Is It Wrong To Devour Monsters In The Dungeon - Chapter 11.1 (Patreon)

Hestia resisted the urge to rub her forehead and sigh.

The living space below the church was lit up with a soft blue glow as she sat straddling atop her first and so far only child's back while he lay on the bed.

There was a lot to unpack here.

While the story on his back and that written into the story from todays efforts flashed through her mind like a torrent, she was well capable of picking out the details if she focused.

She was a goddess after all, despite her less than stellar ability to support Caelan over the past week and a half since he joined her Familia.

It was just that, most deities tended to only want to pay attention to the fun and exciting adventures their children went through instead of the tedious grind they all went through.

Hestia liked to think she was a lot better than those idiots who only cared for entertainment and nothing more.

As such, she parsed through it all. From the moment Caelan left their home behind this morning, to his meeting with Lili, to his journey into the depths of the dungeon where he tore through legions upon legions of huge ant monsters larger than she was, to the return trip back to the surface and where he caught sight of the man named Canoe following Lili after he stored his 'armour away'.

Or to be more exact, shattered it into multiple pieces and sold it to the guild.

She could see it in her minds eye, as he crushed that chienthrope mans head beneath his foot and killed him.

Hestia grimaced. She logically understood it and she was no stranger to death, she'd saw many a mortal child die in the ages past, before the gods came down from Tenkai and blessed the children with the falna.

That did not at all make it easy for her to watch her precious Caelan, usually so sweet and kind, brutally murder another mortal without batting an eye.

Her eyes flickered to the small, tiny pallum girl sitting atop their couch,. her hands fisted awkwardly in the cloak she was wearing. and an uncomfortable look on her face.

She knew the gist of what was going on around her now from a brief explanation and what she saw here in the falna.

'I don't like it.' she sighed mentally. That did not mean she didn't understand though.

She couldn't feel Caelan's emotions within the story on his back, but she could see and hear what he did. And what he saw, was all the reason he needed.

Caelan was a sweet, lovely, giving, hard working boy. But at the same time he was also the ruthless boy who's first instinct was to tear out the throat of a goblin attacking him with his teeth.

There was a reason why he gained the skill Typhon after all.

Still…all that wasn't really important right now.

She was more taken aback by what she saw reflected in his status right now. This…was beyond her expectations.

And she'd been expecting some pretty wild increases.

'But this takes the cake…was last night really worth this…?' she mentally whimpered, cheeks blazing red, '…I suppose as a grand feat that the gods would recognise, accomplishing what they never could fits…'

It was embarrassing. Yet, it made her proud and all tingly inside at the same time.

Shaking her head, Hestia finished updating his falna and cut off the connection. And while she was at it, she remembered to do what she learned from Hephaestus earlier.

She locked his status so nobody could see it but her.

"That took a bit longer than usual." Caelan noted when she got off him and let him sit up.

"Yeah…well there was a lot go through with this update." Hestia laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head.

She handed the sheet of paper containing his updated status to him. He accepted it, looked down, eyes sweeping over the page.

He paused.

His eyes widened.

He gaped and his head whipped around to look at her, "…Are you serious?" he asked, utterly flabbergasted.

She could sympathize with that look. Because even as a goddess, in all her time alive, she'd rarely seen something as crazy as what was currently reflected back on that page.

Caelan Odhar

Level: 1(+)

Strength: SSS1387
Endurance: SSS1377
Dexterity: SSS1358
Agility: SSS1362
Magic: SSS1380

Skills

Typhon: Rising Monster King. The power to devour the magic stones of monsters, growing stronger from doing so and gaining the abilities of monsters. Evolving physiology towards pinnacle body. Enhanced teeth. Monstrous combat instinct and the power to break through all limits.

Vesta: Beloved Of The Divine Flame. Empowerment by the divine flame and the love of a once virgin goddess. Immunity to mental effects and the ability to enhance the physical abilities of the body through the power of flame. Passive and Active skill. Trigger Chant: Blaze.

Monster Abilities

Night Vision: The ability to see clearly even in total darkness.
Crystal Armour: The ability to generate crystal armour as over the body to enhance durability.
Enhanced Senses: Vastly enhanced eyesight, hearing and sense of smell.
Flame Breath: The ability to breath out a torrent of flame from the mouth.
Temperature Control: The ability to raise and lower the body’s temperature.
Flame Resistance: A resistance to heat and flame.
Magic Resistance: A resistance to effects of magical nature.
Whirlwind Sprint: The ability to enhance movement speed with magical energy.
Surface adherence: The ability to cling to solid surfaces with magical energy.
Shadow Conceal: The ability to sink into a shadow.
Tongue Extension: The ability to elongate the tongue.
Poison Powder: The ability to create poison powder from magic energy.
Poison Resistance: An innate resistance to poison.
Scent Alteration: The ability to alter the natural musk and scent.
Healing Powder: The ability to create a powder that heals the wounds of those they touch.
Light Beam: The ability to unleash beams of pure magical energy.
Charming Voice: The power to infuse magical power into the voice and hypnotise others.
Lifeblood: The holders blood contains immense healing properties.
Sonar Wave: The ability to emit sound waves and perceive them as sonar.

Magic

He'd gotten everything he wanted when he set out for the dungeon this morning as far as the monster abilities went, more even. And the stat increases he got were insane, blowing right past the usual max they could reach.

