Level Up

While the situation was tense, the gods were busy gossiping amongst themselves.

"Did I see that right? The Sword Princess is actually standing up against Vanargand for another man? Could this be... a love triangle?"

"Wow, I can't wait to see what kind of face Loki will make when she sees this scene."

"A handsome man~ The Sword Princess has good taste in men."

Among the crowd, while the gods were focused on the conflict, the goddesses were more interested in Charlie, who matched their aesthetic preferences.

"Interesting. Very interesting..."

"Hera, your vision is better than Freya's. I'm curious why you accepted a man into your Familia. It turns out that Charlie Avalon's talent is terrifying..."

Coincidentally, two gods standing behind Charlie were able to see the Sacred Text on his back more clearly than the others, allowing them to immediately glimpse Charlie's latest status.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it! What have you done to Aiz?!" Bete gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked, his eyes bulging with fury.

To him, Aiz had been deceived by the sweet words of the other party.

"Nothing happened between Aiz and me." Charlie shrugged and replied lightly.

"GRRR..."

Bete could only growl angrily but didn't attack like before. With Aiz standing between them, he couldn't make a move.

"Stop, Bete. You've already caused enough of a scene."

Finn and the others had just arrived at the location.

"Aiz-tan!!!"

Loki rushed towards Aiz, attempting to hug her. Unfortunately, Aiz dodged naturally, as if she was used to it.

"Ouch."

Loki's face hit the ground hard.

"Since your Familia members are here, go home with them."

Not wanting things to get more complicated, Charlie patted Aiz's shoulder and leapt back into his room through the broken wall.

"Oi oi oi, what's with that status? This is the first time I've seen something like this."

Loki, who had just stood up, was stunned seeing Charlie's back.

"Aiz, Bete, let's head back. We'll discuss this at the headquarters."

"Mhm." Aiz nodded as she sheathed her sword.

"Tch." Bete clicked his tongue, wearing a scowl.

As Loki and her Familia left, the crowd dispersed. However, rumors of Aiz standing up to Bete for a man she loved quickly spread throughout Orario.

❀❀❀

The Next Day

"I'm exhausted... So much happened yesterday."

Opening his eyes, Charlie looked out the window and saw the sun shining brightly outside. He had only woken up near noon.

"Defeating Goliath, kissing Aiz, fighting Bete Loga... Why am I getting involved in these troublesome events? I'm not the protagonist, so there's no reason for trouble to keep finding me, right?"

"Wait a second... Karasuki Rio is also a protagonist like Bell Cranel. Maybe that's why problems keep coming my way even though I don't do anything? That's a possibility."

Thinking about this, Charlie could only sigh.

"Time to level up."

The scene of his battle against Bete was still fresh in his mind.

Although he appeared to be evenly matched in the fight, Charlie knew better that he had been at a disadvantage.

Perhaps because Bete had been fighting someone at Level 1, he hadn't gone all out and had shown a dismissive attitude. As a result, Charlie managed to land a surprise attack that lightly injured his opponent.

Even so, Charlie had gained intelligence on just how strong a Level 5 individual could be.

"At my current status, I have no chance of defeating a Level 5. Aside from my EX-rank stats in all basic abilities, the role of Spirit Art cannot be ignored. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Spirit Art is the foundation of my power."

"If I only relied on stats, there's no way I could have soloed Goliath, let alone Bete."

Charlie closed his eyes, reflecting on the previous day's experience.

Originally, he had planned to level up last night after Aiz left. But the unexpected happened when Bete came and attacked him due to a misunderstanding.

Even after the fight was over, Charlie had been in a bad mood, physically and mentally exhausted. So, he postponed leveling up.

"Let's do this."

Putting aside complicated thoughts, Charlie took the Divine Blood of Hera from a bottle, dropped a single drop onto his forehead, and his back emitted a soft glow as the Sacred Text began to change.

During the leveling-up process, Charlie discovered two options for Development Abilities appearing in his mind: Swordsman and Luck.

Development Abilities are special abilities that may appear upon leveling up, starting from Level 2.

Of course, an adventurer might not gain any Development Abilities. If they didn't accumulate enough Excelia to meet the requirements for learning one, they wouldn't acquire any even after leveling up.

Development Abilities typically include things like Hunter, Forging, Abnormal Resistance, Mage, etc. Their appearance depends on one's experience.

For instance, since Charlie often used a sword in battle, it wasn't surprising that the Swordsman Development Ability appeared when he leveled up.

"This is strange. I thought the Development Ability that would appear when I leveled up would be Mage. After all, I rarely use a sword because I rarely encounter worthy opponents. Usually, I fight monsters using Spirit Art. Surprisingly, Mage didn't show up at all."

"What a pity. I wanted my first Development Ability to be Mage to increase the output of Spirit Art."

After a brief moment of frustration, Charlie gave the matter serious thought. This was related to his power, and he didn't want to act impulsively.

"The Swordsman Development Ability enhances a swordsman's growth in combat. But... I already have the Prodigy Swordsman Skill, which would overlap, and I don't think Swordsman is as good as Prodigy Swordsman."

"That leaves Luck as the remaining option. If I remember correctly, Bell Cranel also had Luck as a Development Ability."

Luck is a rare Development Ability, chosen by Bell after reaching Level 2. It's an ability that had never been seen before, as even Eina a Guild member, had never heard of it, and Hestia said it was akin to divine protection.

Overall, it enhances one's luck, such as finding resources in the Dungeon and winning prizes more frequently while gambling.

"The concept of luck is very abstract and uncontrollable. Alright, I'll choose Luck."

Weighing the pros and cons, Charlie chose Luck as his first Development Ability.

The Sacred Text on his back began to sublimate, continuously sending out ripples from its center.

After a while, the level-up ceremony successfully ended.