'World levels? That's something straight out of a game setting. So, am I playing some kind of open-world sandbox game?'
Altair wasn't in a rush to upgrade the world level just yet. After all, he had no idea what kind of effect upgrading it might have. Besides, he was still lying on the bed.
"Alright, Altair, I've locked your stats for you."
Behind him, Hestia closed the stats panel and leaned over Altair's back, presenting the new stats for him to see.
"Altair-kun, a new skill has appeared, but this skill is just like the previous ones. How strange!"
The newly appeared skill was the 4D Pocket. Altair felt he needed space equipment, so he got a space pocket. This meant Altair could now easily delve into the dungeon alone, without needing Lili's company.
"Great! We've leveled up to Level 2 today; let's go celebrate!"
"Yay! We can go out to celebrate again!"
Speaking of celebration, Hestia instantly became excited.
"Quick, I need to find Hephaestus and tell her this news, hahahaha!"
It's said that happy events should be shared with friends. Altair leveling up to Level 2 indeed made Hestia very happy, but her eagerly rushing to find Hephaestus felt a bit off, like she was asking for trouble.
This wasn't just sharing; it was showing off... completely showing off.
However, since his wife wanted to go out and have fun, Altair had no choice but to accompany her.
After getting up, dressing, and tidying up a bit, Altair left the church with Hestia. Before leaving, he put all his weapons and magic stones into the 4D Pocket, showcasing his new skill to Hestia.
Hestia was quite fond of this spatial skill. It meant that Altair could serve as the logistics team for their familia all on his own; this way, Hestia Familia wouldn't need any supporters.
With a sense of pride, Hestia rushed out of the church, pulling Altair along to find Hephaestus. They ran straight to Hephaestus's shop, and as soon as they entered, Hephaestus shouted.
"Hephaestus! I'm here!"
"Don't come in yelling! I've told you so many times already!"
An even louder voice came from inside the shop, causing Altair, who was following behind, to suppress a laugh.
The relationship between these two goddesses was quite good. Though it seemed she was scolding Hestia, Hephaestus didn't care at all; it was just a habitual response.
"Hephaestus, I'm here to see you again."
"Hah, I already knew you were coming before you even walked in."
Hephaestus leaned on the counter, wearing a helpless expression.
"How could that be? I just opened the door, okay?"
"Because you were running over here. I heard you in the hallway before you even entered. The only one who runs like that is you."
As Hephaestus was a good friend of Hestia, she knew Hestia's habits very well.
So, when Hestia ran over, she had already anticipated it.
"Now, why are you here this time? Did your Altair earn a lot of money again?"
When asking the question, Hephaestus glanced at Altair, who was following behind Hestia.
"Hmph, that's right! Altair-kun is amazing! Every time he goes into the dungeon, he makes a lot of money. But this time, it's not about Altair-kun making money."
Hestia put her hands on her hips, holding her head high.
"Hephaestus, let me tell you, Altair-kun just leveled up to Level 2!"
"Oh, so you leveled up… wait, what did you say?"
Hephaestus widened her one eye in surprise.
"Listen well! My Altair just leveled up to Level 2!"
Hestia seemed to want to ensure that Hephaestus hadn't heard her clearly, so she repeated it loudly.
Bang!
"Eh?"
The sudden noise left Hestia puzzled. Hephaestus who had been in front of her had suddenly vanished and appeared at the shop's entrance, shutting the door.
"Hephaestus?"
"Is what you just said true?"
Hephaestus leaned against the door, confirming with Hestia, her one eye fixated on Altair beside her.
"Yes, Hephaestus-sama, I leveled up to Level 2."
"That's right! My Altair..."
"You fool!"
Hephaestus rushed in front of Hestia, grabbing her face with both hands and starting to tug.
"Ah, it hurts! Hephaestus, what are you doing? It hurts!"
"Do you know what you're doing? Altair leveled up to Level 2 in less than a month, and you're promoting it like it's a big deal? Do you want Altair to die?"
Hephaestus's words left Hestia stunned, while Altair didn't seem surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Altair becoming Level 2 in less than a month means he's a genius. Do you know how sought after such people are in Orario? What will you do when those Familias come to ask for him?"
"It's fine; Altair-kun won't leave me."
"It's not about whether he will leave you; it's about how those guys will react to something they can't have and that threatens them. Their most likely response will be to destroy him!"
Hephaestus pointed at Altair.
"Can the Level 2 Altair withstand those Level 5s?"
"This..."
Hestia was momentarily speechless, turning to look at Altair, who simply smiled and shook his head.
"It's fine, Hephaestus-sama. I only mentioned it to Hestia, and I won't let her say anything to anyone else. For my sake and Hestia Familia, I won't let this information leak out."
"It seems you're different from this idiot; you're quite sensible."
Hearing Altair say this, Hephaestus let out a sigh of relief.
As Hestia's friend, and with Altair being the only member of Hestia's Familia, Hephaestus didn't want to see anything happen to him. If Altair were to be killed by those jealous Familias, Hestia would suffer even more than before.
So, from any angle, she really didn't want this to happen.
"Altair-kun, I'm sorry!"
Hestia quickly threw herself into Altair's arms, hugging him tightly as she began to apologize.
"It's okay, Hestia; nothing has happened yet. I've always been prepared."
***
Keeping a precious item like the Power Stone is hard, so for your own sake, drop the Power Stone here, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety!