Chapter 13
Babel, Thirtieth Floor.
The meeting hall.
Gods from the major Familias of Orario had gathered in one place to attend the Denatus summoned by Apollo.
At first, the so-called Denatus had simply been a gathering created by gods who were bored out of their minds.
They would meet, eat, drink, chat, laugh, and pass the time pleasantly.
But as time went on, more and more gods began attending, and the contents of the gathering gradually changed.
What had started as casual chatter and bragging became a place for Familia cooperation, intelligence exchange, discussions on Dungeon exploration, and decisions regarding major matters in Orario.
Over time, it became far more formal.
One activity the gods were especially fond of during the Denatus was bestowing titles upon adventurers who had advanced in level.
Those titles represented the gods’ recognition of an adventurer’s strength and talent, and were symbols of honor.
Today, however, they had not gathered to give some adventurer a title.
They were here for something far more exciting.
A War Game.
Ever since Hestia and Apollo agreed to a War Game, the news had spread throughout all of Orario in less than an hour.
The gods, who were bored enough to ache, immediately called their friends and rushed to Babel the moment they heard, all so they could participate in the planning of this War Game.
Because there had not been a War Game in quite some time, the gods’ enthusiasm was extremely high.
Around seventy percent of Orario’s gods had arrived.
As for the remaining ones, most either had other business or had not received the news yet.
That alone showed just how much free time these people had.
"I say this War Game should be a duel. Real men settle things one-on-one."
"No, no, no. I think we should make it a treasure hunt. That would be much more entertaining."
"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of idea is that? Are we children playing house?"
"What did you say, you barbarian?"
Before Apollo and Hestia, the actual parties involved, could even speak, the surrounding gods had already begun arguing fiercely.
"They really are full of energy, this bunch of bored idiot gods."
Loki narrowed her eyes and looked at Hestia beside her with a teasing smile.
"Yo, shorty! Didn’t expect you to have this much guts. You actually dared to play a War Game with Apollo."
"Hmph, mind your own business."
Hestia snorted lightly and did not even bother looking Loki in the eye, which irritated the squint-eyed goddess quite a bit.
"I didn’t expect you to cause such a huge commotion right after establishing your Familia either."
Hephaestus sounded somewhat helpless.
"You can’t blame me for this, Hephaestus! You know what I’m like. Apollo went too far, so I had no choice but to fight back."
Hestia hurriedly defended herself.
"Are you confident?" Hephaestus asked with concern.
"Mm. This time, I’m going to drive that guy out of Orario completely. Out of sight, out of mind." Hestia spoke coolly.
"Oh? Big words. You’re that confident in your child?"
Loki immediately became interested.
"Of course. My Kiriya is incredibly strong!"
Hestia patted her chest loudly.
In truth, at the beginning, the little goddess had still felt rather uneasy about this War Game.
But Kiriya’s miracle-like growth in ability values over the past few days, along with his powerful confidence and calmness, had given Hestia tremendous courage.
She had decided to believe in her child.
"Then I wish you good luck."
Hephaestus narrowed her eyes.
She was becoming rather curious about that boy as well.
As for Loki beside them, a sharp light flickered in her eyes.
To challenge an entire mid-level Familia alone, one had to be either a lunatic, a fool, or a powerful adventurer with absolute confidence in his own strength.
Loki was more willing to believe that Kiriya was the last kind.
After all, she trusted Riveria and Finn’s eyes.
How could an adventurer who received high praise from them possibly be mediocre?
"Things are getting interesting."
Loki rubbed her chin.
"Hehehe, Hestia. Have you thought about how you’ll hand that child over to me?"
Apollo’s greasy voice rang out, causing all three goddesses present to frown at once.
"The War Game hasn’t even started yet. Stop acting like you’ve already won."
Hestia did not indulge his bad habit at all and immediately snapped back.
"Hehe, it doesn’t matter. No matter the method, victory will belong to us in the end."
Apollo was already imagining the scene after he obtained Kiriya, and that rippling expression of his made the goddesses feel nauseous.
"Fine, then let’s have a one-on-one match between adventurers of the same level."
Hestia slapped the table and stood up, loudly declaring, "A close-quarters battle with fists and flesh, a fight where both sides gamble all their resolve. You all want to see that, don’t you?"
The gods nodded one after another.
