North Street's Heavenly Calamity (Please Read~)

The scene shifts.

At dusk, at the entrance to the first floor of the Dungeon.

Thor, accompanied by Ais, Lefiya, and Bell, stepped out from the shadows of the Dungeon and onto the streets, which were bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun.

The faint, fishy scent of the Dungeon still lingered in the air, soon replaced by the clamor of the crowd.

Not far away, members of the Ganesha Familia were busy at work.

Heavy iron cages were being transported to the surface on carts, each containing monsters of unique shapes and sizes.

Thick chains rattled loudly, and the monsters' murky pupils reflected an uneasy light in the twilight.

Bringing monsters to the surface was strictly forbidden, with the only exception being that annual grand event.

"Ah, it's the transport team preparing for the Monster Festival," Lefiya said, clutching her Forest Teardrop staff and sighing softly. "Time flies; it's that time of year again."

Bell, hearing the term for the first time, looked on with curiosity. "Monster Festival? What is that?"

Lefiya explained, "It's a large-scale festival held by the Ganesha Familia every year. They display tamed monsters to let the people on the surface interact with them up close, with the goal of dispelling everyone's fear of the monsters in the Dungeon."

Bell asked, puzzled, "What is the purpose of doing that?"

Lefiya shook her head and said, "I don't know either, but I've heard it said that it was the great god Uranus who commissioned the Ganesha Familia to hold the Monster Festival."

"The reason is that to prevent Dungeon monsters from reaching the surface like they did a thousand years ago, he has always relied on praying to the Dungeon to suppress it. If people continue to harbor fear toward the Dungeon, it weakens the effect of his prayers..."

Lefiya spoke vaguely, as she did not know the specific details herself.

But regardless of the purpose behind the Monster Festival, the festival itself was interesting enough.

Lefiya looked expectantly at Ais beside her, already calculating how she might invite Ais to walk through the festival together.

Ais, however, was not paying much attention to the conversation between Lefiya and Bell at this moment.

Her gaze remained fixed on the monsters locked in the iron cages, a flicker of emotion crossing her eyes.

She suddenly recalled what happened a few days ago.

Perhaps now was a good opportunity to invite Thor?

If she could invite Thor to the Monster Festival, maybe she could repay him a little...

Ais took a deep breath, her lips parted, and she was just about to turn toward Thor to extend the invitation.

Thor turned around first.

His gaze swept over the broken hilt of the dagger at Bell's waist, and he said to the three of them in a steady tone:

"Then, let's part ways here for now. I'm going to help Bell resolve his weapon issue. Without a proper weapon, it will be difficult for us to continue exploring the Dungeon."

Ais's parted lips froze, and the invitation ultimately remained unspoken.

Bell scratched his head, his face filled with deep apology. "I'm sorry! It's all because I accidentally broke my weapon... and dragged everyone into ending the training early..."

He hung his head, his voice growing quieter.

"It's fine," Lefiya said, waving her hand with a relaxed tone. "It's normal for weapons to break; everyone encounters that."

Ais also nodded gently, offering comfort. "Yes. Weapons are important; they must be properly prepared."

This sentence seemed to stir some memories, causing her to fall silent for a brief moment.

She thought of the weapons and equipment she had destroyed, and the astronomical bills that followed.

For no reason, her mood suddenly sank.

Fortunately... those bills had all been settled so far.

Thor smiled indifferently, turning his gaze to Ais and Lefiya. "I'll figure out the weapon forging. As for Bell's armor,"

He paused, entrusting the two of them, "I'll have to trouble you both to take Bell to the commercial district to shop. Bell has only been an adventurer for a few days, and I'm worried he might get swindled."

Ais blinked imperceptibly.

The invitation hadn't been spoken, but this request... seemed like a good way to repay him.

She agreed without hesitation. "Okay."

Ais watched Thor's departing back, a trace of regret flashing in her eyes.

It seemed the invitation would have to wait for another time.

