A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another crossover story for you all. This is a crossover between Fairy Tail and Danmachi. Because of their fantasy-based themes, it gave me a perfect idea to write a fanfic about it. Plus, a similar story was also made by one of my favs. authors in the site, Maximillian Havisham. Support his/her story as well since this was also an inspiration from his/her work. On the side note, I'll be taking different turns for this story as well.
Have fun and Happy Reading J
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by their respective authors. Support the official releases.
- Beginning of an Adventure -
...
"Natsu, I want to build a familia."
"Familia?"
"Not just any familia. I want to create a familia that would cherish others―!
A familia that would look out for each other and care for each other..."
"Will you help me?"
"Of course!"
...
The world is full of adventures.
Lands stretch far towards the horizon, bearing many dangers that could kill you with a single mistake. Regions of different environments carry various types of hazards that were completely dangerous for humans to tread on.
It's everyone's dream to become an adventurer. A perilous journey towards the unknown is what makes it exciting no matter how dangerous it is to them.
It is a dangerous goal indeed but it doesn't stop brave adventurers from moving further to their future and experience their own adventures.
And at a certain long time ago, the gods from the heavens have descended to the lower world in order to live with their "children" and to seek thrill and excitement. In exchange for that decision, they denied themselves of their divine power and decided to experience the hardship that the lower world has offered. They also gave them "blessings", a power to fight monsters as another exchange in becoming their servants.
Thus, the formation of familias was born.
And this is where the story of our adventurer begins.
...
Located beneath the tower of Babel lies the dungeon. And within that dungeon lies a young man with pink hair. He wore a sleeved black waistcoat with a pair of white knee-length trousers that covers down his lower body. A scaly scarf is seen wrapped around his neck as it flutters across the tunnel. The sounds of his footsteps echoed loudly through the silent halls as he chased an elusive creature that is right in front of him.
"Get back here, you little runt!" He shouted angrily as he gave chase further down the tunnel, ignoring the other monsters that are slowly appearing in the walls.
It was a small creature, almost like a bunny but with red eyes and having a black fur that enables it to camouflage within every dark corner of the dungeon. It was fast too―so fast that it could outrun any human within just a few seconds but the man was able to keep up the pace as he desperately tries his best to catch up to it no matter what.
Soon afterward, it took a small turn to the left, leading to another tunnel. The man followed suit as he kept his eyes locked towards it like a hunting predator.
A few moments later, the creature found a dead end. It stopped in its tracks as soon as it saw a huge wall right in front of it, leading it with no way out from the pursuer. It also didn't take long for the man to reach it as he gave slight pants in between before looking at the creature with cold-blooded eyes.
"You're not getting away this time..." He voiced out in intimidation as the creature took a step back against him.
CREAK* CRACK*
Out of nowhere, a couple of cracking sounds were heard from the walls as the man looked around and saw monsters pouring out from all directions. The man instantly recognized them as Kobolds due to their dog-like appearance.
In addition to that, they bore sharp claws and a small menacing growl can be heard from among them to intimidate any adventurer who comes across them.
They all began to circle around the two as more of them came crawling to the wall. Other types of monsters like Goblins and Killer Ants also began to appear alongside with them, bearing different appearances and dangers as well.
"Oh come on! Why now of all times!?" The man complained angrily as the monsters surrounded him on all sides in just a few seconds.
However, there's no other choice for him now as he proceeded to raise his right fist and glared towards the approaching monsters with a determined gaze.
"Heh, I'm all fired up! Come at me, you monsters!"
As if to respond to his words, the monsters all began to lash out against him simultaneously, raising their claws to maul him down. But just as they were about to reach him, the pinkette jumped high in the air, leaving his original position in a swarm of deadly claws that missed him. In mid-air, he soon began to raise his right fist as it was immediately coated in fire, swirling around like a small fiery whirl.
"Blazing Fist!" Calling out the spell at hand, the pinkette descended down to the ground and smashed his fist down, causing an explosion within the area. The blast sent many monsters away with some completely obliterated from the impact and the heat it caused. Bodies flung around like ragdolls due to the small shockwave.
The man landed back to the ground as soon as the dust settled. A couple more monsters are still left standing and tried to attack continuously.
The pinkette swept to the side to avoid two monsters clawing him from behind, barely missing them as they stumbled forward.
This gave him the chance to attack their unguarded side as he began to pick something from a small pouch located on his waist and threw two small daggers. The daggers hit their marks cleanly at the center as the two monsters fell down before vanishing into thin air.
More monsters were spotted from the corner of his eyes. His swift reaction gave him enough time to deal with the remaining monsters around him as he carefully took down each one of them with ease. Using both his fists and legs, he easily dispatched them in quick succession.
As soon as he took out the monsters near him, he looked over to the charging monsters in the distance, prompting him to a stance as he began to gather air around him.
"Fire Breath!" Another quick chant was invoked as he briefly inhaled air into his lungs before releasing a stream of flames towards the monsters. Flames rampaged across the area as it engulfed the monsters wholly, burning them out of existence.
The flames shone brightly for awhile before dissipating into small little embers, leaving the area where the monsters once stood up into a burnt place.
The man breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he managed to eliminate the swarm of monsters.
That was the last of them for now.
Multiple magic stones lay within the room which was left from the defeated monsters. It was the leftover of every monster that is defeated in the dungeon.
"I guess that's the last of them... Hmm?"
He spoke to himself before glancing around the area in confusion. At that moment, his eyes widened as soon as he realized what he had done.
"Oh, crap! I completely forgot about that monster!"
He held his hands over to his head in horror after realizing that the creature he was chasing is already out of sight. It was one of the rare monsters that spawned within this floor and the chance of encountering one is―well quite rare.
To let himself preoccupied in fighting while missing the fact of nearly catching the rare creature, the pinkette could only kneel down on the ground in despair.
"Shit, I got carried away..." He sighed afterward before looking back to the place where he fought the monsters.
"...Guess I'll head home for now." He proceeded to loot the magic stones instead and forget about the creature. There's nothing for him to do now that the monster was no longer in sight.
It's been too long since he entered the dungeon. He ought to return back to the surface and call it a day.
His Goddess might begin to worry as well.
...
The Labyrinth City of Orario is famous for its underground dungeon. Countless people of all races from all over the world came to this city to become adventurers. Humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits, chienthropes, lycanthropes and even gods and goddesses themselves all integrate with each other in this giant city. It's the only place that has an underground dungeon.
The Babel Tower sits upon the center of its location which separates the dungeon and the surface. Some say it was built to prevent monsters from getting to the surface and that many adventurers explore the underground dungeon, seeking their own adventure.
Of course, not every people wanted to become adventurers themselves. The city also had a huge influence in terms of economic worth. Other people find great opportunities to start their life here and there are various things to make a name for yourself even without becoming an adventurer.
Although, the reputation of being an adventurer is much more influential than most of the people that live in here because of the existence of the dungeon below.
Adventurers brave on perilous journeys and fought monsters to gain fame and excitement and also bring glory to their familia. It was every other people's dream to become someone who is revered as a famous figure in the eyes of many.
Natsu, however, thought differently of this dream.
He came into this city in order to become someone who can protect those who are in need. The young pink-haired man doesn't care much about fame or titles. He wanted to become strong in order to fight for the ones he cared. Though he has more many ways to go.
The world is a vast place, full of things that are learned and experienced by anyone. He wanted to overcome them and keep pushing his limits in order to reach the place he wanted to.
Learning things in the outside world is also one of the things he wanted to experience besides his original goal. Natsu wanted to see more of this big world he currently lives on and starting his life as an adventurer is one step in reaching that goal he had set on upon his departure.
Meeting with other people also became one of his desires that prompted him to travel into this city.
It was one of the things that got him interested when he first came in the city.
...
