Those words made the blacksmith wonder if her senses were failing her as she had said.
"Are you joking?" he asked. "You all had an encounter with a Chimaera from legend—and got victory through just one person aside from you?"
"Yes, and trust me, even my best offensive abilities were barely enough to stand a chance against Beelzebub," Shizu replied, "but it was at the very moment of greatest despair that Kazuya shone the brightest."
"This is wild," Tano admitted, folding his hands as he pondered over it. "You all owe him your lives."
"You could say that again, Tano," Shizu replied. "That is why he would be very useful for the next mission."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Tano.
"You see, that is what I came here to inform you about," she said. "I was going to inform the whole guild tomorrow, but I will tell you now for reasons that I will now reveal to you."
Tano frowned, somehow getting the feeling he wasn't going to like what would come next.
"I am telling you this because if what I'm about to tell you is accurate, then you are the one whose skills we need the most, Tano," she said to him.
He still stood the way he was, listening, trying to anticipate the most unpleasant thing she would say next so he wouldn't get too disappointed when he finally heard it from her.
"I need you to create for me the best weapons of your whole life, one with a power potential more than anything you have ever forged," she said to him.
"What sort of mission are you embarking on that would require such a high level of power?" asked Tano, now getting genuinely curious.
Shizu looked around in all directions to make sure nobody was listening before answering, "We are going to raid Sarasa's temple," she said to him in a whispering tone.
"What!" Tano reacted out loud, and Shizu placed a finger on her lips, signifying that he was speaking too loudly.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, "but do you mean what you just said?" "Raiding a divine temple would incur the direct wrath of the gods involved."
Then she whispered back to him, "That is the main point, Tano." "We are doing that to grab their attention and draw the goddess to us."
"Why would you want to do that?" asked Tano. "It's like asking a god to kill you because you cannot kill yourself; it's suicide."
"Trust me, Tano," she explained. "If you discover what we found out at the goblin hideout earlier today, you will understand why we are doing this."
"Please tell me," Tano replied, "enlighten me; I'm all ears."
"We are doing this because if we don't, the gods will do the same things to us," she said to him, and he arched a brow.
"What?" he asked.
"You heard me right, Tano," she said. "The gods are coming after us, Tano." They are out for our blood, and the sudden sentience of goblins and spike in ghoul population is just the beginning of it. If we don't fight back, we will die like animals at their whim. "Is that what you want, Tano?"
"But why would they want to do that?" asked Tano. "Isn't our worship and reverence the primary source of their power?"
"While that is true, they still intend on wiping us out," Shizu said. "They intend on establishing another race of creatures as the new dominant sentients to worship and revere them."
"What? "How?" asked Tano.
"It's just, as I told you, Tano," she replied, "by wiping us out entirely."
"Where did that idea come from?" asked Tano, desperately wanting all this to be a joke. "Why would they want to do this?"
"For some reason, they believe we have failed them as the appointed dominant sentients of this world, and they seek to replace us to fix the problem," Shizu replied.
"Damn!" Tano reacted, and Shizu sighed in relief.
"Why are you acting so relieved about this?" he asked.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Shizu replied. "It's just that—I thought you wouldn't believe a single word I said." "It all sounds absurd, even to me as I talk about it."
"You never lie, Master. "So why should I doubt you, especially on something as critical as this?" asked Tano. "Even as I think more about it, it is the only logical explanation for the goblins' sudden hostility towards humans and the sudden increase in the ghoul population." Neither of the species actively hunted humans as much as they do today, and it happened more suddenly than gradually. "In the absence of a naturalistic explanation, the intervention of the gods is the best theory behind it."
"Except that it is more than just a theory, Tano," Shizu added, "The fate of our race depends on this."
Tano took a deep breath, trying his best to process it all. He knew that they were in over their heads on this one. fighting against gods? Were they crazy? Even though their sanity could be brought into question, what choice do they have?
"Alright, what would you have me do?" asked Tano, shoving aside all the fear in his mind so he could make himself available to be of as much help as he could.
"Prepare your finest working equipment," she instructed. "The next few days might be the most active time of your career."
"You know I was born ready for the craft, don't you?" asked Tano with a faint smile.
"That is why you will always be my best," Shizu complimented.
-
Meanwhile, Kazuya was in the large pool in the bathroom, having just taken his bath. He needed some time alone to think things through, and based on recent circumstances, this was the best privacy he could get.
It had been a long day so far, and he could feel the blissful gratitude coming from every one of his once aching bones and muscles, now relaxed and rested. He wished he could stay this way for much longer, but didn't want to abuse his welcome. So he called on his fairies...
"Gaichu?" he called out, and his little friend appeared.
"Good evening, Kazuya," it said to him, "how can I help you?"
"I need you to look up any power scaling for an average deity," Kazuya said, "preferably on Sarasa, the goddess of wisdom, if you can."
"She is incredibly powerful, if that is what you are asking," replied Gaichu bluntly, "but if not, I would need someone of her status to scale her power with." "Do you have any other deity in mind?"
"Actually, no," Kazuya admitted, "but I do have a party in mind."
"I am not sure where you are going with this; please explain," Gaichu replied, not following the conversation as closely as she wanted to.
"Could you scale the goddess' power to that of the squad that raided the goblin hideout earlier today?" asked Kazuya.
"I can," Gaichu replied, "but theoretically the difference in power would be astronomical."
"I am aware of that, but I need precise figures so I can know what I'm dealing with," Kazuya replied.
"If you are thinking about fighting against a goddess, then I would strongly advise against it." "It is not a wise course of action!" Genta warned, "I notice you have been taking bigger risks as time goes on, and I fear it would strongly affect your life in the real world."
"I am fine, Gaichu," Kazuya replied. "Besides, I am not your concern."
But Gaichu still pressed on, saying, "On the contrary, it is my primary programming to see to your needs in this world as well as keep it in balance with that of the real world to avoid unnecessary issues." "I must warn you: if you keep being reckless with your health, I will have to log you out automatically."
"Don't you dare do that, Gaichu!" Kazuya warned. "Do not meddle in my life, or you will regret it."
"Threats against me would do you no good," Gaichu replied. "I am the governor of most things pertaining to you, including the amount of time you spend here." So to avoid trouble, don't force me to pull the plug on you.
"I'm warning you, Gaichu!" Kazuya said, slowly losing his temper.
"You almost died in this world, and the pain from the experience nearly affected your body in the real world." So I would still advise that you log out of the game temporarily and give your body the rest and nutrition needed for its optimal health before logging back into the game. "Don't worry, your progress in the game will be automatically saved at the moment you log out."
"I am not going anywhere," Kazuya said.
"Don't say I never warned you," Gaichu replied.
Kazuya took a deep breath as he realized arguing with Gaichu would do him no good. So he first regained his regular composure before speaking back to it.
"So are you going to show it to me or what?" he asked.
"It is already done," Gaichu replied.
"So, what is it?" asked Kazuya.
"The odds are 95 to 1," it said, "and the sheer power level is over a hundred times over."
Kazuya widened his eyes, surprised by the numbers he was being shown, but to Gaichu's slight confusion, a smile also formed on his face.
"So there is a chance, huh?" Kazuya said excitedly, even though he was terrified about it.
He once thought they would stand no chance fighting against a goddess, but based on what he was shown, out of every 96 scenarios, they could win at least once.
That was all the hope he needed, as all he and others needed to do to even the odds was to get stronger.