The pressure of the existence Zald had unleashed slowly receded back into his massive frame, leaving the air feeling far heavier than usual. The elite adventurers in the room gasped for air; cold sweat poured from them.
God Hermes stared at the giant man, his eyes wide. His hand gripping the brim of his fedora trembled slightly. As a messenger god with deep ties to the Zeus Familia in the past, Hermes held an absolute reference for the upper limits of human strength. He had stood in the same room as the absolute ruler of Orario, the Empress of the Hera Familia.
The pressure that had just crushed the floor of the Hestia Familia headquarters was not an illusion, and it certainly wasn't a bluff.
This pressure... Zald, you are no longer at Level 7. Have you broken through to Level 9? Hermes thought, his brain racing at full speed to process this horrifying reality.
Zald stood tall with a relaxed posture. He neither confirmed nor denied the realization that was clearly written on the pale faces around him. The man merely smirked—a look of satisfaction from a predator who knew exactly where his prey sat in the food chain.
Hermes swallowed hard. His gaze drifted slowly toward the silver-haired woman standing silently beside Venti. Alfia's posture hadn't changed at all since she removed her hood. If Zald emitted a crushing aura of intimidation, Alfia exuded a terrifying void.
If the Zald from the past timeline was Level 9 and is this strong now... what about Alfia? Hermes felt his stomach churn. Alfia has talent far beyond Zald's. What kind of timeline history is this? What kind of monsters is the Barbatos Familia raising?
On the other side of the room, veteran adventurers like Ryuu Lion, Hedin Selland, and Allen Fromel were also struggling to regain their rationality. Memories of the sea of fire and blood from the Great Feud seven years ago spun in their minds. At that time, they had to sacrifice so much just to defeat Zald and Alfia.
However, after feeling the difference in strength that stretched like a bottomless abyss, a logical and horrifying conclusion crept into the minds of the veterans. Zald and Alfia in our era... their strength might not have been at their peak. Which means the Zald we fought in the past was holding back like crazy. That wasn't a life-or-death battle; it was a meticulously controlled suicide mission to test the young adventurers.
Amidst the storm of mental panic and trauma engulfing the headquarters, there was only one adventurer still standing tall without the slightest change of expression on his face.
Bell Cranel.
The white-haired youth stared at Zald with a nearly unnatural calm. It wasn't that Bell didn't feel that Level 9 pressure. His danger sensors warned him that a single blow from Zald could pulverize his body into nothingness. But his mind had become immune to that kind of fear.
To Bell, no matter how terrifying Zald's pressure was, his aunt was far scarier. The full month of hellish training Alfia forced him through in the past timeline had truly destroyed and rebuilt his terror tolerance. Facing Zald's physical blows still left room to breathe, but facing Alfia's merciless gaze in the middle of a training arena was instant death.
Seeing the room frozen in silence, Venti decided to take back the stage. The bard god broke the silence with a light clap of his hands.
Clap! Clap!
"Now, now! You gods also need proper entertainment and an interesting fight, right?" Venti said with a bright smile, looking directly at the gods present—Hestia, Freya, and Hermes.
"Furthermore," Venti continued, shrugging his shoulders in his signature playful style. "This opportunity is extremely rare and certainly won't come twice. Where else could you see a clash between the absolute peak of strength from another timeline against the best heroes of your own timeline? This will be a closing performance far more magnificent than that canceled Orariopiad final."
Venti's words hit the mark. Boredom was the greatest enemy of the immortal gods. They descended to the lower world purely to seek entertainment and watch humans and their familia's children fight beyond their limits.
Hearing the prospect of an epic-scale battle that defied common sense and had never been recorded in history, the eyes of the gods in the room began to sparkle. Hermes smiled faintly, his instincts as a chronicler of legends beginning to boil. Near the window, Freya, still in the guise of Syr Flova, could no longer hide her thin smile. An incredibly dense interest radiated from her gray eyes. Hestia finally nodded slowly, realizing that all the gods in Gekai would surely focus their gaze to watch this historic battle.
In the corner of the room, Leon Vardenburg stepped forward, pushing through the remnants of Zald's pressure. The Knight of Knights from the School District flashed a wide grin that radiated pure bloodlust.
Of all the adventurers in the room, Leon was the most excited to hear Zald's challenge. That absolute pressure triggered a fierce nostalgia for his youth, when he had recklessly challenged the Zeus and Hera Familia executives, only to be beaten to a pulp, his bones broken, and nearly killed at their hands. The chance to test his sword against the highest wall he could never pass in the past was a grand dream for someone like him.
"Challenge accepted, Zald," Leon said enthusiastically, his right hand reflexively resting on his sword hilt. "I have long awaited the chance to see how much I've grown since those humiliating days of the past. But as you said, we have one urgent duty that must be resolved first."