But even crazier than that….was not only had their escapades last night together resulted in him getting a skill and a powerful one at that by her reckoning…he'd also…

"This plus sign does it mean….I can level up….?" Caelan asked her, mouth hanging low.

"Eh?" Lili's head shot up at his words and the tiny cloaked girl went just as wide eyed as her first child.

"Yup." Hestia confirmed.

"Like right now, I can go up to level two even though I've not even been an adventurer for two weeks yet?" he asked for confirmation.

"You can," Hestia confirmed, holding her emotion back, "If you want, I can do it right now." she offered.

"…Not even two weeks….the previous record holder took an entire year." Lili mumbled in absolute shock. Her gaze looked almost blank, as if her brain just stopped working at what she heard.

Caelan stared at the sheet of paper in his hands for a moment, saying nothing at her offer, before promptly, grinning, "Nah, I think I'll hold off for now, I can still raise my stats higher." he denied her offer to level up.

"You don't want to level up?" Lili's eyes regained the light of a working brain and she practically shot to her feet, "But, you'd be beating out the Sword Princess's record fifty times over, you'd be making history!"

Such was the craziness of his words. Any other child would be in a rush to level up. Especially for that renown he'd gain.

"Sure, but my stat foundation is more important," Caelan shrugged off her words, "Besides, I'll still get all that fame even if I hold off for an extra week to raise my stats some more."

Lili bit her lip, "But…levelling up gives way more benefits than just increasing stats. If you level up now you'll practically increase in ability three times over, maybe more from what I've heard." she protested.

"She's not wrong," Hestia pointed out, if only to get him to consider his options, "If you level up right now, you'd probably be able to throw around an average level three."

While he'd be stronger in the long run from holding off, the instant increase of strength he could gain right here and now, would make him safer from anyone targeting him.

Levelling up right now, would make him untouchable to ninety percent of the Familia's in Orario that could make a claim for him.

"And if I hold off for another week, when I level up I'll probably be able to throw around a top tier level three," Caelan refuted with a laugh, "Here Lili, take a look, you'll understand why I'm holding off for a bit if you see my status." he stood up from the made and bed his way over to hand the sheet of paper over to Lilil.

"…Mr. Caelan, you shouldn't just go showing off your status willy nilly like that," the short pallum girl admonished him with a sigh, "People can use it against you."

"She's right you know." Hestia pointed out drily. What was the point of her locking his status if he was just going to show it off anyway?

Well, not that she tried to stop him anyway.

"It's fine, I trust you." he waved off their concerns.

'So much for not going after a harem.' Hestia rolled her eyes. He might not have been aware of it, but from seeing the Falna, she was privy to all the times he'd checked out Lili, staring at her chest and backside whenever she bent over in that robe today.

Well, the little speech he gave Lili to convince her was all but confirmation of that anyway, 'What was with that anyway, so corny and dramatic!' she muffled a snort.

Lili stared at Caelan for a few moments, taking in his words, before she seemingly sighed in defeat and looked down at the status sheet he'd handed her.

"………EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?" she screamed, eyes flying wide open with shock that blew her earlier shock out of the water.

See now that was the typical reaction she was expecting to anyone seeing Caelan's status.

It was mind boggling after all, be literally broke the scales.

"What's wrong?" Caelan asked the prum girl.

"What do you mean what's wrong Mr. Caelan? This is insane!" the girl, who until a moment ago was quiet and demure exploded, "You called me special earlier, but the difference between my status and this is like the difference between a goblin and…and a Goliath or something!"

"I am pretty amazing," he agreed, "And you are special. I'm just the best and the one who's gonna be the strongest. My skill is a cheat like that."

The wind was taken directly from Lili's sails at his words and the girl sighed, collapsing on her backside, "…No wonder you aren't afraid of the Soma Familia at all," the prum girl mused aloud, "Looking at this, Lili can't understand why you'd want her at all. Once your name gets out, everyone will be trying to get an in with you."

Hestia winced lightly at the broken tone the girls voice took on. Not that she didn't understand. If she had to make a comparison, it would be like comparing the state of her Familia before Caelan joined…to…as much as she loathed to admit it, Loki's Familia.

Caelan wasn't normal, and he couldn't at all be compared to prum girl who was at the bottom of a low level Familia.

She could scarcely imagine the crushing despair that the young prum felt. And the defeated, dismayed look in her eyes explained it all for anyone to see if they cared to look.

"Because I want you, as simple as that." Caelan replied crouching down to pat her on the head, making her blink. It was quite amazing to see the dark look in her eyes be cleared with a simple statement of less than ten words.

It was such a greedy and arrogant statement too.

But it worked.

'Still corny though.' she snorted. She bet he thought he sounded cool when he made his little speech to her earlier. He'd probably relish in some of those cringy nicknames that got awarded to others when they levelled up by the gods.

She could just seeing him proudly introducing himself as the 'Galaxy Greed Fist' or something.

'I must never allow this to happen.' Hestia's eyes widened at the thought. Never, she could never let he precious Caelan get saddled with such a stupid nickname!

"Alright, enough of this heavy stuff!" Hestia declared, putting a stop to the dramatic tension in the room, "I was promised a massage, and by Loki's flat itty bitty chest I'll get one!"