This time's for real.
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/1 hour after Silver started his body modification…/
"It's been a while." Said Hestia as she looked at Silver
'She was currently laying on the bed, looking at Silver as she rested her head on her hands.'
"Hum?..."
Something's wrong… His hair and clothes are a bit... Odd?
'She got up and looked at Silver, and she realized he did seem a bit different.'
"He's a bit… Smaller? Did he shrink?" She mumbled to herself as she looked at his hair
'And she was right, Silver's body was indeed a bit smaller than before, and this was due to his muscles shrinking slightly.'
'He didn't look skinny, and it was closer to what he would like after staying in a Sauna for many hours...'
"It's also very hot… Why is he so hot?! Is he okay?"
'Silver's body was almost burning, but there was no visible indication of that…'
'She felt as if steam would come out of his body!'
'Knowing this wasn't normal, Hestia ran to the bathroom and took a few wet towels and put them on his chest and head to try and cool him off.'
"He looks as if he just came out of a sauna… But he isn't sweating at all…"
Is it due to his status as an adventurer?
'It is true that due to how strong an adventurer can become, certain things such as boiling water may become nothing short of a simple cozy bath.'
'However, their bodies may be strong, but that is not the case for those around them. An adventurer may feel comfortable in a certain scenario, but if he gets distracted he may cause an accident to someone close to him.'
'There are many cases of adventurers hugging others and breaking their spines, or getting drunk before causing massive damage due to sudden fits of anger, that is why some bars don't even welcome adventurers and the ones that do normally have at least a guard strong enough to quench trouble if it does rise.'
'Thankfully, Silver was just hot, not hot enough to burn Hestia at all, but still abnormally so. If a normal person became this hot, they would certainly pass out soon.'
'This made Hestia worry, so she grabbed his hand and stayed there silent.'
"..."
I can only pray…
'She looked at Silver's serene face as he slept, and after a moment, a mischievous smile appeared on her face.'
"I guess he wouldn't mind..."
'She bent down and kissed him once… Then twice… And several times until she had a silly smile on her face.'
"Hehehehe…"
I could keep this up for days...
"Had enough already? I can fake my sleep for a little longer if you wish." Said Silver as he opened his eyes and gazed at Hestia
"Kya!?"
'Hestia jumped due to how sudden it was before she turned around and hid inside the blanket of the bed.'
"..."
'All the while under Silver's gaze. He got up and checked his own body, he pinched his skin and opened and closed his hands, trying to feel the difference.'
No irregularities... A towel?
Ah, I see... That girl...
'Silver smiled and he said:'
"Oh yeah, as for your question, I am indeed a bit smaller due to my muscles shrinking a bit… A lot of energy was used in this process and I think I lost a few Kg worth of fat…"
Things don't happen just like that, energy is necessary for things to work...
Even magic is connected to your body state, if you are hungry and weak, your Mind recovery speed slows down.
"That heat was the result of that."
I can say it was a success! And it was much better this time, no pain and no discomfort… I can say I have improved on my methods…
Let's see what changed to my status after I convince Hestia out of the blanket.
And after that I'll eat something, I'm dying of hunger...
'Silver looked at the bed and saw Hestia hidden under the blanket, he let out a sigh and said:'
"If we take any longer we'll lose the time for our date…"
/Fwush!/
'The embarrassed Hestia quickly got out of the blanket, she looked at him with an annoyed face, but before she could say anything, Silver jumped on the bed and laid his back to her.'
"You…"
"Mee?..." Asked Silver as he turned his head around
'He saw her expression and couldn't help but let out a sigh:'
"Sorry sorry, I tried acting like the usual but I guess it didn't stick…"
"I am okay, very much so… A little sore, not gonna lie, laying on the ground for an hour has made my ass square but besides that I am fine."
"If you reconsider my hunger and the fact I look like I have starved for a few days… I am 100% okay." He said with a smile
'Hestia looked at him with an annoyed expression and relaxed.'
"... It's good that you are okay… Sigh, I don't know how I should feel about getting used to your antics."
