The morning sunlight filtered through the swaying curtains, spilling onto Ronan's face.
Spots of light moved slowly across the floor as the curtains drifted in the breeze.
Outside in the yard, several birds chirped among the thick tree branches. Their song mixed with the summer cicadas, rising and falling together.
Ronan woke from a daze. His mind was blank, and his eyes stared at the wooden ceiling without focus.
After a moment, his thoughts cleared, and he began to think again.
He glanced at the clock in the room and was surprised to see that it was almost nine o'clock.
"It's already this late... yesterday really did take a lot out of me," he muttered.
He pushed aside the thin summer blanket and stood up. He opened the window all the way, took a deep breath of the fresh morning air, and stretched hard.
"Phew..."
"That feels good! Sleeping really is one of the best things in life. I'm glad I don't have insomnia."
Through the shifting shadows of the trees, he could faintly see the white giant tower standing in the distance. It almost felt like he could hear the noise at its base.
"Oh, right. Time to take care of those little cuties."
Looking at the lively little garden in the yard, Ronan smiled. Wearing only a vest and shorts, he went outside, picked up the watering can, and moved about at an easy pace.
While watering, he subconsciously glanced at his injured left arm.
Compared to the piercing pain from yesterday, the pain now was already very faint.
"Wait, it recovered this much in just one night? Back in my old life, this would have taken forever. Here, it already healed over and scabbed in a single night. That's incredible."
He moved his arm slightly to test the recovery and let out a sincere sigh of amazement.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm—"
The summer morning was refreshing and comfortable. Ronan watered the flowers and hummed to himself. Without realizing it, he began fiddling with the "switch" of the magic inside his body.
When he had nothing else to do, he liked looking at his flashy Status panel and enjoying this little piece of personal glory.
"Hmm? Wait."
A doubtful look appeared on Ronan's face.
At first glance, everything looked the same.
At second glance, it still looked the same.
At the third glance, he realized something was wrong.
"Something feels off..."
Ronan froze. The watering can in his hand kept pouring water onto the same patch of ground.
His eyes swept across the large amount of information on the panel. He checked it again and again.
It was not until his gaze passed over the flashing [Level] column that he suddenly stopped.
[Level]: Lv. 1+
His eyes fixed on the flashing "Lv. 1+" characters.
"?"
"What's going on?"
"Why is the Level flashing? Did I miss something?"
He immediately turned and walked to the stone bench in the yard. He set the watering can on the stone table, sat down, and studied it closely.
He tried touching the plus sign after the flashing characters with his consciousness. A notification popped up:
[Level: Lv. 1. Great Feat satisfied. Ready for Level Up. Confirm Level Up?]
"..."
Ronan said nothing. He simply stared at that line of text.
At that moment, silence said more than words ever could.
"I... I can Level Up already? Since when did I complete a Great Feat? Doesn't a Great Feat usually mean doing something ridiculous? Like beating someone much stronger than you..."
"Wait..."
He suddenly remembered one skill effect he usually ignored.
His gaze moved down at once and locked onto the Skill column.
『Proof of the Traveler』
A trait that deviates from common sense and logic. Experience can be freely allocated, or used with sacrifices for limit breaks. High-level experience required for Level Up is significantly reduced.
His eyes locked onto the third effect. The line "High-level experience required for Level Up is significantly reduced" almost seemed to shine in his eyes.
A few seconds later, Ronan suddenly came back to himself. His whole body shook, and he jumped to his feet with a look of realization.
"So this is what 'High-level experience required for Level Up is significantly reduced' actually means?"
"Haha..."
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Ronan covered his forehead and laughed like a madman.
"That battle with the Special Individual should count as a fight against a well-matched opponent for me, right? I really did feel like I was going to die."
"If that's the case, then under the effect of 『Proof of the Traveler』, it makes sense for it to count as a Great Feat for Level Up."
Even if it had only been a Level 1 monster, it was still a Special Individual. It definitely counted as a serious fight.
