Is It Wrong For Me To Start With Three Skills In Danmachi ?!

A magical workshop hidden beneath the "Twilight Manor."

Value/ Cost: 50 million valis.

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"It looks pretty good."

Fron stood at the door with one hand on his waist, carefully taking in the sight of the small magic workshop before finally smiling and saying this.

"As expected of the Gobniu Familia, their craftsmanship is impeccable. They met all my requirements, even the height of the workbench and the chairs match my own height. They even considered ergonomics. Perfect."

Satisfied after looking around, Fron walked to the workbench, squinted his eyes to observe it briefly, and rubbed it with his hand.

"The workbench is made from the hardest refined metal, [Orichalcum], combined with the drop item from the Obsidian Soldiers? Good grief. Since it's used for making magic tools, they used anti-magic materials just in case. This workbench alone costs more than 30 million vali, and with these sturdy bookshelves, cabinets, and the obviously high-quality tools, the 50 million vali spent here is worth every coin."

In fact, Fron felt like he had even gotten more than what he paid for.

"Maybe… it's because the Familias have a good relationship, or perhaps… Loki gave me a discount?"

Most likely, he thought, it was Loki. He had heard that the best bargainer in the whole Familia wasn't Tione, but Loki herself.

Back in the day, one of Mama Riveria's top five staves, a top-class staff, had been bargained down by Loki in the magic nation [Altena] to 340 million vali using her silver tongue.

If it had been sold at its original price, being one of the lower-world's top five weapons, it wouldn't even be measurable with gold coins; if one insisted on a number, it would definitely exceed 500 million.

Yep, you're not mistaken: the bare staff cost 340 million, and with nine top-tier magic crystals set on its head, hehe…

That price is… touching.

Otherwise, why would Fron, a wealthy adventurer worth over 200 million, still be so stingy? Wasn't he saving up to make himself a top-tier staff?

Mages are indeed powerful, one of the most special groups among adventurers, but… how could a mage grow strong without spending money?

To learn magical knowledge, you need to buy expensive grimoires, rare ritual materials, magic crystals for meditation, and costly equipment.

For most adventurers, a weapon worth a few thousand to tens of thousands of vali is enough to form a party and explore the dungeon to earn money.

But for mages? Their initial cost is astronomical.

At minimum, they need to be able to use magic, form a party (because beginner mages can hardly fight solo), and prepare their starting mage equipment…

Of course, while the cost is high, mages are undeniably one of the strongest professions in the late game.

Even average C-rank or D-rank mana-upgraded mages can defeat enemies one Level higher using their magic.

Not to mention mages like Riveria and Lefiya, who possess amplification skills and exceptional magic.

Crossing two Levels is their normal combat strength.

Standing in the workshop, Fron gradually pulled himself out of his scattered thoughts.

He sighed, then returned to his room, carefully placing ten sets of [Cadmus Spring], [Black Rhino Hide], [Black Rhino Horn], and [Crystal Sugar] collected on the 18th floor onto a storage shelf.

After checking that there was nothing valuable left in his backpack, he returned to his room.

...

...

Laughter, sadness, surprise, joy, various emotions mingled noisily together.

Screams of sorrow, cheers of joy, fear of despair, and the hope of dawn.

He watched all this with indifferent eyes, as though outside of it all.

"Ah!"

Fron shouted in fear and abruptly sat up from the bed.

Cold sweat covered his forehead, and he gulped down the fresh morning air.

The massive, majestic city walls were etched with mottled scars, showing off their glory in the slowly rising morning sun.

Along the roads, shops and taverns were opening one after another, hanging signs marked with [Open].

Bustling crowds of people began to appear on the streets, and as time passed, it became livelier and livelier.

Even in alleys beside the main street, street vendors, whether working themselves or hiring others, had begun their busy work.

Adventurers dressed in their preferred gear and armed with weapons formed small groups, starting their new day of adventures, hoping for wealth, fame, and glory.

Pulling open the curtains, Fron stood at the window and gazed at this fantastical city, his thoughts gradually clearing.

"A nightmare? Damn, that was intense."

Smiling bitterly, he rubbed his forehead, closed one eye, and grinned at his reflection in the mirror.

"Get dressed, wash up, eat… Speaking of which, I finally understand how busy post-expedition clean-up is."

Grumbling softly while getting dressed, the young man tidied himself and headed for the cafeteria.

"Morning, Fron! You look lively."

Just like every day, his companions were already there eating breakfast.

"After a month of eating badly and sleeping badly in the dungeon, finally getting a proper night's sleep feels amazing. Of course I'm full of energy."

"Hehe, by the way, Fron, did you go update your status?"

At that, everyone turned to look at him.

"Not yet, I'll go after breakfast."

Tiona leaned closer, blinking: "Tell me secretly, after updating, are you gonna be Lv. 4? I won't tell anyone."

"..."

Fron glanced at the group pretending to eavesdrop, his expression darkening, lips twitching. His good morning mood was instantly ruined.

Damn it, at this distance… whisper?

Everyone here is a high-level adventurer, okay? How is this any different from shouting in my ear?!

