Forcing or threatening the other party?
That kind of thing was completely out of the question. The strength Ron had displayed—becoming a top-tier adventurer in Orario was only a matter of time.
Even the secrets he carried—were beneficial to the entire Loki Familia. At the very least, their relationship absolutely could not be strained. After thinking it over, Riveria realized she had been too hasty.
"Then…"
"We'll first try approaching Ron using a branch from the Great Sacred Tree."
"If the Elf Secret Realm where Lefiya is doesn't agree to sell it—I'll still find a way. No matter what, I'll get that branch for Ron."
"..."
"I'll go find Lefiya first."
With the next course of action decided, the previously tense atmosphere within the familia quickly returned to its usual order. But deep inside Finn, Riveria, and the others, their emotions were far from calm.
As the green-haired elf stood up and left the living room, pushing open the door, what came into view was a girl with beauty no less than that of a goddess, her golden hair cascading over her shoulders.
Ais Wallenstein.
The girl still wore that same vacant expression.
But from the slight furrow of her slender brows and the curiosity flickering within her amber eyes, one could easily tell—she had definitely heard the entire conversation just now.
Riveria understood well—given Ais's strong-willed nature, she would never feel discouraged over something like this. So she didn't bring up Ron.
"Ais."
"Have you seen Lefiya?"
"Mm."
"She's in her room."
The blonde girl turned around and pointed behind her.
Because in the area of the 17th Floor, they had encountered a massive gathering of Minotaurs, and due to the battle, monsters had even begun fleeing toward the upper floors.
Ais had carried out a full-scale hunt.
Fortunately, the entire process went smoothly, and no adventurers were affected. After that, she returned alone to Orario and made a trip to North Street.
After buying a portion of red bean cream–flavored Jagamarukun, she returned to the familia residence. She had originally planned to go sit in the living room and eat, but ended up overhearing a discussion inside about a new adventurer named Ron.
"..."
Breaking world records.
Sweeping through the Apollo Familia in the War Game.
Her brows knit slightly—not because she felt any pressure, but simply because, without realizing it, she had already finished the Jagamarukun in the oil paper bag in her hand.
"Oh."
"I'll go buy another portion."
Compared to those empty reputations, what Ais was actually more curious about—was that new adventurer who had fought the Mimic War Shadow on the 6th Floor before the familia expedition.
There was nothing… more capable of stirring her curiosity than monsters she had never seen before!
"So…"
"How exactly can I find you?"
...
Glintstone Staff.
No one could resist becoming a mage.
If there was anything more technical than a shield-poke build, it would be the Astrologer from Elden Ring. Most importantly, the DanMachi world didn't have such strict limits on mana.
As long as one's mental strength was sufficient, it was entirely possible to achieve the effect of a spell machine gun inside the Dungeon!
After encountering the ancient dragon Lansseax, Ron had already realized—the monsters in the upper floors were nothing more than appetizers.
The real challenge
would begin after entering the middle floors.
Enriching one's combat methods as much as possible would absolutely increase the overall safety of the team. Most importantly, this staff was personally forged by Hephaestus.
Looking at the tall, mature woman before him, before he could even ask in detail, Hephaestus began explaining: "As for the branch from the Great Sacred Tree needed to craft the staff—it'll be within these next two days."
"Someone from the Loki Familia should notify you."
"You don't need to worry about the price of acquiring the branch, including the cost of the other materials." Her tone was relaxed, and there was even a hint of anticipation in it.
Glintstone.
It didn't belong to this world at all—like a magic stone fallen from beyond the heavens.
Combined with top-tier materials used for crafting high-grade staves, what kind of result would it produce in the end? As the goddess of forging, Hephaestus was extremely curious.
"..."
"Isn't this a bit too much?"
Covering everything.
Even in the original story, Bell had never received treatment like this.
Ron himself hadn't expected that he would enjoy such special treatment from Hephaestus. He hadn't forgotten what he had originally promised.
During tomorrow's Dungeon exploration, when going into the world behind the fog gate, he would try to find another Erdtree Burial Watchdog—and extract another Glintstone from the staff for Hephaestus.
"Heh." Hephaestus glanced at the boy in front of her. She understood that Ron was worried the material cost would be pushed onto Hestia.
She gently shook her head: "No need to worry about materials. Just from the profits of the Apollo War Game bets alone, we earned enough to forge several First-Class weapons."
"Just treat it as… your appearance fee."
After saying this, Hephaestus's calm gaze swept over the supporter's backpack filled with spoils, and she asked: "Anything else?"
"Yes, yes."
"These are today's drops from defeating a Floor Boss in the Dungeon. I'd like to customize a set of high-grade armor for the members of the familia."
This was Ron's primary objective.
The previously commissioned Glintstone staff had been purely an unexpected bonus. As he explained his purpose, he opened the large supporter's backpack.
Then—the gray-brown scales of the ancient dragon Lansseax appeared before Hephaestus.
"..."
Nothing good ever comes when this guy shows up!
Yet strangely, Hephaestus found herself already used to it. She swept her gaze over the drops—the surface of the gray-brown scales was filled with mottled traces.
As if they had endured the passage of endless time…
But these traces hadn't diminished the scales' effectiveness. On the contrary, they had become more restrained. As she examined them closely, when her gaze fell upon that reverse scale—her expression froze.
Because—within that scale, she detected a distinct aura of "dragonkin." If this thing were placed in the Dungeon, it would absolutely be an extremely rare monster.
So-called "infant dragons" were merely lizards with impure bloodlines. True monsters that carried dragonkin aura—
at the very least, their strength would not be below Level 4.
Looking back at Ron once again, Hephaestus's expression grew complicated. She curled her lips slightly: "So…"
"You specifically slaughtered a dragon just to make equipment for your familia members?"
Right now it was an ancient dragon.
And that was based on Ron's current Level 3 strength. If he stood at the very top of Orario—what kind of monster would be placed in front of her then?
Hard to imagine.
'Forget it.'
Since this guy belonged to Hestia's familia, after all.
Hephaestus waved her hand casually: "I won't charge you for materials or forging, considering the War Game profits. But I'll take a portion of the remaining dragonkin materials."
"Thank you, Lady Hephaestus."
'We've got free gear again, brothers!'
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---