If you asked an adventurer what change they anticipated the most in their status, their answer was likely to be only one—'Level'.
It wasn't about obtaining magic or skills with peculiar effects, nor was it about a significant boost in basic abilities. It was about the evolution of body and mind, the increase in level.
Especially for a Level 1 beginner adventurer, leveling up was undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited thing. Because, from this step onwards, they truly embarked on an extraordinary path.
Falna existed as a catalyst for growth, an accelerator for getting stronger. In other words, it didn't enable those who couldn't get stronger to break their limits and get stronger. Instead, it accelerated the process for those who could continue getting stronger.
It all boiled down to whether a person had the growth potential. If there was growth potential, Falna could expedite the process by accumulating Excelia to stimulate growth, becoming a nourishment for growth.
Unfortunately, without growth potential, even with Falna, one could not grow further. This was why people who could develop basic abilities to S-rank were rare, and even those at A-rank and B-rank were scarce. Their potential was depleted, preventing any further growth. Accumulating Excelia wouldn't increase proficiency even a bit.
In light of this, despite the disparities in strength at Level 1, people in this level still belonged to the realm of the 'ordinary'. They could accumulate Excelia to push their bodies to the limit of mortal but couldn't truly transcend and possess monstrous strength.
Especially for mortals without any racial advantage, even if they pushed their bodies to the limit through training, at best, they could only shatter a rock.
Could they really bring down a whole mountain?
It was unattainable.
The mortal body had its limits, no matter how one grew, one wouldn't become godly. But once they experienced leveling up, everything changed.
The so-called 'body and mind evolution' was just as it sounds, a genuine transcendence, officially entering the realm of superpower.
Whether 'Human' or 'Demi-Human', even if they exhausted their potential at Level 1, reaching the limit of their mortal body, once they successfully leveled up, a transformation worthy of being called 'body and mind evolution' occurred.
This transformation was not only evident in getting stronger but also in the 'vessel' becoming larger and broader.
After leveling up, the body transcended to another level, bringing forth new potential and possibilities. It gave a chance for those who reached a bottleneck, unable to progress, to have the opportunity to grow and get stronger once again.
This was leveling up.
As Loki had said, leveling up was approaching the level of the Gods. The higher the level, the more frequent the transcendence, the more thorough the evolution of body and mind, and the closer one got to the Gods.
So, the phenomenon of leveling up could be seen as a step-by-step becoming a God. Who wouldn't yearn to level up?
However, leveling up was not something that could be casually done.
"In general, to level up, you need to meet two conditions."
Loki swayed the bottle of wine in her hand, intentionally or unintentionally remarking.
"One is to bump up one of your basic skills to the sixth rank, that is, D-rank. Second, obtain 'High-Rank Excelia' by pulling off a remarkable exploit, mostly by defeating opponents stronger than yourself."
The first condition provided a solid foundation for leveling up.
If the basic accumulation was insufficient, it was like building a tall skyscraper on an unstable foundation. Even if you built upward, the only result was likely to be a collapse.
Similarly, to achieve body and mind evolution, to bring about individual sublimation, it was impossible without a certain foundation.
The second condition was to provide an ample supply of the so-called nutrients for leveling up and evolution.
Just as ordinary Excelia could promote the growth of basic abilities and even awaken magic and skills, to level up, one still needed enough Excelia.
However, at that point, the required Excelia was not something ordinary Excelia could satisfy. As Loki had said, it had to be 'High-Rank Excelia'.
This kind of advanced Excelia was what Loki referred to as an exploit.
That is, defeating opponents stronger than oneself.
That is, taking life-threatening risks.
That is, creating challenging endeavors that leave a lasting impact.
Once these actions were accomplished, the recipient of the blessing would obtain more advanced Excelia than usual, achieving the so-called exploit.
When the accumulation of exploits was sufficient, the evolution of body and mind would be triggered, allowing individuals to advance and enter higher domains.
This was leveling up.
"Defeating opponents stronger than myself, huh...?" Riezel muttered and a smirk unconsciously appeared on his lips.
Seeing him like this, Loki sobered up from the alcohol.
"Well, well... It seems this didn't just fail to scare you, but got you excited instead?" Loki retorted speechlessly. "Usually, when people hear they gotta take down opponents stronger than themselves, they'd be hesitating, maybe even freaking out, y'know? But you're truly something else... Instead of hesitating or scared shitless, you're practically sounding the war horn for battle."
Wasn't that the case?
