A young adventurer with exceptionally outstanding talent had been picked up by her stay-at-home, food-loving and lazy best friend—and even his weapons and equipment had been supported out of her own hands.
And then—
This rookie adventurer went on to accomplish a feat that shattered world records.
At the very least, every time Hephaestus saw Ron, such complicated emotions would arise within her. But among the very few things that could make her feel relieved...
It was probably that this guy seemed to realize that no amount of armor could truly protect him, and did not come to her after every Dungeon exploration to have his equipment repaired.
In other words, she only helped repair it for free out of consideration for Hestia.
If it were any other weapon shop, Hephaestus truly doubted whether such a high battle-damage ratio could achieve a balance of income and expenditure relying solely on Dungeon drops.
And then—
She saw Ron's brass greatshield, whose surface appeared heavily damaged.
"I know what to do..."
"So, is there anything else?" The woman only felt her eyelids twitching wildly, yet she did not feel particularly troubled by Ron standing before her.
One could only say—All gifts of fate have already been secretly marked with a price.
Even talent was no exception.
Ron possessed a "vessel" that the vast majority of adventurers could never obtain, and as for Dungeon exploration, Hephaestus truly had never seen anything like him.
"..."
"There's also the matter of the drops. I wonder whether Lady Hephaestus is interested."
The exchange remained formulaic.
Ron had encountered this familiar scene an unknown number of times. After killing the Hard Armored monster, he placed the heavy drop item on the ground.
After fully spreading it open—
Under the illumination of the shop's lights, a metallic sheen continuously flowed across the surface of the drop item. With just a simple glance, one could tell its true origin.
"A drop item from an armadillo-type monster..."
"It's indeed quite rare."
A weapon shop did not merely sell equipment; it also handled drop item recycling as an auxiliary service.
Hephaestus looked toward the heavy armor laid out on the ground. Although she could not understand it—ordinary monsters always seemed to undergo changes whenever they encountered Ron.
The monsters' difficulty would also receive an epic-level enhancement.
"How do you plan to deal with it?"
"Sell it."
Even if this kind of drop item were crafted into armor, it was estimated that before long, it would be completely phased out amid the ever-increasing difficulty of the Dungeon.
Rather than spend the extra money, Ron quickly made a decision—and he also did not forget the main reason he had come to see Hephaestus.
He took the deep azure "glintstone" out from inside his clothes. Compared to minerals like gemstones or jade, which would look dazzling and lavish under lamplight, the rounded stone before him—about the size of a baby's fist—was different.
Even under the light, its glow was extremely restrained. Instead, a faint, pale-white radiance was flowing with a steady rhythm inside the glintstone itself.
Ron asked proactively, "Lady Hephaestus, I want to commission a magic staff, using this stone as the core. About how much would it cost?"
"..."
"Depends on the materials."
"If you want better results, the best choice would be a Great Sacred Tree branch from the Forest of Wishe. If conditions allow, you should also add materials like magic gemstones."
"Just the material costs alone... would be at least around one hundred million Valis."
The woman, who was studying the material of the Hard Armored armor, did not even lift her head. As for the "stone" Ron mentioned, she explained, "The concept of a magic gemstone."
"It's different from the stones dropped by Dungeon monsters—you can understand it as something rare..."
However—
When Hephaestus raised her head and noticed the "glintstone" held in the boy's hand, her gaze froze for a brief moment, followed immediately by disbelief.
As a goddess who presided over forging...
This deep azure gem—smooth and full like a pearl—was a special mineral she had never seen before, whether in Orario or across the long ages of Heaven.
There was likewise magic flowing within it...
Yet what could be clearly felt was that this magic was completely different from Orario's magic gemstones. It was as if it contained the cold, piercing brilliance of the stars.
'Unknown.'
What Hephaestus pursued was precisely those never-before-seen, strange and curious pieces of equipment.
And the "glintstone" in Ron's hand—even without being made into a weapon or piece of equipment—already gave her an immense sense of freshness from the standpoint of raw materials alone.
"Where did this come from?"
"I ran into a special monster."
"And then I pried it out of the monster's weapon. I figured it should be able to be made into a staff, right?"
Ron chose to conceal the part about the "Elden Ring," only selectively mentioning the process of obtaining the glintstone to Hephaestus.
It was not a lie.
"It'll take some time."
"You may not know this—but if you want to obtain branches from the Great Sacred Tree, you have to go through the elves as an intermediary, and as for this never-before-seen magic gemstone..."
"If you only use ordinary materials..."
"I don't think there's any way to bring out the true effect of this magic gemstone!"
Hephaestus's attitude was unprecedentedly focused; the anticipation in her heart could be heard directly in her tone as she carefully examined the glintstone in her hand.
As if—
It simply did not exist within this world at all!
She took a deep breath and finally added, "Good magic-conducting materials can amplify the effect of magic. Gathering the materials will take some time."
"How much will it cost?"
Compared to the magical amplification a staff could provide, Ron cared more about the price.
Even though he had a ten-million-Valis deposit slip extorted from Zanis of the Soma Familia, judging from her description, it still did not sound like it would be enough.
"Free."
"I can personally forge it for you—but on the condition that, if this kind of special magic gemstone appears again in the future, you leave it to me."
"Alright."
"You can also keep an eye out and see whether, through elven channels, you can obtain a branch from a Great Sacred Tree. That would speed up the progress somewhat."
"You don't need to worry about the money."
...
When he left Hephaestus's weapon shop, Ron's head was still somewhat dazed. He had already prepared himself for heavy bleeding to commission the magic staff, yet Hephaestus not only waived the fee—
She even intended to personally forge it for him!
This kind of opportunity was truly rare. Unless he could produce special materials that did not exist in Orario, it would be extremely difficult to get something for free like this again in the future.
He had to get everything done in one go!
'A branch from the Great Sacred Tree...'
'As for Senior Ryuu—if I remember correctly, she fled from the elves' secret realm and came to Orario. There doesn't seem to be any other suitable candidate.'
However—
When Ron thought of this, Lefiya—whom he had encountered in the Dungeon some time ago—and the experience of fighting side by side with her suddenly surfaced in his mind.
If he were willing to pay enough Valis...
Could he, through Lefiya's connection, obtain a Sacred Tree branch from the Forest of Wishe and directly max out the staff's base configuration?
'Feels feasible.'
On the way back to the collective dormitory, Ron continued planning. The most crucial point was that the acquisition of the "glintstone" had allowed him to see the possibility of obtaining a Holy Sigil in the world of DanMachi.
And now, he had something even more important to deal with—the ball invitation from the Apollo Familia, and the operability behind this matter.
If he won, then it would likewise prove a truth from his previous life.
That was—
The rougher the waves, the more expensive the fish!
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