36 Development Ability
When leveling up, could anyone learn development abilities?
It depended.
It wasn't just about luck but rather depended on one's accumulated excelia up to now.
Similar to basic abilities, enhancing a particular basic ability required one to take corresponding actions. Only by engaging in activities that utilized that ability could one accumulate the necessary excelia to foster its growth and transform it into actual progress during a status update.
While potential and innate skills mattered, in general, the development abilities learned during leveling up depended on the actions one had taken. As long as one took specific action and accumulated enough excelia to trigger development ability, that ability would appear during level up, available for learning.
On the other hand, if one hadn't gained noteworthy excelia to meet the conditions for learning development ability, even if they leveled up, they wouldn't acquire any development ability. In this situation, if suitable excelia was obtained, even multiple development abilities might appear for selection.
Currently, Riezel found himself in such a state.
"You've triggered four development abilities, but you can only choose one to learn if you want to level up immediately. It's decision time, kiddo."
Loki informed him and conveyed the four development abilities he triggered.
"The first development ability is 'Hunter'."
This was a development ability specialized in dealing with monsters, triggered by defeating a large number of monsters within a short period of time.
Once learned, the status of the adventurer possessing this development ability would be strengthened when encountering monsters of the same type they had fought and gained excelia from.
Since this ability could only be learned at Level 2, it was quite challenging to obtain, making it a valuable ability. Considering adventurers often explored dungeons and regularly faced monsters, 'Hunter' was highly sought after by adventurers and even various Gods. It was a development ability most adventurers hoped to acquire.
Although Riezel had only received the blessing for about a week, he delved into dungeons every day and immersed himself in battles. As a result, he defeated a significant number of monsters within this short period, successfully triggering the learning condition for 'Hunter'.
"The second development ability is 'Abnormal Resistance'."
This was the previously mentioned ability that could resist abnormal symptoms such as poison, triggered by sustaining damage from abnormal statuses.
In the upper floors of the dungeon, a monster known as Purple Moth frequently released poisonous powder, posing a threat to adventurers. Therefore, most adventurers experienced attacks from abnormal statuses early on, making this development ability relatively easy to obtain.
Thanks to this, most adventurers could acquire 'Abnormal Resistance' when reaching Level 2. This made 'Abnormal Resistance' almost a guaranteed benefit for everyone upon leveling up to Level 2, avoiding the awkward situation where adventurers leveled up without gaining any development ability.
Riezel had also been bothered by Purple Moths frequently, so it was normal for him to trigger this development ability.
The first two development abilities mentioned were practical and easily triggered by adventurers who frequently entered dungeons and dealt with monsters daily.
Even Loki Familia's first-class adventurers had mostly acquired these two development abilities, and the same went for other adventurers.
However, the next two development abilities were different.
"The third development ability is 'Swordsman'."
Loki chuckled and tilted her head.
"This is a rather rare development ability, something only top-notch swordsmen can trigger. In our familia, only Ais has this ability, and she learned it when she reached Level 4. You, on the other hand, fulfilled the learning conditions just after reaching Level 2. If Ais finds out about this, she's bound to feel frustrated."
The effect of this development ability was quite simple; it enhanced the holder's status when using a sword as equipment. The higher the ability's rank, the greater the boost, even at the initial I-rank, there was still a noticeable improvement.
If nothing unexpected happened, Riezel tended to lean towards choosing 'Swordsman'.
Although 'Hunter' was an ability that could only be learned when reaching Level 2, making it relatively precious and the type that you missed out on if you didn't grab it in time. However, its effectiveness was limited to dealing with monsters you had defeated before. For Riezel, who wouldn't be permanently living in this world but instead traveling through various worlds, its utility would be significantly reduced.
As for 'Abnormal Resistance', there was no need to select it since his skill already provided the identical ability on the highest rank. Why waste valuable learning opportunities on a low-rank 'Abnormal Resistance'?
In this way, Riezel naturally leaned toward choosing 'Swordsman'. However, the appearance of the fourth development ability made him hesitate.
"The fourth development ability is 'Lightweight'."
Loki's words momentarily stun him.
"Lightweight?"
Riezel furrowed his brow, confirming that he had never heard of this development ability. If even he, who was familiar with the original work, didn't know about this ability, then its rarity became apparent.
