210 Torchbearer, Heaven's Cauldron

This chapter is a bit dramatic, but it should be the last of its kind in a while.

Enjoy!

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/Later that day…/

/Humming.../

'After a tiresome Denatus and a meeting with Ouranos, Hestia made her way back home to relay Silver the news of everything that happened within.'

"~I want to eat... Some pancakes...~"

'She hummed a pretty simple song as she walked on the streets, she seemed relaxed, yet tired...'

...

/Later.../

"... And that's what I discussed with him." Hestia said as she rested her head on Silver's chest

'Back in the Manor, Silver sat on a couch in his office together with Hestia as she sat on his lap.'

'He was silent, listening to what she had to say, rarely butting in to say anything at all, a technique often neglected by many males.'

"I see."

"So all along, there was no limit, it was instead, something prevenient from my own Skill." He mumbled as he closed his eyes

'Hearing from Hestia what Ouranos had to say about this situation was quite the eye-opener, it meant that there was indeed further room for growth if he had the time and dedication to follow through with greater challenges.'

My Skill allowed me to grow into a stage higher than most, that being S and SS ranks, thanks to the fact it reduces the difficulty of raising my Stats.

But it also limited me from treading further down this path.

Though it's possible to say that, were it not for my second Skill, I wouldn't have reached those values to begin with.

If people like Ais that give their everything for their own personal growth took a year to achieve S rank, what to say of me?

Of course, I have my own ways of attaining Exilia in large droves while also reducing the time it takes for me to walk through the Dungeon...

That certainly had an impact on my speedy growth.

Even then, considering the progressive difficulty of raising your Stats, and given how much effort I'm putting in every day, I would likely still be Level 2, but…

A lot happened exactly due to my quick growth, with one thing leading to another, to say I kept grasping at bigger and bigger stages would be an understatement.

Even so, now, knowing what that Status bug was is refreshing, as at least I got one answer.

And knowing that from now on, Hestia will be able to show me my Status without the bug is just as equally satisfying.

Perhaps now, I can start to aim even higher than before, as I stopped trying every time I reached those broken numbers.

However…

'Silver looked at Hestia, and seeing her humming a song lightheartedly gave him a slight headache.'

Isn't she going to mention what happened before?

The flames?...

"In any case, should we do a Status update?..." Silver asked as he looked at her

"Yup, I need to make a few changes to the blessing according to what Ouranos told me... So strip!"

"... Sigh, yes, Goddess." He replied with a helpless smile

…

'Silver took out his shirt and sat down on the couch, displaying his back to her.'

'She didn't enjoy the view though, immediately working her magic.'

/Shine…!/

'The colorful light emanated from his back as the divine hieroglyphs sprung into the air under Hestia's dexterous hands.'

"Hum…"

I need to change these here, here, and… Here!

/Flash.../

"Uhum..."

Now… The blessing will properly display his values even when he outgrows his vessel…

Wait… Why am I expecting something so nonsensical?

'Hestia grimaced as she pushed his Status back onto his back, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.'

Just when… When did it become a common occurrence?

'Though something seemed to disappoint her...'

"Nothing really changed about your Status…" She said dejectedly

'Turning his head to look at her, he said:'

"That's obvious."

"We updated it yesterday after the war game, and I didn't do anything apart from resting and moving around."

"If my Stats increased from merely walking around and drinking a bit, then I would start questioning the true nature of my Skill." Silver joked around as he put his shirt back

"Would you still like to see your Status?"

"Is there a need for it? We already have an exact copy of it... Somewhere."

I threw it inside my inventory as always since it's the most secure place I know... I just don't know where.

It's quite a mess.

"I guess you're right."

'Even so, Hestia took one last look at his Status before it vanished…'

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Mellios Silver

Level-4

Strength H-100

Vitality H-100

Dexterity H-100

Agility H-100

Magic H-100

Evolved body -> G

Perseverance -> F

Geneticist -> H

Berserker -> I

Magic:

>Magnum Opus Ambrosia

Skills:

>Vit Alhjin

>Infir David Missimus

>Neo Stur

>Decretum Proficiscor

>#####

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'There were two things that made her cringe, the first being the Development Ability she detested, the other being...'

'It may grant incredible options… But the off chance of having him lose his mind in the middle of a fight is… Daunting to say the least.'

'It took a lot of convincing from Silver for her to even consider that as a possible Development Ability.'

'As for the blurred-out nameless Skill, she still didn't bring it into herself to share.'

"Hestia?"

