Hello, welcome to chapter 8. Thank you Irachii for your comment. I had thought I had explained the part of the backstory that was needed sufficiently, however if readers are confused than this is clearly not the case. I shall endeavor to be more clear. I will also focus on other character relationships more, the Tione conflict was to omnipresent in the early chapters… I guess I was too desperate to make it clear that a self insert was not universally loved, and for good reason, and did not focus on the other relationships with canon characters sufficiently.
Month one part 8: Skill is no substitute for strength.
I woke up at what was around 5 in the under resort. The under resort worked on a different timescale from the normal day night cycle. It was currently off by several hours and it was still midnight on the surface. I missed Aiz, we had been practically joined at the hip since Finn brought her in 10 years ago. Unlike with my recruitment he got no argument from Loki, even then anyone with eyes could tell she would grow to be divinely beautiful… of course loki wanted dibs. It turned out to be her best decision once we found out about her wind spirit lineage, in conjunction with her childhood training she crushed through nearly everything in her path. When I found myself in this world, although I kept my mind, my body was the unexercised, slow, small form I loathed from my past. I got up and walked around in the forest. While looking through the trees I considered our first year. In practice Aiz was my senior in every way despite me being a member of the Loki familia longer by a few weeks. At the time Gareth, Finn and Riviera were still level 4… I still could not believe that I am stronger now than they were back then. Whenever they went on expeditions we were still too low level to even join them as supporters. At the time Loki rarely selected level ones, almost as infrequently as she does now. As a result we were all alone. Aiz was the frontline destroying enemies with her barely tempered fury. While I stayed at the back, desperately trying to avoid the claws and fangs of our foes in order to skewer them with my original glaive. We compared our sheets every day, using each other as pacers to race our status up as fast as possible. I could only exceed her in dexterity and compete with her in agility. For every other category there was no contest. The girl was more terrifying to me than the monsters. I remember, 13 months in for me, just over a year for her, when she reached level 2. We were a part of the team taking down the goliath and her ariel severed one of it's legs and one of it's arms. She did almost as much damage as a mage a level or two higher in perfect conditions. As I returned to the camp my mind flashed to a line of corpses, 5 dead minotaurs, with one standing over an unconscious Aiz. I purged the thought from my mind as I saw Ayda and Leyfiya.
"Good morning sleepy heads." I was honestly still somewhat tired myself, but I was good at hiding a little sleepiness.
"Good morning sir."
"Good morning Shard."
I winced at the first one "You don't need to call me sir Lefiya, I could swear I told you that before."
She frowned and gently looked at the ground "I'm sorry si-Shard."
"It's ok." I refocused the conversation on our mission. "Let's focus on our objective, we want to up-jump Ayda to level three as soon as possible." I began thinking of good monsters for her to fight. I for a second considered normal monsters… then I remembered the spawn times present for legendary monsters…
"Change of plans… I'm taking you girls dragonslaying."
As we went towards the 24th level I made sure to take the brunt of the fighting. The green dragon was a match for a level 4 adventurer. Even working together it would be almost impossible for Lefiya and Ayda to take it down. Neither was a front line tank. Ayda was a skirmisher/duelist like myself and Lefiya was a pure mage. I could kill it with my spell if the going got tough but I was strangely confident that it would not be needed. At least I hoped that this would be the case. If there were multiple dragons I would need to fight the others. Though by no means easy I was confident in my ability to take on as many as needed to leave the two juniors with one. Finding a jewel tree On the vast level would normally be impossible to do in one day… however once we found ourselves on the landing I felt the ground. On the surface Aiz's senses narrowly eclipsed my own, although she did not take full advantage of them. Deep in the dungeon her wind magic lost potence though. Meanwhile my hearing was magnified by the echoing hallways and I could tectonically sense motion easily through a large section of the level. Within only 3 hours I located the current spawn of the tree. I sighed in relief at the solitary dragon. The most I had seen was 3, but one was perfect. I could keep incidental monsters away while also making sure the girls lived.
