The exact moment Kai received his Falna, Himeko finally received her promised reward.
To put it into words, it felt as though she had just soaked in a perfect hot spring and received a deep-tissue massage from an absolute master.
The unparalleled comfort was even better than the warm haze of a heavy buzz.
Simultaneously, Himeko realized that the agonizing, omnipresent pain radiating from her Artificial Stigmata had completely vanished.
The immense power was still there, but the lethal side effects had been entirely wiped away.
This… [How about it?
Pretty useful, right?
With your current physical condition, living another hundred years will be an absolute breeze!~] Thank you.
Himeko genuinely didn’t know how to process her emotions.
If she had to put a word to it, it would be ‘lost.’ Up until ten minutes ago, she, like most Valkyries, lived every single day as if it were her last—fighting recklessly, drinking heavily, and burning the candle at both ends.
But now, a voice in her head had casually informed her that she was cured.
She didn’t have to fear a sudden, agonizing death anymore.
For a fleeting second, her first instinct was to retire.
If she could actually live a full, normal life, why not walk away from the battlefield?
But the thought vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by a blazing realization.
If her Artificial Stigmata had been neutralized, didn’t that mean there was hope for all the young girls at St.
Freya who had been implanted with the same lethal technology?!
System, exactly how did you cure me?
[Simple!
I elevated your body’s underlying potential to the exact same tier as Kai’s.
It works just like the Divine Grace.
Think of your original body as a bottle that can only hold one liter of water.
No matter how hard you trained, the absolute maximum it could contain was two liters.
The Artificial Stigmata essentially grabbed a ten-liter bucket and violently shoved it into your bottle.
Through surgery, the water got inside, but your bottle was left covered in cracks and on the verge of shattering.
The feedback from the Falna just magically expanded your bottle into a hundred-liter tank.
Naturally, the Stigmata can’t hurt you anymore.] Is there a way to mass-produce this cure?
[Sure, tons of ways.
Miss Himeko, I think you’re still failing to grasp the situation.
This System is your greatest asset.
As long as you have the will, there is absolutely nothing you cannot achieve.
Assuming, of course…] Assuming Kai grows up healthy and strong, right?
Shut up and take my money!
[Right away, Boss!
Take a look at this Holy Sword!
Or how about this Grand Caster-level Magecraft?
Oh, what about this passive growth skill?
Whatever cheats you want, I’ve got them all in stock!] ….
Himeko went on an absolute spending spree, entirely draining her life savings in a matter of minutes.
And since everyone knew St.
Freya was notorious for not paying its teachers a proper salary, she was likely going to be completely sober for the foreseeable future.
But her sacrifice yielded immediate, terrifying results.
The sacred text manifesting on Kai’s back left Hestia completely paralyzed in shock.
The sheer, awe-inspiring potential etched into his skin—enough to terrify a god who had lived through hundreds of millions of years of history—was the raw, unadulterated power of microtransactions!
Name: Kai Constantine Level: Lv.
1 Stats: Strength 0 | Endurance 0 | Dexterity 0 | Agility 0 | Magic 0 Skills: [Steadfast Will] Growth-Type: When your will is resolute, your advance cannot be halted.
Every step you take and every swing of your blade becomes undeniable proof of your growth.
Effect: All basic attributes will grow at an extreme, accelerated rate.
Effect: Total nullification of all [Abnormal Status] conditions.
[Strong Luck] Talent-Type: The world cast its gaze upon you the moment you were born.
The blessing of the world ensures your desires manifest into reality.
Effect: Grants unparalleled, peerless luck.
[Hera’s Love] Blessing-Type: You are born noble.
Effect: Grants peerless, unmatched physical beauty.
Magic: None The Falna ruthlessly laid bare every ounce of Kai’s innate potential.
Even Hestia, a complete novice at running a Familia, knew she had just stumbled upon a world-breaking treasure.
But she absolutely couldn’t let anyone else see that third skill.
How in the world did her precious new child get tangled up with that problematic sister of hers?!
“Kai… what exactly is your relationship with Hera?” Hestia wasn’t the type to bottle up her questions.
As the eldest sister of the Greek pantheon, she certainly wasn’t afraid of Hera.
But that skill absolutely could not be seen by anyone else.
As the former ruler of one of Orario’s original absolute-top-tier factions, the mere mention of Hera’s name was enough to trigger a collective panic attack among the city’s elites.
“Hera?
You know my grandma, Lord Hestia?” “G-Grandma?!” “Yeah.
Grandma Hera adopted me.
She passed away a little while ago, which is why I came to Orario.” “That incredibly vain woman was actually willing to look like an old crone?!” “…She always maintained the appearance of a beautiful young woman.
She claimed she found some miraculous fountain of youth in Orario a long time ago.
A lot of the young guys in our village were actually head over heels in love with her.” Hestia’s face was practically plastered with the word speechless.
But she couldn’t be bothered to psychoanalyze Hera’s eccentricities.
As long as no one else found out about their connection, it would be fine!
Besides, it was just Hera!
So what?
Even if she recruited someone related to Zeus down the line, she wouldn’t care!
“Kai, your grandmother doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation in Orario.
You absolutely must not mention your connection to her when you’re out in public, understand?” “I know, Lord Hestia.
I lived with her for a long time.
I know exactly what her personality is like.” Kai couldn’t help but crack a wry smile.
Despite carrying herself like a flawless, elegant noblewoman, Hera was inherently petty, fiercely jealous, and horribly vindictive.
But to the boy she had adopted, she was endlessly forgiving.
Kai vividly remembered the time he accidentally knocked over a neighbor’s stone wall.
Hera had actually taken him by the hand and walked over to apologize.
He would never forget it, because in all their years together, it was the one and only time Hera had ever lowered her pride and bowed her head to a mortal.
….
System, little Kai is actually connected to the Goddess Hera?!
[Yep!
Why else do you think I picked him?
There were only two suitable candidates in that world who matched the System’s criteria.
One was Kai, and the other was an orphan adopted by Zeus.
I thought Kai was way better-looking, so I chose him.] I’m starting to understand your whole ‘bloodline elitism’ speech from earlier… [Nope!
Quite the opposite, actually!
Kai is genuinely just a completely normal human.
Hera adopted him on a whim simply because she thought he was cute.
But she treated him exceptionally well.
That terrifying goddess probably really did view him as her precious grandson.] A child favored by the gods?
Even without your System, this kid probably would have grown into a legendary hero anyway, right?
[Not necessarily!
After all, there can only ever be one protagonist in a story.] I just hope that ‘Steadfast Will’ talent I bought actually works.
[That is one of the absolute best items in my shop!
If you weren’t my very first customer, and Kai wasn’t my very first host, a talent that directly touches the laws of reality like that would cost tens of billions of crystals!
It’s a premium, top-tier cheat!] I’ve been meaning to ask… what do you even do with human money?
[I don’t need the money itself; I need the concept it represents.
My shop has fixed prices to establish that our relationship is a fair ‘transaction,’ not a one-sided ‘gift.’ You are one of the core protagonists of your world.
A transaction with you is equivalent to a transaction with the world itself.
You don’t need to stress over the metaphysics.
Just know that our trades are completely fair, and I get exactly what I need out of them.] I see.
Works for me.