Chapter 545 - 545: Status Update

Inside the Hestia Familia's home, the girls' bright voices echoed through the corridors like a succession of cheerful songs.

Some of the girls who had once belonged to the Artemis Familia were discussing the blonde Elf's overly bold actions and encouraging the Moon Goddess to be more proactive, while others shyly came forward to welcome Bell home.

Only when the door to the room closed did the lively, cheerful atmosphere outside finally fade away.

Before heading to the tavern, Bell still had one very important thing to do.

Update his Status.

This was how Adventurers grew, and it would also provide a numerical summary of everything Bell had accomplished during the expedition.

What had Bell experienced?

How much effort had he put in?

Falna would give them the answer.

"Goddess-sama, where did Welf go?"

Bell removed his clothes and lay face-down on the bed.

When Juggernaut attacked, Bell had once again come face to face with death. Hestia must have noticed something when the [Sacred Flame] burned, so Bell decided to ease the Goddess's worries by keeping the conversation casual.

Right now, the girls in the house were all getting themselves ready to head to the Hostess of Fertility together. But when Bell tried to pass the news along to Welf, Lili and the others told him that Welf had left Orario yesterday afternoon.

"Bell, you told me before that the Goddess that boy likes might still be somewhere in Gekai, right? Well, there was news about Phobos yesterday."

Hestia took a silver needle from the wooden box and sat on Bell's back.

"...How reliable is it?"

Bell thought over the circumstances and quickly asked for more details.

Goddess Phobos had deep ties to Ares, the God of War. Even if she were still in Gekai, she should have been concealing her identity, making it unlikely that information about her would spread so easily.

"Apparently she got into some kind of dispute with a Goddess from the Kingdom of Telskyura. Phobos doesn't have any Familia members of her own, so she had no choice but to use her Authority over fear and escape while everyone was thrown into chaos. That's how word got out."

Hestia honestly told him everything she knew.

Goddess Phobos governed the most primal form of fear. By invoking her Authority, she could strip soldiers on a battlefield of their will to fight. Such a distinctive power was more than enough to confirm her identity.

Phobos's exact whereabouts were unclear. All anyone knew was that she had appeared somewhere near Orario, but the information that she was still in Gekai was highly credible.

By the time Welf learned about it, Bell had yet to return to the surface, and the Guild was still enforcing strict restrictions on travel in and out of Orario. That was why Welf had set out alone.

"He said that if he couldn't find her, he definitely wouldn't linger. He'd come back soon."

Hestia recalled Welf's words and passed them on to Bell.

There were many satellite towns around the Labyrinth City, with the port town of Melen being the most prominent. As part of Orario's trade network, these settlements were quite prosperous.

Given Phobos's intelligence, she certainly would not remain in the same place after her whereabouts had been exposed. So even without knowing where the Goddess had gone, Welf had hurriedly set out and decided to leave the rest to luck.

"I understand. I hope luck is on Welf's side..."

Bell silently sent his blessing to his distant friend.

There was only a little over a week left until the night of the full moon, and Haruhime's situation was becoming urgent. Bell simply did not have the time to help Welf search for the Goddess.

"He's only gone out for a little trip. I'm sure he'll be fine."

Hestia moved her fingers deftly, weaving Falna across the boy's back.

Her voice had been gentle only a moment before, but suddenly it filled with shock.

"B-Bell, your Status has broken past the limit again, and you can level up! There's also a Skill that feels really ominous. It's making me a little scared... Should I stop?!"

Hestia hurriedly asked for Bell's opinion.

Gods were naturally drawn to the unknown. When a rare Skill awakened in one of their Familia members, most Gods would ignore their instincts and eagerly uncover whatever mystery lay behind it.

Hestia was different.

She did not want Bell to be hurt.

She could sense something ominous surrounding this newly awakened Skill.

"Goddess-sama, let's put the level-up aside for now. As for the Skill, please keep going."

Bell answered without hesitation.

Normally, once an Adventurer's Status reached D rank or above, they would choose to level up immediately as long as they possessed the necessary [Excelia].

Bell, however, had the [Goddess's Blade].

He did not want to level up yet. Instead, he intended to push himself to the limit and see exactly how much this weapon, which devoured Excelia, could raise his maximum potential.

His reasoning was simple.

When an Adventurer's "container" changed after leveling up, the benefit provided by each individual Status point changed as well.

To use an extreme example, a single point of [Strength] gained by a first-class Adventurer could increase their attack power by an amount that might require many Status points from a Level 1 Adventurer to match.

That meant the higher Bell's level became, the more important it was to understand exactly how much Status he could accumulate before advancing.

As for the dangerous Skill, Bell believed that with [Sacred Flame] as a Development Ability, even a self-destructive Skill could still prove useful at a critical moment.

Besides, Skills, Magic, weapons...

They were all cards he could choose when and how to play.

In most situations, Bell himself could decide whether to use them, so there was no reason to reject a new Skill.

"All right..."

Hestia pushed down her unease and continued working.

Once she had finished updating Bell's Status, she carefully copied everything onto a sheet of parchment.

"It's only been about three weeks since you reached Level 3, and you've already pushed your Status past the limit again... You must have been forcing yourself too hard, idiot Bell..."

Hestia complained aloud, but once Bell sat up, she handed him the parchment and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

Her ample chest pressed against the boy's shoulders as Hestia stared blankly at the parchment in his hands.

Her blue eyes held both the lingering fear of nearly losing him and the simple affection and love she felt for him.

The atmosphere between them was warm and sweet.

Both of their gazes fell upon the parchment.

...

Bell Cranel

Affiliation: Hestia Familia

Race: Human

Class: Adventurer

Deepest Floor Reached: 59th Floor

Equipment: [Ice Hawk], [Goddess's Blade], [Goliath's Scarf]

Money: 86,740,000 Valis

Status

Lv3

Strength: D558 → SSS1175

Endurance: D592 → SSS1330

Dexterity: D514 → SSS1265

Agility: D526 → SSS1304

Magic Power: D520 → SSS1335

Luck: F

Sacred Flame: G

Magic:

[Firebolt]

[Argo's Ship]

Skills:

[Liaris Freese]

[Argonaut]

[Netherworld Burial Flame Eyes]

· After experiencing a state of death, grants a temporary bonus to all Status.

· The duration and magnitude of the bonus vary according to the user's level.

· As the user's understanding of death deepens, they become able to see and sever [Death].

· The specific effects change according to the number of times the user has experienced death. Current progress: 1% (Able to perceive an enemy's weak points. Attacks against those weak points receive an increase in attack power.)

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