Progress And Ambition

I enter the Church, dragging my feet across the ground as I keep sighing.

'Even dealing with these kinds of people is exhausting.'

I open the front door slowly, not because I want to be secretive, but because I'm too damned tired to make an effort. My mental strength is all but spent from having to talk to both Syr and Canoe.

"Tian!" I heard Hestia shout as soon as I stepped into the building.

Sometimes I wonder if my goddess has some sort of tracking ability. She never fails to notice my arrival. As soon as I go over the line of the door, she's immediately there to greet me.

"My goddess… This was so annoying to deal with…" I lament.

Hestia runs towards me, her eyes lighting up as soon as she sees me. I can't lie and say that her joyous expression doesn't hit me through the heart. She's so adorable.

I prepare for the impact, as the missile called Hestia-sama launches through the air into my welcoming arms.

"Tian!" She repeats.

"Yep, that's me," I say, laughing at the way she rubs her head against my torso.

She is so affectionate towards the members of her familia. Suddenly the idea of another male getting this treatment once he joins the familia hits me, and I can't stop a frown from forming on my face.

'Hmm, something to think about.'

If it happens, I would be jealous—but then again I'm not going to limit ourselves due to some petty jealousy, not with the situation we currently are in.

"Are you okay? Nothing bad happened to you, right?!" she asks, lifting her head to meet my eyes.

I stare back, before chuckling. "No, no… Don't worry Hestia, nothing happened…"

She frowns at the tone I take at the end. "What?"

"What what?"

"Don't try to lie to me Tian, I'm a goddess-"

"Yeah, yeah, you can know if a mortal lies to you… You've already told me multiple times," I interrupt her. "And technically it's true, nothing bad happened to me."

Hestia squints her eyes. "You're going to tell me, right?"

"Of course I will, it's just that everything went well, and that's what is suspicious," I answer, releasing her from my arms.

She glides down my body before her feet touch the ground again. Her eyes are still on me, evidently suspicious about what I experienced.

"Come on, let's sit on the couch and I'll tell you everything," I say, gesturing the comfy furniture in front of me. At the same time, I catch the sight of Bella looking at us with a goofy smile. "Oh, Bella, I met your friend Syr Flova at the Hostess of Fertility as well."

"... I mean, she's working there so… Ah wait, did she look out for you specifically?" Bella asks.

"Yeah, she was waiting for me at the front of the establishment. You told her a lot about me," I declare, narrowing my eyes comedically at the white-haired girl in front of me.

"A-Ah no! I only told her that I had a great friend in my familia that helped me with my training and my adventures in the dungeon," quickly answers Bella, waving her hands as if she is trying to defend herself.

Both I and Hestia laugh a bit at her reaction, which prompts her to become even more flustered.

"Don't worry Bella, she was just curious about me," I summarize, trying to calm the red-faced girl.

Hestia pinches my side when she realizes I'm making fun of her other child. "Stop embarrassing her on purpose, Tian!" she pouts, making her look adorable instead of angry—something that Bella mimicks when she hears Hestia's words.

"Hey! Weren't you laughing as well a second ago?!" I shout in a faux-offended tone.

"That's different! I'm not the one instigating the mockery," answers my goddess, grinning despite her words.

"You… You both are evil," whispers Bella, something that I pick up with my enhanced hearing.

"Come on… Shouldn't I be the one saying that, knowing that you go around and tell things about me behind my back?" I say, having way too much fun with the honesty on Bella's face.

"Stop doing this, what will happen if Bella decides to leave the familia because you bullied her too much!" questions Hestia, tugging on my clothes rather violently.

I dismiss her concern with a wave of my hand, looking at Bella who now won't answer me, and just glares reproachfully, pouting adorably.

"Alright, alright… I'm sorry Bella for teasing you," I start to say, stepping towards her. Once I put my hands on her shoulder, I look at her in the eyes. "Will you forgive me?"

Bella narrows her eyes once more, before dropping her expression and sighing. "Yes…"

"There you go, Hestia! You see, she doesn't seem to take it seriously either, so why should you?"

Hestia deadpans, "Sure…"

I sit on the couch, noticing Bella following me and sitting next to me, sending a look at Hestia.

The goddess freezes for a split second, something I only notice due to my better senses, and something untold goes between the two females.

"...What is happening?" I ask tentatively, kind of feeling like I shouldn't say anything.

