"What? Why would adventurers not want to get stronger??"
"It's quite simple really. The reason is pain. Transference is a very painful process, something you would never do unless you had no other choice. It's not just painful, it also harms your body. The pain comes from the damage your body receives. By the end of Transference, you will not be even able to walk."
So the only way to get stronger is by damaging my own body and suffering though such a painful experience that I won't be able to get up? Then how did Janet and Val get so strong? How many times had they been through the transference?
"But then how did you and Val…." I couldn't really finish the question since Janet had just explained how painful the experience is.
"Val and me have leveled up several times. We level up almost every 2 months and we have been doing that for 2 years now."
Val looked at me and finally spoke the first time since the conversation about leveling started.
"Look here shrimp, we don't want you to feel bad for us. Janet is exaggerating. It's not that painful. Guild also has healers when doing transference. It costs extra but they heal a lot of the damage right away after the level up."
"It's not like you need to level up every 2 months, it's just more efficient the more often you do it. The longer you wait, the less accurate your energy level is and the more energy you lose. Oh yes, I forgot to explain this part. While you gain experience that increases your energy, this energy gain is also not permanent. You will steadily lose energy if you are not gaining experience. This means the longer your wait for a level up, the less efficient it is. Once the level up is done though, the attribute you increase stay much longer. You don't start losing attribute points unless you have been inactive for a year or more. This is why retired adventurers get weaker as they age."
I just sat this silently while looking at the 2 women. They had been through the painful leveling experience almost 12 times! They go through it every 2 months. No wonder they are so strong. I just didn't understand the reason. Why were they willing to work so hard and go through so much?
Val must have thought that I was scared since I hadn't said anything for a while. She taunted Janet "See now you have scared the little guy. And you had the audacity to say that I am the bully!"