The ranking system was rather broken, I could not help but think as we stepped out of the entrance to the dungeon. We had cleared a level C instance while at E rank. And yet we would need to clear two more instances before we could rank up. This did not mean enter, rather it meant actually clearing the dungeon as we did.
This is why ranking up is hard. Clearing the final boss of an Instance was always difficult, and if you failed it was fatal. On top of that a C rank instance was supposed to be cleared by a party. Yet the numbers of C rank adventurers were always rather low.
Ranking up from E to D only required clearing 3 instances. These victories were automatically recorded on the guild badge. But to rank up to C rank you had to battle against a C rank tester. The C rank tester was actually a rank B master, so defeating them was not possible, but they would be able to evaluate your skill level.
It was obvious to me that the traditional ranking system was not effective for our team. Now that Alex had gained the Goddess of War's blessing, her stats, particularly Strength and Agility were more insane then my own. With her stats, talents, and abilities she was literally a milling machine. Combine that with the fierce looking mark that the goddess had left on her face and it made for an intimidating image.
But when she looked at me a smile blossomed on her face. My favorite smile. The one that showed off her cute little canines. My heart melted at the sight, and I grabbed her hand as we walked down the street. She blushed at the sudden display of affection, but it did not remove her hand from mine. Rather she gave it a gentle squeeze.
"We will get through this Yuri. The goddess gave you a chance. And with our help it is possible."
I looked at her confused. "Our help?"
She nodded "Mine and the Goddess Hylia." She pointed to her heart "She lives here now; she is always with me. She says I'm her host, her Avatar. That when we go to her church it will become official. The church will recognize me as her champion."
I was concerned by her words, but I saw a sense of peace in her eyes. "But is it really you? Are you really you? Or is Hylia just wearing you as a skin suit?"
She paused for a moment and thought. "It's both. I am both Alex and Hylia. I have my own thoughts and freewill. For example, Hylia is straight, but I am gay. I won't suddenly start liking boys, or stop liking you. I'm not going to stop cuddling you as I sleep, nor will my father stop being my father. Laurel is still my aunt."
"But there is more. So much more. I can feel everything that she feels, and she whispers to me knowledge that only she knows. It's like... She is a passenger but I'm the one in control. She gets to directly influence the world, while I gain a small portion of her power."
I nodded but was silent for a while. I did not have enough knowledge about this world to truly understand the relationship between a Deity and it's Avatar. I would have to research it. I would have to delay her going to the church until then. When I voiced my opinion to her she easily agreed. Making her position known to the church would be a pain, and she was happy to give me all of the I needed. Unfortunately, people would be able to easily tell her status because she had already received the marking of the goddess.
Before anything we had to stop at the guild. Every trip to the dungeon would require a debriefing, so that the guild could keep up to date on the happenings inside.
Thanks to our mutual connection we quickly skipped the boring room hopping that was involved and simply went upstairs. Mother was already waiting our arrival as she had been notified the moment, we entered the building.
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Alex's face before gesturing us inside. She seemed off as we entered and led us to the couch and chair in the corner. To my surprise she actually offered Alex her seat, but she politely refused instead sitting next to me on the couch. I of course had not been polite and simply sat in my usual place upon arrival.
My mother nodded, and sat down in her large arm chair. "Can I offer you anything Goddess Hylia?"
Alex shook her head, "No, this will be fine aunt. Can we get this over with? I'm rather tired."
She looked between the two of us before asking what happened. We quickly went over the details, answering questions as she came up with them. Her eyes widened as she listened, but it was obvious her mind was elsewhere. With her power she had already looked at our statuses anyway.
Suddenly a screen appeared both of us, a screen that I previously could not see. It lists all of Alex's stats and abilities, but there was a difference from what Alex had shown me earlier.
Name: Hylia (Alex) Fury.
"So, explain to me Alex, no it's Hylia now isn't it, what exactly you're doing in my daughter's partner."
Hylia's voice, the voice of a goddess responded. "Watch yourself mortal. I will only warn you once, and that is due to my hosts Affection to you. The information I told your daughter is 100% accurate. This body and her soul belong to the girl Alex. But my presence does not leave her unaffected. She is her. She will always be her. Her choices, her actions all belong to her. But she will slowly change. She will become more like me as time goes on. This is an inevitability, but she will always be her."
"The name, what is a name. You know as well as any other that when a Deity descends their presence wipes out all aspects of their former host. It was only because of the circumstances of that church that she was able to struggle and survive. I will not take this from her. She will always remain her own person, so long as she does not go against me."
I nodded as I listened. "So, you will maintain a symbiotic relationship with her? Do I have your world your word that you will not unnecessarily take control of her, and allow for her to grow as the woman that destiny wants her to become?"
The Goddess's eyes glowed as they looked down on me. "I will not harm your girlfriend mortal. But if the day comes that Necromancer takes your soul, I will order her to kill you."
I nodded and knelt. "Thank you, goddess, thank you for allowing this woman what freedom you can."
The pressure left the room, and Alex, no Hylia's, eyes returned to normal. Tears filled them soon as she wrapped her arms around me. "I'm so sorry, I should have told you"
I held her as she cried, comforting her. "Alex or Hylia matters not. As long as you are you that's all that matters."