When I opened my eyes, I found myself on Lydia’s back.
“Waaah.”
“…What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Lydia might not know, but a lot has happened to me. I’m so exhausted.”
“I don’t really get it, but that’s typical Jonah for you. When do you think you’ll recover?”
“Honestly, I won’t know until we get out of here. Oh, and it seems like I just gained some powers, so I need to focus for a bit to figure out what it is. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. Just don’t forget to bring Rosemary up with us, right?”
“Yep.”
Saying that, I buried my face in Lydia’s nape and focused for a moment.
My consciousness sank deep within. The surrounding noise began to fade, and things I usually didn’t notice started to become clear.
The heart. Or rather, a seed firmly rooted deeper inside.
The moment I became aware of this, I instinctively recognized it as the seed from the mountain range that Asterios once had.
Powers are etched into the soul, so I could intuitively understand their effects and usage.
But the seed from the mountain range wasn’t something you could grasp at a glance. That was only due to the sheer volume of information flooding in.
Not as overwhelming as the Avatar of Love, but probably a vibe similar to Basilieus.
The Avatar of Love was a 5-star power, so compared to that, Basilieus and the mountain seed are powers around the 4-star level.
I began to gather the scrambled information and organize it. As expected, most of it was related to physical enhancements.
First, strength.
Muscle enhancement is basic for physical boosts, so it’s nothing special, but the problem is the scale of the increase. It’s absolutely gigantic.
The Labyrinth’s growth system doesn’t strengthen all abilities equally; instead, it grows the corresponding ones based on the achievements earned inside.
Thanks to that, a personal specialization naturally develops… but right now, I would probably match a frontliner with equivalent physical strength, wouldn’t I?
Receiving such powers and still not breaking out of my class made me realize just how weak I was before, and it brought tears to my eyes.
Next up is stamina.
While my feet are on the ground, I automatically replenish my vitality, so I tire easily.
The important thing here is that it’s somewhat different from regeneration.
Regeneration boosts not just stamina recovery but also the speed of healing wounds. Vitality seems more focused on stamina recovery.
It does enhance wound recovery speed a bit, but the effect is quite minimal.
In contrast, vitality doesn’t require special resources like regeneration does.
Regeneration aids in sprouting new flesh on injured areas and helps rejoin broken bones… but requires energy for that.
Whether it’s eating a lot to replenish calories or using divine powers, it’s all about converting some energy into physical restoration, so it makes sense.
Regeneration ultimately talks about that conversion efficiency.
On the other hand, vitality replenishment through the mountain seed absorbs energy from the earth and directly converts it into my own.
I don’t know how effective the conversion efficiency is, but one thing’s for sure: my storage tank will be massive.
The earth is everywhere, and imagine how much power is stored in that vast land.
I’ll have to test this out in detail, but I probably won’t have to worry about physical fatigue for a while.
Everything up to this point dealt with direct physical enhancement effects, but the last one is a bit different.
The reason the Earth God gave Asterios the mountain seed instead of some other power.
Growth limit breakthrough.
Physically or with abilities, mortals have clear limits.
That’s why gaining some form of realization and expanding your vessel is critical, which is also why the Labyrinth is called an opportunity for growth, as it forcibly raises your level little by little.
The mountain seed applies that effect of the Labyrinth consistently.
Its efficiency isn’t great, but it means that even without breaking through to the next floor, accumulating significant achievements, or fully grasping a faint realization, there’s always a small hole leading to the next path.
Of course, that journey is close to rigorous discipline. But…
By stacking stones, piling up sand, and accumulating dirt, mountains will inevitably rise. The height will honestly increase proportionately to what has been stacked.
With the Labyrinth around, you might wonder just how important this is. So to put it simply…
The reason adventurers are stuck on the seventh floor is that their limits in terms of levels and strength, from the Labyrinth so far, have reached a ceiling.
It’s incredibly difficult for just a few stronger individuals to achieve a complete victory against foes that are also champions in their rights.
So, we wait for the overall level of adventurers to rise and for more high-ranking adventurers to reach the seventh floor.
I might not have an easy time changing the situation on the seventh floor even if I arrive, but if I have the growth limit breakthrough effect, it changes the story.
