Chương 18: A Date, Lady Hestia

Starburst Stream was a continuous Sword Skill made of sixteen different strikes. Each strike was stronger and faster than the last. Sixteen sword strikes flowed without interruption, with no opening between techniques. It was truly the strongest sword dance.

"So fast. So strong. It almost feels invincible." Cael was stunned by the power coursing through him. He gripped both swords tightly and focused on the imagined enemy ahead, a Roman-style column. Wind. Airflow. Clear perception. Magic poured wildly into both swords. Blue magical light shone along the blades. His right hand swung the already-groaning sword in the first strike. Horizontal slash. The blade cut through the air.

Violent wind burst out, blue sword light flashed, and a Roman column a meter wide was split in two. The fierce wind then tore the column into fragments. Advancing horizontal slash. Cael stepped forward in an instant and cut with his left-hand sword. A three-meter sword mark pierced through the wall of an abandoned white-stone temple. Spinning slash. His body turned three hundred sixty degrees.

Power from his waist flowed into both arms, and the third strike from his right hand carved another three-meter mark through the one-meter-thick temple wall. Parallel twin slash. He turned a second time. The full power of his legs and waist flowed continuously into his arms. Two fan-shaped sword lights, one high and one low, cut across the wall. The temple wall could no longer endure the powerful strikes. It collapsed with a roar, and the violent airflow sent broken stone flying in every direction. Rumble. Crack.

Crack. Crack. The instant the fourth strike ended, the copied twin swords in Cael's hands shattered.

"Hah... The Magic cost is way too high. Rounding up, each strike is almost one hundred Magic." Cael breathed heavily. He had only released four strikes, yet his Magic was nearly empty. The copied swords had consumed some Magic too, but even without that, he would not have been able to release a fifth strike. The power was also so great that ordinary swords could not endure many strikes.

Copied swords were slightly lower in quality than the originals, but even if he used the originals at his waist, they would probably shatter before he finished all sixteen hits. He would need third-tier weapons, perhaps even second-tier weapons, to release all sixteen strikes in a row.

"My strength, speed, and agility just increased by more than five times. No, that definitely was not the feeling of S 999. It should be 1998 because Bravery doubles my Basic Abilities while I act alone. Otherwise, the power could not be that high." Looking at the exaggerated destruction he had caused, Cael realized what had happened and was shocked. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The Sword Skill temporarily raised three Basic Abilities to the S 999 limit, then Bravery doubled S 999 again. Absurd. Too absurd. No wonder the swords shattered. At that level, not shattering would have been strange. In other words, while using Starburst Stream, he could already stand shoulder to shoulder with a high-end Lv. 2 adventurer. For the rest of the afternoon, Cael continued practicing his Sword Skill whenever his Magic recovered. Once. Twice. Three times.

He grew more familiar with it, and his basic sword technique improved little by little.... The sun gradually sank toward the horizon. Red sunset light fell over Orario, washing the city crimson. Magic-stone lamps lit across the streets and alleys. Signs outside shops, taverns, and restaurants began to glow. Compared to the daytime, adventurers at night all wanted a place to boast about their adventures and drink freely, so the city's nightlife came fully alive.

Cael was practicing with his sword outside the abandoned church when he noticed something from the corner of his eye. He quickly returned the sword to its sheath, looked over, and smiled. A lively figure was running toward him with her back to the sun, which had not yet fully dropped below the horizon. She skipped along while waving, a paper bag of potato puffs tucked in her other arm. Her shadow stretched long across the road.

"Cael, I am back!" Hearing that voice and seeing the smile that could instantly melt his heart, Cael felt like the luckiest person in the world.

"I brought a delicious dinner. Ta-da!" Hestia ran up to him and proudly held out the paper bag of potato puffs.

"The owner said more customers came because of my hard work, so she was kind enough to let me bring back the leftovers. Amazing, right? Make sure you eat your fill, Cael."

"Yes. Very amazing, Lady Hestia." Warmth flowed through Cael's heart. Was this what being cared for by family felt like? It could melt the heart completely. No matter how cold someone was, they would be warmed by this.

"I really want to eat everything Lady Hestia brought back, but there is an important banquet tonight. So I can only save these delicacies for breakfast tomorrow." Cael took the potato puffs Hestia held out and smiled mysteriously.

"Banquet?" Hestia froze, blinking in confusion.

"Yes. I, Cael, Hestia's only child, would like to invite Lady Hestia to share a feast with me, to celebrate the first member joining Hestia Familia." Cael extended his hand with a smile, looking like a gentleman inviting a lady.

"A banquet to celebrate Hestia's only child joining the Familia!" Hestia sighed in relief. For a moment, she had thought some god from another Familia had stolen Cael away. Then she twined her index fingers together in conflict.

"Hee hee. I am happy you invited me to a feast. But..."

"A welcome banquet is something I, as your goddess, should have prepared. I never thought the newly joined child would have to prepare it himself." Her lively expression dimmed with sadness, and she let out a dry laugh.

"I am sorry, Cael. You met such a clumsy goddess. I cannot even do much for you."

"I did not join Hestia Familia for money or comfort, Lady Hestia." Cael folded his arms with a look of disdain. Money mattered, but it was not his first priority. And now, he felt that his chance had come. He was the kind of man who acted when the moment arrived. He was still clumsy, but after leaving the Dungeon, he felt he had completely changed from the shut-in he used to be.

"Then why did you join, Cael?" Hestia clasped her hands behind her back, looking at him with blinking eyes.

"As your goddess, I will accept any reason." If it was not for wealth or fame, she wanted to know why Cael had become an adventurer.

"Because it was you, Lady Hestia." Cael did not hide his affection at all. He looked at Hestia's impossibly adorable face and spoke calmly. Hestia felt his clear feelings, and her cheeks reddened. Her whole body grew fidgety. Was it because he liked me? I already knew that. But hearing him say it is completely different. I like Cael too.

"That is a very direct confession, Cael." She had to answer his feelings. Hestia hated only receiving without giving back.

"Because I liked you the first time I saw you, Lady Hestia." Cael scratched his head and smiled clumsily.

"I really am hopeless, falling for a goddess and all." Because he feared gaining something and suddenly losing it, he wanted to act when he had the chance.

"Actions speak louder than words. So, let us go have that feast. A date. A date." Hestia raised a finger to block Cael's lips. A sweet smile filled her cute face, and she spoke with bright energy. Without hesitation, she pulled the hand of her only Familia member, the human who had fallen for her, and cheerfully headed toward Orario's lively night streets.

"Yes, Lady Hestia." Cael was incredibly happy. It worked. Although he had the unfair advantage of prior knowledge, his feelings for her were not false in the slightest.

"Today, I will spend all the money and properly celebrate meeting you, Lady Hestia."