005 A life too painful to reminisce

The Twilight Manor, at the top of the central tower.

Here lies Loki's Divine Room.

To put it simply, this is Loki's bedroom, stuffed to the brim with all manner of odds and ends.

There are expensive-looking feather quills and mysterious crystals with a faint rainbow hue placed on the table.

There are ancient-looking shoes and hats hanging on the wall.

Thick books and ornately decorated short swords pile high enough to swamp the bed.

Even in the corners of the room, there are small storage cabinets heaped with colorful and varied wine bottles.

Following Loki's lead, Reiger arrived here.

"Come in,"

Loki casually pushed open the door and strutted into the room.

"Excuse my intrusion,"

Reiger curiously observed proper manners, first pausing at the door to bow slightly and offer a gesture of respect before stepping into this divine chamber.

"Come, come, sit here."

Loki was very enthusiastic, reminiscent of a child with a new toy, spirits running high. He even moved a chair for Reiger, sweeping aside a mountain of assorted items, inviting Reiger to sit.

Looking at this capricious and unrestrained goddess, Reiger, although already aware that this was her personality, couldn't help feeling somewhat peculiar.

After all, Loki was a god.

In his past life, beings associated with that word were supremely dignified, brooking no negligence or disrespect.

Yet as the very first true deity he met in this life, Reiger must admit that Loki's striking character thoroughly shook his perception of the existence known as "god."

With these thoughts quietly in mind, Reiger sat down at Loki's gesture and took a brief look around the entire Divine Room.

Loki, in turn, had her narrow eyes fixed on Reiger from start to finish, wearing an unserious smile all the while.

"Sorry about that, most of the kids in the clan are off on expeditions in the underground city, so we couldn't throw you a lively welcome party,"

Loki said with a chuckle.

"It's fine," Reiger withdrew his gaze from his surroundings, shaking his head and replying, "I'm not that fond of big gatherings. This is good enough for me."

"Hmm, I can see that. You're just the type," Loki nodded, as if it all made perfect sense, but then added, "But, like it or not, now that you've joined our clan, you're one of the family, so don't get too aloof, okay?"

"I understand," Reiger smiled steadily at Loki, saying, "If they're worthwhile, I won't isolate myself."

"Worthwhile people, huh..." Loki looked thoughtful, yet she shrugged and replied, "Well, let's leave it at that for now. I wouldn't want to preach to a kid who just joined us. We'll save that part for future fun and observation."

Speaking thus, Loki propped her chin with one hand and rested one foot upon the thigh of her other leg, her eyes still squinting at Reiger, her face still bearing a jocular smile.

"You currently haven't received any divine blessings and are free, right?"

Upon hearing this, Reiger consciously ignored Loki's piercing gaze, as though to see through his entire being, and nodded naturally.

"I haven't received any blessings, and I've only arrived in Orario today. Until now, I haven't seen any gods or interacted with any clans."

Reiger knew it was impossible to lie in front of a god in this world.

Therefore, he wouldn't engage in any meaningless deception, his actions and speech seeming utterly straightforward.

"I thought as much." Loki grinned, saying, "If you had anything special about you, you wouldn't have chosen to just stand and wait by the main entrance for us."

What is the Loki Familia?

It is one of the strongest clans in Orario, a leading faction in this world, heralded alongside the Freyja Clan as one of the twin crowns of the labyrinth city, known far and wide.

So many people yearn to join such a powerful clan.

But is it easy to join the Loki Familia?

Let alone the Loki Familia, even a slightly larger clan would have certain requirements for new members; they don't just haphazardly recruit anyone.

Ordinarily, to join a famous clan, one must possess some kind of exceptional quality.

If someone once belonged to a clan and received blessings, then their strength would be the metric.

If someone had never belonged to a clan and had no blessings, then their potential would be the measure.

Putting aside the former, for the latter it usually depends on one's race and natural talent.

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After all, there are beings known as "mythical beings" in this world.

Beastmen possess naturally sharp senses and depending on their type, they have a variety of natural talents.

Dwarves are recognized for their strength and astonishing physiques, with their power and stamina far surpassing other races.

Amazons, although female only, are notoriously combative with tenacious vitality.

Elves are even a Magic race and, without receiving divine blessings, are capable of performing miracles and mystical feats to a certain degree.

In comparison to these mythical beings, humans don't really have anything special about them.

In such circumstances, if Reiger, as an ordinary human, sought out the Freyja Clan—one of the strongest—and expressed a desire to join the clan, the most likely outcome would be rejection at the gate by the gatekeepers without even meeting the clan's principal deity.

Fortunately, Reiger was well aware of this and had no plans to make a frontal visit.

Knowing the situation he would encounter, he had chosen to wait for a rabbit by the stump, waiting directly at the gate for Loki.

It made more sense to confront the gods, who are capricious, act on a whim, and often do unpredictable things on impulse, than to deal with humans who assess others' worth in a very realistic way; this would be more effective in achieving his goal.

It was with this understanding that Reiger decided to simply wait at the gate.

For this, Reiger had even prepared himself for a long-term siege, ready to wait for days if necessary.

He didn't believe that Loki, a free and unconstrained sky god, would stay inside the clan's base without ever coming out.

The result proved his thinking was right.

"Start by taking off your clothes," Loki said, bringing a chair and sitting behind Reiger. "Just the upper garment will do."

Reiger nodded, unbuttoned his shirt, and exposed his back to Loki.

"Tsk tsk, such fine skin, even better than the young maidens in our clan."

Loki admired Reiger's bare back while his hands had somehow picked up a box.

Inside the box, there was a needle.

Loki picked up the needle and began to speak.

"How much do you know about 'Blessings'?"

This question made Reiger fall into contemplation for a moment.

After a while, Reiger, based on his own memory, spoke cautiously.

"As far as I know, it involves using the 'Holy Text' that the gods use and carving it onto the bodies of humans using Divine Blood as a medium, thereby enhancing their abilities," Reiger said. "Such power can act as a catalyst, a primer, transforming experiences gained through various actions into substantial abilities, drawing them out rapidly and manifold, allowing for quick growth."

"Correct." Loki agreed with Reiger's statement and continued, "The experience values invisible to the naked eyes of those from the lower realm, in other words, the history you yourself have walked through, we gods use 'Blessings' to draw out this history, turning it into nourishment for growth, enabling you to grow stronger at a rate unimaginable to mortals. This is the only role we (gods) can play in the lower realm."

As he spoke, Loki pricked his fingertip with the needle in his hand.

A drop of blood seeped out.

With this drop of blood, Loki raised his finger and began to trace on Reiger's back.

Reiger could feel Loki's fingertip gliding on his back.

However, he was soon distracted by Loki's voice.

"Using 'Holy Text' as a guide and the blood of a god as a medium, we gods then outline your abilities in concrete numerical values in a visual manner. Therefore, 'Blessings' are also referred to as ability values, and anyone who can read Holy Text can visually confirm the abilities of those who have received Blessings."

Loki's voice seemed to recede, becoming unfathomable.

"Ability values are fundamentally divided into four parts—Basic Abilities, Growth Abilities, Magic and Skills, and the most crucial, Level."

"Let's set aside Growth Abilities for now, as they are extra items you may get only when your Level increases, which you won't have just having received the Blessing."

"Basic Abilities are divided into 'Strength,' 'Endurance,' 'Dexterity,' 'Agility,' 'Magic Power,' a total of five categories, each measured in stages from S, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, indicating the level of ability, the closer to S, the stronger the ability."

"Level, as the name implies, is the most direct standard to differentiate strength and weakness. The higher the Level, the stronger the power. The improvement of Basic Abilities compared to Level advancement is negligible; raising a Basic Ability only improves one aspect, whereas Level advancement is called a full body and mind evolution. You can regard the phenomenon of increasing Level as humans approaching the plane of us (gods)."

"As for Magic and Skills, the former is a power that can cause supernatural phenomena, originally exclusive to a very few Magic races, but after receiving Blessings, anyone of any race might have a chance to possess it, as few as one or as many as three. The latter are abilities that bring special effects under certain conditions. While not as directly impactful as magic, they have no limitations in terms of quantity."

As he spoke, Loki's voice seemed to take on an ineffable power of suggestion, resonating at the edge of Reiger's hearing.

"You know, whether it's Magic or Skills, these two abilities, inspired through Blessings, are closely related to you, directly linked to your personal interests and sense of identity with certain things. It wouldn't be too far to describe it as the power to materialize the fantasies and yearnings in your heart. You might try to ask your inner self, revisit your life, perhaps something will be triggered."

With Loki's words, Reiger unwittingly started to remember.

He recalled his past life, an existence he preferred not to look back on.

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