"...Nothing," answers my goddess, still staring at Bella, who's displaying a slight smile on her face—although she's looking somewhat shy.

Hestia ultimately sits in front of her, only taking her eyes off of Bella after a while, shrugging her shoulders at the end. "Anyway Tian, you have things to tell us."

"Yeah, I do…" I start. "Before anything, here."

I toss the contract on the table between me and Hestia, gesturing for her to take a look.

"This is the contract between me and Canoe. As you can see, there's nothing that seems to be wrong in it."

Hestia reads it, and quickly reaches the end of the contract due to its rather short length. "But… What's the true worth of this document?" asks the goddess, giving the parchment to Bella, looking interested by it.

"To be honest with you, not much. After all, if things came down to it, there's no true way of stopping a higher leveled adventurer from the Soma familia to come and go against the clauses," I say, slumping against the couch.

'This is why it is so annoying to make deals in a world where the other party can kill you instantly.'

"So basically, we're relying on their good faith?" questions Hestia, her tone turning ironic at the end, as her left eyebrow rises.

"I mean, when were we not doing so in this case? As far as I'm concerned, there is no real law protecting us from stronger opponents." I shrug.

"There is but… Yeah, I can see what you mean," Hestia admits, biting her lips and narrowing her eyes.

Bella puts the paper back on the table, looking back and forth between the two of us—listening to the conversation.

Of course, I didn't miss the way she scuttered slightly closer to me while we are talking.

'Don't tell me the reason she sits next to me was because of some rivalry between her and Hestia?'

"I guess there is no need to worry about it then…" mutters Hestia.

"Hmm?"

"Well, we just have to prepare if they try to steal money from us. I doubt that they're going to be directly attacking us, but they could be using this supporter to get more money than expected, and you won't be able to complain since they're stronger than us."

"Yep, that's what I thought would happen," I nod.

"In that case… Have you thought of bribing Lili?"

"Huh?"

"You know, giving her money directly, outside of the clauses of the contract and for herself—not the Soma familia."

I hold my chin in thoughts. 'Could that work?'

"But… Wouldn't that become dangerous for her? I'm pretty sure they're stealing money away from her, and that this job will be without benefits for her—therefore if they learned that she earned money from me, they might get angry and take out that anger on her," I propose, looking at my goddess.

"Hmmm… If our goal is to take her away from her familia, even if she has to suffer a bit for it, I think it would still be the best way to get her to like us," answers Hestia.

"Uhm, why can't we just… save her from the Soma familia normally?" Bella says, suddenly entering the conversation.

Both Hestia and I look at her for a second. "What do you mean by normally?" I hear Hestia ask.

"W-Well, buy her from her familia?" the white-haired girl answers, seemingly even questioning herself in the process.

"But that wouldn't ensure that Lili is loyal to us… She hates adventurers, after all, so entering the Hestia familia might be changing from one tyrant to another for her," I point out.

"Exactly," confirms Hestia.

"Can't we prove to her that we're worthy of her loyalty after she's in our familia?"

"Yes we can, but that might be much more difficult than 'heroically' saving her from the evil clutches of the Soma familia—once she's here without her will, she might be intentionally sabotaging things due to her hatred towards adventurers." I look at Hestia for confirmation and draw my sight back to Bella once I see the goddess nod.

"Isn't that… Manipulation?"

"...Yes it is. But I'm not willing to put you and Hestia in danger at the hands of Lili, therefore I think this is the only way we can save her."

"I see…" whispers Bella, her cheeks gaining a rosy tint at my statement.

"Anyway let's stop with this conversation!" Hestia cuts through the mood, clapping her hands twice. "Tian, do you want me to update your status?" she asks.

I only nod before taking off my T-shirt, ready to get it done.

"Eeep!" squeaks Bella, running away from me as soon as she gets a glimpse of my upper body. I watch her body rush upstairs a bit dumbfounded but still smirking.

"...Huh?" In response, Hestia only chuckles lightly and pushes me towards the couch.

As soon as my stomach hits the comfortable couch, Hestia jumps on me and uses my butt as her chair.

"Let's see your progress, Tian…" Hestia mutters and starts to rub my back. She employs quite a bit of strength as she gets me to relax due to the unexpected massage.

Her hands roam over the same spots as if she is painting on my back. After that, I feel a familiar liquid drop onto my back as the usual sensation of being judged comes forth—stronger than ever.

