NOVEL WEB Chapter 18 – Status Update And New Skill
Chapter 18 - Status Update And New Skill
"Alright, Bell, let's get your status updated."
Having the goddess update your status is a big deal.
It helps to clearly see how much stronger an adventurer has become.
If an adventurer gathers enough excelia but doesn't ask their god to update their status, their stats won't improve.
Sometimes, you need to book an appointment for a status update, especially in big familias.
But since there's only one member in the Hestia Familia, there's no need for that—it's just for Bell.
Bell took off his clothes and turned his back to Hestia.
Hestia pricked her finger with a needle and drew a line on Bell's back with her blood-stained finger.
The tattoo on Bell's back, marking him as part of the Hestia Familia, lit up like a status bar.
---
[Name]: Bell Cranel
[Level]: 1
[Basic Abilities]:
Strength: G284
Endurance: F304
Dexterity: E421
Agility: E474
Magic: F343
[Development Ability]: None
[Magic]:
Storage Magic:
Spatial Pocket
[Skill]:
Mystic Code: Combat Judgement
Luck: EX
---
"This is just from one day!?" Hestia yelled.
Even though she knew Bell had that skill "Combat Judgement," which lets him grow fast as hell, his growth in just one day was off the charts.
In Orario, it took Ais over a year to get to Level 2, and that included leveling up her basic abilities and training like a maniac.
But Bell? He went from zero to where he is now in just one day.
One day, and he's already close to a level most people wouldn't reach in half a year, maybe even years.
Hestia couldn't help but realize just how awesome this "Combat Judgement" skill was.
She started questioning herself.
In all her time in Orario, she had never heard of skills like this showing up.
Also Looking at Bell's "Spatial Pocket," it was clear—Bell started with some seriously special magic and rare skills.
"Did I save the world in past or something? How the hell did I get Bell in my familia?" Hestia wondered if she'd done something good to deserve this.
Having such a unique child from the start just seemed too damn lucky.
Hestia knew that once word got out about Bell's skills, other gods would be all over him.
Bell was special, no doubt about it.
"But now that it's come to this, there's no way I'm letting Bell get snatched by another god."
When it comes to recruiting familia members, every god would try it, and there are too many to watch out for.
But as long as Hestia kept Bell's information under wraps, they'd be fine. Not to worry, she had already locked his status.
She was already bracing herself for that.
After reading the status, Hestia leaned on Bell's glowing back.
"Bell-kun, the status update is done."
"Got it."
Bell put his clothes back on. He didn't see any parchment that would've recorded his status, and he got why.
His growth in one day was way too fast, and some things just couldn't be written down without causing issues.
Hestia had to get a grip on herself. Watching Bell grow this fast had freaked her out. She needed a minute to relax, or she wouldn't be able to talk straight.
"Well, Bell, your growth today is way beyond what I expected. All your stats have jumped up; the lowest is almost 300, and the highest is over 400."
"Most adventurers wouldn't hit those numbers even if they busted their asses for a year or two."
"If you keep this up, you could max out Level 1 in less than a month. But if you want to break through that limit, you'll need to face tougher challenges."
"And without high-level excelia, you're not ranking up."
Leveling up your basic abilities takes time.
Only when your basic stats hit at least D rank and you've gathered enough high-level excelia can you even think about ranking up.
Gaining experience is usually the longest grind for any adventurer. But for Bell, who'd already pushed two of his stats past 400 in a day, the experience grind wasn't the real problem.
The tough part was getting high-level excelia.
To get that, you've got to take down monsters that are stronger than you.
But the upper floors don't have tougher monsters. Once Bell's basic abilities hit a certain level, he'll need to head to the middle floors to gather more.
"Bell, don't sweat the complicated stuff right now. Just focus on maxing out your basic abilities. I'll figure something out."
Hestia could handle it, even if it meant dealing with that pain in the ass, Loki. As annoying as she was, if she saw Hestia begging, Loki would probably help just to mess with her.
Bell caught on to Hestia's hesitation and knew what the "solution" was.
From what he understood, Hestia planned to go to Loki.
"Hestia-sama, there's no need to stress over this right now. We're not there yet. While leveling up is important, the path I need to take isn't straightforward."
