Hera's face was a twitching mess as she listened to the Sword Maiden Eris's report of her brief discovery of that damned human. 'A mortal who can literally teleport with other people... That's just cheating?! That breaks the damned game along with the progression system for dealing with the Dungeon!' She mentally screamed.
However, she was almost sure that the barriers within the dungeon would stop teleportation because not even Hermes could use his traveler's domains to teleport in and out of the dungeon. But Jake was an utter enigma and the dungeon was more worried about divines and not puny mortals breaking the laws of reality in teleportation so who knows if it would even register his teleportation.
"Although I caught sight of his soul, along with Tina's and another soul I do not recognize. I was not able to catch up to him nor would Lady Hepheastus give any information." Eris spoke gently and Hera pursed her lips before shaking her head as she knew that pressuring the goddess of the forge would do no one any good with how close the crafting families were turtling up and protecting one another.
Already a couple of members of the Zeus Familia had 'mysteriously' died of poison due to them having broken into a potion shop to make off with some free potions and elixers and they had apparently stolen an entire batch of elixers made by Dian-Chet that was a complete failure... Apparently said thieves in the middle of the training field of the Zeus Familia estate died screaming in agony as their bodies melted into a literal puddle from whatever Dian-Chet did to those potions and elixirs.
And when Maxim with his cocksure attitude strolled up to put the medicine god in his place and one of his followers made a pass at the god's little angel in an up-and-coming great healer in Airmid Teasanare. Dian-Chet flared his arcanum and set down the law and said that it was over and if Maxim tried anything he would break Ouranos's rule.
"That damned brat is pushing too hard in trying to get to the three great quests... It's not like someone is going to steal them from him, plus at level eight he is only forty-something years old, he has another good thirty-forty years before he starts to weaken in the slightest." Hera grumbled as that was her biggest issue right now besides trying to snag that damned golden goose that ran away.
The 'queen' of the gods sighed and brushed a hand down her face before shaking her head and saying. "I understand, he is likely outside of Orario altogether or perhaps even hiding in the dungeon somehow while using his method of transport to get to and from Hepheastus to get his Falna updated... Anyway, I know you won't be able to catch him now so you can go ahead and take Alfia and Materia on a vacation. Albion and Ambrose got into another spat so our Familia's need a break from one another."
Eris slowly nodded as she stood up elegantly and with her hands holding her large staff and sword combo, she asked softly. "And what am I to tell Shenhe? She is still looking for Jake out of feeling the sting of failure."
Hera made a humming noise before waving her hand and saying imperiously. "Take her with you and say that her punishment is to watch for and protect Materia seeing as she just got her own Falna."
The Sword Maiden dipped her head down in agreement and then she left the meeting room with the goddess being left behind only groaning aloud as the childish mortals were getting too frustrating for her... They were so damned impatient, so impetuous, and now with Jake, he was seemingly terrified that she was the damned boogeyman who was going to enslave him.
Which was utterly untrue! She might have wanted to steal him for her own familia partly but she wouldn't! As she would only have women in her Familia period. But either way, literally breaking reality in learning teleportation to avoid her help in getting stronger even for her own ends was utterly ridiculous and honestly insulting!
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While singing a lovely deep sea shanty I happily worked at chopping down the surrounding tree's as Tamamo happily sang along with me while helping Tina to deforrest the surroundings.
I was embracing my fusion system most base settings as I walked around barefoot and below my feet the ground seemingly disappeared as I entered a trance as I mentally fused all the soil and rocks I gathered through the skin contact, and as I fell to bedrock I could feel the ground crack beneath me as my system struggled to rip the solid rock from beneath me into its fusion space.
I grinned as I felt my body itself straining and then I leaned down and I slammed a pickaxe I fused out of some scrap metal into the limestone-like rock with my level two strength the rock shattered sending shards everywhere but I just pushed my feet into the shattered ground and in moments my system sucked all the debris into my fusion space. "Alright time for more." I muttered as I then took out a pipe of some mining explosives I bought in Melen that were used to clear out monsters near ships should too many appear.
I set the fused explosive I enhanced into the hole I made and then I took out my Kelpie and leaped onto it's back and yelled. "Go, go!" I cheered anxiously as I had no idea how violently an enhanced explosive would be.
An earth-shaking rumble was my answer as a large dust cloud was shot into the air with the Kelpi beneath me huffing as it turned its head to give me a sassy look as its ears went back on its head at the long noise.
I gave the scale-covered horse's neck a series of pats as I used my legs to steer the Kelpie back to the hole and I tilted my head slightly and made a face as although the explosion was fairly powerful... The area did have dense limestone so it made sense that the explosion didn't deal with it well especially. As I didn't have any proper mining knowledge.
Jumping off my Kelpie's back I also summoned my Infant Dragon and told them. "Go knock down the tree's and help Tina and Tamamo bring the tree's to me." I ordered with the two nodding before something akin to a competitive light entered their eyes as they went over to Tina and Tamamo to help them.
While I went into my hole and began collecting the limestone as I knew there were trace amounts of gold, silver, and other metals in the area around here. "Hmm hmm diggy diggy hole! The mining life is for me!" I sang as I embraced my inner dwarf and absorbed all the limestone. "I am a dwarf, and I am digging a hole! Diggy Diggy Hole!"
"Jake you are not a pirate, nor are you a dwarf! Quit singing weird stuff." Tina yelled out making me pout so I just sang under my breath as I embraced the manly duty that was digging the biggest damn hole I could as I realized I could use spiked boots with one foot to break open the ground so I could easily absorb it with my fusion system so I began sinking into the ground quickly with the sounds of my stomping kicks ringing out.