There was a faint bitterness in her chest—the sense that Hephaestus now shared a deeper understanding with Bell than she did. Hestia had never felt this kind of jealousy before, and it made her uncomfortable. Her eyes locked onto Hephaestus, and a strange emotion began to stir inside her.
But Hephaestus and Bell didn't seem to notice.
"That's just because you're slow to catch on."
Hephaestus rolled her eyes at her.
"Bell is your child. Have you already forgotten what his skill does? Didn't we just talk about this not long ago?"
Hestia paused, forcing herself to rein in her jealousy. They had discussed something related to Bell last time, hadn't they?
"It was... the monster spawn rate?"
"Exactly."
With a snap of her fingers, Hephaestus looked as if she'd just solved a riddle. Everything tied back to that "Luck" skill. She had already found it strange last time—why were so many monsters appearing on the first floor? The Dungeon followed a strict spawning pattern tied to floor levels. There was no way 264 Goblins could be born on the first floor in a single day.
"Normally, each floor has a fixed spawn rate and timing for monsters, especially the first floor, which is closest to the surface. But under the influence of Bell's skill, an abnormal number of monsters were generated. That, in turn, disrupted the Dungeon's operation."
"This abnormal disruption spread to the other floors, causing them to experience the same phenomenon as the first—leading to the full-scale Monster Parade."
"Seriously!?"
Hestia was dumbfounded. She hadn't even realized the Dungeon could be affected like this.
"Of course it can. The Dungeon loathes the gods—and it also despises Adventurers blessed by them. Bell's Luck didn't make the Dungeon favor him; it just made it harder for the Dungeon to expel him. And because Bell was so hard to remove, the Dungeon ramped up its efforts across every floor, trying to force him out."
In Hephaestus's view, Bell's Luck was more a curse than a blessing. It didn't make him favored—it made him hated. How could mere Luck bend the Dungeon's system? But hatred? That could.
Because the Dungeon couldn't detect Bell's presence thanks to his Luck, it simply followed its standard spawning rules. But the moment his Luck faltered, it went wild—desperately targeting him—causing an unnatural flood of monster spawns that shouldn't have happened.
Still, all of this made Hephaestus even more curious about Bell's background.
She cast a subtle glance at him. 'He wields divine power and is hated by the Dungeon... Just what are you, really?'
Though she was intrigued by his identity, Hephaestus wasn't overly worried. Bell didn't strike her as the kind to be involved with the Evilus. In fact, he seemed just as clueless about who he truly was.
"Even if it was short, judging by your expression, you got a lot out of today, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Reflecting on everything he'd learned, Bell felt that many of his lingering questions had been answered—definitely a big gain in itself.
The power of low-star Craft Essences was nothing to scoff at, and the Type-Moon system was extraordinary.
He had assumed low-star Craft Essences wouldn't be that effective, but today's experience felt like a slap in the face for thinking that.
The tests had proven just how powerful low-star Craft Essences could be.
At the same time, Bell was starting to look forward to seeing what kind of strength the others might hold.
Four-star and five-star Craft Essences had all sorts of overpowered abilities.
Of course, Bell also remembered that in the later stages of the game, one- to three-star Craft Essences became increasingly rare, while four- and five-star ones kept being added—though most of those were limited Valentine's Day editions and basically junk.
Still, with the ability to keep summoning, what Bell really had his eye on was the three-star Craft Essence "Divine Construct." If he got lucky, he might pull a holy sword. Even if he couldn't wield or fully unlock it, the weapon itself would still outclass any standard-grade weapon.
"I also picked up 241 Goblin Daggers. I'll need to trouble Hephaestus-sama with the sales."
'He got that many in such a short time?'
Hephaestus was visibly surprised by the number.
Given the time he'd spent in the Dungeon today, Bell hadn't been down there long. But to kill that many Goblins in such a short period... it clearly showed how far he'd come since last time.
'Well, with a skill like Early Bloomer and magic that's practically divine authority, it's no surprise he's grown this fast.'
Even so, Hephaestus couldn't help being impressed by how rapidly Bell was improving.
While other Adventurers advanced slowly and steadily, Bell's growth was like he'd strapped himself to a rocket. If this continued, he might max out the stats of a Level 1 Adventurer in just a few more days.
"Bell, how much do you think you've grown from your second trip into the Dungeon?"
"...Hephaestus-sama, I really couldn't say. Only Goddess-sama will know after she updates my status."
How much had he grown from his second Dungeon run?
Bell had no idea. But he was confident that aside from Endurance, the rest of his stats had probably jumped significantly.
That growth wasn't just from the Dungeon—he'd also been training for the past three days on the surface. He hadn't updated his status during that time, but he could feel a noticeable increase in his magic power. Still, he had no concrete idea of how much he'd actually improved.
Hephaestus then looked toward Hestia, who was still clinging to Bell.
"Hestia, aren't you even a little curious?"
What was Hestia supposed to say? Of course she was curious about how much Bell had grown. But seeing how eager Hephaestus was made her pout a little, letting out a soft, sulking sound.
"Mm..."
Watching her stubborn expression, Hephaestus could tell this idiot was throwing a tantrum again. But she already knew exactly how to deal with Hestia in this kind of mood.
Just poke the right nerve.
"Don't tell me you don't care about your own child's growth?"
"Who said that!"
Hestia leapt up like a cat with its tail stepped on. But she was still puffed up with frustration, and it looked like it would take a while before she cooled down. For now, though, she had no interest in dealing with Hephaestus—she was starting to find her annoying.
"Bell-kun, let's update your status!"