E-Rantel.
After more than four months, Riezel returned to this Fortress City once again.
Four months wasn't too long, but it wasn't exactly short either.
At least, this span of time wasn't enough for a human city to undergo any noticeable changes, especially not a city that played such a crucial role in defending against external threats.
Upon returning, the only change Riezel noticed was that the Shining Golden Pavilion had been fully repaired and even seemed to have undergone some renovations during the process, making it look more luxurious and comfortable than before.
For this reason, Riezel, Brain, Lakyus, and the others chose to stay at the Shining Golden Pavilion immediately after arriving in E-Rantel, without considering other inns.
It was only natural.
Back in the royal capital, they always stayed at the most luxurious adventurer inns, so there was no reason to settle for anything less here, or else their status as Adamantite Adventurers might as well be tarnished.
However, Blue Roses only planned to stay for one night and leave tomorrow since they needed to return to the royal capital as quickly as possible to deliver information about the Great Tomb of Nazarick and ensure the kingdom took it seriously.
If possible, they also hoped to draw the attention of all humans to the matter since the Great Tomb of Nazarick wasn't something a mere one or two countries could handle on their own.
"I heard the recent incident caused a lot of ripple effects, making things chaotic not just in the royal capital but even in the royal castle. Amid all this, the Baharuth Empire sent their people to investigate and stir up trouble, while the Slane Theocracy seems to have made some big moves."
Lakyus explained the aftermath of the incident the Great Tomb of Nazarick had caused.
"Everyone's too caught up in their own problems right now. I just hope the information we bring back can calm the situation down a bit, get everyone to set aside their differences, and focus on dealing with the potential threat from those monsters."
It was precisely because of this that Lakyus wanted to return to the royal capital as soon as possible to discuss the matter with the royal family and the nobles.
She also sent letters to the Adventurer's Guild, the Magician's Guild, the Merchant's Guild, and various official and unofficial guilds, requesting their guild masters to attend discussions and work together on this issue.
Naturally, Lakyus also reached out to the other Adamantite Adventurer Groups, asking them to return and take part in the matter, which showed just how seriously she regarded the threat of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
"If Sir Brynhart could return with us, that would be even better..."
Lakyus brought up the topic again, clearly hoping to secure Riezel's assistance.
In response, Riezel had only one thing to say.
"I can only warn you—don't involve Momon and Nabe from Darkness in your discussions. If you do, you'll regret it later."
Riezel gave a direct warning to Lakyus when he noticed her considering contacting Darkness, the Re-Estize Kingdom's recently established Adamantite Adventurer Group.
Lakyus was puzzled by this, but Riezel didn't bother to explain further.
"Anyway, I've warned you. If you don't listen, that's on you."
Leaving these words behind, Riezel completely distanced himself from the matter, making it clear he wouldn't join Lakyus's plans, which left her rather disappointed. Even so, she still heeded his warning, so after much hesitation, she gave up on sending a letter to Darkness.
Knowing this, Riezel seemed to consider his task done, so he returned to his room without paying any more attention to Lakyus and the others.
Once inside his room, Riezel immediately took out a bottle of Loki's blood and let a single drop fall onto his forehead, allowing it to seep into his skin.
In that instant, a faint glow appeared on Riezel's back before sacred text began to manifest, forming mysterious letters that shimmered and pulsed with light.
At the same time, information about his current status poured into Riezel's mind, making him confirm once again that he had reached the limits of his current level and could no longer make any significant progress.
Understanding this, Riezel resolutely decided to level up.
And so, Riezel prepared to face the most critical moment before leveling up—choosing a new development ability to learn.
'Looks like I triggered several development abilities again...'
Confirming the messages that flooded into his mind, Riezel's lips slowly curled into a smile.
It had to be said that this was indeed a stroke of incredible luck since the opportunity to learn a development ability upon leveling up wasn't something that happened all the time. If the conditions to trigger a development ability weren't met, it was entirely normal to level up without being able to learn even a single one.
Ais was a prime example.
When she reached Level 5, she hadn't met the conditions for any development abilities, so she leveled up without gaining anything new.
If even someone as gifted as Ais—considered a prodigy with unparalleled talent—faced this, for others, it was even harder.
Simply put, learning a development ability with every level-up was nearly impossible.
