When Dio woke the next morning, his head felt as though someone had spent the entire night pounding it with a hammer.
It was so heavy he could barely lift it from the pillow, as though his skull had been filled with molten lead.
He opened his eyes blearily and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling until his vision gradually came into focus.
Birds chirped outside the window, announcing the arrival of morning.
“How did sleeping make me even more tired?”
Dio rubbed his throbbing temples and pushed himself up from the floor.
The moment he raised his upper body, however, his forehead slammed into something soft, warm, and remarkably springy.
A faint scent of wheat drifted into his nose.
“Ow!”
“Mmmhh!”
Two cries of pain rang out at the same time.
Clutching his forehead, Dio looked up and discovered that Demeter had somehow ended up crouching directly in front of him.
Her beautiful face was only inches away, and her amber eyes glared at him with mild annoyance.
She rubbed the generous curve of her chest where his head had struck and shot him an irritated look.
“Goddess, what are you doing?
Were you hovering over me first thing in the morning just to scare me?”
His forehead was still throbbing.
“You have the nerve to complain?” Demeter pouted.
“You slept like the dead last night, so I came over to see whether you were secretly dreaming about anything interesting.
Then you suddenly headbutted me!”
She waved the matter aside before he could respond.
“Forget it.
Get up, we’re updating your status!”
“My status?”
Dio continued massaging his aching head, utterly confused.
“I haven’t entered the Dungeon, and I haven’t consciously used [Dreamwalker] or [Carnal Indulgence] on anyone.
What would there be to update?”
“That remains to be seen.
Stop complaining and get up!”
Without giving him a chance to resist, Demeter seized his arm and hauled him to his feet.
Despite her gentle and graceful appearance, the goddess possessed astonishing strength.
One firm pull sent Dio stumbling toward the bed.
With a helpless sigh, he resigned himself to his fate and lay facedown across Demeter’s soft mattress.
The sheets carried her faint scent, a soothing mixture of wheat and flowers.
It cleared his foggy head slightly as he rested one cheek against the lingering warmth.
‘Did something actually happen last night?’
Dio tried to remember what had happened after he fell asleep, but his memories ended the moment he closed his eyes.
Everything afterward was blank.
He could not recall a single dream he has.
So why did his head hurt so badly?
Even his muscles felt weak and sore, as though he had run an entire marathon in his sleep.
While Dio was still searching his empty memories, Demeter retrieved a sheet of parchment and bit the tip of her finger.
A drop of crimson divine blood gathered there, glowing faintly with sacred light.
She pressed her fingertip against Dio’s back.
The blood sank into his skin, and a pleasant warmth spread through his body.
“Hm?”
Demeter let out a quiet sound of surprise, her brows drawing together.
Dio could not see her expression from where he lay, but the confusion in her voice immediately caught his attention.
“What is it?
Is something wrong?”
Demeter did not answer.
After several long seconds, she finally removed her finger and pressed the parchment against the Falna engraved on his back.
“This is…”
Disbelief filled her voice.
Now thoroughly curious, Dio rolled over, sat up, and leaned closer to examine the parchment.
The moment he saw the numbers, he froze.
Dio Brando
Level 1
Strength: I 0 → I 99
Endurance: I 0 → I 99
Dexterity: I 0 → I 99
Agility: I 0 → I 99
Magic: I 0 → C 666
Development Abilities:
None
Magic:
[Dreamwalker]
[Satanas Verion]
[Genos Angelus]
Skills:
[Master of Tongues]
[Universal Literacy]
[Carnal Indulgence]
“What the hell?!”
Dio’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“My Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, and Agility all jumped from I 0 to I 99?
My Magic went straight to C 666?!
And where did these other two spells come from?”
His mind went completely blank.
He had not trained.
He had not entered the Dungeon.
He had not even left the room!
So how had his status skyrocketed overnight?
Demeter finally recovered from her own shock.
She lowered the parchment, planted both hands on her hips, and studied Dio from head to toe with a mixture of curiosity and caution.
“It seems [Dreamwalker] really did activate on its own last night.
Judging by these results, quite a lot must have happened.
You truly don’t remember any of it?”
“I think I had a dream, but I can’t remember what happened in it at all.”
Demeter fell silent.
Her expression shifted several times as she considered the implications.
After a long while, she released a slow breath.
“It appears [Dreamwalker] is far more dangerous than I initially believed.
It doesn’t merely let you create dreams or enter the dreams of others.
It may also allow you to make contact with those who have already died.”
“The dead?”
Dio repeated the words, then looked back at the parchment.
“And what about these two spells?”
“Yes, the dead.” Demeter’s expression grew serious.
“There was once a tremendously gifted Level Seven adventurer in Orario named Alfia.
[Satanas Verion] and [Genos Angelus] were both hers.”
She fixed her gaze on Dio.
“Your Magic may prove far more valuable than simply using it to indulge yourself in dreams.”
Dio gave her an embarrassed smile, then suddenly remembered something.
“Does this mean I can level up now?
You said that an adventurer becomes eligible once one of their Basic Abilities reaches D.
My Magic is already at C, so doesn’t that qualify me?”
“Technically, yes,” Demeter replied, “but I wouldn’t recommend leveling up yet.”
She had assumed he would become eager the moment he saw his status, so she quickly warned him against rushing.
“Your Magic and Skills clearly give you the potential to grow at an extraordinary rate.
That’s exactly why you don’t need to hurry.
You should raise your Basic Abilities as far as you possibly can before leveling up.”
Demeter tapped the parchment with one finger.
“Building the strongest foundation you can now will only benefit you later.”