3/5
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Hestia held up the parchment with a delighted smile.
"Raven-kun… congratulations! You've gained a new skill."
"But still…"
"Your growth rate is just terrifying~"
"Do you want to level up?"
"You've already met the requirements."
"Nope," Raven declined flatly. "My stats aren't maxed out yet."
When it came to leveling up, of course he intended to max out all his stats to 1999 first.
Hestia took a deep breath, her expression suddenly turning serious.
This child…
His talent was genuinely extraordinary.
Secretly, Hestia couldn't help but worry—
Worried that her only familia member would catch the eyes of other gods and get stolen away.
Hestia didn't want something like that to happen.
Just imagining the leering faces of the other gods gave her a headache.
After a long silence, she asked,
"Raven-kun, can you tell me what you did today?"
Raven thought for a bit and then answered honestly.
"I went down to the 18th floor's artificial labyrinth."
"And then I wiped out a Dark Faction."
"Eh?" Hestia's face was stunned, her eyes flickering with concern.
Raven continued,
"They were members of the Icarus Familia."
"And there was… a first-class adventurer too."
"T-That…" Hestia was utterly shocked.
But she quickly connected it to the silent—Alfia.
All she could say was…
Summoning magic… was that terrifying.
"Was it someone from the Hera Familia who helped you defeat them?"
"Yeah," Raven nodded, sighing.
"Why is it that whenever I tell people about this, no one believes me?"
Hestia let out a sigh and gave a bitter smile.
"Because you keep doing things that defy common sense."
"It's only natural that people wouldn't believe you."
"That's fair…" Raven stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Makes sense."
"Listen carefully, Raven-kun—don't go trusting everything a girl says."
Hestia warned sincerely.
"The prettier they are, the more likely they are to deceive you."
"Relax," Raven chuckled.
"I'm not dumb enough to fall for that."
Those words made Hestia secretly sigh in relief.
She then gently patted Raven's back.
"Raven-kun… tomorrow, go to the Guild and report your level-up."
"The day after tomorrow, I'll be attending the Gods' Council."
"For some reason, they're holding it earlier than scheduled."
"I'll try to get you a really cool alias, okay?"
Adventurer aliases were essentially second names.
Only those who leveled up were eligible to receive them.
It was a significant honor.
"Alright," Raven smiled faintly, his eyes shimmering with anticipation.
He hadn't expected the Gods' Assembly to be held early.
Still, this was good.
His familia was finally about to rise.
"Don't forget to bring your status report," Hestia said, tracing circles on his back.
The status report was a copy of his ability values etched onto parchment—
and since Falna couldn't be faked, it was a credible proof.
"Got it," Raven nodded.
"Oh right, Goddess."
"I summoned new subordinates today—wanna meet them?"
Hestia tensed, frowning slightly.
"Just how many people can your magic summon?"
"…Not sure," Raven replied with a sheepish grin.
"Seems like the higher my level, the more I can summon."
A moment later—
Using his summoning magic, Raven called out all his subordinates.
"N-N-Nani?" Hestia's voice trembled in disbelief.
"A Level 9 Empress!?"
"And the Ivory Song of the Ganesha Familia!?"
"Why are members of the Artemis Familia here too?!"
"Hello, Lady Hestia. I'm Metelia. Pleased to meet you~"
Metelia bowed respectfully, a gentle smile on her lips.
Letsa lowered her head and murmured,
"I'm sorry, Lady Hestia, Lord Raven…"
"May I ask you to help rescue Lady Artemis…?"
Thump.
Rantie suddenly knelt on the ground, eyes full of desperation.
"Lord Raven…"
Following her, Letsa also knelt down.
"…Letsa, Rantie~" Alise looked at them, feelings mixed.
She wanted to help, but she needed Raven's command.
Aude glanced at Raven, lips slightly parted, but said nothing.
"What's going on?" Hestia asked in confusion.
"What happened to Artemis?"
Before descending to the lower world, Hestia and Artemis had been quite close.
Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home.
Artemis, goddess of chastity.
Raven's expression grew heavy.
"Letsa and Rantie had recently died."
"In other words, something might've happened to Artemis-sama."
"Huh!?" Hestia was shocked.
"Raven-kun, are you serious…?"
"Let's wait for more information," Raven said with a shake of the head.
"Letsa, Rantie, don't worry."
"I'll do my best to rescue your goddess."
They looked up, grateful.
"Thank you, Lord Raven."
"Stand up," Raven said, helping them to their feet.
