"Hmm... He has a great physique. Looks very dependable," a goddess commented, resting her chin on her hand. "How about calling him [Acala]?"
"Too serious!" another male god immediately countered. "It needs more impact. I think we should call him [Muscle Daruma]."
Pfft— Furina nearly spat out the juice she had just swallowed. What the heck kind of name is that?
"Nooooooo!" Takemikazuchi completely gave up resisting, his face the picture of absolute despair.
"This is awesome!"
"Haha, stop bullying him, he's about to cry."
Without a doubt, this was the most lively moment of the Denatus since it began.
Watching the utterly miserable Takemikazuchi, Furina shrank her neck in fear. She truly wanted to help her pitiful divine friend, but she was terrified of drawing the fire onto herself, resulting in those hair-raisingly horrifying aliases landing on her own children.
So... sorry, Takemikazuchi. Furina decisively chickened out, silently offering an apology in her heart.
"Well then, little Ouka's alias... is decided as [Bushin Boy]." Hermes finalized the decision with a strike of the gavel.
"No objections—!" The gods roared with laughter in unison.
"Waaah, waaaaaah..."
Witnessing her straightforward divine friend clutching his head and openly weeping tears of genuine sorrow, Furina could only feel deep sympathy from the bottom of her heart.
After the male god—who bore the beautiful name of "God of War"—shed his tears of blood, the sacrifices continued to take the stage. The hellish scenes persisted for a while until the minor Familias had practically all fallen in battle. Next, it was finally time for the city's high-ranking Familias to make their appearance.
After the Hephaestus Familia came the Ganesha Familia, followed by the Ishtar Familia. The names of illustrious Familia members were listed one by one.
"...Freya, it seems none of your kids leveled up this season. Do you have too much free time? Taking the trouble to attend this kind of event when you have no business here doesn't seem like the renowned Lady Freya's style, does it?"
"Indeed. Just like back in Heaven, boredom is like a poison that will claim our lives. That is why I simply couldn't resist coming, Ishtar."
As long as a deity had participated in the Denatus before, they retained the right to attend future meetings. If no members within a Familia had leveled up, attending the meeting actually held little meaning. However, many gods were so bored they were going stir-crazy, and were more than happy to come here for entertainment. Those gods who eagerly took the lead in handing out wicked aliases were the prime examples.
Hearing the Goddess of Beauty Ishtar seamlessly throwing shade, Freya, equally a Goddess of Beauty, merely offered her a faint smile.
The surrounding gods snickered, happily watching the two peerless Goddesses of Beauty cross swords. They were used to it by now; whenever these two crossed paths, sparks were guaranteed to fly.
"Alright, next." Upon seeing the document in his hands, Hermes first revealed a startled expression, followed quickly by an unprecedentedly enthusiastic, high-spirited smile.
His gaze swept across the venue, finally landing on Furina with a trace of a sly smirk.
In that instant, the atmosphere in the entire hall abruptly shifted.
If the earlier treatment of Takemikazuchi had merely been mischievous teasing, then the chilling current now permeating the air was laced with jealousy, greed, and malice.
"Next up is the main event of this assembly." Hermes's voice was heavily inciting. "Let us welcome the newly ascended faction that triggered Orario's financial storm, causing countless people to strike it rich overnight while driving just as many to lose their shirts and leap from the rooftops—the Focalors Familia."
The gazes of all the gods instantly locked onto Furina like spotlights.
Particularly those deities who had bet on Apollo during the War Game and ended up losing their shirts—their eyes brimmed with hostility.
"Let's start... with the man who created a miracle." Hermes raised the document in his hand high and read out the name that was now known to absolutely everyone in Orario. "Focalors Familia—Aiden!"
The moment the words fell, the venue's atmosphere ignited.
"Ohhh! It's finally here!"
"Wait, hold on, what the hell is Level 3? Doesn't it say Level 2 on there?!" One sharp-eyed god screamed out loud upon seeing the glaring number on the parchment in Hermes's hand.
That scream was like dropping an ice cube into a boiling vat of oil.
"What? Level 3?!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
BOOM!
The entire venue instantly exploded.
The deities who had previously been leisurely watching the show all sprang up from their seats in shock. Loki even planted a foot on the table, her squinted eyes widening to perfect circles as she craned her neck toward Hermes in sheer disbelief.
Not far away, Freya's hand, which had been elegantly holding her wine glass, jerked violently. Crimson wine spilled onto her pristine white gloves, yet she seemed completely oblivious, her soul-piercing silver eyes locked dead onto that dossier.
"That's right, everyone. You are not seeing things." Acting as if he had been injected with divine blood, Hermes excitedly hoisted the parchment high into the air. Like raising a banner declaring the dawn of a new era, he roared to the entire hall: "It is Level 3! Unbelievable as it is, the Focalors Familia's Aiden... this kid has leveled up to Level 3!"
"Are you kidding me!?" A goddess renowned for her magnificent figure stood up in agitation, her impressive assets bouncing. "I distinctly remember he only just reached Level 2 not too long ago! It's only been a little over a month, right? Focalors, you've only been down in the lower world for two months, haven't you?!"
"What kind of godforsaken leveling speed is this? Even version updates aren't this fast!"
"Reported! I'm reporting this to the Guild! Someone is using cheats!"
"Heh heh, spot on." Hermes motioned with his hands for everyone to calm down, but the smile on his face only grew more intrigued. "And from what I know, it was just over two months ago that Aiden joined the Focalors Familia. Before coming to Orario, he had never adventured. In other words, he went from Level 1 to Level 2... in less than a month."
Yet another bombshell was dropped.
"OOOOOHHHHHHHH—!"
Following a moment of deathly silence, the entire hall erupted into a tsunami of roars and screams, completely boiling over.
"What kind of logic-defying rookie monster is this?! Focalors, what exactly is going on? You secretly gave him cheats, didn't you?!" Loki shouted from atop the table.
"Hmph, hmph!" Faced with the entire hall's interrogation, Furina appeared incredibly smug.
With her hands on her hips and her chin raised high, she surveyed her surroundings with an almost arrogant posture, her heterochromatic eyes flashing with pride.
"I didn't use any cheats. I can only say that my children are simply built differently. They are heroes chosen by the era, destined to carve their own epic onto this land! So just go ahead and be envious and jealous to your hearts' content!"
"Focalors, talk." Hermes's expression also turned serious. "This leveling speed is too shocking. Moreover, the children from your Familia who leveled up this time aren't just limited to one. I refuse to believe this is all just a coincidence."
"Exactly. I heard that you, Focalors, only recently descended to the lower world, and the kids in your Familia are all rookies, right?" A jealous deity who had lost money in the War Game stepped forward with malicious intent. "If you don't give us a proper explanation for this rapid leveling, we're going to file for Guild arbitration and force you to publicly disclose the Status of every child in your Familia."
"Hmph, I knew you guys would pull something like this." Furina, however, had fully anticipated this. She let out a cold snort, then retrieved a pre-prepared parchment from her seat and slammed it forcefully onto the round table with a loud Smack!
"See for yourselves."
"Mine!"
"Me first!"
A swarm of gods lunged forward like sharks smelling blood, all wanting to be the first to snatch that parchment. But in the end, the swiftest Hermes secured it first.
"What... what the hell is this skill?!" Hermes's eyes widened as he cried out in shock. "It's not little Aiden who has the Rare Skill, but your Vice-Captain?! [Tonal Resonance]... a team experience buff?!"
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