Although Apollo was a sadistic god, he wasn't a fool.
Whatever Hestia opposed, he would naturally choose to agree with at this moment.
"I, for one, think we should let Hermes finish what he has to say," he said with a magnanimous air.
Seeing Apollo speak up, Hermes didn't hesitate. He immediately stated the latter half of his proposal, slightly modified: "I believe both sides should be allowed to invite one additional Familia to assist. Of course, since this is ultimately a dispute between the Hestia Familia and the Apollo Familia, the number of invited Familia members should be limited to five, and their Falna level cannot exceed that of the highest-leveled member in their respective Familias."
Originally, he had only intended to propose that each side could invite one Familia for help, with the number of helpers not exceeding five.
As for the level restriction, that was a last-minute addition after Hestia showed clear resistance.
Sure enough, the twin-tailed goddess exploded upon hearing the suggestion: "Hermes, what's the meaning of this? You know my side is at a disadvantage, yet you propose a plan that clearly favors Apollo?!"
Apollo, however, burst out laughing.
"Hestia, it seems you don't have as many friends as one might think." After saying this, he thumped his chest. "I agree to Hermes's additional proposal. The highest-leveled member on my side is my captain, Hyakinthos Clio, a Lv.3."
"As for your Levi Bright, Hestia, I'll be a little lenient and count him as a Lv.2."
Hestia gritted her teeth.
For a split second, she wanted to reveal her child's true level.
But she managed to hold it back.
One Apollo was nauseating enough.
Oh, and there was also Freya, watching like a hawk from the side.
If Levi were to be targeted by other gods looking for entertainment...
Although her lover's true strength would likely be exposed once the War Game started, it was always better to buy a little more time for him to develop.
"Since you've agreed to Hermes's proposal, then I'll set the time for the War Game," Hestia said decisively. "Two months from now."
Apollo refused without even a moment's thought: "I disagree."
Hestia shrugged. "In that case, I also disagree with Hermes's additional suggestion."
"I think..." Hermes opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to smooth things over again.
But he immediately received three death glares.
One, needless to say, came from Hestia. As for the other two...
'Hephaestus and Freya? What's with them?'
Hermes pulled down the brim of his hat, suddenly finding the situation difficult to read.
Apollo, despite his arrogant appearance, was a rather cautious god at his core: "A two-month preparation period is too long. Even one month is a bit much. The most I'll accept is half a month from now."
Hearing this, Hestia pursed her lips. "How about you deposit the 1 billion Valis with The Guild first."
She added with a light chuckle: "If you don't even have the stake money, I'm not playing with you."
"You!" Apollo's face twitched, but he quickly calmed down. "Then, whenever I have the money ready..."
Hestia cut him off forcefully: "It will be two weeks from the moment you deposit the 1 billion Valis with The Guild."
"...Fine!"
Apollo gritted his teeth but ultimately chose to nod in agreement.
None of the gods present were fools. Seeing this, they had all basically figured it out.
Hestia had, one hundred percent, concealed Levi Bright's true Falna level.
The only question was whether he had truly received his Falna long ago, as Apollo claimed.
Or perhaps...
"Hestia, you were reckless this time."
Inside the workshop, Hephaestus poked someone's head, her tone tinged with resignation.
"Levi's strength isn't bad, and he's already reached Lv.4, but he's hiding his level and he's all alone. Even if I were willing to lend you five Lv.2s and provide a sufficient supply of magic swords, there's no guarantee you can win the upcoming War Game."
Compared to Hephaestus, Hestia, who was at the center of it all, showed no sign of worry on her face.
Upon hearing this, she simply smiled and hugged the other goddess's waist. "Don't worry, my Levi is very strong."
"Never mind that Apollo's maxed-out force is just six Lv.3s; even if his captain suddenly leveled up to Lv.4 before the War Game, Levi's chances of winning are still one hundred percent, guaranteed!"
Seeing her so full of confidence, Hephaestus gradually began to understand.
"It seems Levi has mastered a new ability since leveling up?"
Hestia just smiled without answering.
And then, she was subjected to Hephaestus's tickle punishment: "You won't even tell me? You've gotten bold, Hestia."
"Hahaha~ Stop, I'll talk, hahaha~ I'll talk."
Since no one else was present, Hestia cleared her throat and slowly recounted the scene she had witnessed three mornings ago...
Meanwhile, on the 18th floor of the Dungeon.
Levi, who had been searching this safe floor repeatedly for three days, was underground and thus couldn't possibly know that his goddess, due to an old grudge, had already come into conflict with Apollo.
But even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared too much.
After his character panel's level increased to Lv.4, the dimensional gacha pool was also unlocked to the Lv.4 stage.
Among them, the permanent DanMachi gacha pool's new 6-star items included the 'Liaris Freese' skill book, which he had been eagerly anticipating for its charm resistance, as well as many other skills or magic with excellent bonuses or power, such as 'Avenger', 'Brilliant Red Bloom', and 'Dimension Breaker'.
However, after reading the skill's description, he temporarily gave up on the idea of pulling for it.
"[Liaris Freese · 6-Star (-)]"
"[Precocious, greatly accelerates status growth]"
"[Immunity to non-authority extreme Charm]"
"[Requires anchoring to a specific target (target must be stronger than self) to activate. If the aspiration is betrayed, or if the anchored target becomes weaker than the skill holder, the skill immediately deactivates.]"
"[Note: Gods with their divine power sealed are weaker than adventurers.]"
The only person Levi could be considered close to in the DanMachi world was currently Hestia.
As for other adventurers... could they, male or female, keep up with his pace and achieve long life?
With a pay-to-win system as his cheat, and with the gacha pools gradually unlocking, Levi no longer believed he would end his life as a short-lived mortal.
Therefore, from the very beginning, he had never considered forming a bond with an ordinary adventurer.
And the effect of Liaris Freese would require him to fall for another adventurer.
Moreover, although Levi considered himself a person of deep affection...
He was absolutely incapable of single-mindedly aspiring towards a specific target like the original protagonist, Bell.
Without 'Liaris Freese', the returns from the DanMachi gacha pool were undoubtedly greatly diminished.
While other skills could provide significant boosts, for Levi, who could already fight above his level, they might seem a bit lacking.
—A skill that could originally increase an ability score by 1000 points might only provide 500 or 250 points after one or two level conversions.
Unless he could learn several buff-type skills at once to induce a qualitative change through quantitative accumulation, it would be better to spend the same amount of Valis pulling from other gacha pools.
____
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