Hearing the direction of the conversation return to the main mission, Bell immediately turned toward his god. His expression became intensely serious. There was no remnant of hesitation left in the boy.
"Before we head out to save the Loki Familia expedition and Ais-san, I want to update my Falna, Kami-sama," Bell said, his voice firm and clear.
Hestia nodded quickly, understanding the urgency behind the request. She knew Bell had gone through something major, and they needed every drop of strength to penetrate Floor 60. "Of course, Bell-kun. Come with me to the room now."
A few moments later, inside Hestia's tightly sealed room.
Bell removed his chestplate and shirt, sitting cross-legged with his back to Hestia. The goddess pricked her fingertip with a silver needle, dripping a drop of divine blood onto Bell's exposed back. A glowing blue light instantly flared, tracing the ancient hieroglyphs dormant on the youth's back.
As soon as the Falna reacted and synchronized Bell's soul experiences with the world's system, Hestia's eyes widened immensely. Her hands trembled violently as she read the row of sacred letters that had just formed. The hieroglyphs seemed to burn her eyes with facts that defied reason.
Just a few days ago, right before the Orariopiad chaos incident and Bell's disappearance into another timeline due to the time rift, Hestia had just updated his status. At that time, Bell's stats were still in the G and F range for his Level 5 parameters. A very normal figure, even tending toward low for someone who had just leveled up.
But now, those entire parameters had surged unreasonably, breaking through the maximum limits of the system.
And what made Hestia's heart stop beating, Bell had broken his shell again.
"T-This... Oh my god, this is impossible..." Hestia stammered, immediately grabbing a piece of parchment and copying the status with a violently shaking hand. "Bell-kun, you... you didn't just maximize your stats. You broke through the limit again! You leveled up to Level 6!"
[Bell Cranel] - Before Update
Level: 5
Strength: G258
Resistance: F349
Dexterity: G287 Agility: F368
Magic: H107
[Bell Cranel] - Status Increase
Strength: G258 → 1500 SSS
Resistance: F349 → 1510 SSS
Dexterity: G287 → 1400 SSS
Agility: F368 → 1500 SSS
Magic: H107 → 1300 SSS
Hestia swallowed hard. SSS status was the domain of impossibility. Even legends from the Zeus and Hera era only recorded achievements at the S rank, or at most SS under very specific conditions. Jumping from the lower limit toward SSS in one breath proved that Bell had condensed training into one month of pure hell.
With still-shaking hands, Hestia officiated the rank-up. Bell's back glowed again, resetting his numbers toward zero, yet carrying a new foundation of strength.
[Bell Cranel] - Final Status
Level: 6
Strength: I 0
Resistance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
Magic:
[Firebolt]: Quick attack magic.
Skills:
[Heroic Wish: Argonaut]: Right to charge for an active action.
[Matador's Instinct: Ox Slayer]: Great increase in all skills during battles against bull types.
[Charming Resistance: Vanadis Tevere]: Blessing of the Virgin: Hestia Divul. Activates in case of charm effects being infringed. Great increase in all skills. Automatic healing that automatically restores physical and mental strength.
Development Ability:
Luck: E
Abnormal Resistance: F
Evasion: F
Chain Attack: H
Initiative: I (New)
"What... what exactly did you experience when you were in that other timeline, Bell-kun?" Hestia asked, her voice barely a whisper. Her eyes stared at the Falna paper with a mix of horror and awe. An increase in status to beyond SSS in one update cycle was a crazy anomaly. Not to mention the appearance of a new Development Ability, Initiative, and a skill that was truly foreign.
Bell bowed his head slightly. The muscles on his back, which were now formed much denser, moved smoothly with his breaths. Remembering the relentless torture he received every day from his aunt.
"I trained with Aunt Alfia," Bell answered very honestly.
Hestia fell silent. She couldn't imagine what kind of hell her ward had to go through until his body and soul were forced to evolve at a speed that tore through logic.
Even if Alfia saw that Falna status parchment right now, the Silence might have raised her eyebrows in surprise. The movement techniques, rhythm manipulation, and utilization of opponent defense openings that Alfia had forcibly planted into Bell's muscle memory were now absolutely recognized by the world's system. Afterglow was no longer just a martial art technique Bell learned, but had been permanently carved as a Skill that would continue to actively merge with his instincts.
After putting his gear back on, Bell immediately went downstairs and walked out toward the Hearth Mansion front yard. There, Orario's emergency alliance had fully gathered, prepared to plunge into the dungeon.
This emergency rescue operation toward the Deep Floors (Floor 60) was led directly by Hedin Selland of the Freya Familia. As the highest commander and field strategist, Hedin wasted no time. He constructed a highly precise tactical formation, dividing the team's strength into two main pillars: the Main Strike Force and the Support & Mage Team.