"A new weapon..." Bell was incredibly excited at this moment, his eyes shining.

For someone who had just become an adventurer, purchasing a suitable weapon was almost the top priority, second only to learning magic.

He couldn't help but turn to Ais and Lefiya:

"Um... Miss Ais, Miss Lefiya, how much do your weapons usually... cost?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Bell immediately realized it was inappropriate.

Asking about the price of someone else's equipment seemed a bit rash.

He hurriedly waved his hands. "Sorry! That was too presumptuous of me to ask..."

"It's fine." Ais's voice was calm and rippleless.

Lefiya also waved her hand, indicating she didn't mind. "There's nothing here that can't be said."

Ais stated the figure directly: "My Sword of Despair is a Level 1 piece of equipment, worth 99 million Valis."

"My Forest Teardrop is a Level 2 piece of equipment," Lefiya added, "worth 37.8 million Valis."

Bell froze in place, his mouth slightly agape, eyes wide as saucers.

"Ninety... ninety-nine million?! Thirty... thirty-seven million eight hundred thousand?!"

He repeated these astronomical figures with difficulty, feeling as if his breathing had stopped.

A wave of envy surged in his heart.

But soon, he recognized his own strength; compared to these top-tier adventurers, he was still far too weak.

Even if someone gave him a weapon worth tens of millions, he wouldn't dare to use it.

"If only I could have a weapon worth over 100,000 Valis."

Bell muttered to himself, his tone full of expectation for a new weapon, yet tempered by a pragmatic view of his current situation.

"If that happened, I'd be so happy I wouldn't be able to sleep all night..."

Just imagining the feeling of holding a new weapon made the corners of his mouth curl upward.

Hearing Bell's whisper, Lefiya and Ais exchanged an unexpected glance.

Were Bell's expectations really that low?

A weapon worth 100,000 Valis was indeed a decent piece of gear for a Level 1 adventurer.

But this was equipment Thor was planning to forge personally; would it really be just a 100,000 Valis weapon?

Could it be that when Thor returns, he'll bring back a divine artifact beyond their comprehension?

On the other side, as night fell, the lights along North Street in the Labyrinth City began to flicker on one by one.

In front of a Potato Croquette stall, the black-haired goddess with twin tails, Hestia, was knitting her brows, clumsily studying the brand-new Second Generation Magic Stone Ignition Device before her.

One hand clutched the manual filled with fine print, her fingertips sliding anxiously across it for comparison, while her other hand hovered over the device's prominent red button, hesitating to press down.

"Hmm... this should be the right one, right?"

She muttered softly, her eyes darting between the blurry diagrams and the complex buttons.

Just as she took a deep breath and her fingertip was about to touch the button—

"If you press that now, you'll probably be sent straight back to Heaven." A voice with a distinct tone of mockery rang out abruptly.

Hestia jumped in fright, her hand frozen mid-air above the button.

She looked up, still shaken, only to see Thor standing before the stall, one arm propped against the signboard above, watching her with great interest.

Thor wore that familiar smile that left her both furious and helpless.

"Thor!" Upon recognizing him, the shock in Hestia's eyes was instantly replaced by surprise, and she cried out happily, "Long time no see!"

"It has been nearly a month." Thor's tone was relaxed, his gaze falling back to her hand still frozen over the dangerous button.

He stepped forward and, without a word, gently pushed Hestia's wrist away from the device.

"I mean, as the Goddess of the Hearth, how can you not even handle an ignition device? You nearly blew me up last time using that second-hand first-generation lighter, and now you want to challenge the more powerful second generation? Are you serious?"

"Ha, haha..." A blush instantly flew across Hestia's face, and she let out a few awkward, dry laughs, trying to defend herself. "Last time... that was purely an accident! This time I really did read the manual! Look!"

She shook the paper clutched in her hand as if it were a lifeline.

Thor only glanced at the contents of the paper and gave a playful smirk.

