Conversation
Haru was somewhat surprised by Hephaestus' words. After all, he had made nothing but promises until now, yet she could trust him to this extent.
"...I see"
Looking elsewhere, Haru had a small smile that vanished shortly after. He had a lot to talk about with Hephaestus, they were only the beginning of their conversation.
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"...help you find a suitable sword?"
After breaking the ice with their conversation about what had happened in the Dungeon, Haru hinted that he had about two days to find a sword suitable for him. He couldn't picture himself wielding another type of sword other than an Eastern one, which he added during the conversation.
"Exactly. I have no idea which store could sell me what I'm looking for, and I'm pretty sure to look through all the stores in the Tower of Babel would take more than two days. I understood it was quicker to ask directly to the head of the familia from where these shops originated in the first place.."
It wasn't such a bad idea. If time was not enough, then Haru could ask someone who knew the tower certainly better than him. Since many shops, if not all, had some connection with the Hephaestus familial.
When asked, Hephaestus pondered about it for a moment. If his goal was to find an Eastern sword suitable for him, then she knew a particular store located on the 4th floor of Babel, further away from the other shops just because the quality of the weapons was for beginner adventurers.
"I think there is a store for you. But are you sure it's okay to take a sword from there? If it's more convenient, I can forge something for you in my spare time."
Hephaestus would pay attention trying not to create anything too incredible, but something that could be of help to Haru in the dungeon, but to her answer, Haru shook his head, since that was not the reason why he entered the familia at all.
"If I can't find anything in the store you mentioned, then I will kindly ask for your help. I thank you in advance if it would happen."
Haru didn't mean to be presumptuous. Of course, Hephaestus now trusted him, and it made him happy because the day he began to devote himself to his mission was no longer like a mirage. However, the problem was that if he didn't try to see in the shop if something could impress him, in his mind, it was no different from exploiting her kindness. If for example, he had visited all the shops of the Tower of Babel without success, Haru would have accepted her will to forge something for him. But in this case, it would only be an act of pure laziness.
'I'm not like Hestia, though.'
Smiling at his comparison as Hephaestus nodded to confirm she would forge a weapon for him if he couldn't find a suitable sword; she enthusiastically proclaimed she had completed the assigned work for today. As she rose from her chair to stretch her legs, Hephaestus also remembered something important.
"...Right, we have to update your status!"
Her words surprised him. After Misha entered the room to scold him, he had forgotten about updating his status. The system would update it automatically only in case of danger, Which is why he hadn't had a chance to see the results of his fight at all.
Nodding at her words by taking off his shirt, Haru laid his belly down on the couch, while Hephaestus sat on top of him using a needle to spill a drop of blood on his back, necessary for the process.
'I think I'll update it as well.'
More than once he understood how using the system to update his status did not affect the falna behind his back, which meant it didn't matter how many times he would update the status before Hephaestus would, it wouldn't change behind his back. Whereas only the God or Goddess who had given the blessing could modify or understand since it was, in fact, their handwriting.
With these thoughts in mind, Haru updated his status while Hephaestus, who had just finished, copied the contents on the sheet that would show the differences in his parameters...
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[Status]
•Name: Haru Yamaguchi
•Age: 17
•Race: Human
•Lv 1
•Strength: 203G → 360F
•Endurance: 200G → 394F
•Dexterity: 143H→ 261G
•Agility: 202G → 387F
•Magic: 0I
•Skills: [Intuition's Holder:SSS] - [Perseus' Descendant:I] - [Survivor's Might:I]
•Development Abilities: [Swordsman: H]
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[Perseus' Descendant]
Rank: I
(Skill conferred after having met particular prerequisites.)
Effects;
-The motivating force of the user who pushed him to go further, made him exceed the requirements to receive this blessing. The user will be able to analyse more accurately the moves of a monster. Hitting a monster's weak point increases the user's attack exponentially.
[Survivor's Might]
Rank: I
(Skill conferred after having met particular prerequisites.)
Effects:
- When the survival of the user is in danger, the latter will experience an increase in all the parameters. Obtained after surviving an experience with less than 10% probability of success
---
Haru was surprised at the idea of having unlocked two skills. However, he could not read everything because before he could. He heard a scream in surprise, which he expected by putting together both his growth in parameters and the unlocking of two skills.
