Chapter 13:

Ptah sighed deeply as he contemplated the city from his house's balcony. About two months had passed since Evilus' first attack on a magic stone factory, and Orario had changed drastically since then. The streets, once full of life and bustle, now looked desolate. The few passersby who ventured out did so cautiously, casting nervous glances around and maintaining a tense posture, reflecting a fear that had taken hold of the city.

"How annoying," Ptah muttered, observing the panorama with displeasure. Determined not to remain confined to his home, he prepared to go out. Sally and Aisha had become overly protective due to the current situation in Orario, so he had given them a small lie, stating that he would stay home resting and working on his projects. In reality, he needed to see the city with his own eyes to better understand the situation.

He descended to the first floor and went out into the street. The change in the atmosphere was even more evident up close. The shops were closed, many of them reinforced with thick bars that allowed customers to make their purchases without entering the establishment. Most buildings showed visible damage: broken windows, cracked walls, and signs of recent explosions. The scars of the almost daily attacks were evident, marking a painful contrast with the vibrant and bustling Orario he had come to know.

As he walked through the streets, the familiar aroma of Jagamarukun attracted him to a stand he used to frequent. The burly, bald Soran was attending, with a worried expression that contrasted with his usual severity.

"Soran, can you give me a Jagamarukun with cheese inside?" Ptah asked, trying to maintain a casual tone.

Soran shook his head, his shoulders dropping slightly. "I'm sorry, Lord Ptah," he replied, his voice tired. "It's been... difficult to get certain products. Prices have skyrocketed and now I can only offer simple Jagamarukun."

Ptah noticed the dark circles under Soran's eyes and the flour stains on his apron, signs of long hours of work. "It's okay, give me two," he said, taking out more valis than necessary.

"Lord Ptah, it's too much..." Soran began, but Ptah interrupted him with a gesture.

"Consider it an investment in Orario's future," he said with a tired smile. "We must all support each other in these times."

Soran nodded, grateful. "Thank you, Lord Ptah." After hearing this, Ptah walked away from the small stand with his Jagamarukun.

As he walked, eating one of the Jagamarukun, Ptah observed his surroundings attentively. His eyes, though discreetly glowing with a faint glow, reflected his newly acquired ability. This ability allowed him to see the latent magical power in people, identifying those who had the potential to acquire magic or adventurers, whose magical power was considerably greater.

Suddenly, a loud explosion resonated nearby. Ptah turned quickly, seeing people fleeing in panic. The scene evoked memories of his arrival in Orario, although this time the chaos was on a smaller scale. The streets filled with screams and movement, with people running in opposite directions, trying to escape the danger.

"Mom!" cried a little girl who had fallen to the ground next to her teddy bear. She was in danger of being trampled by the crowd when a young woman with red hair tied in a ponytail and green eyes rescued her, skillfully pulling her out of the way.

"Are you hurt?" asked the red-haired young woman in a calm voice while inspecting the girl. Realizing she was safe, the little one stopped crying.

"No," replied the girl, wiping away her tears. The young woman smiled broadly, visibly relieved.

"I'm glad to hear that. I'm Alise, from the Astraea Familia! Charged with defending justice in Orario!" she exclaimed proudly, striking a heroic pose.

"Alise, we must hurry," interrupted a blonde elf with blue eyes and a partially covered face, impatient to continue.

"You're right! Duty calls! Let's go! See you later, little one!" said Alise before running along with the elf towards the direction of the explosion.

A few moments later, the girl's mother appeared, visibly distressed. "Leah, are you okay?" she asked, hugging her and checking her body.

Ptah, who had observed the scene, approached the mother and daughter. "It seems she scraped her knee a bit. Let me help," he said, taking out a potion and applying a few drops to the girl's knee. The woman, seeing that he was a god, accepted the help, albeit with some caution.

"Thank you very much for your help, God, but we have no way to pay you," said the mother, grateful.

"Don't worry about that, just be more careful in the future. Orario is very dangerous these days."

"Thank you," replied the girl, watching as the small wound on her knee healed quickly.

Ptah nodded and said goodbye, continuing his way through the city. As he walked, he couldn't help but notice the growing unease in the environment. The damaged buildings, deserted streets, and distrustful looks of the few citizens present created an oppressive atmosphere.

Finally, after having taken some fresh air and observed the situation carefully, Ptah decided to return home. He snapped his fingers, the system began to show him Sally, who was about to be attacked by an orc, but suddenly disappeared, confusing the orc because its prey had vanished into thin air, but Sally had reappeared with a deranged smile next to the orc to deliver a blow with her halberd.

Although the wound wasn't very serious, it was enough for Aisha to take advantage of the distraction and attack with her great sword, causing the orc to turn angrily towards Aisha. But then Sally buried the tip of the halberd in the orc's head.