"Even if I need to rank up, I'd rather do it with my own skills."
From the start, Bell had decided that even if he needed to rank up, it was best to keep it under wraps. He could just lie about his level instead of saying he leveled up.
Debt is a bitch to pay off. If Hestia owed Loki a favor, their entire familia would be at risk of being under Loki Familia's thumb. Bell knew it wasn't worth it to take on that kind of debt just for a promotion from Level 1 to Level 2.
"But Bell, it's dangerous for you to fight stronger monsters alone. If Loki Familia had your back, you'd at least be safer."
"Safety's one thing, but that would mean exposing things that should stay hidden."
"And next time, if we have to return the favor, we might really end up having to support Loki. I'm not letting that happen."
"Well..."
Hestia could almost picture the humiliating scene where she couldn't even look up. Honestly, she didn't want to deal with that annoying Loki at all. Even though Loki Familia was strong, bowing down to that flat-chested goddess? No fucking way. She'd do it for Bell's safety, but bow to Loki? Hell no!
But Bell was right; if they went to Loki, Bell's situation would be totally exposed. Given Bell's unique circumstances, he really shouldn't get too close to Loki. It's better if he stays away from most gods, at least until he's stronger.
Seeing Hestia calm down, Bell kept going.
"Hestia-sama, I'm still getting the hang of things; it's too soon to worry about ranking up. Besides, I found something interesting in the dungeon today."
"What did you find?"
"Well, I got lucky today. Most of the monsters on the first floor were goblins, and I was just getting a feel for the place."
"When I killed the goblins, besides magic stones, they also dropped goblin fangs."
Hestia reacted right away to Bell's words. She had just updated Bell's status and found his second skill, "Luck," which basically boosted his luck. This caught Hestia by surprise.
Hestia knew a bit about goblin fangs. She had stayed with Hephaestus before, so she was naturally clued into weapons. The goblins on the first floor have sharp daggers, which are a real threat to adventurers, but if they drop, they're solid weapons for beginners.
"Goblin fangs, as I recall, don't drop often. But if you got one, you won't need a new weapon for a while. Goblin fangs are really useful for rookies; you won't need to change weapons until at least the middle floors."
Bell knew this was good news. The most expensive stuff for rookie adventurers are weapons and potions, which are a must for expeditions. He didn't need to explain more, but he knew Hestia hadn't fully grasped the situation.
"Hestia-sama, you need to pay attention. The goblins I mentioned didn't just drop a few things."
Hestia paused. "Are you saying there were a lot of drops?"
She remembered that those fangs dropped rarely. Seeing Bell's serious look, Hestia got curious.
"Bell, how many drops are we talking about?"
"284."
"..."
Hestia went silent. Covering her face, she started to wonder if she had misheard. After taking a deep breath, she asked Bell again.
"Bell, what did you just say?"
"284."
"Goblin fangs?"
Bell nodded slightly.
Hestia couldn't help but freak out. Anyone hearing that number would be shocked, and it made sense to be. But after the initial shock, Hestia began to calm down.
"That many? All goblin fangs? Bell, what the hell did you do in the dungeon today?"
284 goblin fangs was insane. It made Hestia seriously wonder what the hell Bell had been doing in the dungeon to get that many.
Bell himself wasn't sure what he'd done. He hadn't gone into the dungeon with any big plans today. Mostly, he just wanted to get a feel for the place and prepare to move to the second or even third floor later. He killed goblins because they were in his way, and he also wanted to sharpen his skills.
As for how he got so many drops, even Bell didn't know. He just did his best to kill the goblins while conserving his energy. On one hand, he wanted to see how "Combat Judgement" worked in practice, and on the other, he needed money. Who would've thought that in just one day, he could take down that many goblins?
In fact, Bell was just as confused by Hestia's question as she was.
"Hestia-sama, I didn't do anything special."
Hestia held her chin, thinking. Even though she was new to Orario, she knew a lot about dungeons. To get 284 goblin fangs, Bell would've had to encounter at least 284 goblins. That's no small number, but how could there be that many goblins on the first floor?
The number of drops was one thing, but the number of goblins was another.
But Hestia quickly decided to drop those questions for now. The important thing was that Bell came back safely.
"Let's not dwell on that, Bell."