Even if it takes time, I can keep gathering strength on the seventh floor. Eventually, I’ll reach a point where I can change the battle on my own.
…Honestly, I think if I get a few more 5-star skills or powers, I could somehow manage, but that’s easier said than done, right?
Anyway, while it may not be immediately useful, eventually, it’ll shine brightly… the problem is that there’s a side effect of growth limit breakthrough that I’ll keep getting bigger.
It’s not necessarily a side effect; a huge size can also serve as strength.
This is also the reason why the long-extinct giants once instilled fear.
Well… I guess defining it as a side effect in this way makes sense since I’m growing even against my will.
The Earth God probably intended this when he embedded the power into Asterios. The issue is that it’s truly a pointless side effect for me.
If I were the type that’s already fit becoming even fitter, it’d be different, but for someone like me, the possibility of becoming awkwardly bigger is pretty high.
However, an unexpected clash occurred here.
The appearance-fixing effect of the Avatar of Love and the limit-breaking effect of the mountain seed were clashing against each other.
The two powers wrestled briefly, and the Avatar of Love, containing a higher level of power and rank, emerged victorious.
In other words, my appearance remained fixed while I could fully enjoy the growth limit-breaking effect.
“Hell yeah.”
“Did you wake up?”
When I opened my eyes, I was already in the Safe Zone, and a small gravestone leading to the surface was right in front of me.
Lydia, carrying me on her back, had the Minotaur’s head tucked under one arm while clutching Rosemary under the other.
Since Lydia was shorter than Rosemary, her legs were dragging on the ground.
She looked utterly defeated, like someone who had given up everything, which oddly invoked a sense of sadistic pleasure.
The good daughter of a good family… with dead eyes… a body that has just slumped over…
Perhaps I’m the only one who understands that kind of position in this reversed gender world, right?
I released one of the legs wrapped around Lydia’s waist and gave Rosemary’s rear a playful tap.
“Why do you look so down? Did something bad happen?”
“There was. I might have inadvertently led my people to doom by touching the wrong person.”
“Oh my. Rosemary really has a poor sense of character.”
“True. All of this stems from my foolishness. So, wouldn’t it be better to let me bear the brunt of the blame?”
It seems watching me take down the Minotaur has discouraged her.
Well, it makes sense. She probably thought I was a harmless snake only to see me take down a floor guardian all alone.
I wondered if Lydia just had a crush on me, but noticing closely, she seems to follow me like a knight without reservation (this is a type of role-playing, after all).
Moreover, she confidently claimed to defeat the floor guardian in front of the elder Elves, only to be completely horned by me.
She was on the verge of losing everything she planned, so it’s understandable that she wouldn’t be in her right mind.
However, that was a total misconception. I didn’t harbor any ill will against the entire Elf race.
After all, this was a race that Eve should be leading. How could I harbor any hatred?
For that reason, I smiled and continued speaking.
“Don’t worry. Once you see Eve’s face, you won’t do anything that extreme.”
“What in the world do you plan to do to her… Ah, World Tree! Please look over us…”
The glum voice whispered a short prayer. It’s well known that the World Tree is somewhat of a symbol among Elves, and words involving it operate like idioms.
But Rosemary’s lament had a slightly different feeling to it.
Is it because I possess the powers of the World Tree? Or perhaps because this Inquisitor holds a remarkably pure divine power that would even astonish others?
I could faintly sense unwavering faith emanating from Rosemary just moments ago.
“Rosemary, do you still believe in the World Tree?”
“Of course. Among Elves, no one disrespects the World Tree.”
“But very few genuinely dedicate their faith to it. Especially nowadays among Elves.”
“…You have a point. I know I’m a bit of an exception. But just because the World Tree has gone to eternal rest doesn’t mean its greatness has faded. I ask for no reward; I simply express my respect within my means.”
“Oh.”
No wonder she sanctifies Eve like that; it seems she’s one of the rare faithful of the World Tree.
I gently patted Rosemary’s back with my foot.
“Then you can look forward to it. At the banquet, I’ll show something good. I’m sure you’ll love it, Rosemary.”
“Ugh…!”
She gritted her teeth, looking as though she had suffered a terrible indignity. She appeared mournful, like someone who had just had a nation taken from them.
…Is it because of the shoe marks on her back?
