The early morning sunlight filtered through the billowing curtains, spilling onto Fati’s young face.
The spots of light shifted across the floor following the rise and fall of the curtains.
In the courtyard outside the window, several birds chirped among the dense tree branches, intertwining with the midsummer cicadas to form a rising and falling symphony.
Fati woke from his haze, his mind a complete blank, his eyes out of focus as he stared straight at the wooden ceiling.
After a moment, his consciousness gradually cleared, and his thinking returned.
He glanced at the room’s clock and was surprised to find it was nearly nine o’clock.
“It’s already this late…
It seems yesterday’s pressure was indeed quite significant,” he muttered to himself.
Tossing aside the thin summer quilt, Fati stood up and pushed the window completely open, taking a deep breath of the fresh morning air and stretching vigorously.
“Phew—”
“Comfortable!
Sleeping really is the ultimate enjoyment; it’s so great not to have insomnia!”
Through the mottled shadows of the trees, he could faintly see the Chalk Great Tower standing tall on the distant horizon, as if he could feel the hustle and bustle beneath it.
“Oh well, time to tend to those little cuties.”
Seeing the energetic “little garden” in the courtyard, Fati smiled and headed out wearing just a tank top and shorts.
He picked up the watering can and began moving about leisurely.
In the intervals of watering, he subconsciously glanced at his injured left arm.
Compared to the sharp, piercing pain from yesterday, the sensation now had become extremely faint.
“Hiss, it recovered to this extent in just one night?
In my previous life, this would have taken at least a hundred days, but here, it healed and scabbed over in a single night.
Truly terrifying.”
He moved his arm with a bit of force to confirm the recovery status, letting out a heartfelt exclamation of wonder.
“Hum hum hum—”
The summer morning was refreshing and comfortable.
Fati watered the flowers, humming a little tune while unconsciously toggling the “switch” of the magic within his body.
When he had nothing to do, he would admire his own gorgeous status panel and enjoy this exclusive glory.
“Hmm, wait?” At this moment, a hint of confusion appeared on Fati’s face.
At first glance, it looked the same as usual.
At second glance, it still looked the same.
At third glance, something was wrong.
“A sense of incongruity…”
Fati froze, the watering can in his hand unconsciously pouring water onto the same spot continuously.
His gaze swept over the vast amount of data on the panel, retrieving and confirming it repeatedly and meticulously.
It wasn’t until his eyes passed over the constantly flashing [Level Column] that they suddenly locked in place.
[Level]: Lv.1+
His gaze then fixed deathly onto the flashing characters of “Lv.1+”.
“?”
“What’s the situation?”
“Why is the level flashing?
Did I overlook something?”
He abruptly turned and walked toward the stone bench in the courtyard, placed the watering can on the stone table, and sat down to begin his focused research.
Tentatively touching the plus sign after the flashing characters with his consciousness, a prompt popped up:
[Level: Lv.1, Great Feat satisfied, ready for Level Up.
Confirm Level Up?]
“…”
Fati remained silent, simply staring intensely at that line of text.
At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.
“I…
I can level up already?
When did I achieve a Great Feat?
Don’t Great Feats require completing impossible tasks?
Like fighting across levels or something…”
“Wait…”
He suddenly remembered a skill effect he usually ignored.
His gaze quickly shifted down, locking onto the skill column.
Proof of Transmigration
Characteristics that deviate from logic and differ from common sense.Experience can be freely distributed, or combined with sacrifices for limit breaks; High-tier Experience required for level sublimation is drastically reduced;
His eyes stared fixedly at the third effect.
The description “High-tier Experience required for level sublimation is drastically reduced” was incredibly eye-catching in his sight, like the sun.
Fati snapped out of it after a few seconds.
His whole body shuddered as he suddenly jumped up, a look of sudden realization on his face.
“Is this the specific effect of ‘High-tier Experience required for level sublimation is drastically reduced’?”
“Haha…”
“Hahahahahahaha!”
Fati covered his forehead and laughed like a madman, looking like a complete lunatic.
“The battle with the Special Individual should be considered an evenly matched opponent for me, right?
After all, it made me feel the suffocation of death.”
“In that case, under the effect of Proof of Transmigration, it makes sense for it to be calculated as a level-up Great Feat.”
Even if it was just a Lv.1 mob, it was a Special Individual.
You tell me if that counts as “evenly matched”!
Looking again at the flashing level-up plus sign, the corners of Fati’s mouth were harder to keep down than an AK.
