Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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"Say, aren't you three specialists in forging greatswords?"

Lili walked over, ticking items off her list while listening to the Goibniu Familia members talk. When she looked up, she recognized them right away.

"Don't you have your own special materials? Given the current market, I imagine you've gathered quite a stash recently."

Lili knew they had plenty of supplies. When she reached Level 2, she spent a lot of Valis on custom gear from the Goibniu Familia and remembered these three blacksmiths well. Their warehouse had been packed with top-quality loot lately.

A dwarven smith chuckled, stroking his beard as he caught her drift.

"Captain August has been so active lately. His stunts have lit a fire under every Adventurer in the Dungeon. Everyone's expectations for exploring the labyrinth have skyrocketed..."

"..." The dwarf glanced at August.

In just a short time in Orario, August had raised the city's competitive spirit to a whole new level.

His perfect combat record, fighting thousands of monsters without fear, bringing back piles of magic stones worth millions, and returning the 17th Floor Boss Goliath's core in one piece had fired up every Adventurer.

Seeing him bring in so much loot made everyone else eager to hunt more monsters.

"...With so many requests, our forge is packed with custom orders. Our Familia can handle it and our warehouse is full, but Adventurers are rushing into the Dungeon like they're on fire. We've had to work double shifts just to keep up."

The dwarf crossed his arms, feeling both happy and tired. Business was great, but his arms were sore from hammering steel all day.

The other smiths nodded, clearly worn out.

"And even though the Loki Familia's expedition got delayed, we still have to deliver our best work for them. We can't hand them garbage. That would be a disrespect to an Adventurer's life."

The smiths joined in the conversation.

Everyone in the city was watching August. He had his share of critics, but his honest and direct style had earned the craftsmen's respect.

Just then, Goibniu and Hestia stepped into the main hall.

"Lord Goibniu!"

When their Patron God came out of the room with Apollo's statues, the smiths stood up straight. Their God had just finished a big business deal with Hestia.

"Yeah, this is going to be a massive project," Goibniu said, unrolling a brand-new set of blueprints. "Right, you lot. Go clear out those Apollo statues. Prep them for demolition."

Best to haul the most obnoxious garbage out of the way first.

"Yes, sir!"

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The smiths marched into the room. As soon as they stepped inside, they pulled back in shock, feeling like they had walked into a nightmare.

"Ughh!"

They stared at a room packed wall-to-wall with Apollo statues.

"Who carved all these?"

"Why are there so many??"

"Wait, every single one is signed by a different sculptor!"

The Goibniu members turned pale. It wasn't blood or violence that scared them, but the overwhelming display of ego... They couldn't believe a God could be so vain.

Goibniu stepped up behind his horrified children and offered zero sympathy.

"Haul them outside and smash them to pieces. These were commissioned from sculpting Familias across Orario—they all have the artisans' signatures on the base. Hestia doesn't want them. If the stone is salvageable, break it down and recycle the material to fill the essential gaps in the renovation."

"Yes!"

When they heard they could destroy the flashy statues, the smiths almost cheered. They were eager to break the ugly monuments into pieces.

Somewhere else in the mansion, Yui, Ui, and Nodoka came out of a hallway together. They had been choosing their future rooms since this would be the Hestia Familia's new home, and they wanted to get things settled early.

"Let's go. Leave the rest to the Goibniu Familia. They're professionals," Hestia said, rounding up the girls. "They'll have the renovations done in a few days. In the meantime, we need to go rendezvous with Artemis."

Artemis was already leading her Familia back toward the old church headquarters. It was time to finalize the operational plans.

"OKAY!" Yui cheered.

Thinking about her huge future bedroom in the fancy mansion and all the custom requests she could make made her excited. The girls celebrated as they left through the front gates.

Hestia, August, and the rest of the team left the Apollo estate to Goibniu and walked back to their old church ruins. The walk was short, and they got there quickly.

Inside the grounds, they saw the Xenos meditating and practicing their breathing. They had kept up with their training.

"You're back." Lyd and Ray hurried over to greet them.

"Congratulations on your victory," Ray said warmly.

The Siren flew over to August and gently placed a hand-woven flower crown on his head, made from plants around the ruins. It was a special way the Xenos showed respect and celebrated.

Even though everyone was celebrating, Fear the Harpy landed nearby and glanced between Hestia and August.

"Those Gods have been waiting inside for a while. They look a little mad," she whispered, pointing a feathered wing toward the interior of the church.

"How long have they been here?" Hestia asked.

"Three hours. They showed up right after your battle ended and have been sitting in there ever since," Fear reported.

Gros stood nearby, crossing his arms and scoffing. He only had cold looks for the surface Gods. If there weren't outsiders around, he would have liked to give August a real victory party.

Hestia knew exactly who had come knocking.

"HEY EVERYONE!"

Stepping into the ruined church, she found Miach, Demeter, Takemikazuchi, Hephaestus, Hermes, and Loki all sitting around.

"Good evening!" Hestia laughed awkwardly.

"Good evening my ass!"

Loki walked straight up and grabbed Hestia by the collar of her casual clothes.