It didn't take long for him to reach back to the upper floors as he walked on the long staircase, leading him to the base floor of the Babel Tower.
Natsu didn't waste any time as he went for a sprint outside and headed northwest of the city towards the Guild―specifically, to its main building.
He arrived a few minutes later as he saw several adventurers who were also trading their magic stones. The place offers the trade of magic stones and other valuable items in exchange for valis. Every adventurer has to venture to this place to get their money from their experience down to the dungeon. In addition, the Guild simply holds everything that is connected to the dungeon itself.
"Oooiii, Eina! I'm back!" Natsu called out from the entrance as soon as his eyes sighted onto a woman dressed in a uniform just behind on one of the counters inside the building.
She was a half-elf due to her pointed ears being noticeable at first glance. She had shoulder length brown hair and emerald-colored eyes. A pair of glasses is seen in her eyes which added a bit of a charm on her part in which he always thought as good-looking for her appearance.
Eina shifted her eyes onto the source, leaving her papers right in front of her as she greeted the beaming adventurer.
"Ara, Natsu. You're quite early today. I thought you would come late as usual."
"Well, you know how Goddess often worries about me staying up late in the dungeon without telling her beforehand," Natsu spoke in response, his hand placed right at the back of his head as he stopped by at the counter.
"Well, that's to be expected. Hestia-sama only worries because it's you."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, you're always being so reckless inside the dungeon without any care of your own safety at all. It's natural for her to keep worrying because of your actions, you know..." She gave a slight scolding remark, causing him to sweat nervously.
"Come on, it's just one time. I'm starting to give a bit of a caution since I've started on the 9th floor."
"But still, venturing out alone is quite dangerous and you're too fast going down each floor. You're still not yet in Level 2, remember? You'll never know when things suddenly got turn for the worse and you'll get in deep trouble just because you weren't careful enough."
"I know... But I can still handle it. I actually defeated a bunch of monsters earlier. I was at this small dead end while chasing this rare monster and they just appeared out of nowhere and tried to attack me but I easily beat them."
Eina drew a sigh.
"See? This is what happens when you didn't try to be careful. That place you were referring to is just one of the trap areas where monsters spawned spontaneously apart from other places of that dungeon floor."
"A-Ah, is that so?"
"It is... Have you been paying attention to my lessons a few days back?" She finally looked at him in a suspicious tone which caused the pinkette to sweat nervously again from her gaze.
"W-W-Well, somewhat..." He answered in an undertone.
Clearly, he wasn't listening to her lectures that time as well.
Eina released another weary sigh. It's really difficult to keep someone like him intact when he has no awareness of such dangers the dungeon might bring him.
...
It's been two months since she became his advisor. And from those times she spent with him, it seemed like she'd stumbled onto a really strange adventurer. Who would've thought that he would be this reckless?
It's quite fortunate that he didn't get killed in the last month prior to her first day as his advisor. His brash attitude always gets him into trouble no matter where he is.
Be it a human or a monster in the dungeon, Natsu had a knack of stirring trouble right into himself. From what she heard, he often picks a fight with at least two adventurers a day. Everyone could've assumed that he's some sort of a troublemaker himself and likes to pick on other adventurers because of certain reasons.
Eina knew Natsu didn't mean any ill will to other people.
At first glance, he isn't really the type of person who would do something wrong. The only reasons for his constant bickering with other adventurers are either on challenging them or that something that he deems unacceptable is done right in front of him.
It was one of the things she first noticed about him.
Natsu is a kind person at heart and also very caring especially to those close him. Eina could tell it from the first day she met him. He doesn't have this kind of distortion inside him unlike most of the adventurers that come and go around here though he always has the same glint in his eyes of venturing into the unknown which was the half-elf's constant source of worry all the time. He always travels alone without a party and keeps pushing to venture deep down to get stronger.
Despite his nature, he doesn't necessarily go out when he wants to. After all, he had other priorities other than just defeating monsters to get stronger. He also continues to live his life fully alongside with his Goddess despite their living conditions.
He always puts her wellbeing above all else.
It's such a wonder why he hasn't gotten any friends yet. The only people who are close to him are her and his Goddess. I mean, who would not befriend someone as protective and kind as him?
The half-elf could only point out several points why he hasn't made any friends yet.
―Still, Eina looked forward to the day where he would come to make some friends as well and care for them just as the same as he always does towards her and his Goddess.
Her lips curled upward as she thought about that.
"Listen, Natsu. The dungeon is full of unexpected dangers so you have to learn and think carefully before venturing further down, alright? It is very important for you to return back here in one piece because there's someone out here waiting for your return, don't you think?" She advised, her face showing that of a kind sister that looks after her sibling. Her tone softening as she gazed at him in reassurance.
"Well, I guess you're right on that..." Natsu muttered in an undertone.
"See? That's why you have to be prepared to whatever things that might happen in the dungeon. You need to extend your knowledge and learn from experience just before you can venture out to the deeper floors."
"Yes, ma'am..."
Eina sighed once again after seeing his slightly dispirited look and simply placed a hand over to his head which was hung low right in front of her. Natsu looked up in mild surprise as soon as he lifted his face and gazed at her smiling face.
"You should take it easy, Natsu... Becoming strong doesn't always go by with just a short amount of time. You're always hardworking and that's something that you should be proud of too. You can experience a lot of things while doing it at the same time, you know. There's more to life than just wanting to become stronger." At her words, his old self eventually returned back as he grinned towards her with a renewed gaze.
"Yes!"
Eina smiled once more after seeing him finally cheered up. She actually liked him more this way.
"That's more like it! Now let's have your magic stones traded and be on your way." Natsu nodded as both he and Eina went over to the counter and traded all the magic stones he earned for today's exploration. The pinkette took the valis from the plate as he proceeded to count the total value.
"13,000 valis, huh?"
"That's actually kind of impressive. That's double the usual earnings you get every day and probably half of the usual earnings within a party of Level 1 adventurers, you know." Eina added in surprise.
"Well, I got lucky with the monsters I fought with earlier so there's a lot to loot afterwards." Natsu dryly laughed.
"If you managed to acquire this much, this means that you're already making great progress."
"Really?"
"Hnn..." She nodded with a smile.
Taking her words to heart, Natsu clenched on the valis he was holding onto as he thought deeply. Although he was relieved to hear about his improvement, it wasn't enough for him. The current strength that he has still doesn't make him that any stronger. After all, there are other people who are stronger than him. He wanted to work hard in acquiring the strength to stand alongside with them.
"Thanks for everything, Eina... I think I'm ready on what to do from now on." He gazed back with a determined expression.
"You're welcome... Just know that I'll be always here to support you, okay?"
"Sure... Then, I'll be heading back. I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that, he left the building as Eina watched his fleeting figure disappear into the distance.
She smiled inwardly as her mind thought deeply for the pinkette.
"Good luck, Natsu."
...
Natsu headed straight down on the west road leading to a large portion of ruined buildings. Huge temples that were left abandoned, letting nature take its course are seen all around. Years of abandonment have left these structures into disrepair and a number of people wandering in the area are close to none.
The pinkette simply went on his way until he found a small church located between huge towering structures.
Like all other buildings, the church was also left in a ruined state. The walls were chipped off from all places and the mosses present within its surfaces are prominent. The interior isn't as good as its outside appearance either as the place housed several broken benches where it was once seated by patrons a long time ago.
Once revered as a place of worship, it is now reduced to nothing more but a wasted space waiting to be enveloped as part of the ruined section of the city itself.
Natsu walked through the broken doors as he silently made his way through the front near the pulpit and into a secret door that leads to a basement down below. A series of stairways are revealed as the door opened. He walked down the stairs as his eyes eventually sighted towards a small room.
The place was only fitted with a few basic things needed for a person to live. A small bed, a worn-out couch, a wooden table and several more furniture that housed their necessities. A few candle torches are seen hanging from the side of the wall to light up the room.
