Chapter 21: War Game
"If Charlie remains in your Familia, it's like letting a diamond stay among rocks! You and Zeus are banished from Orario and not allowed to return. Without the Dungeon, Charlie cannot progress. Do you want your child's power to stagnate and not develop because of your selfishness?"
Expecting rejection, Aphrodite presented facts to Hera to allow Charlie to move to her Familia.
What she said was the truth.
The reason Orario monopolizes adventurers is because of the existence of the Dungeon.
For the people of the lower world who have received the Falna from the gods, the fastest way to gather Excelia is by killing monsters.
Although there are monsters outside Orario, they are few in number and scattered, making it difficult to find them. In contrast, there is a continuous supply of monsters in the endless Dungeon.
In the Dungeon, every time a monster is destroyed, they will naturally reappear after a certain period of time. Thus, adventurers do not need to compete to hunt monsters.
Furthermore, monsters in the Dungeon and in the outside world are different.
Defeating monsters in the Dungeon will provide valuable magic items and drop items. Both of these are a source of income for adventurers. Whereas monsters in the outside world only leave corpses after being defeated.
One does not need to be smart to determine which option is more beneficial between the two.
"My answer remains the same. I will not hand over Charlie. I don't need your reminder, he will go to Orario sooner or later." Hera said calmly.
"Why are you so stubborn?! Although there is no prohibition for members of Hera Familia to return to Orario, without your presence there, they cannot update their status!"
Aphrodite furrowed her brows, not understanding why the others did not realize this.
The only role of the gods in their Familia is to provide Falna and update status.
No matter how much Excelia is collected, without a god helping to update the adventurer's status with divine blood, the adventurer will not make any progress.
"It's none of your business. I have my own way of handling this issue."
Crossing her legs, Hera looked at the annoyed Aphrodite with a thin smile.
The Chosen Savior Skill has four abilities, and one of them is: 'Status can be updated independently just by using god's blood.'
In short, Hera only needs to give him a certain amount of blood, and then Charlie can update his status himself.
"Grrr... You never change, Hera."
"You too, Aphrodite. Let me guess, you used your charm on Charlie, right? But it failed, that's why you persuaded me to give him up."
"Hmph."
Aphrodite snorted and turned her head away, Hera's guess hitting the mark.
"Here's your tea."
Charlie entered with tea and placed it on the table. Of course, he overheard the conversation between the two goddesses. After serving the drink, he stood behind Hera like a guard.
Hera sipped the tea gracefully and said, "This topic ends here."
"Wait, I'm not done yet!"
"Enough, Aphrodite. If you want to take Charlie from me, let's start the War Game."
"..."
Hearing the term War Game, Aphrodite calmed down again.
War Game is one way for Familia to resolve major disputes without involving the entire city in direct conflict. War Game usually has different rules, depending on the agreement or challenge presented, such as large-scale battles, duels, or castle sieges.
War Game is held only when disputes between Familia cannot be reconciled.
"Are you serious, Hera? Your Familia is not as strong as before."
Aphrodite was puzzled by where Hera's confidence came from to challenge her in the War Game. Although Aphrodite Familia is not an exploration Familia and does not have First-Class Adventurers, there are still some Second-Class Adventurers.
On the other hand, Hera Familia has lost all First and Second-Class Adventurers, leaving only Third-Class Adventurers to guard the base while the main forces are on expeditions.
"Do I look like I'm joking with you?"
"Forget it, I give up. You're insane, no wonder Zeus hides from you."
Raising her hand in surrender, Aphrodite could only look at Charlie with regret for losing such an interesting human.
"But let me stay here for a few days, I'm bored in Orario. At least you can fulfill my request, right?"
"Do as you please."
"Very good."
To her surprise, Hera agreed easily. Although she had prepared a lot of rhetoric in her mind. Aphrodite glanced at Charlie with a sly smile while sipping her tea.
❀❀❀
Night.
After finishing his sword training routine, Charlie dried his sweaty body with Wind Spirit Art.
Entering the house, he saw Aphrodite sleeping on the sofa. Her revealing clothes showcased her beautiful figure, hard to ignore.
Seeing this, Charlie covered her body with a blanket. Then he knocked on Hera's door and entered after receiving permission.
"Tch, dealing with straight men seems very annoying."
Opening her eyes, Aphrodite clicked her tongue in annoyance because her seduction failed.
If there were any other man in this situation, he would not hesitate to undress and pounce on her like a wild beast.
"But... It's not bad to be treated without lust once in a while." Aphrodite murmured softly.
On the other hand, after Charlie explained his intention to update his status, Hera did not refuse.
Then, Hera pricked her finger with a needle, a drop of her divine blood fell on Charlie's back as he lay on the bed.
The Sacred Text that only gods could read appeared. Hera promptly updated the status.
"Is... Is there something like this?"
Seeing Charlie's latest status on his back, Hera could not contain her astonishment.
"Goddess Hera? Is something wrong?" Charlie asked worriedly.
"You are the most extraordinary creature from the lower world that I have ever seen, Charlie."
Without explaining the reason for her surprise, Hera completed the status update ritual, copied it onto parchment, and handed it to him.
"See for yourself, then you will understand how extraordinary you are."
Taking the parchment, Charlie began to read.
______
Charlie Avalon
Level 1
Strength: H (194) → SS (1050)
Endurance: H (162) → S (991)
Dexterity: H (186) → SSS (1020)
Agility: G (220) → SSS (1034)
Magic Power: D (530) → EX (2124)
Magic:
-[Spirit Art]
Skill:
-[The Chosen Savior]
-[Prodigy Swordsman]