In a rundown church on the western side of Orario.
Hestia's face twisted into a grimace as she held a piece of paper in her hands.
"Level 2 in four days... how is that even possible?"
She sighed and put the poster down on the table.
"It must be a growth enhancing skill."
Alfia suddenly appeared behind her, causing Hestia to get startled and fall over.
"Why doesn't your body make any noise? I swear you are doing this on purpose."
Hestia said as she rubber her hip.
However, Alfia did not respond and glanced over at the paper on the table before walking away.
"Hey, what you said about it being a growth-related skill, is that true?"
Hestia stood and walked towards Alfia.
"It's just my speculation, but we do now know such skills exist, after all, we've seen it from my stubborn niece."
Alfia said as she quietly sat down on the couch.
"Sigh, speaking of which, out of all people that Belle had to fall for, it just had to be one of Loki's kids."
"Ugh! This is irritating."
Hestia grumbled as she sat down.
"I an... I may be a virgin goddess, but I am not that opposed when it cos to falling in love, in fact, I would like to fall in love one day."
"But really Belle!? A child of Loki, that's who you picked?"
She continued as she rested her chin on her palm.
If one were to put it nicely, Hestia and Loki shared a 'rivalry.'
The two could hardly stand each other and bickered every ti they t.
However, rather than outright hating each other, their rivalry was more of a petty, long-standing feud.
Loki's jealousy over Hestia's "assets" was an open secret, while Hestia, on the other hand, simply couldn't stand Loki's teasing and crass attitude.
Their interactions were filled with bickering, but at the end of the day, it was nothing more than a clash of personalities rather than true animosity.
'Ugh, if we ever et again, I bet Loki will brag to about her oh-so-talented child.'
Just imagining that scene was already giving her a headache.
Hestia continued to mutter discontentedly.
A vein popped on Alfia's forehead and turned her head to glare at the goddess beside her.
Without hesitation, she raised her hand and smacked Hestia on the head.
"Pipe it! You are whining too much."
Alfia warned before her gaze drifted to Belle's status sheet in her hands.
========================================
Belle Cranel
LV 1
STR: I 25 --> I 50
END: I 55 --> H 101
DEX: I 26 --> I 55
AGI: I 35 --> I 71
MAG: I 0 --> I 0
SKILLS: [Tenebris Vitalis] - A passive skill that heightens the user's pain tolerance and boosts physical endurance when exhausted.
[Liaris Freese]
MAGIC:
========================================
'Just from one training session, her stats basically doubled, completely surpassing her growth from previous updates.'
Alfia acknowledged just how much of a cheat the skill [Liaris Freese] was.
'The stronger the feelings... the stronger the effects of the skill...'
'The source of these feelings is Judas Spade...'
A sharp glint flashed through her eyes.
'I wonder...'
An idea ford in her mind.
...
With tired steps, Judas made his way back to Twilight Manor.
It was then a dreadful feeling washed over and gave him goosebumps.
'I suddenly got a bad feeling.'
He beca alert and disappeared from his spot and landed on a rooftop.
『Detect Presence』
『Sense Life』
『Search』
He looked at his surroundings, cast a few detection spells but found nothing.
'Was I wrong?'
Judas frowned, but since his life was not in danger, he chose not to think too much about it.
He shook his head and jumped from building to building all the way to the Twilight Manor.
Along the way, he heard quite a few people talking about him.
Particularly, his record-breaking rank up to level 2 and his healing efforts.
News traveled fast, and his actions today were too high-profile to be ignored.
'Silent Saint? That is what they are calling now?'
There was even an unofficial alias spreading to every corner of the city.
Judas only stopped for a few seconds and then continued his sprint.
It didn't take long for him arrive at the manor and walked through the gates.
"Well well well, look who we have here."
A familiar voice called out.
"If it isn't the Silent Saint of Orario."
Judas turned to see Loki leaning against the doorway, a wide grin on her face.
"First a savior, now a saint. How many nicknas are you planning to collect, kid?"
"That wasn't on purpose."
Judas replied with a shrug.
"You really blew the city with such explosive news, well that is to be expected since you just created a record that will probably will never be broken."
"But I didn't expect you to go the extra mile, going around and healing people with your magic."
Loki crossed her arms, her expression unreadable.
"I just felt like doing it."
Judas said simply, brushing past her.
Loki watched his retreating back and let out a sigh.
"Tell what really happened."
Judas froze mid-step.
"My intuition tells there's more to that dungeon incident than ets the eye."
Loki continued, pacing slowly.
"Like we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg."
She stopped just behind him.
"What caused the dungeon to go berserk in the first place? Funny how no one seems to be able to work it out."
"An entire investigation had been conducted and yet, no answers could be found, causing the guild to scratch their heads."
Silence.
"I have this feeling that you know the answer."
"If you don't mind... can you tell ?"
Judas remained still, his back turned to her.
Seeing this, Loki threw her head back with a soft exhale.
"You know what, I actually don't care about that... I'm more concerned about you."
"Sothing has been troubling you... I could see it the mont you ca back."
"Please."
Loki said, her voice softer this ti.
"I am your goddess. You're part of my familia now. You can trust ."
"Goodnight, Goddess Loki."
That was all Judas said before walking away.
Loki, the usually carefree goddess known for her teasing nature, watched him go with an unusually somber expression.
She let out a quiet sigh.
"One step at a ti, I guess."
Even without him saying much, she could tell... Judas carried more secrets than he let on.
As his patron goddess, she knew that trust wouldn't co easily, especially since he had only been in her familia for such a short ti.
Expecting him to open up to her so soon would be naive.
But that didn't an she would give up.
Loki wanted to be soone Judas could rely on, soone he could trust enough to share the burdens he was carrying.
Still, she wouldn't force it.
She wouldn't pry or demand answers.
Bonds weren't sothing that should be forced... they needed to form naturally.
'It's been a while since I t soone this interesting.'
A sly smirk replaced her sadness as she turned back toward the manor.
'Alright then, kid.'
'Let's see how long you can keep those walls up.'
-------
15 chapters at patreon/drdedot
User Comments
0 comments from readers