"YOU SHRIMP! You get your hands on a big adventure like this, and you don't even invite me?? Do you even consider us friends??"

Hestia's decision to keep the interdimensional trip a secret felt like a personal betrayal.

"Tch... You wouldn't be any help even if you came," Hestia shot back, swatting Loki's hands away. "If you came along, you'd just be a massive liability! Without a reliable God to keep you in check, who knows what kind of disaster you'd trigger over there. You and Hermes are exactly the same. YOU'RE BOTH DEAD WEIGHT!"

She shut down Loki's complaints without mercy.

There was no way she would let the Trickster Goddess join—no matter how much she begged. Loki thrived on chaos, and bringing her to a dangerous new world would only put the whole Familia at risk.

"..." Hermes, quietly eating melons, clutched his chest as the comment wounded his pride.

'Dead weight?' Both Hermes and Loki were sure of their skills—especially when it came to running away. When it came to real fighting, though, neither of them would risk their divine lives in a strange world just out of curiosity.

"Hey, hey, hey! You two can argue all you want, but don't drag me into the crossfire!" Hermes raised his hands in surrender. He was just here for the gossip.

Loki rolled her eyes at him, then looked back at Hestia and finally at August. She could tell Hestia wasn't acting alone.

"Speaking of which, since Apollo walked right into your trap... I don't know whether to call him lucky or cursed," Loki said, crossing her arms.

Hestia and Artemis had clearly decided to escort August to the other world together, and both were ready to risk everything for the mission. If things went wrong, they were prepared to use a last-resort tactic to help everyone escape.

Thanks to Apollo's arrogance, Hestia had also taken his Familia's fortune and the Bow of Apollo, giving them a huge boost in defense.

"Call me lucky," Hestia grinned, jabbing a thumb at herself.

She honestly hadn't expected Apollo to challenge her right now. Before, she would have panicked, but now it just felt like a lucky break.

"Hestia. How could you not discuss something this important with me?" Hephaestus glared at her old friend.

"You announced this out in the open. Do you realize how much trouble you've caused?"

Hephaestus already knew about the dimensional travel, but she hadn't expected Hestia to tell the whole pantheon every detail. Now, countless Gods were watching August.

Then again, by openly bringing Artemis, Hestia had set a precedent: the expedition had powerhouses.

Hephaestus gave her a subtle look. Hestia understood right away and put on a serious face.

"I had no choice. It was a sudden development. Crossing into that world involves randomized teleportation with no fixed spawn points, so it requires flawless coordination. Artemis and I go way back, from our days in Heaven. We trust each other completely. If I went alone, I might not make it back. Artemis's plan is simple: in a critical emergency, she detonates her divine weapon to buy us the time we need to escape back to Orario."

Back in Heaven, Hestia's closest friend after Artemis, the Moon Goddess, had been Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Hephaestus and the others became close later. Now the Gods saw why Artemis was chosen. Her willingness to risk everything to protect the group was something the others couldn't match.

"A Call of the World isn't an everyday occurrence. If you mess up—you could really fall over there," Loki said, dropping her usual goofy grin.

She sat down and shared her real concern. A Call of the World was like a planetary distress signal. If the world itself was calling for August, the danger there must be catastrophic.

"We Gods usually just set up controlled trials and let the children of the Lower World sprint through our scripted scenarios. But an alternate world is different," Demeter chimed in.

"Just think about the implications. If that world is reaching out to summon August, it desperately needs a savior. The threat over there must be a world-ending crisis," Miach added.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." Hestia waved a hand, smiling. She had a solid grasp of the situation and wasn't afraid.

"I hope so. For the record, when you launch your expedition to this new world, the rest of Orario won't interfere," Loki announced.

Loki's words were an official promise: while the Hestia Familia got ready for their journey, the main groups in Orario would keep the peace. Expeditions were sacred to each Familia, and crossing worlds was like a much bigger Dungeon dive.

There was no set structure like the Labyrinth, but no God wanted to risk their children's lives by attacking another Familia before a world-ending mission.

It was an unspoken truce. Anyone who broke it could start a war with the whole city.

"Oh. Thanks," Hestia nodded, appreciating the political cover.

Having delivered her message, Loki turned her attention back to August.

The more Loki watched him, the more she liked him. August kept getting more impressive, and now he had triggered a Call of the World. He wasn't just a hero shaped by the Gods' trials—he was chosen by the universe itself.

One path was planned, the other was wild and unpredictable.

"Kid, if you ever feel like jumping ship, the doors of the Loki Familia are always open to you," Loki grinned, unabashedly trying to poach him.

"..." August's mouth twitched.

"If I joined the Loki Familia, I'd probably drag your entire faction down a path of mutual annihilation," he retorted dryly.

Because of his zero-tolerance for Evilus, the remaining dark factions would go all out against the Loki Familia if they accepted him. He was like a walking ticking bomb.

"Don't be so dramatic! My children are tougher than that!" Loki laughed it off.

She knew August was right. If she took him in, the dark factions would lose control. With his violent record from the past few weeks, the Evilus remnants would rather destroy all of Orario than let him join a strong group like the Loki Familia.

Loki understood the messy politics perfectly. She was just talking for fun.

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