'The night passed and the day came, it was early morning, and the birds were singing…'

/Whispers whispers…/

'People could already be seen outside of the gates of the Hestia Familia, slowly gathering into a small crowd. It was still very early, but that was how eager some people were about this recruitment.'

'Boys and girls, mostly young, around 16-20... Perhaps even younger, and some older, clearly more focused, those were already established adventurers.'

"Morning..."

'At the same time, Silver could be seen getting out of the shower, he looked rather tired but not by much.'

"ZZZZZZzzz… Snore… Hehe…"

'Hestia on the other was snoring loudly on the bed without a care in the world.'

'Silver put on some basic clothes and sat down on a desk chair.'

"Papers… Checked. Training gear… Checked. Interview areas… I cleaned them yesterday… The rest?... Good."

'He stretched and smiled.'

"All done! I hope this is the last time I do this… After tomorrow I will have my own paper machi… Vice-Captain."

Artemis and her Familia should be arriving around 2 hours prior to the start… That's around 4 hours from now on.

'The interview was set to start at 2 Pm just after lunch so people could get there full. It was currently 8 Am.'

Leto and her Familia should also be arriving around the same time…

'He looked at Hestia snoring in the bed and thought:'

So I have around 4 hours to fix this… No, it might be less considering some people like to arrive earlier.

I will put a limit of 2 hours…

'Silver got up from his chair and checked a bunch of clothes on a hanger. Those were the clothes he would wear during the recruitment, they aren't fancy but they look cool with a militaristic style to it.'

(Image)

'They can be used freely during combat and their purpose is to make Silver look good.'

'Same thing goes for Hestia's dress, it wasn't that different from her usual style, but it made her look… Better?'

"... Hestia is usually very open with everyone she develops a relationship with, but such a carefree attitude is not really good once a Familia grows… Especially around other men…"

Hum... I might be discrediting her too much, she does keep a rather serious attitude in most situations unless she is dealing with someone she knows deeply like Loki...

Speaking of her, Loki doesn't care much, but she had 4 decades to properly set up an image and now her executives run the Familia for her, literally, the only thing she does most of the time is waiting and drink wine.

Okay, this is a bit harsh, I know very well how much Loki work...

She welcomes her children back with a big smile and her 'funny' jokes, and she is very close with most of them, but her case is different since as I said, she had a long time to create an image so any misunderstandings were already cleared over time…

Loki also loved through a lot, her Familia suffered a big impact a long time ago around the time when Finn, Riveria, and Gareth rose to become the top executives...

Losing people you have known for decades is never easy, and Gods grieve just like Humans, although some are...

I won't tell Hestia to act reserved, there is no need for that… We'll figure out as time goes, it depends greatly on who we recruit anyway.

'Silver sat on the bed and thought for a while… But he soon lost his patience.'

"There is literally nothing to do damn… I need that girl up but she barely got 7 hours of sleep… And she is a rather heavy sleeper…"

This is the perfect chance to ask about a few things I forgot about due to all my work, and I also need a status update…

"Hm… Hmmm…?"

'Hestia started to move in the bed, but when she realized something was missing, she started to move her arms around searching for Silver, until she eventually opened her eyes and looked at Silver still a bit half-awake.'

"Goodmorning." Said Silver with a sunny smile

"... Good morning…"

It felt so real and distant…

'Hestia felt that yesterday's night was just another one of her dreams, but it was all brought to dust when Silver pointed at her.'

"I did clean most of the things, but the bedsheet is still the same. Why don't you look below the blanket?"

"Eh?... KYA!"

'Hestia let out a small scream before she shut up, but now, she did not have the courage to leave the blanket.'

'Seeing this made Silver smile, he went to the bed and sat on it.'

"Come on, we have a lot to do, and it is very important for you to get used to me again else it will be very very awkward when everyone arrives…"

"... Y-You're right…"

'Hestia slowly removed her face from below the blanket, her pretty face was so cute that Silver did not resist and kissed her again.'

"?!"

'After kissing her, he got up and pulled a change of clothes for her, putting it on the bed…'

/Poof!/

'Hestia threw a pillow at him as she said:'

"You aren't helping me!"

"Hahaha!... What can I do, you are simply too cute."

"You!... Ouch!..."

