Chapter 61: Ji bun Yūji-2
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A/N: Finals are coming soon, I did this mass release so that I can fully focus on my exams. I may be way less responsive than I usually am. Or not at all. So be aware of that. I just didn't want to leave you hanging without updates.
Cheers.
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I teleported out of the dungeon, with Haruhime still passed out in my hands, and was greeted with the familiar house. It is the same one that Hephie and I lived in, although I naturally adjusted it. I opted to make it larger and fully made out of stone this time around. Not to mention that I was starting to get the hang of space-time magic… So the inside was bigger, much bigger than the outside would lead you to assume. I would say it's half the size of Orario at the moment, and it would only keep getting bigger as my expertise rises.
I also confessedly took some inspiration from a particular wizard world to make some wards, they would immediately alert me should someone unwanted guest step into our haven. The only people that could freely enter other than the Hephie and I were Tsubaki and of course the little fox in my hands. In fact, both Hephie and I saw no better option than to 'adopt' her, so to speak. She was still a sheltered noble child, after all. I knew for a fact that she couldn't handle herself alone.
'It might be better now.'
I looked at her sleeping figure. I used my magic to heal her to full and get rid of any stains. No one would guess she just had such a close battle. I was really proud of her. She was slowly leaving that weak shell behind and spreading her wings.
I remembered the time I asked the little fox about her feelings towards her parents. Or most specifically, her 'father'.
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We had just got back from 'buying' her from the Brothel 'Manager' and the fat slob seemed to get the wrong idea once again. "The customer couldn't separate from our little Haruhime, hehe." she said, rubbing her hands together. I suppose she wasn't wrong in a certain sense… After some negotiations, the price turned out to be 600k Valis( including the initial 100k).
Of course, you wouldn't be wrong to question whether or not I even had to pay. At this point, I could Solo the entire Ishtar Familia in a guild war. But that would come with an entire set of problems. Ishtar was no worse than Freya, in fact, I might even say that she is worse. Her jealously severely clouds her judgement. I would rather not be put in the same situation as the little bunny... For the life of me, I could not understand how he could always get away with the stupidest shit.
A god that is going to 'die' either way might as well take you with him… Essentially, nothing would change if a god killed a mortal. He would still only get exiled for two thousand years. Such a small duration was meaningless to a god. A small time-out would be a more apt description for it, compared to such a heavy term as an exile.
"Do you want to get revenge?" I asked her after we got her situated. The excited expression she hid behind her calm green eyes didn't escape me when she found out about the magical properties of the house. I suppose that it is natural, even Hephie— the goddess of forging— was quite surprised.
'It is pretty impressive.' I proudly tooted my own horn.
She didn't get it for a few seconds, and then it all dawned on her. Haruhime tensed up and couldn't speak for a full-on minute. A myriad of emotions assaulted her.
I sat there and let her run through her own feelings. Maybe it would do her good to talk about it.
Eventually, she couldn't handle the heavy atmosphere that kept growing. "I d-don't know… SwordKing-Sama." She muttered barely above a whisper, "I want to ask father why he wouldn't listen to me..."
"Is that so?"
She nodded to my open question.
It did make sense. There was no way for her to change in a night's time, nor was I hoping for her to change so suddenly. It wouldn't be hard to tempt her with talks of sweet vengeance and all that. I wouldn't do that, however. Each person makes his own choices.
"Anyway. You can sleep here." I gestured to the bed we were currently sitting on. It wasn't extravagant by any means, but it was above average, if only slightly foreign to the people of Orario. Just like the other rooms in this house, they were modern looking. It wasn't that hard to come up with the designs, if only because of my previous knowledge. With my forging and item making expertise, it was a breeze to make something as simple as a modern apartment as a room.
Yes. Each room was the size of an average flat. It even came with showers and bathrooms installed.
It was so comfortable that Hephie was currently in the process of fully moving in here. The entire workshop would be brought here instead of the Familia HQ.
But… It seems Haruhime didn't appreciate it as much. No, that was wrong, I guess she wanted something else. She just wouldn't say it...
"Thank you for everything, SwordKing-Sama." She paused. "I will do everything to repay your kindness."
'That's not how kindness works, missy…'
"You want an eastern style room, right?"
