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/Let's go back a few minutes before Asfi left to go after the mysterious man/

'In that same building where the mysterious man left...'

'Several people could be seen in a dark room whose windows had been blocked.'

'For the sake of convenience, they shall be numbered!'

"... Once again… The mission failed, the squad leader has yet to come back." Said masked man number 1

"At least we found out our target identity…" Said another guy, masked man number 2

"That doesn't matter anymore, what matters now is leaving. We received a report about the location of the guides, now we just need to leave." Said masked man 1

"We shall do it today's night if everything goes right, however, be ready to leave at any time, in the meantime, we will wait for a small distraction." He said

"Wouldn't that make us fall below schedule?" Asked another one of the guys, masked man 3

"That doesn't matter anymore since we already failed the mission. Being hasty now may only lead to an early death." Said masked man 1

Although I can't guarantee if we are even going to survive when we get back there…

"Sigh, this mission never made much sense anyway, finding out about the identity of the knight, even if we did, what would change? The only one who knew what was going on is now dead together with the fighting team, the only ones left are us from the supply team." Said a guy sitting in the corner, masked man 4

"..."

'All of them remained silent.'

"What happened has happened, we are meant to follow orders, and we did. Now, instead of doubting everything, lets go over the plan one more time and make sure we can at least escape Orario in one piece." Said masked man 1

"Once that box arrives at its destination, we will receive the last thing we need to leave… A distraction, we only need to wait for it to be used." He said

"But how long will that take?" Asked the other person masked man 5

"No more than a week." Said masked man 1

"One week… Not too long not too little…" Said masked man 4

"As we wait, let's prepare, better then wait here doing jack shit…" Said masked man 1 as he walked to the door

…

/Inside the Hephaestus Familia home…/

'Hestia was currently looking at a complex set of lines and words on a board.'

'Her face was red, not due to embarrassment, but due to overtaxing her brain. And even then, she still didn't understand everything that Hephaestus was saying.'

'She looked at Silver, but his expression was completely calm, he complimented Hephaestus's words as if everything she was saying was obvious.'

'... What did she expect? Hestia was definitely the dumbest one in the room…'

"... And this is the best way to deal with these sorts of situations… Now, for the next one…"

"Wait! Please… Let my brain rest a little…" Said Hestia as she laid in the couch

"..."

'Silver looked at Hestia and said:'

"... Sigh, I don't think we are making that much progress." Said Silver as he turned his head to look at the board

"What do you mean? It's very important to go over tactics!" Said Hephaestus as she removed her glasses

"I agree with you, but I don't think I would lose in 90% of those situations..."

"Normally, the theme of the game is chosen by the challenged, however, it isn't really uncommon for the challenger to choose one as well." Said Silver

And in some cases, if the situation is too unfair, a lottery can be done to determine the theme... In the end, it's up to the Gods' creativity... And whatever they are feeling at the moment.

"What do you want to say by saying all of this?" Asked Hephaestus in suspicion

'Silver smiled.'

"As long as you choose a game style that Tityos can't refuse, can't we control what will be the theme of the game?" Asked Silver

"... But Tityos would only choose something that gives him a massive advantage." Said Hestia as she frowned

"We can use that to our advantage… There are some game styles I can guarantee winning no matter how much they prepare."

"And even if they don't accept, we can always use some special tricks…"

"Such as?" Asked Hephaestus

'Silver got up from the chair and coughed...'

"Oh no… Could it be that you are afraid, Tityos? From all of your 2 dozen children against my sole Level 2 child? Are You that pathetic?" Said Silver as he perfectly imitated Hestia voice, he had a wide smile on his face

"..."

'Hestia and Hephaestus looked at each other...'

'The two felt chills on their backs…'

"This isn't the only thing, we can always think of similar tactics, their main purpose is to lead him into choosing what we want."

"And what sorts of games are you thinking about?" Asked Hestia

"Hum… Capture the flag, one on one fight, infiltration, etc…" Said Silver

"The bad ones would be, team fights, fort defense, etc…"

"As long as we choose a game where I am not forced to fight all of them at the same time, we win. And if he chooses something like capture the flag, then it's an instant win since I can just steal it and leave." Said Silver as he pulled a cup to him with telekinesis

"!"

'Hephaestus got a scare when the cup started to move on its own, but she calmed down soon after.'

"That's right! For us, that's almost an instant win, and Tityos would think he is on advantage…"

'But Hephaestus cut Hestia.'

"I don't want to cut your expectations but… It's almost clear to most people that you have some sort of movement ability, Tityos is a slippery guy, he definitely knows and would never shoot himself in the foot like that."

"AH!" Said Hestia as she visibly deflated like a balloon

"It's clear that Tityos knows that he holds the advantage if he forces a team fight against you." Said Hephaestus

"That's right… That's why, if everything fails, you need to somehow make him accept a Siege or something similar." Said Silver

"Siege?!" Said the two at the same time

"Yup, a siege. A siege is nothing more than a team defending a territory while the other one invades. The defending team has to defend their prized object while the other team has to take it down/Steal, you know the drill."

