Helping Liang Yue update his status—that was one of the few things Hestia could do for him right now.
And after all these days of Dungeon exploration, with his outstanding natural talent, she was just as eager to see how his stats had improved.
Like a gust of wind sweeping through, they finished dinner quickly. She then fetched the parchment needed for the update and sat on the edge of the bed, gently swinging her legs.
Her fair, delicate feet were full and rounded, toes idly moving as she waited without rushing Liang Yue, who was still eating.
Only after he'd rested a bit did Hestia smile and call out, "Liang Yue-kun, let's get your status updated!"
"Sorry to trouble you, Hestia-sama."
Liang Yue took off his shirt. Thanks to days of intense Dungeon runs and a steady nutritional intake, his muscle lines had begun to show more definition.
His left arm, bound by a restraining device, was still monstrous in appearance, but after going through this process before, he was already quite used to it.
He lay down on the bed without hesitation.
Part of his curiosity about the update was purely to see his stat growth—but another part was simply to help lift Hestia's spirits.
After all, a god could still be of help to their Familia.
"This is what I should be doing," Hestia said.
She climbed up onto the bed, settling herself by his thighs, and took in the sight of his increasingly well-defined back muscles.
Her blue eyes glimmered with curiosity.
Maybe… just a little touch wouldn't hurt?
Of course not!
It was only natural for a goddess to care about her child's physical condition—or so she convinced herself. Hesitating a moment, she finally reached out.
The cool tips of her fingers brushed against his back. The firm muscle under her touch sent a strange sensation through her, making her cheeks instantly flush red.
"Haa…"
"Alright, focus on the job!"
Flustered, Hestia pulled her hand away and tried to calm her heartbeat. She pricked her fingertip with a silver needle, letting a drop of divine blood fall onto his back.
A gentle glow spread out as she erased the old stats and replaced them with the newly updated ones from his recent adventures.
Finally, she pressed the parchment against his back to take the imprint.
"With Liang Yue-kun's talent…"
"These days in the Dungeon must have improved your stats across the board!"
She had complete confidence in him, but when she actually saw the new status sheet, she still couldn't hide her shock.
Liang Yue
Lv. 1
STR: F337 │ END: F369 │ DEX: F301 │ AGI: F354 │ MAG: I0
Development Abilities: None
Magic: None
Skills: Inner·Ghost Swordsmanship, Triple Slash, Moonlight Slash, Backstep Slash
"It's only been two days…"
"Magic hasn't changed, but every other stat has jumped by two whole ranks. This pace…"
"Wait—"
"Where did these three new skills come from?"
Normally, after finishing the update, Hestia wouldn't remain seated on him. But today was different.
It wasn't the stat growth that surprised her most—it was the appearance of three entirely new, unfamiliar skill names.
When she had first recruited him, he had already possessed "Inner·Ghost Swordsmanship," proof enough of his incredible swordsmanship talent. And he had certainly proven that talent in practice.
But this level of growth… even she hadn't expected it.
Strong enough to gain three entirely new skills in just two days?
She took a breath and asked, "Liang Yue-kun, how exactly did you manage this?"
"Many adventurers…"
"…even if they trained their whole lives, could never learn so many skills!"
"…."
The pleasant, just-right weight of her sitting astride him aside, her question was not an easy one to answer.
He couldn't exactly say, There's no cheat ability—just daily hard work and sweat.
After a moment of thought, he decided to soften his answer. "I just want to be of more help to you, Hestia-sama."
"I want to have the strength to stand by your side."
"…Liang Yue-kun."
The sincerity in his words made her momentarily lose herself. She didn't doubt him for a second.
When she had taken him in, it had been because she saw him wandering Orario without a place to stay…
And also because she had wanted to grow her Familia.
He was mature, steady, and incredibly gifted. He could have chosen better opportunities, yet he had stayed with her.
At this moment, Hestia felt the affection one would have for family.
And yet… those little, unintentional moments of charm from him—
They always made her heartbeat quicken for no reason. Almost like the feeling she got when working at the potato stand—when she discovered days later that she'd forgotten some ingredients she had already prepped.
It had… changed.
Hestia slid off him, her heart warmed by a gentle happiness, and handed him the parchment with his updated stats.
"Liang Yue-kun, take a look. You've made incredible progress these past days—but I still want you to take care of yourself."
"Thank you for your concern, Hestia-sama."
Smiling, Liang Yue accepted the sheet, curious what kind of growth had made Hestia react so strongly.
He skimmed it quickly.
The skill section he ignored—those were just the new abilities gained from leveling up his Sword Soul template.
But the stat increase…
It really was beyond his expectations. Jumping from H-rank to F-rank in such a short time—and this was only from running the upper floors.
"Maybe…"
"…I'm actually a full-stat monster?"
To raise his magic stat, he would first need to learn magic—and given the price of grimoires in Orario, he didn't even dare dream about that.
He could just abandon that path entirely.
With all stats eventually reaching S-rank, combined with the Sword Soul's skillset…
Liang Yue was eager to see—
What kind of overwhelming power could a stat-monster unleash in Orario, and in the perilous Dungeon?
The War-ravaged Wasteland
After returning from his Dungeon adventure, Bell couldn't stop thinking about the "just a passing swordsman" Liang Yue.
More accurately—
He admired him.
He wanted to become a strong adventurer like Liang Yue!
He hadn't even had time to rest before Ottar led him straight to Lady Freya's chambers to update his status after this round of training.
"Bell."
"How was your Dungeon run?" Freya's long silver hair draped naturally over her shoulders. As the goddess who presided over beauty, her allure was beyond compare.
Clad in an opulent silk gown, her gaze was warm as she looked at the boy lying face-down, going through the update process.
"It went pretty well, Lady Freya."
Bell's mind flashed back to the moment on the 7th floor, when Liang Yue had stepped in to help him against the Killer Ant swarm. He smiled sheepishly.
If not for him, things might have gone very badly.
But Bell, lying there, didn't notice the slight shift in Freya's expression as she scanned his updated status sheet.
Her brows furrowed when her eyes landed on the skill section.
[Single-Minded Admiration]
"This child…"
"What exactly happened to him in the Dungeon?"
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