Natsu finally walked down before a smile appeared on his face as he entered.
"I'm home, Goddess."
"Waaaah, you're back Natsu-kun!" A feminine voice echoed in his ears as he saw a silver blur coming right past below him and tackled him through his abdomen.
Thanks to his past experiences, he was able to maintain his posture as he looked down to see the person who was hugging below.
It was a petite girl, probably having a height level just at his chest. She had a pair of blue eyes and light black hair that is tied into two twin tails, held by two white-blue bows resembling that of flower petals. Her attire consisted a white mini dress with a blue ribbon tied around her neck. She also wears a pair of gloves with the same color pattern with her dress. While there are other features that can be seen through her appearance, the most noticeable were her unbelievably huge breasts.
And that's to say that her appearance may look like that of a teen but she was in fact, a goddess as he calls her.
The goddess's name is Hestia. The goddess of hearth.
"I thought you were up late again in the dungeon."
"Not this time... I think I already did well so I thought about taking it slow for now."
"Well, that's good... I'm just glad that you returned home safely. You don't suppose you have any injuries on your exploration today, have you?"
"A little bit of scratch here and that but I heal up pretty quick so it's all good. You don't have to worry about it."
"Is that so? Then, I'm glad you're okay. Actually, I have some good news for you, Natsu-kun!" Hestia beamed, earning his confusion.
"Good news?"
She nodded in between to confirm his words while also having a confident smile present on her face.
"Fufufu... You see, just now, I finally managed to pay off Hephaestus' debt on me." Her lips curled up even further as she said that. Her eyes sparkling at the news being brought out to him.
Apparently, Hestia is indebted with one of the goddesses that helped her during her initial days after descending from the heavens. Even after being given a place to start her own familia, she borrowed money from her in order to maintain her living in the lower world. And with Natsu recently joining to her familia, the debt was also placed on his head to pay it all off.
Natsu can't say he was surprised when he first heard of this but eventually, he started to work hard to pay off her debt and stayed in her familia despite all that.
On the other hand, the news of having all of their debts paid actually means a good thing. Unlike from before, they cannot use much of their money because of the debt being paid for it. And the only time they can waste their own is to buy food and other necessities.
And now that they're finally free, they can finally start focusing on renovating the church and expand their familia.
Because of that, Natsu could not help but break into a smile.
"Seriously?! But how did you get it all paid off?"
"Fufu... I got an extra boost from my work so I got to pay it all back to Hephaestus at an early time. Of course, I saved some for our food today so don't worry about it."
"So that means, we don't have to waste our money for the debt, right?"
"That's right! Starting from now, we will earn for our familia's growth."
"Yosh! I'm all fired up!" Natsu shouted excitedly before remembering something. "Oh, by the way, I also made some money on my own. I got lucky this day too."
Pulling out two huge pouches, he placed his own earnings in the dungeon which made Hestia a bit surprised in the process.
"Wow... 13,000 valis! That's double the earnings you've got."
"Yup! Since we can start on our own, we can use our spare money to repair this church and start from there."
"Well, I can't help but agree to that but are you sure you don't want to buy any armor yet? I'm a lot worried about your current gear right now. It's also a lot convenient to wear some armor other than some light clothes."
Hestia took notice of her child's current outfit which consisted nothing but a waistcoat and trousers to cover his body. Aside from the scaly scarf that is usually wrapped around his neck, he doesn't have that much protection which made her slightly worried. The thought of seeing him venturing down to the dungeon every day without any armor on is a bit concerning.
"Iya, I think I'm fine on my own without wearing one. Plus, my body's pretty tough so I don't get that much injured that often. I can still use my daggers for other things but this is all I need to go out there, Kami-sama."
"I know that but still―" She was about to continue until Natsu cut her off.
"That reminds me, can we go check my status for today?"
"Huh?"
...
After settling down his own belongings, Natsu went over to the side of the couch with his waistcoat off, leaving him semi-naked right in front of Hestia who started examining the status written behind his back.
Hestia could feel her nose bleeding in effect at the sight of the pinkette's lean but muscular structure. She knew he was a bit of a buff person but in every situation she had the chance to witness his semi-naked form, it only gives her a bit of a flustered side. Not to mention, Natsu doesn't seem affected being seen through at all nor that she actually sees him embarrassed at something.
Goodness, the lower world is full of surprises and irresistible children...
She tried to shake off her current thoughts and tried to focus on the hieroglyphs seen on his back.
This was the god's blessing, also called, Falna which was the gift from the gods and goddesses in exchange for their desire to live here in the lower world. Natsu received his falna after joining Hestia Familia. All gods' blessings are equal regardless of the god's status and standing in the familia rankings.
Hestia gave a drop of blood from her finger with a needle in order to activate his status. The hieroglyphs on his back soon began to glow in blue color in which also shows a rotary wheel floating above it with the numbers of each basic abilities he currently has, appearing as well.
...
Natsu Dragneel
Level 1
Strength: E488 – D514
Endurance: D520 – D590
Dexterity: D510 – D577
Agility: E498 – D525
Magic: A844 – A868
Magic
[Flames]
Skill
[...]
...
"Your stats are steadily growing fast as usual... This is great news, Natsu-kun!" Hestia beamed delightedly as she finished scanning through the changes and placed a small sheet of paper right on top of his status to copy it down.
It took only a few seconds as the status checking was done. Natsu sat up straight as he looked over to the paper handed to him by his Goddess.
"You're right. I did get some huge points this time."
"Your magic is already nearing to S status while still having great increases on the other basic abilities. It's quite strange since mages don't usually have that much improvement on their other basic abilities other than magic but yours seemed to defy all of it. On top of that, you're fighting barehanded most of the time." Hestia pondered in thought.
"Is that really much of a big deal?"
"It is! Statuses like these are very rare to come by and even some of them eventually turn out to be strong adventurers in the future. With this kind of increase, I think you'll be able to become strong in the future too." She exclaimed.
"Strong, huh?"
Natsu wondered for a second as he momentarily gazed up at the ceiling in deep thought. He eventually recalled Eina's words to him back then. Even though she said to him about taking it easy, he just can't stand still looking the same as he is for too long. He wanted to acquire the power he needed to help his familia grow strong and expand within the city.
There were numerous other familias that have a high standing and influence around this city but there were also others just like them who started out as small ones. And in those familias, even the gods or goddesses themselves needed to work on their own living in order to maintain their small familia. Adventurers rarely join on such weak familias like theirs though they can't blame them for that. After all, most of the people tend to seek fame by joining in a much more popular familia in order to make a name for themselves.
They simply don't have the time to work hard and do little things that aren't going to help them in their quest in becoming famous.
For Natsu, he doesn't think it like that.
Being part of a familia is like being a family with their gods and goddesses. It's not a simple give-and-take relationship between servants and gods. It's like being part of a god's family that forms strong bonds between them and their children.
Natsu considers Hestia as one of his own family.
Ever since he was left alone by his father, he had no one to rely on. She was the very first person who came to his life and made it brighter. She gave him a new home to live in this city. Her kindness brought back the hope that was lost from him after failing a lot of attempts to join a familia.
She was the turning point of his life.
"Oh, that reminds me, did you get some interesting quests today?" Natsu finally looked back at the petite goddess in anticipation.
"Oh yeah! Here, I got a perfect one for tomorrow's quest." She passed another paper from the table as the pinkette looked at it to read the contents.
"...It's a clearing quest." She added.
"Eliminate all monsters in this area." He read through the instructions along with a small map drawn below it. "Sounds like they want to clear another trap area."
"I knew you would like these types of quests so I'm glad I chose it." Hestia smiled.
"Aren't you a bit worried about me lately? You said I should be careful around in the dungeon." He asked.
