It took nearly another full day before Bell finally woke from his sleep.
"Phew..."
The moment he opened his eyes, Bell let out a long breath—and immediately winced. A wave of foul air escaped his mouth, filling the room with an awful stench. Grimacing, he forced himself out of bed and hurried to open the window.
A refreshing breeze swept in, carrying away some of the stench and easing the heavy atmosphere in the room. Bell leaned out the window as far as he could—the smell inside was just too much.
'Seriously... was that my breath? It reeks worse than a public toilet.'
Worried, Bell cupped his hands and breathed into them, then cautiously sniffed. Fortunately, there was no trace of that horrible odor. He let out a relieved sigh. The last thing he wanted was to walk around with breath that could clear a room.
After catching his breath, Bell had a vague idea of what had caused the foul stench—it was probably tied to the Craft Essences he'd absorbed. Unlike the overwhelming pain he'd felt before falling asleep, his body now felt surprisingly good. His breathing, physical condition, even his vision and hearing were all sharper than before.
'I really need to be more careful next time. Craft Essences were made for Heroic Spirits. In the game, there were no physical compatibility issues—but this is real life. It's different.'
He'd meant to be cautious and deliberate, but he'd completely overlooked this part.
In the end, it came down to faulty assumptions. Once you decide something ahead of time, it's easy to let that initial bias distort all your future judgments.
'Still, the fact that Craft Essences aren't locked to a one-time effect like in the game... that's actually good news. No matter what kind of Craft Essence I pull, I just need to work toward getting five copies. Maybe I can absorb them in reality, but I probably can't absorb duplicates. Or maybe I need to Max Limit Break them before I can absorb at all—otherwise, their effects might be weak.'
Bell didn't know for sure if absorbed Craft Essences could be further enhanced. But precisely because he didn't know, he had to assume the worst. Still, there was room to experiment. If it turned out he could keep upgrading them post-absorption, then he wouldn't need to wait for Max Limit Break before fusing them.
Still, it was better to test things with low-star Craft Essences first. If it failed, the loss wouldn't hurt as much. Risking a higher-rarity one right away would be a waste. Using low-star CEs as testing material was the smarter move.
'If I include the time I was unconscious, it's probably been about a week since I arrived in Orario. From here on, I need to start building up my stats bit by bit, then gradually make my way to the lower floors.'
'But before that, I still need to confirm my magic. I'll need time to get used to casting it and figure out where my limits are.'
There was time. Bell wasn't in a rush. He was still just a fledgling adventurer—there was plenty of room to grow, and no need to rush. Right now, the first floor wasn't too crowded, so it was easy to stay under the radar. But once he started venturing deeper, the number of adventurers would increase, and staying unnoticed would become much harder. He'd need to find more secluded routes.
'On top of building strength, I also need to keep myself hidden. That's going to be a little tricky.'
But only a little. As long as he confirmed that the Goddess of Beauty hadn't taken notice of him, there was no reason anyone would pay attention to a no-name rookie in Orario. Absentmindedly, Bell rubbed his chin. Next time he entered the Dungeon, not only would he wear a coat, but he'd add a face mask—maybe even disguise his voice a little.
If he was going to stay hidden, he needed to do it properly.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside—one heavy, one light. Sounded like two people.
Bell pulled his head back in from the window. He sniffed carefully—thankfully, the foul odor from earlier had been blown away by the breeze. Unless someone had a particularly sharp nose, they wouldn't notice a thing. He walked over and opened the door.
The two people standing outside caught him slightly off guard.
"Goddess-sama, Hephaestus-sama."
Hestia rushed into the room and threw herself at Bell, quickly checking him over. After confirming that there was nothing visibly wrong, she finally let out a breath of relief. She looked at him again. Though the overflow of life force had calmed somewhat, it was still steadily rising, slowly pushing beyond the range of an ordinary human.
That, of course, was good news for Hestia. It meant Bell's future lifespan would be longer than a typical human's. If she had her way, she would never have to watch her first child grow old. And right now, the signs pointed toward that hope becoming reality.
"Bell-kun, do you feel anything strange in your body?"
"Goddess-sama, do you mean the pain I felt earlier?"
That question made Bell realize that his Goddess had visited his room. He wasn't too surprised. After all, he'd been out cold for a long time—it was only natural for her to check in on him. And the damage caused by the Craft Essences wasn't something he could hide. Not that he needed to.
"I woke up once because the pain was too much. But after it passed, I fell back asleep."
He fell asleep after the pain?
Hephaestus couldn't help but be impressed by Bell's pain tolerance. The soundproofing in this guest room wasn't great—any noise would've easily been heard outside. Yet Bell hadn't made a sound the entire time. That kind of endurance was definitely rare. And judging from what he said, it wasn't that he passed out—he had grit his teeth and endured it all the way.
But Hestia wasn't impressed in the slightest. In fact, she looked upset.
"Bell-kun, if you're in pain, you should cry out! How else am I supposed to know if you don't call for me?"
Bell smiled wryly. He had kept quiet precisely because he didn't want her to find out. This was his biggest secret—he didn't want her to see him in that state.
Hephaestus reached over and grabbed Hestia by the back of her collar, stopping her from saying anything more. This idiot. Couldn't she see the boy didn't want his Goddess to see him like that? Boys had their pride too.
"Hestia, your child's fine. Let's not push this any further. Right now, you should focus on linking him with that short sword."
"Oh, right! Bell-kun, take your clothes off."
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
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