The light gradually receded.
Three items broke free from the luminous sphere and drifted gently to land before Lucas.
When he saw what they were, Lucas's eyes blazed with an intense light. The corners of his mouth, twitching upwards uncontrollably, were harder to suppress than an AK-47, and he was utterly consumed by ecstasy!
"Holy crap, hahahaha, jackpot! Three items! One more than last time! This is freaking awesome!"
He waved his arms and danced about, eagerly snatching the treasures into his hands.
He recognized two of them:
One was a thick, exquisitely bound leather-bound tome—undoubtedly, a [Grimoire] containing an unknown magic.
The other was a black envelope sealed with the [Lucas Familia Emblem] in crimson wax—the Familia Invitation.
"Familia Invitation... Grimoire..."
Skipping over these two, he focused on the third item.
As he concentrated, the item's information miraculously appeared before his eyes.
[Name]: Recipe: Bacon Potato Rolls
[Origin]: System
[Type]: Knowledge
[Effect]: Records the secret recipe for the delicacy Bacon Potato Rolls. Consuming it grants a temporary 'All Stats +5%' buff, lasting 2 hours.
[Description]: A snack so delicious it'll make you cry! It's the onions, I added onions!
…
"A recipe? Is the system trying to steer me towards cooking?"
Just as the thought crossed his mind, he noticed the stat-boosting attribute, instantly dismissing any idea of just storing this away.
"I have to learn this. Cooking… my skills… I feel like they're passable, right?"
He chuckled, tucking the recipe away safely, and turned his gaze to the Grimoire.
"Lady Demeter, hear me! Holy Maiden, bless me! I offer half the lifespan of an Evilus executive in exchange for a high-damage, burst-type, versatile attack magic, preferably fire-based to synergize with Scorch."
Clasping his hands together, he closed his eyes and whispered the prayer. In this moment, Lucas felt he had never been so devout in his life.
The brutal beating he'd taken from the Orc had given him a severe case of firepower deficiency anxiety.
Remembering how Scorch's DPS against the Orc felt like gently scraping away a callus made his scalp tingle.
"Reveal!"
[Name]: Grimoire: Fireball
[Origin]: World of Warcraft
[Type]: Knowledge
[Effect]: Ignites and expands mind into a fireball, projecting it over a distance to strike a target. Upon impact, it triggers a violent explosion, causing fire damage.
[Description]: Greatness, needs no explanation!
…
"Holy Fuckkk!"
"It's here, it's here! The classic fire spell is finally here!"
Lucas was so excited he nearly jumped on the spot!
The signature spell he'd been longing for, the hallmark of a true mage, had finally arrived!
Without even needing a detailed look, Lucas knew that compared to the pathetic Scorch, Fireball's power coefficient was far higher. After all, this was the most common primary offensive method for mages across countless worlds.
Its prevalence wasn't due to simplicity, but because it was effective. Of course, its true potential depended on the user.
In the hands of a cheat-like instant-cast freak like Lucas, this already powerful fireball would be absolutely, ridiculously broken. He could only imagine how satisfying farming monsters would be now.
It was time for the Dungeon's monsters to experience what true firepower coverage felt like.
Barely containing his excitement, Lucas pushed all other trivial matters from his mind, completely ignoring the messy pile of equipment, items, and loot he'd dumped on the floor.
He had only one thought: learn Fireball as quickly as possible, then head to the Dungeon for a test run.
Thinking further… the little combo of Fireball paired with the 'Ignite' effect granted by Scorch.
He was surprised to realize: this combination not only provided subsequent damage-over-time via the debuff, but thanks to his skill effects, it could also deliver substantial burst damage.
From now on, whether he was instantly vaporizing Small-Category Monsters, battling Large-Category Monsters, or even tangling with Super Large-Category Monsters or Floor Bosses, he had a strategy.
"Perfect!"
---
Meanwhile.
Jeanne d'Arc, dressed in comfortable loungewear, her damp golden hair cascading down her back, cautiously pushed open the bathroom door.
She peered around like a startled fawn, checking that a certain scumbag wasn't lying in ambush, before quietly letting out a sigh of relief.
The sudden assault from earlier had left a deep psychological scar.
"Wait!" Suddenly, Jeanne's expression shifted. "What is that guy doing? How can he act like nothing happened after doing that to me!!"
Thinking this, her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and anger as she searched for the culprit, her gaze eventually landing on the figure in the courtyard through the window.
There the jerk was, clutching the Grimoire with a look of feverish excitement, completely absorbed in the joy of learning magical knowledge, utterly oblivious to her presence.
The sight of him being so thoroughly engrossed inexplicably lit a small, irritating flame in the pit of her stomach.
"Hmph—!"
She flopped onto the sofa in a huff, grabbed a pillow, and began viciously kneading, squeezing, and contorting it!
"Scumbag Lucas! Why don't you just drown in your ocean of magic with that stupid book!"
