Welf then left his shop to buy something to eat. Meanwhile, Ethan stayed behind and waited. While waiting, he analyzed his stats to decide which one to "upgrade" next.
Name: Ethan Walker
Familia: Alectro Familia
Level: 1
Stats: Strength (STR): B 736
Endurance (END): G 241
Dexterity (DEX): C 615
Agility (AGI): B 767
Magic (MAG): I 43
Luck (LUK): G 260
Looking at his stats, he concluded that he should raise his Magic a bit. So, he took all 190 points he had earned that day and allocated them to Magic, raising it to 233.
'If I can gain 200 points every day, I'll soon hit 1,000 in every stat. But I need to figure out how to level up.' A Level 2 adventurer is far stronger than a Level 1 adventurer.
Ethan decided not to dwell on it for the moment, as he was certain the system would show him how to level up in the near future.
He sat down and stared into space as scenes of what had happened inside that forge played through his mind. At the time, he hadn't really cared much about it.
He had treated the entire massacre as if it were normal.
But now... the images of heads, arms, and legs flying through the air, organs scattered on the ground, the metallic stench of blood—it was all making him extremely uncomfortable. Ethan shook his head, trying to banish the images.
'I did what was necessary. The people I killed deserved it.'
The slaves' deaths weren't his fault.
Just then, Welf returned to the shop and found Ethan deep in thought, his face slightly pale.
"Did something happen?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about some unnecessary things."
"I see. Here, I brought some meat; it should be enough to fill your stomach."
"Thanks."
Ethan and Welf sat together and began to eat. As they ate, Welf asked again, "So, what did you do?"
Ethan was blunt. "I killed people. A lot of them."
"Cough... cough... cough..." Welf choked on his food upon hearing that shocking statement. "What?"
"But it was necessary. I told you about the Alectro Familia, right? I'm still part of the Alectro Familia."
Welf looked confused, so Ethan began to explain the whole situation.
He recounted how he had been forced to join the Alectro Familia and work as a blacksmith—basically as a slave. Then, he described what he had done, though without going into too much detail.
Ethan had promised himself that Welf would be the last person he told about what happened. After hearing the whole story, Welf was left speechless for a long moment before finally saying something.
"I really don't know what to say. I'm sorry."
"Hm? It's alright. The first few days were hard, but I eventually got used to it. Focusing on escaping and exacting revenge on all those guards who humiliated us kept me alive."
"Was killing them all the only way you could find to get revenge?"
"If I hadn't killed them, I wouldn't have been able to escape," Ethan said. "If I hadn't killed them, they would have hunted me down to the very bottom of the dungeon if necessary."
"Well, they're still hunting you, so I don't know if it made a difference."
Ethan shrugged and said... "Well, I was talking about the people who were in that building. Most of them were killed, including other slaves who tried to come along with me. The place where I was held wasn't the Alectro Familia's home. In fact, I don't even know exactly where that place is."
"I see. But honestly, I don't want to talk about this anymore. If the Goddess of my Familia finds out I'm getting mixed up in this, I'll lose my head."
"You're exaggerating," Ethan said.
Welf sighed and said, "Well, you can work here for now, but if they show up looking for you again, you're out."
"If that happens, you won't even have to ask me to leave. I'll go and leave you alone."
After saying that, Ethan went back to eating in silence.
When he finished his meal, Ethan approached Welf and bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you."
Welf just smiled and said, "No need to thank me. Now get going; I need to rest."
Ethan left Welf's shop and pulled up his hood. He then moved away from the area as fast as he could, fearing there might be people nearby looking for him. Fortunately, no one followed him.
Upon reaching his room, Ethan took off his sweatshirt and then took a shower.
He sat on the bed and said, "If I keep doing this for another ten days, I'll reach my initial goal."
####
And so, four days passed.
Ethan was still working at Welf's shop, which had suddenly seen a surge in customers—something that took Welf completely by surprise. The swords Ethan forged were selling like water in the desert.
Apparently, rumors about his swords had begun to spread.
Even though they looked ordinary, they were far superior to normal blades.
Moreover, the swords Ethan made were priced very low because Welf hadn't fully grasped their true value. By the fourth day, however, Welf realized he was losing out on potential earnings.
Consequently, the prices of Ethan's swords were raised significantly.
Yet, adventurers kept coming to Welf's shop.
Naturally, this began to attract a lot of attention—from blacksmiths at neighboring shops and from Familias composed entirely of blacksmiths. This included the Hephaestus Familia.
Welf is a member of the Hephaestus Familia, and the captain had reached out to him.
The Goddess wanted to speak with him.
Welf glanced at Ethan, who was continuing to forge as if nothing were happening; he seemed completely oblivious to it all.
He sighed and said, "I need to step out for a moment. I'm closing the shop. You can keep working."
Ethan looked at him and asked, "Did something serious happen?"
"No, don't worry about it."
"Alright."
Welf left his shop to meet with the Goddess Hephaestus for the first time in a long while.