"Well, I am but knowing you, I believe you can do it. Plus, no matter how much I advise you, you would still continue venturing deeper down in the dungeon, you know."
"Don't worry about me, Goddess. Have some faith in me." He reassured.
"I know... That's why I'm letting you off on this one. What matters is that you return back here in one piece, alright?" She reminded. Her worried expression faded into a smile as soon as the pinkette nodded excitedly from her response.
"Of course!"
"Then it's settled! With the extra valis from the quest reward, we'll be able to earn for real starting now."
"Yosha! I can finally go all out in the dungeon tomorrow!"
...
Night descended and the lights within Orario lit up on nearby pubs and other late-night shops that continue to attract customers. Most of the people returned back to their homes to rest for the night.
Natsu faced the ceiling in deep thought as he rested on the couch, thinking about the future ahead.
He then gazed towards a small bedroom just right in front of him where he saw Hestia sleeping soundly in her sleep. A small blanket was placed on top to protect her from the cold. Him, on the other hand, didn't get much affected by the temperature, probably due to his nature as a fire mage.
"Mhm,~ Natsu-kun. This crepe is sooooo good~" He could hear her mumbling his name for some reason.
She must be having a great dream.
The pinkette soon turned his gaze back to its original position whilst lifting his right hand above him. His face adopting a determined look as he thought about their future.
'For my goddess and for our familia... I'll become strong.'
The next day...
Morning had dawned and Natsu already ventured to the 7th dungeon floor to start his day. He held on the paper at hand as he walked through the tunnels leading to the place where the extermination of monsters should take place.
...
After waking up early, he immediately prepared himself as he went outside the church while bidding farewell to his Goddess who was still sleeping. Every morning was exciting for him since he wanted to get into the dungeon as fast as possible to train himself and gather as much experience as he can get in order to become strong.
Of course, he still took heed of his Goddess's words of venturing down to the dungeon.
He walked through the familiar streets of Orario as several adventurers also began to flood the area, seemingly heading in the same direction as he is.
"Now what should I do later?" He asked himself as he walked wistfully to the streets with a pondering look.
"...Maybe I could go for the 13th floor but Eina wouldn't be happy about it once she heard it, though."
He sighed for a moment, thinking about his dilemma until a voice caused him to stop.
"Um, excuse me. Is this yours?"
A feminine voice resounded from behind as Natsu glanced around and saw a woman standing near him.
She is a human girl with bluish gray hair that she keeps tied under a small knot with a ponytail style. Her eyes are the same color as her hair and she has a light peachy colored smooth skin. She had a cute face which was accompanied by a leaf-colored maid outfit with a pair of brown boots and black stockings to cover for her bottom part.
For a moment Natsu thought about distancing a bit due to how close their faces are. The girl doesn't seem to mind the closeness which he finds it a bit weird for some reason since he was a stranger to her.
Though his attention soon turned towards the item in her hand.
"A magic stone?"
"You dropped it. It's yours, right? Here..." The girl spoke, her voice sounded soothing as Natsu scratched his head after taking the stone from her.
He's pretty sure that he traded all of the magic stones yesterday. Rather than that, he didn't hear anything falling off his pocket though.
However, he set aside his thoughts for now and eventually thanked the girl in front of him.
"Thank you... Sorry to bother you. I guess I'm pretty careless about my things here." He laughed dryly.
"Ah, it's nothing really... I'm happy to be of help." The girl smiled as she said that.
"I see... Then, I'll be on my way! Thanks again!" He was about to sprint ahead until she called her back.
"Wait!"
"Yes?"
"Umm... Are you an adventurer?"
"Well, yes I am. Why do you ask?"
"Wait a moment here..." She said as she took off towards inside the pub in front of him. Natsu tilted his head in confusion as he waited for her to come back.
A few seconds later, she came back carrying some sort of a lunch wrapped in a cloth in her hands.
"Here!" She hastily handed it to him without hesitating. This made him even more confused.
"Uhhh, why are you giving this to me?"
"Well, I just noticed you've been clutching your stomach when you passed by so..." She turned her gaze away from him while fidgeting for some reason.
The pinkette was surprised by her attentiveness since she was able to tell other people's situation just by looking at them. True enough, he didn't eat anything since he was in a hurry to finish the quest today.
Though he wondered why she would give this to him since they never met before in the first place.
Maybe it's because of her friendly behavior that she could easily approach people without much of a problem no matter who they are.
"T-Thanks, I guess..."
Natsu reluctantly accepted the lunch box as he held it in his hands until she continued to speak again.
"It's no problem! But in exchange, make sure you come eat here tonight, alright?"
"Huh?"
"It's a promise, okay?"
"Well, it's not like it's going to hurt to visit here... Sure, I'll come by later!"
"Thank you!"
"Ah, it's already this late. Sorry, I'm going on ahead. See ya later!"
Looking at the time, Natsu eventually made for a sprint towards the dungeon, leaving the girl behind who gazed at his disappearing figure in the distance.
"Ah, I forgot to ask his name..." She mumbled as she stood there for a few moments before a voice called her back inside the pub.
"Hey, Syr! What are you standing there for? It's almost time for the opening."
"Y-Yes, I'm coming!" She replied before turning back to the direction where the pinkette had run off to.
'Pink hair, huh?'
...
The dungeon is usually teeming with monsters. In every place, the walls of the dungeon itself spawn monsters in a certain amount of time that attack wandering adventurers that come into contact with them. With each deeper floors, the interval of the spawning slowly decreases, making it difficult to travel down each floor since monsters frequently appeared every now and then. Not to mention, the level of difficulty of the monsters themselves also changes in each floor as well.
Natsu easily made his way down to the 7th floor. It didn't take him much time to finally reach a dead end. The space within the area, however, is much more spacious than the tunnels he ventured.
"Hmm... I guess this should be the place then." He finally stopped looking at the paper and decided to take a look around the place.
There was no sight of any monsters in the vicinity just yet but the silence around him somewhat gives him a bit of a tense feeling for some reason as if something was about to happen any second now.
CREAK* CRACK* CRACK*
Just as he thought, the walls begin spewing out monsters as they spawned right out of the surface from all sides. Even the ceiling was crawling with large ants as they all descended down to the ground and surrounded the lone adventurer in just a few seconds.
"Killer Ants, huh? This should be a piece of cake." He said as he tugged the paper right down to his pocket and moved into a stance as the monsters slowly approached him from both sides. He sunk his body down with his knees slightly bent down as he carefully looked at the sheer number of monsters in his surroundings.
For a normal adventurer, this would call for a suicide mission but Natsu had already exceeded his abilities to reach the 9th floor so any monsters from the upper floors should be easy for him though that doesn't mean he should underestimate the Killer Ant's huge numbers.
Unlike much of any monsters on the 7th floor, this monster usually attacks in large groups and when one of them is on the verge of death, they can release pheromones that could attract more of its kind to assist them in a fight.
New adventurers that have come across these creatures often lost their lives being swarmed by them so most of them tend to kill these creatures as fast as possible before they could attract more monsters.
Natsu coated both his arms in flames as he faced the Killer Ants in determination. His eyes lit up readily to face the monsters in front of him.
"Let's do this! I'm all fired up!"
Without a moment's gaze, the pinkette fearlessly charged in as he blasted several Killer Ants away with his flame-coated fist. The giant ants were easily swiped away like flies as Natsu pushed through with his magic, incinerating them that came into contact with his flames. Any attempt to get close to him are treated with a dose of fire spells.
However, despite all the overwhelming advantage he had over them, their numbers are continuing to increase as more Killer Ants appeared from the tunnel as well, increasing the overall number of monsters within the room.
"Fire Breath!" Natsu shot a wave of fire to lessen their numbers while also giving him a path in order to prevent himself from getting surrounded.
