Chapter two: Trial by jerks.
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''Yo. Cardin! I got the name of that guy!''
The man in question, Cardin Winchester, lazily glanced up from the couch he had thrown himself into a few hours earlier. ''Took you long enough Dove.'' He sat up and turned to face the other boy who had taken an adjacent seat.
''Yeah well, took a while to get to goddess while she was in any mood to speak with me.''
Cardin could accept that, Cinder had been in a pretty bad mood ever since she was forced to act as an adviser to some low rank newbie.
But now that they knew who the guy was they could fix her problem without making more of a fuzz for her.
''So what's the info on him? And none of the boring shit, Dove, name appearance and how strong he seems to be.''
''Okay. Right, so, his name is Jaune Arc. Bout as tall as you, bit shorter, blonde, and he has some shit gear. Pretty recognizable, he'll stand out even among the other newbies.''
''Aaaand…'' Dove fished a piece of paper out of his pocket. ''I had to talk to one of my pal's at the item exchange to find out, but seems he only ever brings in first floor garbage to them.''
''So he's weak.'' Cardin summarized.
''Super weak.''
Cardin leaned back and went over the information for a minute before revealing his plan. ''Alright then. Guy's a piece of trash so we wont have to waste too much time on this. We'll pick him up when he enters Babel tomorrow and invite him to our party.'' He paused a moment before supplying ''We can just say he'd be perfect to fill the last spot in our formation.''
''We'll be going down anyways so we bring him to the fifth or sixth floor, lead him far enough from the stairs, and then leave him to get eaten while we keep going down.''
''Anyone asks, he thought he was hot shit and separated from the group to try and solo a floor he couldn't handle.''
As Dove complimented his planning skills with a laugh, Cardin got up to head for his room. ''You tell Russel and Sky that we'll leave tomorrow at..'' He paused and looked back to Dove. ''Did you get a time frame on when he goes to the dungeon?''
''…''
''Oh for fucks sake.''
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Too long.
Too heavy.
Too thin, it would snap right off if he used that one.
He groaned in frustration, the pile of weapons had just about everything that he wasn't looking for. He shifted a few more weapons around to see if there was anything he had missed.
''Wait..'' He pulled something up from the pile. ''Is this a farming hoe?''
''Jaune?''
He startled when Glynda poked her head out from the bedroom door.
''The sun has barely risen Jaune, why are you making a racket so early?''
Jaune scratched the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle, sometime as he was going through the weapons he had forgotten to be quiet about it.
''Sorry goddess.'' He put the hoe down, gently this time. ''I'm just looking for something like a dagger.''
The goddess ran a hand through her currently untidy hair and sighed. ''And you couldn't wait until I had woken up to do that?''
''Well the dungeon gets more crowded during the middle of the-'' he cut off as Glynda walked back into the bedroom. In a bit of panic he followed her in, worried that he'd made her angry by waking her so early.
When inside the bedroom he paused as Glynda suddenly walked past him to the other side of the room. ''Where did I put it.'' she muttered as she stepped over the pillows and sheets that Jaune slept on.
While they didn't really have a choice but to share room, because of the disrepair the rest of the building was in. Jaune had refused Glyndas offer to share the only bed in the room.
Not only because she was a goddess and he wanted to show his respect for her. But also because sharing a bed with such a beauty would leave him restless.
''What are you looking for goddess?'' He questioned as she went through a set of boxes filled with clothes and some other miscellaneous items.
''Well you wanted a dagger did you not? I should have one somewhere around here.''
''Oh.'' Jaune waited awkwardly as she continued to rummage through the boxes. ''I kinda thought that all the weapons were in the pile.''
''Yes well- ah here it is.'' Glynda handed him a sheathed blade, about 30 centimeters long, he pulled it out and inspected it. Double edged, the handle was a little worn but it felt sturdy enough. ''That is the weapon that Ren started out with. It should be better than anything you find in the pile I hope.''
''Is he going to be alright with me using this?''
''I don't think he would mind if I were to throw that away.'' She dismissed his worries without mercy. ''He has never been materialistic, and the weapons he uses now are much stronger.''
