Early in the morning, Eina arrived at Aston's place with her luggage.
Upon seeing Aston, Eina was extremely grateful, expressing her deep thanks. Her mother, Aina's condition was quite unique, seemingly caused by a chronic illness, which had left her weak and ill.
In Orario, there were potions capable of treating such conditions, but they were too expensive for her to afford.
Now, with just a strand of hair from Aston, she was able to cure her mother's illness completely, restoring her to normal health.
After expressing her gratitude, Eina became a member of the Hestia Familia, with Hestia inscribing her falna.
Not long after, Airel also arrived. The group talked for half an hour before leaving the underground church together to buy a new Familia residence and recruit new members.
As for Aston, he didn't accompany them but headed to the Hephaestus Familia instead. He had already informed Ryuu and Ais that he wouldn't be going to the dungeon for the next few days, planning to continue his deep-level adventures in three days.
During these three days, Aston had tasks to accomplish. He needed to teach the newly recruited elves fire magic, form a magic corps, include them in his power card as his confidants, and create exclusive equipment and magic staves for the magic corps.
He also planned to set up barrier orbs and magic cannons at the newly purchased Familia residence. Finally, he intended to take the magic corps to the upper floors of the dungeon for a day to level up, enhancing their strength to handle the upper dungeon levels.
Although he only had a magic corps and no close-combat members, Aston was very confident in the corps he was about to form. They were being developed in all aspects, leveling up in all areas just like Aston did. Even if they were approached by monsters, they wouldn't need to fear, as they could engage in close combat, though their melee capabilities couldn't compare to their magic.
This was entirely different from the mages in this world, who focused solely on increasing their magic power and neglected other basic abilities. Even Riveria was no exception.
In essence, the magic corps Aston was forming was a magic and fighting corps, strong in both magic and combat, with magic as their primary strength. Once he helped them increase their abilities initially, they would continue to grow stronger over time, venturing into deeper floors of the dungeon, just like Aston, who had progressively ventured deeper by leveraging his leveling ability.
To create magic staves that could be used for both casting spells and close combat required Aston's forging and enchanting skills, a significant undertaking. Even for Aston, crafting ten such magic staves would take considerable time.
To forge these staves, Aston naturally needed a forge workshop. Without one, he couldn't create these magic staves out of thin air, as this world was not a world of immortals and Aston's expertise was in forging, not artifact refinement.
Accessing the main base of the Hephaestus Familia wasn't difficult. After all, the Hephaestus Familia operated like a business, with adventurers visiting daily to commission weapons.
After healing the scar on Hephaestus' face, Aston had become a distinguished guest of the Hephaestus Familia.
When Aston revealed his identity, the members of the Hephaestus Familia who received him were visibly excited. They politely escorted Aston to the lounge, then hurried off to inform their goddess.
It wasn't long before Hephaestus appeared at the entrance of the lounge. From her hurried steps and the sudden stop, it was evident that she had run all the way, a departure from her usual composure. Her entrance was reminiscent of Loki's when Aston had visited her.
"Finally, you're here, Aston," Hephaestus said excitedly upon seeing him at the doorway. Unquestionably, Hephaestus was a great beauty without her eyepatch. Well, she was beautiful with the eyepatch too, but even more striking without it.
"It's been a while, Hephaestus," Aston greeted her with a smile.
"Long time no see, Aston."
"You've come to claim the forge, haven't you? Come with me," Hephaestus gestured with her thumb over her shoulder and then beckoned Aston.
"Ah, thank you," Aston nodded slightly and got up to follow.
Led by Hephaestus, they arrived at a forge in less than five minutes. Not one, but two forges, connected together.
"This is my forge, and this one next to it is yours," Hephaestus pointed to the two forges while explaining to Aston.
"It looks very new," Aston commented, touching his chin and observing the two connected forges, especially his own. Hephaestus' forge had some history, but the one next to it was evidently new.
"It is new. I had it built non-stop over the past few days," Hephaestus responded cheerfully to Aston's puzzled look, not hiding anything.
"Really?" Aston was stunned, turning to look at Hephaestus with a puzzled face, seemingly asking why she had done this. However, upon catching the gentle look in Hephaestus' eyes, he was momentarily taken aback.
The tenderness in Hephaestus' eyes was almost overflowing. Aston had only recently come to understand what this kind of look meant; Tiona had the same expression.
"Do you like me, Hephaestus?" Aston asked tentatively after a moment of silence.
"Ah, yes, I do. I've liked you since you healed the scar on my face."
"I had decided long ago that whoever healed my scar, I would pursue him," Hephaestus responded without any intention of hiding, her eyes still tender.
"Uh..." Aston was slightly embarrassed, realizing there might indeed be such a dramatic possibility.
"Don't worry, I'll do a good job convincing Hestia," Hephaestus quickly discerned why Aston was acting this way and assured him with a smile.
Aston: "..."
***
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