Hestia looked at me, unsure of what to say. Then she glanced at Bella, and Bella sighed.
"It's your decision. I won't give my opinion on this. Do whatever you want," she said.
Well, Hestia is the goddess of the Familia, so she has to make these decisions.
"They're very fair conditions. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave the Familia in two days or anything like that. I just don't like feeling trapped, that's all."
Hestia looked at me, and after thinking for a few seconds, she asked, "Are you sure you won't ask to leave the Familia in a few days?"
"I promise." I smiled at her.
If I join the Hestia Familia, I'll stay for at least a few months. There's no reason to join a Familia only to leave after a few days. That would be stupid. After thinking a bit more, Hestia finally replied.
"Alright, I accept your conditions. Can we go home now? I'll give you the falna when we get there."
"Ah, about that… I've had my own house for a while. Do I need to live with you?"
"Hm? You don't have to live with us if you don't want to. Besides, I'm not sure Bella would like that since we don't have much space… hahaha." Hestia smiled bitterly.
Well, if they're living in the same "house" as in the original story, there really isn't much space. Living there with two women wouldn't be appropriate. I wouldn't mind, but Bella definitely wouldn't like the idea.
"But I'm surprised you have your own house. Didn't it cost a lot of money? Did you come from a wealthy Familia or something?" Bella asked.
"I have money, that's all," I answered honestly.
"Hmmm…" Bella seemed very suspicious of me, but I don't care. Over time, she'll come to trust me. Or at least, that's what I hope.
Then I followed Hestia and Bella to their house. It was the same place—small and cramped. As soon as I reached the main room, I looked at the sofa and the old table before sitting down.
"Why are you sitting? Come with me," Hestia said.
She led me to her room and then asked me to take off my shirt. After that, I lay down on the bed and felt Hestia's hands touching my back. Her hands are very warm.
Some time passed.
When I opened my eyes, there they were—the system messages.
[ Congratulations on acquiring a Falna! ]
[ EXP Gain Bonus: +200% ]
[ Points Received: 50 ]
[ You can check your Falna to the right of your main status ]
Oh? So the falna was integrated into the system? Will it affect my status, or will I just be able to track its progress in real time?
####
After acquiring the falna, I talked with Hestia for a bit and then left the "Familia house" to go to the dungeon. Since Bella had just returned from the dungeon and was injured, I went alone.
Well, I was going to the dungeon alone anyway.
As soon as I entered the dungeon, I walked through the first floor while checking the system shop. After converting all the magic stones into points, I gained more than 700 points.
"What should I buy with this? New weapons?"
I said I would do that before, but I ended up spending all my points on magical skills.
Well, I guess I'll take a look at the available skills before doing that.
I started looking at the skills that cost 100 points.
Skills like [ Sword Mastery ] or [ Archery ] cost that much. They're basic skills, but very powerful when they reach max level. However, it's useless to spend points on them.
If I use a bow just once, I'll gain the skill [ Archery ] anyway.
Let's look at the skills that cost 500 points.
I found some interesting ones.
Skills like "Lightning," which greatly increases my speed for a short period of time.
Or the skill "Instant Movement," which basically works like teleportation. I can instantly move to nearby locations—it's very useful in battles against extremely fast enemies.
Hmmm… I don't think those are useful right now. This one here is more interesting.
[ Afterimage ]
[ Price: 600 ]
[ When activated, creates an afterimage that performs an identical follow-up attack ]
In other words, if I activate the skill and attack a monster with fire magic, my afterimage—basically another type of clone—will perform the same attack. It's very useful. Just imagine 20 clones using this skill.
That would be 40 attacks at once.
When I face a very strong monster and need massive damage, this skill will be extremely useful.
I think I'll buy this one. I'll deal with the weapon issue later.
[ You have acquired the skill "Afterimage" Lv1 ]
Damn, this skill has levels. When it levels up, will the number of afterimages increase?
I'll be able to pull off incredible combos with this ability.
Smiling in satisfaction, I searched for an enemy to test it on.
A strong monster would be ideal. I'll have to go down a few floors.
####
Pov: Loki
A few days had passed since the twins joined the Familia, but I hadn't noticed anything strange. I asked them about their family, but they said they didn't have parents—and they weren't lying.
I also asked some questions about their past, but everything was true. I don't understand.
Why were they Level 1?
Why were their statuses so low?
When the god of their former Familia removed their falna, were they "reset"?
No, that doesn't exist. That goes against the rules of this world.
So many questions… I'm so curious.
I smiled instinctively.
Even though the existence of those two is strange and may lead to future problems, I can't stay away from them. I need to remain close and watch their growth.
Maybe I'm being foolish. I've never acted this impulsively before.
But even so… I want to take the risk.
I smiled and looked out the window.
Outside, I could see the two siblings heading toward the dungeon together with their group.
####
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