Hyperadrenalism. The Alpha ability of 'super' strength. Even if it had been available for purchase, I would have avoided it.
At its core, it's simple. All of the Alpha's bodily processes relating to strength are tweaked to max efficiency at, and that's before they start pumping adrenaline and shattering human limitations. If a Hyperkinetic is wired for action, a Hyperadrenal is wired for destruction. There's no grace, no technique, only unstoppable force.
The thing is that even if they're naturally wired for that, with Hypercognition I can spend time practicing how to do a lesser version of it. Trading in supreme natural ability for technical ability in breaking my body's limits.
With a mental flicker my adrenaline get pumping, and my respiratory system starts going into overdrive to deliver as much oxygen to my body as possible.
I'd foregone sleeping with Hestia, instead practicing for hours trying to emulate another superpower. It was… difficult. Even defeating an Adventurer while unblessed wasn't this fucking hard.
When I'd first started, I'd torn a couple muscles in my biceps and lightly fractured my hips under my own swings. Small sips of potion and passive, directed healing while eating snacks to keep up fuel had brought me back, and then I kept swinging. Eventually I'd made it down to 'only' straining my tendons.
Not bad for… roughly twelve hours of work? Honestly, I wasn't even finished figuring it out yet, I was just relying on Hyperkinesis to figure out the best ways to avoid breaking myself.
"Every touch, every smile, every frown~", I hum, body aching, regeneration struggling to keep up with the breakdown, "All the pain we've endured until now~"
"You sing?" Hestia asked after waking up, sleepily staring at me, "Naked?"
"I'm not naked, I'm wearing underwear," I refute her. I'd decided against clothes because it wasn't worth the effort of dirtying them and having to clean them while working out.
She stares at my crotch with wide eyes, muttering under her breath, "May as not even bother with how sweaty you are."
"Fair," I smile, and she flushes at having been heard, "I'll take a shower and then we can make breakfast together. We've got a few cookies left, aside from the batch meant for Lenoa. Let's make it a treat for ourselves."
Hestia nods, and we go about our morning routine.
Cleaning up, brushing teeth, cooking. Another normal morning.
"You want what?" Misha asks, staring at me.
"Pamphlets and flyers," I repeat, "Printed en masse and shipped out to surrounding areas via merchants or whatever."
"Why do you think that's a service we offer?" she wonders, confused.
"I don't, but if it isn't, you guys have lists of businesses that offer related services, so I figured bringing it to you would get me somewhere rather than just trying to muddle around and try figuring it out on my own," I respond with a shrug.
"I'll just," she trails off, then sighs, "Ask my supervisor. Wait here."
She walks off, and to talk to whoever's in charge. They chat in the distance, then leave the room. Twenty minutes later a flustered Misha walks back with a small stack of papers in hand.
"It's a service we offer?" she says in confusion.
"Cool," I stare at her, waiting for more explanation and she flushes.
"I didn't know it was a service! Apparently, it's a branch off of Guild announcements and how we communicate with other cities. So gods can use us to broadcast announcements and so on? It's just they generally don't use it for recruitment requests." she rambles.
"Huh, neat," I nod and look over the papers she lays out.
There are a wide variety of options, with varying payment prices. Some modest, some pricy as all hell. Those are probably for big businesses or alerts of upcoming festivities and so on.
Eventually, I settle on a decently pricy option that covers as much landmass as possible. Two and a half million valis go down the drain as I write up a flashy recruitment flyer that boils down to, 'Come learn under us and you'll get training before we throw you into the meat grinder. Includes mandatory sword and knife lessons, some archery, and unlocking of magic potential.'
Graduation will include Hestia's blessing and a 'spell tome', which I'd renamed the two circle Grimoires. Lenoa had huffed and said they should be called as they truly were when I'd talked over them with her. I'd replied back that people were too damn stupid to differentiate between this and that kind of Grimoire.
She'd been grumpy, but notably hadn't said I was wrong.
The final touch ups on the recruitment flyer boiled down to a subtle flair that boiled down to 'we want the best but aren't really sure you're good enough'. That should get the tryhards from the boonies to at least look twice. It worked for the military in my past life. I'd know.
"Ah, it's not bad, but you won't get many applicants from Orario," Misha hesitantly offered.
"Oh, right, none in Orario," I nod, "Aim some more at the Pallum nation instead."
She stares at me in response, apparently not having expected me to entirely reject Orario as a recruitment location. This is the home of Adventurers, after all. Sure, gods descend and go elsewhere and will hand out their blessings, but there's no concentration of blessed killers greater than located atop the Dungeon.
The thing is… they're used to the risk here. Used to losing people, and the risks of the Dungeon. Everybody in Orario knows somebody that lost someone in the its depths. Death isn't simply accepted and understood, it's a part of business. Why join a no-name Familia of an unproven goddess with only one member when there are far more stable options to join?
Fucked up as it is to see, I need fresh meat that don't know just how much they're getting in over their head. I need people that I can look over, break down, and polish back up into nicely sharpened knives with well-rounded bases.
I can't reliably make heroes, but I can make fighters and give them a chance to make themselves into heroes. Offer them training that other Familias require as a prerequisite, offer magic to sweeten the pot, and if anyone can't pass muster for being an Adventure, but shows promise with magic anyway? Well, they're good employee candidates. Actually, I'll include that in the flyer too.
I'm sure there will be a few people willing to respond with magic and item crafting as course options.
"Hestia's Champ Camp," I finally decide, "That sounds nice, right?"
"It sounds okay," Misha shrugs, uninvested beyond a pat on the back for bringing in a big stack of money.
"Yeah, it sounds great," I smile, "Glad you agree."
With that settled, nothing but to get to back to grinding. Time to put my new body-straining to the test. Tch, I need a name for it. Hyperstraining? Cogstraining? Redlining? Oh, I like that, even if it won't make sense to other people.
I hum under my breath as I head back into the Dungeon.