Dio grinned foolishly at the dazzling numbers on the parchment for several seconds, but his smile soon froze.
He suddenly looked up at Demeter, unease creeping into his voice.
“Goddess, perhaps I should leave Orario while I still can.
I’m starting to feel a little unsafe here.”
“Unsafe?”
Demeter glanced sideways at him, her expression practically shouting, ‘So you finally understand fear.’
“You’re worried about danger now?
Where was that caution last night, when you were insisting that nothing done in a dream was illegal before sneaking into Riveria’s?”
“I may have acted on impulse…”
Dio looked away guiltily and lowered his voice.
“Besides, she has no way of finding me.
As long as I never admit anything, who could prove it was me?
And if I leave Orario for another city, I’ll be even harder to track down.
The world is enormous.
Riveria surely wouldn’t hunt me across the continent over one dream.”
“Hah.”
Demeter folded her arms and looked down at him with open disdain.
“You really do have running away engraved into your bones.
The moment danger appears, your first thought isn’t to face it—it’s to flee.
You have absolutely none of the resolve expected of an adventurer.”
“An adventurer’s resolve won’t keep me alive!”
Dio shot back without shame.
“I’ve worked very hard to survive this long.
Throwing my life away just to look brave would be an unforgivable waste.
Besides, I’m not from this world.
I have no attachment to Orario, so leaving wouldn’t trouble my conscience in the slightest.”
Demeter stared at him, her beautiful face filled with exhausted disbelief.
She was beginning to seriously wonder whether accepting him into her Familia had been a mistake.
He was lazy, lustful, cowardly, and unwilling to endure even the slightest hardship.
Every thought in his head seemed devoted to finding shortcuts and exploiting loopholes.
Other adventurers trained until their bodies broke, descended into the Dungeon, and risked their lives against monsters.
Dio spent his days planning how to max out his status in dreams while growing stronger from the comfort of his bed.
Evilus would have considered him exceptional talent.
Those people were equally devoted to avoiding anything resembling an honest path.
The thought made Demeter shudder.
If Dio ever fell into the hands of Evilus, the combination of [Dreamwalker] and [Slaanesh] could allow him to infiltrate the dreams of every important figure in Orario.
Even the Loki and Freya Familias might eventually find themselves dancing in the palm of his hand.
That would be nothing less than a catastrophe for the entire city.
Demeter’s gaze became complicated as she looked at him.
She had to acknowledge one undeniable fact.
In only two days, Dio had raised every Basic Ability from I 0 to at least H 199, while his Magic had reached S 999.
No adventurer in Orario’s history had ever developed at such a ridiculous speed.
That did not mean his path to power would remain effortless.
“I admit that [Dreamwalker] and [Slaanesh] allow you to raise your abilities incredibly quickly.
In that regard, you possess a truly remarkable talent.”
A sly smile crept across Demeter’s face.
“But you’ve forgotten something important.
Leveling up requires a great feat.”
“A great feat?”
Dio blinked and frowned as fragments of half-forgotten lore surfaced in his mind.
“That’s right.”
Demeter nodded and traced a small circle through the air with one slender finger.
“A great feat is an achievement worthy of recognition by the gods.
An adventurer must overcome a tremendous crisis or defeat an enemy far beyond what someone of their Level should normally be capable of handling.”
“The Monster Rexes and powerful creatures found in the Dungeon’s deeper floors are among the most reliable ways to earn one.”
She deliberately drew out her next words, watching with delight as Dio’s expression gradually collapsed.
“In other words, if you refuse to enter the Dungeon and never challenge a powerful opponent, then it won’t matter how high you raise your Basic Abilities.”
Her smile turned positively wicked.
“You will remain Level One forever.”
The parchment slipped from Dio’s hand and fluttered to the floor.
His smug satisfaction vanished, replaced by horror and disbelief.
‘What the hell?!
How did I forget about that?!’
Dio slapped a hand against his forehead and stood frozen as the memory finally returned.
It was true.
Under the Falna system, raising one’s Basic Abilities was only one requirement for leveling up.
An adventurer also needed to accumulate high-grade excelia by accomplishing a great feat—usually by challenging and overcoming an enemy far stronger than themselves.
Bell had not risen so quickly solely because of [Liaris Freese].
He had repeatedly pushed beyond his limits and defeated enemies that should have been impossible for someone at his Level, including Minotaurs and Monster Rexes.
And what had Dio done since arriving in this world?
He had hidden inside the Demeter Familia’s home.
He had never even seen the entrance to the Dungeon, let alone fought one of its monsters.
His status might already look terrifying, but without actual combat experience and a great feat to support it, those numbers could only carry him so far.
He would remain trapped at Level One.
“So…”
Dio slowly raised his head and stared at Demeter, his mouth twitching.
“You knew about this from the beginning, but you deliberately said nothing because you wanted to see my expression when I finally realized I couldn’t avoid the Dungeon?”
“That’s right~”
Demeter beamed at him, her eyes curving with delight.
Her smile was so radiant that Dio wanted to bite the smugness right off her face!
“I wanted to see what kind of amusing expression you would make once you discovered there was no way around it.
And I must say, you didn’t disappoint me.”
“You’re unbelievably devious!”
Dio pointed at her in outrage.
“I’m one of your children!
Is this how you treat members of your own Familia?”
“Treat you badly?”
Demeter tilted her head and assumed an innocent expression.
“I didn’t deceive you.
I simply chose not to volunteer the information.
How could that possibly count as mistreating you?”
“Besides, I never stopped you from entering the Dungeon.
I encouraged you to go.
You were the one determined to hide here like a frightened turtle.”
Dio had no answer.
Demeter was right.
She had repeatedly suggested that he enter the Dungeon, and he had invented excuse after excuse to avoid it.
Now that reality had finally caught up with him, he could hardly blame anyone else.
“Is there…
perhaps another option?”
Dio refused to give up.
“What if I fight weaker monsters and gradually accumulate enough for a great feat?”
“Weaker monsters?”
Demeter raised an eyebrow.
“Do you honestly believe defeating a goblin could be considered a great feat?
That is an ordinary day’s work for an adventurer, not an achievement worthy of leveling up.”
She leaned closer, smiling at his growing despair.
“If you want to advance to Level Two, you’ll need to defeat an opponent at least as dangerous as an enhanced species.”
Dio’s face fell completely.