[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 44: Simmer Part 2

"How much has Hestia already told you?" She asked as she saw my expression fall. "About what to expect?"

"If the gods found out about me?" I asked, to which she nodded. "A little. We didn't talk about it too much, because we focused more on it not happening than anything else. But I got the feeling it'd be bad."

She hummed to herself, eying me still.

"Most likely," She replied. "Though perhaps not in the ways you imagined. The danger will, of course, be the attention you draw from others. Becoming a Level 2 in less than a month is an absurd feat by anyone's standard. Defeating a Floor Boos in that time frame, even more so."

"She's right, Mr. Percy," Lili murmured, catching my eyes as I looked towards her. "Before you, Mrs. Wallenstien set the record for the short time to a Level Up at one year and was considered beyond exceptional for it. To have done the same in less than a twelfth of the time is...absurd. You're the new Record Holder, Mr. Percy."

"Indeed," Hephaestus said, nodding. "It's unprecedented, even in the thousand years the gods have come down to this world, as is the method you used to obtain it. As a Level 1, defeating a monster just one level higher than you should be nearly impossible, but even a normal Goliath is at least Level 4. The gap you overcame to hold back that monster, for as long as you did, and survive...it's not an accomplishment that anyone can dismiss or ignore. It's a legendary feat even by the standards of first class adventurers."

She was praising me, but all it did was make me feel uncomfortable, and not just because she was very matter-of-fact about it. I mean, I understood what she was saying and under normal circumstances, that might have been true—but it was something I'd only been able to do for a bunch of different reasons. The way she said it made it sound like I'd done something more impressive than any other Level 1, who fought monsters far beyond them and adventured further and further into the Dungeon. And maybe it was, objectively; a Goliath instead of Hellhounds or Minotaurs. But on the other hand, I wasn't exactly a regular adventurer, either. Even the fact that I'd leveled up was just...

"I'm not exactly a normal guy, though," I said, scratching my head and feeling embarrassed. "And even I wouldn't have been able to do anything if there hadn't happened to be a lake on the eighteenth. Even with one, I was losing until Hestia showed up and without the shield you made, I'm not sure I'd have been able to hold that thing off until Welf killed it—and if he hadn't been there, I'm not sure I'd have been able to win in the first place. The fact that I Leveled Up was just luck."

"...In other words, you 'just' used Magic?" Hephaestus asked, shaking her head. "You 'just' had good friends, you 'just' had help, and you were 'just' fortunate enough to fight on a favorable battlefield. You're 'just' lucky to not be a normal human, 'just' stronger than everyone else."

"...Pretty much."

"Perhaps you believe that," Hephaestus continued. "And I'm certain that many children will come up with their own explanations for it, to make it sound less absurd. But the Falna won't be deceived by simple descriptions like that—if it had not be exceptional, if it had not pushed you to your limits and beyond, had it not been a true challenge for you and your abilities, you would not have leveled up; it's as simple as that. It's undeniable that fortune and your personal power played a part, as it does with every adventurer, but that makes it no less impressive for you to have risen this quickly or accomplished enough to Level Up, and every god will recognize that."

I wasn't sure if I agreed with that, but her tone brooked no arguments and it wasn't really the point anyway.

"And...I don't suppose there's any way to avoid that attention, is there?" I asked.

"Under the circumstances, it's unlikely," She replied. "For the sake of fairness, all the gods were notified of the temporary allowances being made, as well as the terms. While it's possible that some gods chose not to view the battle for whatever reason, at least ninety-five percent must have seen it. If they hadn't we may have been able to hide details, change the story, and perhaps shift the credit—but that's not a possibility now. Ideally, it might have been preferable to announce Welf's Level Up first, and then announce yours sometime later, leaving the implication that the magic sword was responsible for most of what happened, but a sizeable majority already knows what happened so such a thing would merely be seen through. If anything, attempting to hide your Level now would simply backfire, as other gods would simply demand verification from the Guild, and possibly explanation. In fact, it may be better that you Leveled Up."

I frowned slightly at that.

"Why?" I asked. "Beyond the obvious, I mean."

"You've already noticed, haven't you?" Hephaestus asked, nodding towards the paper in my hand. "What happens when your Level rises. If the Falna is a person's story, you can think of each Level as a different page, chapter, or book. When you Level Up, all your Abilities are 'overwritten,' existing only as an invisible base beneath your current Status; they exist, but they cannot be seen by conventional means, whether by children or by the gods."

The look she gave me was meaningful, though I didn't understand that meaning. I hadn't seen my Status after Hestia updated it, but I assumed she must have seen something, just like I'd caught a glimpse of Welf's Status.

"What's that mean?" I asked, leaving the question open-ended to see how she'd answer.

"A great deal," She answered, shrugging her shoulder. I found I had no idea what that meant. Was this another implication or just what it seemed? Either way, it was a pain in the ass. "Your Status rises upon Leveling Up, even beyond that of your previous Status—broadly speaking, you can consider it to improve relative to the rank of your previous Abilities, growing more for those of a higher rank. Perhaps more importantly, because your Status was 'reset', you should have an easier time making improvements, as if you were back at those lower ranks...assuming you still fight worthy opponents, of course. And, of course, you'll have the option of choosing a Developmental Ability later."

Not really what I'd been asking, but good to know besides. I decided to take that as an attempt at evasion and just ask Hestia about the details later. Maybe she could explain the other changes in my Status, too.

