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"I'll go with you," Alex said. He'd only come down to watch the spectacle anyway. Now that it was over, it was time to head back.
"Alright," Finn nodded. With that, the group turned and made their way back to the upper levels.
On the way back, Ais kept glancing at Alex. It was constant, and it made him increasingly uncomfortable.
Halfway through the journey, he finally couldn't take it anymore. "Is there something wrong with me?"
Ais paused, then shook her head with her usual blank, innocent look.
"Then why do you keep staring at me?" Alex asked.
"Well… I wanted to ask you something," Ais said hesitantly. "How do I get stronger?"
"You're already strong," Alex replied, at a loss for words. "You're Orario's strongest female swordsman. And you're asking me how to get stronger?"
"I'm not strong enough," Ais said seriously. "I lost to that woman just now."
"That was because her level was higher than yours," Alex explained.
"It wasn't just that," Ais insisted, a stubborn edge creeping into her voice. "I lack experience fighting people. Against her, it wasn't only my level that was suppressed. My techniques were too."
"So what are you saying?" Alex raised an eyebrow. He already had a pretty good idea.
"I want to learn from you," Ais said, bowing slightly. "I want to learn how to fight people."
Alex understood immediately. Ais had raised her level almost entirely by fighting monsters, so she excelled at PvE combat. Actual fights against people were rare for her, which meant she wasn't good at PvP.
The martial arts Alex had learned from Luo Hao, as well as the three major sword styles from the Mushoku Tensei world that Roxy had taught him, were all designed for fighting people.
But Ais wasn't part of his familia. He couldn't just teach her for free.
Luo Hao's techniques couldn't be passed on without her permission. As for the three great sword styles, those belonged to Roxy. Teaching them also required her consent.
After a moment of thought, Alex spoke. "My techniques were taught to me by others. Without their permission, I can't pass them on. I can't give you an answer right now. I need to ask my familia first."
When Ais heard the first part, her expression fell immediately.
But when she heard the rest, a flicker of hope returned to her eyes.
Finn and the others didn't say anything. They had all seen Alex's strength. If Ais could learn from him, it would only be a good thing.
Only Bete, the werewolf, was visibly annoyed. He liked Ais, after all.
And now, it looked like Ais had taken an interest in Alex.
It made his blood boil, but he had no way to vent it. First, he had no justification. Second, he couldn't beat Alex even if he tried.
So he stayed silent and stewed in his frustration.
It was past three in the morning when they finally returned to the surface.
Alex parted ways with the Loki Familia and headed back to his own familia's base alone.
The massive castle was mostly dark, with only a few rooms still lit. Everyone else was already asleep.
He didn't wake anyone, quietly returning to his own room.
A quick shower, a change into sleepwear.
Just as he was about to go to bed, he noticed a private message from Luo Hao.
Lying on the bed, Alex opened the chat.
Luo Hao: "Little brother, the Crimson Copper Black Cross has offered me the Gorgon Stone. I used it to lure Athena out and fought her. I managed to seriously injure her, but she still escaped."
Alex was surprised.
In the Godslayer world, Athena was a particularly powerful Heretic God. Not only was she strong, she was also frighteningly intelligent.
If she had been in her complete trinity form, it would have been nearly impossible for Luo Hao to injure her. A single mistake could have even gotten Luo Hao killed instead.
Truth be told, Alex didn't want Athena dead. Like Kusunagi Godou in the original story, he wanted to ally with her.
Sure, there was a tiny bit of lust involved. But more importantly, he wanted to build a core team of his own, one that he could use in the future to conquer worlds beyond.
Some worlds were simply too dangerous. The To Aru universe, Saint Seiya, Little Garden. Any of them could get you killed if you weren't careful.
If someone from Little Garden ever joined their group, Alex knew he would have to go there eventually.
But with Little Garden's unique rules, he and Luo Hao would inevitably offend countless beings.
After all, Godslayers gained Authorities by killing gods.
If that concept was accepted by Little Garden's central system, then he and Luo Hao would instantly become enemies of the millions of gods there.
And then there was Hestia.
Would the Hestia of Little Garden allow another Hestia to exist?
For a three-digit god in Little Garden to advance to two digits, they had to absorb all versions of themselves.
Little Garden allowed only one Hestia. If the Hestia from DanMachi went there, she would either be absorbed or forced to abandon the name Hestia altogether.
That was why Alex needed to build a powerful core team.
So that one day, when he reached Little Garden, he could quickly form a community and stand against the native gods.
He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside.
Alex: "Sis, we don't have to kill Athena. We can ally with her, like Godou did in the original. It'll help when we eventually face the Last King."
Luo Hao: "You make a good point. In that case, I'll switch targets."
Alex: "Good luck, sis."
Luo Hao: "Mm. This time, I won't let him escape."
Alex didn't need to think hard to guess her new target. Perseus, most likely.
Ending the chat, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, it was already noon the next day.
After getting up and doing his daily sign-in, Alex went to the living room. Aside from Hestia playing with Sakura and Illya, no one else was around.
"Why is everyone gone?" Alex asked, puzzled.
"They teamed up and went on an expedition," Hestia replied. "They took Ais and Liliruca along too, to help them get familiar with the Dungeon."
"Did everyone really have to go?" Alex sighed. "This place is huge. Who's supposed to manage it? They couldn't even leave a few people behind."
"What can you do?" Hestia laughed. "Your growth has been way too fast. You scared them into working harder."
