters they hunted or how many adventures they went on, they would not be able to gain greater power.
Take Basic Abilities, for example. Everyone knew that the more one used a certain ability, the more its proficiency would increase. Yet, some people could smoothly rise all the way to the highest rank of S, while others couldn't even reach the Rank D required as a basis for leveling up. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't improve. This was a manifestation of insufficient or exhausted personal potential.
Elves, as a naturally magical race, could usually raise their "Magic" ability to Rank B or A, with the cream of the crop reaching Rank S. However, in abilities closely tied to the physical body—like Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility—they found it difficult to improve.
Riveria was a prime example. As elven royalty, she was hailed as the strongest mage in the city, but her Strength and Endurance were only Rank E, and her Dexterity and Agility were only Rank C. She had hit her limit there; it was very difficult for her to improve any further.
Gareth, the dwarven warrior, also had obvious ability leanings. Because Dwarves were a race of immense strength and durability, his Strength and Endurance were unparalleled. Hardly anyone in the Loki Familia, or even all of Orario, could compare to him. However, in terms of Magic, he was only Rank H.
Then there was Finn. As a naturally small-framed Pallum, his Strength and Endurance were both below Rank D—one at Rank E and the other at Rank F. It was clear that personal and racial potential had a profound impact on the growth of one's status.
If even they, who were among the fewer than a thousand Level 6s in the city, were like this, then it was even more true for Humans, who were generally more balanced or mediocre in all aspects. The best example was Raul. As a Human, he was already Level 4, yet he had no magic, no skills, and even his basic abilities stopped once they reached Rank C. That was why the Gods had given him that alias—[High Novice].
As for Ais—
Publicly, the Loki Familia claimed she was Human, but in reality, she was far from being a simple Human, so she couldn't be used as an example.
Under these circumstances, for Leon to raise his basic ability proficiency by over 3,000 points in ten days and meet the requirements for a Level Up was not something that could be explained simply by "extraordinary potential." Even with that much potential, increasing those abilities should still take time, shouldn't it?
Raising status required sufficient Excelia. It had only been ten days; even if Leon killed monsters without eating or sleeping, how much Excelia could he have possibly obtained?
Finn and the others were veteran adventurers who had reached the limit of Level 6 and weren't far from Level 7. How could they not know the ins and outs of this process?
"There must be other factors involved for such a result to be possible." Finn looked at Loki with eyes full of intensity. "Is it because of that undecipherable special skill? Loki?"
Finn's words made Riveria and Gareth turn to Loki as well. Loki had told them about Leon's undecipherable skill long ago.
While this was a matter of personal privacy—and generally, a "parent" like Loki wouldn't reveal it casually, even to fellow Familia members—the three of them were the leaders. It was necessary for them to understand the abilities of their members to better arrange and deploy them. Thus, Loki had told no one else, not even Ais, but had shared it with the Big Three.
Naturally, Finn immediately guessed the cause.
"I'm not sure. I really can't decipher that damn skill, so I have no idea what its effects are." Loki shrugged, but she opened her divine eyes and said with a grin, "But other than that, I can't think of any other reason why that kid would have such god-forsaken growth speed."
A God's intuition might not always be logical, but it was often very convincing. Especially on such important matters, Finn and the others trusted Loki's feeling and didn't think she was speaking randomly. Moreover, like Loki, they truly couldn't think of any other reason for such an absurd growth speed.
"This is truly something else," Gareth said, both happy and sentimental. "I didn't expect that kid to be hiding potential even more terrifying than Ais's. If the younger ones find out, they'll probably lose their minds."
"...Forget about the Familia. If word of this gets out, I'm afraid all of Orario will be in an uproar," Riveria said with a complex expression. "Once such a staggering growth speed becomes known, it will be hard for even us to suppress the people or Gods with ulterior motives."
"Well, obviously. Ais caused a sensation back then, let alone this kid," Loki said with a cold laugh. "But if anyone wants to steal a member from my hands, forget about the door—there isn't even a window."
Loki was indeed eccentric, but if anyone dared to reach for her family, she would cut their paws off on the spot. Even if a certain boy-crazy Goddess came sniffing around, Loki wouldn't hesitate to strike.
"It seems our Familia will soon have another pillar," Finn said with a smile. He asked Loki, "Did he level up?"
"Nope." The cold laugh on Loki's face turned into a gleeful grin. "He felt he hadn't reached the limit of his current level yet and said he wanted to keep training."
"A wise choice," Riveria nodded in agreement. "To raise basic abilities to this extent in ten days means his potential is certainly not exhausted. At the very least, his Magic can definitely reach Rank S. Leveling up now would be a waste."
"Maybe that kid can reach heights even we haven't achieved," Gareth said, stroking his beard with a laugh. "Perhaps he can achieve the miracle of Rank S in every ability."
Even in the Loki Familia, very few people possessed Rank S abilities. Finn only had S in Dexterity, Riveria only had S in Magic, and Gareth had S in Strength and Endurance. As for the four executives, currently only Bete Loga had an S in Agility; the other three hadn't reached Rank S in any ability.
Even the only Level 7 in Orario only had four abilities at Rank S and one at Rank D. If Leon could achieve Rank S in all abilities, it would be a true miracle.
Engaged in their heated discussion, Finn and the others had no idea that their imagination was still too limited. Very soon, they would witness something they had never seen before.
That would be the true miracle.
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