Disclaimer:
DanMachi was created by Fujino Omori. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. This story uses reference material from them.

Demons of the Dungeon
By: RB3
Chaos in Orario 3: Mystically Attuned

Kaz woke up early to the dawning of a bright new day over Orario. After doing his morning routine, he put on his combat gear and made his way to the Dungeon. Like before, several adventurers were on their way to the Dungeon to make their fortune like he was. He circled the 4th floor as before in the same route he always used. Every time a group of goblins or kobolds appeared to ambush him, he would spray ice upon them, before cutting them down or draining their life.

When the day was over, he returned home, where he deliberated on the decision before him. For his mission, he felt that joining a smaller Familia would be the best decision. Being in a large Familia meant too many eyes were watching him. They'd also operate more like a regimented military, which would limit his freedom to act and gather information. Of the Familia who had offered him membership, he settled on joining the Hestia Familia.

When he arrived at their church, Hestia and Bell were surprised to find Kaz knocking on the door. "Hi guys! I've decided to join your Familia," said Kaz.

"Wonderful!" said Hestia.

"It's great to have you, Kaz!" said Bell.

"What do I need to do now? I have to get a Falna, right?" asked Kaz.

"Yeah, we can do it right now," said Hestia. "Come to my bedroom and I'll get you set up."

Kaz followed Hestia to her room in the dilapidated church. Hestia instructed him to remove his shirt and lie prone on the bed. She pricked her finger to draw blood and smeared it across his back. A tattoo appeared on his back. It resembled a flaming brazier surrounded by blocks of writing. She then put another drop of blood on his back, causing the tattoo to glow and display his statistics. Hestia's eyes widened in surprise and delight when she saw the kind of power he held.

Kazuya Minegishi
Lv 1

Str: F
Vit: S
Dex: SS
Agi: S
Mgc: SSSS

Skill
Mystical Attunement (attuned to magic, allowing magical sense, accelerated growth oriented around mgc and dex)
Water / Ice Absorb (absorb water and ice to self heal)

Magic
Water Sculptor (no-chant, create and shape water and ice)
Drain (no-chant, steal health and mind in an arc)

Kaz was quite a mysterious unique adventurer. He appeared to be a young man from the Far East, a region quite a distance away from Orario. Despite being foreign, he also had abilities which were rare even for foreigners. In many ways, Kaz was the opposite of Bell. Kaz was a mage, attacking from a distance with magic, while Bell was a frontline fighter. Kaz used ice magic in a variety of ways, but Bell used fire magic solely to shoot bolts.

Hestia was elated, but at the same time, sensed danger. If the other gods ever discovered the full extent of Kaz's abilities, they would try to poach him, just like Bell. When Hestia pressed a parchment onto Kaz's back, she made sure to leave the entry for Mystical Attunement blank. "Here ya go!" said Hestia.

"So, everything is at S or higher except strength," remarked Kaz. "Well, I guess I did beat most of my monsters by blasting them."

"Yeah, and you're more than ready to go to Lv2 right now," said Hestia.

"So, how do I get to Lv2?" asked Kaz.

"You have to do something that would impress the gods," replied Hestia. "That could mean fighting a stronger than usual monster and defeating it."

"I see..." replied Kaz. "What is this blank spot under the skill heading?"

"Oh, it's a mistake. My hand must have slipped," replied Hestia. "Say, why did you come to Orario in the first place?"

"I want to make my living here," replied Kaz. "I figured that being an adventurer would be the ticket to fame and fortune."

"I see..." replied Hestia.

"Is there anything else?" asked Kaz.

"No, that's it. Bell wants to head into the Dungeon with the others today. Go join them and good luck!" said Hestia.

Kaz put on his shirt and joined Bell in the den. "Hestia has given me a Falna. I can go into the Dungeon with you guys!" said Kaz.

"Great!" said Bell. "We're going to meet the others by the fountain at the Dungeon's entrance. Let's go!"

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Bell and Kaz travelled down the streets of Orario. Several other adventurers were making their way to the Dungeon as well. They came upon a fountain where Welf and Lili waited for their partner. "Bell... and Kaz?" asked Lili.

"Good news, Kaz joined our Familia!" said Bell.

"Hey, great!" said Welf.

"Good, I guess," replied Lili.

"How deep are we going?" asked Kaz. "I hope it isn't too deep. I'm still a Lv1."

"We're stopping at F12," replied Bell.

"Yeah, last time we went deeper, it was a disaster," replied Lili. "We barely made it home alive."

"We're gonna play it a bit safer this time," replied Welf.

"Okay, fair enough," said Kaz.

The Hestia Familia marched into the Dungeon with a crowd of other adventurers. They passed through the first four floors easily, as the other adventurers had exterminated the monsters on their way down. In the next set of floors, they came across a swarm of large, ant-like monsters. They were known as Killer Ants and could screech to call for aid their sisters. The Hestia Familia drew weapons in preparation to fight.

Kaz sprayed a blast of ice upon the Killer Ants. It fanned out of his hands in a wide arc, freezing ants left and right. "Wow! You're a mage!" said Welf. "So, those weren't just parlour tricks back at the party."

"Nope," replied Kaz. "They're all yours. Have fun guys."

"Helpless monsters... The best kind!" remarked Welf.

The Hestia Familia cut down each of the ants, who could do nothing but resign themselves to death. Once they were dead, Kaz created flows of water to wash all of the magic stones into a single, watery tornado. It was easy for Lili to simply pluck out stones and dump them into her massive backpack. "Now that's very convenient," remarked Bell.

"I do this all the time when I was solo," replied Kaz.

"It must save you a lot of time from picking up stones," said Lili.

"Uhuh, Eina told me that I earned as much as a party of Lv1s," replied Kaz. "I live very well on that kind of cash."

The Hestia Familia continued onto F10. Unlike the floors above, this floor and the next two were covered in mist. It made visibility quite low, a dangerous situation to be in with monsters lurking about. The land was a vast forest of leafless trees with sparse patches of grass covering the ground. In the distance, there were small hills and plateaus to break up the monotony of the mist-covered forest.

The Hestia Familia came upon a group of imps clawing out of the earth. Once free, they pounced. Bell cut down two with his first attacks. Another tried to sneak in from his blind right, but he still spotted it and kicked it away. Welf chopped a fourth in half as it pounced in. A fifth tried to approach from his periphery, but he spotted it and cut it down. Kaz iced the next three, leaving solid statues. He then stabbed each with his knife.

As Kaz washed the magic stones into a pile, a rumbling came from the ground. A trio of large creatures emerged from the ground. They were rotund green monsters known as orcs. They were at least twice the height of the Hestia Familia members. They approached in formation with two in front with the third in the rear. Kaz froze a patch of ice on the ground beneath them. The orcs blundered onto the ice and slipped, causing an immediate halt to their advance.

A smile formed on Kaz's face, and even Bell, Welf, and Lili could not help but laugh out loud. "Oh this is a riot!" remarked Welf through his laughter.

"Let's take advantage of this," said Bell, who leapt onto one of the orcs and stabbed it through the head. Just before it vanished, Bell leapt away. Welf did the same to the second.

The last orc rose to its knees. "That one's not ready to quit," said Lili, who fired a small, arm-mounted crossbow at the orc's head.

The orc clutched at the wound, but the distraction caused it to lose balance and fall again. It started to rise again, but Kaz fired an ice beam through its head. The orc collapsed from head trauma. Kaz washed all of the magic stones together for Lili to bag. "I'm glad you joined our Familia," said Bell. "Orcs aren't too hard, but keeping them on their backs means less damage for us. Great work!"

"Thank you Bell, and also for giving me this chance to reach the Misty Floors," said Kaz.

