We spent the next days and weeks incorporating Hephaestus into our daily grind. We literally had a deadline to meet with Hyperion, which meant that we needed to get our next level as fast as possible. This translated to twelve hours of straight XPing each day, minimum.

It turned out that the god of the forge wasn't just good at striking metal on an anvil but also smashing the heads of monsters with his war hammer--the one that he found to his liking in our warehouse. It took us around a week to get him used to our unorthodox way of gathering multiple monsters and killing them all at once, but he finally became a useful addition to our party.

Having a five-member party further increased the XP bonus we got and the monsters began dying even faster. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time left for anything after XPing each day, though it wasn't too bad for me since we had quite a few days before the guild would be upgraded anyway.

I still felt bad for Hephaestus though. He was forced to get acquainted with us and the city after being completely drained of his energy in training every day. On the seventh day after our return, I took him with me to show him the latest and last upgrade of our city before we gained another level.

I barely recognized the colossal structures that the storage facilities had now become. They hadn't grown in height, but looked impossibly long and their walls were thick enough to serve as shelter in case of an attack.

* * *

Name: Storage Facility #1

Level: 5

Stored Resources: 56,887/10,000,000

Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6

Level-Up Cost: 96,000x Lumber Units (960,000 MP)

12,000x Iron Units (120,000 MP)

Level-Up Time: 60,000 minutes (18,000,000 MP)

Description: A multi-story wooden building meant for storing purposes. This building is optimized to utilize every inch of space while also offering absolute protection for anything that is stored inside. A magically operated platform can transfer items from one level to another. Three of the floors have extremely low temperatures to keep biological materials from degrading and one of them has cabinets of extra-dimensional storage, which are devoid of oxygen. Additionally, a mana coating over the building's exterior protects it from flames, frost, bludgeoning, and magical damage.

* * *

The description didn't seem to have changed except for the addition of magical damage to the building's resistances at the end. The storage capacity had increased tenfold yet again and with four of these buildings, there was no way we would ever run out of storage. At least not for a very long time.

We walked right up to the entrance of one of the buildings and the four guards stationed there stamped their feet on the ground in salute. I nodded at them and walked in through the humanoid-sized door next to a gigantic opening half-covered by a rolled up set of interconnected metal sheets.

The interior felt like it had a climate of its own. While outdoors the sun was shining and the temperature was a bit higher than was really comfortable, inside the atmosphere was ever cool. A series of panels on the ceiling several feet above us threw cold white light on the contents so the place wasn't dark, despite the lack of windows.

The entrance hall was quite large and on both sides there were large platforms that were used to transport items from one floor to the other. After dismissing a few of the mortals who were eager to give me a tour of the premises, I went on my own little discovery walk through the building.

It was fascinating how compact and efficient everything was. Each stack, each rack, and each corridor was clearly labeled and the resources stored there were placed in such a way that no space was left unutilized. From top to bottom, this place was a wonder of intelligent design to such an extent that only the Dark Energy could have created it.

We spent the next thirty minutes wandering from one long corridor to the next, checking the magical items, going up and down the multiple levels, and visiting the different climate-controlled rooms. It almost felt like the entire city would be able to live in here if a terrible catastrophe ever took hold of the world outside.

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"This place really is amazing," Hephaestus finally said as we got to the end of our tour.

"It is, isn't it?" I replied. "I can't wait to see what new upgrades we'll unlock when our guild core reaches level six. I can't wait to show you."

I added that last comment on purpose and it hit home. He lowered his eyes and nodded, though I knew exactly what he was thinking. His time with us was limited and it might well be that he wouldn't be here to see all of our buildings upgraded.

"After we get the level and you craft the weapon," I continued, as if I hadn't noticed, "we'll need to find you a job. Something that you'll like doing. I don't want to assume that you'll enjoy being in the forge forever."

"I do love the forge. There's nothing that would make me happier," he replied, "but we need to focus on the task at hand. I only have just over seven weeks left with you."

"About that," I said, and placed my hand on his shoulder as we left the storage facility. "I did some thinking on my own and some thinking with the others. We want you to be one of us."