Do you think I'm stupid?!!!

After hesitating for a moment, he reluctantly gave a vague answer.

"I'm not entirely sure, but probably."

--!

Tiona's eyes lit up, and she jumped up with her arms wide open.

"Wow, Fron's gonna be Lv. 4, everyone!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

Although he had long known it would come to this, sitting in the corner eating, Fron still felt the weight of countless eyes upon him, making him deeply uncomfortable.

But staring at the long-awaited food on his tray, he no longer found it appetizing.

"Ah…"

The first day back to everyday life, the noisy days began anew.

...

...

Loki's room.

"As expected, you've reached the Lv.3 bottleneck, and your experience for leveling up is full. Want to take a look at your final stats before advancing?"

"Mm, sure."

...

[Name]: Fron Argon

[Level]: Lv.3

[Abilities]: Strength: G288 → SSS1999 | Endurance: G288 → SSS1999 | Dexterity: G288 → SSS1999 | Agility: G288 → SSS1999 | Magic: G288 → SSS1999

[Development Abilities]: "Mystery H" "Smithing G" "Magic I" "Treatment I"

...

Sitting in the chair, Fron held his status sheet tightly, his eyes locked on the lines of data that represented his growth. He remained silent for a long time before finally sighing.

"Have I finally reached this step as well?"

He pursed his lips and lowered his gaze.

"… It just doesn't feel real, like a dream. It's as if only yesterday I was still that rookie adventurer fighting the saber tooth tiger with a 1600-valis short sword…"

Seeing her child looking so emotional, Loki sneaked up from behind with a grin and patted his shoulder.

"Yep, even though I knew you'd get here quickly, it still feels like it happened in a blink."

"You gods experience time differently than we mortals do, even down here."

"That's true, I really envy you mortals, always able to change."

"The essence of a god is un-changing and eternal, after all."

"Ah, let's not talk about that, it's just depressing. Since you've hit your bottleneck, let's advance your level already."

"Mm, thank you."

"Hehehe, what's there to thank? As your goddess, this is my job."

With a few adjustments to the blessing on his back, the number representing his level jumped from 3 to 4.

The complex Falna on his back shone with a faint glow, hinting at the potential for further hidden growth.

With the status updated, some new options appeared in Loki's divine eyes, abilities only available after leveling up.

"Hmm, let's see… this time all your development ability options are combat-related."

Fron nodded silently, unsurprised by the outcome. After all, this round of ability growth and knowledge gained from leveling was focused entirely on combat experience.

"With such intense, continuous expedition battles, of course it wouldn't trigger any support-oriented abilities."

Loki smiled and read aloud the available choices for him to consider:

"Let's see, there are quite a few: 'Abnormal Resistance,' 'Vitality,' 'Mind Recovery,' 'Escape,' 'Pugilist,' and 'Swordsman.'"

Abnormal Resistance was self-explanatory, after an expedition, not triggering it would be stranger.

After all, they had even faced specialized new worm-type monsters.

"Vitality" wasn't "Treatment," but a passive self-recovery ability, paired with "Mind Recovery": one restored stamina, the other mental energy. Both were highly valuable.

"Pugilist" and "Swordsman" had been stored since Lv.2, undoubtedly influenced by Ais' training style.

But.

Loki looked confused, unable to comprehend one particular option.

"Uh… I get the others, but what's with 'Escape'?"

Hearing he had triggered such a rare development ability, Fron's mouth twitched as memories of his actions in the dungeon flashed in his mind:

For example…

When encountering monsters, his first move was always to step back a few paces, constantly hiding behind Lefiya and Ais to provide support, being chased back to the 50th floor by the new species.

Individually, none of these seemed odd, but taken together…

"Ahem, this ability's pretty rare, right?"

"Ah, let me check."

"Escape": Increases speed while fleeing. This ability only manifests after Lv.4 or higher. Though considered a "rare ability," it is also referred to as a "dishonorable ability," as its manifestation implies repeated, unmatched instances of fleeing.

After hearing the description, Fron's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Can I interpret it as: increased speed when breaking away from targets? Like that?"

"Yeah, that's basically it."

Fron was shocked, this was practically a kiting technique! For a mage, the greatest threat was close-range combat. Even for a versatile warrior like him, avoiding direct fights when possible was preferable. With his already higher-than-normal stats, adding this ability would essentially create a mage as swift as the wind.

"I'll take 'Escape' and 'Abnormal Resistance.'"

"Eh? But 'Mind Recovery' is a god-tier mage skill! Aside from Riveria and Ais, I haven't heard of anyone else with it, and you're passing on it?"

Fron smiled meaningfully:

"Don't forget, Loki, I can pick two development abilities each time. I'm only Lv.4 right now; I can still choose it later."

"Well, I'm just giving advice; the choice is yours. If that's what you want, I'll confirm it."

"Alright."

Following Fron's decision, Loki selected "Abnormal Resistance" and "Escape" for him.

Thus, Fron's development ability screen became one of the most luxurious in all of Orario:

"Mystery,", "Smithing,", "Magic Conduction,", "Healing,", "Abnormal Resistance,", "Escape."