(Very simple and straightforward chapter. It's the start of a new Volume, hence there is no need to take things too fast.
So you will find some development between the Mc and Hestia in here, together with a little bit of info regarding how the Mc sees his abilities.
I tried to be faithful to Hestia while making their interactions normal and playfully, but not forced and cringy.
But if people don't like it, there is no need to worry as I already have plans for that. Just tell me what you thought. As I said, this is kind of a slow and experimental chapter.
The next chapter there will be the first visit of the Mc to the guild as an adventurer, meaning he will get a guild instructor. Tell me who should he stay within the comments.
Things will start to heat up after that. With the papers in order and side events finished, the MC will make his first delve into the Dungeon as a Level1!
So be a little patient with me. Sorry for the ones who wanted action.)
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If you see any grammar errors or Typos, make sure to warn me!
Thank you, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
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'Inside the broken Church, Mellios and Hestia were sitting on the old couch'
"... This place is rather old and although the structure is stable, I wouldn't be surprised if a piece of wood fell on my head."
This will work as training as well, I never used my powers to fix a house before, just some minor repairs back in the village.
Of course, it wasn't anything too grand since I was keeping this power a secret from everyone apart from my grandma.
Would this increase my stats?
"Let's start by fixing some of the furniture in the room."
'Hestia looked at me rather confused.'
"And how are you going to do that?"
'I didn't answer her, instead, I went to an old wardrobe and activated my Plasmid.'
'My hand skin turned into wood while several small branches started to grow out of it.'
"WHAT?"
'Hestia looked at the scene with her eyes opened wide.'
/Crea-crek.../
'Upon placing my hand into the wardrobe, the old wood slowly recovered some of its shine.'
'After a few seconds, the wood was completely revitalized, as if it had just been cut and processed.'
"Now that I look at it it's quite a good wardrobe."
"Wait wait wait! What did you just do?! Is your hand alright?"
'She went to my side and grabbed my hand. She started to check for the many details like the small leaves growing in the wood.'
"It's alright Hestia don't worry, this doesn't hurt at all…"
'I broke a few things twigs and leaves that were growing a little bit too much and gave them to Hestia'
'They looked pretty cool since they actually glowed a little'
"As long as you are fine…"
'She looked at the twig and then back at my arm with a frown, no matter how much she used her brain, she couldn't really understand what was going on.'
'And then I went towards the only bed in the room.'
'It was a king-size bed but the wood on the bottom of the bed was completely broken.'
"We are going to have to change the mattress, It would be too much of a hassle for me to fix this…"
It's not like I can't fix this, but the complexity of a mattress is much higher than just fixing plain wood.
(let's not delve too deep into cell stuff...)
'The same unexplainable scene passed by Hestia's eyes, as the old rotten wood recovered its lost sheen.'
"Wha-Wha-What is going on?!"
'Hestia jumped at me and clung to my back continuously shaking my shoulders.'
She is quite light...
"One thing is for your hand to make wood, and another is it to revive the deadwood!"
"Be careful Goddess, else you might fall."
'Still holding onto my neck she asked:'
"Tell me! How are you doing all of this?!"
'I used my hand to grab Hestia's arms and easily overpowered her, removing her arms from my neck.'
"There is no need to be euphoric. I will tell you everything… We have all day anyway."
Well, half a day at this point...
"How to explain what I am doing… I don't really know how, but I can go over what I am feeling if this is going to make you feel better."
I already gave up trying to figure the process out. I used to know, but now, with Magic power involved in the equation...
But to explain this I would have to give her some lessons in biology and advanced physics…
And I am sure neither of us wants this...
Even if I were to ignore the Magic power... I don't even know if those explanations would make sense since this is a world governed by magic and supernatural laws.
'So in the end, I went around fixing and cleaning every nook and cranny of the room.'
'The only things that I couldn't clean/fix were textile products like the Mattress. And some metallic products like candle holders.'
'I managed to remove rust, but some were so rusty that I would have to forge a new one to replace… And it's much easier to just buy a new one.'
'Come on, just how much can a candle holder be worth? 100/400 Vallis?'
'I can even buy one of those fancy magic bulbs...'
'At the same time, I calmly explained my power to Hestia in a way she could understand.'
'Not going into TOO many details.'
"Phew… I guess I am done with this room for now. What do you think Hestia…"
/Thum!/
'Hestia jumped into the bed excitedly.'
'She didn't hear a single creek and that made her incredibly happy.'
'From one side to the other she rolled like an excited…'
'Dog?'
"..."
No no no… I can't think of my Goddess like this.
'I turned around, making my way to the main room upstairs.'
Should I even fix the main preaching room? Not like we are going to use it. I can't really imagine Hestia preaching anything at all.
Although making the place livable should be enough, I will start with the foundation to make sure this place doesn't collapse while I repair some things, then the walls...
"Hey Mellios-Kun!"
"Hm? Yes, Hestia?"
"Don't force yourself too much."
… She noticed …
Using my powers to fix one room was rather tiring. I just Leveled up to 1 after all.
There isn't that much of a difference between the "me" of a few minutes ago and the "me" now.
It will definitely be a daunting task to fix the entirety of this Church.
"As I said before, there is no need to worry about me. Consider this as a… Test for me."
"If I cant even fix a church, something that doesn't have any danger, how can I become a powerful adventurer?"
That's right, this is a simple task, 'fix the Church'. If I can't even do that…
What gives me the confidence to improve in the Dungeon?
"..."
'Hestia looked at me for a few seconds before jumping out of the bed'
"Alright let's do it!"
"Do what?"
"... Fix the Church!"
'I looked at her up and down.'
"You?"
"HOW RUDE! I can work perfectly fine! Don't underestimate me!"
Sigh, well, I guess it isn't a problem to have her as an assistant.
"But I don't want you to hurt yourself, there might be things like sharp nails and wood in there so…"
'My hand turned into a shadow as I removed a pair of gloves from inside my shadow. They were the pair I got from the Goliath'
They aren't heavy and should be enough for her to move her things with some dexterity…
It s just that...
"Hum… It might be a size or two too big…"
(I know what you are thinking criminal Scum! You have committed a crime against Orario and her people, what do you have to say in your defense?...)
'Hestia remained in place stunned'
"That's not the problem…"
"What is it Hestia? Is something wrong…"
'She jumped at me again'
"What was that?! Your hand turned dark and pulled something from the air as if it was normal?!"
'She jumped at me pressing herself against my chest this time'
This sensation!
Kin-Kingdom! It's not time to rise yet!
"Cough, I am sorry, it was my oversight. I should've explained this earlier for you."
… I think I can leave her on top of me for a little while longer…
"This is just one of my abilities. I can create a space inside my shadow where I store stuff."
"..."
'Hestia looked at me with a blank face'
Oi, how long are you going to stay like this? Not that I am complaining...
"I have quite a lot of things inside… How about we take some inventory before fixing the Church?"
"..."
'Hestia pouted her cheeks as if she was waiting for something'
I don't know what you want girl nor what you are waiting for…
Okay. This is enough for now.
"You know… Although it's pretty comfortable to have you cling to me like that, I wonder just how long are you going to stay like that?"
'Hestia was currently with her legs around my waist as she clung to my body'
"?!"
'Hestia noticed the situation and got down quickly, her face as red as a tomato.'
"Silver… Perver…"
"Stop right there. You were the one who jumped into me and now I am the pervert? Are Goddesses in heaven so unreasonable?"
"URG!"
'She jumped at me but I quickly evaded her pitiful attack.'
"Is that all? We have things to do…"
"I got you now!"
'Hestia jumped in my direction thinking I was cornered, unfortunately for her...'
"Heh? What's happening?! Why am I floating?"
'My hand glowed green as I used telekinesis to make Hestia float.'
"Drop me! That's unfair!" She said as her face grew red
"..."
I couldn't use this against monsters due to their innate magical resistance, my telekinesis was too weak for that, otherwise, I could just lift some of the light monsters and kill them.
In the future, I should be capable of even crushing someone's head and brain with telekineses...
"I didn't want to do this, you are the one who is attacking me. If you continue, I will have to take drastic measures."
I had a small smug smile on my face.
"Urg!"
This guy! I will show him later… he has to sleep at some point…
But… What is he going to do with me?!
"... I will stop humph!"
"..."
I deactivated the telekinesis and made her fall…
Right into my arms.
"..."
'Hestia's face was very red but she didn't say anything.'
"As I was saying, let's first take inventory and fix the house. I have some money with me, we can use it to buy some furniture tomorrow. How about it?"
(Is the term, right? take inventory?
I know that the mc doesn't need to take a look at his items since he already knows what is inside, this is mostly for the goddess to be happy)
'She just gave me a small nod'
Was this too much? Am I going to Hell for playing with the heart of a Goddess?
'I carefully placed her on the ground and sat on the couch.'
/Swush/
'My hand turned dark as the ground in front of me was covered by a large dark shadow.'
'When the shadow retreated into my hand, a lot of items were left on the ground.'
'Hestia was surprised about just how many things I could store'
If he can store so much, doesn't that mean he can carry the same as several Supporters at once?!
"Hum? What is this?"
'She picked several pieces of what was once the Mk-3 magic sword'
"That used to be my sword, but it was broken due to overuse, I kept it inside since I didn't have any way of repairing it."
"In fact, I have a full plate and a sword being repaired, I should be able to get them after this weekend."
"I see… And what is this?"
"That's a special type of potion that I made, it was a failure though."
"Why?"
"I tried to make a potion that could give you night vision, and the potion does give it to you for some time."
"Then what's the problem?"
"It gives you a terrible itching in the eyes after using it. I plan to throw it away later since I don't have time to think of a solution to this problem."
I also don't really need such a potion anyway. I can see in the dark whenever I want.
The potion was just a side project of mine when I was studying with my family.
Only one of many smaller projects... Like my Pocket watch.
"And what is in this bag?"
"My money… There should be about… 3 million Vallis in there. Enough to last a while."
"PFFT!"
'Hestia almost dropped on the ground'
"You can have a part of it if you want, just tell me how much since I have some plans for the money later."
"I need to buy some supplies and I wanted to have a construction Familia build a workshop for me here."
"No no no… I can't take so much money… And if you have so much money. Why don't buy a new house?"
"It's fine really, we need materials and we also need some furniture, we only have a single bed after all."
"And I like this place, it's a little old, but it's not like it's irreparable. After everything is done, this will become a very cozy place."
"Previously I couldn't buy a house but I did check on some, most of the ones available don't meet my requirements, I would have to make a commission for a new house to be built, but that takes an awful amount of time."
"I also see that you don't have too many clothes, we can go buy some later. Can't have other people laughing at my Goddess for something as trivial as not having decent clothes."
"..."
/Sniff.../
"Hestia?"
'The small Goddess started to sniff and was on the verge of crying'
"..."
'I just placed my hand on top of her head since that was the only thing I could think off'
'She soon stopped with her dramatic display.'
"... What is this?"
'Hestia tried to change the topic by picking another bag'
"Oh, that's…"
'She was so embarrassed that she didn't wait for me to speak'
'Several pieces of cloth fell on the ground'
"That's my underwear…"
Sigh, this girl. Can't she stay put for a second?
…
'After a few minutes of awkwardness, Hestia soon came back to her optimistic and excited self.'
'Together we slowly repaired the houses, although I soon saw some problems that will need some material to be acquired separately.'
"I can't really fix those stained glasses. They are a bit too complicated for me."
I can't even create glass that well, I can make small shards, but not a 2x1 M tall decorated glass window.
Much less paint them...
"So are we done?"
'Hestia was currently sitting in one of the church benches, looking at me as I gazed into the broken window.'
"Yeah, we cleaned and fixed everything, just look at how clean everything is."
'Hestia looked around and noticed that everywhere she looked, she could barely see something out of place. The Church was almost fully fixed'
"Tomorrow we can commission a construction Familia to build some things for us and to make some new Stained glasses to enter those holes. What do you think?"
"Haha… I am already more than happy with just this…"
"... Alright then, I think this is enough for now."
'I grabbed Hestia's hand and pulled her to the basement'
…
"You wanted to learn more about my powers right?"
"Yes. I want to know more about you."
When she puts it like that…
'Hestia noticed that blushed a little and said:'
"Arereee… Why are you blushing?"
"You must be mistaken."
"I saw it! You can't lie."
"It's quite dark in here, it must have been the red light from the candle."
This guy can't accept reality!
"In any case, let me tell you how all of my powers work."
'My hand turned blue as several barnacles grew in my hand. These barnacles started to spit out water.
Surprisingly. the water started to fly in the air around my arm, gathering in my hand and forming a water ball'
"This is an ability called Water ball. If I keep it in my hand, it doesn't consume a lot of Mind, but if I throw it..."
It used to have a slightly more complex name back in Rapture, but that was only for publicity, there is no need to keep the name of 'Neptune's Droplet' in this world...
'Splash!'
'The water hit the wall but since Silver was holding back, the power was very minimal.'
"When I release it like this, I consume a lot of energy. So I will try to conserve my energy otherwise I will get tired before showing even a third of what I can do."
(Pretty much the mc can keep the plasmid in a "half activated" state. It cost much less than just casting the Plasmid)
'More water started to gather in my palm'
"And this is one of the most basic applications of my power."
'The shape of the ball changed to several things, a triangle, cube, pyramid all the back to a ball'
"This form of manipulation doesn't really consume a lot of Mind."
'The water started to boil as it slowly transformed into a fireball'
"I don't really know the limits of what I can do, but in order to make things simple, I divided my power into what I call "Tiers"."
"This is Tier-1. Powers that are rather easy to use and don't really consume a lot of Mind."
"This includes firebolt, water bolt, lightning bolt, chameleon, Telekinesis, Shadow inventory, and much more."
'Hestia looked in wonder as my hand changed colors and the energy around my hand changed shapes'
"Are you still with me?"
"Yes!"
"Alright, then let me explain to you what is Tier-2."
'I suddenly disappeared from where I was sitting.'
"EH?! Mellios? Where are you?!"
'Silence…'
"Don't scare me like that!"
I can still feel the blessing, he is here somewhere… I just need to concentrate…
"Boo."
"KYAAAA!!"
/Katchik!/
'Mellios appeared behind Hestia while canceling his invisibility.'
'He had a strange object in his hands, it was a gray metal box. The moment Hestia screamed, it released a blinding ray of white light disorienting Hestia'
'After she recovered from the shock, she immediately turned around and pounced at Mellios'
…
'They continued to play around for a little while longer until Hestia got tired of running'
"Urg… I will get you one day. What was that? And what is that metal box in your hand?"
"One of my Tier-2 abilities. Invisibility. As for this box, it is a camera I made. Want to see the Photo?"
"Invisibility… And a photo?"
'Mellios took a small paper from inside the box and waited for a little while.'
"Phew, I got it."
'Hestia was curious to see what he was looking at so she shoved her head right in front of his.'
"This is… AHHHH!"
'She saw her scared ugly face directly pointed at the camera'
"Give it to me! I need to destroy it!"
'But before she could do anything, Mellios threw the camera and the photo inside his shadow inventory.'
"That's my memento from now."
"URG! That's unfair!"
'She turned around and sat on the bed with her back turned to me.'
Is she upset?... I have been a little bit mean to her… I can't help it, this is one of my favorite characters from the series… The few I can remember at least.
I wrote a diary with all of my memories but it wasn't much. Slowly over the years, I recovered a lot, but I am sure some things are forever lost.
In fact, I never even finished the series in the first place. I don't know how strong the Black dragon is. Ir how is he supposed to be destroyed.
(He might have great intelligence, but those memories were before he gained those Traits. This is my way to make it possible for the MC to have forgotten some important information.)
"How about we take a photo together?"
"Humph."
"What if I add something extra?"
'Her ears "perked up"'
"How about we go out to eat something."
There isn't anything in the Church, we would have to leave anyway.
"I can forgive you a little…"
Alright.
"Let's continue."
"It isn't over?"
"Of course not. I only showed you some of my Tier-2 abilities, I have yet to show you my strongest move."
/Snap/
/Crack/
'From behind me, a large door rose from the rocky ground.'
"Wha… What is that?"
'Hestia's surprise had pretty much numbed after the many ups and downs she had today. But this door suddenly appearing surprised her'
"This is currently the most costly ability I have in my arsenal. I call it Houdini's door."
"What does it do?"
"This door can connect places, disregarding spatial distance. Meaning, I can use this door to go in and out of the Dungeon whenever I want."
There are some small conditions, like, I need to have visited that place first. And the distance can't be too big.
It's much bigger than teleportation, however, the latter doesn't have that condition.
Teleportation is more of a Close to Mid-range tool, while Houdini's door should be used for Long-distance only.
Although it can still be used or short distance if necessary.
'Hestia's mouth opened wide. She couldn't believe what she had just heard'
'He could heal and had an inventory, two already very rare forms of Magic. But being able to leave the Dungeon whenever he wants… That's Impressive.'
Just what kind of guy did I recruit?!
To think he was going to Hephaestus… I almost feel sorry for her.
"Hestia? Are you there?"
She has been very distracted… Is this how she truly is? I thought she was a little bit more energetic.
"It's just… I am confused about all of this."
"Oh! My grandmother was just like that."
She reacted the same way when I showed her my abilities.
"#!"
Don't compare me with your Grandma!
/Growl!/
'Hestia's stomach started to protest'
"We did a lot today already, most places are closed today since it's the new year but there should be some restaurants that are still open. How about we go there?
"Uhum!
'Hestia put all of her doubtful thoughts to the back of her mind since it didn't matter. Because at the end of the day, this was the adventurer she chose! She will support him to the top of Orario!'
.
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Notes