A thought suddenly struck Hephaestus. "August, that ability from earlier."
There was no mistaking it. The spatial backpack was real, and it was not listed on his Falna.
"It's a unique offshoot of my portal ability," August explained. "A spatial inventory. It can store anything, as long as it isn't alive."
He demonstrated the skill again. With a wave of his hand, a few items materialized out of thin air, and with another motion, they vanished right back into the void.
"Wait. 'As long as it isn't alive.' Does that an there's a workaround to store living things?" Hephaestus caught the phrasing.
She was quietly stunned. For adventuring, travel, or even outright smuggling, an ability like this was a ga-changing asset.
"If you place a person inside a stasis pod or a sealed container, and then store that container in the inventory, you could theoretically transport them." August knew exactly how to min-max an ability like this.
Standard spatial storage rules usually rejected living organisms. But if you put a living being inside an object, the inventory registers the object, not the person. As long as the container provided enough oxygen and life support, the occupant would be fine—their consciousness effectively suspended until they were taken back out.
"You figured that out already? Impressive." Hephaestus hadn't expected him to think that far ahead.
Bypassing the living-being restriction by nesting them inside a viable container was a brilliant loophole.
"Unique ability?" Hestia murmured, hearing the term for the first ti.
"Think of it as an unlinked skill," August clarified. "For example, if I learn a brand-new ability in the future, the Falna might not recognize it. It would stay off the official record."
He laid it out clearly. It ant any powers he developed outside the bounds of this world's system would remain hidden from his status board.
"That's perfect. It gives you a hidden trump card." Rather than being disappointed that his skills wouldn't be fully recorded, Hestia nodded in enthusiastic approval.
"If you ever run into an enemy who can sohow read or analyze a Falna, your recorded skills will be an open book."
"In a fight, a sudden gap in information is the deadliest weapon."
"Having unrecorded abilities ans you can catch people entirely off guard."
"You can bait them and strike when they least expect it." Hestia crossed her arms, nodding like a seasoned tactician.
Feigning a weak hand only to pull a hidden ace was a devastating strategy. She was thrilled he had that advantage—and touched that he was willing to share the secret with her.
"Waaaaaaaaahh! My August is the best!" Hestia abruptly threw herself at him again in another tight hug. Taking in this honest, clever kid was the best decision she had ever made.
Hugs aside, Hephaestus brought up a more pressing issue.
"August, moving forward, your public class is a Supporter. That's not going to do your reputation any favors."
"Are you sure you can handle that?" Hephaestus knew how this city worked.
In Orario, rumors could kill. Triggering a massive phenonon only to be outed as a re bag carrier was going to put a target on his back, and throw Hestia's Familia right onto the roasting spit of public mockery.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not so hotheaded kid," August replied smoothly. "Public opinion is a waste of ti. I only need to focus on my own goals."
"The future will sort itself out." August didn't care about looking bad.
Once he achieved enough success, people would naturally start defending him and twisting the narrative in his favor anyway. As long as he didn't make any fatal blunders, his reputation would eventually fix itself.
"Heh. Exactly what I'd expect from my Familia!" Hestia grinned.
She agreed with his logic. She had never cared about her reputation anyway. As long as August proved his worth later on, all those snooty Gods outside would realize they had been played. They'd realize they were the actual clowns.
Thinking about how she had outsmarted the pantheon, Hestia could already picture the looks of pure regret on their faces.
Hephaestus watched Hestia happily embracing the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' trope.
She knew exactly what her friend was doing. Hestia was going to bide her ti in the shadows, wait for the perfect mont, and then pull off a flashy, dramatic reveal to rub it in everyone's faces.
"Whatever." Hephaestus couldn't help but chuckle.
She wasn't the one taking the heat anyway. When the truth finally ca to light, she'd have front-row seats to the best show in Orario.
"By the way, I noticed sothing else... Freya didn't seem interested in you at all." Hephaestus frowned, feeling a lingering sense of unease.
Given her obsessive nature, the Goddess of Beauty should have been the most curious deity in the room. So why did Freya look so bored after sizing August up?
"It's a matter of the soul," August deduced.
"Freya possesses a set of divine eyes that can see the true essence of a person's soul."
"She judges people based on that color and brilliance."
"I was just a regular guy back ho. My soul is probably as plain and mundane as it gets. Compared to the shining soul of a fated hero, I'm nothing special to look at." August laid out Freya's exact capabilities.
"That's cheating!" Hestia and Hephaestus hadn't realized Freya was still using that specific divine authority down in the lower world.
No wonder the Freya Familia effectively ruled the city. With an ability like that, she was hand-picking the most talented souls before anyone else even had a chance to spot them.
Both Goddesses felt a pang of envy.
"Because she can see a soul's true nature, every single mber of her Familia is a monster," August noted.
Pausing, his thoughts shifted to the original protagonist of the tiline.
"Speaking of which... according to the original plot, there's a strong likelihood that Freya targeted the destined hero as soon as he entered this city."
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
For every 100 Power Stones = I'll drop an extra chapter!
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