“Let’s try it.”
Glancing at his ability values, Fati began to court death.
[Level: Lv.1, Great Feat satisfied, ready for Level Up.
Confirm Level Up?]
[Confirm]
[Level Up failed, conditions not met]
[Reason for failure: ability values have not reached the standard]
Receiving the system feedback, Fati wore an expression that said “as expected.”
“Although the Great Feat is met, my ability values haven’t reached the minimum standard of Rank D, which is 500+.
It’s a good thing the conditions weren’t met; otherwise, if I leveled up with these subpar ability values, who would I be able to beat at the same level in the future?”
He shook his head with a chuckle, temporarily putting the thought of leveling up to the back of his mind.
For him, considering this was still too early.
The real problem at hand was how to solve the issue of his own potential’s upper limit.
After going in a circle, the focus finally returned to [Experience] and [Money].
“Right, there was also an unexpected harvest yesterday.”
Returning to the house to take out that tree branch, Fati examined it carefully.
“This should be the legendary Branch of the Great Holy Tree.
Its guidance and amplification of magic are so strong; it truly is one of the best materials for making a staff.”
Recalling the figure he encountered yesterday.
“That guy, if I’m not mistaken, is likely a lackey of the [Dark Faction].
Have they started stockpiling this stuff so early?
That makes sense; this kind of controlled item rarely circulates on the market.
Wanting to stockpile a large amount isn’t something that can be done in a short time, so starting to collect now is reasonable.”
Linking this to the previous intelligence, Fati suddenly saw everything clearly.
“Causing trouble over at the Dungeon was a diversion?
To provide cover for their secret operations here?”
Stroking his chin, he gradually understood what the [Dark Faction] was actually up to.
Thinking about his own predicament, Fati’s expression shifted between light and dark.
“If I can find the [Dark Faction]’s transit warehouse and fleece them for all they’re worth…”
“With that sum of money, I could save ninety percent on the material costs for crafting a staff.
The extra [Branches of the Great Holy Tree] could solve my funding problems, and maybe…
maybe I could even push my potential limit to top-tier levels!”
But after a practical evaluation, Fati felt this was a bit like courting death.
“No, even if I find the warehouse, with my current strength, I might not succeed.
The risk is too high; it doesn’t fit my steady style.”
“Got it.”
Fati’s eyes lit up as a plan formed in his mind.
If the plan succeeded, this move would be enough to make him take off directly.
“There’s no rush for this.
There’s still plenty of time.
I’ll wait until my strength and the Familia’s strength grow.
That would be more secure.”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing his restless emotions.
When he opened his eyes again, he had returned to his usual calm.
“Eat first.”
…After preparing a simple breakfast, Fati organized and packed his battle-damaged gear, changed into casual clothes, locked the door, and left home.
The small alley in front of his door was hidden in the forest, shaded by green trees, with mottled sunlight falling on the grey-white stone pavement.
Orario is located in the far west of the continent, adjacent to the ocean, with a pleasant climate.
The midsummer breeze brushed against his face, carrying a comfortable warmth.
Turning onto the main road with practiced ease, the bustling scene unique to Orario instantly flooded his vision.
On the wide streets where four horse-drawn carriages could drive side-by-side without feeling crowded, numerous shops were lined up in neat rows.
Centered around the solemn Chalk Great Tower deep in his field of vision, the prosperous Labyrinth City displayed its unique prosperity and vitality with an exotic flair.
Fati had walked this path countless times, yet this exotic scenery still made him marvel inwardly.
Compared to the steel jungles of high-rise buildings, this ancient city where humans and gods coexisted was more to his liking.
That charm, refined by years and washed by time, permeated every corner of the city.
Crossing from West Street through the Babel Plaza, Fati turned toward the Second District on Northeast Main Street.
The Labyrinth City, Orario, is overall circular.
With the Tower of Babel at the center, the main roads divide the city into eight sectors.
The Second District, sandwiched between Northeast Main Street and East Main Street, is the industrial heart of Orario and the place of origin for magic stone products.
Countless magic stone workshops and post stations are located here.
The most famous landmark building here is undoubtedly the large commercial faction, the base of the world-renowned forging [Hephaestus Familia], the Vulcan Red House.
With the Vulcan Red House as the center, the entire Second District is dotted with many individual forging workshops belonging to the [Hephaestus] Familia.
The person Fati was visiting today was one such acquaintance.