"This is already more than enough, SwordKing-Sama." she informed me. Although, the little sway of her tail gave away her real feelings. It was always quite interesting how beast-kin could barely hide their true feelings.
"Well, I am going to make one anyway."
Despite her not saying anything, the sway slightly intensified. I rolled my eyes at her behaviour, but made no further comments.
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(Hephaestus POV)
I gazed at the large, four-story building in front of me. It towered over all the other houses on the east side of Orario. I couldn't believe that he still dares to call it a simple 'house'. That was without the mention of the capacity on the inside... His space magic is getting better and better each day. His crafting as well will sooner surpass mine if he kept at this pace.
The scene of Ken promising to surpass me— the god me— on our first date as we looked at the cloud passed by in my mind. Of course, I didn't fully believe it back then. How could I?
But he seems to be steadily changing... I didn't know what XP and 'Tutorial World' meant. But going by the mad glint in his eyes when I caught him muttering those terms among others, I don't think it meant good...
I entered the house perimeter, and the surrounding air seemed to hum as if recognising my presence and allowing me to pass. Pressing the specific button I wanted on the door directly teleported me to a room. Another thing Ken had come up with.
In the room, in faint darkness, I could see Ken holding a passed out Haruhime in his arms. Although she was deceptively clean and unblemished, I knew for a fact that he took her to the dungeon. He seemed to be thinking about something rather hard.
"You took her to the dungeon?" I asked, although knowing the answer beforehand.
Ken looked at me for a few seconds. Rather, his blue eyes scanned me for a few seconds, glowing in the faint darkness, before a small smile crept upon his face. I knew that look. He's on that damn thing again...
"Yes." He replied briskly as he put the sleeping Haruhime on the couch. "Can you update her status?"
I grabbed my nose and sighed. "Sure."
[Ji bun Yūji]
To be your own hero. To resist your own fate. The skill holder's resolve directly influences the level of growth.
I widened my eyes at that skill. It was unfair, just as unfair as her blessing... I looked at the sleeping face of the cute fox.
"That is quite impressive..." said Ken. His hand rested on his face as he impassively studied the skill's description. He hummed competitively, no doubt calculating how more 'useful' Haruhime would be now.
"Ken. It's about time you turn it off for good." I finally had enough. This wasn't the Ken that I fell in love with. I didn't want to lose that Ken.
...I should have stopped him sooner.
"It is still the time, Hephie. I need to get stronger." He immediately said, not even looking at me. That response sounded too well-practised.
"When ARE you going to be strong enough, huh?" I said, inching closer to him. "Answer me, ken, when?"
He didn't reply.
"For fuck's sake! You are literally the strongest adventurer in Orario"
Ken shook his head, "I'm doing it fo—"
I hissed at him and slapped his chest. "Don't you dare use me as an excuse, Ken." My hand did hurt from the impact, but I disregarded it. I kept glaring at him at full force. There was no way I will back away from this.
"Weren't you the one that kept going on and on about my self-confidence before, huh?"
"Why won't you let me help you?" I weakly put my hand on his chest. He was always so unfair like that.
"Please, Ken. I don't want to lose you..." My voice choked out.
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[Akagi Ken]
Level:6
HP: 15600
MP: 7800
STR: 168
VIT: 170
DEX: 170
WIS: 168
Unallocated Stat points: 181
Valis: ~10mil
-Strength: E420
-Endurance: D521
-Dexterity: D530
-Agility: E460
-Magic: E410
Skills: Gamers Mind - Gamers Body - Instinct - Mind's Eye (True) - Mage - Mystery- MasterSmith- One-Handed Sword Mastery - Rejuvenation - Shapeshifting - Mixing- DivineTouch- Luck- Endless Libido- Battle continuation- Mana Burst.
Magic: Ele magic - Non-Ele magic - Inventory- Space-Time magic.
[MasterSwordsman: 15]
[MasterElementalist: 13]
[Dark/Holy ArchMage: Lv6.]
[SpacialTemporal Archmage: 11]
[MasterSmithing: Lv18.]
[MasterAlchemist: Lv1]
[Divine Touch: Lv3]
if you want to help me out or read advanced chaps, pt/MunirSM
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