"Loki?"
Inside the cluttered divine chamber, the sacred characters symbolizing the Falna drifted behind Leon's back, emitting a faint, ethereal glow that illuminated the surroundings.
Noticing that his patron goddess behind him had suddenly gone silent, Leon snapped back to his senses and called out to her.
"—It's nothing. The Falna has been successfully bestowed."
It took a long moment for Loki to respond. Her slightly opened divine eyes closed once more, and she spoke as if nothing had happened.
"I'll write down your status and translate it into the common tongue. Give me a moment."
As she spoke, Loki pulled a piece of parchment from a nearby table and began to work.
Leon took this opportunity to turn his back toward the full-length mirror in the room, observing the condition of his back through the glass.
There, on skin that had previously been bare, a pitch-black crest had been carved.
The crest resembled both a stone tablet and an emblem; its general shape was that of a clown's head, depicted with numerous obscure and difficult-to-understand mystical characters. The clown's image was rendered with a mysterious atmosphere, making it appear less comical and more eerie.
This was the Falna that the gods carved onto the members of their Familia—their Status.
"Done." Loki handed the parchment to Leon and said, "Take a look for yourself."
Leon took the parchment and began to read.
The Status carved on his back was written in Hieroglyphs, a script used only among the gods. Few living beings in the lower world could write or read it. Therefore, every patron god, after updating a Familia member's Status, would translate it into the world's common tongue for the member's convenience.
It was worth mentioning that although Leon did not originally know the common tongue of this world, he had been able to communicate flawlessly with anyone since the moment he crossed over. If not for that, he might not have been able to communicate with Ais when he first arrived, let alone be brought back by her.
Over the past year, in addition to helping with logistics within the Familia every day, Leon spent his spare time learning basic swordsmanship from Ais. Others in the Familia had also taught him the common language. As long as the material wasn't overly profound, Leon could now read common text.
Thus, Leon easily grasped his status information.
Leon Eligos
Lv. 1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
[Magic]
[Meteor Dance]
- Star Attribute.
- Extra Mind consumption increases power.
- Extra Mind consumption allows for additional attacks.
- Chant: Light of the Heavens, Sword of the Stars.
[Development Ability]
[Skills]
[ ]
- Incomprehensible.
As a standard novice who had just received the Falna, all of Leon's basic abilities were naturally at 0, and his level was the lowest, Lv. 1.
Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic—the five basic categories of the Status—are divided into ten ranks from highest to lowest: S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, and I. The numbers following the categories represent proficiency.
0–99 is I, 100–199 is H, 200–299 is G, and so on. 700–799 is B, 800–899 is A, and 900–999 is S.
The proficiency of these categories only rises when the individual utilizes that specific ability, and it becomes increasingly difficult to raise as one progresses. If one's potential is insufficient, growth might stop entirely at a certain stage. This is especially true for the highest rank, S; among the countless people in the world blessed with Falna, only a tiny handful of geniuses can reach it. Even in a top-tier faction like the Loki Familia that stands at the pinnacle of Orario, only a few members possess S-rank abilities.
Leon had learned all of this long ago, so he quickly skimmed over his basic abilities and looked at the Magic and Skills sections.
This was the most important part.
Magic and Skills have nothing to do with whether a person is a novice; even someone like Leon, who had just obtained the Falna, could possess them.
Magic, as the name implies, is power that causes supernatural phenomena. In the past, it was something accessible only to a few natural magic races. It was not until the gods descended to the lower world and brought the miracle known as "Falna" that everyone, regardless of who they were, had the chance to obtain magic.
One can have a minimum of one and a maximum of three slots. At the moment the Falna is carved, magic slots are generated. If a slot appears, one can learn magic corresponding to the number of slots. However, most people's magic slots remain empty. Magic can only be inspired if one holds a great interest in or identification with something. If not inspired, a person might never learn magic in their entire life. Therefore, the discovery of magic remains a matter of luck rather than something that can be sought.
The situation is the same for Skills. They are influenced by one's major experiences, essence, interests, and so on. One might obtain them, or one might not. The difference between Skills and Magic is that there is no limit to the number of Skills one can have, and unlike Magic, which is used actively, Skills are generally abilities that bring about special effects under certain conditions.
In the beginning, everyone's basic abilities are the same, starting from zero, so there is no need to focus on them initially. But Magic and Skills are different. If one can obtain powerful magic or skills right from the start, it is something that can absolutely influence one's entire life.
Knowing this well, Leon was naturally most concerned with his Magic and Skills, as they would dictate how far he could go in the future.
He didn't harbor extravagant hopes of obtaining magic right away. After all, acquiring magic was truly a matter of chance. Even in the Loki Familia, many members had no magic, including first-tier adventurers of Lv. 5 and above. If he could obtain magic, it would certainly be enough to make him stand out among the masses of mediocre people.
In Orario, adventurers without magic definitely account for more than 70%, perhaps even more, proving that magic is still the privilege of the few.
Leon's greatest hope for himself was naturally to obtain magic, but he wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't. He would be satisfied as long as he didn't end up as a "blank slate" like Raul.
Indeed, that Lv. 4 who was valued by the Familia's captain had neither magic nor skills; he was a genuine blank-slate super soldier. If even a Lv. 4 was like that, there was no need to mention Lv. 1s. Being able to obtain magic or a skill was absolutely a cause for celebration.
Leon only hoped he wouldn't be a blank slate like Raul, but he hadn't expected that he would actually obtain magic.
