Book 2. Chapter 8: Hestia's Task

Book 2. Chapter 8: Hestia's Task

Jake first confirmed that this task wouldnt result in an actual visit, before he and Fhesiah joined Ophelia and Berri in the Shrine of Hestia located in their [Refuge]. They were in more or less casual clothes, as accepting this task did not require any decorum, when accessing the shrine within their own home, anyway.

Ophelia prayed and triggered acknowledging the task. The statue was then surrounded with a small shroud of white energy, and they heard the voice of the goddess Hestia.

Greetings, Jake and Family. I see that you finally got to enjoy some time off from the dungeon, but you did not dally for long. You are proving that my choice in making you Champion was a good one, though your impact in this world could have been much greater. It may have been for the best with your goal being to leave, but any action can have consequences.

In this case, the outsiders noticed your presence, but the guilds and people of this world did not. You currently have a vengeful god wanting your deaths, and so they have spawned a rare challenge, meant only for Champions at this Tier. They were only able to spawn the challenge due to your presence, and leaving it unchecked could greatly harm the progress of the war for the defenders.

Jake had read the book on champions, and had learned that such challenges were quite rare. It was made to sound as though they nearly never happened, especially at this tier, so he had mostly ignored it. Besides, he was just on a shopping trip, in and out. What could possibly go wrong?

If the statues features could move, it would now be smiling as he heard Hestias voice, Right, what could go wrong? In this case, its a [Fortress Assault]. A common event for Tier 2 and Tier 3 contested worlds, it is not much different from a difficult Rift inside of a defensible location. Luckily, being that this challenge was effectively made for you, it can only be within 3 levels of the Champions party. It has been locked in at Level 15, with the timer begun. There is approximately 1 month remaining before this challenge will be considered won by the Outsiders.

Jake gave a sigh of relief at that. If the challenge was at level 25, his party would have had nearly no chance at all. Is this challenge just for us? A fortress sounds like a massive undertaking for such a small party.

Hestia giggled, Of course not. There will be hordes of hundreds, perhaps thousands of enemies on the outside. Aside from the Champions party, those that can participate on the outside within its area are within 3 levels of the challenge itself. Champions are meant to lead, to be agents for Gods and Goddesses will. It only makes sense that an event involving a Champion would require you to lead. You will find this to be the case for most things, except for your [Trials]. You will need to gather a battlegroup of your own of a maximum of 40 Adventurers to break through and enter the final challenge.

Once the Fortress has been entered, it will just be a challenge for your group. You will need a fifth member, as the challenge is balanced for a full party. Odin had a small piece of advice. He said that blood might

Jake felt that a strange force surrounded their shrine, and guessed that it was [The Framework] preventing her or otherwise reminding her of the costs of gods interfering in the great game. Blood might? Blood might what? Fhesiah and Ophelia were quite confused, but Berri perked up at the words, and looked quite thoughtful.

Hestia continued, but she was upbeat and happy rather than worried. Well, Im sure itll be fine. Once this task is completed, you can make a choice. You can continue and try to get #1 contribution: this event is enough that if you fight hard and go for it once completed, you may achieve it.

She let that sink into Jake and his partys minds, as Jake realized she might be right. If this Fortress Assault was anything like his Trial, he might push the conquest bar 10% or more in this one action, having 40 people involved. He could then use the fame and knowledge of his success to form a guild of his own, and push them to complete rifts and otherwise clear the world of the outsiders, adding to his personal contribution, locking in his selection to become the planetary ruler.

Hestia continued, Or you can head to a planet that actually needs your help and make a difference. A fringe world recently became contested, and I think you will find this world very interesting, based on your familys desires.

Jake nodded, and he looked over the girls to see if they had any reactions to the proceedings. Fhesiah and Ophelia looked thoughtful, but Berri looked like she was at the very limits of her attention, glancing and looking all over the room for anything to interest her.

Hestia laughed at Berris childishness, The business regarding the task is concluded for now. Berri, Im so glad that youre doing well. Jakes family is treating you well, arent they?

Berri gave a wide smile that reached her eyes, and she said Yes! They are treating me well, and Fhesiah said if I was good, I could eventually make babies with Jake! Im doing my best!

Jake just glared at the demoness. Just what was she telling her? She just covered her face with her fan which she had drawn from her storage bracelet at some point, ignoring Jakes glaring.

Hestia laughed again, and said Thats great, isnt it? Becoming a mother will change you. With every action, no matter how big or small, you begin to care not only about how that action can affect yourself, but how it may also affect your child. I hope that one day, you think and care a bit more about how those same actions may affect others.

And Jake, didnt you have quite the rude thought before? Ill have you know the [Mace of Hestia] is quite the mainstay for many clerics and priestesses. That Berri circumvents convention and turns it into something so destructive is a positive thing. Those that stand against family deserve to be destroyed with an atomic bomb of Hestia, if such a thing was available. I will always use the right tool for the job, and sometimes the right tool is a massive mace wielded by a giant snake woman. Got it?

With that, I bid you farewell. I know if you do as you always do, you will be victorious, Jake and Family.

The holy aura left the statue, leaving Jake with his embarrassment. Jake had previously wondered if his thought was heard and hoped it wasnt, but he supposed he had that coming to him. The demoness snickered, while both the valkyrie and lamia had confused looks on their faces. They left the shrine to gather in their living room.

They discussed the topic of whether they were all-in on this world, or if they would plan to assist the other as soon as their [Fortress Assault] was completed. Fhesiah and Ophelia were both going for the other world, and Berri didnt have a preference. Jake was for going where they were needed, so it was unanimous.

Plus, the words the goddess had said: I think you will find this world very interesting, based on your familys desires, Jake hoped she wasnt talking about just Fhesiahs desires, her priorities crooked, but his. It was clear there was plenty of glory to be had wherever they went for Ophelia, so the residents of this world perhaps having the unique energy type and meshing well with his family was of course the most important to him, as he had just thought about this before.

Jake and family came up with a plan for the [Fortress Assault]. They would plan on assaulting before the end of two weeks. They would once again train, and hope or shoot for reaching as close to level fifteen as possible, the challenge level range already locked in. They would mix incursions with rifts, and even participate in higher ones, as they had the opportunity for more CP and experience for increasing levels.

Jake hoped that more of them could obtain [Technique]s as well, as this was the biggest force multiplier available to them at this time. They also confirmed to the Goddess that they would strive to head to the other world, as soon as possible.

Of course, these were far from the only progression methods available to them. They each had their crafts, magics, skills, equipment, and consumables to work on. They also had to work on forming a [Battlegroup] with people of a maximum level of level 18, and find a fifth party member. Jake was most worried about the last detail, as finding someone that was level 15 and at the caliber of being any help against an enemy champion seemed questionable, based on what hed seen.