CH. 333: What to choose?

[Falna updated. Status is updating to reflect the changes…]

[Strength +28, Constitution +19, Defense +19, Dexterity +29, Magic +24]

Asahi expected a bigger growth. Though he was satisfied with the free stat points.

"I'm not surprised," Astraea muttered. "I can't be surprised anymore."

"Stop brainwashing yourself. I feel scared."

Astraea copied his status on a paper and put it in front of him.

Although he already knew the status, he still gave it a brief look.

Asahi Marikawa

Level Three

Strength: EX-2800

Endurance: EX-1980

Dexterity: EX-2450

Agility: EX-2900

Magic: EX-2400

Development Abilities

Charm: EX

Dreamwalker: A

Stealth: A

Instinct: A

Divine Body: S

Luck: G

"I didn't receive a development ability this time?"

"You did... four of them!"

"That's why you were surprised."

"Any deity would be. Four development abilities," she emphasized four again. "Most adventurers don't get a development ability after ranking up. Four of them appearing at the same time is…"

She took a deep breath, caressing her mark on his back. "Very like you…"

The goddess unintentionally entered her affectionate mode. Asahi waited until she became aware of it and backed off with a red face.

"Sorry... Which one do I choose?" she said and explained all four abilities in detail.

Fist Strike, which increased the force behind punches.

Spearman, a self-explanatory ability.

Mage, which was one of the rarest skills among adventurers. Only Riveria was noted to have this skill, according to the Guild.

The last one was Blacksmith. She had seen him mingling with metal like a first-class blacksmith, so this came as no surprise.

Asahi closed his eyes and thought about the benefits to each development ability. Fist strike would help him in combat. The spearman may improve his skills with the spear, but he wasn't sure to what extent. He had a better grasp on spear than Finn, who most likely possessed the Spearman ability. Mage was rather useless since he already had Magician Class waiting for him. Blacksmith tempted him for a moment.

(My love, don't! Blacksmith will only improve your ability with enchanting metal rather than your blacksmith skills.)

'Fuck. What about spearman?'

(It will improve damage with the spear.)

'All of them are kinda bad.'

He was torn between the Fist Strike and Spearman. The former would help him in his fight with Ddraig, and the latter would help him every time he wielded the spear.

"You have skills for magic already… your blacksmithing skills are nearly unmatched in mortals... I think Fist Strike and Spearman would be better," she paused and revealed a motherly smile. "I'm just saying my opinion. You don't have to follow me."

"I like it when you do things like this, you know. Your mature smile is too attractive," he said and caressed her cheeks through telekinesis. "I'll take the spearman."

"Un…"

[—Spear Mastery leveled up to A.]

[—Reward: Unique Class 'Spearman'.]

"Huh?"

(What?!)

'I should be the one saying that. What happened? Didn't you say it won't improve my spear skills?'

(Uh… let me check. Just a second!)

He could imagine a flustered Klyscha typing furiously on her laptop, searching for the cause.

(Got it! It's like this, my love. Spearman improved damage with spear-type weapons. Spear Mastery also did that… so the system thought of them as one and combined them!)

'You designed the system, didn't you?'

(My mortal brain can't do long calculations now…)

'I keep forgetting my loli wife is not a full-fledged goddess anymore.'

He added extra love for Klyscha to his late-night schedule and got up.

"That was unexpected," he said and pulled her into his arms.

Astraea felt his naked chest with her cheeks and gulped. "C-Can we not do it today? Tomorrow is Denatus…"

The deities had told her about how painful the first time could be. She couldn't take tomorrow off even if she wanted to. The gods would shove weird names on Asahi in her absence, and she couldn't allow that!

"I wasn't thinking of that. You lewd woman."

Astraea blushed even more at her blunder. Lately, this was the only thing on her mind. What if her rejection resulted in him losing interest? She didn't know what she would do if Asahi left her.

Asahi brushed her hair, soothing every ounce of worries she had. "Can I come?"

"Only gods are allowed in the meeting. Your demigod race will be revealed if you attend the celebration."

"I can sneak in though. No one will be able to see me."

The Invisible Helm of Hades was made for tasks like these. No god was powerful enough to sense him once he wore the cap.

"That should be fine… what will you do?"

"Nothing. Just curious."

Curious about the name they would give him. More importantly, he was curious to see Astraea's battle with other deities for him.

He left Astraea's room after some more hugs and kisses. He knocked on Alise's door. The redhead opened the door and looked at him with sleepy eyes.

"Who… it's you!"

"You? Can't you address me as something better?" he reached out and pulled her closer.

Alise made a quiet 'eep' noise as she was dragged, but she didn't resist. Asahi wound his arms around her waist, pretending not to see her brilliant blush.

"What do I use then?" she shyly asked. "Asahi?"

"What about 'Dear Husband?'"

"What? Never," she raised her voice, enough to echo in the quiet hallways. "I mean, not until we, you know, marry."

"Let's use the first half then. Try calling me 'Dear.'"

"D-Dear?" Alise's eyelashes fluttered as she twirled a strand of her scarlet hair in her finger. "God… that's so embarrassing."

"Utterly adorable," Asahi whispered and cupped her face in his hands. He gave her a tender kiss, pressing his forehead against her. As he pulled back, Alise followed with pursed as though yearning for a deeper kiss.

"One more?"

"Hmm…" she mumbled, her eyes glazed.

"Alright."

Asahi had to stay at her door for ten minutes to fulfill his new needy lover.

***

Denatus.

It started as a meeting between gods who had too much time on their hands. Some deities came to brag about their children, some came to shame others, while a few just came to kill time. Some even came to gather information from the chatter. Before long, Ouranos and the Guild became involved to control the chaos that followed each Denatus.

Fast forward a few years, the Denatus became one of the biggest aspects of Orario. The matters discussed there could make or break certain Familias.

The naming process also started as nothing more than deities giving praise to other children or outright insulting them. This weird sense of humor has carried over the years, becoming a customary event in every Denatus.

Astraea explained Denatus's history as she walked through streets crowded with both civilians and adventurers.

"Amazing, isn't it?" she asked.

"Indeed. Gotta love how boredom affects the mentality."

Astraea nodded and took his hand. She ignored the looks of adoration of people around her and twined his fingers with his. "I won't become like them."

"I will always keep you entertained. Whether it's on a bed surrounded by walls, or outside them."

"Thanks…" she mumbled.

Asahi resisted the urge to keep teasing her until she was a blushing mess. As they neared Babel, Astraea was faintly humming, a slight spring in her step. Her attention was focused on him and him alone. The world might as well not exist in her eyes.

Soon, they reached the skyscraper in the middle of the city, which was also the venue for every Denatus.

Apollo and Natsumi were standing outside, discussing something in hushed voices.

Asahi placed a hand on Natsumi's shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"Master!"

Natsumi identified him before turning around. When she did turn around, her beautiful smile left him speechless. Taking advantage of this momentary gap, Natsumi threw her arms around him in a crushing hug.

"Thanks for coming."

She had a hunch Asahi would come, so she waited here since the roosters utter their first cries of the morning. Hours of patience finally paid off for her.

Apollo revealed a smile. "Ma—"

He paused when Asahi's eyes expressed disgust, as though he was looking at trash.

"Astraea, how are things in your Familia?"

"Great," Astraea replied, keeping Natsumi in check with a stern gaze. "What about yours?"

"Fine…" Apollo shook his head. It was more than fine with the she-devil whipping every adventurer in shape.