Eiji held another piece of parchment in his hand, one that he had not shown to Ais earlier.
What was imprinted on it was his stats after levelling up.
==========
[Eiji Nangou]
[LV·3]
[Strength: I·0]
[Endurance: I·0]
[Dexterity: I·0]
[Agility: I·0]
[Magic: I·0]
[Skills: Ten Years of Sharpening a Sword, Sword Heart's Valor, Charm]
[Magic: None]
[Development Abilities: Hunter (I), Spirit Healing (I)]
==========
[Charm]
The highest level of charm.
That's right—Eiji had levelled up again, without even waiting for his dexterity and agility to reach their limits.
Even though the rate of improvement was the same, being at Level 3 was certainly more efficient than Level 2.
For someone like him, who needed to make the most of his time, getting a decent improvement was good enough. If he needed to enhance his physique or magic in the future, he could just find another world to do so—there was no need to stubbornly stick to this one.
For his development ability upon levelling up, he chose "Spirit Healing."
This ability could only be triggered by using magic at high intensity over a short period.
Simply put, it accelerated the self-recovery of mental strength. At advanced levels, one wouldn't even need mental potions; with enough time, they could fully restore their mental energy. For someone who fought using magic, this was undoubtedly an incredibly useful ability.
It was especially useful for Eiji, which was why he chose it.
But, of course—
The most important thing was the new skill that appeared upon levelling up.
[Charm].
Unexpected, yet reasonable.
The description of its effect was only a single line, but that one line was enough to make Loki utterly terrified.
One look at her current state said it all.
Although she was barely holding onto a shred of rationality, that was probably because this was Eiji's first time using the skill, and he was still unfamiliar with it. If he mastered it, her rationality would undoubtedly be completely crushed.
Even Loki, a god, could not resist this terrifying charm.
Eiji withdrew the smile from his face, and the aura of charm gradually faded.
"Haah... Haah..."
Loki snapped back to her senses, panting in panic.
She quickly turned around, covering her ears and shutting her eyes tightly, as if trying to block Eiji out completely.
However—
The highest level of charm couldn't be avoided simply by cutting off vision and hearing.
Even as she tried to block him out, the beauty emanating from Eiji—almost like a conceptual existence—still seeped into her mind, lingering persistently.
"Phew…"
Loki took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.
She was a god—a trickster god, no less!
She had dealt with Freya countless times in the past and was very familiar with charm-based abilities. How could she possibly lose her rationality after being affected by it once?
Impossible!
"A-Anyway, blessings are essentially catalysts. They only draw out what's already within you. Charm was already your ability—it just happened to be unearthed this time…"
"I already know that."
Eiji clicked his tongue. Why was she repeating something so obvious?
"My question is: what exactly does 'highest level' mean?"
—The highest level of charm.
What did that mean?
Eiji wanted an explanation for this so-called "highest level."
The explanations of blessings always felt cryptic.
"Uh… it's at a god's level, I suppose?"
Loki, regaining some of her composure, lowered her gaze and focused on herself.
"At the very least, I've only ever seen this level of charm in a handful of gods—like Freya."
After all, blessings were granted by the gods.
There were even legends that if a blessing was developed to its fullest extent, it could elevate a human into a god. From Loki's perspective, this so-called "highest level" was likely on par with that of the gods—even she had never seen such a skill description before.
In other words, Eiji's charm had reached the level of a god.
So, Freya wasn't wrong.
Eiji had completely underestimated his own charm before. He had simply thought that a high charm stat meant good looks, never realizing that he actually possessed this kind of power. But now, after a single night's rest, he had awakened a charm ability on par with Freya's.
"…But why didn't I notice this before?"
Eiji was filled with regret.
If he had realized he had this level of charm earlier, wouldn't he have been able to attract more beauties—no, more combat advantages?
"I know why!"
Loki raised her hand, grinning mischievously.
"Because you have a mouth!"
"…Are you insulting me?"
"No, no! What I mean is, your words and actions have zero charm!"
"…You're still insulting me, aren't you?"
"Er… I mean, it's about personality and aura!"
Eiji was not pleased.
So, charm wasn't just about looks?
Since Loki had frequently interacted with Freya, she quickly figured it out.
Comparing Eiji and Freya revealed a major difference.
Freya's every word, action, and expression exuded an indescribable allure. Her speech had elegance, her gestures carried irresistible charm, and even her smallest reactions made hearts race, drawing both mortals and gods toward her.
But Eiji?
He was full of nonsense, had an eccentric personality, was perverted, petty—his flaws were all too obvious. His words either made people laugh or made them angry, but they never stirred desire.
To put it simply—
Who gets turned on by a clown?
Thinking back, the few times Eiji had unintentionally used charm were either when he was being slick with his words or when he shut up and just smiled—like when he got Tiona to take him shopping.
He understood now.
Silence is golden.
Eijigot it.
"Loki, one more thing."
"What is it?"
Loki instinctively looked up.
And once again, she was hit by a smile full of charm.
Not only that, but he reached out, stroking her chin like one would with a cat.
Loki instantly went, "Aiyaaa~" and collapsed.
Her whole body turned to jelly, completely defenseless, her eyes even filling with pink hearts.
If he wanted, Eiji could probably make her do a peace sign and an ahegao face right now.
"You answered my question, and since I'm such a generous person, I'll reward you—just enjoy this moment."
Eiji smirked as he left Loki's room.
That's what you get for insulting me.
That said, Eiji was actually quite happy.
Originally, he had been prepared to sell his dignity to obtain a charm ability, but unexpectedly, he had awakened it on his own—a delightful surprise.
Charm had always been his innate trait, but the blessing had fully unearthed it, skipping the learning process entirely.
As expected, his luck was as Schrödinger-esque as ever.
Thinking about it, Eiji realized something—
His luck could be summed up in one phrase: "Unreliable in small matters, unfailing in big ones."
Still—
Was it really just a coincidence that he awakened this charm ability?
Eiji recalled his last discussion with Freya about pleasure techniques…
…Yeah, let's just call it a coincidence.
***
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