"Eh? I lost myself there for a moment." She said apologetically as she let him put his shirt on

"..."

/Awkward silence/

"A-Anyway, you sure grew…" She said after coughing awkwardly

"... Yeah, I did, not without help." He replied with a smile

"Perhaps… A bit too fast…"

This is a good time for that.

'He gently grabbed her waist, putting her on the side.'

"S-Silver?! T-T-This is n-not the time..."

'He got up from his seat, staring down at Hestia as her face grew extremely red and flustered…'

"From now on, I don't want you to update my Status anymore."

"?!?!?!?!"

'The way he phrased that meant…'

/Crack!/

'Her heart started to break...'

"Hm?..."

'Perhaps noticing this and Hestia's evergrowing tearful expression, he was quick to add:'

"That's not what I meant, I have no intentions of breaking up with you anytime soon…"

/THUD!/

"NEVER!" She cried out as she hugged him

'She hit her head against his chest, and Silver felt the full power of a divine existence as his chest muscles ached slightly...'

"..."

She is so dramatic... Makes me remember my childhood...

'When Silver was younger, he used to fake cry in order to convince his family to do things for him...'

'Her exaggerated honest tears brought forward those lost memories of his, though he felt no happiness either way.'

'No, that would be wrong, Silver did feel happy because he knew she cared greatly for him, and having someone like this in his life was honestly very fulfilling.'

You always overreact… Silly goddess.

I lost a mouthful of air there...

'Silver patted her head as he added:'

"As I said, I grew too fast."

"Challenges I could take on before are now nothing but slight chores now…"

"Adventures I could've taken are now mere inconveniences for me."

"I grew so fast that sometimes, I lack a proper understanding of what I can and not do."

"I don't want to grow arrogant if I don't already sound as such..."

"Just like now, I defeated Phryne, but now, I Leveled up, hence, how strong am I now?"

"If I were to enter the Dungeon, I would keep fighting monsters, and then what? Raise my Stats rapidly again?"

"Like that, I won't really have a grasp of myself."

"So I decided to try something else."

"Do not update my Status, so I'll only be able to grow through experiences and challenges, not through the Blessing."

'He kept brushing her hair to calm her down.'

"There is no need to worry about a time loss or anything of the like, Exilia doesn't simply vanish, it'll accumulate and wait for our next update."

"You could even say I'll accumulate even more as my Stats are low, whatever challenge I face will be a bit harder... Or not, it'll depend on what the future has to offer."

"I need some time to see for myself what I can achieve, and even if not testing my limits, at least get used to my raised Status."

The boost from Level 3 to 4 is significant, albeit not as big as from 4-5.

I'm a Level 4 that can face a Level 6, I should be more than capable of descending to the Deep floors, perhaps even further than that.

It's time to start preparing to go beyond into the unknown, places that hadn't been explored... At least for a long time.

"Give me some time for me to figure out things for myself… Is that possible?"

'Hestia looked at him for some time before nodding, albeit she didn't stop hugging him...'

'In fact, her arms became a bit tighter…'

"Silver… There's something I need to tell you…"

'She gathered a lot of strength and courage to say it…'

"..."

Is she finally going to tell me what those flames were about?

I'm pretty confident in what they are but… Hearing it from her is most ideal.

'Smiling slightly, he took her off guard by raising her chin and giving her a slight kiss...'

"Y-You... That's cheating..." She said as she turned her red face

"Who makes the rules?"

"... Humph..."

'Even then, his action was only good enough to lighten the mood a little, Hestia was still feeling a bit down.'

"I've been hiding something from your Status… Your new Skill."

"Hm..."

'Silver took a deep breath, and so did her, she expected to see some sort of disapproval, but she only saw his usual supportive expression as he held her.'

"Is it related to the flames?"

"Y-You're aware?!" She exclaimed in surprise as her eyes trembled

'Shaking his head, Silver said, "It's difficult to not notice it, they burned me after all." as he brushed her hair again.'

"..."

'When he said that, Hestia's expression immediately became somber and depressive.'

"Indeed… They did…"

/Clutch.../

'Her hands clutching onto his shirt, Silver held her tight.'

"..."

I once heard from Hermes that Hestia had been in charge of overlooking the sacred flame until Prometheus stole it, this tale isn't exactly secret, though most are unaware of the latter fact.

I'm unsure of what happened to it after though… I think it's worshiped somewhere... Might be worth it to visit it if I have the time.