He sprinted fast towards the direction of his spell as the Killer Ants tried to chase him down from behind.
"Let's see if you can deal with this!"
Arriving at a corner, Natsu jumped high and walked through the walls swiftly before pushing himself away in mid-air, looking down at the swarm of ants looking up at him in confusion. He clasped both his hands ablaze as he formed a medium-sized fireball and swiped it down towards them.
"Flaming Ball!"
The monsters below were left to watch as the blazing fireball descended down before engulfing them in a fiery explosion. Huge shockwaves were felt as the explosion shone for awhile before fading as the Natsu landed down on the burnt ground after releasing his spell. Natsu landed back on the ground surrounded by remains of dead monsters in his vicinity. His eyes soon turned over to another mob of monsters charging in his position.
At that moment, he began to collect air into his lungs once again as flames circled around his mouth, charging up his roar once again. His black onyx eyes glared next to the advancing monster as he let loose the flames in his mouth.
"Fire Breath!" Another blast of flames simply engulfed the powerless Killer Ants as they stood witness in a sea of flames before dying. Their bodies evaporated at the intense heat as the temperature rose up in the vicinity, turning the ground into a smoking field. The spell raged for a moment before settling down, leaving few scattered embers alongside with the remains of the magic stones in them as the pinkette cleared the trap area alone.
Natsu heaved a sigh of relief as soon as the battle was over.
"Mission accomplished..." He spoke, seeing the area finally devoid of any monsters. It'll probably take some time for it to spawn more monsters again. At least, this won't pose any dangers for wandering adventurers for a short while.
He grabbed the magic stones left within the fight and proceeded back to the 5th Floor.
...
After making his way to the 5th dungeon floor, Natsu simply trudged along the path leading back to the upper floor with his mind thinking of today's dungeon exploring. It hadn't been that long since he ventured down so he probably thought that it's too early for him to get back. A number of magic stones he got from the trap could cover the same earnings he got from yesterday.
He didn't actually expect to earn the same amount two days in a row. Anyone would be amazed if they managed to earn that much and that's to say that he's still a lone adventurer. That's probably a lucky occurrence for him, considering that he works solo until now.
―The mention of the last thought suddenly caused him to ponder.
"Comrades, huh?" He muttered the words underneath his breath as he slowly walked the silent tunnels with multiple thoughts in his head.
There's a lot of people out there who form parties with others. It's a basic tactic for those who wanted to venture deeper to the dungeon where monsters are getting stronger for just one person. Even the strongest familias have their own parties that consisted more than just two or three persons.
It could've gone beyond fifty or so and that's saying something. It just made him realize just how difficult it is to venture into the deeper floors, facing more powerful monsters that could kill you in a single swipe. He was aware of the advice given to him by Eina a few weeks back since it's beneficial for him to have at least one to cover his back.
―Yet, the pinkette never considered wanting anyone to join him.
He never thought the idea once nor did he have the plan to recruit one.
After all, he was unfamiliar of everyone. He had little connections with other familias aside from his own and a few others. In a sense, he's still trying to make friends. Most of the people he encountered were rather rude and pitiful. He didn't like their attitudes and their constant boasting against weaker adventurers are which mostly resulted to brawl fights between him and them.
For him, it's really hard to make friends with anyone, considering the rumors circling around him as some troublemaker amongst the adventurers.
Though there are still some people who see him differently from the rumors but most of it are easily overshadowed with talks and murmurs from people who hated him in the past.
Natsu could only release a disappointed sigh.
"I wonder if I could create a party some day..."
He occupied himself with other things in his mind until he began to notice something.
"Nh? Strange... Is it just my imagination?" For sure, he heard a roar coming from the tunnels.
He stopped for a moment to carefully observe the unusual noise.
"Kyyyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
A scream was soon heard from one of the tunnels as he immediately gazed towards the direction in caution.
"A scream?"
It sounded like a cry for help.
Natsu didn't even need to hesitate as he ran towards the source to find out. As he neared towards it, he began to hear another voice but―
RRROOOOAAAAARRRRR*
He heard it loud and clear, it was definitely a sound of a monster.
It didn't take long for him to finally reach the scene as he saw three Level 1 adventurers being cornered by a monster. Two of them were male and the other was a petite girl, seemingly acting as their supporter judging from the huge backpack seen on her back.
However, Natsu's eyes widen in disbelief as soon as he recognized the monster.
"A minotaur?!"
Why there is a minotaur in the upper floors?
His focus on the monster was soon cut off as he concentrated on the adventurers who were being confronted with it.
"Get away!"
One of the adventurers tried to push back in a hopeless attempt but he was simply punched away to the side with a single fist from the minotaur as it looked straight to the other two who witnessed their comrade get swatted away like nothing.
"S-Somebody help us!" The two could only cower in fear as the minotaur stood in front of them, roaring viciously towards them.
But before it could even touch the two, a crimson blur was seen from the corner of its eyes as Natsu delivered a flaming kick towards its face, causing it to tumble to the side.
The minotaur was sent away in a fair distance as Natsu landed on his feet, saving the other two just in time.
"You guys alright?!" He turned towards the two scared adventurers who could only nod in response as soon as they were saved.
RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRRR*
Their moment of peace was suddenly cut by a chilling feeling as they heard a menacing roar from the minotaur who stood up from its feet and glared at the culprit who just attacked him in the face. It let out a growl towards him in response as soon as he managed to find his composure.
The other two were easily overwhelmed by fear from its dreadful presence as it growled angrily towards them with red-glowing eyes.
Of course, anyone would've easily felt that way, considering that it's a monster from the middle floors. Natsu had no idea how such a monster could've made onto the upper floors but... he knew that the situation wouldn't just end here like that.
He made sure of that after noticing the minotaur's eyes fixated on him.
"Hey, you two... Go get your friend there and head back to the surface. If this continues, you might get killed." He spoke to the two who could only look at him in disbelief.
"H-Hey, don't tell you're going to fight that thing... It's too strong! It's a monster from the 17th floor. We're no match for that thing!"
"Well it is certainly strong but that doesn't mean I don't have a chance," Natsu smirked.
"Are you crazy?! You're gonna get killed!"
"I don't plan on dying yet but I also don't plan on leaving you guys out here with that monster. Now go!" Leaving those words behind, Natsu dashed towards the monster in full throttle.
"I'm all fired up!"
The minotaur raised its fist and tried to slam the approaching pinkette down but he was able to dodge to the side as the fist connected to the ground, missing him in the process. This gave the pinkette the chance to attack as he set his right fist ablaze and punched the minotaur squarely to its abdomen.
The monster gave a howl of pain as it was forced to stumble backward and glared at his opponent in anger.
"Oh man, you sure are a pretty tough one. I give you that."
Natsu remarked seeing his attack didn't send the giant monster flying.
It gave another loud roar as it charges towards him at full speed with its horns. Natsu smirked as he pressed both his hands against its head, thus, avoiding its deadly horns, however―
The force of the attack was too much for him to handle as his feet skidded away and lost its ground, causing him to slowly skid towards the wall behind him. Natsu gritted his teeth as he found himself being forced to a corner, struggling from the minotaur's charge against him.
If he fails to get out of the way, he won't have any room to face the monster and will be cornered in the process.
"Tsk, don't you underestimate me!"
Shouting in anger, Natsu poured effort towards his hands as he tried to lift the minotaur of its feet to stop its charge. Flames engulfed his body wholly as he tried to fight against the charge.
His feet finally came to a stop, eventually stopping the minotaur's charge as well. The flames on his body quickly dissipated and at the same time, the minotaur was slowly floating off balance from its feet.
The two onlookers were left in wide shock as they saw the pinkette lifting the minotaur off its feet with only his own arms. A newbie adventurer wouldn't be able to do such a feat due to its massive weight. For them to see someone easily stopping a minotaur with just his bare hands is unbelievable.
