Danmachi- Hell’s Forge

We ate dinner after that and went to bed like normal and in the morning we both set off for the Blue Pharmacy that Hestia said was where Miach usually was. The "forgotten area" was just as bad as you might expect somewhere with that name to be as there simply wasn't many people living there what with the area basically being abandoned and run down. I spotted a few places as we walked that I noted mentally for looting later since they had inorganic parts that I would need if I wanted to fully repair the church.-

Namely glass that was still intact or mostly intact that sat in the empty buildings windows. The churches glass is broken in every window and since my technique didn't work on stuff that didn't come from a living source I needed unbroken glass to repair them. As a positive though when I did go to replace the glass in the wooden window sills I could stylize it up by having the wood form around the glass as though the trees it came from had a glass pane perfectly set between two pieces.-

Honestly I was halfway tempted to remove all the inorganic parts of the church over time and just fuse the wood of the walls and roof into a big ass tree. Unfortunately Hestia very much disliked that idea so I could only chose to put it off until I could purchase the cheap land and buildings around the church and slowly bring my vision to life over time as we expanded. Soon enough we reached the small and clearly understaffed Blue pharmacy shop. 

"Ah! Goddess Hestia, welcome! My lord has not informed me of you coming to visit today but then again he does many things I am not the biggest fan of." A dog beastkin woman with a sleepy expression and slow way of speaking said when we came in. 

"This was a sudden decision on our part actually." I said clarifying that Miach hadn't known we were coming.

"I see, you are the newbie Hestia has been bragging about for the past few weeks then?" the woman asked casually while looking me over.

"Alexander Drake, a pleasure." i said introducing myself politely.

"Naaza Erisuis, I look forward to your business." she said with a predatory look.

Not unlike the gaze one might expect from a conman who was after your money. I was unbothered though since it didn't matter so long as I never fell for whatever tricks this woman pulled out of her sleeve.

"Could you let Miach know we are here please?" Hestia asked and Naaza sighed but left to do so.

A few moments later a handsome man with dark blue long hair and matching eyes walked out the back doorway. Like every god I had met so far he had this sort of otherworldly vibe to him that made it hard to not notice his deific status.

"Good morning Hestia, Naaza said you wanted a bit of a chin wag?" Miach said with a slight Irish sounding accent and curious expression.

"Umu, We wanted to get your advice about raising stats since we are a bit lost on it ourselves. So far Alex has been working out and using his magic as much as he can which has gotten him to H in all but one of his stats but we weren't sure how to effectively raise dexterity." Hestia explained and Miach had an understanding look.

"Has he gone into the dungeon at all?" Miach asked and we both shook our heads

"I see. In that case exercise is the best way to raise most of the stats, as for dexterity maybe try stretching or something that requires precision with the fingers. Naaza here makes potions and that stat is usually her fastest to grow as a result. Some of the best potions in Orario in fact, my father said so himself." Miach said proudly while Naaza blushed at the praise while her tail wagged a bit.

"Dian Cecht did? Must be true then since if anyone'd know it would be him." Hestia said impressed.

"Yes I couldn't be prouder of her. But I couldn't help notice you mentioned Alex here has magic, if you don't mind me asking, what it is?" Miach asked curiously.

"It's a bit vague but from what we gather I can manipulate, refine or restore anything from a living thing." I said honestly since my goddess trusted him I felt I could at least attempt to do the same.

"Could you regrow an arm by chance?" Miach asked hopefully.

"No clue honestly but even if I could I doubt I can at the moment anyways, the spell is an absolute energy hog. From what I have found the larger or more complex the thing I am using it on the more expensive it gets." I said honestly.-

"Would you mind giving it a go if we gave you some potions to restore your mana then?" Miach asked much more excited looking.

I looked at Hestia "Can we tell them about the skill or no?" I asked since that was entirely her call.

"Yes." she said before looking at Miach and Naaza "But both of you have to promise not to share this information with anyone else first." she said seriously.

"You have my word Hestia." Miach said firmly and Naaza nodded in agreement.

"I don't use mana or rather I can't use it due to a skill I had the moment I got my falna. Instead I use something called cursed energy. As a result I don't even know if a mana restoring potion would work on me." I revealed and both Miach and Naaza looked shocked.

"Sounds like theres more to that skill than you have said but we won't pry. Still your concern is well warranted. Mana potions have been specifically designed with mana in mind so we have no idea what might happen if you drank one. Best case scenario the potion works without a hitch for your cursed energy just like it was mana. Worst case though it will cause your body to have mana and cursed energy clash until the effects wear off. if you are willing to try it with a weak mana potion we can find out." Miach said with a suggestion at the end.-

Hestia looked at me in concern as I nodded "If I am going into the dungeon eventually anyways I should know whether or not I should carry some mana potions with me." I said honestly.

Miach nodded in understanding "First you need to empty your energy like anyone using a potion would normally." he said seriously.

"I need a target for my cursed technique in order to do so." I said honestly.

Miach scrounged around for a bit before coming up with a blue leaf that was withered and dry. "Would this work?" he asked and I nodded as he handed it over.

"Hell's forge!" I spoke the incantation and Miach and Naaza flinched slightly as the blue and black curse flames sprung to life over the leaf. I focused on refining the leaf, adding moisture and removing impurities, that sort of thing while my energy plummeted in about a second after I started.