The Hestia Familia continued on a circuit around the Misty Floors. They soon came upon a trio of giant silverback gorillas. The Hestia Familia faced off with them with weapons ready. One of the silverbacks tore a boulder from the ground and hurled it. The Familia dove away, letting it crash in empty space. Kaz formed a patch of ice beneath their feet. One of them reached for another boulder, but slipped and smacked its head against it.

Lili fired crossbow bolts at the silverbacks. With so many stuck to their bodies, they looked like living pin cushions. Despite this, they remained standing. Bell landed onto a silverback's shoulder and made a wide slash across the head. Having taken a fatal blow, the silverback collapsed and crumbled to nothingness. Welf approached a second, ducking a punch to close on its legs. With a powerful strike, Welf kneecapped the monster. He leapt for the monster's head and lopped it off.

Kaz fired an ice beam into the third's knee. Ice coated the silverback's leg, pinning it to the ground. It tried to wrench it free, leaving an opening for Kaz to shoot its head. The silverback broke its restraint as it collapsed with a thud. When it was safe, Kaz washed the stones into place for Lili. They continued on the circuit around the Misty Floors, felling monsters while gathering magic stones for money. When they finished their route, they returned to the surface to cash in their earnings.

Several adventurers were gathered in the Pantheon, reading the notice board. Bell noticed one of the adventurers present was a friend, Mikoto Yamato of the Take Mikazuchi Familia. The Japanese girl had long black hair and wore a violet tunic with a samurai shoulder guard. "What happened here?" asked Bell to Mikoto.

"There's been a murder," replied Mikoto.

"A murder?" asked Lili. "How did it happen? Who's the culprit?"

"They don't know yet. The victim was a member of the Freya Familia. Rumour has it that they found him sliced open with his heart missing," replied Mikoto.

Bell could not help but feel a sense of revulsion. "Ew!"

However, Kaz found Mikoto's description quite familiar. "Where did they find that Freya member?" asked Welf.

"Outside, in the grassland to the north of Orario. A hunter's dog led him to the body," replied Mikoto.

"Who could have done something like this?" asked one of the random adventurers. Kaz had an idea, but declined to speak for fear of revealing too much.

Lili cashed in the magic stones and rejoined the others outside of the Pantheon and split the earnings. They separated to rest and recover for the next trip into the Dungeon. That night, Kaz reported what he had seen to his friends back at the Babelite base. "A murder?" asked Midori. "Who would do such a thing?"

"They don't know yet, but I have a hunch that it was the work of an Aztec demon," replied Kaz.

"Don't the Aztecs cut out people's hearts and offer them to their gods?" asked Atsuro.

"Yeah, a cult must have formed around such a demon," replied Kaz. "Did it get through our defences?"

"It's possible. We try our best, but we can't stop every demon from sneaking through," said Yuzu.

"Okay, I'm going in as Abel. I'll have Mao and Scarlet helping me out with Yog staying behind to watch the mine," said Kaz.

"Good, we're going on our first Dungeon exploration tomorrow. Good luck and stay safe," said Atsuro.

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The next day, Atsuro, Yuzu, and Midori, the Survivors, ascended to F64, one floor above Sunstone City's floor. The came upon the mural of a dragon upon a wall of flat rock. Midori noticed text on a small tablet beside the mural. "Here is where the evil dragon Keelon had been sealed. So long as the Dragonslayers keep their vigil, the world shall be free of his reign of terror," read Midori.

"Is it going to jump out and attack us?" asked Yuzu.

"If it tries, we'll beat it up, just like that!" replied Midori.

"A special condition is needed to bring out the dragon. Maybe we can find a clue elsewhere on this floor," said Atsuro.

The Survivors cased the area on the back of the crane-like rooster, Vidofnir. In the north was a castle which had fallen into disuse. To the south was a ship, beached on the sandy shore of a lake. The mural they had seen earlier was at the east side and marked the stairs to the lower floor. The centre of the floor was a vast grassland. A series of grey stone statues stood in the centre as a monument to an adventuring party. The group was the Dragonslayer family according to the identifying plate.

The far left statue was Sam the father, a muscular, mustachioed man in rugged clothing. He propped his axe upside-down in his hand. The next was his wife, Mina, a lovely woman with shoulder-length hair. She had wings on her back, making her seem like an angel. The next was the son, Rowen, a boy in his early to mid teens. He was clad in leather armour, like an adventurer in training. He had his fist out, as though to hold a weapon, but nothing in hand.

The daughter, Lilly, was a cute, sweet girl no more than ten years old. She wore a feather on a headband like an Indian. The last was Poochie, whose appearance was not what his name suggested. His statue depicted a lizard-like creature. Poochie also seemed very young, like an infant. "Poochie is a dragon?" asked Yuzu. "That's a dog's name!"

"He so cute and adorable! He just makes my heart melt!" said Midori.

The Survivors found a small forest in the western part of the floor. They soon chanced upon a clearing with a log cabin meant for a lumberjack and his family. The home was abandoned, with no sign that anyone had used it recently. There was a set of graves near the cabin. The headstones were made of granite, but the last was a simple cross made of wood, more crudely constructed than the others.

"Here lies the remains of the Dragonslayers, the family who ended the reign of the evil dragon Keelon," said Midori, reading the inscription on a tablet behind the graves. "To witness their epic battle, crown the Dragonslayers' likenesses and offer them a weapon to face the evil dragon."

The members of the Dragonslayer Family were Sam, Mina, Rowen, and Lilly, inscribed from left to right. They were father, mother, son, and daughter respectively. The last grave was marked "Poochie," written crudely in paint by a child's hand. "So, these are the graves of the people shown by the statues," said Yuzu.

"Ooh! This sounds like a puzzle!" said Midori.

"Yeah, if we need to crown them, we have to find those crowns," said Atsuro.

"Where could they be?" asked Yuzu.

"I saw a ruined castle and a beached shipwreck. Maybe we should start there," replied Atsuro.

The Survivors used Vidofnir to fly to the ruined castle. As soon as they set foot on the spacious courtyard, various monsters spawned from the ground. Some of the monsters were giant spiders, Deformis Spiders, with fangs which dripped green venom. Another set were green dragons. A third set were animated skeletons, black Spartoi, who were armed with swords and shields. The last were monsters which resembled golems made of volcanic rock known as Flame Rocks.

The creatures advanced on the team. "Of course there had to be monsters," remarked Atsuro.

Yuzu hurled air blades at three spiders, slicing and dicing them to bits. Vidofnir's eyes glowed grey as it gazed at others, turning another three to stone. Black Frost slipped behind the dragons and spewed ice from his mouth. Two got frozen solid. Others turned to breathe fire at him, only to have their breath bounced back and stun them. Black Frost set upon them quickly, breathing ice to put them down.

Atsuro's demon, a yaksini known as Viola, had cut down two Spartoi which closed to engage. Another tried to slip in through the blind side, but the purple-skinned amazon noticed and roundhouse kicked it away. She whipped a whirlwind towards her foe and sent it into a wall. Atsuro closed with another and landed a haymaker to its jaw. The Spartoi's skull shattered and the monster collapsed in a heap.

A Flame Rock tried to punch Atsuro, but he dodged and hopped away. A turquoise-skinned giant, Hector the Hecatonchires, stepped in and punched the Flame Rock to pieces. The last Flame Rock charged in to intervene, but walked right into Hector's punches and got shattered. "At least they drop nice crystals," remarked Atsuro, picking one up.

After harvesting the stones, they entered the central chamber. There were four golden crowns arranged in a row, sealed within a display case. The Survivors claimed them and flew south to the beached pirate ship. They found a single treasure chest in its hold. A scimitar was inside, which they claimed. They returned to the statues. "Now, where do we put the crowns and the sword?" asked Yuzu.

Atsuro looked over the statues of the Dragonslayers. "Put the sword in Rowen's hand," said Atsuro. "Put the crowns on the others."

Once Midori did so, a tremor ripped through the ground. Unseen from the statues, the spirits of the Dragonslayers rose from their graves. Rowen pointed at a direction, urging his family to follow. The mural burst open and from the hole came the evil dragon Keelon, roaring with vengeance. "What was that?" asked Yuzu.

"We woke up the dragon!" said Midori.

Keelon departed from the mountains which contained his mural. At the west end of the grassland, the Survivors spotted the Dragonslayer family rushing to meet Keelon in battle. Mina took to the sky with her wings and hurled balls of pink magical light. Her daughter joined the attack, shooting fireballs from her wand. Sam assisted by throwing axes at Keelon, which would vanish and rematerialize in his hand after impact.

None of the attacks fazed Keelon, who whipped its tail at Sam. The father hopped over the attack, avoiding it completely. Poochie pounced and bit into Keelon's tail. Keelon roared in agony, trying to shake off the courageous pet. Rowen leapt up and impaled Keelon in the cheek. The dragon shook its body, throwing off son and sword, followed by swinging its tail to throw off Poochie. The Dragonslayers regrouped and rethought their tactics.

"What do we do?" asked Yuzu.

The Dragonslayers charged at Keelon. "While they're busy, attack!" said Atsuro.

"Okay!" said Yuzu.

Vidofnir made a beeline for Mina, crashing into her like a missile. She was thrown out of the air and killed upon hitting the ground. Hector charged at Keelon and tackled him to the ground. He mounted the dragon and proceeded to rain punches all over its face. The blows came so fast that the dragon could do nothing to defend itself. The final blow pulped Keelon's head, disintegrating the entire body and leaving behind its magic stone.

Midori's Cait Sith, who resembled the Puss in Boots, whipped a whirlwind at Rowen. He was carried into the air and shredded, leaving behind nothing but his magic stone. Sam hurled axes at Midori, who weaved past, then leapt over an axe and sent a blast of fire down onto him. Sam got melted by the flames, leaving behind his magic stone. Poochie lunged and bit into Black Frost's arm. In turn, Black Frost pulled him off by the tail and lifted him into the air. Black Frost breathed ice to freeze him.

Atsuro evaded Lilly's fireballs and quickly darted in with a blow to the gut. Lilly crumpled under the power of the blow and disintegrated, leaving behind her stone and wand. Atsuro picked them up. The others gathered the remaining stones as well as Sam's gloves and Lilly's wand. Even without confirmation by comps, Lilly's wand was clearly magical, capable of shooting fireballs. Sam's gloves were also magical according to the comps, increasing its wearer's strength.

"These may be useful," said Atsuro. "Let's keep them for now."

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The Hestia Familia met bright and early in the morning by the fountain. With all members accounted for, they made their way to the Misty Floors for more magic stone gathering. Their first encounter was with a group of three Hard Armoureds, creatures which resembled spiked armadillos. They curled up and rolled at the Familia, forcing them to scatter to avoid being run over. Once the armadillos realized they had overshot their targets, they turned for another pass.

Kaz quickly put an ice patch in their path. They tried to roll through it, but two slipped and collapsed on their sides. The third continued to slide towards the group at top speed. Kaz leapt over it in the nick of time and Lili took a step back to avoid it. It crashed into a rock and killed itself, leaving behind a magic stone. Kaz removed the ice patch to allow Bell and Welf to approach and cut the rest down.

"Be careful! Your ice nearly got us run over!" said Lili.

"I'll be mindful for the future," said Kaz.

"Nobody was hurt," said Bell, returning to the group with Welf.

They suddenly heard screaming from elsewhere in the Misty Floor. They went to search of the source and found a trio of Lv1 adventurers running in terror. Following them was an orange reptilian monster which towered over them. It was a baby dragon, the most powerful monster in the upper floors. It was like a Floor Boss, and needed a group of Lv1 combatants to down. However, it was not a true Floor Boss since it had a random spawn point on the Misty Floors.

"Let me deal with this creature," said Kaz. "Get those adventurers to safety."