"[Meteor Dance]—"
Looking at the magic name displayed on the parchment, Leon's eyes couldn't help but light up.
But before he could feel happy, the state of the Skill column caused him to freeze.
"What is this?"
Leon pointed at the skill displayed as [ ] and looked at Loki with a look of bewilderment.
"How should I know?"
Loki replied quite bluntly.
"You... you don't know?"
Leon was stunned.
"Didn't you see the notation above?" Loki said irritably. "Incomprehensible. It means exactly what it says. Even though this skill has manifested, for some damn reason, I can't decipher its meaning. I almost started questioning if I'd suddenly become illiterate and couldn't even read Hieroglyphs anymore."
These words caused Leon to frown first, and then he fell into silence.
If it were anyone else, they would probably be extremely confused by this situation. But Leon was different. He suddenly remembered that in the original story, there was one person who had the same thing happen to them.
Cassandra Ilion, an adventurer currently in the Apollo Familia, Lv. 2. She possessed an incomprehensible special skill whose name couldn't even be represented in Hieroglyphs; it was extremely mysterious.
Now, he seemed to have obtained an incomprehensible special skill, just like that person.
"—Why?"
Leon looked at his Skill column, his heart filled with doubt.
Was it because he was a traveler from another world? Or... was there actually something mysterious about him?
Did he actually count as having obtained a skill? Or not? It should count, right? But what is the effect of this skill? Who could tell him?
Leon couldn't help but look at Loki.
"Don't look at me. This is the first time I've encountered this situation too." Loki spread her hands and said meaningfully, "I only know that you, kid, are definitely not a simple character."
Even an indecipherable skill has appeared. If he isn't someone with a special background, who is?
"Then what should I do? Treat it as if it doesn't exist?" Leon frowned again.
"You can try to decipher it yourself," Loki said very irresponsibly. "I'll keep an eye out for you at most, and if I have time, I'll go around and ask. But I think it's better if you solve this yourself."
"Orario has never been a peaceful place. If that group of gods with exploding curiosity finds out about your situation, there's no telling what they'll do."
"So, it's safest for you to understand it yourself."
Saying this, Loki took the parchment from Leon's hand and wrote a line of text in the blank space at the bottom.
"Here. I've written down the skill information exactly as it is, without any translation. You, kid, just try to figure it out yourself."
After stuffing the parchment back into Leon's arms, Loki picked up the needle again, pricked her finger, and let a drop of divine blood fall onto Leon's back, moving her finger across it.
Soon, as a ripple spread across his back, the Status on Leon's body vanished.
"I've locked your Status, so even if someone wants to see it, they won't be able to." Loki threw Leon's clothes back to him and waved her hand, saying, "Alright, go out and play. Don't disturb my nap."
"By the way, remember to go see Finn. He probably has a few words for you."
Hearing this, Leon silently got dressed, tucked away the parchment, and walked out of Loki's room.
Watching Leon leave, Loki opened those eyes that she usually kept squinted, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.
"Incomprehensible, huh... The unknown of the lower world truly is fascinating."
On the other side, Leon, having left Loki's divine chamber, did not leave immediately. Instead, he stood with his back to the door, dazed for a long time.
His gaze returned to the parchment in his hand, looking at that undecipherable text.
It was not a script familiar to Leon. Since even a god couldn't read it, it was naturally impossible for a rookie like him, who had only recently learned the common tongue, to understand it.
However, when he looked at this text, Leon felt the same way he did when he first arrived. Even though he didn't know the script or language of this world, he could somehow understand it.
Therefore—he understood the meaning of this text.
[Outworlder]
- Permanent. All ability limits removed.
Looking at the meaning of this text, Leon remained silent for a long, long time.
[Outworlder]... was it?
"Truly lives up to its name."
Leon gave a self-deprecating smile. He understood now. This was something unearthed as a skill based on his essence as someone from another world.
Although he didn't know exactly how effective this skill was, he could only take it one step at a time.
Thinking of this, Leon crumpled the parchment in his hand, destroying the information of his Status.
Then, he walked down the spiral staircase of the central tower and back into the courtyard. The blonde, gold-eyed girl was no longer there; he didn't know where she had gone.
Leon didn't mind. After getting his bearings, he walked toward the tower in the north.
Climbing up the tower, Leon soon arrived in front of a room. This was the personal room and office of the captain of the Loki Familia.
"It's Leon. May I come in?"
Leon knocked on the door and asked.
"Come in."
Almost the next second, a youthful voice with a mature tone rang out—a very contradictory sound.
"Excuse me."
Leon pushed the door open and entered the office connected to the personal room of the Familia leader.
The office was quite spacious. The interior was decorated with bookshelves that filled an entire wall, a carpet resembling a bright garland, a white stone fireplace, and a tall grandfather clock with a crystal that looked like a magic stone inside. The overall color scheme was brown, giving it a steady style.
In the office, the most eye-catching thing was a tapestry hanging on the wall above the fireplace. It was woven with many gold and silver threads, depicting a goddess in armor surrounded by spears and many other weapons.
The Familia's leader was at the back of the office, sitting behind a large desk that was disproportionate to his small stature.
"You're here, Leon."
The youthful voice with a mature tone rang out again. The boy, as small as a child, smiled at Leon in a friendly and approachable manner.
Finn Deimne. This Pallum hero, who looked like a young boy, was the captain who commanded the entire Loki Familia.
Though he looked young, he was actually forty-two years old this year, and his level was—Lv. 6.
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