Alex shook his head, then suddenly thought of someone. "Did Bell go with them too?"
At the mention of Bell, Hestia immediately perked up. "Nope. That kid's been going solo lately. I don't know what got into him, but he actually awakened 'Single-Minded Aspiration' from the original story. His growth rate is insane now!"
As she spoke, she pulled out a parchment that translated divine blessings and handed it to Alex.
He took a look and smiled.
With that skill, Bell was basically running a cheat. His future achievements wouldn't be low.
Setting the parchment aside, Alex said, "If he's awakened that skill, it also means Freya will start paying attention to him. Sooner or later, our familias are going to clash."
Hestia waved it off. "We won in the original story, didn't we? And now we've got you, a Godslayer."
Alex chuckled and changed the subject. "That skill requires emotional maturity, plus someone he admires or has a crush on. Who do you think Bell admires now? Still Ais from the Loki Familia?"
"Probably not," Hestia shook her head. "The plot's changed too much. He's barely met her, and she never saved him from the Minotaur."
"Tch. Now I'm really curious," Alex said. He decided to ask Bell once he got back.
Even if Bell didn't answer, it was still worth a shot.
After chatting with Hestia for a while, Sakura and Illya started complaining about being hungry.
Illya walked straight up to Alex. "Big brother, I'm hungry."
Alex patted her head gently. "Alright, Illya. Big brother will make you something to eat."
He went into the kitchen and found a refrigerator powered by magic stone technology.
It was a metal box engraved with magic circles and runes, with a magic stone set into its center.
The stone supplied energy to the array, which maintained the temperature inside.
Opening it, he found plenty of ingredients.
He grabbed a few at random and got to work.
About half an hour later, the food was ready.
Four bowls of tomato and egg noodles, plus four pieces of pan-seared steak.
As he set them on the table, the aroma filled the room.
"You really are the best cook," Hestia praised. "Compared to you, Sella and Liliruca still have a long way to go."
"Eat up," Alex rolled his eyes. "If Sella and Liliruca hear you, they might stop cooking for you altogether."
He served two portions to Sakura and Illya, lifted them onto their chairs, and even tied bibs around their necks so they wouldn't get dirty.
"You're really good to those two," Hestia teased. "You treating them like your own daughters now?"
"Pretty much," Alex said, looking at the girls with pure, fatherly affection. "Having two daughters this cute is more than enough for a lifetime."
Hestia shuddered. "Okay, that's scary." She quickly changed the subject. "Oh right, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it?" Alex asked while eating his noodles.
"I want to recruit more members," Hestia said in one breath. "Like Night Raid from the Esdeath world. The staff from Anteiku in Takatsuki Sen's world. Ghislaine from Roxy's world. Tanjiro, Nezuko, Inosuke, and Zenitsu from Shinobu's world. And even the Hashira from the Demon Slayer Corps!"
Because she had watched all the anime Alex uploaded, Hestia was familiar with everyone's worlds.
If all those geniuses joined her familia, just how powerful would it become?
"I've thought about it too," Alex nodded. "But we need to take it step by step."
He wanted to build a force that could conquer countless worlds. Using the Hestia Familia as a training camp for new blood was perfect.
The blessing system worked for everyone, whether they were powerful warriors, ordinary people, or even demi-humans.
The Hestia Familia could train recruits. Later, he would select the best among them for the greater force he planned to build.
"You already have a plan?" Hestia's eyes lit up.
"Yeah," Alex said. "In a while, I'll go to Esdeath's world, overthrow that rotten empire, and recruit Night Raid."
"That's great! I'll leave it to you!" Hestia said happily.
Having seen Akame ga Kill, she knew how exceptional those kids were.
They had noble ideals, and they were heroes who walked in the darkness.
…
After lunch, Alex had planned to visit the Hephaestus Familia to learn how to forge magic swords.
Instead, an unexpected visitor arrived.
Looking at Ais standing outside the gate, Alex asked, "Why are you here?"
"I've come to learn how to fight people," Ais replied.
"What's going on?" Hestia asked as she walked out of the castle.
"She's from the Loki Familia," Alex explained. "She wants me to teach her PvP techniques. But you know I can't pass on my sister's martial arts. That leaves the three sword styles from Roxy's world, but those aren't mine to give either."
Hestia looked at Ais and couldn't help sighing inwardly.
In the original story, she and Ais had been romantic rivals over Bell. Things had gotten pretty ugly back then.
But now, she didn't like Bell at all. She liked Alex.
So any hostility toward Ais simply didn't exist.
After looking Ais over for a moment, Hestia said, "Ask Roxy. If she agrees, then go ahead and teach her."
Alex nodded and sent a message to Roxy, who was still on expedition.
The reply came quickly. Roxy agreed.
In her eyes, the three major sword styles weren't secrets anyway. In the Mushoku world, anyone could learn them.
If someone wanted to learn, teaching them was no problem.
After returning from the Godslayer world, Alex's life became fairly monotonous.
Every day, he either studied magic sword forging with Tsubaki or spent time teaching Ais.
Ais's swordsmanship was exceptional. It was a style honed through endless battles in the Dungeon.
No flashy moves. Only techniques meant to kill in a single strike.
But humans were intelligent beings. They weren't like Dungeon monsters.
When humans fought, they used their brains.
Monsters didn't use feints. They didn't deliberately expose openings to lure you in.
"..."
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