Chapter 93: Loki's Amazement

Combining all the scenes she'd seen, Loki finally arrived at a clear conclusion.

Why would an adventurer with strong abilities, yet indifferent to power, wealth, and fame, choose such a secluded life?

There was only one answer—what that kid cared about wasn't material at all.

Still, this conclusion genuinely surprised Loki.

"Loki, what did you figure out?"

Finn looked at her, guessing she'd reached some kind of realization.

"Well... I've got the answer and the conclusion, but I didn't expect that shorty to actually respond."

"???"

Her words sounded like code—each part made sense, but together, they were hard to grasp.

Unlike Finn and Gareth, Riveria Ljos Alf, being a woman, vaguely caught Loki's meaning.

"I see."

"Fell for a god's follower, huh? But Loki, didn't you say Hestia-sama was a virgin goddess?"

Thanks to Riveria's comment, Finn and Gareth finally pieced things together.

"Virgin goddess isn't a divine title. It's just what those idiots in Tenkai started calling that shorty after getting rejected."

"Athena and Artemis also get called virgin goddesses—it usually just means they're stiff and avoid the opposite sex."

"That shorty got hit on by tons of gods, but always had the same response. Eventually, those guys just started calling her 'virgin'."

"That term wasn't meant kindly."

In the end, it was just some gods feeling humiliated after being turned down. And for those shameless types, Loki had only one thing to say—

"Pah! Disgusting!"

Returning to the actual point, even Loki opened her usually narrowed eyes when the topic turned serious.

"That shorty would never even think about building a friendship with Hephaestus's Familia... And his little hands aren't the kind to freely form that kind of relationship with another Familia."

"This clearly has a lot to do with Hestia's child."

From what she knew about the shorty, there was no way he'd do something so forward.

It was obviously a decision made entirely by Hestia's child.

Still, even Loki had to admit—at this moment, there wasn't a single Familia in Orario that would dare lay a hand on him.

Hephaestus's Familia was one of the top production Familias in Orario. Picking a fight with the little dwarf's Familia now was practically a declaration of war against Hephaestus herself.

What did that mean?

It meant any Familia doing so would have to be ready to get cut off from weapons and gear.

In other words, they'd be finished.

So, yeah—this move was brilliant.

By forming ties with Hephaestus's Familia, it ensured that as long as the shorty didn't do anything reckless, no one would dare cause trouble.

Moreover, all of Orario's Familias were watching closely. The moment one Familia made a move, the rest would follow immediately. Now that they understood the function of the Rune Stones, none of them would want to give up using them. This mutual deterrence led to a deadlock where no one dared to act first.

Loki let out a faint sigh. At this point, there was nothing more to be said.

"Riveria, have you deciphered the writing inside the Rune Stone?"

Riveria shook her head slightly. The text hidden within the Rune Stone was identical to the inscriptions on the surface, but studying it yielded nothing useful.

"It's a special kind of magical script. Simply deciphering it doesn't do any good."

"The creator must've known that, which is why they deliberately engraved the script on the Rune Stone."

"I see. So much for getting a technique out of it."

Loki wasn't particularly surprised by the outcome. If someone's livelihood could be easily cracked, they wouldn't be putting it on the market in the first place.

"We'll still need to keep purchasing magic swords, but we should allocate part of the Familia's funds specifically for customizing Rune Stones."

"Let Finn and Mama handle the details."

"I'll go check in with Phae-Phae later and see what I can find out."

Loki remained highly interested in the Rune Stones. There were only three types available right now, but each one was effective. One increased weapon sharpness, another enhanced personal attributes, and the third—though small and cheap—was as powerful as a magic sword. In fact, its cost-performance ratio far exceeded that of ordinary magic swords.

Loki was even considering stopping magic sword purchases altogether and switching entirely to Rune Stones. A single magic sword typically cost at least a million Valis, but an attack-type Rune Stone only cost 100,000 Valis. Just this alone would save the Loki Familia a substantial amount of money.

As for the other two types of Rune Stones, they were even cheaper. Even mid-tier Familias could afford to buy a good number for Dungeon exploration.

But Loki couldn't afford to waste any more time here. She needed to head over to Hephaestus's place and see if she was willing to meet today.

Ever since Hephaestus started selling the Rune Stones, she had refused all visitors. Loki had gone there every day for the past three days and returned empty-handed each time. Still, she had to keep trying.

There were just too many questions she needed answers to.

Originally, Loki had planned to find a shortcut and talk to the shorty directly, but she hadn't come out of Phae-Phae's shop in days. Even the creator of the Rune Stones had seemingly vanished without a trace. Clearly, they were hiding.

So in the end, Loki had no choice but to rent a carriage and head to Cranel...

At that moment, on the second floor of Hephaestus's shop, after three days of rigorous training, Bell was preparing to update his stats once again.

[Name: Bell Cranel

Lv.1 → Lv.2

Attributes:

Strength: S907 → ???1347

Endurance: S921 → ???1412

Dexterity: SS1034 → ???1523

Agility: SS1087 → ???1549

Magic: SSS1120 → ???1689

Magic:

"Four-Dimensional Space":

· Storage

"Lightning Command":

· Quick-Cast Magic

· Lightning Control

Skills:

"Personal Training":

· Early Bloomer

[Heaven's Luck]:

· High Luck]

Just like three days ago when she updated his data, Hephaestus was once again left speechless by these dazzling numbers.