In the early evening, Hephaestus' shop closed much earlier than usual. Normally, her forge was buzzing with activity well into the night—after all, for most adventurers, nighttime was just the start of their day. But today was different. Today, she had two guests who required her personal attention.
Hephaestus stared helplessly at the grinning idiot in front of her. She'd just seen her off yesterday, and now she was already back—and this time, she'd brought her one and only Familia member with her.
At that moment, Hephaestus could tell without a doubt: Hestia had come bearing trouble. After knowing her for so many years, Hephaestus didn't need more than a glance to figure her out.
"Hestia, didn't you leave just yesterday? Shouldn't you be home reflecting with your child on his first day in the Dungeon? What are you doing here?"
Hephaestus chose her words carefully, avoiding any bait. She had a feeling Hestia was about to drop a bombshell on her, so she'd been on guard from the moment they arrived. She wasn't about to let this fool drag her into something she'd regret.
But Hestia didn't seem the least bit concerned by her caution. Her adorably smug smile never left her face—clearly pleased with herself. She hadn't just come to discuss a potential partnership; she was here to brag. Specifically, about Bell's progress and the new skill he'd awakened.
"Bell-kun's already told me everything about the Dungeon. After updating his Status, I brought him here. Hephaestus, want to guess what his stats look like?"
Hephaestus eyed that proud little smile. Just from that, she could already tell—Bell's growth must've been outrageous. Otherwise, Hestia wouldn't have made a special trip just to show off. Still, the exact numbers were anyone's guess.
'With a skill like Early Bloomer, it's no wonder his growth rate is insane.' That thought gave Hephaestus a rough estimate in her mind. She wondered if Hestia was about to completely blow her expectations out of the water.
"Did his total attributes surpass 500?"
Each adventurer had five stats. A total of 500 meant an average of 100 in each. That was already a generous estimate. No one had ever broken 500 in a single day before.
"Hmph~ Of course not. How could my Bell-kun be so mediocre?"
Hestia beamed with pride. Hephaestus' guess had fallen short, just as expected. Even she had been stunned when she updated Bell's Status—there was no way anyone else could predict it.
"My Bell-kun's growth today was incredible. Don't faint on me now, Hephaestus."
"Yes, yes. Out with it already."
Seeing Hestia's smug expression, Hephaestus wasn't exactly surprised. She'd known this was a bragging visit from the start—and honestly, she didn't mind. But to hear that even a 500-point gain was considered "mediocre"? That piqued her curiosity.
"Hmph~ Bell-kun's lowest stat grew by nearly 300 in one day. Two of them even exceeded 400. That's how much he's grown."
"!?"
Even though she was prepared, Hephaestus couldn't hide her shock. The weakest stat nearly hit 300, two were over 400, and the remaining two were also above 300. That meant Hestia's child had gained at least 1,700 total stat points in just one day!?
She turned to look at Bell, standing quietly behind Hestia, with a newfound sense of astonishment. If that was how much he grew in a single day, then it wouldn't take more than a few months for Bell to reach a level that would drive any god to madness.
'No wonder Hestia called a total of 500 stat points "mediocre." I was being way too conservative.'
Hephaestus was genuinely shaken. Even if she didn't usually care too much about the strength of her Familia members, she still hoped her children could grow quickly.
Just one day. In a single day, Hestia's child had climbed to a level that made others look up in awe, all thanks to his skills. It was a powerful reminder of just how broken the "Early Bloomer" skill really was—especially since the skills this kid had came with no restrictions at all.
She shot a glance at Hestia, who was still beaming with smug satisfaction. Since the fool was clearly on cloud nine, Hephaestus didn't even bother asking what she was thinking. Instead, she turned to the one who mattered in this conversation.
"Alright. Tell me—why did Hestia bring you here?"
Bell gave a slight bow. Since the question was directed at him, he stepped forward and chose his words carefully before answering Hephaestus-sama.
"Hephaestus-sama, Goddess-sama hopes our Hestia Familia can form a long-term partnership with your Hephaestus Familia."
"Oh? So you're here to talk business."
That got Hephaestus interested. She wasn't particularly thrilled by Hestia's usual freeloading antics, but a proper collaboration? That was worth hearing out. She gestured for Bell to go on.
Catching the signal in her eyes, Bell shifted gears smoothly.
"Well, when Goddess-sama updated my Status after I came back today, I gained a new skill related to luck. Also… I managed to get 284 Goblin Daggers from the Dungeon. I think I'll be seeing a lot of Drop Items from now on, and I need a way to handle them."
Hephaestus gave him a slightly weird look. Just yesterday, one skill and one magic spell had already been enough to raise eyebrows—now he was back with a newly awakened Luck skill?
Even Hephaestus thought it was a bit much. And more than that, the skill apparently caused 284 Goblin Daggers to drop in one day.
The sheer number was strange enough—but that drop rate? It was insane. No wonder Hestia had dragged Bell over to her forge all of a sudden. Turns out, she was here looking for cover.
Now that Hephaestus understood the reason, she wasn't all that against the idea anymore.