After we spoke, Hestia led me to a pretty rundown-looking bookstore. The old man who owned the place seemed familiar with Hestia and while he preemptively refused an offer to join her Familia, he cheerfully allowed her access to the second floor.
"What's this?" I asked curiously as I looked around at the surrounding bookshelves. I dearly hoped I didn't need to study to pass an exam or something.
"It's—" Hestia paused as if trying to figure out how to explain. "I decided a long time ago that this would be the place I gave my blessing to my first children. It's not truly necessary, but I wanted the beginning of our story to be surrounded by books. Think of it as a blessing from your predecessors!"
"Makes sense to me," I answered with a shrug. As traditions went—to say nothing of the demands given to me by the gods—this was far from the worst I'd had to put up with. "You like books then?"
"Un!" Hestia said with a nod and a cute sound before looking around at the room fondly. "I, ah, I never had enough money to buy any for myself, but...the owner was kind enough to let me use this place when I wanted to."
"Ah," I answered, nodding slowly. I'd have to remember to get her a book or something when I had the chance. And money. "What do you need me to do?"
"Take off your shirt," Hestia said, clearing a nearby table. "I'll engrave my Grace onto your back."
I furrowed my eyebrows but obeyed, removing my tattered armor and shirt. I'd need to replace those, too, but without the Camp to supply them...it was sad how expenses seemed to pile up when I didn't have any money. Once I was topless, I took a seat on the table where Hestia indicated, putting my back to her.
"Lady Hestia, can you explain a few things to me?" I asked.
"Mm," Hestia said and I heard hair brush against cloth as she nodded. "About Orario and Adventurers, right?"
"Yeah."
I felt her approach before something wet touched my skin, followed momentarily by her fingers on my back. I nearly started—partially at the sudden contact but mostly because of the faint smell that accompanied it. Blood? Or...no, on a god it would be ichor, wouldn't it? Before I could ask, however, she started talking.
"The Dungeon here existed since long before the gods came down," She began. "As did this city, in a sense. As you're probably aware, monsters are spawned within the Dungeon and if they aren't stopped, they'll escape into the world at large."
"Mhm," I hummed in acknowledgement, furrowing my eyebrows again. I'd seen the monsters, of course, but hearing it described that way made it sound both familiar and not. It made me think of Tartarus, the prison and birthplace of monsters where they were endlessly reborn and set loose. But Tartarus wasn't connected to the mortal world, was it?
Well, actually...I suppose that the monsters had to get out of there somehow. I'd never really thought about where they might come up, however.
"Mankind fought against them, of course," She continued. "But in the days before receiving the God's Grace, however, you can imagine how difficult it was for them to face the monsters that were born from the Labyrinth."
I nodded. Even if they could be hurt without Celestial Bronze—which I assumed there must have been a way to do, given that they hadn't been overrun—if it was a normal man against, say, a minotaur? That would end badly. If they had modern weapons that were capable of hurting monsters, that might be a different story, but for thousands of years it would have been swords and spears and bows against a ten foot tall monster that had used cars as projectile weapons the last time I fought it. Not exactly the fairest of fights, which was why Minos had used it as an elaborate form of execution.
"More and more monsters began to escape to the surface and breed," She said. "That's where all the wild monsters today come from and though heroes gathered and fought, they were in a dangerous situation—until the Gods came down from Heaven."
"To save them?" I asked, surprised despite myself. With a few exceptions, I wasn't used to the gods being...you know. Helpful.
Hestia sighed slowly.
"Not...as such," She answered. "I wasn't there and only found out what happened after the fact, but from what I know, they were simply bored."
"Ah," I replied. That sounded more like the gods I knew. "Is Heaven that bad?"
"It's not bad, but it is a great deal of work," Hestia admitted. "And as more gods began to descend, the workload of those remaining continued to increase. In comparison, the Lower World was seen as a place for the gods to relax, have fun, and see a lot of interesting things—and so they designed a game of sorts."
"A game?" I asked, abruptly feeling a bit nervous. My experiences with the god's games were generally unpleasant and frequently life-threatening.
"So that the results can't be predicted, it was agreed that while we were in the mortal world, we wouldn't use our divine power," She answered, surprising me again. "Those who did would be banished immediately back to Heaven. There are only a few exceptions to that rule, one of which is the God's Grace."
"And what is a God's Grace, exactly?" I asked her.
"A blessing from a god," She said. "When a god gives a blessing to a mortal and makes them a part of their Familia, you can see it as recording a story. By drawing out a person's Exilia—the experiences contained within a mortal's soul—and engraving them upon their body, a god can grant great power to a mortal. They are then considered to be part of that god's family."
I remembered the blood she'd shed upon me and wondered how literal that was. I'd been getting a lot of mixed message on the demigod front, but from what she'd said...was this sort of like making an artificial demigod?
"And with the God's Grace, things changed and Mankind steadily beat back the monsters," Hestia began to finish. "Orario was established and the world as it is today was made. With the Grace, Adventurers were given power and fame and the gods live among them as the heads of Familia, enjoying life in this world.