The monster was left in a confused state as it tried to wriggle its way from its tormentor.
"How'd you like to have a taste of the ground?!"
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Natsu then slammed the minotaur back to the ground as he swiped both his hands down along with the monster, causing a small dust cloud to where the monster was slammed into.
It gave a howl of pain as it tried desperately to stand up again but it could only watch as the pinkette enveloped himself in flames and raised his fist once more.
"Flaming Fist!"
He sent another punch towards its abdomen, sending enough powerful force that sunk the minotaur's body further into the ground. A small dusty explosion resulted after that.
A couple of seconds passed and the dust began to settle. The wailing roar died down as soon as the battle came to a close, leaving a medium-sized crater where the minotaur lay unmoving.
Natsu stood right near the defeated monster as he gave heavy pants after using more spells. The flames eventually vanished from his body as he poured all his magic power in that one punch. The strain on his body immediately kicked up as he knelt down on the ground in exhaustion.
Lifting that monster was definitely a hell a lot of effort to do as well. It was pretty reckless of him to actually take it head on since he could've collapsed under its weight if he didn't exert more power.
However, just as their battle was thought to be over, he immediately noticed a slight movement coming from the defeated monster.
Natsu widened his eyes in realization as soon as the minotaur slowly rose up to its feet and growled once more. Its red eyes spun awake and his body began to move once more.
"Damn... It wasn't enough..." He cursed inwardly as he now felt powerless after exhausting his magical reserves.
What's even worse is that he stood next to the monster who still have some fight in it after that one final attack. One more spell and he would've experienced a mind down afterward.
"Tch, guess there's no choice!"
Deciding to use another spell, Natsu flared up in flames again to finish the wounded minotaur until a flash went by and easily slashed the monster into multiple pieces in just a second.
Natsu couldn't follow through the number of slashes in that short duration as his eyes widened over to the sight of the minotaur being eviscerated in a blink of an eye. Blood splattered on the wall as pieces of flesh were cut into little pieces before vanishing into thin air, leaving behind its magic stone afterward.
Moreover, his eyes now turned towards a lone figure standing next to the defeated monster. Her golden hair fluttered across the battlefield as she gracefully brandished her sword and placed it back from its hilt. Her battle attire consisted that of a head guard located over her head and a breastplate together with arm guards, hip guards and knee guards. Covering her legs was a pair of long blue boots where the knee guards are located.
Natsu could feel a strong presence emanating from her, prompting him to assume her strength as that for a First Class Adventurer.
It was then, the woman herself started to look over to his direction, specifically to him as if she wanted to look at him for some reason.
"Ah..."
The pink-haired boy could only voice his confounded surprise as soon as he saw her looking at him.
Their eyes met for a moment until he turned over to the two adventurers tending to their injured member. He averted his gaze from the female knight and went straight to the party to help.
...
On the other hand, the woman seemed to react a bit after the pinkette abruptly cut off their gaze and watched him run towards the injured party.
"Oi, Aiz! Are you finished yet?! We're regrouping with the expedition group once we're done here!"
"Aiz! Let's head back. Riveria might scold us for staying around for too long."
Two of her companions called out from the other direction. One of them sprinted over to her after failing to hear a response from the golden-haired knight.
"What's wrong, Aiz? Is there something on your mind?"
"Tiona..."
"Come on, let's head back. The others are waiting for you."
"Just now, that boy..."
"Boy?"
"Iyaa... It's nothing."
She set aside her thoughts about the pink-haired boy as she started walking in the opposite direction where the rest of her comrades are located.
...
The day progressed normally without any problems as Natsu reported back to the Guild about what happened.
"Natsu!"
Eina called out from the entrance of the Guild as soon as she saw the pinkette standing at the counter, seemingly waiting for her. She recently returned back after relaying the report she got from him about what happened on the 5th floor.
"Ah, Eina... How's the report going?" He asked.
"It's been taken care of. Apparently, one of the familias that were sent in the expedition caused the minotaurs to flee to the upper floors by accident. They managed to wipe them all out before they could encounter any more adventurers from above." She explained.
"Well, one of them did." Natsu huffed.
"I'm really worried, you know. After hearing that you confronted a minotaur alone, I couldn't help but worry. I told you to be careful, right?!" She exclaimed in worry.
"It's fine... There are other adventurers out there who took care of that minotaur."
"And in addition to that, I couldn't believe that you actually fought it alone. Just how reckless can you be?"
"It's not like I didn't want to do anything about it. They were in trouble so I had to help." He reasoned.
"Well, that's certainly true but you have to consider your own safety too. Who knows if you were critically injured in that fight."
"Right, right... Sorry for confronting it alone but I don't want to stand there and let those people get hurt. You may scold me for whatever things I've done back then but I'm still not changing in turning down any help when it matters."
Natsu sighed with an upsetting look. Eina could only look at the pinkette in concern but eventually softened her expression after hearing those words from him.
"That's just like you, Natsu."
"Huh? You're not mad?"
"Well, I am but it's hard to get mad at someone like you. How can I say it? Well, you are always genuine with your feelings. Never backing down in reaching out a hand to others even if they're strangers to you. It's always been like that, isn't it?" She smiled softly that caused him to slightly blush in response.
"I-I guess so... Anyways, I'm sorry about what happened. I'll try to be careful next time." He apologized yet again.
"Hnn..." She nodded. "...Leaving that aside, how's the quest going?"
"Ah, that. I already went to the client to get the reward. I got 15,000 valis from it." He explained.
"That's great! Now let's get those magic stones traded." She urged him to follow as they try to make their way over to the exchange counter until Natsu asked again.
"Hey so, I wanna ask about something, Eina."
"What is it?"
"Do you know any female adventurer with golden hair?"
"Eh? Why do you ask?" She was taken back by surprise as soon as he asked about it.
"Well, one of the adventurers that took care of that minotaur was that woman. I just wanna know her name since she saved us from it."
"Well, there are many adventurers with golden hair. Can you give more details about this person you're referring to?"
"Hmm... Let's see... She wears an armor and some guards in her head, arms, and knees. She also had this long blue boots―"
"Ah, you must be referring to Aiz Wallenstein." She immediately realized. Natsu could only tilt his head in confusion from the sudden reply.
"Aiz what again?"
"Aiz Wallenstein."
"What a weird name..." Natsu pondered in thought.
"It's not like yours are any different too, you know." She teased.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Natsu Dragneel... It's a name that rarely comes by in these parts, don't you think?"
"My name's not that weird. What about yours, huh?!"
Natsu pointed accusingly at Eina who simply giggled at his antics.
"Fufu... Now, now. Well, leaving that aside, why do you want to know her name by the way?"
"Ah, nothing in particular. I just wanted to know if how strong she is."
At that question, Eina's giggling expression suddenly vanished and was replaced with a rather serious look towards the sweating pinkette who noticed the sudden change of expression.
"Don't tell me―you're challenging her to a fight, aren't you?"
"A-Ah... That―W-Well, not kind of like that. I-I just want to test out how strong she is." He poorly excused himself as Eina could see through his expression.
"Natsu... Don't even think about challenging her right off the bat. She's one of the strongest adventurers that is currently leading the expedition on exploring uncharted dungeon floors. In other words, she's one of the strongest adventurers here in Orario." She warned.
"R-Really? I didn't know that."
Eina held her hands to her head tiredly. As expected of him, he knows nothing of the other adventurers' statuses around the city.
"Anyways, I'd advise not to get too much involved in her too, you know. She's part of one of the strongest familia in this city too. The Loki Familia."
"Heeeeeeeh? That's kinda cool. Where do I sign up?"
"Huuuh?! Aren't you already with the Hestia Familia?! Don't tell me you're that kind of person, Natsu?!" She replied in shock.
