The next morning, I woke up after yesterday's trial, surrounded by over 100 adventurers ranging from level 2 to level 7 across from me.
The stands were open, and the gods watched intently. The only ones not participating were Hephaistos and Loki, who held respect for Hestia.
Soon, an announcer's voice echoed through the arena. "This match is on—no holds barred. If you're killed, it's not permanent. You'll be brought back. Let the battle begin in 3, 2, 1!" With that, everyone charged toward me.
It was then I realized—they weren't going to die from this. I drew my daggers and shouted, "Arise!" as my shadow extended, making them pause, thinking they were about to fight amidst chaos. Out of the shadows came two figures: a bipedal aunt and a knight.
"You didn't think I'd just cast my entire shadow over weaklings like you? That would be overkill. These two will be more than enough," I said.
A random guy yelled, "How dare you! We're a force of 1,000, and you think you and your two soldiers can take us?" Before he could finish, his head was cleanly chopped off.
"Yes, I do," I replied, holding his severed head before tossing it onto the ground. Blue and Iris were by my side as I slipped through their ranks, decreasing the enemy numbers to only 100.
Beru reveled in slaughter, his instincts dictating his actions, killing humans with ease. Igris, however, took every fight seriously, charging into the enemy ranks and engaging the sword-wielding foes, quickly reducing their numbers. Soon, only 50 of the original 1,000 remained.
The spectators in the stands were stunned by this display. Even the masked members of the enemy's team, knowing they weren't truly dead, looked on in shock.
"He truly is something," Loki said, watching the massacre with a mix of awe and relief that her allies hadn't joined in.
(I need to understand how he became this strong)," she thought, eyes wide with curiosity.
(That's how powerful my man is. I can't wait to see how long and hard he's down there)," Tiona thought with a perverted smile, a wet spot forming on her cloth.
Meanwhile, Hestia initially felt worried seeing the overwhelming number of opponents I faced—just summoning my two shadow soldiers was enough to concern her. But as the fight started, she realized I wasn't overconfident; I simply was that strong compared to everyone else.
"Maybe I don't need to worry about him," she mused, scratching the back of her head. "I should be more concerned about what he'll do if someone makes him angry," she added, witnessing the massacre.
Back in the arena, only ten majors and two tanks remained. The majors were casting spells in an attempt to stop me, while the two tanks kept ticking on my shadows, seemingly going easy on them—which they could have ended instantly once they emerged.
"Vino numerous!" yelled the spellcaster, unleashing multiple giant glass flames at me. Using my shadow magic, I conjured a wall of shadows to block the attack before the spells could hit. My shadows swiftly took down the flames.
"With an overwhelming victory, Bell has won the war game with little difficulty," announced the announcer. The other gods were shocked and confused by his words, but since it was just a simulated war game, they couldn't do much.
As soon as I heard that, I turned and left, and as I was about to greet Hestia, she approached me.
"You did it! You were amazing," she said, jumping onto me for a hug.
"Of course I did. Was there ever any doubt?" I replied with a smirk.
Suddenly, I was tackled from behind.
"That's my man—strong, intelligent, and always up for a challenge," Tiona said, kissing my cheek.
"You know what? I give up," she admitted, realizing she wasn't going to win this one.
"So, are you my brother-in-law now?" asked the sister.
"Looks like it—does that mean you're joining her familia?" Loki asked.
"If you're okay with it, I wouldn't mind," she replied.
"It's fine. I understand. But you owe me, Hestia," Loki said with a smirk.
Then Ais stepped forward. "I have a question."
"Sure, what's on your mind?" I asked, curious.
"How are you so strong?" she inquired.
"That's simple. I have people I care about. When you care about someone, you have a reason to get stronger. Without that, you're just staying the same," I explained.
She thought about it, nodding in agreement.
"Now that's settled, we should probably head out. We need to pay a goddess for the daggers and see how much more we need for a mansion," I said, grabbing Hestia's hand.
We returned to the abandoned church, collecting the money before heading to Hephaistos's familia.
There, a massive mansion with a garden in front and a blacksmith's workshop in the back awaited us.
"This place is huge," I said, surprised.
"Why are you surprised? This is what a normal familia's house should look like," she replied.
We approached the door, knocking a few times until one of her children answered.
"Hello, can we help you?" he asked.
"Yes, we're here to see your goddess about a payment," I said, holding out the bag.
"Wait here. I'll be right back," he said, going inside. About twenty minutes later, he returned with the goddess.
"Paid in full," I said, handing her the bag.
"Wait here. I'll be right back," she said and went inside, possibly counting the coins in the two bags.
When she reappeared, she handed me half of the money back. "The amount you gave me was more than enough."
"How much is in here?" I asked.
"125 million," she replied.
"Still enough to buy us a mansion," I said, and a few hours later, we had purchased the same mansion I originally planned.
"Can you check my status? I want to see if I went up during that 1 million fight," I asked.
"Yeah, after a fight like that, your power probably increased," she said. We headed to the master bedroom, where she climbed onto my back to check my stats.
Name: Bell Carnel
Age: 17
Level: 8
Class: Assassin/Mage
Mana: 100,079,678 / 100,079,678
Strength: 500,421 / 500,421
Speed: 676,632 / 676,632
Stamina: 156,789,309 / 156,789,309
[Skills]
Summoning and controlling shadows, detoxification, regeneration, stealth, ruler's authority, Monarch Domain, Exchange, Inventory, Potion crafting, Realis pharaze, dagger proficiency
[Magic]
Healing magic, shadow magic
[Shadows]
Beru, Igris, Iron, Tusk, Kaisel, Bear boss, 20 bearers, 30 demons, 10 Dark Knights, 20 mages, 50 ants, 20 Minotaur, 20 Shadow Beasts, 10 Griffins
"You were right—that definitely went up. Though not as much as last time, it still increased significantly," she said as she laid the paper on my back and stepped off so I could see my stats.
"I guess you're right, but first, are you okay with her joining, given her intentions towards me?" I asked, trying to ease her concerns.
"At first, I was against it, but then I realized she's probably already fallen for you. I guess I'll get used to sharing you, but I won't like it," she huffed.
"How about I give you all my firsts?" I suggested. She paused, blushing fiercely, then before he could respond, she quickly approached and kissed me, pushing me back onto the bed.