"Alone? That's too risky!" said Lili.

"I know what I'm doing. Just make sure they are safe," said Kaz.

"Okay, do what you need to do," said Bell.

"Thank you," said Kaz.

As Bell and the others ran to assist the adventurers, Kaz had placed an ice patch in the path of the baby dragon. The dragon blundered onto it in pursuit of its prey. It reared back to breathe fire, only to lose its footing and misfire chaotically. The burning stream veered towards Kaz, who quickly bolted away. However, he looked down and saw that he had been singed in the hand. He turned to the dragon and froze an icy collar around its right hind leg.

The dragon struggled to rise, but couldn't with that collar present. It tried to wrench its leg free, but Kaz kept blasting it with ice beams, causing heavy damage. It finally broke the collar and got up, though still wobbly from the ice patch. It escaped the ice and turned to Kaz, who went low and kneecapped its left front leg with an ice beam. The dragon roared in agony as it stumbled. It managed to spit a fireball at Kaz. Kaz hopped away, but the explosion knocked him further than planned.

He quickly recovered and bounced to his feet. Kaz expelled tendrils of violet energy, stealing the dragon's power for self-replenishment. The dragon slumped over, fatigued from the attack. Kaz sent an ice beam right between the creature's eyes, causing mortal trauma to the head. It collapsed without another sound and vanished, leaving behind a large magic stone. The rescued adventurers were in awe.

They raced over to thank their saviour. "Thank you so much. We would have been dragon chow if it weren't for you," said one of the male adventurers, a man with stubble on his face.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're all alive," said Kaz.

"That was awesome!" said Welf.

"Way to go!" said Bell.

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When evening came, the Hestia Familia returned to the surface with bags full of magic stones. With the addition of the baby dragon's magic stone, they got a bonus of 100,000 Valis. That gave each member two whole days worth of extra pay. The Hestia Familia split up for the night's chores. After cleaning up at his home, Kaz returned to the Hestia church to get an update to his Falna. As Hestia looked over the tattoo, she was amazed at what she saw.

Kazuya Minegishi
Lv 1 - 2

Str: F - I
Vit: S - I
Dex: SS - I
Agi: S - I
Mag: SSSS - I

Skill
Mystical Attunement
Water / Ice Absorb
Energetic Reservoir (health & mind can be banked & supplied to self or other people)

Magic
Water Sculptor
Drain

Dev Ability
Mage I (enhance magic usage)
Status Resist I (avoid being affected by status ailments)

Now that Kaz had joined a Familia, he wasn't out for just himself anymore. He needed to consider his new Familia and start helping them rise in wealth and prominence. He gained Energetic Reservoir to fulfill this need. The Hestia Familia had yet to acquire a healer. It relied upon potions for recovery, which did get expensive. Although the money was starting to flow in, any way to save money was a good thing.

Hestia put the Falna onto a sheet of paper for Kaz to read. "Lv2? Yes!" said Kaz.

"That was fast. You've been here a bit longer than two months and you're already Lv2. I'm amazed," said Hestia. "Bell still holds the record though. He got Lv2 in half the time."

"Eh, I wasn't really trying to compete with him," said Kaz.

"So, how do you like being in my Familia?" asked Hestia.

"You seem so close to each other. I admire that," replied Kaz.

"You gained a healing ability with your level," said Hestia.

"I noticed. I didn't see any of the others use healing magic. I don't think they know any. It seems like I'm the only one," remarked Kaz.

"You are," said Hestia. "My Familia will be relying on you more than ever. Please be careful."

"I will, thanks," said Kaz.

When Kaz put on his shirt and left, he bumped into Bell on the way out. When asked, Kaz repeated what he had learned from Hestia. "You got Lv2 and you can heal now?" asked Bell.

"Yep, but it's very limited," replied Kaz. "I'll need more protection. I can't heal you if I keep having to use my stored energy on myself."

"Still, that's great!" said Bell.

END OF CHAPTER