Chapter 11: status
Looking at the exhausted Bell, I decided it was enough for today and dismissed him. Bell disappeared to the church to wash off the sweat and grime and went out with Eina to buy himself better armor.
Looking at their disappearing figures, I turned to the church and entered it.
Descending to the basement, I knew from my soul search it was in a pretty bad state as soon as I entered the vicinity, but it was not my matter to deal with.
Turning my attention to the sleeping goddess, I tried waking her up.
"Goddess Hestia, wake up," I said, but the goddess did not react.
I tried shaking her but to no avail, leaving me with one last option.
SMACK A loud sound was heard across the church.
"AOW!" Hestia finally woke up from the sharp stimulation I gave her. She frantically looked around and spotted me at her bedside.
"W-What are you doing here!" She shouted.
"I simply want some information and to continue where we left off after you fainted before," I said as a matter of fact.
Hestia paused for a bit and remembered what I was referring to.
"I want to know who made Bell's weapon. I sense that it is similar to mine," I said.
"Huh? What do you mean similar?" Hestia was perplexed.
"It is alive, is it not?" I tilted my head slightly sideways.
"Wha- you have a weapon that is alive too! I thought Hephaestus told me it was forbidden to make them?" Hestia was even more perplexed.
"So my sense isn't wrong. That dagger is alive, and this Hephaestus is the creator, correct?" I put two and two together by the name she said.
"A- uh- um," She tried to say something but stuck, unable to find the words.
"If you do not need anything else, I will go now. Now that I have the blacksmith's name, I can go find information about them," I said.
"WAIT! I want to ask some questions as well!" Hestia stopped me.
"Very well, you provided me with information, so, naturally, I will do the same," I turned around and sat on the bedside.
"Ask what is on your mind," I turned to face her.
"Um- what level are you at?" She nervously said.
"Level?" I questioned a word I never really understood. I had heard it a couple of times while working at the pub but never really paid attention to it, as it was irrelevant to me at the time.
"Huh? You don't know what level is?" Hestia made an even more perplexed face.
"Indeed, could you please inform me what it means?" I tilted my head.
"Sigh, where are you from that you don't even know it?" Hestia sighed and explained Gods and Goddesses, Levels, dungeons, and status.
"To think I missed this much information," I digested all the information Hestia shared.
"I can't believe someone like you got so strong without Level," Hestia lay back on the bed in disbelief.
"Goddess Hestia, please let me join your familia," I stated
having a status grants me access to the dungeon without the need to sneak in, and the current way to tame Kirion is to kill any living being be it humans or beasts.
"HUH? R-Really," Hestia grabbed my hand and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
"Do not mistake my intention. I will not actively venture into the dungeon. I simply want access to it if ever Bell is in danger," I hid my true intentions.
"Bell again, why do you care so much for Bell?" Hestia pouted and angrily looked at me.
"Well, he reminds me of my younger self, and I see an untapped talent similar to mine," I reminisced for a bit.
'Dad, Dad, I want to become the strongest!' An image of a younger Xian said.
'Haha, I like that ambition of yours, but you can't change anything with only your words.' A hand patted her head and ruffled it.
"Hmph, even if you're Bell's teacher, don't take advantage and seduce my Bell!" Hestia's words brought me back to reality.
"Bell is just a child to me; no need to worry," I reassured her.
"and it would be beneficial for you to have me in your familia, no?" I added.
"Right, you said you wanted to be one of my familia members, right? Just lie down on this bed, and I'll do the rest.
"I did what I was told, and Hestia climbed onto my back.
She poked my back with a needle and started engraving, and after she was done, she held her hand above the engraving and let her falna flow onto my back.
Hestia grabbed a piece of paper and read the contents that appeared on the paper.
"WHAT!" She shouted out loud.
"What happened? Is there something wrong?"
"THERE IS, LOOK!" She held the piece of paper up to my face.
"You know I'm blind, right? This blindfold covering my eyes is not for fashion," I facepalmed at this idiocy.
"AH- Right... I'll read them out for you." Hestia began reading the contents.
===
Strength: 0 I
Dexterity: 0 I
Endurance: 0 I
Agility: 0 I
Magic: 0 I
Skills:
Atkinsii Aeonium: Increases Strength, Dexterity, and Agility proportionate to how many corpses surround the area.
"Wherever and whenever you are, death follows your every footstep."
Magic:
Soul Magic: Energy similar to mana, fueled by souls and shaped to whatever you desire.
Chant: (Modifiable)
Authority of Bloodlust and War:
(Authority over Bloodlust: By the will of your being, you can release a heavy bloodlust affecting every living being in the area.
Chant: "I am the demi-goddess of bloodlust, Punish thee who has angered me, you must. Fear me as I am your death, I proclaim. In my wrath, you'll find no escape from this flame."
Authority over War: By the will of your being, all targeted allies including yourself will grant them a large boost in all of their stat
Chant: "I am the demi-goddess of war, Pity thee who is my enemy, and abhor. Die by my blade with no regret, In battle's fury, your fate is set.")
Only one authority can be activated at a time, and after casting one of the authorities, the magic goes on a large cooldown.
Control Glacier: Manifest and form a glacier to your will and desire.
Chant: "O'Ice, listen to my call, In your frozen realm, I stand tall. Shape my desire, bend my will, With icy power, my purpose fulfill."
==
"How do you have so much magic!" Hestia exclaimed.
"Simply because I do not need falna from you gods and goddesses to use my magic. You gods expect to see one simply because humans never had falna, is that right?" I explained.
"I don't even get how this authority of bloodlust and war works. Are you a demi-goddess?" Hestia asked.
"I never called myself a demi-goddess nor have I heard anyone call me that, so I do not." I thought about the authority magic.
Though I never reached godhood, the only reason I died in my last life is that the gods there killed me without explaining their reason.
Though I managed to kill some and escape, I paid a heavy price, and death came to my doorstep from trying to recover.
But it seems this magic explained their reason. Almost reaching godhood is what they fear the most, and they pluck the bud before the problem grows.
~~
Author: hope you like it! I started to use chatGPT in combination with Grammarly to proof-read this, but all the writing will only be done by me don't worry, I will also triple-check what chatGPT said just to make sure it makes it no different from other chapters
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