He stopped. "I am honored," he said, "but I don't see the point."

I could see he was being honest about it. I knew full well that this decision might come back and bite me at some point but over the past week, I'd gotten to know Hephaestus. He didn't deserve to rot in a jail as an old, disfigured man forever. Not once during our XP sessions had I worried about him running away, nor had he complained about the stress we were putting him through, or the fact that he was being forced to kill one monster after another for hours on end instead of enjoying the limited freedom he'd been granted. His number one priority was getting the A-grade mastery so he could craft the weapon we needed to kill Cronus.

As much as I tried to keep some distance between us, and treat him like someone we would use and toss away once we were done, I couldn't help but feel bad about his predicament. Even if I didn't have Ares giving me looks every time Hephaestus was pushing himself to the limit, I too was having second thoughts.

And then Aphrodite would bring up the subject every single night. It wasn't just because her and Aphrodite liked him as an ally. No, if that was the case, it would have been easier for them to take advantage of him. They wanted to save him, even though I had made clear that this would mean war between our clan and the remaining titans. I must have showed a crack in my resolve because they hadn't stopped trying to convince me. And it was working.

I wasn't made of stone. And Hephaestus was not a disposable mortal. He was a god who'd spent centuries evolving himself and becoming better at his craft. Even though I knew the kind of disaster this might spell for me and my clan, I couldn't just turn a blind eye to it.

"I'm not letting you go," I blurted out, after a few seconds lost in my thoughts.

"Go where?" he asked. "I was only going to visit the blacksmith's workshop and have a talk with the crafters there."

"The prison," I said. "I'm not surrendering you to Hyperion. I--"

"No," he said, and pressed two fingers into my chest. The force he exerted was stronger than I had imagined. "I'm not something for you to keep safe or give away. I made a promise to you and I will deliver on it. I will not bring the wrath of the titans upon you. Because that is exactly what will happen if I don't return, and you know it."

"You do not get to tell me what I should and shouldn't do," I said, and grasped his two fingers in my fist. "I am Zeus, supreme monster slayer, King of Mount Olympus, and future king of all the Greek realms. When I say I'm not giving you away to Hyperion, I mean it."

He tried to talk but I opened my eyes wider to let him know I wasn't finished. Instead he pulled his hand free and pressed his lips together, waiting for me to continue.

"Listen to me and listen well," I said, my voice strong and steady. "You might think that you're this strong god who doesn't need anyone else, and perhaps you haven't so far. But this world is not your anvil anymore. And when I say this, it's not just me speaking. It's the whole guild. Ares, Artemis, and Aphrodite. We will kill each and every titan if it means that you get to live free with us. You have a gift, and you worked your ass off to hone it. You should be celebrated, not kept locked up."

"Zeus..." he said, and his lower lip trembled slightly.

"That's exactly right," Aphrodite said, suddenly appearing behind me and taking Hephaestus’ hands in hers. "And we should have told you so even earlier. We are not letting you go anywhere."

"We went into that dungeon knowing that we might anger Hyperion," Artemis said, closing in on the god of the forge.

I now looked to see if Ares was also eavesdropping in our conversation from some corner.

"Nothing's changed for us save for the two-month breathing room we've now got," Artemis continued.

"But you don't understand," he insisted. "I don't care if I go back. These sixty days are enough--"

"Nonsense." I cut him off again. "If you return, we will attack that dungeon again and again until we die or you stay with us."

"You..." He tried to hide his face in his hands but Aphrodite was still holding on to them.

Instead, the goddess of love wrapped her delicate arms around Hephaestus, and Artemis did the same from the other side.

"Come," Aphrodite mouthed at me, and I moved toward them.

I threw my arms around all three of them and hugged them tightly. I could only hope that this would finally change his mind.

"Thank you," he said eventually, his voice muffled through our hug.

A new notification appeared on the edge of my view and I opened it instantly.

* * *

Hephaestus has accepted your guild invitation.

* * *

"Now let's get you a room close to us, darling," Aphrodite purred.