'Hestia tried to get up from the bed, but she still felt a bit sore down there, this made Silver pity her a bit.'

"I don't think a potion will help you this time… And it will be a maaaassive problem if you can't walk… So let me help you once again."

'He arrived next to her and removed the rest of the blanket, exposing her… well, naked body.'

'Hestia's expression was very red as she looked at the side, Silver felt a bit horny but he knew his priorities… So he placed his hand on her tummy and used his Plasmids.'

'Soothing green light soon illuminated the room and Hestia felt refreshed.'

"I'll do this for a few minutes, it should help with most of the pain, then we can eat and finish some other things, by the time the interview starts, the pain will be long over."

'Hestia just nodded, extremely shy…'

"Sigh…"

/Snap!/

'Silver snapped his fingers, and Hestia suddenly noticed she was fully dressed once again.'

"So you feel better?"

"... Humph…"

'She pouted a little as she looked to the side.'

"Do you want me to see your body? I won't refuse but I hope you will be able to answer my questions…"

'Hestia's face dropped, and she said:'

"... Sorry, I'll stop."

"Good, let us go over a few things first, do you remember how this interview will go?"

"Of course I do, I trained for it every day…"

"So tell me what will happen in it and what you have to do."

'Hestia put her hands on her head as she thought.'

"Eh… There will be three tests, a personal interview led by me where I will ask several questions to pick up who I like, right?"

"Yes and no, you are there to select the people who meet the standards… Not just who you like, okay… I don't want to see you sending someone good away just because... Ok?"

Not like Lili who immediately crossed several girls just because they were pretty…

"I won't do that! What do you think of me?" She said as she pouted

"... Okay, I'm sorry, I won't doubt you anymore… But next, what will happen after this small interview?"

"Well… Leto and Artemis will participate in this second part, they will test the ones that pass the first part and see how they are physically, it doesn't matter what scores they get since they will go to the next part regardless…"

"Yes, there is no need for everyone to be good physically, it's true that adventuring is a very tiring line of work but that can be worked out unless someone has a physique that is against that…"

And in any case, Mages and healers tend to be rather weak physically, many female adventurers aren't exactly fit too, being mostly carried by their levels and stats, I think I said it before, but if that wasn't the case, all girls and guys would be buffed…

"What is the final test?" Asked Silver

"You will personally test them… And I don't understand much about it, isn't this step redundant considering the second task already accomplished that?"

'Silver thought for a moment before he replied:'

"Yes, but at the same time no, there are no criteria for me to follow on the third task, I will test using whatever methods I wish, and this is also important since it allows me to build an impression on those that will be our companions in the future."

"I see…"

"The rest we already discussed over the days so let's talk about something else…"

'Hestia felt her heart tighten, would he talk about their relationship?!'

"I've been having this dream… I felt it was weird, but it felt too real to be a lie."

"..."

Of course not…

"I had it once when I turned 18 and another time when I became Level 2."

"The first time I had the dream I stayed in bed for an entire week, while this didn't happen on my second time. And I would like to know if you know anything about it."

'Hestia was confused, but she still said:'

"I'll try, but don't be disappointed if I don't know."

"So… It started like this…"

...

/A few minutes later/

'Silver started to narrate his dream bit by bit to Hestia, all the way until he arrived at the thermal pools, but he cut out the girls. And at the end, Hestia said:'

"I have no idea of what you just described to me. But as you told me, it seems a bit too much for it to be just a dream…"

'She turned her head and looked at the window.'

"I blame myself for this, I took my job seriously in Heaven, and it was not until recently that I grew bored of it due to the stories I heard from the lower world, so I was never really integrated into the stuff that happened in it and outside of it."

"However, I do recognize some things… Like that deer, you talked about… Back in Heaven, Artemis was known for having one just like the one you just described, but the rumors stopped after a while and I never heard of it again…"

"We can ask her later and see what she thinks about it."

'Silver nodded and continued.'

"The other thing is related to my own stats… Not my current ones but the ones before that. From when I was Level 1."

"I want to know what the 'J' value means, but at the same time, I don't. In one sense, I think it would be too risky to go ask Ouranos if he knows anything about it, despite Ouranos being known for being well… Neutral."