"Just kidding! Calm down. I would never leave my goddess over something like that." Natsu reassured as he passed his remark as a mere joke that only made Eina sweatdrop in response.
"Muuoo... You're really stubborn at most times." She sighed yet again though Natsu simply responded with a grin which also earned her to give a smile of her own.
After a few minutes of talking, they eventually parted ways as Natsu traded all his magic stones and went ahead. Eina stood in the entrance, observing him as he disappeared into the distance. A smile was seen on her face as she watched him.
"You two are getting quite along too well."
A feminine voice soon cut through her train of thought as Eina turned towards one of her co-workers who was approaching towards her.
"Misha."
Calling the name of the pink-haired woman standing beside her, Eina looked towards her in mild surprise as soon as she came into view. "What's the matter?"
"Fufu... Still hard on him as always, Eina-chan." Misha teased.
"It's for his own good. But no matter how I try, he always gets too far on things. I wonder how he would be able to handle his own without my help." She breathed in exhaustion as she released all the tension from her body to relax.
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" She asked teasingly which caused the half-elf to look at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you're probably too concerned for him that you don't want him venturing too much in the dungeon."
"Well, of course, I am. I'm his advisor after all so I had every right to be worried all the time." She protested.
"Not that... What I mean is that you're trying to get as much close to him since he's been pretty busy of late. Not to mention, the closeness you two have for each other even though it's just been a few months. Quite the development there, I tell you."
Hearing that, Eina couldn't help but blush as she tried to recompose herself in the process.
"W-W-What are you talking about?! I-It's not like that!"
"Hai, hai... Eina-chan is sure uptight about her feelings."
"I suggest you worry about your own matters rather than looking at other's relationships. You still have a pile of papers to sign later, just to remind you."
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa! Don't make me remember that! I don't wanna!"
"No can do. You're going to sign it all even if it takes all night for you to finish it, understand?!" Eina ordered which caused her to bow her head in depression.
"Uwaaaa! Eina-chan's so mean!"
"Stop whining and get to work, alright." The rest of the day went by as the two co-workers continued on their duties until night descended once again.
Despite her conversations with Misha, Eina still kept her feelings aside for a reason. She knew she didn't mean any harm but a certain memory of her past reminded her of the same situation that would happen between her and Natsu when they get too close.
She didn't want to experience it again and most of all, she didn't want to lose him either.
...
Natsu walked through the busy streets of the West Main as most of the pubs and shops were located there. By far among the four Main streets of Orario, the West Main is usually the most populated. Adventurers and other people walked through this street to enjoy themselves of a nice meal throughout the exhausting adventure from the dungeon.
He arrived at the pub where he encountered the waitress that morning. He looked over at the sign which read the pub's name.
"Benevolent Mistress, huh?"
He peered at the entrance, seeing different people eating and drinking inside, possibly to spend their night celebrating with others.
He clutched onto his scarf before walking inside.
"Ah, you're that adventurer from last time! Welcome!"
Out of nowhere, a voice suddenly came from the side of the entrance, surprising the pinkette after seeing the same girl who handed him the magic stone earlier.
"You're the girl from last time."
"Yes!"
"Oh, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Syr Flover. You are?"
"Natsu Dragneel... Natsu is fine."
"Then, Natsu-san. How about you take a look inside. We have foods and drinks here for everyone." Syr smiled as she gestured her to walk inside.
"Thanks... I was getting hungry anyways."
The two went inside as Natsu took a vacant seat near the bar counter and began ordering his own meal for tonight.
It didn't take long as his food was served down right on the table. The smell of the aroma entered his nose, smelling its tasty flavor. He took a spoon and gulped down a piece of meat to taste it.
"Delicious!" In just a few moments, he began to chomp down his food as he kept on eating like a hungry wolf.
"N-Natsu-san, you might need to take it slow for a bit!" Syr who was somehow standing right next to him spoke after observing his eating habits.
"Swowwy, it's jhust delicious fur mesh..."
Natsu spoke as he gobbled food onto his mouth in which made her giggle despite the silly response.
"Oh, so you're that boy Syr was talking about earlier."
It was then another voice was heard as the two glanced towards large woman wearing a blue waitress uniform, much different from the other waitresses. She had brown eyes and a long brown hair that is usually tied around the back of her head. She also had a rather muscular body compared to the rest of the waitresses.
She placed down another bowl of meat right next to the pinkette as she approached his table.
"Hmm? You know about me?"
"Of course, you were Syr's main topic throughout the day when you were out in the dungeon."
A blush went creeping right into the grey-haired woman's cheeks as she peevishly looked at Mia in protest.
"I-It's nothing like that, Mama Mia!"
"I don't get it..."
Natsu murmured in between their conversation until Mia finally gazed at him carefully as if she was observing him.
"It's pretty rare for someone having pink hair. You're not from around here, aren't you?" She asked.
"Yeah... I came to this city to become an adventurer."
"Hnn... Very much like of the people who came to visit this city as well. It seems most of them aspired to become one after settling inside."
"Is that so?"
"That's right. On the other hand, be sure to pay up all your orders. Don't let any single food left on your plate and absolutely no refills or else…"
For a moment, a chill went up in his spine as soon as he noticed her tone of voice briefly changed at the last part. He might need to put up a note on not messing with that woman or any of the workers in this place or he might stir some really big trouble if he did.
"Y-Yes... sure. I'll do just that." Natsu agreed which somehow calmed the woman.
"That's the spirit! Syr will accompany you now. Be sure to thank her later for waiting for you all day, alright?" And with that, Mia walked back to the other counter but not while before putting down another set of food right next to him in which he didn't order.
Natsu immediately knew why Syr would invite him here.
"1,300 valis worth of food for tonight!? Goddess isn't going to like this."
Natsu sighed as he counted the value of his dinner and simply started eating despite many protests inside his mind.
Judging from how he was being treated inside, it almost seemed like he was being coerced to buy more food. Good thing he earned a lot today but the expenses on the food was just unbelievable for him.
"Sorry about that... Mama Mia tends to be talking a lot when new customers come to the pub."
"Don't worry about it. Though I don't wanna know what would happen if I get into her bad side." He shuddered.
"Oh, you noticed?" She giggled.
"It's not funny... She's too scary."
"I wouldn't say it out loud if I were you. She doesn't like anyone talking behind her back, you know." Syr warned.
"I-Is that so? I'll keep it in mind."
"So how do you feel about the place?"
"Pretty lively. Makes me want to return here because of the food. I might invite Goddess too if I had the time." Syr could only giggle in delight from his response before speaking.
"Then, you'll be visiting us from now on?"
"I don't get what you mean by that but yeah."
"I'm glad!" Natsu could not help but feel a bit confused to Syr's overjoyed expression. He assumed that she always does these kinds of stuff in order to have their patrons coming back to their pub by acting nice almost to everyone.
Still, he appreciates her kindness and seeing her happy somehow makes him kinda relieved in some sort of way.
After a few minutes of eating in the pub, Natsu eventually began to bid his farewell on Syr as he stood right outside the entrance while facing the girl standing right in front of him.
"Thanks for the meal, Syr. That was great!"
"I-It's nothing worth thanking me really. I just did my job as a waitress to keep my patrons happy during their stay. You don't have to go that far, Natsu-san..." She answered with a flustered expression as she turned her gaze away from him in embarrassment.
"I'm just expressing my thanks to you, Syr. Even it's just a small thing, I'm still grateful to it." He grinned wide, causing her to blush in response but quickly hid it from him as she kept her head down to prevent him from noticing it.
"...Well then, I'll see you tomorrow, Syr." He pressed a hand wave towards her as he proceeded to walk back to his home until she called him back.
"Natsu-san!"
"Hmm?"
"A-Are you coming to the pub tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
"T-Then, can you come by early in the morning?"