The blood sinks into my flesh and draws my achievements—the experience of my body.

She works her essence through my being, coaxing the challenges I went through to upgrade my frame. Using the same rubbing notions, Hestia slowly works her magic on me.

"I hope our plans will work…" she comments.

"I know they will," I answer, my voice a bit drowsy due to the feeling of the falna in my body.

"At any moment, if Lili proves to become a danger for you… Give her up okay?" Hestia asks me, her voice becoming more intense as she shows her care for me.

I chuckle, my face planted on the couch. "Don't worry, I won't let you become sad, my goddess."

At my words, Hestia shifts a little bit, unknowingly grinding her pelvis on me.

"Thank you, Tian…" she whispers. "All right! It's done!" she then says enthusiastically.

I sigh—feeling relieved that the weird experience is over.

"Here," she says, stretching her hands towards me with the paper in them.

Tian

Level 1

Strength G264->F301

Endurance G298->F343

Dexterity G214->G247

Agility F318->F374

Magic I42->I62

Skills:

Schism: No longer, the rules of the sky bind me.

Quintessence: Because one must know themselves, before walking the road of the sky.

Magic:

The Essence of Life: (Variable Chant Magic)

Alters reality following the way of the five elements

"Your progress… To be honest, it's monstrous," notes Hestia while I look at my status. "At first I wasn't sure, but one of your skills definitely grants you increased stat gains.

She is right, despite the increase being justified by the way I take down Killer Ants, gaining that many points each day is truly unheard of. I already am not far from leveling up if I keep the same rate of improvement—and I arrived here 2 weeks ago.

Even Bell took months to level up with his busted skill. While it's true that he wasn't pushing himself to the limits each day as I do, there still should be a limit to how fast someone can advance.

My cultivation is helping my falna growing tremendously. Except for my Magic stat.

I know that I don't use my magic as much as I should to make it grow, but I can't exactly use it when I'm supposed to be a level 1 adventurer. It would draw too much attention on me—something that would out me as an outlier.

Therefore, until I am somewhat in a secure spot, my magic stat would have to trail behind the others. Even if I would prefer leveling up with all of my stats in the S range—just like Bell—if things come down to it, I would do without it. After all, the boost in power that a level-up grant can be needed when going against the Soma familia.

I turn from my goddess' cute smile and stand up from the couch. "Thank you, Hestia, I can already feel myself being stronger."

And that is true. I can feel the increased strength in my muscles as I close my fist.

'Falna is truly a magnificent thing.'

"But of course!" exclaims Hestia, pushing her chest up by crossing her arms under it. "It's only natural as your goddess than I help you push yourself to new limits!"

I snort at her words, before moving towards the door, intending on finally breaking through in my cultivation. In the days following my initial arrival, I was able to clear out all of my impurities, little by little, which allowed me to take on the Killer Ants barehanded.

Now, I need to figure out how to successfully draw energy from the environment to cultivate properly for the first time—something that I feel like I am on the cusp of understanding.

Moving my Ki in my body helped me tremendously in learning how to interact with Ki—an energy that I was unaware of until a couple of days ago.

"You're going to go back to your spot again?" asks Hestia nonchalantly, looking at my back.

I stop for a moment. I remember the unsettling feeling of having Canoe breathe down my neck, with his whole group armed to the teeth. I remember their expression, knowing that they had the advantage. Even with all the opportunities, I've been given, and what is effectively a cheat code, I still have to deal with the type of people I hate the most. The humiliation is a familiar feeling to me.

"Yeah, I'm about to start my path to become something truly great," I smirk, not that she could see it.

And I'm nowhere near the top… I'll still have to deal with a lot of them in the future. So the only thing I can do is train and fight.

'Until nothing stands in my way ever again.'

"...Don't put yourself in danger…" I hear Hestia telling me—deciding to ignore my words—as I leave the Church.

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Beta: AsuraJZero

A/N:

I'm trying to keep a relatively slow pace for this that will increase during major moments, mainly because I'm still inexperienced as a writer and still figuring out how to draw and write the character's emotions, beliefs, ambitions, and so on... The more I write Tian, the more I want to add small little things that make him feel more alive in my opinion, the more his thoughts come forth in my writing, and it gives me a great deal of experience but I'm not that much better than what I started as, so I'll just keep grinding :)

Anyway if you liked this chapter, drop a comment and give me some power stones hehehe.