BobOfTheHedgeField
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Adventure Prep is an Adventure Itself
🕑 Added 2025-05-30 08:30:15 +0000 UTCI’d woken up fully recharged and ready for the day. Hestia was like a large sloth with the way she clung to me while asleep. I’d jumped out of bed and she let out a strangled noise as I threw my shirt on and softly shook her awake.
“Goddess! We have to go shopping!”
“A-are the stores even awake right now!?” I blinked. We were in the basement so I couldn’t see outside, but my internal clock always woke me up bright and early at 5:15 in the morning. I pondered it for a moment before giving her a shrug.
“Only one way to find out!” While the Goddess threw on her flip flops I eyed my progress with my system.
[Social Stats]
Knowledge: Oblivious
Guts: Staunch
Proficiency: Decent
Kindness: Inoffensive
Charm: Head Turning
[Confidants]
XIV Temperance - Rose Fannett
Rank 1: Preparation is Key - Increases Growth of Knowledge. Increases chances of recalling relevant information while in danger.
Rank 2: Reliable Service - Increases Drop Rates.
Rank 3: Quality Insurance - Wielded equipment becomes more durable during combat. This effect ends after combat is finished.
XIX Sun - Hestia
Rank 1: Resting by the Hearth - Increased recovery while resting in an allied location.
Rank 2: A Warm Embrace - Increases Fire Magic Affinity. The positive benefits of allied effects are increased on you.
Rank 3: Passion Behind my Eyes - Increased Sensory Perception. Effects increased with Emotional State.
Rank 4: Stoke the Embers - Grants basic Fire Magic.
Rank 5: Those Moments we Share - Increases Growth of All Social Stats.
Rank 6: Next to the Sacred Fires - Increases Fire Magic Affinity. Increases the strength of Rituals.
Normally in a Persona game you have to increase your Social Stats before you can rank up a Confidant. Furthermore you can only rank up a Confidant once per day, to a maximum of two Confidants per day.
I wasn’t playing by the rules and honestly that was alright. I was a shounen protagonist, we ate rules for breakfast and spat them out after realizing they tasted like crap! Speaking of which we should buy ourselves breakfast.
“Hestia, we should get some food at least. I’m sure some places are opening early!” She groaned at me with tired eyes before trying and failing to climb up the ladder. I threw her over my shoulder and she let out a funny noise as I climbed upwards.
Does this count as making the Sun rise?
I turned to the tiny Sun on my shoulder with an expression of faint concern.
“Hestia do you need to stay here and rest? I can go by myself-” She perked up as though finally registering what I’d said.
“No! I’d love to go get a meal with you Andrew!” Awesome! I threw her a smile as I plopped her down on the wooden floor and helped her balance herself.
“Alright then, let’s go on our first adventure together!” She blinked at that in confusion causing the wind in my sails to peter out for a brief moment and force me to explain.
“Well you can’t go on adventures in the Dungeon right? So this way we can still go on adventures together . . . You’re my treasured companion after all.” She blushed violently before giving me a hug.
“You really are amazing.” Aw she’s going to make me blush . . . alright I’m blushing! I’m weak to compliments!
Rank 7: Flames of Passion - Increases Endurance when Health is low. Effects increased with Emotional State.
A-another shounen type power up! I lifted the woman up in the air, my Sun rising to the Heaven’s as she’d granted me an amazing gift!
“You’re amazing as well Hestia!” She blushed and let out an eep as we stared at each other. After a moment I set her back down after her legs dangled helplessly in the air for a moment.
It would seem Hestia is weak to compliments as well!
Looking at the Rank seven I can already picture the scene in my head. Beaten but not broken, I fight in defense of my friends and it gives me the strength to keep going! Ah, that reminds me. I have Fire Magic now right?
If this is a Persona system then shouldn’t the chant be that? I’ll test it in the Dungeon, it's too risky in the middle of a populated city. You shouldn’t play with fire even though it's awesome! I learned that one the hard way.
My Uncle was pissed that I burned my leg that badly and got covered in some nasty second degree burns. I’d lucked out that none of the scarring was permanent. Though it was a powerful reminder that fire, while often seen as a flame of life that guided Humanity through the dark, it was also the same flames that could also be a destructive force.
“Alright Hestia, it’s time we go on our adventure!” I bolted out the door and she had to chase me outside causing me to slow down.
“Ah sorry about that, still getting used to my new speed.” I let out a small laugh and stopped for her.
Kindness: Inoffensive -> Considerate
I don’t feel any different. Weird! At least being kinder isn’t a bad thing. I’m sure a world like this could do with more kindness anyways. I gave a soft smile at the thought. Hestia and I were going to do a lot of good!
“You’re just so intense- In a good way!” I smiled at her words, she didn’t need the correction. I already got her meaning after all. I gave her a happy smile at the praise.
“Thank you! I love you too Hestia, you’re the Best!” Some might say that it's better to put up pretenses, to not tell someone how positively you feel about them in the name of being ‘awkward’ or ‘embarrassing’ but honestly that’s bullshit! People are more afraid of rejection than anything in those situations, not expressing your love for the people you care about is cowardice. Something you’ll only regret not doing, never something you’ll regret doing!
Express Love to those you Love. It’s really that simple.
She let out a squeak before I could have sworn I spotted steam going out of her ears, my eyes widened at her tomato face and I asked the most important question I could think of.
“Are you alright Goddess?” She gently sent a playful punch to my side causing me to chuckle and let out a slight breath of air.
“Let’s go . . . and I love you too . . .” I threw an arm around her shoulder as a smile bloomed on my face.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better Goddess!” She held me back for a moment before I paused at the sudden words in my eyes.
Rank 8: Eternal Flame - Increases Fire Magic Affinity. Effects increased with Emotional State.
ANOTHER SHOUNEN POWER!? Truly Hestia is Bestia! My inner fire rages thanks to the power of my friends! I will not be specifying that I only have two though. Though having strong bonds to only a few people isn’t bad.
We started moving and she was practically hanging off my arm with a happy smile and a hum dancing through the air as we moved. The sun had just peeked over the horizon at us and gave just enough light to move unimpeded through the mostly empty city of Orario.
Looking at it know I couldn’t help but appreciate its beauty.
“Isn’t this city beautiful?” She paused for a moment before poking me on the side with a pout. I smiled at her little gesture.
“Isn’t there something else more beautiful next to you?” I thumbed the hilt of my blade for a moment before turning to her. Ah, I suppose she is quite beautiful isn’t she? I hadn't really thought about it before to be honest.
“Ah you’re quite beautiful Hestia, but that's not exactly what I meant.” She threw me a soft glare before I explained myself.
“I meant how despite all the bad things that I’m sure happen in this city, hidden or otherwise. It still somehow finds a way to combat the Dungeon and the horrors it produces. It's a city where I’ve seen children smile, and I’ve seen people eat joyous meals. However I’ve also seen nefarious adventurers, and the people hurt by Orario.”
I took a deep breath as I turned towards Hestia. The fated question brewing just past my lips before it spilled onto her and the world like a hurricane.
“Yet, It still shines under the radiant Sun. Just like how you make me brighter Hestia. So I’ll ask you with the twin Sun’s as my witness, both you and the flaming orb behind me, Will you join me in fighting for a better Orario? An Orario where anyone can smile?”
There was a faint gust of wind, her hair blew from its presence and the light broke past me and shined on her face revealing illuminated eyes and her loving smile.
“If it's you, I believe you can do it! Didn’t I already say it though? I’ll support you until the very end, no matter what happens I’ll be yours, and you’ll be mine.”
Rank 9: Family by the Fire - Increased Parameters when fighting for Family. Effects increased with Emotional State.
A radiant smile bloomed upon my face at her words. I had to respond in kind, this Rank only proved she was one of my fated companions. One of the people who I could call Friend and face the world for. My Friends were my Family, and I’d hold that belief until the universe came to a close.
“You’ll always be my Goddess, and I’ll always be your loyal Friend!” For a moment she seemed to lose her balance and it was like an invisible force slammed into her causing her to fall to her knees.
“Hestia! Is everything alright!?” She seemed dejected as he was on her hands and knees on the cold cobble ground. She gave me a shaky smile with her eyes closed before shooting up and grabbing my hand.
This time it looked like she was taking the lead! She was yanking me along but I couldn’t help but smile at the gesture.
“Let’s go Andrew!” It was time for our first true adventure to begin! I was dragged along before she stopped with a sigh nearly causing me to bump into her back. She looked at me with a shy look for a moment before looking deep into my eyes. We stayed like that for a moment before she let out another airy sigh and put her hands on her hips.
“Geez, you really are dense!” My older cousin said the same thing whenever I interacted with the girl across the street, was I really that dense? I knew I had bad social skills but basically every older woman in my life has said that!
“Now come on Andrew, we have breakfast to eat!”
After about five minutes of searching we found a nice little family owned stall that sold kebabs. They were mostly vegetarian, but the pork on the skewer was quite nice as well. Didn’t Hestia have some connection to pigs or something? I think I read that somewhere once?
Either way Hestia seemed to like it and I paid the man 500 Vali’s for a bunch of them for us to snack on while we wandered around the City. Hestia had shown me all sorts of cool stuff, from the pharmacy her friend owns (which at Rose’s advice I would be returning to later), to her favorite Jagamarukun stall. The stall sold a type of deep fried potato that once I’d munched on a few I could understand why she liked them so much. We bought a basket of them for 700 Valis.
We were down to 29,800 Valis but it was well worth the expense! Good food is important for getting stronger! I should probably find a good place to get my vitamins and calories. Healthy eating was vital to maintaining a strong body and mind.
Eventually we went to the Tower of Babel and it was still quite early so there weren’t tons of Adventurers around. We’d made our way past the base floor and ascended upwards through the tower. It was full of tons of different shops, but everything here was stupidly expensive. The place had fifty floors in total, with all the floors past the twentieth being for gods and goddesses of great esteem to live.
The thing that surprised me the most was honestly the elevator we’d taken up and down. Wasn’t the type of thing I’d expected to find in a medieval setting but I certainly wasn’t complaining. It was mostly window shopping but after quite a bit of wandering around I found myself in a completely new area.
Everything here was dirt cheap! I started running around with the money bag clutched tight. I didn’t need some fancy magic sword or anything special, I just needed something solid.
“What are you doing Andrew?” I was lightly knocking on all of the different pieces of armor and testing the weight of the different bastard swords. The one provided by the guild was decent but all of this stuff wasn’t even as close to as good.
My combat style required me to be able to calculate every factor when fighting, so using a sword that was properly weighted was vitally important. A lot of this armor was also shoddy, and seemed to be beginner work at best.
I’d never gotten into blacksmithing myself, but with how many pieces of weapons and armor I’d wielded I could tell the good from the bad. My teacher said I was like a bloodhound when it came to this sort of thing.
“Testing to see what's worthy of our hard earned Vali’s Goddess!” Everything here was garbage, trash, shoddy work, and- Oh? Now this was interesting.
It was a dagger and I couldn’t help but smile as I weighed the thing in my hand. This was well made. The weight was proper, the sharpness was good, and the grip was excellent. A proper dagger. Glancing over the insignia on the knife my eyes narrowed as I read it aloud.
“Welf Crozzo . . .” Never heard of it! Though why would I have? I looked over the stuff this mysterious fellow had made but I just couldn’t find a bastard sword! I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh.
“Eh? Crozzo?” I perked up at her words.
“Are they important?” She gave a light shrug towards me with a sigh.
“All I’ve heard is that they used to be super famous because they used to be able to make magic swords. Now they can't, so they aren’t even close to as popular as they used to be.”
Well I didn’t care too much. I didn’t need a magic sword anyways as cool as it would be. This guy did good work and I wouldn’t discount him because of family legacy or whatever.
It was hard to find good stuff that was cheap! I’d gone through the selection and I was starting to get annoyed. I will definitely buy one of these knives for 4,200 Valis. Rose had recommended I get a backup weapon, so I would. But not finding a bastard sword was infuriating!
What is a swordsman without his Best Friend Sword! I’d approached the man at the counter and set the knife, and a replacement chest piece down.
“Alright that’ll come to a total of 14,600 Valis.” I’d paid him and Hestia looked at me in surprise.
“Y-you’re really spending that much on a knife and chest piece?” I gave a small shrug to the woman.
“They didn’t have a proper replacement sword so I’ll just have to get this one sharpened. Speaking of which, do you have any whetstones I can buy?” The man rolled a shoulder as he gestured to a shelf next to him.
“500 Valis per Whetstone.” I snagged two of them and paid the price necessary to get everything required. 14,700 Vali’s was our remainder and I smiled at my Goddess as we made our way out of the tower.
“You know how to sharpen a sword?” I nodded, I knew how to do it although it had been a while.
“Yep! Got lots of experience under my belt, Hestia!” She blushed at my words as we descended through the elevator. I looked over the whetstone as it was nothing crazy, but it was still certainly something I could work with.
We’d eventually gotten back to the church and I sat on the pew as I sharpened my weapon. Hestia had watched me work before eventually getting bored and snagging some of my Valis before running off to get a meal.
I eyed the sack and counted it up quickly to a total of 14,000. That was a pretty good amount of money since we didn’t pay rent or anything like that. This was an amount of money that could have us live comfortably for a few months.
But I wouldn’t be satisfied with that.
I wanted to help people. I wanted to fight monsters. I wanted to meet companions I’d never forget. That was why I walked the path I did, and that is why I held steel in my hands. It was my reason for fighting. It was my passion.
But I also wanted to enjoy the little things in life. I wanted to hang out with friends, go get fun meals, and meet new people.
Maybe I really was a Persona protagonist?
I lifted up the freshly sharpened blade with a smile. It wasn’t a masterwork, but it would do. I snacked on some of the Jagamarukun’s while I worked over the course of an hour to make sure everything was in order.
I had a feeling I’d be tackling the Dungeon tomorrow after buying some potions so it was important to rest up! Then Hestia bursts through the door with a basket of chicken and I couldn’t help but smile at the delectable smell and her joyous expression.
I really did love my Goddess!
AN: In order to reach Rank 10 in a Confidant, someone must come to a ‘Realization’ that helps them grow. Hestia acknowledges her Love for Andrew, but she is currently struggling with what type of love she feels for him. Familial? Romantic? She isn’t sure yet, and it's confusing the thousand year old virgin!
We get a chapter that alludes to another Confidant and also buy some gear. Overall a very mellow chapter in which we are focusing on little improvements to tackle the Dungeon in a manner that will result in maximum gains!
Feel free to leave comments or questions down below, I see them all and love reading them!
As always thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time!
Comments
HiCierra
Love how he has blitzed through the confidant ranks with Bestia :P
RandomAsian
Hestia hurt herself in her confusion! Cheers!