The dragon saw us. Baring its fangs a green smoke flowed around it's breath. The bites of the dragon were poisonous to anyone with an immunity lower than H. I would also be at risk with my immunity I. Yet another case of my refusal to take hits making me vulnerable. Unlike in the old world taking hits was rewarded too my perpetual frustration. As the girls advanced I kept watch over the entrances. Barely watching I only caught glimpses of what I assumed to be a glorious display of teamwork and heroism. A couple of times I noticed one or both of them injured and incapacitated but was impressed by their tenacity. After almost 10 minutes I heard a familiar cry. The dragon had finally been slain. I looked at the two girls, clothes tattered by acid, blood dripping. They were glorious. I practically carried them back to the camp. As I did I killed monsters along the way, picking up whatever stones were available as well as the loot from the dragon and tree. When we arrived back the camp was still empty. As it was loki familia's favorite spot it seemed unlikely anyone else was there. I let Ayda and Leyfiya collapse into a deep slumber as I made a meal for them when the woke up. After quickly eating my bit I decided to visit the town. Even sleepy and injured the two were more than a match for any small creatures that might find them. I slowly walked across the uncomfortably perfect underground environment. Although I was virtually uninjured there was no rush.
As I reached the town I heard several familiar voices… my eyes widened… 'but they didn't make camp at the place' i noticed. Perhaps they were traveling light and planned to reside in the town. As there was no reason to hide I walked up to say hi.
"Hi ya'll" I shouted at the team, it appears it included everyone but Bete, Gareth and those with me.
"Hey. Hi. Hello." They all responded. "Whatcha doin down here?" Tiona asked.
"I'm just doing some training, been down here with two supporters since yesterday."
"Who else is with you?" Riviera asked
I looked back at the campsite "Lefiya and Ayda." Riviera smirked at this… gosh darn it woman it's not like that. After my face finished it's tenure as a beet she asked me, smirk still carried in her voice "So you killed the Goliath I assume?"
I let my face resume normalcy, fortunately the others were to busy looking at things to buy in the town to notice. "Yes, earlier, with 5 girls." Her stare intensified. "Hey! I am not nearly that level of pervert!" I reacted indignantly.
She gave a soft motherly chuckle. "I've known you since you were 10, you are exactly that kind of pervert. I mean… I'm sure you just hated it when they carried your unconscious body, right?"
I gulped. She had me there, though I wanted to think my intentions were truly noble the idea of surounded by beauties was certainly a factor in the decision. I decided to turn this as quickly as possible.
"So, you didn't prepare for the trip? Cause otherwise you all would have set up camp." I observed. "Well, maybe we can leave you the two double tents, it might be cramped but it could save you some valis. We had an exceptional run and would probably benefit more by a resurfacing tonight."
Riviera looked like she had been bopped in the nose. "A return in 2 days? What happened down there?"
I grinned, loving the navigation ability I had in the deep levels a little more than was healthy. "Oh… I just found them a special tree… with accompanying dragon. More than enough loot from those and the monsters killed there and back. Not to mention the goliath drop." My plain face looking boyish with glee.
Riviera stared intently at me, her eyes revealing the calculations in her head. Rather than congratulate the good fortune she let it hang in the air. "So… did the acid melt any of their clothes?"
"Maybe a little." I replied blushing again. By now the others were returning from their shopping. "Actualy" I looked at Aiz as I continued "You all need a supporter and Lefiya could benefit from more time down here. So if she wants I'll leave her here with you until I come back down. I shouldn't be long, just need to get Ayda back to the surface."
Aiz nodded. At this point I ran to the camp. Upon arriving I saw a recently awakened Lefiya and Ayda.
"Hey Shard!" Ayda chirped cherrily, her face still flawless although clearly somewhat tired still due to the aftereffects of her fight.
"Hey, I have bad news and good news." I look at Lefiya "The bad news is we are heading back up, because its almost certain Ayda leveled." Lefiya's face fell but I smiled at her. "Hey, there is good news though, Ais has a party down here." Her face lit up. "And… she needs a supporter." Lefiya looked entirely too happy with this now. I began to gather the supplies necessary for two to ascend.
