A Dual Divine Gift, [Celestial Body] and [Blade of Aurelion] (Please keep reading~)

Hestia and Hephaestus left.

Of course, only temporarily...

Both said they were going back to pack their things and move in.

Even though he had repeatedly stressed that the house was too small to fit any more people, they still insisted on moving in.

Hephaestus's excuse was that she had paid, so every day she didn't stay there was money down the drain.

As for Hestia...

Her excuse was that the basement of the abandoned church was in terrible shape, and she wanted to move somewhere better.

Their reasons didn't really matter.

After much pleading, Thor finally got the two of them to agree to wait until Ais and Lefiya had finished their special training before moving in.

In the living room, Thor held the two goddesses' updated status sheets.

Thor glanced over their stats, all of which were D500.

Like Syr, once he had finished engraving their Blessings, their divine power had forcibly raised their stats from 0 to 500.

The good news was that even when the three of them reached Level 2, Level 3, or higher, they would start with 500 in every stat. As long as they achieved a Great Feat, they would be able to level up smoothly.

As members of the same Familia as Bell, they wouldn't be left far behind by their overpowered companion, because they were overpowered too.

The bad news was that since all three of them were gods, achieving a Great Feat would be much, much harder for them than for Bell.

Still, if the three goddesses went into the Dungeon with him, achieving a Great Feat wouldn't be too difficult.

What was really worth noting, in the end, were the skills the two of them had gained.

Just like Syr, who had the [Divine Power] skill, both goddesses had gained the same skill.

Unlike Syr's [Charm] and [Soul's Eye], Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth and bearer of the undying divine authority over the [Sacred Fire], had two skills of her own.

They were [Sacred Hearth Domain] and [Eternal Sacred Fire].

[Sacred Hearth Domain] was a defensive field skill. Within its range, individuals recovered their stamina faster, and negative effects could be purified.

[Eternal Sacred Fire] was simple: it extended the duration of beneficial skills.

These two skills had manifested through Thor's Star Blessing under the influence of Hestia's divine authority. They were individual skills of the body she had taken in the mortal world, unrelated to her true self in Heaven.

The strength of the two skills depended on her level and stats, not on her personal divine power.

The blacksmithing god Hephaestus had also gained two similar skills: [Forge of All Things] and [Advanced Reconstruction].

The [Forge of All Things] skill allowed Hephaestus to temporarily forge nonliving materials into weapons and equipment, and give those temporary items specific [attributes].

For example, she could forge a great shield from a rock wall and give it the [Hard] attribute.

The [Advanced Reconstruction] skill was just as simple. By using her own magic, she could extract the [attributes] from a damaged piece of equipment or an item and transfer them into a new vessel.

Thor carefully read through the two goddesses' skills.

There was no doubt that Hestia was suited to becoming the team's [support].

As it happened, he knew of a Hero Skill belonging to a hero named [Milio] that would suit Hestia perfectly.

If he taught it to Hestia, she would be able to play a powerful role when she explored the Dungeon later.

Although [Milio]'s skill set could only reach the pinnacle of what a mortal could achieve, it was Hestia, who possessed a measure of divine power, joining his Familia—not Hestia the goddess herself.

The skills would be more than powerful enough for exploring the Dungeon, and they might even change under the influence of Hestia's divine authority.

As for Hephaestus, there was no doubt that teaching her the skills of the forging god [Ornn] would be enough to prepare her for exploring the Dungeon.

He couldn't teach her Ornn's skills right away, but she could make do with the Iron Maiden skill that let her control metal. As it happened, metal manipulation would perfectly complement her own skills.

The two goddesses' training paths were quickly decided. That left Syr...

At the thought, Thor instinctively looked over at Syr, who was still sulking...

Thor was just about to comfort Syr when a familiar sound came from the doorway.

Creak—

The door opened.

Bell, Ais, and Lefiya had finished bathing and returned home.

Since there was only one bathroom in the house, the three of them had to use the public bathhouse after training.

That was why they hadn't been home just now.

"We're back," Bell said as he entered first.

Ais followed him into the living room, her golden hair still slightly damp.

She paused, and her small nostrils flared almost imperceptibly.

An unfamiliar fragrance? Faint, but quite luxurious... Had they had a guest?

Her golden eyes instinctively swept toward the kitchen. Syr had her back to the living room, and her shoulders seemed more tense than usual.

Lefiya imitated Ais and sniffed the air too.

"Huh? It kind of smells like... really expensive perfume?"

She whispered uncertainly, her gaze also falling on Syr's somewhat stiff back. Then she glanced quietly at Thor.

Miss Syr doesn't look very happy... What happened earlier?

"Lord Thor," Lefiya couldn't help asking, "did we have visitors?"

Thor drew his gaze away from Syr and turned to the three newcomers, nodding.

"Yes, two people came by. They applied to join the Familia."

"Join... the Familia?!" Bell's eyes went wide in an instant, as if he'd just heard the best news of his life.

New companions!

Their Familia had grown even bigger!

He could barely contain himself as he asked, "Lord God! Who are our new companions?"

Seeing how excited Bell was, Thor reassured him. "They need a little time to get ready. You'll meet them in a few days."

He paused. While Bell was still beaming, he gave him another piece of good news. "Also, Bell, your weapon is finished."