'Silver chuckled.'
"Should I be sorry?"
"Yes, making me worry every time… I'll end up losing my hair." Replied Hestia with a smile as she updated his status again
"After our Familia gets going and Ishtar is dealt with we'll have a lot of time to relax, don't worry."
I hope so at least…
"..."
'As she saw his stats, she let out a sigh, she wrote on a paper and gave it to Silver…'
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Mellios Silver
Level-2
Strength SSS-1492 -> J-1###
Vitality SSS-1499 -> J-1###
Dexterity SSS-1476 -> J-1###
Agility SSS-1499 -> J-1###
Magic SSS-1499 -> J-1###
Evolved body I -> H
Perseverance G
Magic:
>Magnum Opus Ambrosia
Skills:
>Vit Alhjin
>Infir David Missimus
>Neo Stur
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"These numbers again, Hestia… What do they mean?"
"Don't ask me, like last time, they just popped up, it's impossible to read your status now." She said as she rested her head on his back
"I tried looking around, I even asked Hephi but she didn't know what they meant either..."
"Hum… It seems Ouranos is our only option."
My Development ability increased… So my theory was right, it is indeed tracking the degree of modification on my body.
My question now is what is the basis it is drawing this classification from? What is it comparing my body to?
Or am I thinking about this wrong and being narrow-minded?
... I guess only the creator of this system can explain it to me...
"Sigh… It's hopeless, we'll leave these stats for later… Now, it's time to Level up…"
"Yay!" Said Hestia excitedly
"You seem to like this."
"Of course I do! Seeing the numbers rise always gives me a sense of accomplishment."
"... Yeah… We're two on that…"
I also love seeing the numbers grow.
'After smiling, Hestia asked again:'
"So it's time to choose again… What will be the Development ability of this Level?" She asked as she started to update his status once more
"If you forgot, you can currently choose between, Martial arts, Blacksmith, Mixing, Abnormal resistance, Engineer, Researcher, And Geneticist. As you know, Hunter can only be obtained at Level 2..."
"However, this is not the end as you got one more possible Development Ability to choose from since last time…"
"Really? What a surprise!"
Considering Development Abilities tend to appear based on your actions and Luck, I wasn't really expecting one more to join the fray deeming how long I stayed as a Level 2.
It was no time at all... So there was no time for me to develop myself in any way aside from my Levels and the manipulation of my Abilities...
Perhaps, spending more time between Levels is for the best, although even if I do spend more time training other things, there is no guarantee I will be given a new DA to choose from.
It's more of a Gamble...
"So? Tell me." Silver requested
"It's called Slayer, you got it from killing large quantities of monsters…"
"Hm... The name is a bit ominous..." Silver said with a complex smile
"I think it's rather fitting for what you've been doing." Hestia said as she rolled her eyes
"As its name implies, it increases your stats and it even increases your Mind, healing, and stamina recovering speeds when in a killing spree of monsters."
"However, it has no effects when you're not doing that, so I guess it's pretty situational. But aside from that, it seems to have no disadvantages."
'Silver thought for a moment before he replied:'
"It seems to be the upgraded version of Hunter? Hunter increases your combat power against monsters you already killed and got Exilia from, while this one gives me several boosts as long as I engage in a mass killing spree?"
"It sounds bad…" He said in a low tone
"It even makes me feel pity for the monsters." Said Hestia
"Well… There is no need to think too much over my options, I'll go with Geneticist." Said Silver
'This surprised Hestia.'
"Ha? I thought you were going to at least hesitate?"
"Well, Geneticist increases the strength, speed, and effectiveness of my 'Magic', it's like the Mage Development Ability, but tuned in to fit me."
"Considering how much my fighting style revolves around this power of mine, with my Magic stat being the first one to always reach the cap, it's clear I would choose something to make it even stronger."
"A mage is not a mage without the Development ability just like a blacksmith can't be one without his own Development ability, so perhaps I should've grabbed this one from the very start?"
