Chapter 33: A True Genius Makes People Forget Their Talent
The crisis of the monster riot was ultimately quelled thanks to the efforts of many Familia.
Although Orario doesn't have a law enforcement agency similar to the police, the various Familia, in order to maintain order and harmony in the city, will unite under the organization of the Guild whenever such chaos arises, gathering their strength to completely suppress the crisis.
In a way, this is similar to militia organizations in remote villages, a self-organized defense force by the residents in the absence of a unified national government or military intervention.
The advantage of this system is naturally its efficiency—it can suppress unrest even without a centralized political system. But the downside is its lack of stable enforcement capability. Obvious disturbances can be quickly resolved, but smaller issues—such as those involving the Soma Familia—are often ignored, allowing minor evils to accumulate and fester into the city's dark underbelly.
In any case, this time the monster riot didn't cause a major upheaval. Although Bell and Hestia came close to dying, it was merely an "accidental coincidence."
In fact, aside from the Silverback Ape that ran wildly outside, the other monsters were swiftly dealt with by the joint efforts of the Freya and Loki Familia, the two strongest Familia in Orario.
Bell killing the Silverback did cause a temporary stir among adventurers, but since he was just a Level 1 rookie, most Familia didn't pay much attention to such a weak individual.
After some brief discussion, they dismissed it entirely.
Only the Loki Familia, due to their bet with Shirou, found Bell's growth incredible—some even felt uneasy about it.
However, since Loki herself showed no particular reaction, even appearing very interested, the Familia members had no grounds to object.
.
.
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Human adaptability is always astonishing.
By the day after the monster riot, the atmosphere in the dungeon city of Orario had returned to normal. People seemed to have completely forgotten the chaos of the day before and resumed their everyday lives.
The Hestia Familia also returned to its former tranquility.
Shirou went to the Hephaestus Familia during the day to study forging, Bell headed to the dungeon for exploration, and Hestia went off to work at a food stall.
Everyone resumed their respective tasks.
Upon arriving at the Hephaestus Familia, Shirou began his forging practice as usual.
Even though he had previously succeeded in forging the special weapon Hassan's Dagger, he did not become arrogant.
Instead, he continued to start from the basics, striving to thoroughly memorize every single step of the forging process.
Perhaps Shirou was truly talented, or perhaps he had put in enough effort.
Very soon, he was able to complete the entire forging process flawlessly—without a single error. It was impossible to tell that he was a complete beginner.
Hephaestus occasionally came by to observe Shirou's forging. She originally thought that, by normal standards, Shirou should still be at the beginner's stage.
But after witnessing his forging firsthand, she couldn't help but have a change in expression. Her gaze toward Shirou immediately became more complex—and passionate.
"Shirou, you really don't want to join my Familia?"
Since their last meeting, Hephaestus once again extended an invitation for Shirou to join her Familia. Compared to last time, her tone was clearly much more serious.
"Sorry, I don't want to leave the Hestia Familia."
Shirou refused decisively, without the slightest wavering in his stance.
Seeing his demeanor, Hephaestus realized she couldn't force the issue and could only say softly, "Fine then. Even if you don't join my Familia, as long as you're willing to forge here, that's enough. With your talent, you'll probably surpass most of my Familia members immediately."
"I don't really have that kind of confidence."
"Heh... geniuses never understand why they are geniuses. Mediocre people try their best to show off their talents, but true geniuses make others forget that they even have talent." Hephaestus spoke with a philosophical tone. "From a blacksmith's perspective, Shirou, your talent is unprecedented—more exaggerated than any other forger I've ever seen. If you continue down this path, you may shake not only Orario, but the entire world's forging system."
"This…"
Shirou didn't really understand Hephaestus's praise and could only respond with a subtle expression.
Hephaestus then took the initiative to explain: "I didn't expect your progress to be this fast. But since you've already mastered the forging process, it's time I explained the concept of 'Development Abilities' to you."
"Development Abilities?"
"Yes. Development Abilities are special abilities that adventurers acquire when they level up. Which abilities one acquires depends on their personal skill tendencies.
Among them, one such Development Ability is called [Forge]." Hephaestus calmly explained. "While it's possible to become an excellent blacksmith without the [Forge] ability, having it provides great support for your forging. However, in order to obtain this skill, you must first reach Level 2."
"By the way, forging-type Development Abilities are also ranked.
Higher-level forging skills allow blacksmiths to create weapons with special effects—like swords that never break, or blades that never dull.
The highest-tier forging skills can even produce magic swords barehanded."
"Creating magic swords…?"
After hearing Hephaestus's explanation, Shirou became interested in the so-called forging skills.
But he also had two concerns.
The first was that his current level wasn't normal. On the surface, he was a Level 1, but in truth, his combat ability far surpassed that level.
The second was that, without even having the forging skill, he had already created Hassan's Dagger, a weapon with special effects.
Did this mean Shirou might already possess the forging skill, but it simply hadn't shown up on his Falna?
Because these matters involved his own Familia, Shirou naturally wouldn't tell Hephaestus. He hadn't even revealed to her that he had forged Hassan's Dagger.
It wasn't because Shirou distrusted Hephaestus—it was simply to prevent information leaks.
For the weak Hestia Familia, it was best that no outsiders learned about Bell's Liaris Freese or Shirou's forging ability.
Because such abilities could easily attract the covetous attention of other Familia.
Although Shirou was confident in his ability to handle most enemies, he was ultimately just one person.
If someone were to target Hestia or Bell to threaten him, he wouldn't be able to defend them all at once.
Therefore, under such circumstances, hiding his true capabilities was a necessary measure.