Fighting against opponents stronger than oneself usually meant having no chance of winning, right?
No chance of winning implied a high possibility of death.
Upon hearing that leveling up required such conditions, who wouldn't hesitate?
Only Riezel, unexpectedly, was smiling.
"It's not that bad..." Riezel quickly hid the uncontrollable twitch at the corner of his mouth. "Even if the opponent is stronger, there are examples of the weak overcoming the strong, and there are many of them. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many high-class adventurers in this world."
Indeed, even though the requirements for leveling up were strict, there were still quite a few who managed to achieve it in the end.
Why?
Because being weaker than the opponent allowed for compensation through skill, reversal through tactics, and even a plethora of plots and tricks.
To be more direct, wasn't magic also a miraculous trump card?
If you happened to encounter an opponent stronger than yourself, then, by risking it all and casting a super-long chant wide area annihilation magic, unleashing the power to scorch the sky and boil the sea, could it be that it was impossible to burn down a stronger opponent in one go?
All these possibilities hinged on the potential of the weak triumphing over the strong.
Of course, there was also a simpler method.
"I suggest you find someone to form a party." Loki advised. "Facing stronger enemies, challenging them in a party setup, using the combined strength to tackle the opponent—that's the shortcut to obtaining High-Rank Excelia and achieving exploit."
In short, if you couldn't win a duel, you just ganged up on them. Challenging stronger opponents in this way could also yield exploits.
However, by doing so, Excelia was distributed among all the members of the same party, which might have led to insufficient accumulation of High-Rank Excelia for a one-time level-up.
But if once wasn't enough, then didn't a few more times enough?
This was why the conditions for achieving exploits were so strict, and yet many people still managed to level up successfully.
Challenging in a party setup was both safe and reliable.
"Luckily, this Familia's got loads of kids, and there are plenty of high-level kids. They can guide you safely as you level up." Loki glanced at Riezel and grinned. "If you need anything, just give me a shout."
The meaning of her words was clear; he just needed to directly tell her if he needed help and she would help arrange a party to guide him.
This was also one of the advantages of joining a big Familia—someone to lead you, someone to take care of you, someone to guide you, and someone to protect you. There was no need to worry about not progressing; only the concern of whether one's potential was enough.
In a weaker Familia, finding a companion to form a party was a big problem.
From this perspective, Riezel's initial choice to join Loki Familia was undoubtedly a wise one. Otherwise, why would so many people have hoped to join a big Familia?
It was clear that the connections and resources of a big Familia were too advantageous.
Only...
"Party, huh?"
Riezel unconsciously furrowed his brow, leaving Loki at a loss for words.
"Oh, c'mon, kiddo! Wouldn't it be awesome if someone had your back? You never know what kind of troubles might come your way if you go solo!"
Looking at Riezel's hesitated face, Loki ground her teeth, holding back the urge to smash his head with the wine bottle.
"Meh, fuck it. Expecting you to grow up all nice and steady is probably wishful thinking. Since your status hasn't hit its peak, let's get you used to group combat first. We'll figure out the details when it's time to level up!"
Looking at Riezel's growth potential, there was no doubt that he hadn't fully unleashed his potential at Level 1.
Given this trend, upgrading all his basic abilities to the A-rank was undoubtedly possible, and even reaching the highest S-rank was a visible possibility.
But could the power after leveling up from the strongest S-rank be the same as leveling up from the minimum D-rank?
Both were level-ups, and the power gained after leveling up was the same. However, it was clear that those with higher status in the initial S-rank would be stronger.
"Heh, I'm actually looking forward to seeing if you can pull off the miracle of hitting S-rank on all basic abilities." Loki chuckled.
"All S-rank?" Riezel muttered quietly.
That was indeed a miracle. At least, as far as he knew, even in the original work, only one person came close to this achievement.
That legendary character, dubbed Orario's ultimate weapon, with a staggering Level 7, had four basic abilities in his status reaching S-rank, just one short of achieving S-rank on all basic abilities.
Apart from that individual, there was no second person in the original work with such terrifying basic abilities.
Of course, the protagonist of the original work was an exception.
He not only achieved S-rank on all basic abilities but even surpassed them, reaching a realm unheard of and unseen by even the Gods.
Riezel looked at the parchment in his hand, his eyes flickering. Compared to the protagonist, could he touch the possibility that made the Gods amazed?
'I'm kinda looking forward to it.'
Riezel smiled and said with anticipation inside his mind.