Hephaestus had a strange dream.

She remembered going out for the usual rounds to check up on her Familia members. Nothing out of the ordinary.

And then she remembered stopping by Welf's workshop.

She had been worried about him. The young Crozzo seemed to be squandering his talent away by trying to prove that he could stand on his own without his natural gift. Instead of incorporating <Crozzo Blood> into his work, he was throwing it away and pushing himself.

Even after Hephaestus showed him great works that other Master Smiths had made, and even some of her own, he still seemed determined to reach that level without his skill.

An inordinate amount of pride and determination.

But it wasn't enough.

One of the essential aspects of blacksmithing was harmony. If you were at odds with yourself, you would never be able to draw out the most potential to create a masterpiece. Like how an impurity could result in a crack that fractured the entire work, denying yourself would eventually lead to self-destruction.

So she had been happy to see that Welf changed his mind. Returning to the basics and carefully studying them. Even starting to create a tiny magic sword.

...Magic sword?

Yes. It was a magic sword. One that Hephaestus picked up to examine, and then-

"Mommy's waking up!"

...Mommy?

Hephaestus blinked and then opened her eyes. When she did, she saw an adorable face staring down at her. And one that looked far too similar to her own.

Hephaestus blinked again and then closed her eyes.

Maybe she was still dreaming...

"Mommy! Don't go back to sleep!"

A different voice called out. Hestia's. "I-I think your Mommy needs a bit of space, Pyrrha. Why don't you go play with Fina for a bit?"

"Oh. Okay!"

"Yay! Let's play with Mister Fire, Pyrrha!"

A young girl's voice. One that Hephaestus had become familiar with recently as Welf helped baby sit her.

Fina.

So... This probably wasn't a dream.

While Hephaestus would be the first to admit she had a few strange dreams now and then... usually involving swords, she knew for a fact she wouldn't have a vivid dream like this. So...

Hephaestus opened her eyes again to see Hestia looming over her this time.

Hestia let out an awkward smile and waved. "Hello, Faefae. Are you awake?"

"...I guess I am." She sighed and slowly sat up, taking a look around.

It was Welf's workshop. It looked like she was laying on a makeshift bed of sorts made from various cloth materials. Seemingly scraps... but now that she examined them, was it all Salamander Wool? Since when could Welf afford that?

Hestia sighed and then glanced back, frowning. "What ridiculous thing did Bell do this time, Welf?"

Hephaestus followed her gaze to see Welf awkwardly standing there, glancing back at the young girl who looked just like Hephaestus.

Welf cleared his throat and then scratched the back of his head. "...It wasn't Bell's fault. I just... Well." He let out a nervous laugh and said, "It's... complicated?" He looked over at Hephaestus and said, "L-Lady Hephaestus. Are you alright?"

Hephaestus stood up and nodded. "I'm fine. But reverting to calling me 'Lady'... I take it you're responsible for this..."

What could she call it? How could she even describe it?

A young girl who called her Mommy. One who looked exactly like her. One who she could *feel* was her daughter through and through. Whose presence radiated her own Authority and Divinity, but changed ever slightly. Instead of a forge, she felt like molten steel. A blade yet to be formed, still glowing from the heat.

"...Situation?"

Yes. Situation was the best word to describe it.

Welf cleared his throat again and said, "You... You could say that. Though I wasn't expecting you to come in here and see my progress without me..."

Hephaestus blushed and said, "I-I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Hoh?" Hestia immediately turned to look at Hephaestus.

Hephaestus felt her face heat up and she cleared her throat. "I-In any case..." She watched the young girl play with Fina and frowned. "...Who is she?"

Hestia let out a happy smile and said, "Isn't that obvious, Faefae? She's your daughter."

"Impossible." Hephaestus shook her head. "I have no children."

Hestia frowned.

In the back, the red-haired girl paused and slowly turned to look at Hephaestus. As she did, her crimson and steely gray eyes started to water.

A familiar expression. One that Hephaestus had seen herself countless times when she was rejected in the past.