Tactical Commander:
Hedin Selland (Level 6)
Liliruca Arde
Main Strike Force (Striker & Vanguard):
Leon Vardenburg (Level 7): Standing at the very vanguard. As the fighter with the highest level status in the team, his duty was to crush the anomalous monster blockade in the Dungeon's depths.
Bell Cranel (Level 6): Acting as the central axis of attack power. Ryuu Lion (Level 6): Joining the front line, accompanying Bell.
Allen Fromel (Level 6): Orario's fastest spear. His duty was purely for lightning-fast assassinations (hit-and-run).
Gulliver Brothers (Level 5): Alfrigg, Dvalinn, Grer, and Berling. This quartet of dwarves from the Freya Familia would move as a solid unit, contributing layered defense while providing offensive combination attacks at close range.
Heith Velvet: Required to participate due to Emergency Situation: Because Amid Teasanare (Orario's best healer from the Dian Cecht Familia) was trapped on Floor 60 with the Loki Familia group, Orario ran out of top-tier Healers.
Rear Guard & Support (Support & Mage):
Lefiya Viridis (Level 4): Representative from the Loki Familia.
Asfi Al Andromeda (Level 4): Serving as a utility specialist. Her duty was handling logistics, underground navigation, as well as the use of tactical magic items and her explosive potions.
Welf Crozzo
Sanjouno Haruhime (Level 2): Despite having the lowest level, her position was protected with the highest priority. Her Uchide no Kozuchi magic would be kept as a trump card, used to provide mass Level Boost to the main fighters when the battle reached its climax. Along with other Familias who joined & gathered at the Tower of Babel.
In the rocky courtyard of Hearth Mansion, the final preparations were being made. Lefiya Viridis stood with a magic staff in her hand. The elf's blue eyes stared in confusion toward the group of strangers standing near the entrance seeing Bell off.
Lefiya frowned. She didn't recognize the androgynous-faced youth in green clothes like a bard, the large armored man emitting terrifying pressure, or the two elf girls standing behind them. However, her gaze was unconsciously fixed on the silver-haired woman standing so calmly. There was something about that woman's presence that made Lefiya's magic instincts scream a warning signal, as if she were staring into a magical abyss that had no bottom.
As Lefiya was still analyzing the group, Bell stepped forward, finishing checking his belt and dagger sheath.
"I'm off," Bell said firmly. He turned toward his goddess, giving a confident smile, then turned to stare straight at the silver-haired woman. "I'm going now, Aunt Alfia. Uncle Zald. Lord Venti, Dina-san, Vena-san."
One breath.
Hearing that farewell, the magic staff in Lefiya's hand nearly dropped to the ground. Her eyes widened, staring at Bell and the woman in turn.
Aunt?! Lefiya's mind screamed hysterically. As an educated mage from the Loki Familia who had read various Guild historical archives, that physical description finally clicked perfectly in her head. Silver hair, heterochromatic eyes, absolute silence, and magical power that felt like a void.
Alfia?
The legendary top executive of Evilus as well as the Silence who destroyed Orario seven years ago... is the aunt of Bell Cranel?!
Before Lefiya could process her shock, Hedin Selland had already raised his hand, giving an absolute command that silenced all conversation.
"Move out now! We have limited time, no one gets left behind!" Hedin ordered in an ice-cold tone.
The elite force instantly shot forward, moving through the empty streets of Orario. Moving in a neat formation at high speed, leaving Hearth Mansion toward the Tower of Babel that towered in the city center.
After Bell and his party's backs completely disappeared from view, Zald turned toward Alfia. The large man crossed his arms, breaking the silence in the mansion yard.
"You don't look worried at all about your beloved nephew," Zald asked, his voice teasing yet filled with curiosity.
A rescue mission to the depths of Floor 60 was no joke. Moreover, they heard there was an anomalous monster that even had the elite Level 7 Finn and Riveria group trapped helplessly.
Alfia turned her body gracefully. Her face remained as cold as ice. Not a single ripple of anxiety was in her heterochromatic eyes.
"No," Alfia answered calmly, her steps gliding gracefully toward the entrance. "Aside from the fact that I have taught him the pure essence of Afterglow, that child has also absorbed the basics of martial arts and combat experience that I forcibly planted into his body for a full month."
Alfia paused for a moment, glancing at Zald from the corner of her eye.
"That child's learning ability isn't bad," she continued, a very rare admission escaping the lips of the Silence.
Alfia stepped inside the headquarters again, her dress fluttering softly in the twilight breeze.
"Instead of wasting time worrying about him," Alfia's voice flowed flatly, "I should be more worried about the monsters down there who are about to face him."
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