"Sure, no problem! I'll stop by before heading to the dungeon. It's not like this is our last meeting. I'll look forward to tomorrow." Hearing those words, Syr could only smile light-heartedly as she gazed at the pinkette in joy.
"Me too!"
She watched him disappear from the corner as soon as he started walking away. Syr smiled underneath her breath as she thought about the pinkette.
"Thank you, Natsu-san."
...
Natsu eventually arrived back at the abandoned church and went to meet with Hestia as he walked down to the secret basement where he saw his Goddess dusting off the dirt from the walls to maintain the cleanliness of the place.
As soon as he arrived, she eventually stopped her current work and launched herself towards him once again.
"Ah, Natsu-kun! Good evening! You're quite late today. Did something happen in the dungeon?" She began asking different questions, most of them concerning about his own well-being.
"Well, there are things but it was fun nonetheless. How about you?"
"I earned a lot on my job today but it's not enough."
"Well, I got my reward money from the quest so no worries."
He reassured her as he took out a large pouch from his pocket and handed right to her.
"Wow... It's just like the same as yesterday. You're quite lucky to obtain this much money for our familia even though we just started... Is something on your mind lately?"
She said, noticing the rather solemn look on his face as he gazed at her carefully.
"Well, sort of..."
Natsu muttered blankly before looking at open space right in front of him in which she finally began to notice what he had been feeling lately, especially towards their familia.
A moment of silence went by between the two until Natsu looked her straight in the eye with a renewed expression.
"Kami-sama... I want to become stronger."
A determined face that she found shocking caused the goddesses to blink her eyes in surprise since she never actually saw him being really serious about something until now so she stuttered.
"N-Natsu-kun?"
"Not just becoming stronger. I want to help our familia―no, I want to help you."
"H-Help me? But aren't you already doing enough?"
"Yeah but... I still think that I'm lacking enough effort. I want to work hard too... For our familia to rise up with the others. I know that it's a long and hard way to do so but I want to do it no matter what. Although I'm glad to see we're starting our way, I still want to make it further."
"Why do you want to push that much?"
"Because I want to fulfill your dream?"
"My dream?"
"Didn't you forget? You said that you wanted to create a familia that would care for their comrades. You wanted to build a place where everyone could enjoy themselves―a place where you would want to have a family. Not just me but for others as well."
He reminded as Hestia looked at him in shock as soon as she recalled her memories with during their first meeting.
It's been awhile since she heard him talking about their promise. That time when the two of them created the Hestia Familia with him being the first person to join and help her when she was having trouble back then.
That remembrance made her realize his current thoughts about their situation.
It was pretty understandable and she couldn't help but agree as well but...
"Kami-sama, I want to support your dream because I also felt the same way. I'd like to meet other people and have fun with them. If we're to start from now on, I'd like us to expand our familia but recruiting people who are interested in joining us."
That's what she was worried about.
If they were to recruit some people around town, she wouldn't have any time to enjoy with him alone. For a time, only she and Natsu were the ones who represent their familia until now.
There's a system that evaluates each familia's rankings based on the number of their members and levels. For the Hestia Familia, they're labeled to be in the lowest rank due to having only one member. One cannot simply rank up with just a member's level. It needs a lot of other people in order to raise it further to become a strong and influential familia. That's what most of the current strong familias have to stay on top.
It seems like Natsu thought about it for quite awhile now. Hestia could not help but be surprised at his change.
He must've worried about her that he wanted to work hard for the sake of their future.
She could only sigh in response.
"Alright... It seems like you've been thinking about it for quite some time so I think I should focus on this matter as well. I'll leave the recruiting to you but―" She paused.
"But?"
"You have to consider the criteria of that person you're going to recruit."
"Huh? What sort of criteria?" He tilted his head in confusion.
"First, it doesn't have to be a female."
"Huuuuh? Why?" He asked but she ignored it and continued on further.
"Second, if it does happen to be a female, you'll have to introduce me to her so I can tell if she had any motives on making a move on you, clear?"
"I don't get the second one but I'll make sure to introduce her to you."
Despite her ridiculous conditions, Natsu nodded at her instructions before hearing something from her mumble.
"Muooo... It would've been fine if it's just the two of us for now..."
"Do you really think so, Kami-sama?"
"A-Ah, eh? F-Forgot what I said!"
Hearing him responded to her whisper, Hestia stuttered in panic before turning her gaze away with a blushing face. Natsu could only tilt his head in confusion at her sudden change of expression.
Moments later, she managed to regain her composure.
"Soooo... that's all?"
"Yup but Natsu..."
"Yeah?"
"Just make sure you have to be careful out there alright? All of this would come to nothing if you didn't come back. I don't want you to go. I don't want to lose you, Natsu. I don't want to be alone again... That's why..."
She muttered, showing her full concern towards him that made him blush for a bit.
However, he understood her feelings as he simply patted her head and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry... I'm not going anywhere. And I always promise to return to you. Even if takes long, I'll make sure to keep your promise, okay?"
Hestia could only hug him in return. Natsu welcomed her embrace as he patted her head.
What a pampered goddess.
Even though they're told to be eons of old, they still able to act like the same as humans are despite their divine powers―which was then sealed away after living down here on earth together with them.
"Oh, I almost forgot. I want a status check."
...
After discussing their matters, the two began their usual status checking as Hestia proceeded to update his current abilities.
"You know, it's been awhile since you last updated your status in a row. Most of the time, you would only want them checked every three days."
"Well, I've been wanting to improve a bit further myself. Plus, this is a basic procedure in checking someone's status, isn't it?"
"Well, that's true for most of the beginners but those with higher levels update their status rarely since it's kinda hard to earn that much improvement as they level up. Although it's just surprising of how you can easily change." Hestia continued as she focused on the hieroglyphs being shown to her.
"What do you mean change?"
"Iya, it's nothing to worry about..."
She continued analyzing until her eyes suddenly widened in shock.
"E-Eh?"
"What's wrong, kami-sama?"
Natsu noticed the shocked look on her face, prompting him to ask but it was ignored by the petite goddess who was seemingly occupied on the results of his status for some reason.
On the other hand, the twin-tailed goddess blinked her eyes just to see she was not hallucinating at the results of her child's growth.
'W-What is this? J-Just how―"
She hid her astonishment inside her thoughts to prevent him from knowing what made her surprise just now.
She turned to focus more on his other abilities which had a rather unusual change from the ones she updated yesterday.
'This kind of improvement... This is just impossible!'
...
Natsu Dragneel
Level 1
Strength: D514 – B701
Endurance: D590 – C655
Dexterity: D577 – C610
Agility: D525 – C628
Magic: A868 – S901
Magic
[Fire Dragon's Flames]
Skill
[Flames of Emotion]
...
A/N: And here's the first chapter for you guys. This is my own take of the two crossover stories so there's still a lot of things needed to be tweaked. The major plotlines from both Danmachi, Sword Oratoria and FT as well will be included in time with some changes to fit into the story's mixed world of fantasies.
While I liked the other DanmachixFT crossover, I think there's too much foreshadowing of mysteries circling around Natsu and that's interesting for some. Plus, the power levels seemed OP in a sense (though I'm not actually that far off). That's why I thought about having a similar story but it would focus more on a beginner scale (including my own set of plots of course). I'm not saying you should not read it but rather, let's enjoy on whatever type of story it brings since everyone has their own tastes of looking for stories that could make them wriggle from your seat, etc.
Also, I know there will be also a talk of other characters from FT being brought up to me in time since much of the characters of the story takes on most to Danmachi. Don't worry, there will be some characters that will be introduced at a later time in order to fit into the story while at the same time, preventing too much character flooding.
And lastly, you'll know damn well that it is a harem so that's that. I'll see you guys in the next chapter. ^^
- The wiErDos send their regards...