This half-elf, Rantie—her adoptive mother was none other than Artemis.
After a while, Raven looked at the four parchments in his hand.
The first had an elephant trunk emblem—Ganesha Familia's crest.
Ivory Song, Aude Farma: Level raised from Lv.3 → Lv.5.
The second and third had a crescent moon and bow—Artemis Familia.
Letsa: Lv.3 → Lv.5.
Rantie: Lv.2 → Lv.3.
The fourth had a rose and crown—Hera Familia's emblem.
The Empress, Kalishia: Still Level 9.
Damn…
The Empress needed so much EXP that even with cheats, she was a bottomless pit.
"I've also prepared your weapons and armor from when you were alive."
"I'll call you out again when I need you."
Raven cut off his mana supply.
Only Alfia and the kind, gentle Metelia remained.
Too many people was too mentally taxing—
and Raven didn't want to rely on high-grade mana potions just to sustain them.
"Hey Goddess, can the four of us sleep together tonight?"
Snapping out of her shock, Hestia glanced at Metelia.
"Won't it be… a little crowded?"
"Nah," Raven shook his head.
"Let's try and find out."
"You really…"
Hestia sighed.
"Fine, just think of it as getting stronger."
She knew about Raven's passive skills, so she agreed.
"But let me say this first."
"I don't mind sleeping with your summoned girls."
"But you're not allowed to go chasing other women outside. Got it?"
"Got it," Raven nodded lightly.
Not flirt with other women?
Impossible.
His subordinates were one thing—other women were another.
He could tell the difference.
Please send flowers.
That night—
The four of them snuggled up together.
It was nice and warm… but a little cramped.
Alfia couldn't take it anymore.
"I'll go sleep on the sofa."
"I'll go with you, onee-chan!" Metelia quickly offered.
Hestia grinned mischievously.
"See, Raven-kun? I'm still the one who treats you best."
"Now, let's sleep."
"Goddess… your hand…" Raven gasped.
"Does it have to be there?"
The next morning—
"Okay, done."
After tying the blue-and-white ribbon to her twin tails, Raven gave it a light pat.
"Raven-kun, I'm heading out now!" Hestia stood and waved goodbye.
After seeing her off—
Raven pulled out a 1.99 billion valis grimoire from his virtual storage.
He handed it to Metelia.
"A grimoire?" Alfia raised an eyebrow.
"Raven-sama… is this for me?" Metelia asked in disbelief.
"Yup," Raven said, patting her head.
Since his own magic slots were full, he couldn't learn new spells—
but if his subordinates learned magic, he could copy them.
A total win-win.
"Go on," Raven smiled.
"I'm curious to see what kind of magic you'll get."
"This book cost 1.99 billion, you know."
Magic came in two types: innate and acquired.
Innate magic came from one's race or inborn traits.
Acquired magic grew from Falna blessings—personal growth.
It had no fixed rules, only infinite possibilities.
Some people never learned a single spell their entire life.
"Okay," Metelia nodded and began reading seriously.
Alfia watched her fondly, then turned to Raven.
"Raven… want to learn Zangō?"
Zangō—"Residual Light"—was a ranged attack sword technique using aura slashes.
It was difficult for most adventurers to learn.
Only Chaldo and Alfia had mastered it.
Though Chaldo had once demonstrated it for Leon and Ottar—
they eventually copied it on their own.
In the original story's War Game—
Ottar used it when he first met Bell.
At the Academy, Leon taught many, but only Bell succeeded.
Raven hesitated.
"Can I really learn it?"
"With your talent? Absolutely," Alfia assured him.
"Alright," Raven nodded.
To learn this technique, one needed enchantment-type or applied magic.
Raven had Alise's Scarlet Flower Threads and Alfia's Silent Garden.
Like Alfia's signature move, Gospel Fist—
her fists would glow with magic, a technique formed from her enchantment spell.
Raven's real goal was still technique.
In Danmachi's world, top-tier techniques were like Advanced Armament Haki from One Piece.
Characters like Silent and the Empress had such elite-level techniques.
Raven figured…
If he were to spar with someone like Thousand Elf Lefiya or Sword Princess Ais—
he'd need something concrete to show for himself.
Magic alone wouldn't be enough.
Just then—
"I'm done reading!" Metelia said cheerfully, closing the grimoire.
"Alright, let's see what magic you got…"
Raven activated True Sight of Data.
System-created magic was always top-tier.
…
(to be continued)
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