One thing was certain: a rookie encountering a Killer Ant was as good as dead.
The Guild's adventurer advisors never permitted novices to recklessly dive deeper into the Dungeon. Even if the first three floors were overcrowded, they would endlessly warn them:
"Don't gamble with your life."
In short, I've been fighting 'half a tier above my level' non-stop for seven straight days. Thanks to Starfire's Flowing Light, I've nearly gone without sleep, grinding nonstop. Only then could my growth barely keep pace with what a 'normal adventurer's limit' might be.
Yes, at least in Renjiro's eyes, Ottar's talent only represented the limit of a normal adventurer. He was convinced there were people above even that, two or three stages higher.
First came the famed Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein, only eight years old when she leveled from 1 to 2 in a single year, still holding the fastest record in Orario. Because of her spirit-bloodline heritage, she technically stood outside the bounds of ordinary adventurers. By sixteen, she had reached Lv.6, astonishing even the gods.
Yet the future held an even greater anomaly, Bell Cranel. At fourteen, in just a single year, he would climb from Lv.1 to Lv.5, even surpassing Ais.
But even Bell was not the true pinnacle.
Seven years prior, his aunt Alfia, the Silent One, had perished at the age of twenty-four. Before that, by the age of sixteen, she had already become a Lv.7 adventurer. Upon reaching Lv.7, she fought on equal terms with the Lv.9 Empress, and during the battle against Leviathan, the Ocean Tyrant, she played a decisive role.
Her magic?
Satanas Verion: an undodgeable sonic spell.
Silentium Eden: a support magic that nullified most other magics.
Genos Angelus: the spell that dealt Leviathan its fatal blow.
She was so gifted that the gods once believed, If only she hadn't been born with a terminal illness, she might have been the one to slay the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
For Alfia was destined to ascend to Lv.9, and when she did, she would have been invincible.
Alfia, the unparalleled prodigy in Orario's history.
"The more I learn, the less I can afford to be proud of such small progress."
Renjiro glanced down at the parchment where Freya had copied his updated stats. Still, he mused: Well, with my increased Mana, Genshin Descent should last much longer now.
Just as his thoughts reached that point,
"By the way," Freya broke in, "your Ability Value update isn't finished yet."
Indeed, Renjiro's updating ritual was more complicated than any ordinary adventurer's, because he wasn't fighting alone.
"Wait a moment."
Taking a deep breath, he put the parchment aside. He too had companions hidden within.
Then,
"Toward the stars, and the abyss."
Boom.
Bathed in golden light, his body split apart, reforming into the twin figures of Aether and Lumine.
The golden-haired, golden-eyed siblings turned silently toward Freya, faces calm, as she, eyes glinting with expectation, resumed her divine task.
Moments later, as droplets of godly blood fell,
================
Aether
Level: Lv.1 (Conditions Met for Level Up)
Abilities: STR (SSS–1350), END (SSS–1155), DEX (SSS–1399), AGI (SSS–1314), MAG (SSS–1365)
Development Ability: Not Chosen
Skills: Brilliant Diamond Gemstone, Elemental Sight, Wind Glider
Magic: Palm Vortex, Gust Surge
================
Lumine
Level: Lv.1 (Conditions Met for Level Up)
Abilities: STR (SSS–1379), END (SSS–1155), DEX (SSS–1370), AGI (SSS–1296), MAG (SSS–1380)
Development Ability: Not Chosen
Skills: Brilliant Diamond Gemstone, Elemental Sight, Wind Glider
Magic: Palm Vortex, Gust Surge
================
Within a week, they had reached SSS in all stats and were ready for Lv.2.
Freya, who had been merely surprised earlier, now felt downright chilled.
================
Skill Descriptions
Brilliant Diamond Gemstone
Consumes Mana to command, temporarily wield, or perfectly fuse with all Elemental Powers. (Currently unlocked: Wind.)
Elemental Sight: Actively observes the flow of energies.
Can detect Elemental Power.
Can detect Mana.
Passively senses hostility in a 10-meter radius (radius increases with level).
================
These abilities gave the siblings many more tactical options. Unlike normal Elemental Skills (which required cooldowns) and Elemental Bursts (which required energy buildup), these had no cost, though their effects were somewhat fixed.
On the other hand, Brilliant Diamond Gemstone allowed them to create original techniques outside the system, at the cost of Mana.
Simply put:
System Skills, Free to use, but rigid in function.
Self-Developed Skills, Flexible and versatile, but consume Mana.
For Renjiro, that was good news.
As for Wind Glider, it had clearly been optimized by the Genshin System into a costless skill, rather than just a tool.
Still, Freya sighed softly.
"Strange as this sounds… right now, it's you yourself who's limiting your own potential."
She was right. If Renjiro's main body leveled up faster, then when he reached Lv.7, Aether, Lumine, and even other Genshin Avatars would already stand at Lv.9 combat power.
Currently, however, his Lv.1 body dragged them all down to the cap of Lv.2.
Even so, after a week of relentless grinding, Aether and Lumine still hadn't reached their current ceiling.
Once I (main body) reach Lv.2, Renjiro thought, Aether and Lumine can immediately rise to Lv.4.
He knew the rules well, each Ascension in the Genshin System expanded their level cap. Which meant, his own feats couldn't lag behind.
"Now then, let's handle your level up," Freya said, her eyes turning serious. "You both know that every level-up grants an adventurer a Development Ability.
The two of you," she glanced between Aether and Lumine, "or should I say, these two bodies, will share the same options."
"At present, you may choose from five: Magecraft, Hunter, Swordsman, Smithing, or Cooking."
She leaned forward, emphasizing her words: "Choose carefully. This decision may well shape your future."
In her own mind, Freya was already expecting them to pick complementary roles, say Swordsman and Magecraft. That would cement Renjiro as a truly all-round combatant.
But then,
"Do we even need to think about it?" Renjiro (Aether) grinned wide, flashing white teeth. "Of course we're choosing Smithing and Cooking!"
Freya: "Ha, what?"
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