I nodded slowly, considering that.
"Does it matter who the Grace comes from?" I asked. I was pretty happy with the powers I already had, but I had to wonder what I could get from the Goddess of the Hearth. If I could do something like return to my home at will, sort of like how she'd sent me back after I spoke to Luke's mother...that would actually be pretty cool.
"No," Hestia replied. "Fundamentally, every god's Grace is the same...or rather, it depends entirely on the receiver."
Ah. Well, I suppose that saved me the trouble of ever having to worry about the advantages and disadvantages, not that I was the type to regret helping a friend. Although...
"If that's so, why didn't anyone else become part of your Familia, Lady Hestia?" I wondered.
Hestia sighed again, fingers still working to engrave her Grace.
"It's because I'm so new," She said, sounding sad again. "No one had ever heard of the goddess Hestia and so they didn't want to join my Familia. Do I seem like an unreliable goddess, do you think?"
"Not particularly," I replied and meant it. In my experience, most gods were unreliable, but Hestia had actually sacrificed herself for me. I risked a look back at her and then shifted to draw her attention. "Don't worry about it; they'll regret it once our Familia becomes famous, Lady Hestia."
"Huh?" She wondered, seeming confused before smiling in understand. "Ah, right! Yes, you're right Percy. Eventually, we will make a great Familia."
I nodded. She seemed a bit doubtful, but she was hiding it behind honest happiness, so that was okay for now. I'd fix it later.
"What do you need me to do?" I asked her.
"Huh?" Hestia replied, sounding confused again.
"There's a reason that the god's give people their Grace, right?" I clarified. "Mankind got the power to fight monsters out of the deal, but the gods wanted something too, right?"
"Oh," Hestia drew out, realizing the question. "Yes, usually those blessed will help by earning money and fame for the Familia and its god. Ah, but you don't need to worry about that, since you're so new to this—as a matter of fact, I already have a job! It will be difficult, but even if it's two people—"
"You have a job?" I asked with a bit of surprise. "What do you do?"
"Ah, I work at a food stand on North Street selling potato croquettes."
A goddess running a food stand...it was far from the strangest thing I'd ever heard of a god doing, but if I'd run into her while she was working, I feel like I would have been a little stunned.
But I guess it couldn't be helped if you were poor. Without her powers, Hestia was just a normal girl and if she had nobody in her Familia, she probably didn't have any choice but to work. Maybe that was why people didn't have a lot of confidence in her?
Well, personally, I found the knowledge that she would work to help the Familia rather reassuring, even if her ability to do so was limited. I added fixing that to my to-do list regardless. But like with a lot of my other problems, I'd need money to do that.
"How does a Familia earn money?" I asked her, remember what she said.
"It varies," She answered. "My friend Hephaestus runs a Familia of Blacksmiths and there are other business Familia. But most do so by Adventuring. Do you not know...? You can make money by defeating monsters. Or rather, by harvesting the magic stones within them. You'd need to register with the Guild first, though, and it's a difficult job—"
Killing monsters and exploring the Dungeon? Done and done.
"I'll go speak to the Guild as soon as possible, then," I replied. "Best to get started as soon as possible."
"Don't push yourself," Hestia answered worriedly, though she seemed about done with...whatever she was doing. "Adventuring in dangerous, especially for beginners. While the Grace should be enough to keep you safe on the uppermost floors, don't rush. I don't want you to get hurt."
"I'll be careful," I swore seriously. "Don't worry; I know how to deal with monsters."
"Eh?" She replied, sounding surprised. "What do you...huh?"
All of a sudden, her hands stopped their work and she withdrew them, staring with wide eyes at my back.
"Are you done?" I asked, trying to catch a glimpse of my back. There was something written on it, I could see that much, but while I could read a few of the words, I couldn't see them well as they were written on my back. "What's it say?"
Hestia continued to stare silently for a long, long moment before reaching out with shaking hands to grasp a piece of paper. Several seconds later, she held it out to me.
"Hm?" I wondered, glancing over it.
Perseus Jackson
Lv. 1
Strength: I 0
Endurance: I 0
Dexterity: I 0
Agility: I 0
Magic: I 0
Hero: I
Mystery: I
Magic:
Blood of Poseidon: Instant Magic.
Flesh of Poseidon: Auto-Magic.
Spirit of Poseidon: Auto-Magic.
Skills:
Despair: Greatly increases the encounter rate of monsters. Effect increases as condition declines.
Hope: Provides benefits in dangerous situations. Effect increases with danger.
Slowly, I reached up to take the paper from her hands and looked at it closely before looking up to meet her eyes and admit the truth.
"This means nothing to me," I told her. "What is it?"
XxXXxX
When Hestia recovered enough to talk, she began to explain.
"This is your Status," She said. "It's a simplification of a person's Falna—their Grace, that is. It shows their abilities, skills, magic, and so on. It's a rough approximation, but you can see it as a written form of a person's strength."
