While Levi was busy strengthening himself, outside in Orario, the atmosphere began to grow tense as the war game approached.
As the captain of the Apollo Familia, 'Sunlight's Favorite' Hyacinthus Clio was forcibly brought to the 'War Wilderness' of the Freya Familia.
Every day, he underwent rigorous training from numerous lv4, lv5, and even lv6 adventurers.
When he was on the brink of death from injuries, he would be healed by the 'Satiated Cinderellas' using recovery magic.
For twenty-four hours a day, aside from eating and resting, he spent almost all his time enhancing his ability values.
Hyacinthus had been a lv3 for several years.
Now, catalyzed by the Freya Familia, his combat power improved daily.
Four days ago, under Ottar's personal escort, he even fought the 17th-floor boss Goliath after its respawn cooldown ended.
In Orario, most who become upper-level adventurers have decent aptitude.
As the captain of the Apollo Familia, Hyacinthus, with a blessing level of lv3, was no exception.
He was also someone with a twisted affection and possessiveness towards his god, Apollo. After hearing from Ottar about Levi's solo victory against a mutated floor boss, he unleashed strength surpassing his usual level.
Not only did he successfully kill Goliath, but when he returned to upgrade his blessing that night, he also awakened a skill called [Malicious Envy].
The effect was that the stronger his malice towards his target in battle, the greater his ability value boost.
Because of this skill, Hyacinthus, who had just stepped into lv4, suddenly became a top-tier combatant.
Although Apollo was initially goaded by Freya into targeting the Hestia Familia, upon discovering Levi's potential, he secretly planned to snatch him away.
He opened the familia's treasury and quickly purchased numerous high-quality magic swords capable of harming second-tier adventurers.
Due to his actions, the price of magic swords had risen by half a percent compared to usual.
This caused many small exploration familias, already financially strained, to wail in despair.
The war game was akin to a festival in Orario, a time of celebration.
And any such event inevitably spawned gambling activities.
Unlike Apollo and Hyacinthus, who knew Levi's 'true' situation through Freya, the casino owners, no matter how well-informed, could only infer from Hestia's words at the previous divine banquet that Levi Bright might not be just lv1.
But as for the exact level of the Hestia Familia's captain, who usually only traveled between the dungeon, the guild, and his base, they dared not make rash judgments.
Moreover, given the sheer number of Apollo Familia members, they initially set the betting odds conservatively.
However, gamblers are not known for their rationality.
The vast majority believed the Apollo Familia would win, with only a few hoping to strike it rich by betting on an upset.
Thus, within just three days of the war game's betting opening, the odds had drastically shifted.
"1 to 0.2 and 1 to 2.15..."
Listening to the chatter of gamblers and drunkards at the next table, Alysse couldn't help but click her tongue.
"These guys are as crazy as ever."
"That's normal." Compared to Alysse's lament, Gotouya Kaguya remained more composed.
She hailed from a Far Eastern country as an official assassin and had witnessed much darkness.
She never believed in the brilliance of humanity, only choosing to be a partner of justice because her friends pursued it.
"Greed combined with a lack of insight makes them nothing more than lambs to the slaughter for the familias behind the casinos."
The two spoke without lowering their voices, yet the surrounding drunkards, especially the gambling adventurers at the next table, seemed oblivious.
...Well, they truly didn't hear anything.
Recently, because Levi had been staying home, he found Alysse and Gotouya Kaguya to be nuisances and decided to give them a break.
However, before sending them off, he handed each of them an iron bracelet engraved with 'low-level cognitive interference.'
Low-level cognitive interference, as the name suggests, when activated with magic, causes ordinary people and low-level adventurers to subconsciously ignore the wearer.
Unless they come within two or three meters.
Even high-level adventurers at a distance would be somewhat affected.
When they first received the bracelets, Alysse aside, Gotouya Kaguya was skeptical of their effectiveness.
She had seen magic tools before.
Each one was a masterpiece.
Compared to those art-like pieces of equipment, the items Levi gave seemed too simplistic, as if they were casually crafted.
—Well, in a sense, the girl's intuition wasn't wrong. Levi took less than three minutes to engrave the runes and assemble the two bracelets.
However, the experiences of the following day thoroughly slapped Gotouya Kaguya in the face.
The girls had converted their wages into familia internal points, leaving them penniless.
But as high-level adventurers, they decided to earn some pocket money by hunting magic stones in the dungeon's first 18 floors.
In the past, even with a blessing level of lv4, upon entering the dungeon, Alysse and Gotouya Kaguya would immediately be attacked by goblins, harlequins, and other lv1 monsters.
But after wearing the bracelets, they seemed invisible to lv1 and lv2 monsters.
They often had to get very close before the monsters realized adventurers were nearby.
But by then, the monsters were already close to death.
Thanks to this feature, Alysse and Gotouya Kaguya had earned quite a bit in recent days.
Of course, compared to Levi, who dealt in millions and billions, the Faris in their wallets was insignificant.
"What should we do next?"After a satisfying meal, Gotou Yae Kaguya turned to her friend. Aris thought for a moment and replied, "I want to see Ryu, of course, just from a distance, to check on her recent situation."
Levi, whose strength had grown considerably, and having transcribed the contract in runes, was not particularly concerned about the exposure of Aris and Gotou Yae Kaguya's identities. However, the two women from the Astrea Familia, whether subjectively or objectively, clearly did not intend to break their verbal agreement with the other party. With the mindset of avoiding exposure if possible, they hadn't contacted their former friend during this period.
But people can't control their emotions. Just like Aris, who, after holding back for several days, couldn't resist any longer. She wanted to see how the partner she had protected with her life was living now, and whether that child had awakened from the terrifying nightmare.
----https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Danmachi : I'm Surrounded by Goddesses (173 Chapters, Ongoing)
Join the journey and become part of the story!