The red-haired girl sniffed and rubbed her eyes. "Does... Mommy not want me...?"

Hephaestus flinched. "A-Ah. That..."

Before she could finish, Fina reached over to pat the girl's head. "Don't worry, Pyrrha! Your Mommy's just confused. My Mommy and Daddy were too when I was born!"

"R-Really?"

"Really!" Fina let out a bright smile and then tugged the red-haired girl... No. Her name was Pyrrha.

Fina tugged Pyrrha over towards the fire and said, "How about you try getting Mister Fire to help you make something too! Here, Daddy gave me some metal to play with last time. You can have it!"

"O-Okay..."

A nostalgic scene. One that reminded Hephaestus of something that happened back in Heaven.

Hephaestus had been eating a poorly prepared meal. Something she threw together to eat before heading back to work.

And then Hestia saw her. Carrying her own homecooked meal, Hestia took her by the arm and said that it wasn't right for her to eat like that before going out of her way to make more food for Hephaestus.

The two were different and the events were different too. But seeing those girls sitting together like that...

Hestia looked over at Hephaestus with a knowing smile.

Hephaestus looked away, feeling... She wasn't sure what she was feeling. So instead of thinking about it, she turned to Welf and said, "What did you do, Welf?"

He cleared his throat. "Well. It's complicated, but-"

"Explain it. In detail."

Welf's face turned red, but then he took a deep breath and nodded. "Alright." Looking back at Hephaestus with determined eyes, he said, "I used everything I learned to create a sword. A magic sword. One that embodied everything that I thought represented you. Beauty, determination, skill, resolve... I wanted to make something that even you could be proud of. Something that reflected your life's best work... or at least a small fragment of it. It's just..." He looked over at Pyrrha and tilted his head. "...I didn't think that I'd manage to create a soul weapon?"

Silence.

And then Hestia let out a deep sigh, covering her face. "I knew Bell was a bad influence, but I didn't think he'd start getting to you too, Welf..."

Hephaestus blinked, still trying to comprehend what Welf just said.

Her brain refused to process the first part, but it managed to process the last part. And so...

"Welf."

"Y-Yes, Lady Hestia?"

"Come over here and take off your shirt."

Hestia gasped. "F-Faefae! There are children here!"

Welf turned a deep red and crossed his arms. "U-Um... L-Lady Hestia. That's... I'm not quite... I mean, if you... No. Think of the others!'

Hephaestus felt her face heat up. She glared at Hestia and said, "It's not like that! I'm just updating his status!"

"Oh." Hestia pouted and said, "And I thought I was going to see something spicy."

"Go watch Freya with your man then, Tia."

Hestia flinched.

Hephaestus noticed and then quickly lowered her head. "...Sorry."

Hestia sighed. "No. It's fine... I guess that was a bit much. Sorry, Hephaestus."

That made Hephaestus feel even more guilty. But before she could apologize, Hestia waved and said, "I'll give you two some privacy and watch the kids." With that, she walked over to play with the two girls.

Hephaestus sighed.

Welf looked at Hestia and then shook his head, walking over to Hephaestus. "S-Sorry for the mess, Lady Hephaestus..." He took off his shirt and then sat down in front of Hephaestus, baring his back. "I didn't know it'd end up like this."

Hephaestus reached into her shirt and pulled out a small knife before pricking her right index finger. "It's fine. Today seems to be a first for a lot of different people..."

Like the fact that Freya was willingly going to another Familia's home to chat with an adventurer without the intent of charming them or starting a War Game.

"Now... Let's see just what you've been up to." Hephaestus muttered and then placed her hands on Welf's back-

*ba-dump*

A surge of information and emotions.

Updating the Falna always resulted in that. Since it drew forth the experiences that a person had and transmuted it into power, for the god updating the status, it was an intimate experience where they could see the record of everything their child experienced.

And this time was no different. Except...

A myriad of blacksmithing techniques. An eight-fold process that wrought steel from the depths of one's heart and bound the illusion into a blade. Swords that were crystals trained by the heart alone, embodying a pure concept instead of simply being a tool of war.

