Chapter 109 - Swordsman!
Development abilities share a commonality with basic ability values, which is that they both possess ranks.
However, unlike ability values, the ranks of development abilities do not reset to zero upon leveling up; rather, the difficulty of increasing their ranks becomes significantly high.
The ranks of development abilities also range from I to S, totaling ten ranks.
As the rank increases, the effects of their abilities become stronger, and at higher ranks, they may extend to include additional effects not listed in their abilities.
For example, the rare development ability 'Mystery,' when developed to a very high rank, can extend to the ability to create precious items like 'Grimoires.'
Ais acquired the development ability 'Hunter' when she became Lv2.
However, when she upgraded to Lv6, the rank of the 'Hunter' development ability was only G.
For a prodigy like Ais, who shocked Orario, it took 8 years to raise her first development ability by three ranks, indicating how difficult it is to upgrade development abilities.
Also, Ais acquired the development ability 'Swordsman' when she was promoted to Lv4.
When she upgraded to Lv6, this development ability was just upgraded to H rank, taking 6 years to increase by one rank.
The upgrade of development abilities does not solely rely on 'excelia/experience points'; it has a lot to do with the adventurer's talent, aptitude, and practice in this aspect.
For instance, the development ability 'Abnormal Resistance' only increases its 'excelia/experience points' when you are attacked by abnormal statuses.
The symbol of a high-ranking magic user, the rare development ability 'Mage,' cannot grow simply by casting spells.
It requires the magic user to deploy magic circles with the help of 'Mage' development ability and then cast powerful spells after a long incantation to gain 'excelia/experience points.'
Development abilities like 'Hunter' or 'Swordsman' do not improve just because you kill monsters and wield swords.
Typical adventurers might spend five to ten years to raise a development ability by one rank.
The reason Luke changed his mind and tried to break through the S rank limit of basic ability values before each level up is precisely because of the rank of his development ability.
Currently, Luke's ranks in three development abilities are:
Swordsman SS
Abnormal Resistance I
Monster Hunter I
Yes, it is because of the SS rank of 'Swordsman' development ability.
Actually, when Luke decided to give up the 'Hunter' development ability and choose 'Swordsman,' Finn and the others all advised him against it countless times.
But since the 'Hunter' development ability becomes quite limited in its effectiveness after leaving this world,
In the end, Luke still chose 'Swordsman,' which was the most helpful development ability for his growth.
Initially, Luke did not associate this development ability with his own talent in swordsmanship.
However, when this ability began to grow, Luke immediately realized.
This is his 'abnormality'.
From the day Luke acquired the 'Swordsman' development ability, its rank soared at an astonishing speed.
In just one year, the 'Swordsman' development ability was upgraded to the theoretical limit, S rank.
At that time, not only Riveria but also Finn breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Luke's development ability rank had finally stopped moving upward.
But just as they relaxed, and even Luke felt that S rank might be the limit for everyone in this world except for the chosen ones,
One night, when Luke went to Loki to update his status, planning to upgrade to Lv3, a miracle happened.
This can be said to be the first SS rank that exceeded the limit since the descent of the gods.
When the data of the Swordsman SS rank appeared in front of Loki, even she, a goddess, couldn't help but feel astonished.
Loki even specially sought Luke's opinion on this unprecedented miracle.
If Luke disagreed, Loki wouldn't reveal any news to Finn, Riveria, and Gareth, the big three of her own Familia.
However, Luke told Loki that it didn't matter, and he didn't mind Loki telling Finn and the others.
The way Loki looked at him at that time was the kind that dotes on one's foolish child, questioning how this kid usually didn't seem to be so naive, Luke remembers vividly to this day.
But this can't be blamed on Loki.
This kind of secret, which is considered an ultimate trump card, would definitely be hidden by most people.
At that time, Luke had only been part of Loki Familia for just over a year.
It's not very likely for a normal person to have such high trust in their Familia at this time, as relationships between people progress slowly, and without sufficient understanding, trust is impossible to talk about.
But Loki, as a goddess, could easily tell that there was no falsehood in Luke's words.
He truly didn't care about this information being known to Finn and the others, and he truly trusted them a lot.
This made Loki somewhat emotional, thinking this kid was too easy to deceive.
Actually, this misunderstanding was purely due to the asymmetry of information.
In Loki's view, Luke did not have enough understanding of Finn and the others to have such high level trust in them.
But in reality, Luke knew Finn and the others well enough.
Luke knew their characters, their personalities, their pasts, and even how they would think internally when encountering troublesome situations.
With this understanding and more than a year of interaction, his trust in them had already been sufficiently established.
Moreover, Luke genuinely did not care about the leakage of this information.
Not to mention how others might target the 'passive skill' of the 'Swordsman' development ability, even if you really have a way to limit this development ability, it wouldn't affect Luke very much.
This development ability is considered a shocking secret in the eyes of others.
But for Luke, it really doesn't matter much.
Ser-Veresta, Sword Sheath of Tranquility, Prana, Seisenjutsu, Star Swordsmanship, Main God Space, etc. Which one is not more amazing than this development ability?
As the owner of this development ability, Luke is clearer than anyone that since the 'Swordsman' development ability has broken through the S rank limit, SS rank is probably not his limit.
In the following two years, although 'Swordsman' did not increase in rank, Luke could still feel that this development ability was continuously growing.
Luke kept trying to break through the S rank limit because his status showed an SS rank.
Often, once something happens for the first time, there will probably be a second time.
The appearance of miracles always shocks everyone the first time because the process from nothing to something is the most unbelievable.
Once there is a precedent, and the possibility exists, what remains is nothing but continuous effort.
After knowing about Luke's Swordsman SS rank, Finn and the others no longer stopped Luke from trying to break the limits of his basic abilities.
Riveria even stopped mentioning the impossibility of surpassing the limit altogether.
They probably, in their hearts, are also looking forward to Luke creating another miracle.
---
Read more than 25 chapters in advance, with pictures, to enhance your reading immersion:
patréon.com/tom22
Replace "é" with "e" on your web browser.
---
For Audiobook:
youtube.com/@animefic22
---
(Please vote for more chapters! If this fanfic gets more than 700 powerstones, then I will upload bonus chapters! Also, don't forget to leave a review and comment below.)