[DanMachi/Percy Jackson] Prytaneum

Chapter 7: Reading Light

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?"