Ptah observed silently, evaluating the effectiveness of the magical items he had provided them. He saw how the girls threw a magic bomb towards a group of orcs. The bomb exploded, releasing a dense green smoke that enveloped the monsters. The orcs began to stagger, disoriented by the poison that weakened their strength. Aisha, who had started moving her lips, unleashed her magic in a sword strike that ended up killing some orcs, and the rest were finished off by Sally.

Both worked in perfect sync, after that they started to leave the tenth floor and went to the ninth because the tenth floor was too dangerous for them, but even so, they only went to test their limits once a week and if they got into trouble, they escaped using some items developed by Ptah and returned to the ninth floor which was the place where they spent most of their time.

Ptah decided it was time to further reinforce the girls' equipment. He walked to his workshop, where he began working on two Salamander Wools, a known item that protects against fire and cold.

'With Evilus acting, explosions will become common in Orario,' he thought with concern. 'I can't risk the girls getting hurt by a kamikaze attack. This protection could save their lives.'

He decided to enchant them with runes resistant to fire and explosions. Ptah placed the garments on his work table and, with absolute concentration, began to engrave runes on them using a special ink made from various drop items from some defensive monsters and powdered magic stone dust.

First, he carefully traced a protection rune against explosions on each garment. This rune absorbed the impact of explosions and dissipated the energy, protecting the wearer. Then, he added the fire resistance runes, reinforcing the natural properties of the Salamander Wool.

'This should provide them with an extra layer of protection,' Ptah thought, examining his work. 'Especially useful against the increasingly frequent attacks in the city.'

Then, he moved on to his next project: a batch of immobilizing bombs. He used a light but resistant metal for the exterior of the bombs, ensuring they were easy to transport but durable in combat. Inside, he placed several ingredients made with alchemy, but which were not too lethal and only served as a very irritating tear gas.

'This will serve as tear gas,' Ptah reflected. 'Irritating, but not lethal. We don't want to draw too much attention from the Guild or other families. Besides, getting very lethal materials would leave me broke.'

Each bomb was equipped with a timing rune, allowing the detonation time to be adjusted to several seconds after activation using mind. Ptah also added a dispersion rune in the core of each bomb.

'The timing rune will allow adjusting the detonation time using the mind,' he thought. 'And the dispersion rune will generate a magical shock wave. It will disorient enemies in a wide area, maximizing confusion.'

When they exploded, they would not only release kinetic energy, but also generate a magical shock wave capable of disorienting enemies in a wide area. These bombs were designed to maximize confusion, disorient, and immobilize enemies.

'Although I'm not sure how effective it will be against adventurers with abnormal resistance,' Ptah reflected. 'But it should be enough for most situations.'

Ptah sighed, somewhat exhausted from his finished projects. He headed to the living room of his house, where Sally and Aisha finally arrived at dusk. Both were exhausted but satisfied with their day. Ptah greeted them with a smile, observing as they entered.

"Welcome back," he said, greeting them warmly. "I've prepared some new things for you. But first rest for a while, because I'm going to update your statuses."

The girls who had returned from the dungeon were happy to hear this because they could see how they had progressed.

After both enjoyed a massage from Ptah and rested for a while lying on a pair of sofas, Ptah went to Sally to prick his finger with a needle and a drop of blood fell on Sally's bare back and suddenly the tattoo that was previously hidden began to appear and the floating hieroglyphs began to emerge.

Saly Resat

Lv. 1

Strength: D 546 -> C 654

Endurance: F 385 -> D 532

Dexterity: D 520 -> C 632

Agility: D 570 -> C 649

Magic: D 540 -> C 678

Magic

Bloodthirsty Rune: Creates a temporary magical rune and imprints it on a weapon, enhancing its offensive properties and granting a bleeding effect to attacks. The magic adapts to the weapon type, improving specific aspects according to its design and function. As the weapon cuts, pierces, or strikes, it diminishes the effects of any type of magical or natural healing on the inflicted wounds for a time.

Chant: "Intensify, reinforce, sharpen, aggravate, and help me annihilate my enemies."

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Skills

Frenzied Impulse: Amplifies the user's most intense emotion at the time of activation, and depending on the emotion, their strength, agility, and speed will increase or decrease depending on its intensity. However, this also increases physical and mental fatigue. In this state, the user loses the ability to reason clearly and makes decisions based solely on the dominant emotion. Active Trigger.

After confirming the increase in stats, Ptah returned the hieroglyphs to the tattoo and then put a paper on Sally's back before handing it to her and going to where Aisha was.

He did the same procedure with Aisha.

Aisha Belka

Strength: D 546 -> C 651

Endurance: E 485 -> D 594

Dexterity: D 520 -> C 622

Agility: E 455 -> D 531

Magic: D 520 -> C 632

Magic:

Hell Kaios

When the user wields a sword, it releases a cutting wave that destroys everything in its path.

Chant: "Come, champion of the savages. Manly warrior, strong hero, greedy and unjust hero. Show your worth if you desire the girdle of the empress. Satisfy my body, penetrate my body, kill my body, and prove your worth. My starving blade is Hippolyta."