"But, if we force them into such a situation, it's clear that Tityos would choose to make this prized object a person, their strongest adventurer. But nevertheless, attacking a fortified castle is still better than attacking their entire team at the same time."

"Even if they cower and decide to gather all of their forces in one room, that is still better for me since having an environment to fight is better than fighting all of them in an arena." Said Silver

"..."

'The two were deep in thought.'

"There is just something I am quite confused about this plan of yours." Said Hephaestus

"Yeah?"

"You talk as if you could easily defeat any of them one on one!" Said Hephaestus as she pointed at Silver

"... Yeah? I thought that was obvious?" Said Silver as he looked at Hephaestus

"..."

'Hephaestus face-palmed.'

"Haaa…. Hephaestus, don't take it to heart, Silver is just like that… But he isn't lying." Said Hestia as she patted her back

"I know you defeated some Irregular monster and that you are skilled and strong enough to beat a Level 3 in hand to hand combat like you told me but…"

"in a real fight, those guys will be equipped with the top of the line stuff! Tityos hid himself pretty well and he is quite wealthy, he surely has his adventurers well equipped."

"And I don't want to say your gear is bad, it's just that you are a recent Level 2 adventurer, it's unlikely that you have any sort of gear that can compare with theirs." She said

"I know." Replied Silver

"But that is easy to fix right?" He said as he took out a bag from his inventory

"?!"

'Hestia also looked at him in surprise, she didn't expect him to show such a thing at this moment.'

"What is…" Said Hephaestus as she tried to comprehend what she saw

"Oh this? This is all of the money I have, a little over 10 Million Valis." He said as he pointed to the bag

"Not that… You know what? Forget it…" Said Hephaestus as she shook her head

I shouldn't ask his secrets…

"That was my inventory space. Cool right?"

"... Are you sure it's fine to show me that?" Said Hephaestus in a serious tone

'Although she felt conflicted inside.'

"I trust my Goddess, and she trusts you, and so far, you showed me you are willing to get out of your way for us, this is just me showing some gratitude by trusting you." He said with a smile

'However, Silver had thought this over several times already... And this was his choice.'

I won't be able to hide this forever, so the best way to make use of it would be to score some points with some people… Before they learn about it.

If I show them that I trust them...

It would have quite an impact on our relationship.

"... Thank you for trusting me." Said Hephaestus as she flushed a little

'Her embarrassed face quickly got back to normal as she said:'

"10 Million Valis is indeed quite the sum, it should be enough to make something…"

This is my chance!

"How about I do it for you two?" She said

"?!"

'Hestia was surprised while Silver opened his eyes wide.'

"YAY!" Said Hestia as she jumped to hug Hephaestus

"It won't be something incredible! I will only reinforce the original armor and add some effects!" She said

"... Thank you. I know 10 Million Valis would normally be too little for your services." Said Silver

"Normally yes… But we can sign a contract and you can pay me more later... So, you can 'store' this money for now." She said

"I will only do this once…" She said as she pointed at Hestia

"Thank you Hephi!!!" Said Hestia as she hugged her tightly

"Al-right… Hestia, you can let me go now…"

You only call me this in these sorts of situations...

'As the two talked, Silver took out his armor from his inventory, surprising Hephaestus.'

"..."

'She ignored Hestia as she thought:'

To think he has so much space… He truly has an oddball collection of abilities...

'She separated Hestia from her and went to take a look at the armor.'

'After several minutes she said:'

"This is quite good, who made this?" She asked

"Me. Isn't it obvious?" Replied Silver with a poker face

"..."

'This time Hephaestus got annoyed.'

"Tell me what you did and used if possible, also, tell me what you would like me to add."

"It's up to you in fact, in truth, there isn't that much of a need to make this that great since this armor would be switched soon after I got higher stats."

"I would most likely change it once I got to Level 3."

"Hum… That's normal after all, this armor was very well made, so I can add some good effects, this armor will be good enough to last you through Level 3!" She said as she patted the armor

"..."

Hephaestus seems quite excited… Different from her usual calm self…

'Hestia was happy that her friend was slowly becoming more open. Her previous clinical self was pretty… Sad.'

"So is that all for now?" Asked Silver

"I need to take measurements so…"

"Wait Silver! Before you go…"

'Hestia whispered something in his ears. Silver looked at her with a confused expression, but he opened his inventory and…'

/Clang!/

'A large rack of spears, swords, axes, and more, suddenly appeared.'

'This greatly surprised Hephaestus!'

It's bigger than I thought!

'But then, her face got red...'

"Now leave!" Said Hestia as she kicked his but

"Is this even necessary? Are you forgetting I can choose to not make dinner?" Said Silver as he looked at Hestia

"... You wouldn't do that right?" She said as a small bead of sweat fell from her forehead

"We'll see… Until next time Miss Hephaestus." Said Silver as he waved and left

/Creeak/

'He opened the door and left, most likely to the Dungeon,'

"... Then? Are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Asked Hephaestus as she looked at all of the gear on the ground

"... I have been thinking about this for a quite a while, and at the start, Silver was capable of making his own things, but I am afraid he is losing too much time doing something that isn't really that worth it."

"But at the same time, I don't want to stop him from something he likes, something he is clearly skilled in even…"

"Although I know he won't stop this anytime soon, my hope was that he could get a weapon that he could bring with him for a very long time! One he can bond with and improve."

"It might sound surprising considering everything he can already do, but Silver is also quite skilled in all sorts of weapons, however, he can't be considered a master in any… At least, that is how I think, I am not really a weapon connoisseur…"

"So I wanted to give him something he could bring with him for a very long time."

"At least this way, he can focus more on improving himself then spending hours in the forge everyday to make something he is probably going to break in a few days…" Said Hestia as she looked at the Platinum armor

"Sigh…"

I could definitely make what she wants but...

"You know I can't do anything like that right? Let's stick with the plan for now and…"

I am already doing a lot. Aren't you asking for too much? I can't give in to this…

/Thud!/

'Hestia immediately prostrated on the ground.'

"Get up! What are you doing?!"

"I won't get up!"

"This won't make me change my mind!" Said Hephaestus as she turned around

"Neither will I get up! Please Hephaestus!"

'The two continued on their impasse for several hours…'

…

'Silver on the other hand, could be seen on the Middle floors, bullying a few more minotaurs…'

"So I am finally strong enough to just exchange punches with a minotaur without breaking my hand…"

I would even cry of emotion…

"Mu…"

'The Minotaur on the ground let out his final breath as his body stopped moving.'

'Silver completely ignored it thought...'

"The most sensible thing for now, is to increase my stats as much as I can until the War game."

"And together with the equipment, I should be able to easily deal with them."

At least get strong enough so those Level 3 can't defeat me even if they come together.

Not like they can right now, but I prefer to be cautious than just rush ahead. What's the term… Being overgeared?

In any case, I must proceed while thinking that the enemy can defeat me.

I can't be overly arrogant just because I am stronger than my own Level.

"But I'm almost out of powder for the training…"

Most of the black markets were wiped out when the Familias were cleaning Orario, so everything is now super expensive and the black markets open randomly around Orario, I would have to dig for them.

"I would need to look for a broker, but they all went into hiding… There are some people that might know, but approaching them might be a little dangerous."

The thing is that I don't know when the War game will happen, a Familia that has been challenged has no time limit to reply to the challenge, although there is an 'formal' time limit of about a week.

"If they took so long then I would be able to seek out more powder with no problem…"

I will pass by the Guild today to see if they received anything, by then I can think about these things…

'Silver picked a pouch from his inventory and set it on fire.'

'He manipulated the wind so the smell could spread around more easily.'

/Roar… Roar…/

'Soon enough, the sounds of dozens of monsters echoed in the caverns…'

…

/Some time later, in the Guild.../

"What do you mean Loiju?" Asked Silver as he looked at his instructor

"It is what it is. I am also a little confused about the situation, but those guys aren't saying anything." Said Loiju as he shrugged his shoulders

'The two were now in one of the Guild private rooms.'

'After spending most of the day in the Dungeon, testing his powers and his body, he made his way to the Guild to see how things were going.'

'And to his surprise, the Tityos Familia already accepted the challenge, but for some reason, the Guild did not report the situation. Instead, Loiju told him something interesting…'

"So let me if I understand."

"Instead of saying that the War game was already canceled and that a new one is now in its place, the Guild is "investigating" the accusations against the Tityos Familia?"

"And they have "predictions" of this ending in 3 days?" Asked Silver

"Yup."

'Silver frowned.'

What is happening now? Why postpone this?

Why is the Guild delaying the War game?

"I don't understand…" Said Silver as he scratched his head

There must be something I don't know…

"What can I do? There might be something to do with the Denatus? Although I find that unlikely." Said Loiju

The Denatus that will happen at the start of March and the day where the War game was supposed to happen.

"I guess it's possible…" Said Silver

And I can't really investigate, it isn't a good idea to make a bad impression in the Guild by snooping around…

"But in any case, this means that the theme of the War game will most likely be chosen during this Denatus. I doubt they would make another one or push it forward…" Said Loiju

This Denatus was supposed to be the first one of the year, but we had two already… Most Gods would be pissed or annoyed.

"Alright then, thanks for the info. I will fetch my Goddess now." Said Silver as he got up

"See ya man, if you need anything, we have a lot of records about previous War games in the library, just tell me when and we can take a look at it together later." Said Loiju as he organized the books on the table

'Silver nodded and left the room.'

'It was time to fetch his Goddess…'

…

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Notes