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Hestia didn't pay much attention to Luo Hao's reaction. Once everyone had finished learning Japanese, she turned to her next plan — some special training for her own follower.
"Alright, Alex, it's time for your exclusive surprise."Hestia smiled, raising a finger that burned with a flicker of divine fire.
"What are you planning to do?" Alex asked, a bad feeling creeping up on him.
"Of course—give your body a proper purification and create your magic circuits!"Before he could respond, Hestia flicked the flame straight into his chest.
Pain exploded through him instantly.
"Argh…! That hurts like hell!" Alex screamed, clutching his chest as his body felt like it was on fire.
"Hang in there, Alex! The longer you endure it, the greater the benefit you'll gain!" Hestia called out, urging him to stay strong.
In the world of DanMachi, gods had to seal their divine power when descending to the mortal realm, so they couldn't directly enhance their followers' potential.But this was the Type-Moon world — no such restrictions applied.
Here, Hestia could go all out. Not only would she use her sacred flame to refine Alex's body, she'd also forge perfect magic circuits within him.
Encouraged by her words, Alex gritted his teeth and endured the blazing torment in silence. But the agony was beyond description — his entire body felt like it was boiling alive, skin flushed bright red like a cooked shrimp.
A normal person could barely handle a fever; Alex was suffering through something a thousand times worse.
Watching from the side, Luo Hao frowned slightly. Then she began to chant, invoking her divine authority — "General's Decree: A man must make himself strong!"
It was a power she'd taken after slaying the Maitreya Buddha — a godslayer's authority. Under her command, anyone engaged in martial discipline would be blessed by her will. As her heroic battle song filled the air, their bodies would harden like steel, their martial spirit awakened, capable of deflecting bullets with bare flesh.
Sure enough, as her song resonated, Alex's body grew tougher, the pain fading to something bearable.
Esther (Esdeath) watched the scene unfold with a grin. "Impressive. Gods and god-slayers really do have endless tricks up their sleeves."
Roxy, not wanting to be left out, raised her staff. "Let me help too," she said, casting a healing spell over Alex, easing his pain and strengthening his endurance.
With Luo Hao's blessing and Roxy's healing, Alex managed to last a full hour. At last, the sacred flame completely merged into his body.
When he opened his eyes again, all the girls were pinching their noses.
Hestia spoke first, waving a hand. "Alex, go take a bath. Quickly. The smell's awful."
Only then did Alex notice the heavy, acrid stench filling the room. Looking down, he realized his body was coated in a layer of sticky, black grime. The smell was him.
"What the hell—did I… lose control or something?" he blurted out, horrified at the thought of embarrassing himself in front of so many girls.
Luo Hao shook her head calmly. "No. Your body's been purified. That filth is the impurities forced out by the sacred flame."
"Ah… so it's like a full-body cleansing!" Alex said, instantly relieved — and amazed.
He sprinted to the bathroom and began scrubbing himself clean.It took over half an hour and nearly a third of the hotel's body wash before the last trace of grime was gone.
When he finally looked at himself in the mirror, he froze.
Since arriving in the Type-Moon world, his sixteen-year-old body had been completely ordinary — average height, average build, average looks. But now… things were different.
He was taller, leaner, stronger. His features had sharpened, his skin clearer. His reflection looked less like a random high schooler and more like the protagonist of a shōnen manga.
After getting dressed and returning to the living room, he found all the girls staring at him in surprise.
"Alex, you got handsome!" Hestia teased with a wink.
Roxy's eyes sparkled with envy. "So purifying your body with divine flame can do that, huh…"As a demon race girl with a petite, childlike build, she'd always been frustrated by her height. Seeing Alex's transformation made her seriously consider joining Hestia's familia herself.
Luo Hao, meanwhile, couldn't hide her satisfaction.As the only other Chinese person in their chat group, she had high hopes for Alex — she wanted to see him grow strong.In her eyes, no son of Huaxia should ever fall behind anyone else.The stronger Alex became, the prouder she felt.
After studying him for a moment, Esdeath turned to Hestia. "So? What's his status now?"
Hestia beamed proudly. "Right now, Alex's physical capabilities are about ten times greater than an average human's. His learning speed, martial potential, and magical aptitude are all top-tier. As for his magic circuits—thanks to my divine power—they're perfectly constructed. By this world's standards, his circuit quality is EX-rank, quantity A-rank, and configuration completely normal."
The other girls didn't quite grasp how impressive that was, but Alex did.He stared wide-eyed — this level of quality even surpassed Aozaki Touko's, rivaling Aozaki Aoko herself!
Esdeath smirked, excitement flaring in her eyes. "Then the next step is summoning a Servant and joining the Holy Grail War!"
After witnessing Hestia and Luo Hao's divine battle earlier, she'd been itching to fight the Heroic Spirits of this world.
But Hestia shook her head. "Not yet. The Holy Grail War isn't starting for a while. Until then, I'll teach Alex how to use magic properly — he can't even summon a Servant without that."
"I agree," Luo Hao said. "I didn't come here for the Grail War. My goal is to train him in martial arts and make him stronger."
Esdeath shrugged. "Fine, fine. Do what you want. My power comes from my Teigu anyway, not something I can pass on."
Roxy raised a hand, smiling. "Count me in! I'll teach him magic from my world, then."
She loved teaching — there was no way she'd give up a chance like this.
"Alright then!" Hestia clapped her hands decisively. "Starting tomorrow, we'll begin full training. Morning: martial arts with Luo Hao. Afternoon: magic lessons with me. Evening: spellcraft with Roxy!"
Luo Hao nodded approvingly.Roxy agreed without hesitation. Alex, still dazed, hadn't even managed to respond before his entire schedule was decided for him.
The girls continued chatting happily in their group afterward, but Alex, completely exhausted, excused himself and went back to his room.
Starting tomorrow… his hellish training would begin.
"..."
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