''Oh.. then thank you goddess.'' Then he added ''I guess I should thank Ren too when he comes back.''
Glynda hummed in approval before she walked over to her bed and motioned for him to come as well. ''I think now would be a good time to update your status, I have some things to tell you about Ren and Nora as well.''
Jaune was not about to argue, and quickly removed his simple short sleeved shirt and laid down on the bed to make it easier for Glynda.
When he was ready she straddled his hips and began by resting her palm in the middle of his back. Soon enough black text appeared, the scripture of the gods that allowed a mortals soul to grow stronger.
She pricked her finger with a needle to bring out just a drop of blood and then used it to rewrite it all. Weaving his experience to become his strength.
''About Ren and Nora.'' She started after a few moments. ''They have been down in the deeper parts of the upper floors hunting to fulfill a quest. For the last few months they've taken to spending up to a week at a time down there for a greater chance to get the item they want.''
''Wow, they must be really strong..'' Jaune mumbled into the pillow before turning his head to get a look at Glynda from the corner of his eye. ''What are they looking to get anyways?''
''An Infant dragons hide.''
He made some sort of choked sound before pushing himself up on his elbows. ''Are you serous!? How freaking strong are those two!? OW!''
Glynda frowned at him and pricked him with the needle again until he laid back down. ''Infant dragons are little for them to worry about, they've both advanced to Level two a few months ago.''
That shocked him even more. While an Infant dragon was the strongest monster in the upper floors, spawning only on the 11th and 12th floors. A level two adventurer was someone who could take on the middle floors, someone who could take on monsters that made an infant dragon seem like nothing but an over grown lizard.
''But then why are they hunting dragons? Shouldn't they go deeper?''
''Well, they have several reasons, one would be that they don't have enough party members to safely go into the middle floors.'' He knew of that, the middle floors were way more dangerous than the upper ones. More monster spawned and much faster, the terrain was unstable and the monsters had abilities that made them extremely hard to deal with.
''Also the rewards for the quest are promised to be some high class equipment provided by a high smith.''
''Oh.'' Jaune lamely responded as Glynda put the finishing touches in. He had spent a lot of time researching nothing but the dungeon so he knew little about blacksmiths and equipment.
''There I'm done.'' Glynda got off his back and fetched a pen and paper. When she had them she sat back down on the bed and began writing down his current status in a language Jaune could understand.
''Now about Ren and Nora, I believe they will be coming back later today or sometime tomorrow. I'd like you to remain at home tomorrow so you can meet them.''
''Yeah, of course. I really look forward to meeting them!'' He felt really enthusiastic about that. He'd finally get to meet his Familia members. Knowing they were so strong made it even more exciting.
''Here you are.'' Glynda handed him the paper with his updated status written on it. ''Keep up the good work.''
Jaune Arc
Level one
Strength: I-9 I-16 Defense: I-7 I-15 Dexterity: I-10 I-14 Agility: I-14 I-21 Magic: I-0
Magic ()
Skills ()
''Nice…'' He breathed as he went over his new stats. ''This is pretty good for my eighth day in the dungeon right?''
''It is.'' Glynda said as she pulled out the clothes she'd be wearing for the day. ''Will you be leaving now?''
''Yeah.'' Jaune responded as he strapped his armor on again. Opting to bring the Gladius and new dagger, instead of the Dao. ''You will be working in the library today again right?''
''Indeed.'' She looked him over and adjusted his shoulder pads a bit before stepping back. ''Good luck today Jaune, stay safe.''
Jaune smiled as he felt the warmth in her tone, this really was his home. ''I will, thank you goddess.''
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''Hey man! You wanna join our party?''
Jaune really felt like he should have said no to that. Especially now.
''Guys I really don't think I should be going this far down.'' He did his best to keep a calm attitude but his voice cracked a little as he said it.
''Oh don't worry so much Jauney boy.'' The big fellow up front, Carmen or something like that, responded without looking back. ''We're still only on the fourth floor, we have a bit more to go before we're there.''
He really, really should have said no. ''Y-yeah uh. See the thing is I'm not really st-'' He cut himself off. The walls were cracking.
