’Ah, that really is just like him.’
Hestia and Hephaestus couldn’t help but think to themselves.
Both gods, familiar with Bell’s usual behavior, understood that this outco suited him perfectly. Wearing a trench coat and hood while heading out wasn’t sothing a typical adventurer would do—yet it was exactly what Bell would do.
But the fact that the sa held true even in the Dungeon genuinely surprised them.
In Orario, blending into the crowd made it easy to go unnoticed. But the Dungeon was a different story—it wasn’t a place where one could hide easily. With so many adventurers moving around, even in such a large space, there were bound to be encounters with familiar faces.
So, for no one to have noticed him at all was definitely strange.
Even if Bell stayed alert and paid attention to his surroundings, surely soone would’ve caught a glimpse of him from a distance?
Just how lucky would soone have to be for that not to happen... Ah!
Speaking of luck, Hestia and Hephaestus suddenly rembered—Bell had a "High Luck" skill. And that skill could directly influence the Dungeon.
Under its effects, paired with his natural caution and a stroke of luck, it was entirely possible that Bell really had managed to avoid detection.
’This outco really caught us off guard... to think his luck skill could even affect sothing like this.’
"Ahem, Loki, can we get back on topic?"
Hestia abruptly cut Loki off.
Loki gave the shorty a slightly odd look but didn’t press further about the investigation.
While the results were clearly questionable from her perspective, the investigation had been handled by her own familia. Criticizing it would be like slapping herself in the face.
If it wasn’t her children who’d made the mistake, then it had to be the shorty’s familia.
"Let’s talk more about the Rune Stones."
"I want to ask—are there still many functions of the Rune Stones that haven’t been uncovered yet?"
"That’s right."
Hephaestus made no attempt to hide it. There was no need—any god who saw the Rune Stones would naturally think the sa.
And indeed, it was true.
"Weapon enchantnt, healing, curse removal, enhanced weapon sharpening, and direct-attack magic of other attributes."
"Comprehensive stat enhancent and further upgrades, specialization in a single attribute, even the creation of internal organs and severed limbs."
Those functions made Loki’s eye twitch.
Even just the upgraded weapon sharpening was enough to make her pulse race.
Loki had already seen the Rune Stones. Finn had tested one himself. When used on a basic third-tier weapon, it instantly boosted the sharpness to top-level quality. Used on a top-tier first-line weapon, it could even raise it beyond asurable standards.
And now there was an upgraded version of that?
If Hephaestus hadn’t said it herself, Loki would’ve thought she was being lied to.
Not just weapon sharpening—there was an upgraded version of stat enhancent too? That was absurd.
After Finn used the Rune Stone, his stats had increased by 200 points across the board.
If Loki hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed a single rune could raise stats by that much.
Especially since this Rune Stone’s boosts exceeded the gods’ restriction limits.
After using it, Finn’s Agility alone had broken past the 999 cap and shot up to 1199.
And every stat had risen by a set amount—1,000 points total across all five paraters.
That wasn’t just a moderate increase.
It was an explosion.
Even that one effect alone would be enough to drive any adventurer crazy.
And now Hephaestus was saying that even this enhancent magic had an upgraded version?
’Can you not be so over the top!?’
Loki was practically grinding her molars as she scread internally.
That only made her more certain: She had to fully uncover this hidden list within ten attempts—no matter what.
But at the sa ti, it helped her calm down.
She knew that losing her cool now would an giving up the initiative, and that wasn’t an option. This was a mont where clear thinking was critical.
There was no need to worry about Hephaestus actually selling those ridiculously powerful Rune Stones. The fact that she hadn’t already proved those hidden Rune Stones weren’t sothing to casually throw on the market.
The real focus was her position in this deal, and the benefits she could tightly hold onto.
’The shorty probably has more than just as an option. She could always choose to connect with Freya...’
As one of Orario’s current Twin Kings, Loki understood better than anyone just what Freya was capable of.
’So then, why didn’t the shorty choose to partner with Freya?’
Then, a thought struck her.
Hestia’s child was a boy.
’Ah... so that’s it.’
’Shorty, no wonder you’re not willing to work with Freya.’
Loki, who knew Freya’s personality all too well, suddenly realized that her own position in this deal was far stronger than she’d originally thought.
With that understanding, Loki’s scowl vanished. She smiled wide, squinting as usual like everything was normal.
"Hey, shorty, you don’t want to team up with Freya, do you?"
"!?"
Hestia, who had been smug just monts ago, froze on the spot.
Seeing that, Loki grinned even wider.
"Hoho~ Looks like I guessed right."
"I thought partnering with Freya would be the smarter move here, but you ca to see instead."
"I was wondering what your reason could be... and now it’s clear—you’re protecting your child from Freya’s gaze."
Caught red-handed, Hestia puffed up her cheeks and glared at Loki, fuming.
She knew Loki had just seized the upper hand, and her position had turned completely passive.
...
Watching from the sidelines, Hephaestus had seen it coming. Loki wasn’t an idiot—once she got over the initial surprise, she’d start thinking and quickly find the most troubleso weak point.
"Hestia, I told you—you can’t outplay Loki."
"She’s a lot sharper than you give her credit for."
"Hmph~ Naturally."
Loki accepted Hephaestus’ praise without the slightest hint of modesty.
"Hey, Phae-Phae, today’s eting was arranged by shorty’s kid, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then let him co out and talk to . For him to make such a decisive move... he must’ve already figured out a way to deal with , right?"
"I’d like to hear what kind of plan shorty’s kid has cooked up to go against ."
As shorty’s backing force, Loki didn’t mind stepping in.
Even if it ant clashing with Freya, the benefits of those Rune Stones weren’t sothing she was willing to hand over.
But right now, what she really wanted was a conversation with that kid she’d t before—to see just what kind of idea he had in mind to counter her.
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / PinkSnake
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