"So these are like my stats in a game?" I asked before looking at it with more interest. After a moment, I frowned and sighed. "Level 1? And my stats are so low, too...am I really that weak?"
Had I over-estimated myself? But I'd thought I was pretty strong...certainly, I was the strongest demigod at Camp. If even that only amounted to level 1 with zeroes in every stat, what type of world was this? If I'd tried to fight those monsters from before instead of fighting...what would have happened to me?
I thought of my plans to explore the Dungeon and look for my friends, but if I was this weak compared to everything else...this could be a problem.
But then I saw Hestia shaking her head quickly.
"Not at all!" She answered quickly. "Everyone starts at level 1 when given a god's Grace and their Basic Abilities begin at I 0. Rather, your Status is very strange..."
"How so?" I wondered.
"Nn, where to even start," Hestia frowned for a moment before pointing at the page. "You see these? Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Agility, and Magic? They're called Basic Abilities and everyone has them...though Magic is a bit special in that it's difficult to obtain. But these other Abilities you have, 'Hero' and 'Mystery,' are different. I've never seen Hero before, but I know for a fact that Mystery is a Development Ability!"
She sounded excited and confused, but...
"What's that?" I asked, making her sigh. It must have been hard to be so excited about something when I was completely clueless about why it was important...sorry, Hestia.
"A Development Ability is different from a Basic Ability in that you don't get one by default; their obtained by specializing in certain areas and meeting conditions. For instance, if you have experience resisting poisons, you might obtain the Development Ability Abnormal Resistance. However, you can only obtain one by leveling up—and even then, you can only obtain one. Starting at level two, there's a chance of one appearing with each level, but it's also possible that none will appear. Obtaining one at level 1 should be impossible, to say nothing of two. You'd need to be at least level 3 to do such a thing!"
"Then..." I paused for a moment to consider, doing the math in my head. I frowned and turned my head to the side. "Does that mean I was level 3 before you gave me your Grace? That's a bit better, but...I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I guess I thought I would have been higher than that. But I guess it'll do."
Hestia looked a bit stressed, as if something was causing her pain.
"No, Percy," She said. "Rather, reaching level 3 without a god's Grace should be impossible. It might be the result of something else, like this strange skill Hope. It said it provides benefits, so maybe...but even then, this is too odd. Even if one of them is like that, two skills is..."
"Are skills rare, then?" I wondered.
"Very," She said, sighing again. "And I've never seen anything quite like either of these. Skills, at least, are something you can obtain without leveling up, but..."
She went silent for a moment, eyes focused on the page in her hands. After a moment, she started crying.
"What?" I said quickly, taken off-guard. "Lady Hestia, what's wrong?"
"Look at it!" She said. "Right after I gave someone my Grace, they earned a skill called Despair and it draws monsters to them...I really am a useless goddess!"
"Ah, that?" I realized before shaking my head quickly. To be honest, the skill worried me too, but more for the name then the effect. "No, no, don't worry about that Hestia, that's not your fault. You said that who gave it had no effect on a person's Grace, right? Besides which, I've always drawn monsters—and I'm used to handling it."
"Really?" She asked through the tears, looking at me in a mix of sadness and worry. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," I said. "I mean, my mom said that when I was a baby, a snake crept into my bed and tried to kill me, but I strangled it to death with my bare hands instead. I'll be fine!"
"I feel like I just heard something incredible, but..." Hestia closed her eyes. "Ooo, now my head hurts again..."
"I'm sorry," I apologized again, but was happy to note that she seemed less disappointed in herself. "But, if anything...Lady Hestia's probably the one who gave me Hope then, right?"
If not quite in the way I was implying. The name couldn't be a coincidence, could it? It must have been Elpis at work, doing...whatever it was going.
"Even if you say that..." Hestia began doubtfully.
"What about the magic?" I interrupted, nodding towards it. "Do all Adventurers have that?"
"Of course not," She answered. "Everyone has the potential, but actually learning Magic is very rare and it's an incredibly powerful ability. More than that, to learn three at once...even getting a single spell along with the Grace is fairly exceptional. Getting three is something ridiculous. And these names...you said your father was from the Poseidon Familia, but this..."
"Ah, those?" I asked, looking at the names of the spells again. "Well, it's hard to be certain but...those are probably things I already had? I usually think of something else when people talk about magic, but...I guess controlling water is pretty magical, huh?"
"You have Congenital Magic, too?" Hestia asked, turning toward me with wide eyes.
"I don't know what that means," I said. "As in, literally, I don't know what that word means."
"Congenital," She repeated. "It's something you inherited and have naturally, as opposed to Acquired Magic obtained from the Falna. Elves, for example, can learn magic even without a God's Grace, but...it's very rare for a human to do so, much less with three spells. In most cases, that's the maximum number of spell slots a person can have!"
"Ah," I mused before nodding. "Then it's probably because I'm a Demigod."
"...Eh!?"