Regardless, at that time, she used to be pretty serious and had a personality as fiery as the flame itself, similar in a way to Artemis.

But after she saw herself jobless, Zeus give her another job that made her 100% free, and her personality transformed into the caring and cute Hestia... O

Or through Hermes' own words... A NEET.

I can see that as when I met her for the first time, she was rather lazy and preferred to sleep in the Church most of the time.

I managed to give her a decent life thanks to my early efforts, so she never lacked a proper bed or food, even if the Church was a bit run down...

Even then, she slowly changed into someone more dependable that is willing to put in a bit of work.

Albeit, I'm sure that, if I were to drag her to a warm bed and just hug her, she might just stay there forever...

"I'm here for you just as much as you're here for me, it has been like that from the beginning..."

"So, please, share with me what that was so we can properly move forward... Is that okay?"

She's someone that has a deep connection to the flame, so she must feel a bit conflicted to see it in me... Maybe there is something she's considering that I don't know, something only she and the other Goddesses would know...

To see the stolen flame in me, does she perhaps consider herself to have sinned her duty? Or is the action of seeing it painful to her?

It's something I want to know, that I need to understand.

"..."

"Your new Skill is called, Caelum fax, the Heaven's Torch, the Divine Flame… Albeit, not exactly."

"The original flame of Heaven was stolen long ago by Prometheus and sent to the mortal world, long before the age of the Gods."

"Since then, it stood within the confines of the Sanctuary of Olympia."

"Olympia?..."

So that's the name.

"Your Skil is similar to it, yet not, a great flame that draws from the ire within all mortals, your own Flame…"

/Chuckles.../

"Don't you find it curious that it's also silver in color?"

"It is a bit ironic indeed..."

'She carefully grabbed his face.'

"Please... Do not let it be extinguished."

...

/One day later, after Silver's night talk in the Hostess of Fertility…/

'Silver walked around the streets of Orario, he didn't seem to have a destination as he often stopped to observe something before moving on.'

'Even then, he kept moving towards a single direction, stopping in front of a large Temple…'

'Well… Not exactly a temple, though it could be used as one.'

'A massive structure impressive even by Orario's standards surrounded by 4 massive walls decorated with white and gold details…'

'It was the home of the strongest Familia in the world… The Freya Familia.'

"Sigh…" Silver exhaled as he kicked a small pebble on the road

In the end, I came here.

'Silver silently stared at their massive and awe-spiring gates.'

(Image?)

'He obviously had a reason for being here, it was impossible for him to not have one.'

'Just like how Ottar grew in the presence of two giants, the Hera, and Zeus Familias, Silver wanted to rely on the current giants to also grow.'

'Now that he had a decent base to be proud of, it was time to start challenging those that stood above him.'

'Those that had already gathered fame and power, let him experience that and build his own strength.'

'The Loki Familia had yet to return, so the only alternative was…'

/Clang clang…/

'Even from here, Silver could hear the sounds of weapons clashing from within, and as he did, he cringed.'

'The very reason why he always avoided clashing with them or even meeting any of their members was due to their… Their fanatical devotion to Freya.'

'Silver more than once challenged and clashed with the members of the Loki Familia, he also met and trained with Takemikazuchi while also receiving advice from Miach regarding this world's alchemy, something that helped him in his preparations each time he was about to Level up.'

'He didn't mind relying on others, learning from them, that wasn't supposed to be something to be ashamed of, and if someone says it is, then such person is a fool.'

'If there is someone that can point out things he cannot, then please, do so.' Silver believed

'The more mistakes they can point out the better.'

"The problem is…"

This is a Familia of crazy fuckers.

If I were to come here while being lower level, and if for some reason I was to… Let's say, interrupt them as they were overhearing Freya's speech, then I would 100% die.

They are a bunch of psychos that wouldn't mind killing themselves if they were to dirt even a single spec of Freya's dress as a way to atone.

A cat person might even pull his own tail and ears out if Freya were to say she preferred humans, as in a futile attempt at attracting her attention.

I wonder how she feels about the environment she built for herself...

"Sigh, what am I even doing?" Silver mumbled to himself as he turned around

If I am to challenge them… Then it has to be one on one.

Entering their territory like this… Would only be giving them a reason to snap back at me like the crazy dogs they are.

'Silver left the road that connected to their walls, not realizing there was someone staring at him from within.'

…

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Notes

This chapter had his new Skill and a bit more things, I liked it even if it was rather uneventful.

I'll be back soon hopefully with Zero Fate.

Peace!