Chapter 132

Eleni let out a deep sigh as she weighed the options before her.

The development abilities 'Fervour' and 'Intuitive Parry' both holding potential in her eyes, and she found herself torn between the two.

After entering Bahamut's room, the goddess had diligently updated Eleni's status board, revealing a list of remarkable development abilities.

Like those who had come before her, the standard development options of Hunter and Abnormal Resistance were present.

However, it was two unique skills that had captured Eleni's attention.

The description of the 'Fervour' skill was that: "When an enemy dies near the user, the aversion of death spurs the user to hit that much harder. Each nearby death adds a 1% boost to strength, endurance and agility to a maximum of 20% for 15 minutes."

The potential to grow stronger with each nearby death was undeniably alluring, especially in the heat of battle.

The 'Intuitive Parry' skill, on the other hand, offered a different kind of power: "When targeted with a critical physical attack by an unseen enemy, there is a 100% chance to instinctively parry the first attack, 60% for the second, and 10% for a third. Trigger once every 24 hours and scales based on the users stats."

The prospect of having a safety net against unseen deadly strikes was undoubtedly appealing, particularly against people.

Eleni found herself in a quandary, unable to decide which skill would serve her better.

She contemplated the pros and cons of each, her brow furrowed in deep thought.

As Eleni grappled with her decision, she considered seeking Draco's counsel.

However, a sense of pride held her back.

The others had made their choices independently, and she thought it would be too embarrassing to ask for help.

She even wondered if it would be perceived as a lack of confidence in her own judgment capabilities.

Bahamut watched the young girl with amusement, patiently waiting for her to seek guidance.

Yet, it soon became clear that the thought of asking had not even crossed Eleni's mind.

The goddess understood the dilemma Eleni faced, having observed similar struggles in those who had come before.

‘The Fervour skill could be invaluable in group fights and against weaker foes, providing a tangible boost to my combat capabilities,’ she mused.

‘But with Intuitive Parry... wouldn’t just closing my eyes when in a pinch also trigger its effects?, however I can’t be sure till it is verified’ she pondered.

As the minutes ticked by, Eleni found herself leaning more and more towards the Fervour skill.

While the Intuitive Parry offered a tempting safeguard, she reasoned that it would be more beneficial to focus on enhancing her offensive capabilities.

The ability to hit harder and faster would ultimately prove more advantageous in the long run.

Steeling her resolve, Eleni straightened her shoulders and spoke with as much confidence as she could muster.

"I choose Fervour," she announced, her voice betraying a hint of uncertainty.

Bahamut regarded her with understanding, having expected this decision.

"Are you sure?" she asked, sensing Eleni’s slight hesitation.

"Yes, I'm sure," Eleni replied, pausing for a moment before adding, "maybe." she felt her hesitation resurface after Bahamut’s probing remark.

Bahamut closed her eyes and nodded her head, satisfied with Eleni's decision.

She had been inclined to advise Eleni to take the skill Fervour in the first place.

The second skill, while it sounded promising, was simply too tricky to use effectively.

Instinctively parrying an attack was quite a risky ordeal, especially in a many-versus-one scenario.

Parrying involved redirecting the force of an attack and stealing steps to set up a counter-attack, which meant that it was good in a one-versus-one scenario.

Assuming a sudden attack occurred in a group fight when focused on several enemies, the skill might activate, parrying a sudden attack.

This was good, but would the other enemies not exploit the opening when she is focused on parrying an attack?.

What if there were multiple critical blows heading in her direction?, how would the skill handle such a scenario?.

The skill description even displayed the chances reduced after the first successful parry, it simply wasn’t worth it.

Another problem was that parrying was not an ideal skill against the strong dungeon monsters, who didn't often rely purely on raw instinct and brute strength.

Many of these creatures also had larger, more powerful bodies than most adventurers, rendering the parrying skill less reliable.

Imagining how badly it would end in a situation where Eleni was forced to parry an attack from a monster way beyond her level sent shivers down Bahamut's tail.

Additionally, the skill's activation was instinctual, making it extremely difficult to control.

This was why Bahamut reasoned that it would be better for Eleni to choose a skill that would boost her stats, helping her to evade situations where she would need to parry in the first place.

This would be a more reliable and consistent approach, especially given the sometimes unpredictable nature of the dungeon environment.

With Eleni's decision made, Bahamut updated her status, and she became the sixth level 2 adventurer of the Bahamut familia.

…………………………………………………………………………….

After Eleni exited Bahamut's room, the atmosphere turned slightly awkward between Clair and the goddess.

She still felt uncomfortable around the goddess, as she was the one who had stolen the heart of someone she loved.

Clair also couldn't bring herself to hate Bahamut, now that she understood the reason behind Draco's rejection.

Discarding her distracting thoughts, Clair focused her attention on the status sheet Bahamut had handed her.

The document outlined her development options, presenting her with four distinct abilities to choose from.

She quickly set aside the first two choices - Hunter and Abnormal Resistance - as she closely examined the descriptions of the remaining two skills.

The first was called Fatigue Resistance, a skill that would boost her resistance to fatigue and enhance her endurance stats by an undisclosed amount.

The other skill, Pointed Edge, would increase her piercing power when wielding a spear.

Both options were quite promising, but Clair felt drawn towards the Fatigue Resistance skill.

She believed that this utility-focused ability could potentially enhance the effectiveness of her existing skill, 'Chronological Acceleration.'

The prospect of bolstering her endurance and reducing the side effects of her ability appealed to her more than the offensive Pointed Edge skill.

After careful consideration, Clair made her choice and selected the Fatigue Resistance skill.

She felt confident that the Pointed Edge option would still be available during her next level-up.

The skill seemed to revolve around the use of her primary weapon which was the spear, a weapon well-suited for piercing attacks.

With her decision made, Bahamut updated Clair's status, officially making her the seventh level 2 adventurer in the Bahamut Familia.

As Clair exited the goddess's room, neither she nor Bahamut spoke a word, but they understood each other's unspoken sentiments.

Outside, Vasiliki's voice called out, "Draco nii, get up. It's your turn.".

Seeing the unresponsive Draco, Vasiliki poked him along the ribs, triggering an unexpected reaction.

Startled by the unexpected contact, Draco rose to his feet with a yelp, much to Vasiliki's amusement.

‘Hoh, so he's ticklish around the ribs,’ she noted, a mischievous smile spreading across her face.

Draco felt a tinge of embarrassment as he looked around the corridor, realizing he had fallen asleep during meditation.

Putting together what had happened, he lightly smacked Vasiliki on the head with his tail, ignoring her protests, before speaking.

"Is everyone done with their level-up?" he asked, nonchalantly brushing off the incident.

Just then Bahamut emerged from her room.

"Yes, Draco. Clair has just completed her level-up, and it's now your turn to enter." she answered.

The goddess then  gestured towards the door, her face filled with varying emotions.

Draco nodded and proceeded to enter Bahamut's room, slightly apprehensive about the process.

Within Bahamut's room, Draco immediately hung a magic tool on the door.

It was a device he had bought a few weeks prior in preparation for this day.

The tool was very expensive and designed to block all sound from exiting a closed room.

Draco needed this if he didn't want his family to hear his screams of agony during his special level-up process.