Chapter 24 - Hestia’s Extreme Shock

At the guild headquarters, inside the exchange center.

After stepping in, Raven Eltharion looked up at the clock.

"10 p.m. already?"

He immediately thought of Goddess Hestia, who was likely still waiting for him at home.

So, Raven quickly handed over all the magic stones he had collected.

A full two pouches of stones—

In total, he exchanged them for 300,000 valis.

As for the drop items...

Raven figured it would be better to sell those to a shop for a higher price.

Drop items are mainly used as crafting materials for weapons and armor.

They could be exchanged at the Guild too, but only for the base market price—

Which meant: the lowest.

Though the Guild was absolutely trustworthy and didn't cheat anyone,

Most adventurers preferred to sell drops to merchants or business-type Familias for better prices.

However, magic stones could only be exchanged through the Guild.

Because the rights to trade magic stones were strictly monopolized by the Guild.

"…Wait a second!"

"Where's my Thousand-Feather Staff?!"

Just after pocketing the money, he suddenly realized—

The magic staff worth 9.9 billion valis was gone.

Raven quickly racked his brain—

Then remembered: he'd left it in that room earlier.

"…Guess I'll go back for it tomorrow."

It was too late now—Eina, Misha, and the other staff had long gone home.

Not staying any longer, Raven exited the exchange center and headed toward home at a brisk pace.

As he passed the western street, he saw the largest tavern in the city—

The Benevolent Mistress.

"I'll head home first, then come back to eat later."

Outside the crumbling church that served as Hestia Familia's headquarters—

"Raven-kun…"

Hestia leaned against the wall, her brows furrowed and her face full of anxiety.

Seeing that Raven still hadn't come home so late—

She was starting to panic.

Afraid…

That maybe she would never see him again.

"Goddess~~~!"

Suddenly—

A long and familiar shout rang out in the distance.

Hestia's eyes lit up instantly, and she turned in hope.

Once she confirmed he was safe—

The lump in her throat finally eased.

"Raven-kun… Thank goodness!"

"I'm home, Goddess Hestia," Raven said with a bright smile as he walked up to her.

Suddenly overwhelmed with emotion—

Hestia launched herself straight at him.

Raven opened his arms just in time and caught her gently.

"Goddess Hestia, could you help me update my status first?"

"—Yes, yes!"

"Once we're done, let's head to the tavern and have a big feast."

"—Really?!"

"I made a lot of money today."

"—My Raven-kun is the best!"

"After we eat, let's go buy some new clothes too."

"—Mmm-hmm!"

As they chatted—

Raven carried her like a koala into the hidden room inside the church.

It was their small, cozy home.

A few minutes later—

Raven removed his shirt and lay face-down on the small bed.

Hestia, still sitting on his back, pulled out a needle.

She pricked her finger lightly—

A droplet of red divine blood appeared at the tip.

Hestia unlocked the seal first, then let a drop of that blood soak into his back.

Immediately, rippling waves spread outward from the Falna engraving.

Holy runes began to surface.

Raven Eltharion

Lv.1

Strength: I0 → SSS1899

Endurance: I0 → SSS1899

Dexterity: I0 → SSS1899

Agility: I0 → SSS1899

Magic: I0 → SSS1899

Development Abilities: —

Magic:

[Divine Feather Annihilation]

[Reincarnation Summon]

[Dreamlike Feather]

Skills:

[Demonic Chaos Dance]

[Overlord's Pressure]

[Palace of Holy and Demonic Might]

Hestia stared at the status on his back—

Her expression was filled with disbelief.

"T-This… are these numbers real?!"

"This has to be some kind of joke, right?!"

"Everything's SSS? And they look maxed out too?!"

Wasn't Raven just a first-day adventurer?

He already maxed out every single stat… in one day?!

That speed of growth—it was terrifying.

My heavens!!

Too fast—far, far too fast!!

Although she had general knowledge about how Falna worked,

The blue-ribbon goddess honestly didn't know the details—

Like how to effectively raise proficiency,

Or the rules behind how skills and magic were revealed.

In reality, Hestia lacked deeper knowledge.

But even she knew—

There was no way Raven's stats should've progressed this quickly.

This was beyond normal.

It wasn't growth—

It was a complete leap!

One might even call it cheating!

In fact—

Other gods who were friends with Hestia often vented their frustrations.

How their children always hit growth bottlenecks quickly.

But Raven?

No obstacles.

No hurdles.

Just pure, unstoppable ascent.

"Goddess Hestia, are you done?" Raven asked with a slight smile.

He figured she must've been completely shocked, hence the long silence.

Hestia's frozen expression finally loosened—

She snapped out of it and blurted out:

"Raven-kun, what… what on earth did you go through in the Dungeon?!"

"How did your entire status become SSS?!"

Raven answered casually, "I went down to the 17th floor and took out the floor boss—Goliath."

"That's how I earned all that money."

He didn't hide anything.

In front of a goddess, no mortal could lie anyway.

"Goddess Hestia, later I'll take you shopping for new shoes."

Now that he was officially her Familia member—

He definitely didn't want her walking around barefoot anymore.

Of course—

She also needed new clothes. No more revealing outfits.

"Wait, wait—Raven-kun, y-you went to the 17th floor alone?!"

"And… and you came back without a single injury—after defeating the floor boss?!"

Hestia's lips trembled—

She was so shocked that her speech became completely stuttered.

"Yep."

"But I did faint twice."

Raven frowned a bit, "Still, no big deal. I've recovered now."

To be continued...