Tossing aside pride and arrogance. Accepting every flaw while seeking to draw out every strength.

Steel forged not for battle nor war, but for existence itself. Aiming for an ideal that can't be attained in one's lifetime, acknowledging it, but advancing regardless.

A path with no clear end. And even at the end, all that would remain...

Countless tools. Thousands of blades. A point where all paths crossed, where all desires flowed, where life and death blurred as one, forged into a paradoxical reality.

And that was-

Hephaestus flinched and drew her hand back, staring at Welf's status in shock.

---

[Welf Crozzo]
Lv. 1
Strength: B 700
Endurance: C 600
Dexterity: B 700
Agility: C 600
Magic: B 700
Wrought Iron: I

[Magic]
Will-or-Wish: Instant Cast. A blacksmith's flame consumes all materials. Induces Ignus Fatuus through a disruptive wave of flames.

[Skills]
Cross Blood: The user can create ??? Swords. Allows the incorporation of various materials and resources during creation. Lesser effect in creation of the items that are not swords.

Will of Re-Bel: A bell signals the start of humanity's advance. Magic and Skills have a chance for positive mutations. Limits are removed. It becomes possible to spontaneously learn magic, skills, and developmental abilities.

---

"What's wrong, Lady Hephaestus?" Welf turned around, trying to see his back. "Did my status change?"

Hephaestus let out a deep sigh and covered her face.

Why did Hestia always make her life more difficult...?

xxx

The morning after my chat with Freya.

Nothing happened except chatting about the details on how we'd make Freya's daughter a reality.

True to her word, Freya kept it civil and didn't cross the line to making things weird after she found out me and Tia hadn't even gone on a date yet. Instead, she took the time to chat and just get to know me.

Things like my family, what I liked, didn't like. Stuff about Hestia, like her favorite colors and if she liked to wear dresses or not. And Fina too, like what she enjoyed doing.

It was... surprisingly casual.

I could clearly tell that Freya was still interested in me, but she was keeping it carefully controlled and just focused on having a good time chatting.

Considering she was a goddess of love, it must have been a herculean feat of effort, so I bumped her up a few notches in my book of people I respected.

Still thought she was a bit suspicious though. Especially since she kept muttering 'No horny' every now and then and refused to clarify what she meant when I asked.

But she was nice. Friendly... and fairly smart too. Then again, that was expected of a goddess who ruled over war as well.

It wasn't like she was Aphrodite who was all looks and love and no brains.

Anyway, at some point early in the morning, Freya left with a cheerful farewell and was escorted home by a tall guy with trained muscles and a red bandana.

Someone who was so strong I had to force myself to not react to the *clearly* mortal danger standing in front of me.

But anyway, it was just me at home after that.

The sun was still a few hours out from rising, so nothing was open except for Babel and the Dungeon.

And there wasn't enough time for me to get a good night's sleep either. Not to mention that it would wreck my sleep schedule if I did sleep.

So instead of lounging around, I decided to take a walk. Get some fresh air and sort things out in my head.

Tia and Fina probably weren't going to be back until later in the morning, if at all today, so there wasn't any point in just staying at home.

So with that decided, I made sure to leave a note in case my family came back early, locked everything up, stored the more important things in my inventory, and then headed into town.

It was still dark. While the sky was starting to lighten up, for the most it was still just like night out.

As a result, there weren't many people around. The few that were walking around were shady sorts of people wearing robes and acting like two-bit thugs.

For the most part, at least. I saw a few normal adventurers walking around and yawning, probably doing late night shifts.

I also saw a few people who didn't look like adventurers but were just as tired. Ordinary people walking around and carefully clutching a bag of valis to their chests.

"Everyone's just trying to make it in this world, huh?" I mumbled and continued on my way, leaving them to their own devices.

I forgot about it, but I was lucky. The people who had a Falna and a familia were actually the minority. While it seemed like a lot of people were like that in Orario, that was only true because the Dungeon was here.