Once we reached the surface I found Loki and Bete. Apparently they had done *things* yesterday that were not to be discussed in front of Ayda. But we needed status updates.
"So loki." I began once we were alone "What happened?"
She frowned, unusual for her. "I can't say yet. I need to talk to finn first."
I nodded, already taking my shirt off for my update, I wanted to save the Ayda reveal for loki to discover herself. After the ritual was done I received my update.
"Just status again, and this time not even that many. You didn't push yourself as hard as usual." loki observed.
Shard Soulspear
Level 5
Strength: I 53-60
Endurance: I 28-31
Dexterity: H 101-115
Agility: I 76 - 93
Magic: H 198
Hunter: H, Grace H, Abnormal Resistance I, Fist strike I, Glaive Wielder H
Skills: Perceptive: improves all 6 senses immensely and improves reaction time. Can be toggled off.
Precise Blows: Adds Dexterity contribution to attack damage in addition to strength.
Magic: REDACTED BY AUTHOR
"I was babysitting my trainees, not every dive is about me… by the way Ayda and I still need to convert a green dragon and jewel tree. Ayda and I shall do that after you update her status."
Lokis eyes shot open. "You just matched the average income of an expedition minus quests…" she trailed off.
"Not quite. Even accounting for expenses it was still less. Also I got lucky, i was expecting it to take a week to find the tree."
"It's still impressive" She noted "Hmm, obviously standard spoil rules will apply, im not going to take any more than is normal. I hope you let the 2nd stringers get some but if you think you earned it all."
"Oh no," I interrupted "I didn't strike it once, it was all Leyfia and Ayda. Speaking of which. She needs an update too,"
"Ah... " Loki smirks… "I have a theory, I am hoping i am wrong. Because I remember telling you no suicide fight training."
I blushed, giving away the truth. The gig up I said "It was fine, I was watching the whole time. I would have intervened if things went wrong."
She frowned. "It's irresponsible, you have a distorted view of leveling due to your circumstances. Most people don't do solo/duo death fights to level." She paused briefly… "fine send her in"
Despite suspecting the result loki still squealed in delight at her child leveling. I waited for her to leave for about 10 minutes Apparently there was something of note, but I didn't listen in. If she wanted me to know she would tell me. And as she came out she immediately thrust the sheet at my face.
Ayda Sue
Level 2-3
Strength: B 732-782-0
Endurance: C 637-700-0
Dexterity: A 800- 810 - 0
Agility: B 721 - 793 -0
Magic: 0 (10 added to level 1 and two status)
Hunter H, Abnormal resistance I, Glaive wielder I
Skills: Lady of war : Gains bonus dexterity equal to half of all dexterity statuses
Magic: Winter Blade, effect. Grants a magically scaling cold buff on weapon, through the command word freeze launches a small wave of ice. Chant: For although my heart is filled with heat, my form is as cold and as elegant as the depths of winter.
I stared at the level was the biggest change, but the spell was almost as big, though nothing in power compared to my own cast, and still likely dwarfed by Ais "ariel" The ice buff fit very well, and gaining Glaive wielder would help her guan dao as it was also a bladed polearm. I then realized.
"You can shoot the ice into." She interrupted enthused.
"I can shoot the ice into enemies whos armor I have bypassed! I can finally utilize my damage fully!" My eyes widened as she connected the dots for me. My precise blows allowed me to deal damage while striking for precision over force, she was always stuck between the two disciples. This would improve her damage immensely. This would make her immediately become the second strongest level 3 in the familia after only lefiya. I guided her to her room before turning in, I wasn't going to be resting long. Tomorrow morning I was heading back down into the dungeon. I stared up at the ceiling, remembering all of my previous levels, I grabbed my journal, and got a candle. I held it under the book… but put it away just before I burned it. 'I must remember all of my past.'
Sorry for the long delay and short chapter. Irl is fun. Next chapter will either be a direct continuation or the first flashback, and will be of normal length and within a normal timeframe.