"It's finally finished?!"

A weapon made just for him!

A weapon forged by Lord God himself!

"Yes," Thor replied.

He raised one hand, palm up.

No light flashed. A sphere about the size of a pomegranate, twinkling with faint starlight, emerged from his body.

It floated silently a few inches above Thor's palm. Its surface wasn't smooth; faint light flowed across it, as if the radiance of the entire universe had been compressed within.

The instant it appeared, the air in the living room seemed to be stirred by an invisible hand. Cool breezes silently gathered around the sphere, forming faint eddies.

Ais and Lefiya watched without blinking. They could sense the strange power contained within the sphere, far beyond that of ordinary equipment.

[Celestial Body].

This was the weapon Thor had forged for himself.

Last night, Thor had used his supreme power to analyze and reconstruct the seven-hundred-million-valis materials on a fundamental level.

Every physical property, magical quality, and other constant belonging to this universe had been broken down.

Finally, using his supreme power, he compressed and fused all the materials, creating the ever-changing [Celestial Body].

The [Celestial Body] could transform into weapons and equipment Thor was familiar with, such as [Heartsteel], [Infinity Edge], and [Rabadon's Deathcap].

The power of the [Celestial Body] was directly tied to how much Stardust he had inside his body.

The more Stardust he had, the stronger it became.

At the same time, because the [Celestial Body] absorbed Star Matter from the air like a black hole, the speed at which he gathered Stardust had increased by about thirty percent.

And those were only some of the [Celestial Body]'s abilities. Its greatest strength was...

It could absorb Star Matter from the air, then use the rules contained within to forge weapons!

Thor curled his fingers slightly and gave the Celestial Body a gentle push.

Humm—

A deep hum, as if it had come from the farthest reaches of the universe, sounded in everyone's minds.

A blazing stream of pure white light suddenly erupted from the surface of the Celestial Body, too bright to look at!

The light wasn't flame, yet it was purer than flame, as if it contained the essence of the stars at the moment of their birth.

The surging stream of light didn't disperse once it left the Celestial Body. Instead, it quickly gathered and took shape in midair, as if an invisible craftsman had forged it in an instant.

Within a breath, the light condensed and stabilized.

A short sword floated above Thor's palm.

Its blade wasn't metal, but solidified starlight, suffused with a gentle yet profound silver-white glow.

Its lines were simple and smooth, without any intricate patterns, but the pure light itself seemed like the oldest of inscriptions.

It hovered quietly. The air around it seemed to grow clear and bright in its presence, and it radiated an aura that was both vast and sacred.

Tiny flecks of light, like fragments of stars, drifted slowly around the blade before fading away, as if they were breathing.

Bell was completely dumbfounded.

His mouth hung open, and he forgot to breathe.

This was... my weapon?

It looked like a star plucked from the heavens... He had never imagined a weapon could look like this.

"I'll tentatively call it the [Blade of Aurelion]."

Bell reverently accepted the starlight-flowing [Blade of Aurelion].

The instant it touched his hands, he was startled to discover that the seemingly dense and heavy creation of starlight was as light as a feather, almost like holding a wisp of intangible light.

A weapon forged by Lord God... It was practically like holding a fragment of the Milky Way.

His fingers brushed over the cold yet vibrant blade. He was still entranced by its purity and beauty.

Thor's calm voice rang out. "Bell, pour your magic into it. Then, focus your mind on [Fervor]."

Bell instinctively did as he was told. A thin stream of his magic flowed toward the hilt.

In an instant!

Humm—!

The [Blade of Aurelion] in his hand suddenly burst into a dazzling light. It didn't explode outward. Instead, the blade itself seemed to melt, split apart, and reform in an instant!

The light came quickly and vanished even faster.

As Lefiya and Ais recovered from the brief dazzle, their eyes focused on Bell's hands, and both of them froze.

The strange starlight dagger in Bell's hands had disappeared.

In its place were two smaller knives, sleeker in design and smoother in their lines, glowing a pale gold!

They rested quietly in Bell's palms, their material seeming to have been formed from condensed dawn, their radiance restrained yet keen.

Th-This is what my weapon turned into?!

Bell stared in disbelief, feeling the two blades' distinct yet familiar touch and pulse. "This is...?"

A faint smile played on Thor's lips. "[Fervor]. It's one of the Blade of Aurelion's forms."

He paused, then explained as he looked at the delight and confusion burning in the boy's eyes.

"The Blade of Aurelion will grow alongside you. When you become stronger and cross greater heights, it will reveal new forms and respond to your will."

Grow alongside me... New forms... Bell's heart raced, and his blood surged through his veins.

This wasn't just a weapon. It was a key Lord God had given him—a key to the future!

Joy coursed through his entire body like an electric current.

Bell bowed deeply to Thor, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "Thank you, Lord God! I... I'll definitely become an adventurer worthy of it!"

Watching the boy's back stiffen with excitement, Thor chuckled and patted him on the shoulder.

"Get up, Bell." His gaze swept over Ais and Lefiya, who were just as captivated by the weapon's new form, and he announced in a steady voice:

"Now that both my weapon and yours are ready, we'll enter the Dungeon tomorrow. Our target is the tenth floor!"