In the outside world... There were other gods that gave Falna as well, but the majority of people were just ordinary. No divine blessings and simple mundane, human skills. People who would be helpless if monsters broke out from the Dungeon and rampaged.

That was why quests were a thing. While it was a way for adventurers to earn money without risking their lives in the Dungeon, it also served a dual purpose of helping the ordinary people out.

But...

"A world where ordinary people had to live by the whims of the superhuman..."

It bothered me.

I hadn't seen it personally, but my gut was telling me that there was a dark underbelly to this world. It was just too easy to exploit normal people when the other party was superhuman. And while the Guild kept things in check here in Orario, in the outside world...

"...Let's not think about it too much."

It was better to pretend that everything was fine. At least for the moment.

The powerless would only hurt those that needed salvation if they tried to reach out. And right now... Well, I wasn't necessarily powerless, but all I had was borrowed power.

Freya would help keep Fina safe and gloss over any weird stuff about me. Welf was there to help me get new equipment and party in the Dungeon.

But I was reliant on them both.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, friendship and allies were a sort of power of their own. But it was good to be able to stand by yourself at times. And right now...

I stuck my hands into my pants pockets and kept walking, strolling down Main Street.

Should I try and research into making more items with my skills? Or what they did?

Compilation, Energy Manipulation... And then there was Quantum Magic, Inventory, and both Liar's Phrase and Storyteller's Refrain.

My gut was telling me that I could probably make some ridiculous things with them.

But after seeing the guy that came to pick up Freya...

It was a qualitative difference.

Like when I faced off against that variant War Shadow, I could tell that nothing worked. Before I even opened my inventory, I would have been cut in half. Running away would be useless, and I didn't have anything decisive to use against someone on that level.

An unsurmountable gap due to stats.

Right.

Like how normal people couldn't face adventurers, within adventurers, people at lower levels couldn't face people at higher levels. Well, maybe if the gap was just one or two levels, but past that? Impossible.

It was a rule born through the qualitative difference of levels.

That didn't mean it was impossible to win. Just that a fair fight was impossible. After all, poison, blackmail, hostages... cruel and malicious tactics could be used to force people to weaken themselves. Especially those with a righteous heart.

And while Bell originally came here because he thought adventurers were like heroes, the truth was that they weren't.

Maybe the more powerful familia had the luxury to act as heroes and save others, but for the most part, adventurers were scummy, saved every penny, and would resort to nefarious tactics to get even.

Which was why the Guild was in place. Law was used to maintain order among people who would otherwise create anarchy.

Still...

I sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Life's tough."

I'd had a run of good luck. And if my skill worked the way I thought it did, that would keep going as long as I believed it.

But skills weren't omnipotent. And I couldn't underestimate the ridiculousness that were higher-leveled adventurers.

Even if Liar's Phrase made it so that my beliefs became reality... Or even if it twisted reality to fit my beliefs, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a person out there with a skill that was 'Ignore all external influences' that could negate my ability.

Just like a game. You could set the crit rate to 100% and dodge every attack. But if it was a scripted event, you could only rely on your raw stats to get past it. And if your stats weren't up to par, you'd lose. Period.

"...Do I need to think up some other ways to improve then?"

I had the luxury of not needing to worry about 'skill.' As long as I found the right book or studied something enough, Compilation let me turn that knowledge into direct application.

The potion training regime definitely helped, but improving my physical body had a cap.

"Hm..."

I lowered my gaze and continued walking. "Maybe if I reinforce my body with mana..."

I caught a glimpse of it when I was helping Fina, but it should be possible to thread mana through the body. And like how I reinforced her mana core before she evolved-

Wait.

Mana core...

The Falna was essentially a mana core but using divine energy. It was just another energy processor.

So if I used something else as a mana core... Obviously, I couldn't put something like that in my body. But I had a bunch of those lying around in my inventory, didn't I? And if my inventory was linked to my mana already, then it should be possible to-

A sudden impact on my side.

"Ah."

A soft female voice.

I blinked and looked over to see a young woman with long blonde hair.

She had a rapier sheathed at her left side and was wearing what looked to be practical armor. There was a breastplate. Vambraces. Knee-guards and plates to cover her waist.