"Well… When you put it that way it does sound convincing… But it's still a gamble, we can only confirm the effects directly."
'Silver nodded.'
"You're right… The only reason I didn't choose it was because I was skeptical of the way to improve it and I also had another great option at the time."
"But now I don't have something better to choose from. So we'll make do with what we have, yeah?"
"..."
Make do with what we have?...
'Hestia's eyes twitched when she heard what he said...'
"Most people can only get one Development Ability in their careers and you can choose from 9!"
This isn't even counting the fact you have 2 more!
'Silver just looked at Hestia with a poker face before he turned his face and looked at the wall again.'
"... #!"
This guy…
'Hestia pinched his waist but he barely moved, so she just conceded defeat and updated his status once more…'
'And as she did that, Silver thought:'
That Development ability was a surprise, but choosing it would push me more towards crowd control.
It isn't bad, but this Development ability is useless in single fights... And it may even conflict with my current training method.
What I need right now is a more secure and effective increase in my abilities.
But it's a solid contender for the next DA once I level up to Level 4.
'The hieroglyphs moved and the 2 was replaced with a 3…'
'Silver was now officially Level 3!'
"Here you go… Enjoy."
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Mellios Silver
Level-3
Strength J-1### -> H-100
Vitality J-1### -> H-100
Dexterity J-1### -> H-100
Agility J-1### -> H-100
Magic J-1### -> H-100
Evolved body H
Perseverance G
Geneticist I
Magic:
>Magnum Opus Ambrosia
Skills:
>Vit Alhjin
>Infir David Missimus
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"One step closer to being the top dog…" Said Silver
/Bonk!/
"What top dog?!"
'But this time, Silver didn't remain still to her "Violence"...'
"You know… I have already endured enough beatings… Do you think I am a passive guy who will suffer through your attacks and smile?" He said as he turned his head
"W-Wait… Let's talk this through…" She said as she retreated, getting out from his back and using the blanket as a shield
"Good timing, I needed a test subject for my newfound power… Tremble in fear..."
"Wait! AHHH!" Screamed Hestias as Silver pulled her closer to him
'From here on it was just a bit of fun and Silver playing around with Hestia, nothing lewd since 10 minutes later, Hestia left the room in embarrassment.'
'Silver felt it was a bummer, he invited her to take a shower with him but she blatantly refused him… Oh well, perhaps he went too far…'
"There's a lot to do… For now, I… Hum… I think I'll just do the classic."
/Poof…/
'Silver dropped his head on the pillows and closed his eyes, the land of dreams awaited him…'
"ZZZzzz…"
'And soon enough, Silver showed his mastery and went to sleep within 3 minutes.'
…
/Shuaa…/
'Silver woke up to the soothing sound of water falling into a pool.'
"... Hum?... No way... NOT AGAIN?!" He screamed as he looked around in distress
'The same pools, the same walls and ceilings painted with strange creatures and girls looking at him with weird glances…'
'Silver was once again in the dream…'
"Dammit!" He said as he punched the wall, making a small painted bunny jump in fright
'The bunny ran away and hid inside a painted bush, looking at Silver with its big round red eyes in fear.'
"..."
'Silver looked around but saw no one like last time, the door was still closed and the place still looked the same.'
"I just need to calm down… And think this through."
I've already been here twice, no need to panic like a little girl…
"What to do now? What are my options?"
'Silver looked around, but there wasn't much to do.'
'Communicating with the paintings seemed to be an impossibility...'
"I can enter and relax in the bathtub like I did last time or…"
'Silver looked at the big doors.'
"I didn't try, but I am sure I can leave…"
Should I give it a try?
…
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Notes
This chapter was much smaller because I made one of the recent chapters very big, so I wanted to compensate for it and stop it here for now and by the next chapter, do a bigger and more all-around explanation.
So yeah, he leveled up and as always, the plot made its magic.
See ya in 2 days!
(Small mistake, I forgot to add Neo Stur to his Level 3 status, but I did not add it as to not remove the comments )