Naturally, even if the conditions to learn a development ability were triggered, whether it was useful or something one actually wanted was an entirely different matter.
Just like Tiona and Tione, they had triggered a development ability called 'Diving', which allowed its user to swim faster after entering water and enhanced their combat abilities in aquatic environments.
Unfortunately, outside of water, the usefulness of this development ability became extremely limited.
As members of an exploration-type familia, Tiona and Tione spent their time adventuring in the dungeon, which was mostly rocky terrain. Unless they were on special floors like the Water City, Diving was practically a useless development ability—a classic case of something that was more trouble than it was worth.
Regardless, the two of them still chose to learn this development ability because they had no choice.
At the time, since Diving was the only development ability they had triggered, if they didn't choose it, they would gain nothing and waste an opportunity to learn a development ability during their level-up.
As a result, they went with 'something is better than nothing'.
Under these circumstances, the fact that Riezel could trigger multiple development abilities every time he leveled up was something most adventurers could only dream of—some would probably cry from envy.
Not to mention, Riezel had even triggered several super-rare development abilities that no one else had ever learned.
For example, Lightweight, Battle Adept, and Fast Attack were all development abilities that had never appeared in the original work. Even Loki herself admitted she had never heard of these development abilities before.
And now, once again, Riezel had triggered another super-rare development ability that had never been seen in the original work.
"Magic Chant...?"
Riezel murmured to himself in the solitude of his room.
Magic Chant.
Among all the development abilities Riezel could learn this time, this one stood out the most and completely captured his attention.
'Judging by the name, this should be a development ability that works on magic, just like Mage, right?'
If that was the case, he leaned toward choosing this development ability.
'Up until now, all the development abilities I've gained were almost entirely for close combat, and only Mage worked for magic.'
'I've already got plenty of combat-related development abilities, so one more or less doesn't make much of a difference.'
'But for magic-related development abilities, I only have Mage...'
In truth, Riezel had triggered the learning conditions for other magic-related development abilities before, one of which was a development ability that reduced the damage and effects of magic on the user, called 'Magic Defense'.
Regrettably, he hadn't had the chance to choose it because it appeared when he advanced to Level 4, showing up alongside Mage.
In the end, he naturally chose Mage, an essential development ability for mages, and passed up acquiring Magic Defense. Since then, he hadn't triggered any other magic-related development abilities.
'Now that I've triggered another one, I can't let it slip by.'
Riezel didn't know why, but his instincts told him that this development ability was incredibly rare and extraordinarily powerful. Even without anything else, the mere fact that it had never appeared in the original work made it clear that this was a super-rare development ability worth choosing.
'I'll go with Magic Chant.'
Riezel made his decision.
*Zing—*
In the next moment, the sacred text floating behind Riezel began to change, accompanied by a faint glow.
As the old text faded away, the new text emerged in its place—everything happened swiftly and ended just as quickly.
When the sacred text, resembling crimson inscriptions, returned to Riezel's back and merged into it, gradually disappearing, a brand-new status emerged in his mind.
...
Riezel Brynhart
Level 7
STR: I0
END: I0
DEX: I0
AGI: I0
MAG: I0
Lightweight: C
Swordsman: C
Mage: E
Battle Adept: F
Fast Attack: G
Magic Chant: I
...
Looking at the 'Level 7' displayed below his name, Riezel smiled.
From this moment on, Orario had more than one Level 7, and at the same time, Loki Familia, a familia on par with its rival, Freya Familia, finally had its own Level 7 as well and would no longer be inferior to its rival.
===
When night fell, E-Rantel remained brightly lit.
Many lights caused by Continual Light illuminated the streets, casting their glow to banish the darkness and create an environment suitable for human eyes.
*Swish!*
Using teleportation magic, Riezel's figure suddenly appeared above the city.
"Greater Teleportation."
Using teleportation magic again, Riezel instantly teleported from E-Rantel to an empty plain some distance away from E-Rantel.
"Lightning."
Hovering in mid-air, Riezel extended a finger toward the dark expanse and unleashed offensive magic.
*Bzzz—!*
In the next moment, a lightning bolt formed at Riezel's fingertip, and after emitting a crackling and rattling sound, it shot forward violently.
As Riezel watched this unfold, his eyes flickered slightly.
'As I thought, the power of my magic has increased by more than a little.'