"I've never heard of this ability before. Even the development abilities records logged by the Guild, which has documented all known abilities, don't have any mention of it." Loki looked at Riezel with an increasingly evident and thickening smile on her face. "This is a seriously rare development ability, and you could totally be the first to uncover it. Isn't this just your hidden potential shining through?"
In other words, it was unique.
"Let's choose this one, kiddo. I feel like this ability should be powerful!" Loki continued with a somewhat excited and agitated tone.
As a Goddess pursuing the unknown, seeking excitement, and entertainment, she naturally didn't want to miss out on this one-of-a-kind treasure of an ability.
However, the one in question paid no heed to the overly excited Goddess.
"What's the effect of this development ability?" Riezel asked calmly.
"I'm not sure..." Loki shook her head. "But based on my understanding, it should be an ability that sacrifices defense in exchange for extraordinary speed."
The vision and observational skills of Gods were extraordinary. Even with only vague and fragmented words, they could judge the approximate effects and types of development abilities based on the tendency of excelia when triggering that ability.
"If my understanding is correct, after learning this ability, the more you reduce the equipment and weight on your body, the more agile you become..." Loki explained.
This development ability was designed to enhance 'DEX' and 'AGI'. In contrast to the 'Swordsman', who required a sword to trigger effects, the effect of 'Lightweight' was activated by reducing the weight of the body's equipment.
So, as Loki explained, it was about sacrificing defense for extraordinary speed.
Due to the requirements of 'Lightweight', once this development ability was acquired, Riezel would likely have had to completely forgo heavy equipment in the future. Especially heavyweight equipment like metal armor, equipping them would have rendered 'Lightweight' useless.
Considering that the fewer the body's equipment, the greater the enhancement, he might have even had to reconsider using the leather armor he had been relying on all this time.
This meant his defense would have been reduced to a minimum. On the other hand, his 'DEX' and 'AGI' would have seen a significant boost.
"Looking at your status, it's clear that your power lies in 'DEX' and 'AGI'. Combined with consistently wearing lightweight leather armor, this development ability will be triggered, right? Of course, considering this unique development ability has never appeared before, there might be other conditions to fulfill to trigger it. In any case, the rarity of this ability is extraordinary. If you don't choose now, you might not have the chance to obtain it again in the future."
Loki seemed to be enticing him with a mischievous expression on her face.
"So, what's your decision, kiddo?"
Having heard all this, Riezel had no room for choice.
'Hunter' and 'Abnormal Resistance' were not choices. 'Swordsman' was valuable, but it could be learned at Level 4 like Ais, so there was no need to rush.
Considering all factors, did he really need to ponder over his choice in the first place?
"Okay, let's level up." Riezel decided.
Loki immediately got excited.
"Okay! Let's do this!"
With a burst of enthusiasm, she moved behind him, and in no time, the level-up process was complete.
...
Riezel Brynhart
Level 2
STR: I0
END: I0
DEX: I0
AGI: I0
MAG: I0
Lightweight: I
...
After leveling up, basic abilities were all reset to their initial values, and Riezel finally set off from Level 1.
The accumulated basic ability proficiency so far hadn't disappeared but existed in a latent form. This was why the higher the growth of basic abilities before leveling up, the stronger one became after leveling up.
Only magic, skills, and development abilities wouldn't be reset, especially development abilities. No matter how high someone's level was, development abilities wouldn't reset, making it extremely difficult to improve them.
Take Ais, for example. She acquired 'Hunter' when she reached Level 2 at the age of 8. However, despite practicing for many years until now, her 'Hunter' only reached G-rank, advancing by just two ranks.
'Swordsman' was even more extreme. Ais acquired it at Level 4, and after several years, it was still staying at I-rank. This illustrated how challenging it was to improve development abilities.
It was not without reason that Loki considered Riezel's 'Endless' to be abnormal and ridiculous. After all, it granted him three development abilities of the highest rank.
"Well, well, your presence always triggers some jaw-dropping growth, y'know."
Loki remarked with a pleased smile while patting his shoulder.
"Anyway, congratulations on becoming a Level 2, kiddo!"
Upon hearing the congratulation from his Goddess, Riezel smiled faintly and nodded.