"Gurgle…"
Her stomach chose that inopportune moment to protest. Jeanne's face reddened.
"Stupid Lucas, this is all your fault!!!"
If Lucas had witnessed Jeanne's series of contradictory, almost self-conflicting actions, he would have sighed in recognition:
Truly, it's best not to try and guess a woman's thoughts. You'll never figure them out anyway.
Even the Holy Maiden was no exception.
"Tick, tick, tick."
The hands of the magic stone clock on the wall moved steadily.
Jeanne stared fixedly at it, the temperature in her cheeks rising bit by bit with the passing seconds, gradually reaching a red heat state.
"LUCAS—!!!!!!"
The accumulated shame and annoyance finally erupted into a piercing shriek!
A certain someone looked up from his ocean of magic with a dazed expression.
"Huh!?"
His eyes met the pair of pale eyes burning with shame and fury from the sofa!
It slowly dawned on him, and his heart instantly screamed 'Oh crap!'
Remembering his earlier actions, a chill ran down his spine. He broke out in a cold sweat.
"J-Jeanne, let me explain… wait, no, let me justify…"
"I'm not listening, I'm not listening, I'm not listening!!"
"…"
---
In the end, after a full hour of apologizing, placating, signing countless unequal treaties, and promising future IOUs, Lucas finally managed to get Jeanne to temporarily let the matter drop.
"Here, Jeanne."
Lucas strained to produce his most sincere smile.
"Let's update your Status? You must be curious about your progress too, right?"
Lucas's intentions were as plain as day.
His little scheme was so transparent Jeanne almost felt embarrassed to call him out on it.
She shot him an exasperated glare, but ultimately couldn't resist her own curiosity.
Blushing slightly, she hugged the pillow and obediently lay face down on the sofa.
Gazing at the flawless, curvaceous expanse of pale skin before him, Lucas instinctively licked his lips. But remembering the task at hand and the recently quelled storm, he suppressed his death-wish impulses.
A pinprick, a drop of blood fell and dissolved into the beautiful back. Then, the Falna appeared.
As Lucas traced the characters, the final Status panel materialized before him.
Strength: G299 → D552 (+253)
Endurance: G284 → D555 (+271)
Dexterity: F343 → C673 (+330)
Agility: F355 → B706 (+351)
Magic: F399 → C680 (+281)
---
Looking at this growth rate—a total increase of 1,486 points in her basic abilities from just one day of adventuring—it was a terrifyingly high number.
Even though Lucas had been somewhat prepared for an abnormal result, it still shocked him.
His own rapid improvement was fast purely because he was a cheater who could rely on his system to add points, operating outside normal logic.
Jeanne's speed, however, was all due to pure talent.
This unparalleled, rocket-like growth rate delivered another critical hit of talent-envy to a certain someone.
Most crucially, a "+" symbol had appeared next to her Lv.1, indicating Jeanne was now eligible for a Level Up.
'Her basic abilities have met the standard, so she can level up... That makes sense. Even before coming to this world, Jeanne's achievements were more than sufficient to constitute a Excelia, far beyond what was needed. So it wouldn't be strange for her to skip ahead, and accumulating excess Excelia at lower levels to fuel later high-level advancements isn't uncommon in Orario either,' Lucas thought to himself.
By updating Jeanne's Falna, Lucas also noticed some issues he hadn't paid attention to before.
For instance, Jeanne, having been recruited here by the Familia Invitation, had her previously trained base abilities formatted. Apart from techniques and strategies, her basic physical and magical abilities needed to be trained and grown from scratch.
But!
The Excelia accumulated through the course of her life's journey, being indelible, were perfectly preserved.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Lucas silently transcribed the Falna onto a sheet of parchment and handed it to Jeanne.
She glanced at the staggering numbers, the corners of her eyes crinkling as a radiant smile spread across her face.
"I've improved so much. Why do you look so tense? Are you unwilling to smile?"
Lucas's face darkened. He pressed Jeanne down firmly into the sofa.
"Then let me ask you, who is your God!?"
Pinned beneath him, Jeanne felt her whole body go weak, utterly powerless.
Her beautiful eyes seemed to shimmer with unshed tears. She bit her lip tightly, refusing to speak.
But the blush spreading across her neck and ears betrayed her emotions completely.
"Holy Maiden, why don't you say it out loud!"
As he spoke, Lucas raised Jeanne's hands above her head, pinning her wrists with one hand, while his other hand trailed downwards.
"You dare challenge your God? As the Holy Maiden who serves me, you defy the natural order and rebel against heaven's law."
"This is no ordinary insubordination. It requires a heavy fist! You deserve to be punished!!"
Feeling the strange, attacking sensations roaming over her body, Jeanne's flushed face finally broke.
"Guh, let me go!"
"Too late!"
---
No one knows exactly what happened after that.
All that's known is that the Holy Maiden had to take another shower, her legs unsteady, her body staggering.