Chapter 146 – The Strength of the Familia
Just as Aston and Hestia had guessed, this assault on Amphisbaena resulted in the Hestia Familia gaining eleven new Level 4 members, plus another ten from Eina, adding up to a total of 21 new Level 4 members overnight.
Among the remaining members, except for a few peculiar ones like Lyd who were only Level 2, the rest had reached the limit of Level 3 and were just a step away from leveling up. Although they were at Level 3, since they had already possessed Level 2 or even higher strength before joining the Hestia Familia, their capabilities after reaching the limit of Level 3 were equivalent to those of Level 4.
Moreover, although Lyd and his group were only at Level 2, their strength was already at Level 5.
They originally had the best combat power among the Level 4. Although in the past half month, due to not killing monsters in the deeper floors, their strength hadn't improved much without gaining a lot of experience points to enhance their power. They only managed to increase their Status level by one, but they consumed a significant amount of magic stones, so their strength didn't fall much.
As for how Aston knew?
Naturally, Aston had already tested the strength of Lyd and his group.
After Hestia updated the Falna for the Familia members, Aston didn't wait until the next day but called them over to test their strength and then concluded.
The Hestia Familia can now be truly considered a large Familia, both in terms of reputation and strength.
After all, with one Level 7, four Level 5s, and dozens of Level 4s along with dozens of adventurers at the limit of Level 3, this strength is only surpassed by the Freya Familia, with even the Loki Familia falling slightly short.
Moreover, this is only in terms of high-end combat power suppression. After all, the Freya Familia has three Level 6 and four Level 5 members, indeed stronger than the current Hestia Familia in terms of high-end strength.
As for the top combat power of Level 7,
It's not a joke from Aston, even without using Excalibur, Ottar might not be a match for him.
If Aston levels up once more, he could confidently defeat Ottar, dominating the entire fight.
After summarizing the growth of the Hestia Familia, Aston sent out a Doppelganger to work in the studio, and then he himself went back to his room to take a bath.
By the way, there are two large bathhouses in the Hearth Mansion, one for men and one for women.
However, as the captain, Aston, and as the chief deity, Hestia, both have a private small bathhouse in their rooms for bathing.
The comfort of soaking in the hot spring is truly not bad; soaking in the hot spring felt like all the fatigue accumulated over the days was swept away.
Aston soaked in the hot spring for a full half-hour before getting up.
It wasn't that Aston didn't want to soak longer, but because he felt that there was an additional presence in his room.
"Marie, how did you get here?" Wearing a bathrobe, Aston picked up a cup from the bedside table, filled it with water, and drank it all, then curiously looked at Marie who was sitting on the bed swinging her legs.
"Hehe, can't I come over if there's nothing wrong?" Marie said with a giggle.
"That's not it," Aston smiled and shook his head.
Seeing this, Marie also nodded, then went on to explain the purpose of her visit.
"You've been busy these days, and I couldn't find the opportunity to be with you. It's been a long time since I've felt your presence up close. Now that I have the chance, I naturally want to seize it."
Marie really likes Aston's presence; especially as time passes, Aston's presence becomes more enchanting to her. She has always wanted to stay by Aston's side but just couldn't find the time.
Because Aston has been very busy these days.
He's either busy with various things or occupied by their deity Hestia, so she couldn't find any opportunity.
And now that she finally had the chance, how could she let it slip away?
After sharing the joy of strength improvement with many companions, she made an excuse to leave and came to find Aston.
Speaking of this, it's necessary to mention the elves and the Xenos in the Familia.
Because both parties know that each other reacts to Aston's presence, there's no barrier between Eina and the other elves and the Xenos. The traits of the elf race haven't appeared among the Xenos.
The elves in the Hestia Familia do not hesitate to interact with the Xenos.
This is a very special case indeed.
As for the other races in the Familia, the elves also get along very well with them, but no member of any other race can touch the skin of an elf.
The fact that Xenos can freely interact with the elves is something that members of other races envy greatly.
In the Familia, aside from the Xenos, only Lili has gained unanimous approval from many elves because of her significant role in team battles, providing the most accurate guidance when facing powerful enemies to prevent members of the Familia from getting injured.
Both the previous battle with Goliath and today's battle with Amphisbaena were directed by Lili, resulting in no casualties among the Hestia Familia members in these two floor boss subjugation battles.
Lili's consecutive command achievements also made Aston reflective; bringing Lili back was the right decision.
With Lili around, he could fully rely on her like a manager, acting as a stabilizing force, and leave the rest to Lili and the others to handle.
"Hey, Aston, tell me about the expedition."
"Was the expedition fun?" After stating her purpose, Marie eagerly asked Aston to share the happenings of the expedition.
However, Aston was somewhat speechless.
Expeditions are not fun; they can be deadly if one is not careful.
Even the Loki Familia can't guarantee that no one will die during an expedition.
Though speechless, Aston did not refuse and began to recount the events of the expedition to Marie.
However, perhaps due to boredom, Marie fell asleep while listening, her head resting on Aston's thigh, drooling.
"Yo, Aston, I'm back."
"Let me tell you, the Hestia Familia's rank is now… A… What are you doing?"
Aston: "…"
What did I do?