Chapter 24: Rank Up!
"Uh... unfamiliar ceiling..."
Shiro opened his eyes and saw the ceiling of his own bedroom. He had wanted to say this line for a while now and took the chance to whisper it when no one was around.
"You're awake..."
A gentle female voice came from beside him—it was Ais.
Wait, what?! Why is someone beside him?
Seeing Shiro, who had inexplicably fallen into a state of embarrassment, Ais was a bit puzzled.
"Are your injuries not healed yet?"
By now, Shiro had also calmed down.
Although it was a bit embarrassing for others to see him going crazy, Ais seemed not to have understood what he was doing just now, so he had to change the subject immediately.
"It was you, Ais, who brought me back, right? Thank you."
"No problem," Ais shook her head.
"Next, you're going to rank up, right? Can I come and watch?"
Ais said this without even noticing the unexpected eagerness in her voice.
"Of course, I have to thank you for bringing me back from the dungeon."
Getting out of bed, Shiro gestured for Ais to follow him.
Then, the two of them went to Loki's room together.
"Yo, you're awake."
As soon as he entered, he heard Loki's voice, full of a strong accent.
"Let me guess, you're here to rank up, right? Finn and the others were totally blown away when Ais carried you back. You should've seen their faces when they heard you took down Goliath – talk about disbelief!"
Loki said jokingly as she put down her wine glass and patted the bed next to her.
"Come on, take off your clothes. I can't wait to see your status."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Shiro sat down on the bed and took off his shirt, allowing Loki to update his Falna.
"Let's see, your potential development abilities include Swordsman, Hunter, and Abnormal Resistance. Which one will you choose?"
Potential development abilities come as a bonus with each rank up; adventurers can choose one from the list based on their experiences during the upgrade period.
Unlike magic slots, there's no limit to the number of potential development abilities one can have, meaning if a new development ability appears in the list with each level up, one could have up to eight different development abilities by level 9.
For example, Swordsman is because Shiro always uses a sword as his weapon, and the effect of Swordsman is to increase his attack power when using a sword.
Hunter appeared because Shiro has been continuously defeating monsters in the dungeon, providing a certain increase in ability values when fighting monsters he has defeated before.
Abnormal Resistance is something he specifically fought for.
On the 7th floor, there's a small monster called Purple Moth that spreads poison dust everywhere, and Abnormal Resistance can only be obtained by suffering from frequent poisoning or other negative effects.
Just as the name implies, it increases one's resistance to various negative abnormalities.
Logically, Shiro needs Abnormal Resistance the most right now.
His attack power is already sufficient, and his fearless style means he could even take down most monsters with him.
That immediately rules out the Swordsman development ability.
But there is a unique feature about the Hunter development ability; this ability only appears when ranking up from lv1 to lv2, meaning if missed, it's gone forever.
Between the Abnormal Resistance that can be obtained in the future and the limited-time Hunter, Shiro decisively chose the latter.
"Let's go with Hunter."
"Really? I would have thought you'd choose Abnormal Resistance. It seems like the best way to improve your combat effectiveness, given your personality. After all, with this development ability, you could fight fearlessly without worrying about side effects."
"Being able to kill monsters faster is also a form of enhancement."
As Shiro spoke, Loki completed the update of his Falna.
Torajirou Shiro Lv2
Strength: SS1099→I0
Endurance: SS1066→I0
Dexterity: SS1063→I0
Agility: SS1070→I0
Magic: SSS1399→I0
Hunter: I
Magic: [Device] [ ] [ ]
Skills: [Desperado] [Celestial Star Spirit's Protection] [Intuition] [Companion's Bond]
After defeating Goliath, Shiro's ability values have slightly increased, showing how considerable the excelia gained from the floor boss is.
However, with Shiro's upgrade, his ability values have all returned to 0.
His previously gained ability values have not disappeared but turned into hidden parameters not visible to others.
"I'm going to show off at the Denatus!"
Ignoring Loki's words, Shiro handed the parchment listing his status to Ais.
"SSS?"
This rank, unprecedented since the descent
of the gods, shocked Ais greatly.
This exceptional ability value showed Ais the possibility of reaching even higher ranks, reviving past memories in her mind as she remembered her father's figure.
However, it also led Ais to make some determinations.
"Can I team up with you?"
Ais extended an invitation to team up with Shiro.
"Huh? If we team up, we won't be able to go to the deeper floors you've been to before."
Previously, Shiro did want to delve deeper into the dungeon, but he encountered the same issue: while his attack was strong enough for deeper floors, he would become vulnerable if any monsters inflicted him with strange buffs.
"It doesn't matter."
Ais's reply was more firm than usual.
What she now wanted to know was not only whether Shiro's skill could also increase her growth rate but also something else.
Could he be her "hero"?
Ais needed to see this for herself; holding onto her curiosity, she wanted to join Shiro's team.
"Then I have no problem with it, as long as Lefiya agrees."
Since Ais suggested it, Shiro naturally had no reason to refuse, especially since having a level 5 like Ais join his team would provide better protection for himself, allowing him to explore the dungeon more boldly.
...
At night,
Loki notified the members of her familia about Shiro's rank up.
The previous record for the fastest upgrade to level 2 was set by Ais, and it took her a year to achieve this feat.
This time, Shiro's upgrade took only one month.
This shocked the members of Loki Familia, but also left those at level 2 with mixed feelings.
They had struggled desperately to reach where they were, only for a new member to catch up in just one month.
But when they thought about how Shiro had defeated Raul before even becoming an adventurer, they suddenly found it more acceptable.
"Congratulations, Torajirou, I will include you in Raul's team for the next expedition."
Finn, the wise captain of the Pallum race, was the first to come forward and congratulate Shiro right after Loki's announcement.
"Haha, you had already predicted his success when Shiro set out to level up, didn't you? But, a month to reach level 2, huh? Looks like I really am getting old," Gareth laughed heartily, quickly teasing Finn.
However, compared to the openness of the older members, the atmosphere among the younger members was rather tense.
After all, they were considered front-runners among other adventurers in the city, but now their familia had added a new 'monster', who reached level 2 in just one month.
How long would it take for him to catch up with them?
"I'm full." The first to speak was Bete, the one who hated the weak showing off the most.
He left the dining hall in a hurry, probably going somewhere to train.
"Hey! Bete! Wait for us!" Tiona and Tione hurried after him.
Although they were usually quite optimistic, the feeling of being quickly caught up by a new member was not pleasant.
"Congratulations, Torajirou-san."
Unlike them, Lefiya was different.
Teaming up with Shiro kept her growth rate almost the same as before.
In fact, since she started using a rapier recently, her ability values, except for magic, have grown even faster than before.
Shiro's leveling up meant they could go to deeper floors, hence Lefiya's ability values could improve faster.
One could say Lefiya was the biggest beneficiary after Shiro joined Loki Familia.
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