"What is this pattern...?"
Darkness saw the light emanating from Adam’s back and reached out to gently touch the mysterious pattern that had appeared.
"This is a Falna!" Aqua proclaimed proudly to Darkness and the others, "The water crystal pattern proves I’m the Goddess of Water! Now Adam belongs to me!"
"Hey, don’t phrase it like that." Adam felt himself blushing at her suggestive tone.
Everyone else remained transfixed by the pattern on his back.
"Goddess of Water...?" Darkness’s eyes widened as realization struck.
Adam had mentioned that only High Gods could bestow Falnas.
"So... Aqua is actually a Goddess? Our party’s High Priestess — that airheaded Aqua — is a real Goddess?!"
This revelation was astounding!
"We weren’t hiding it from you — or rather, Aqua never tried to hide it." Adam explained to Darkness and Megumin, "Think about it: High Priests can only use Resurrection once per person, but Aqua has resurrected Kazuma dozens of times."
Though Adam had warned Aqua not to spread word of her divine status, fearing it might alert the Devil King and incite monster riots, she couldn’t help proclaiming her godhood, especially to party members.
Well, it didn’t matter now. Darkness and Megumin would have discovered the truth eventually. Better to explain it early and avoid potential conflicts during crucial moments.
Besides, the appearance of the Falna made Aqua’s "Goddess" status much easier for everyone to accept.
"I see..." Darkness scratched her cheek awkwardly, "Sorry, I thought Aqua was like Megumin with chuunibyou, just pretending to be a goddess."
"Right, right. I thought Aqua was just like me." Unusually, Megumin didn’t seem upset at being called chuunibyou.
Instead, she was more surprised by the revelation that Aqua was actually a Goddess.
"I thought we were both just chuunibyou sufferers — how did you turn out to be a real Goddess?"
Darkness fidgeted uncomfortably, "How should I put it... Aqua’s behavior made it impossible for Megumin and me to think of her as having a divine identity."
"I totally understand what you two mean." Kazuma stepped forward to deliver the final blow, "Given how this idiot Aqua has been acting all this time, it’s only natural not to think of her as a Goddess, right? Look, I never saw her as one from the start."
"I am a Goddess! A genuine, real Goddess!" Aqua protested loudly, "Treat me like one, you Crapzuma!"
She thought if she didn’t assert herself now, her reputation as an idiot would be permanently cemented.
...That’s what she thought.
In reality, her reputation was already set in stone.
"Aqua, imprint my proficiency values."
"OK! No problem, leave it to me!" Aqua took out a piece of parchment and pressed it against Adam’s back.
Light gathered and imprinted the values.
"Mm, thank you, Aqua."
Taking the parchment, Adam began carefully examining the proficiency levels.
[Last Hope (Wish_One)]
• When in desperate situations, increases own strength proportional to the desperation
• When relied upon by others, increases strength proportional to their thoughts
• Divine Chosen! (Water, Lightning, Fire, Wind, Moon, Earth, Light)
[Analysis and Mimicry]
Great Deeds Accomplished, Rank Up Available
Adam reflected on his final battle with Ottar.
Like the Boaz, he had earned a Great Deed by defeating him and acquiring sufficient High Excelia.
"Aqua, help me Rank Up while we’re at it."
"OK!" Aqua eagerly agreed.
Though it was her first time helping someone Rank Up, she welcomed the chance to learn the process with Adam.
Brilliant light burst forth again, more intense than before and lasting longer!
Adam, familiar with this phenomenon that occurred during each rank up, remained calm.
Five seconds later, the Rank Up succeeded. The newly imprinted parchment showed his Basic Abilities had reset to {I 0}, while his Adventurer level increased to Level 5.
Since rank advancement transformed his status gradually, Adam didn’t feel significantly stronger yet.
Testing his new power would have to wait — first, the others needed their Falnas.
"Aqua, give Falnas to Kazuma, Megumin, and Darkness too."
"Sure! Come on, you three!"
Aqua bestowed Falnas on them one by one.
Megumin and Darkness, being female, received their imprints privately in their room.
After half an hour of work, Aqua finished bestowing all three Falnas. Exhausted, she collapsed limply into Adam’s arms.
This display made Beatrice, who had been pushed aside, bristle with anger. The Goddess had been unusually close to Adam since arriving.
Was she being deliberately forward?!
"Hmph." Her cheeks puffed up in anger, but softened at Adam’s warm touch.
"Let me see." Adam held the parchment with the Falna values imprinted for all three.
What a pleasant surprise! All three of them had Skills!
〚Acceleration〛,〚Magic Burn〛,〚Iron Wall〛!
These Skills would catch anyone’s eye!
Kazuma’s〚Acceleration〛: Increases own speed for a certain duration.
Though simple in description, it held endless potential — affecting movement speed, attack speed, and more. This powerful Skill was clearly linked to Dexterity.
Megumin’s〚Magic Burn〛: Consume an extra quarter of Mana to double the power of the next spell cast.
This Skill perfectly complemented her〘Explosion Magic〙!
With this powerful addition to her specialized〘Explosion Magic〙, she could truly claim the title "Number One in Explosions"!
Megumin had achieved her goal!
As for Darkness’s〚Iron Wall〛, it proved the strongest among the three!
As the name suggests, it makes her body incredibly hard, with duration proportional to mental strength!
Given Darkness’s extraordinary level of determination — and particular proclivities — her mental strength was unmatched.
"I’m truly surprised. Though none of you have Magic, I didn’t expect you’d all have Skills — this is quite remarkable."
Adam’s praise made all three beam with pride.
"Heheheh, my name is Megumin! I am an Arch-Wizard who has mastered Explosion Magic! From today onwards, I am the Number One in Explosion Magic! Ahahahaha!"
Megumin’s chuunibyou surfaced.
But now she had the power to back up such boasting. Even Kazuma knew this, so he held his tongue.
It definitely wasn’t because he feared she might get excited and blast him with an Explosion!
"Well then, the Aqua Familia is officially established."
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