None of the other four seemed to even tense in the slightest at the sound. ''Haha! This is some good timing.'' One of the guys, the one with the bird name pushed him forward. ''Show us what you've got Jauney boy!''
There was no time for him to argue, the monsters had already come out of the walls. Three goblins, slightly larger than the ones he was used to, but still easier to deal with then Kobolds. But the fourth monster was one he had not faced yet. A dungeon lizard.
It was about a meter and a half long with a wide mouth. It hung back while the three Goblins rushed towards the group of adventurers.
Two of them came towards Jaune, while one attacked the big guy.
He noticed instantly that they were a lot faster than the first floor Goblins, but not to the point that he couldn't deal with it. He knew well enough that they liked to go for the legs first so he lowered his stance and readied his Gladius.
As soon as they came close enough he struck out, scoring a deep cut into the neck of the closest Goblin. The other one he dodged to the side and tried to swing at but missed. Then it proved how different it was from the Goblins he had faced so far.
It stopped and jumped at him while he was still recovering from his wide swing. He was thrown off his feet as it slammed into him, and when he was down and dazed it started scratching at his chest plate and arms.
Jaunes next moves were clumsy, he punched it first with his left hand and then with the right, forgetting that he was holding a sword until he saw himself holding it again.
Realizing he was still armed he began chopping at it until it fell off of him.
He sat up breathing ragged and looked to the other boys, only to see them all looking up at the ceiling. One of them, Russel, the only one who's name he'd managed to remember pulled out a knife. ''Check it.''
He threw it upward, and Jaune followed the knives flight path to see it lodged in the head of the dungeon lizard that he'd lost track of earlier. And now it was falling right towards him.
With a yelp he rolled aside before the lizard corpse crushed him.
While he shakily got back on his feet, Russel retrieved his dagger, the boy then gave Jaune a pat on the shoulder. ''You handled that like a champ Jauney boy!''
Somehow he didn't feel convinced by that, and yet the other boys laughed and shouted some similar comments as they kept moving. Only when they walked past was he treated to the sight of the third Goblin, smashed into the wall.
He did his best to compose himself and keep up with the others. He'd already agreed to come with them, going back on his word just wasn't something he did. But this was already more dangerous than he was comfortable with.
''Hey we're not going any further down right?'' He raised his voice a bit when they didn't respond right away. ''Guys I really don't think I'll be much help, if we go down more floors!''
The big guy, sighed and came back to Jaune, only to start pushing him along. ''You don't need to be so scared man.'' He paused to glance at the other boys before he continued. ''This is going to work out just fine. When we get to the fifth floor, you and me will be the vanguard, the rest of the guys bring up the rear and support us.''
''F-fifth..'' Jaune had already read up on that floor, at that point the monster's that spawned changed. ''I.. Seriously man I'm not ready for- GuH!?''
The boy beside him had wrapped a strong arm around his neck in a choking grip. ''There's no need to be scared.'' He repeated in a stronger tone. ''Look were already at the stairs. And you know what they say, 'Don't knock it till you try it'.''
He didn't get to argue as he was bodily dragged down into the lower layer.
Before he knew it he was walking next to the large boy, weapons at the ready in the unfamiliar green tinted corridors.
They hadn't run into any monsters yet, and he was glad for that but now it only made him more nervous.
He felt some sort of tension. His guts were telling him something was about to go wrong.
How long they had been walking he wasn't sure, but if his mental map was correct they had come a good distance from the stairs.
It was getting to him, the walls were his enemy, at any second monsters that outclasses him could crawl out and surround them.
Suddenly the others stopped, and Jaune walked a few more steps in confusion. He couldn't hear anything, no cracking walls or sounds of monsters.
The big guy nodded to his three friends before stepping up to Jaune and setting a heavy palm on his shoulder. ''Jauney, you feel it right? They're coming.''
Before he could find his voice he heard it. The walls were finally cracking.
Another hand set down on his other shoulder ''Which means that this is your stop.'' suddenly he was flying through the air.
He couldn't understand what was happening, he'd been thrown? Why?