"So if someone sees my Status, they won't see the stuff that's hidden," I said. "They'll just see everything else. I'm...not sure that really helps in my case."

"Perhaps not," She admitted. "And Hestia's now hidden it, regardless. But every bit helps in this case—and what is show would meet their expectations, if it somehow was revealed. The natural assumption of any gods that saw your fight, after the discard the idea that you've been hiding your Level, would be that you have a Rare Skill or some other extraordinary abilities."

"Which I do," I said, because I was pretty sure she already knew. And, indeed, she reacted without the slightest surprise.

"Yes," She answered. "But better they focus on that then other things, no? Now that any attempts to avoid attention have been rendered null and void, misdirecting and misrepresenting it might be your best options."

I bobbed my head to the side at that, conceding the point.

"But the gods can't do anything, can they?" I asked. "Officially, I mean."

"Officially, no." She replied. "But if the gods followed every rule, we'd still be in Heaven. Generally speaking, most gods will do what they can get away with, regardless of whether it's legal or not. For the rules that bind our power in this world, that's very little. When it's instead a matter of mortal law..."

"It's only a crime if you get caught," I guessed. "Is that it?"

"Assuming that those who catch you can do anything to stop you," Miach reminded gently, moving to the potion he'd mixed. Though it had started as a light brown liquid, something like a skin had formed on the top and Miach cut away sheets of it carefully, moving them over to Welf.

"Right," I said. "And if neither of those things happens..."

"Zanis," Lili murmured. "He used Soma to gather followers and make the Familia grow."

"Or they could try to bribe you," Welf said, wincing slightly as Miach covered the skins with the now yellow fluid and stretched them over his arm. "Or use threats and pressure you, put you in danger, disrupt business...it all depends on the God and their resources. And worst case scenario, they could do something big, like try to kidnap you or try and force Hestia to trade you away. Depending on their adventurers and such, maybe more."

"Ishtar has been known to use her Charm to control her Familia," Miach said again, making something of a face. "While officially, it's just a matter of Familia business, most of her Familia members are female and most of them work in the red light district. No one has ever seemed willing to examine the implications of that too deeply, because Ishtar's Familia is very powerful in its own right, but...I once attempted to help a woman leave that Familia, until she abruptly changed her mind and decided to stay."

I rocked back slightly at that, because holy shit. That was...if someone was actually doing something like that...

"Percy, tell me," Hephaestus interrupted my thoughts as I began to grow angry. "If it came to a fight, how powerful would you say you are?"

"Huh?" I replied, startled by the question as well as by being forced to switch gears.

"Compared to other adventurers," She clarified, seeing my look. "You were far stronger than a Level 1, but how much so?"

I thought about that for a moment. It wasn't an easy question to answer, because fights weren't just a matter of Levels and numbers, especially not for me. It depended on the time, the place, the situation, the opponent, and more. Frankly...

"It's hard to say," I told her at last. "Fighting people isn't the same as fighting monsters. Plus, the only adventurer I've ever really fought was Zanis and even that wasn't just a battle between us, what with the magic sword and stuff. It would depend on a lot of things, like how much water was nearby, how far things went, how skilled they were, and stuff like that. But as I am now...I don't know. From what I've seen, I'm about on par with a Level 3, I guess? I know I can beat anything up to the eighteen floor on my own, but I'm still not sure if I could have stopped that plant monster by myself. Of course, if I'm close enough to water, things might be different. If I had a river or a lake—or a sea—right there, then maybe. But assuming that's not the case, Level 3 sounds about right, more or less."

"Do you think you could have defeated that Goliath alone?" She asked. "With the lake nearby?"

I frowned, considering it.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Before, no. Now? Maybe, if everything went perfectly—but I'd need to do it perfectly, to wear it down. If I managed to exhaust its regeneration, I might have a chance, but that assumes it doesn't crush me first and that I don't make a mistake. If I had a few hours and enough supplies and could wear it down with risk, I might have been able to win. It'd be tough, though, and I'm not sure if it's a great comparison to other adventurers. The Goliath was a big target and it had some pretty predictable attacks that it telegraphed, so for a while there, I was mostly able to predict and avoid it. Against an opponent that had more options or was better at hiding them or was smart enough to break my flow, I probably wouldn't have done as well, even if they couldn't just punch me to the moon and recover from anything I did. I could hit it pretty much any time I wanted and it had a real hard time touching me. And like I said, I'm still not sure I could have won. Of course, if I fight something that can't breathe in water or live without breathing, that's different to. So I don't know."

"Then let's say you're a match for a Level 3 adventurer—Level 4, in special cases," Hephaestus said, nodding slowly. "That's...certainly impressive. However, at the same time, it means there are still a number of adventurers that are significantly above you and a number of Familia who, as a whole, have more than enough strength to oppose you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"That I should be careful, right?"

"Yes," She said. "And you can start by playing things safe for the time being. How many people already knew about your true nature?"

"The people in here, plus my advisor," I answered quickly. "Though I guess some god might have a few ideas now."

She pondered that for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Be careful who else you tell," She said. "You should speak to your advisor as soon as possible and inform her of what's happened before anything goes awry. You'll also want to speak to her about your Level, too. Other than that, try to stay out of trouble. Soon, another Meeting of the Gods will no doubt be called, to discuss recent events and Level Ups. Hestia and I will do what we can, but try to lay low until then."

"Stay out of trouble," I repeated before looking down and sighing heavily. "I'll just, uh...yeah. I'll try."