Chapter 3. Favor

"We're here." Loki stood in front of a door and said to Nan Xiangyun.

"Where is this?"

"The God's Room, it's where we grant favors. Go in." Loki opened the door.

The interior was entirely different from what Nanxiang Yun had expected. Instead of a mystical space, it was more down-to-earth. There was a bed, two bookshelves filled with books, a chair and a table. The table was covered with wine bottles, and even two bottles were scattered on the floor.

Although there were many things Nanxiang Yun wanted to complain about, he forgot about them when he thought of Loki's personality.

Loki trotted directly to the bed, sat down cross-legged, and gestured for Nanxiang Yun to sit in front of her.

After Nanxiang Yun sat down, Loki said, "Take it off."

Nanxiang Yun looked at Loki in shock.

"I know I'm pretty, but you're not that desperate, right?! If you were that age, I think Raul would be more suitable. I'm sorry, but it's hard for me to treat you as a woman!"

"Pah!" Loki slapped Nanxiang Yun on the head.

"What are you thinking! I meant for you to take off your shirt! It's a necessary ritual for bestowing 'favor'!"

"Oh." Nanxiang Yun took off his clothes obediently, thinking that this was a necessary ritual, not Loki's odd request.

Loki found a needle, pricked her finger, and drew blood on Nan Xiang Yun's back, forming a clown-like pattern—the symbol of Loki's familia. Using the god's 'sacred characters,' she inscribed on Nan Xiang Yun's back.

"Do you still remember what 'favor' is?"

"I remember."

Loki had explained the specifics of 'favor' to Nanxiang Yun before. In Nanxiang Yun's eyes, 'favor' was like a game panel, expressing various adventurer abilities in numerical values. It could also extract an adventurer's experience into 'experience points' for upgrading.

In short, it used numbers to represent one's abilities.

"Favor" also played a role in promotion, serving as an experience boost—equivalent to an experience card. Tasks that could take three days to complete could be done in one day with the promotion of "favor."

"Okay, done!"

Loki patted Nanxiang Yun's back, picked up a piece of parchment, covered Nanxiang Yun's back, imprinted the values on the paper, and handed it to him.

Nanxiang Cloud lv1

Strength: 10

Durability: 10

Dexterity: 10

Agility: 10

Magic: 10

Magic:

[Inherent Spiritual Equipment]

Soul Magic

Reflect your soul into weapons, which can take fantasy or combat forms. In fantasy form, you attack the opponent's physical strength.

Able to cut off concepts

Chant [Cut him off! Cold Moon]

Skills:

[Devil]

Not destined since birth

Able to control destiny in devil state

Magic power increases over time

Break the limit

[The Protection of the Sun Star Spirit]

Use flash heat ability to greatly increase power

Ability to understand languages of different races

Easier to gain favor with objects having the concept of the sun

Ability values corrected in crisis situations

[Intuition]

Possess an extraordinary sixth sense

"Wait?? I can understand using this magic once, but why can you use magic without chanting, and what the hell are these three skills!" Loki slapped the bed and exclaimed.

"Magic can be used without chanting after practicing magic control. I understand the first and third skills, but I have no idea about the second one." Nanxiang Yun stroked his chin, saying.

He had a suspicion in his mind that his life experience was related to this sun star spirit.

"Do you know what the Sun Star Spirit is?"

"Who knows!" Loki shouted, grabbing her hair.

"And why are you so calm? Do you know how extraordinary you [Demon] are?"

Nanxiang Yun looked at Loki in surprise.

"Of course, I know my own abilities. Isn't that normal?"

"Of course not! This means you can become stronger just by lying down! And you can also control your destiny! This is the power only gods possess! Are you an illegitimate child of some god?"

Loki was thinking whether this man could be the son of Apollo from another world. No, Apollo had nothing to do with fate. Could it be that he had connections with the goddess of fate in another world?

Nanxiang Yun was very satisfied with this "favor" because not only did he learn that his life experience was related to the so-called sun star spirit, but he also transformed the ability to control destiny into a more manageable form. It not only provided better control but also prevented subconscious use in daily life, avoiding trouble.

Loki looked at Nanxiang Yun seriously.

"Although I don't know how you obtained this abnormal ability, remember not to use your destiny ability casually. It will attract the attention of the gods. I don't need to say more about what a mortal touching the gods signifies."

"Don't you promise to help me get rid of those troubles?"

"Young man, as soon as I welcomed you into our familia, are you already backtracking on our deal?"

Loki sighed.

"I'll help you ward off most of the lawful gods, but not all gods in this world follow the rules. Some revel in chaos, known as the 'dark sects.' You need to be wary of them as well."

"Because most of them are composed of evil gods, they wreak havoc in this city every day. Despite being nearly wiped out a few years ago, remnants still exist. You might be targeted by them during your dungeon explorations."

"So, they'll come after me once I'm exposed?"

"Maybe. I'm trying to convince you to join them, by the way," Loki added, suddenly remembering something and wearing a sly expression.

"By the way, besides the dark faction leader, you should be cautious of someone else."

"Who?"

"Apollo. Your [Protection of the Sun Star Spirit] ability should make him fond of you."

"Isn't it a good thing to have another god as a brother? Why should I be careful?"

"He's a two-faced one."

The room fell silent, Nanxiang Yun's expression turning grim, and Loki suppressing laughter with her hand.

"Pfft~ Hahaha! There are moments when your face looks absolutely hilarious. When I invited you to join the clan, you seemed so confident. I never thought I'd see you looking like this! Hahaha!"

Loki slapped Nanxiang Yun's shoulder so hard that he snapped back to reality. Stiffly, he spoke to Loki.

"Please let me know about his whereabouts and any future encounters, so I can avoid him."

Loki almost burst into laughter again, looking at Nanxiang Yun. Wiping tears from her eyes, she spoke.

"I've 'locked' the text on your back, so no one else can see it. But unless it's someone you trust, don't let them see your back."

Nanxiang Yun nodded.

"By the way, where is the leader of the familia? I'm a new member; should I go and introduce myself?"

"Oh, they're exploring the dungeon today to gain ability points. If you have nothing to do, you can join them, but don't go below the 7th floor. Also, register as an adventurer with the guild before going."

"I understand," Nanxiang Yun said as he headed towards the door.

"Wait a minute, here's the starting capital for buying your equipment."

Loki handed Nanxiang Yun a heavy bag of money.

"We don't need weapons anymore, but you should still buy basic potions and armor."

"And remember to come back in the evening. Our family rule is to have dinner together if we're not busy."

"I'll be back by dinner time."

'Having dinner together tonight? It's like a family. It's pretty nice. I might like it here.'

Nanxiang Yun closed the door and left Loki's shrine, walking outside. Along the way, he heard people nearby talking about him—the "super newcomer who defeated Raul." Nanxiang Yun felt a bit embarrassed.

'I need to apologize to Raul properly when I come back later.' He left the Twilight Hall with this thought.