...But then the only clothes she had on other than that was a thin white shirt that fell to her mid-thighs and practically put everything on display along with tall blue leggings.

The young woman... No. She was fairly young, actually. Probably around my age.

So 'girl' was more fitting. Anyway, the girl bowed her head and said, "Sorry for bumping into you."

I shook my head. "It's fine. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."

And I needed to remember to stop doing that. Or rather, start doing that. Long thinking sessions needed to be done in the safety of my home or when people were around to watch my back.

The blonde girl shook her head and said, "I should have been more aware." She frowned and muttered, "Perhaps Lefi was right. I might need more rest..."

"Hm?" I frowned and said, "More rest... Are you headed to the Dungeon then?"

The blonde girl nodded. "Of course. Training is important. And the less monsters that remain in this world, the better."

A natural response.

But...

My frown deepened. Mostly because I noticed something off about the girl.

She was strong, first of all. But that wasn't really important. Instead...

"...By any chance, are you part-"

"Ais!"

Another girl's voice called out. Shortly after that, an elf girl with bright orange hair ran over, panting. "I... I knew you'd be out here!" She grabbed the first girl's hand and said, "The Captain said no sneaking off to the Dungeon!"

"Lefi..."

"No! Now, get back home and... Oh." The elf girl blinked, having just noticed me. "Sorry. Did my friend bother you?"

I stared at 'Ais.' Especially at how her body was definitely at least half-mana in the same way that Fina's whole body was.

But then I shook my head and stuck my hands back in my pant pockets. "Nah. Just curious. Take care on your way home, ladies." With that, I turned and walked away.

As I did, I heard pieces of their conversation drift towards me.

"Why are you in such a rush these days, Ais? That variant War Shadow is still on the loose. And you saw how it looked at you last time! If you go in the Dungeon-"

"I will be fine."

"You won't be! Even if it's just the first few floors, a lot of adventurers have been going missing, you know? And also..."

As I walked off, their voices trailed away, becoming inaudible.

Still...

"Yep. Definitely need to stay away from the Dungeon for a while."

That sounded like a whole boatload of death flags right there. That, and story triggers. Definitely not touching that with a ten-foot pole any time soon.

"Still need to train though, so..." I paused and then started walking towards the Guild Hall. "It's about time I look at those quests."

Who knows? Maybe there would be some good rewards that could help me out. A grimoire or two would be nice. Or even some valuable item drops to pass off to Welf to make new equipment-

Wait.

I paused and then opened my inventory.

After that, I stared at the giant pile of magic stones tucked away in a corner of that inventory.

And then I focused.

If there was an inventory system, then crafting was obviously a thing too, right? And the slots in my inventory looked an awful lot like a popular block survival game, so-

A giant headache. An entire stack of magic stones vanishing, along with a flood of information.

Equivalent exchange. Energy converted into mass through factoring out light. Will, intent, and thought coalescing to manipulate the form of the dark matter, filling it once again with light to turn into a new form.

...Yeah. That should work. It didn't sound entirely right, but this was magic, so a bit of flubbing was allowed in exchange for more cost. And so-

A soft chime, like bells echoing.

And when that chime happened...

[Inventory has evolved to Crafting System.]

[It is possible to create items through synthesizing stored resources in your inventory.]

[Quality is determined by the corresponding Developmental Ability.]

[When lacking the corresponding Developmental Ability, only the lowest ranked item will be created.]

...Okay. Could someone give me a help menu? Because I could *really* use that right now to explain what the hell is up with me and my skills...

Also, since when could I see system messages? This wasn't a game...

...Was it?

...Bah, I'd think about it later.

Now, about those quests...

...And about potentially using magic stones to spam high level spells along with spamming physical items...

HappyVainGlory

I originally had the second half of this chapter be a bit darker, but I don't think I want to dip into it just yet. Still, it was written out, so I'll leave it here to read in a spoiler tag. Note that it's non-canon to this story though. Just a little what-if. ...Though the ideas in it might come back later.