Kai’s Skills and Magic slots remained completely unchanged, so Hestia only transcribed his updated stats onto the parchment.
This way, they could reuse the same sheet for his next update.
In a world heavily driven by adventuring, paper was surprisingly expensive.
As a brand-new, struggling Familia, they needed to spend their money on far more important things.
Name: Kai Constantine Level: Lv.
1 Stats: Strength F335 | Endurance D438 | Dexterity F343 | Agility F345 | Magic 0 How should she even process this?
Hestia was completely new to running a Familia, but she knew exactly what these numbers meant.
Other adventurers updated their stats every few months and were thrilled with single-digit increases.
Kai’s growth in a single day had surpassed what most adventurers achieved in a decade.
Such explosive progress terrified Hestia.
If anyone found out how fast he was growing, he would be in immense danger.
The Evils hadn’t truly vanished from Orario; they were simply hiding in the shadows, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
If they learned of Kai’s potential, they would spare no effort to assassinate him.
The Evils absolutely did not want another hero rising in Orario.
As for how Kai managed this absurd growth rate, Hestia had a pretty solid guess: his first talent.
Hard work guarantees returns.
Initially, she thought it just provided a minor boost to his growth speed, but now it seemed the talent’s effect was frighteningly literal.
It was a terrifyingly powerful ability.
Normally, if an adventurer spent all their time killing weak Goblins on the first floor, their stats would quickly hit a plateau and stagnate.
But Kai could just keep killing them and keep growing.
If leveling up didn’t specifically require a high-tier feat or “Excelia” milestone, he could probably grind his way to Lv.
9 without ever leaving the first floor.
“Kai, you must absolutely never show your back to anyone.
Even though I’ve locked your Falna, it’s not entirely foolproof.
Status-unlocking potions aren’t that rare on the black market, and there are quite a few people in Orario who can decipher the sacred text.” “Got it.” Kai didn’t completely understand what the numbers on the parchment meant, but he took Hestia’s warning to heart.
Keeping one’s Falna hidden was common sense among all Orario adventurers anyway.
Nobody in their right mind would just casually show off their trump cards.
“Hehe, but you really are incredible, Kai!
Alright, you should get some rest.
You’re heading back into the Dungeon tomorrow, right?” “Goodnight, Hestia.” With that, Kai pulled a small blanket out of the cabinet and lay down on the sofa.
The little couch was fine for a quick nap, but it was miserable for an entire night’s sleep.
Kai was nearly six feet tall; lying on the sofa meant his legs hung awkwardly over the edge, and he couldn’t even roll over.
“Kai, do you…
want to sleep in the bed with me?” Hestia, who was already tucked under her own covers, felt her heart flutter as she looked at Kai lying stiff as a mummy on the sofa.
The words just slipped out.
“…” “Kai?
Are you asleep?
The sofa is uncomfortable, isn’t it?
You have to go to the Dungeon tomorrow, you need a good night’s rest.” “Hestia…
I think if I sleep in the same bed as you, I might not be able to control myself.” The basement fell dead silent.
Hestia’s face instantly turned the color of a ripe apple.
She had completely forgotten that Kai was a hot-blooded, twenty-year-old young man.
If something did happen tonight, she wouldn’t even have the right to complain—after all, she was the one who invited him!
While Hestia’s imagination ran completely wild, Kai drifted off into a deep sleep.
The day’s grueling grind had completely drained him.
“I-It’s actually…
fine, you know?
But you have to be gentle with me, Kai.” God knows what kind of internal mental gymnastics she had just performed.
Maybe she was already picking out names for their future children.
Regardless, Hestia hid under her blankets and nervously repeated her invitation in a tiny whisper.
Unfortunately…
“K-Kai?” He was dead to the world.
“What the heck!?
I finally mustered up the courage!
Hmph!” Hestia genuinely thought she was going to end her billions of years as a Virgin Goddess tonight, only for the other party to fall asleep on her!
Gods were generally very open-minded about these things.
The Greek Pantheon, in particular, was notoriously chaotic.
If anything, Hestia’s prudishness made her the odd one out among her siblings.
Her title as a Virgin Goddess was famous across the heavens.
Whenever she chatted with her divine brothers and sisters, she always defended herself by saying she was waiting for someone she truly loved—and once she found him, she wouldn’t hesitate!
Yet, she had hesitated this time.
And with that hesitation, who knew when the next chance would come?
Maybe tomorrow, maybe much, much later~ ….
Image: Himeko System, you’re a real piece of work!
Why do I have to watch this kind of stuff at night?!
That phrase was fast becoming Himeko’s daily mantra.
Watching the romantic tension between the two on screen felt like taking three consecutive daggers to the heart.
She was a single woman, and she was this close to screaming obscenities.
[Ahem.
You’re the one choosing to watch, how is that my fault?
But damn, Kai’s got game.
He completely won over a goddess in a single day.
Not bad at all.
The Main System definitely has a good eye.] Ugh.
When are you going to bring my 2D boyfriend over so I can have my own sweet romance?
[Tch.
Overconfident Himeko.
You haven’t even spoken a single word to him!] You motherf— Didn’t you say this was a dating sim?!
[It is!
Kai is dating right now, isn’t he?
He’s dating a literal goddess!] F*ck!
Are you just making me play a cuckold simulator?!
[Ahem, just kidding!
I already told you, once the Main System wakes up, you’ll be able to contact him.
Relax.] Despite her constant complaints, Himeko’s heart was singing.
Just moments ago, she had officially broken through and become a genuine S-rank Valkyrie.
Exactly as the System promised, Kai’s massive stat growth had fed back into her, completely overriding the limits of her Artificial Stigmata.
Feeling the unprecedented surge of healthy, overflowing energy in her body made her realize just how unbelievably powerful this System truly was.
Speaking of which, you keep saying ‘we’.
Are there a lot of sub-systems like you out there?
Can you install one on Theresa’s phone?
[We sub-systems are entirely independent entities.
I can’t just hand them out to people.
Let’s just say that individuals who are favored by the World’s narrative are more likely to receive us.
The chances of multiple sub-systems appearing in the same universe are actually pretty low.
Oh, since you brought it up, I do have some news.
The other sub-systems will likely be waking up over the next few days.
Even though we can’t connect to the Main System, we can communicate with each other.
I’ll make a group chat so all of you cloud-dating Kai can talk to each other.] An artificial love triangle?
[Ahem, let’s just call it a little harmless hobby of ours.
Besides, it’s not a love triangle if none of you can even talk to him yet, right?
If anything, it’s more like…
The Losers’ Alliance?] System…
your mom’s dead!
[Hehe, we little Systems don’t have mothers to begin with.] Miss Himeko was so furious she practically short-circuited.
Taking one last look at Kai and Hestia sleeping peacefully on her screen, she tossed her phone aside, pulled her blanket over her head, and went to sleep.
She was done caring for tonight!