After leaving the armor that needed repairs with Hestia, Ron did not linger at the Hephaestus Weapon Branch, instead returning to the communal dormitory.
Staying there might not necessarily have been of any help.
But seeking out the War God Takemikazuchi and asking him to help enhance his practical combat ability would bring nothing but benefits to Dungeon exploration.
"Right now, the problem is—magic power affinity."
"I have to master magic and use it frequently in order to see improvement in this area. And I don't have the kind of bug-level skills the original protagonist had, so my various attributes…"
"Can I actually break through the limits of Rank S?"
No Souls-like player would ever refuse to become a stats monster.
But on the road to becoming a stats monster, Ron still had many problems to face.
First was the magic power attribute—he had no way to improve it at all.
If one wanted to obtain magic in the DanMachi world, the fastest route was to spend Valis starting at hundreds of millions at the auction house to purchase a grimoire.
Even if he dismantled himself and sold the parts, he probably still wouldn't be able to scrape together that much!
Second was the limitation the system imposed on adventurer ability values. With his traits as a soul-type Dungeon player, could he actually reach the theoretical maximum values?
"Since things have come to this…"
"I should first think about how to break through to the second floor…"
Following the fork at the end of Adventurer Street, Ron finally returned to the communal dormitory. Just as he was considering how to go about finding Takemikazuchi—
He discovered several familiar figures standing in the courtyard.
The first to catch his eye was a black-haired girl.
Her long, smooth black hair naturally draped over her shoulders. She wore a purple, kimono-style outfit, with red shoulder guards on both sides serving as decoration.
What drew the eye the most was the girl's tall, slender figure.
Having frequently undergone Dungeon training, her fair, straight legs were completely free of excess flesh. Her dark red over-the-knee stockings outlined just the right amount of tightness.
Yamato Mikoto.
Ron naturally knew the true identity of the beautiful girl before him. As a high-level adventurer of the War God Takemikazuchi's Familia, her strength had reached Lv.2.
Her personality was upright, and she treated others with courtesy.
Most importantly, she possessed the gravity-barrier magic "Futsunomitama". In the Dungeon, that alone made her an absolutely all-around exploration talent.
As for the other two accompanying Mikoto—
The tall, broad-shouldered man with neat short hair was Kashima Ouka. This guy was the leading figure in the original work's "Monster Offering" incident.
The one with shoulder-length short hair, heavy bangs covering part of the face, and a slightly gloomy disposition was Hitachi Chigusa.
They looked as though they had just returned from a Dungeon expedition. As the Familia's god, Takemikazuchi was currently greeting the children who had returned from the expedition with a gentle smile.
"Now doesn't seem to be the right time."
Ron naturally understood the most basic principles of social conduct.
Especially toward the War God who had guided him yesterday—he could not possibly pretend he had seen nothing. He took the initiative to greet him. "Good morning, Lord Takemikazuchi."
"Hello."
At first, Takemikazuchi thought it was simply a resident greeting him. But when he turned his head and saw clearly that it was the child Hestia had entrusted to him for guidance yesterday—
There was a trace of surprise in the man's eyes.
Takemikazuchi's impression of Ron was limited to—being described by a close friend as highly talented, and displaying an extremely rigorous attitude during basic training.
"Ron."
"What are you…"
He had not expected Takemikazuchi to take the initiative to ask. Along with Mikoto and the others, all of their curious gazes focused on him.
Ron did not feel uncomfortable. "I just came back from the Dungeon. I'm planning to rest a bit and then continue training."
"Oh."
"If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask Kashima or Mikoto. Starting at noon, I'll be going to work at the Jagamarukun stall, so I won't be particularly free."
Even though the commission had already ended, Takemikazuchi was still willing to extend care to his close friend's Familia member.
As for why Ron had ended his Dungeon exploration so quickly, he had no intention of probing further.
After saying this, he simply explained to the children of his Familia, "His name is Ron. He's a member of the Hestia Familia and our new neighbor."
"You're all young—maybe you'll find some common topics!"
All of it was networking.
It was just that, for future exploration, it might not provide especially much help. After all, what Ron needed to face was a soul-game-difficulty Dungeon.
Ron did not refuse Takemikazuchi's kindness.
He said with an easy smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."
...
"Armor repairs…"
"Do you think I look like a sucker?"
At the Hephaestus weapon shop, the mature woman looked at the armor laid out on the redwood table, completely pierced through by a sharp blade, and felt nothing but a pounding headache.
She had even felt a bit relieved just moments ago.
After recruiting a Familia member, this woman's personality had seemed to change—she was actually putting effort into completing the work she had arranged.
What Hephaestus had not expected was that this was simply digging a pit for herself in advance. Not only had she let him freeload weapons, he even wanted to fleece her for armor repairs!
To a smith—
Equipment hammered out blow by blow was as precious as children.
The purchase cost she had waived for Hestia had even come out of her own pocket as a subsidy to the smiths. And yet, how long had it been?
The armor had already been pierced through by a sharp weapon.
"But—you're the only friend I have. I couldn't think of anyone else to ask for help… The repair cost can also be deducted from my future wages."
The girl lowered her head, looking like a quail.
"Give me a break."
"I even fronted the rent for the communal dormitory. You still have to eat in the future." The mature woman waved her hand irritably, but still compromised.
After all, she couldn't very well say she regretted having a friend like this.
That kind of hurtful thing—Hephaestus did not have the heart to say it out loud. Yet as she carefully examined the extent of the damage to the armor, her brows knitted tightly.
Equipment that could be placed on shelves for sale—
At the very least, its quality was absolutely guaranteed. Ordinary attacks simply could not destroy it.
But judging from the damage to the breastplate, she realized that this was definitely the final result of an extremely powerful force—one capable of piercing straight through in an instant.
If even the armor had been pierced through, how could the wearer possibly be unharmed?!
"Is he alright?"
Hephaestus frowned. For this woman to be waiting here so patiently, she guessed the person had probably been sent to the Sanatorium for treatment, but there was no money to settle the bill.
To prevent Hestia from returning to her original lazy state—
She shook her head and sighed helplessly, reaching out to take some Valis from the cabinet. But upon hearing the next reply, she abruptly lifted her head.
"Ron, you mean…"
"He's fine. He's already gone back to the communal dormitory to train…"
The girl answered without any guard.
Yet Hephaestus's tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of easing. When it came to matters of life and death, she did not care about this little bit of Valis.
What truly shocked her was Ron's current condition.
From an analysis of the breastplate's damage, even if most of the force had been shed, the remaining power was still something a rookie adventurer's body could not possibly withstand.
Without timely treatment, it would have been absolutely fatal.
And yet—
Ron had no problems at all. He could even train normally?
Recalling how spirited the girl had been yesterday, swearing confidently to her that the Familia member she had recruited possessed unprecedented talent—
A strong curiosity arose in Hephaestus's heart.
"It seems…"
"The Familia member you recruited might not be as simple as I imagined!!"