Furina de Fontaine
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Level 1
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Strength: A (831)
Endurance: C (664)
Dexterity: A (892)
Agility: A (818)
Magic: S (900)
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[Magic]
[Blessing of Pure Water]
- Enchant‑Type Magic, ultra-short chant magic.
- Manifests phantoms using the water element, allowing for various shape-shifting depending on the battlefield.
- Chants: [Shower me with praise!], [The show begins.].
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These were Furina's current status attributes. After twelve days of combat and exploration, one of her abilities had already maxed out.
Aside from Endurance—which could only be raised through taking hits and surviving life-or-death battles—all her other stats were effectively hovering on the edge of perfection.
This growth would have shocked anyone, and naturally, Furina had been quite proud of her progress at first. But...
She had slowly come to realize that she and Sushang were facing the same dilemma.
They lacked the "Great Feat" required to ascend to the next level.
According to Hestia, and information Focalors had gathered from Hephaestus, a Heroic Achievement could only be attained if an adventurer "defeated a powerful enemy whose paper strength far exceeded their own."
While one could lower the difficulty by forming a party, the crucial requirement was that it must be done "under the pressure of a crisis."
That, according to the gods, was what defined an adventure and the brilliance they wished to witness.
Only then would the "Falna" grant its recognition.
Simply tagging along and gaining experience would never lead to a "Great Feat" in a lifetime.
Although Sushang had proposed they team up to challenge a Floor Boss, Furina disagreed.
Even if Sushang told her, "I won't interfere even if you're about to die," Furina knew that wouldn't truly be the case.
Being with Sushang might create a sense of crisis due to the hardships of battle, but it would never force her to reach the resolve of life or death.
The three of them had no good solution for this at the moment.
But just waiting around was not something Furina could accept.
The next morning, after thinking about it all night, Furina laid her plan out to Sushang and Focalors.
"I intend to go on an adventure by myself for a while... and I'm going to try pushing into the Middle Floors!" she declared.
Sushang: "By yourself?"
Focalors: "Doesn't sound like a bad idea."
The two others at the breakfast table reacted quite differently. Seeing Focalors nod in agreement, Sushang said with some surprise, "I actually thought you wouldn't approve, Focalors."
"If I had my way, I wouldn't want Furina to go on adventures at all." Focalors nodded, speaking the honest truth.
"In that case..."
"But, it's different if Furina has already made up her mind." Focalors gave a helpless, bitter smile.
"Her existence is significant—it's of grave importance to Fontaine. If it were possible, I absolutely could not allow any slip-ups... but in this matter, I cannot bring myself to refuse her."
"...Focalors."
Furina was actually quite surprised by how quickly Focalors had agreed. She, too, knew how important she was, even without knowing the specifics of Focalors' plans.
That was exactly why she hadn't attempted any solo adventures until now.
In the past few days, Furina had noticed Focalors' indulgence toward her, and she had been confident in her ability to persuade her, but she hadn't expected Focalors to indulge her to this extent.
"Since Focalors has said so..."
Seeing their surprise yet tacit understanding, Sushang naturally had no objections. Besides, she wasn't particularly worried about Furina leaving her side; after all, she had left a manifestation of the Edge of Taixuan inside her.
If any truly lethal crisis arose, the Edge of Taixuan would step in and wipe away the danger in her stead.
Furthermore, Furina's stats were now high enough to carry the Xuanyuan Sword on her person.
Since they decided to split up, Sushang didn't follow Furina to the Dungeon. She waited half an hour after Furina's departure before finally preparing to leave the residence.
However, before she could even set off, she sensed a familiar presence approaching their temporary courtyard: it was Hestia.
Before the twin-tailed goddess could knock, Sushang opened the door, looking curiously at the goddess in the act of raising her hand. "Lady Hestia? What brings you here so suddenly?"
"Sushang! What a rarity—you guys haven't headed out yet?"
Hestia didn't rush to answer, instead leaning over to peer behind her. "I'm here to see Focalors! There's something I wanted to talk to her about~"
Judging by her tone and expression, she seemed to be in high spirits.
"Furina and I are going our separate ways today; she's already left." Sushang stepped aside to open the door, calling into the house, "Lady Focalors! Lady Hestia is here to visit!"
"Oh, is that so? Given your personalities, I didn't think you two were the type to argue..."
Hestia walked inside, slightly surprised by their sudden decision to split up. When she saw Focalors walking down from the second floor, her face immediately lit up with excitement.
"Focalors! I've finally found a child of my own!"
"Congratulations, Hestia. It seems your meals will be getting a lot better from now on," Focalors said with a light laugh behind her hand.
"Starting right off with that, huh...!" The twin-tailed goddess's face darkened for a moment, but at the thought of having found a cute and talented child, she smiled again.
"That's right! Bell will definitely become an amazing and powerful adventurer! When that time comes, I'll throw a banquet and invite you both!"
So, the protagonist has already arrived, then.
Sushang realized. Though she did have a passing thought about getting to know the protagonist, she was more interested in seeing the deeper levels of the Dungeon.
It would also serve as a scouting run for Furina, so it worked out well.
With that in mind, Sushang bid them farewell. "Lady Focalors, Lady Hestia, I'll be heading out now."
"Ah, okay! Let's all eat dinner together when you get back tonight! I'll bring Bell with me!"
"Take care."
Both gods gave their farewells to Sushang.
Compared to when she was with Furina, Sushang's pace was much faster on her own. After leaving, she vaulted across the rooftops a few times until she reached the Babel tower.
Once she entered the Dungeon, she carved her way down to the 13th floor, drawing shocked looks from the many adventurers she passed.
She didn't have a supporter with her. While she agreed with Furina's earlier advice about not using excessively unconventional methods, Sushang's backpack simply wasn't large enough to hold all the magic stones.
She had no choice but to limit her attacks and stow the excess stones into her personal space.
From the 13th floor onward, it was uncharted territory for Sushang.
Although Focalors had obtained some information about the Middle and Lower Floors from Hephaestus, it was clearly just theory without having seen it for herself.
Time to explore as I move forward.
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL