Chaos Maker

Aphrodite finished assembling the tents and made her way to the campfire, where she found Grek sprawled out, fast asleep.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an arrow made of pure adamantine lying nearby. Its shaft bore an intricate, mysterious crest that seemed to pulse faintly with latent power.

"What's this, Grek?" Aphrodite asked curiously, glancing toward the wyvern.

Grek opened one eye lazily before closing it again, clearly uninterested.

"Never mind," Aphrodite muttered to herself.

She reached out to touch the arrow, her fingers brushing its cool surface. Suddenly, a hand clapped over hers, and a voice whispered from behind her, "Boo!"

"Eeek!" Aphrodite shrieked, her heart leaping into her throat. Instinctively, she spun around and punched the figure behind her, landing a solid hit on their abdomen.

"Ugh!" John groaned, dropping to his knees and clutching his stomach in pain.

When Aphrodite realized who it was, she crossed her arms and snorted. "That's what you get for startling me."

Still wincing, John waved a hand dismissively, his other hand pressed firmly against his abdomen.

"Stop teleporting out of nowhere!" Aphrodite huffed, puffing her cheeks in frustration. "You're going to give me a heart attack at this rate!"

John had been pulling this trick on her for days, always sneaking up behind her or suddenly appearing out of thin air to scare her. There had even been a time when she fainted from the shock.

"Alright, alright," John said, grinning despite his discomfort. "I promise I won't do it again."

Aphrodite snorted, clearly unconvinced.

Without further ado, John retrieved the deer's massive corpse from his shadow inventory. He began processing it with practiced efficiency, draining the blood, removing the organs, and tossing them to Grek, who eagerly devoured the offerings.

"No matter how many times I see it, your magic still amazes me," Aphrodite said, her eyes wide with wonder.

"It's just simple magic," John replied nonchalantly, his focus on the deer meat.

"If adventurers heard you say that, they'd riot," Aphrodite retorted. "Your magic surpasses even the God of Magic's spells, and you still call it simple?"

John shrugged, his tone indifferent. "To me, it is."

After preparing the meat, John chopped it into bite-sized cubes, skewered them onto wooden sticks, and seasoned them with spices from his shadow inventory. He handed the skewers to Aphrodite.

"Here, roast these on the fire," he instructed.

The two sat by the bonfire, the starry sky stretching endlessly above them. Grek lay nearby, finishing his meal.

"Aphrodite," John said between bites of roasted deer meat, "tell me about Orario. I'm curious about the city."

"Well," Aphrodite began, "Zeus and Hera Familia recently completed one of the three great quests by slaying the Behemoth."

She paused for effect before adding, "The three great quests are legendary tasks that haven't been completed in over a millennium."

John nodded thoughtfully, his mind comparing this to his knowledge of the anime. The timeline didn't match. In the show, Zeus and Hera Familia were long gone, and the Dark Age was well underway. But this wasn't surprising—he had long knew that this world operated differently from the anime's narrative, after all reality is changing constantly, and anything could happen.

"Who are the top Familias right now?" John asked.

"Zeus, Hera, Hephaestus, Loki, and Freya," Aphrodite replied. "Zeus Familia has the most high-level adventurers—fifteen Level 7s, ten Level 8s, and six Level 9s."

"Hera Familia boasts the only Level 10 adventurer in Orario and the most talented mortal in history."

"Loki Familia has three Level 8s, four Level 7s, seven Level 6s, and five hundred Level 5s. Freya Familia has one Level 9, three Level 8s, four Level 7s, and thousands of Level 5s."

"Hephaestus Familia, on the other hand, is the wealthiest and home to the world's greatest blacksmith—a Level 8 artisan."

John leaned back, processing the information. "What about the dungeon? How far has anyone explored?"

"The deepest anyone has reached is the 90th floor," Aphrodite answered. "Zeus and Hera Familia hold the record."

"What about Loki and Freya Familia?"

"Loki Familia reached the 72nd floor, while Freya Familia made it to the 80th."

John murmured to himself, "So no one's reached the 100th floor yet. What a pity."

"What did you say?" Aphrodite asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing," John replied quickly. "How's the political situation among the top Familias?"

"Hera and Zeus Familias are allied. On the other side, Loki, Freya, Hephaestus, Hestia, Astraea, and Artemis Familias have formed their own alliance. The two factions are constantly at odds," Aphrodite explained.

"Hera and Zeus control the city with an iron fist, doing whatever they please. Loki and Freya Familia act as a counterbalance, keeping their excesses in check."

"Are there nobles in the city?" John asked.

"Yes. They control about half of the city's economy," Aphrodite said.

She continued explaining the city's geopolitical landscape in detail, and John listened attentively, committing every detail to memory.

When dinner was over, they retreated to their tents for the night.

Aphrodite tried to follow John into his tent, but he blocked her with a barrier spell.

"Goodnight, Aphrodite," he said firmly, ignoring her protests.

Grumbling, Aphrodite stomped off to her tent.