"Tell me the truth, what have you been doing all this time?"
Inside the blacksmith shop, Hephaestus stared at the young man in front of her with a serious face.
"Are you going to do something extremely dangerous again?"
"Uh, neither...right?"
It was the first time that Kevin saw his goddess showing this expression, and his tone became a little uncertain.
These days, he had simply killed nearly five-digit zombies in Bed Master City, survived a blood moon, and killed two elite monsters. Then he challenged the Desert Scourge. Although he died once, he managed to get the first kill the second time...
It seems that he did do a lot of dangerous things.
Seeing Kevin's acquiescence, Hephaestus sighed and put her hand on his head and rubbed it.
"For me, the safe return of the children of the clan is more important than anything else."
"Well... I know what I'm doing. There won't be any real danger."
Kevin explained, and then looked at the form engraved with his ability values impatiently.
"By the way, can I 'upgrade' now?"
"That's right."
Hephaestus knew he was trying to change the subject, so she let him continue.
"Before this, what happened to your basic abilities?"
"This is the first time I've seen a situation where the 999-point limit was exceeded."
Generally speaking, the value range of basic ability is 0~999.
Expressed in letters, it is from i to S, a total of 10 levels, with an upper limit of 999 points, which is S level.
But Kevin's situation is very special. Except for "agility", all his basic abilities have exceeded the limits of ordinary adventurers!
There were even a few who reached the unheard-of level of SSS.
"Don't you know, Goddess?"
Kevin was not too surprised, as he had a good idea of his own improvement in strength.
The reason why his endurance could reach SSS level was mostly due to the Life Crystal.
Magic power is easier to explain. Basic abilities will improve with the frequency of training and actual combat.
Kevin spent most of his time in battle using the "Super Thermal Ion Cannon" to consume magic power.
In addition, he actually drank the magic potion as if it were water, so the total amount of magic consumed in a day was estimated to be more than the magic consumed by an ordinary adventurer in a month.
Over time, the magical attributes were forcibly refined to this incredible level.
Even better than a serious wizard-type adventurer.
As for the three items of strength, dexterity and agility, in addition to Kevin's own accumulated experience, they were able to break through the S-level.
There are also the basic abilities added by [Terra Craftsmen], which should not be underestimated.
Hephaestus had obviously thought of this as well, and said thoughtfully.
"It seems that the 'skills' you acquired earlier were very helpful in your growth."
"It only took half a month to reach Lv2... I'm afraid he is the fastest adventurer in the history of Orario."
"Even for Loki's Sword Princess, it took her a full year to reach Level 2."
As she spoke, Hephaestus seemed to have thought of something and reminded him helplessly.
"Once the news of the upgrade gets out, you will definitely be talked about by others."
"Even other gods will be interested in you... I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."
For better or worse, trouble is bound to come.
"The fastest in history..."
"I'm still a long way from here, Goddess."
Hearing the goddess's comments, Kevin shook his head.
At this moment, he remembered the upgrade speed of the original hero Bell.
It takes one and a half months to reach Lv2, another month to reach Lv3, and two months to reach Lv4... and another two months to reach Lv5.
In just half a year, he achieved a goal that 99% of adventurers could never accomplish in their lifetime.
In comparison, his current results don't seem to be a big deal.
Hearing Kevin's answer, Hephaestus swallowed back the words she was about to say.
She originally wanted to remind Kevin not to become arrogant because of his rapid improvement in strength.
Unexpectedly, the child didn't need her to remind him at all and didn't have such an idea at all.
This made the goddess feel pleased and praised, but also a little disappointed.
I always feel like she didn't help much in Kevin's growth.
"Um... Goddess?"
Kevin's voice called Hephaestus back to consciousness.
"It's okay, let's talk about upgrading."
The goddess picked up the paper with the ability values printed on it again and scanned it all the way to the end.
"Technically speaking, you are in the process of upgrading now."
"Only after completing the 'Ability Selection' will it be officially upgraded to Lv2."
"Ability selection..." Kevin interrupted thoughtfully, "Does it mean developing ability?"
"Yes."
Hephaestus lightly wiped the paper with divine blood.
Several separate paragraphs of golden text emerged from above.
The development ability will appear in the ability value panel of the clan through [Upgrade].
Of course, this is not necessarily the case.
Whether or not you can gain development abilities when you level up also depends on the [Great Deeds] that the adventurer has accumulated so far.
If there are no [Great Deeds] worth mentioning, even if you level up, you may not be able to learn the development capabilities.
On the other hand, if you accumulate more [Great Deeds], you will also gain multiple development abilities to choose from.
As for what kind of development capabilities can be generated, it depends on the experience of the person involved.
If you have been poisoned and recovered, you may gain [Abnormal Resistance]
If you kill a lot of beast monsters, you may gain the [Hunter] ability.
For members of Hephaestus's family, the most common ability to develop is definitely...
"There is [Forging] after all."
Kevin took the updated ability value result from the goddess and browsed it.
"This should be considered our clan's signature development ability."
"Only highly skilled blacksmiths will gain this ability when they level up."
Hephaestus gave a somewhat vague answer.
In fact, not everyone in the Hephaestus clan, which is famous for producing many blacksmiths, can acquire this development ability.
A blacksmith with mediocre qualifications and unable to produce excellent works will eventually become just like everyone else.
"But you don't necessarily need this ability."
After thinking for a moment, Hephaestus added.
"Didn't you make a magic sword without [Forging] before?"
"If we look at other development capabilities, there may be better options."
"Yes...I understand, goddess."
Kevin nodded. There were three [Development Abilities] in front of him for him to choose from.
One of them is [Forging], and the other two are [Mystic] and [Stigma Alchemy]
"Wait, what the hell?!"
After reading to the end, Kevin seemed to have thought of something and his eyes widened in surprise.
"This development ability... is it serious?!"