"It must be hard for Hephaestus, too..."
By whispering these words, Haru felt it was a bit strange, given the fact an average adventurer should not have such a high speed in increasing his parameters. However, she knew he had done everything possible to put himself in danger. His body felt almost as if it could shatter at any moment after finishing the last monster, enough to pass out in the middle of the Dungeon.
Hephaestus could realize Haru had faced great danger, to the point of fainting in the dungeon, and yet she had never heard of anyone unlocking two different skills at the same time, which had excited her enough to let her emit a scream in surprise. Yet that was just the tip of the iceberg. Most of his parameters had skipped an entire rank. They raised from G to almost E, which was rare, even among people who faced dangers above their possibilities.
'Is the fact he's dealing with the Dungeon on his own, what made his parameters increase this fast?'
She had no choice but to end at this conclusion. Not only did he find himself against a swarm of Killer Ants, known to be lethal against adventurers if they found themselves in a group in the same place, in addition to that he was even alone. And although he might care little, it was a heavy burden on the mind, and the body.
"...Perseus' Descendant..."
Hephaestus was visibly surprised. The name was not at all new to him, but in the same way, it was a twist that she did not expect. Usually, having a skill descended from a known entity meant to be in part a reincarnation of these entities, and if it was not this, then Haru's character and actions fit in an incredible way to those of the entity in question, encouraging the appearance of a skill linked to them.
With these words, she rose from above him by handing the sheet showing the differences from before.
Looking at the sheet, Haru sighed. His parameters increased a lot. Besides, he could feel it on his body at this very moment as his muscles were much sturdier; His five senses seemed sharper; He could feel his body was more flexible; His speed tremendously increased. It was as if he had gone through a small evolution, at least from his perception.
"I didn't expect to obtain so much. I don't think it should be said, however, it was worth putting myself in danger. If I kept my growth steady, then I would grow strong in no time, don't you think?"
His words made her shook her head. It was true that his parameters would increase quickly, allowing him to level up at a surprisingly fast. But at the same time, Hephaestus felt that if Haru intended to put himself in danger by any means possible, then they would lose something important, even if she did not know what it was.
"I understand your desire to increase your parameters, but try not to exaggerate if you're not sure you can continue. It would be rude of you not to complete the promise you made with me, after all."
Hephaestus did not want Haru to take it too seriously and start doing anything to attract danger to himself. But she certainly wasn't aware of his system powers, which could shrink that danger. The reason why even though Haru nodded and confirmed that he would not exaggerate, he knew that was not exactly true. He would exaggerate when he knew the situation was actually under control. The only exception was when the danger found him, and not the other way around.
---
Hephaestus and Haru's conversation had gone on for a while, but after that, Haru saluted Hephaestus for the day, pointing out that he would take the two days off to rest, and then return to training as a blacksmith. However, he was teased by Hephaestus who asked if he would do so with his goal of obtaining the development ability [Blacksmith] in a single month if he also took days off. To this question, Haru replied there was no problem and that he had full confidence in his abilities, even though he was more reliant on the power of his skills combined with his understanding of how to forge more things.
Also saying goodbye to Hestia before leaving, Haru went to his house since he had nothing else to do for the day, while the sun left the place for the moon in the sky.
The next day, Haru woke up with the idea of making his meeting with the adventurers of the Takemikazuchi familia 'official'. They had asked to be able to speak to him as soon as he was free. Since they were the ones who had saved him, Haru had no intention of letting them wait longer than they should, which is why he was now in the Guild, sitting on one of the couch reserved for adventurers to speak with their advisors privately.
"...Since they specified that any day was fine, how about tomorrow? I don't know what their interest is in having a conversation with you, but in case it's best to settle this matter as soon as possible."
Misha's words led Haru to nod. He didn't know what they wanted from him, but since these two days was free time for him who couldn't do anything as serious as training himself to exhaustion, venturing into the Dungeon or forging because of the injuries to his arms. It was better to deal with the matter by taking advantage of it, rather than postpone until who knows when.
'It also means that I have only today to find a suitable sword...'
He knew that making Hephaestus forge a sword for him would take some time. So, even if he didn't find something suitable, Haru chose he would buy a sword while waiting.
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(Plot will proceed further from the next chapter)