He unceremoniously used two fingers to pluck the paper from Hestia's hand with ease, giving it a sharp flick in front of her.

"A manual?"

Thor tapped the small, nearly crumpled title at the top of the page, teasing.

"You're using the manual for a first-generation device to operate a second-generation one... and you're holding it upside down. Did you quit being a goddess to become a terrorist? Do you have a grudge against North Street?"

The blush on Hestia's face spread to her ears. She looked down abruptly, finally seeing that the blurry text was indeed labeled "First Generation Model," and the page was upside down.

She suddenly realized she had spent ages studying inverted text and diagrams.

"Wuu..." A small whimper escaped her throat uncontrollably; the embarrassment made her wish she could crawl into a hole.

She tried to make excuses: "I've only been in the lower world for half a year..."

Thor just gave a light hum.

He held a certain special sentiment toward Hestia.

In this life, just like in his second, he had originally been an ordinary person without the memories of creating the Starry Heavens, working a mundane job in the Labyrinth City of Orario.

That was until Hestia detonated the first-generation magic stone ignition device, nearly killing him while he was watching the shop with her.

Near death, he saw the stars and recalled everything from his past lives.

It could be said that this was a blessing in disguise; he had transformed from an ordinary citizen, Thor, into the great incarnation of creation, Aurelian Thor.

Yet, the karmic bond between him and Hestia had still not come to an end.

In order to restore his power, he prepared to begin searching for his own Familia, and it was Hestia who explained to him how the system of divine Blessing functioned.

Although with his own abilities he could have fully deciphered it himself in two days at most, Hestia sharing it directly saved him quite a bit of effort.

Perhaps it was even later, out of a sense of guilt for nearly blowing him up, that she felt this way.

When she discovered Bell, who was repeatedly being rejected while searching for a Familia, she took the initiative to tell him about it.

Even though she was also searching for a Familia herself.

Thinking of this, Aurelian Thor looked at Hestia and asked:

"In this past month, have you found any children willing to join your Familia?"

Clatter.

Hestia's entire body seemed to have its bones pulled out in an instant; her forehead hit the tabletop with a "thud," and her shoulders slumped completely.

She tilted her head, her cheek pressed against the cool wooden tabletop like a scoop of ice cream that had melted and stuck to the surface, her voice drawn out, soft, and filled with powerless frustration.

"Absolutely—none~"

Her muffled voice came from the tabletop, carrying a hint of a nasal tone.

"I'm not exactly a famous goddess, after all... there isn't even a single child who has come to ask."

Not a famous goddess?

Aurelian Thor remembered that Hestia presided over the Undying Flame that kept the sacred fire burning forever; her divinity itself was of a quite high rank.

While she could not compare to great gods like Zeus or Uranus, she was still quite remarkable.

After finishing speaking about her own situation, Hestia managed to lift her head slightly, her chin still resting on the table, and looked at Aurelian Thor with her sky-blue eyes, asking with concern:

"What about you, Aurelian Thor?"

Aurelian Thor replied in a calm tone: "I just took in my second Familia member two days ago. I've been busy helping train other Familia members these past few days."

"Whoa--!"

Hestia suddenly straightened up, her eyes wide and round. The laziness and dejection from just a moment ago were swept away, replaced by envy that was about to overflow.

The gap made her chest feel a little tight.

"Two?! That's so great!"

She puffed out her cheeks, round like a squirrel stuffing its mouth with pine nuts, her small lips pouting high as she made a "pfft" sound, filled with intense envy and resentment:

"So great! If only I could find a Familia member too..."

Aurelian Thor watched her childish reaction, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

But time was pressing, and his gaze turned calm as he cut straight to the point.

"By the way, Hestia," his voice was steady and clear, "I have a very important matter that I need your help with."

Hestia blinked, the lingering envy and pouting expression on her face quickly replaced by a hint of confusion.

She tilted her head slightly, letting out a nasal sound of inquiry:

"...Hm?"