(After SSS -> J)

"On the other hand, I really want to know what is happening to my body and how I should deal with this situation, it could be good and bad, and it wouldn't be good to neglect this only to realize my body was slowly inflating like a balloon and it is going to explode soon."

'Hestia nodded, she agreed with him in this regard.'

"I think we definitely need to give him a visit one day… How about before you Level up again… If we have time… Around that time… You know what I mean."

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

'Silver nodded and went back into his thoughts, while Hestia thought it was finally time to discuss it.'

"It's been a few minutes, how do you feel?"

'Hestia tried to move and succeeded, however, she still felt weak and a bit sore.'

"It's okay for now, I can walk…"

"No, it's not… I'll prepare some breakfast for you and you take a shower and relax… I heard it helps."

'Hestia nodded, but she did not forget to pinch his waist a bit before she walked slowly to the bathroom under his help…'

…

/40 minutes later…/

'Silver was now laying on the bed with his bareback exposed to Hestia.'

"Done… Here." She said as she gave him a copy of his status

"Let's see how much I grew in one week…"

(First value, right after the War game. The second value is what he had before the update. The third value is the current value after his fight with Aetos. There was a week between the War game and today.)

----------------------------------

Mellios Silver

Level-2 (After Wg)/(After Ts)/(Now)

Strength E-423 -> D-578 -> A-891

Vitality E-498 -> A-810 -> SS-1032

Dexterity F-316 -> E-429 -> B-725

Agility F-388 -> C-635 -> S-903

Magic C-645 -> S-907 -> SSS-1310

Evolved body -> I

Perseverance -> I

Magic:

>Magnum Opus Ambrosia

Skill:

>Vit Alhjin

>Infir David Missimus

>Neo Stur

----------------------------------

(In timeline terms, it has been 2 weeks since he became Level 2… N1)

'Silver nodded in satisfaction, at this pace, a few more near-death experiences will put him right at the spot!'

"You're thinking about doing something terrible again aren't you?" Asked Hestia as she looked at him with suspicion

"'Terrible' is a deep word and it must be used with caution…"

'Hestia slapped Silver's ass, prompting him to shut up.'

'At the same time, Silver went into deep thought:'

I'll probably have to spend some time organizing the Familia after its new members are chosen. I have no problem with that, I only need to put them on the same page… A similar page since my page is a bit too extreme…

After that… It's going to be a run!

I'll go to the Middle floors and see what it has to offer me, new creatures, environments, challenges… Perhaps even the Xenos.

This should be enough to boost me through the rest of the way… Until the maximum, my stats can hold… And I hope it's the same as last time.

Normally it is, however, even if people remain with the same limits from Level 1 to 5, they may suddenly stagnate at 6 and never grow again…

It took me one month and three weeks for me to reach Level 2 and it took me 2 weeks to reach the place where I currently stand…

It shouldn't be difficult to reach the maximum on a single stat, and it should be pretty safe to say I will be able to do so within 2 months… It will depend on how much time I spend on the Dungeon and especially… Those 'tools'.

If I play things right… Isn't there a chance for me to Level up again after that within this year?

3 Level ups within a year, not counting from 0 to 1… Now, this is tasty… And the year after… That is a bit far, better not to overtax myself with plans that will most likely become useless.

'However, Silver suddenly grew annoyed. He turned his head and looked at Hestia.'

"... So? How long are you going to stay on top of me for? Did you get used to it? You are just on the wrong side…"Joked Silver

"Urg! Shut it pervert!" Said Hestia as she pinched him

Now that we d-d-d-did it he just can't stop his terrible jokes!

"Ouch! You know, it doesn't hurt when you pinch me, it just annoys me."

'Hestia eventually got up from Silver after they played around for a little while.'

'She once again laid on the bed and allowed Silver to heal her, her pain had mostly disappeared, and as he said, at this pace, she will be fully capable of walking without a problem soon.'

...

/And time passed…/

'The sun grew stronger but not overbearing, just the right temperature for a picnic…'

'Hestia was finally able to walk around and with a bit more time, she would even be able to run, so Silver did not stop using his ability on her even if she was growing bored of staying on the bed.'

'So she started to annoy Silver and play with him… And in the end, she forgot to discuss their relationship…'

'And they stayed like this until their first guests arrived.'

…

.

.

.