That kind of scene best displayed the radiance of the children’s souls in the Lower World, and it was one of the gods’ favorite forms of entertainment.
"Wouldn’t that just be one-sided crushing? How boring."
Apollo immediately objected.
Hyakinthos had repeatedly warned him that if it became a one-on-one fight, the Level 1 members of their Familia had no chance of winning.
They had to avoid their weaknesses and make full use of their strengths.
"Since this is a War Game between Familias, all Familia members should be allowed to participate. I propose a siege battle. Whoever can break through the other side’s position wins."
"You really don’t care about your dignity anymore, do you?"
Hestia was furious.
"We only have one person. How are we supposed to defend a position? That would mean our Familia is guaranteed to lose!"
"I could say the same thing to you."
Apollo maintained that calm, punchable smile of his.
"If it’s a same-level duel, we have no chance of winning either."
"Hehe. Maybe your Level 1 members are just too weak."
Hestia mocked him.
"There’s nothing I can do about that. Just like there’s nothing you can do about having so few Familia members."
Apollo spread his hands.
Crack, crack.
The gazes of the two gods collided, sparks almost flying between them.
The smell of gunpowder filled the air!
At that moment, a gentle voice rang out.
"Everyone, might I say a few words?"
The noisy hall immediately quieted, and all eyes turned toward the god standing on the raised platform.
He was an elegant male god with a refreshing smile, yellow-orange hair, and orange eyes.
He wore casual clothes and a hat adorned with a feather, making it obvious that this god loved to travel.
"Oh, it’s Hermes. Tell us, what clever idea do you have?"
The gods immediately grew interested.
Hermes always seemed able to come up with all kinds of strange ideas, often hitting exactly where the gods found things most entertaining.
"Since both parties have their own arguments and refuse to give way, why not leave the decision to fate?"
Hermes smiled warmly.
"Everyone writes their preferred War Game format on a piece of paper, then we choose one god to draw lots. Whatever is drawn will be the result. That way, no one can complain, yes?"
"Not bad. Not bad at all."
"Unknown chance, is it? Interesting."
"Then let’s do it. You’ll be the one drawing, Hermes."
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!" × N.
"In that case, I humbly accept."
Hermes removed his hat and gave a gentlemanly bow.
The gods agreed one after another.
Each received paper and pen, wrote down their preferred War Game format, and dropped the paper into the clay jar Hermes held. Finally, he drew out one slip of paper.
The gods held their breath.
Hermes raised the opened paper.
Written upon it was one word.
Siege.
And it would be the Hestia Familia attacking, while the Apollo Familia defended.
"What kind of nonsense is this?!"
Hestia nearly exploded with anger!
Which morally bankrupt god had come up with this?
She had better not find out who it was, or she would make them understand exactly why flowers were red!
"Oh my, oh my. Since this is the decision of the Denatus, there’s nothing to be done."
Apollo threw his head back and laughed, looking as obnoxious as possible.
"Enjoy your final days with that child. Three days from now, he will be mine."
After saying that, Apollo swaggered off, leaving behind only Hestia, whose expression had darkened completely.
"Shorty, do your best. I’ll be watching."
Loki smiled and patted Hestia on the shoulder, barely holding back her laughter as she left.
Hephaestus, however, walked closer.
"What do you think? Do you want me to send a few people over to support you?"
In Orario, as long as a god agreed, members of a Familia could convert to another Familia.
Hearing that, Hestia’s eyes lit up.
"Are you going to lend me Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki Collbrande, captain of the Hephaestus Familia, Orario’s greatest mortal smith, and a first-tier adventurer at Level 5.
If someone that powerful joined them, their strength would be rock solid.
"I don’t have a problem with it."
Hephaestus smiled faintly.
"But if you win that way, would Apollo and the other gods accept it? They’d probably stir up more trouble afterward."
"Then forget it..."
Hestia’s excitement faded. In the end, she decided to return home and discuss things with Kiriya.
"I’ll see you off."
As always, Hephaestus looked after this troublesome little friend of hers.
...
Hestia Familia.
Kiriya, who had been waiting there, listened to Hestia’s explanation with a very calm expression.
"Kiriya, what exactly are you thinking?"
Hestia looked at him seriously.
"Answer me properly."
"Don’t worry. That mob under him isn’t my match."
Kiriya’s tone was very calm.
"There are over a hundred people on the other side, including more than ten Level 2s and one Level 3."
Hestia was not moved at all.
"Even if you complete a great feat and level up to Level 2, normally speaking, your chances of winning would still be slim, right?"
"You said it yourself. Normally speaking." Kiriya spoke with confidence.
"And I’m the special case, aren’t I?"
Hestia fell silent.
Whether it was that powerful Skill or Kiriya’s extremely abnormal growth speed over the past few days, everything proved that point to her.
"But the opponent still has a Level 3..." Hestia said.
"Don’t worry. I have my trump cards."
Hearing Kiriya’s words, Hestia’s brows finally relaxed a little.
"Since you’re saying that much, I’ll trust you this time."
"Even if we lose, it’s not the end. At worst, I’ll pretend to accept his courtship, then stab him to death..."
Kiriya quickly covered his goddess’s mouth.
"It won’t come to that. I’m not joking! I really can handle this!"
This little goddess looked soft and delicate on the outside, but he had not expected her to be so fierce on the inside.
But...
That had flavor.
He liked it.
"Hestia, for the next two days, stay here with Hephaestus. I need to go out for a while. I’m going to use this chance to improve myself in every way I can."
Kiriya gave her instructions.
Hestia did not know exactly what he was worried about, but she did not refuse.
She simply nodded.
"Then be careful. Don’t push yourself too hard."
"Relax, relax."
Kiriya turned to Hephaestus.
"I’ll trouble you to look after her for the next few days, Goddess Hephaestus."
"Leave Hestia to me. As for Apollo... that man is truly disgusting." Hephaestus spoke with disgust.
"Boy, give him a proper beating for me."
"Haha, leave it to me."
Kiriya waved his hand, then walked toward Babel.
...
Not long after leaving the Hephaestus Familia’s home, Kiriya encountered a small problem.
He was being followed!
The other party made no attempt to hide it. He simply trailed behind Kiriya openly, as if afraid Kiriya would not notice.
"Hyakinthos? The captain of the Apollo Familia?"
Kiriya chuckled softly.
"He’s afraid I’ll have some encounter in the Dungeon and increase my strength, is he? How considerate."
With a Level 3 watching from behind, Kiriya naturally could not devote all his focus to training.
And once he stopped exploring the Dungeon, his miracle-like growth would be restrained.
No ability values, no great feat, no level-up.
At that point, defeating the Apollo Familia would become nothing more than empty talk.
If Kiriya were a native resident of Orario, he might truly have panicked for a while.
But...
He had a cheat.
"System, come."
...
Hyakinthos watched Kiriya swagger into the Dungeon as if nothing had happened, and the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
’Fool. You dare act so arrogant in front of me? Then I’ll let you experience the power of a Level 3.’
He thought Kiriya had become desperate and was gambling everything, determined to train himself even under Hyakinthos’s interference.
Because of that, he decided to give Kiriya a small shock from a senior adventurer.
He would not kill Kiriya, because that would anger Lord Apollo.
But causing a little "accident" and ruining that annoying face of his was still acceptable.
"That way, I’ll be able to monopolize Lord Apollo’s affection."
The thought filled Hyakinthos with motivation.
However, after he followed Kiriya into the Dungeon, it only took a few turns before he lost him.
"Where is he? Where did he go?"
Hyakinthos was furious. He searched everywhere, but could not find him, and his temper grew even worse.
So, what was Kiriya doing at that moment?
Nothing much.
He was simply using his cheat system to take a trip across worlds!
...
His vision blurred for a moment, but soon became clear again.
In the distance were rolling mountains.
Closer by were crisscrossing fields and paths, the fields filled with green seedlings that brimmed with the vitality of nature.
It should have been a charming, pastoral scene.
But Kiriya could not appreciate it no matter how hard he tried.
Because there was a bizarre person on the road who had completely ruined the atmosphere of the scenery.
"Please—!"
"Please, please, please—!"
"Please marry me!"
"Because I don’t know when I’m going to die, please marry me!"
"Please! I’m begging youuuu!"
In the middle of the road, a boy with short golden hair, round eyebrows, and a yellow haori patterned with triangles was clinging to a young girl and pleading desperately.
His face was covered in snot and tears, making him look strangely lifelike in the worst possible way.
Forget the girl being smeared with his tears and snot.
Even Kiriya could not help but showing a look of disgust too!
"What... what the hell is this?"