His body hit the ground, and he rolled for a few seconds. As soon as his eyes stopped spinning he scrambled to his feet. ''WHAT THE FUCK!?'' to his horror the four were leaving him behind, calmly walking away as several pitch black lanky monsters filled the space between them.
He wanted to shout for them to come back and help. Shout at them to stop kidding around. But he couldn't, the monsters were already there.
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He stepped out of the tower and squinted as the sun glared down, it was a few hours before the sun would set. ''Well, at least we came back during the day this time.''
''Whew! Fresh air!'' his red headed partner exclaimed in her usual exuberance.
''We probably have a few hours before Goddess goes home. Shall we go buy something to eat on our way back.''
''Oooh! I know just the place Ren! Lets go see if we can get some take away from Yakiryuu!''
He grabbed her hand and held her back to the best of his ability ''I know we made quite a lot of money this time but even so we can't afford to eat at a place like that.''
''Oh come on! We got more than a hundred thousand!''
''That does not mean that we can freely throw it away in a single day.'' He remained steadfast in his decision even though his partner continued to whine about it.
''Listen how about we get something from the Spring maiden's? We can all get what we like there.''
''I guess.'' she was pouting now.
''Goddess will be happy if we get her that vegetarian dish she likes.''
Nora gave a dissatisfied groan but still went along with him as he started towards the restaurant. ''I'm gonna tell Glynnie that you're a cheapskate.''
''I'm fine with being a cheapskate if it means our house getting rebuilt faster.''
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He was getting close now, just a few more rooms ahead and he would reach the stairs.
Even though it hurt to breath he continued running as he had been for almost an hour now.
Because he knew that if he could reach them, then the stairs would be a sanctuary where monsters did not spawn. If he could reach them then he could rest.
Do or die.
For the first time since his first dive into the dungeon he was happy to have dropped his armor. It had been shredded earlier by a war shadow. He was lucky enough to escape with only a few gashes on his back.
Dumping his armor came later when he'd ran into an empty room.
And now, he could finally see them, the stairs were straight ahead. Finally he'd made it. He would survive.
But then the walls around the stairs began cracking.
The dungeon itself was a living organism, and it did not like those who intruded. If it felt weakness then it would strike.
But Jaune couldn't let it just end.
The stairs were right there. His way to safety was so close!
And so he abandoned all thought of safety and drew his sword and dagger. He sped up as much as he could and aimed at the monster in the middle of the group. If he could get through it, he would be safe.
He kicked off his last step and raised his sword high, and swung with all his might.
It was stopped. He cried out in pain as he slammed into the War shadow, his right arm impaled by it's fingers.
He could see his reflection in the monsters crystal 'face'. Cheeks stained by tears, and over all twisted in fear.
'This is how I'll die?' He thought as the monsters other hand came up to his chest, ready to pierce his heart.
'I wish I was stronger.'
He honestly thought those would be his last thought's. And they should have been.
He didn't understand what had occurred, the monsters were all just suddenly gone, only dust floated around him in a storm.
And in the dust there were rose petals.
''Are you alright?''
He really didn't understand why a young girl dressed in a black and red dress stood in front of him now.
And why was she holding a scythe?
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'It doesn't make sense'
Jaune was making his way back to the surface, already having reached the third floor.
'She can't have been older than my even my youngest sister. So why?'
Why was a little girl so much stronger than him?
''I'm way too weak.''
She had even taken the time to wrap his wounded arm in bandages, black colored for some reason, before she rushed off just as fast as she had come.
''I can't stay this way.''
A wandering group of several Kobolds and Goblins appeared before him. He drew the new dagger with his left hand.
''I swear on my name as an Arc.. I WILL GET STRONGER!''
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AN: I don't feel completely satisfied with this chapter, but I don't know what I would change to improve it. Damn my lacking imagination.
Anyways in the next chapter I intend to introduce some more characters, and maybe get Jauney boy some new armor and weapons. Also from now on I will start including how Jaune thinks. I only just forgot to write that in the earlier chapters.
I hope you enjoy this story and please do tell me if I make any mistakes.