Looking at the flashing plus sign beside Level Up, Ronan could not hide his grin.
"Let's test it."
He glanced at his ability scores and decided to try.
[Level: Lv. 1. Great Feat satisfied. Ready for Level Up. Confirm Level Up?]
[Confirm]
[Level Up failed. Insufficient conditions.]
[Reason: Ability scores have not reached the required standard.]
Seeing the system's response, Ronan looked exactly like someone who had expected it.
"Even though the Great Feat is done, my ability scores still haven't reached the minimum D-rank standard, which means 500+. Good. If I leveled up with stats this poor, how would I fight people at the same level later?"
He shook his head and laughed, putting the thought of leveling up aside for the moment. It was still too early.
The real problem now was still the issue of his potential limit.
After thinking it over, his attention circled back to [Experience] and [Money].
"Oh right, there was another unexpected reward yesterday."
He went back into the house, took out the branch, and examined it carefully.
"This should be a branch from the legendary 『Great Holy Tree』. Its guidance and amplification of magic are incredibly strong. It's definitely one of the best materials for making a magic staff."
He remembered the figure he had run into the day before.
"That guy, if I guessed right, is probably just a lackey of [Evilus]. Are they already hoarding this stuff this early? That makes sense. Something like this almost never circulates on the open market. Building up a stockpile would take a long time, so of course they would start early."
Thinking through the information he already had, everything began to connect in Ronan's mind.
"Was all the trouble in the Dungeon just a distraction? A cover for what they're doing here in the city?"
He rubbed his chin and slowly began to understand what [Evilus] was trying to do.
Then, thinking about his own current situation, Ronan's expression changed.
"If I could find one of [Evilus]'s transport warehouses and skim off some of the goods..."
"That alone could save me most of the material cost for the staff. And the extra 『Great Holy Tree branches』 could solve my money problems too. I might even... be able to push my potential to the top tier!"
But after a realistic assessment, Ronan quickly decided that was too dangerous.
"No. Even if I found the warehouse, I might not be able to pull it off with my current strength. The risk is too high. That's not my style."
"I've got it."
Ronan's eyes lit up. A plan had come to mind. If it worked, it would be enough to completely change his situation.
"No rush. There's still plenty of time. I'll wait until both I and the Familia are stronger. That'll be much safer."
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing down the restless thoughts in his chest.
When he opened them again, he had already returned to his usual calm.
"Food first."
After making a simple breakfast, Ronan packed up his damaged equipment. He changed into casual clothes, locked the door, and left home.
The alley in front of the house was half-hidden by the forest. The trees were full and green, and dappled sunlight fell across the gray-white stone road.
Orario lay in the far west of the continent, close to the sea. The climate was pleasant, and the summer breeze brushed warmly against his face.
He stepped onto the main road with practiced ease, and the prosperous sights of Orario quickly filled his vision.
The street was wide enough for four horse-drawn carriages to travel side by side without feeling crowded. Shops lined both sides of the road. With the solemn white giant tower standing at the center, the Labyrinth City showed off its unique prosperity and vitality.
Ronan had walked this road countless times, but the foreign scenery still made him admire it in silence.
Compared to a city of steel and high-rise buildings, he preferred this old city where humans and gods lived together. The charm of time could be felt in every corner.
Crossing from West Main Street through Babel Plaza, Ronan headed toward the Second Sector along Northeast Main Street.
The Labyrinth City, Orario, was roughly circular. With Babel at the center, the main roads divided the city into eight sectors.
The Second Sector, between Northeast Main Street and East Main Street, was the industrial heart of Orario. It was where Magic Stone Products were made. Many magic stone workshops and inns were located there.
The most famous landmark in the area was the large base of the forging Familia, the [Hephaestus Familia].
Around it, the entire Second Sector was filled with private blacksmith workshops run by members of the [Hephaestus Familia]. Today, Ronan was heading to one of them to visit an acquaintance.