Is It Wrong To Crawl My Way Back Home, One Dungeon Floor At A Time?
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"You know, kid. I have to admit. I'm really enjoying myself right now!"
"Y-Yeah, I can see that, John!"
My warhammer was already dripping with gore and viscera when I swung it in the face of a rampaging goblin. Its bulbous green head burst open like a ripe fruit as its brains and bits of skull splattered on the rocky walls of the Dungeon. Its headless body flew through the air, its stout legs easily lifted from the ground and smashed into a prowling kobold.
24. 25 if I managed to kill that kobold.
A strange sucking sound could be heard over the din of growls and yowls of the goblins and kobolds, right above us. I glanced up for a second to see a large Dungeon Lizard sticking to the ceiling, glaring at us with bestial hostility. It was seconds away from dropping down on me.
"John!" Bell yelled out to me as he slits the throat of a goblin with his new knife. In that same breath, he dodged another one throwing itself at him and swung his foot around to meet its jaw. A disgusting crack echoed out from the blow as the goblin's head shifted in an unnatural way. Without missing a beat and holding onto a thin pointed dagger, he shoved it into the eye of a leaping kobold.
"I see it, kid!" Was all I could shout back when the Dungeon Lizard let out a low hissing roar and launched itself at me, its maw filled with fangs and its glowing red eyes glaring hatefully at me.
Gripping my warhammer in both hands, I twisted it around to its pointed end and with a grunt of effort, lifted it up and swung it in a massive arc towards the leaping Dungeon Lizard.
Its eyes went wide but that didn't matter much as the pointed tip gored it in a bloody display of gushing blood that splattered across me like a broken fountain. Its flesh and bones pulped and broke under the heavy blow as I all but impaled it on the ground.
Twenty-six, I thought to myself with a bloody grin.
HP: 74
I felt something clawing at the back of my head and my left hand lashed out to grab onto something furry and rough. My head snapped to see I had a thrashing kobold in my grip, holding it by its neck. Just behind it, charging straight at me was a slobbering goblin and another large Dungeon Lizard.
"Earth Spikes."
MP: 150
With a tensed arm, I threw the kobold in my grip against the wall and its furry head smacked hard against the stone walls. The very same walls that ripped apart as the four familiar stalagmites launched towards the monsters. The goblin died when a single spike popped its head like a wet balloon filled with blood and it fell dead.
The Dungeon Lizard didn't fare any better when its two front legs were impaled. It fell and stumbled in an ungraceful heap of thrashing limbs before the final spike pierced its throat and it drowned in its life fluids.
Twenty-eight.
A disgusting wet noise that sounded like someone sucking in water could be heard as I removed my warhammer from the dead Dungeon Lizard. Holding my weapon in both hands, I twisted it around to its flat head and advanced upon the dazed kobold who stood up shakily on its knees. It looked up only to find my warhammer descending upon its skull. It didn't so much as pop as it did cave into its body, completely destroying any semblance of anything resembling something that lived.
"Twenty-nine," I said to Bell as the last of the monsters were finished off, leaving me and the kid in a field of fresh corpses. Bell looked at me, covered to head and toe in blood and I have no doubt I looked the same.
"Thirty-one," He said to me and I saw a small grin pull at his lips, "But you could probably get way more if you used your spells more, John."
"Top tip, kid. Don't give someone you're competing against any advice. Plus, I want to save my magic for the lower Floors," I said to Bell, looking around at the monsters we killed, "Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"
"Good. A lot better than I thought," Bell gave me a sure nod, "I thought I would be aching or something but your magic is really something, huh?"
"It's not that impressive. Pretty sure most mages have a healing spell or two in their spell slots," I said with a shrug before stopping myself with a frown.
"Or just one because of the three spell slot thing."
Which still kinda irked me but it was whatever. Better to have the three spells than to have no spells.
"So how are the new weapons working out for you, kid?" I asked Bell as I knelt down and started to gather up our loot and cutting open the monsters for their magic stones. I placed my warhammer on the wall
"Mhm, they're really good. I would ask you, but uhm...I think that's pretty obvious."
"I'll say it anyway; I fucking love this thing," I said with no shame whatsoever in my glee as I split open the kobold I pulverised, "And did you see the look on some people's faces? Fucking priceless."
When we were done at the shop in Babel, I remembered the look of mild disbelief on the shopkeeper's face as we bought our equipment and I told him I wanted to buy this warhammer.
He said it was meant for dwarfs to use. I told him I didn't care.
Our trip in total cost us about 32,000 valis. We both got some armour, but I decided not to go for a full set, only getting metal gauntlets and greaves. Bell got a new chest plate, gauntlets and greaves but were much lighter and thinner than my thick ones.
Bell got three weapons, including the cinquedea. The first was an ordinary knife, if simply better made than the Guild dagger he lost but the second surprised me. He got a stiletto of all things. A needle-thin knife made for piercing and stabbing rather than for slashing. His logic was that going for the Killer Ant's eyes all the time was hard to do and I didn't blame him.
What you're supposed to do was go for the joints where the armour didn't quite reach. I knew that when I went in, but well. I wasn't really focused on that but getting to the Tenth Floor. Bell said that if he couldn't get to the joints with his knife or cinquedea, he would use the stiletto for the eyes. Not a bad plan while my plan could simply be said to smash them into paste.
I actually wanted to use what we had left to get some potions and such, but Bell convinced me not to. Well, not really but he told me about Miach and his whole situation.
It shocked me when Bell just brought up Miach of all Gods out of the blue but apparently, he and Hestia were quite close friends. I didn't really mind buying potions exclusively from one shop so it wasn't that big of a deal for me.
It wasn't out of pity or empathy. I didn't really care if Miach or his Familia had fallen on hard times. But it was always better to have a trusted supplier and someone whose goods can be relied on.
So Bell said he would introduce me to Miach and his only Familia member sometime in the near future and it'll give me a chance to see what kind of potions we can get on our budget.
And with my new Blessed Water upgrade, the potions would only really be a backup incase I ran out of MP than anything else.
"Ehehe...Hey John. Are you really fine with carrying everything?" Bell asked me as we neared the tail end of our gathering session.
"Yep. It'll just weigh you down and make it harder to fight," I said, wiping away the blood and slimy viscera off of my knife, "And it works better with my fighting style anyhow. So don't worry about it, kid."
Bell gave me a nod and we gathered our haul, placing them in the magic backpack Bell lent to me. It was pretty good, all in all with the drop items and magic stones. But it wasn't nearly as big as our last haul. The reason was simply that we were rushing towards the lower Floors today.
"You ready, kid?" I asked Bell who gave me a determined nod. I gave him a grin as I grasped my warhammer once more, "Good. Remember the plan?"
"I take care of any War Shadows that show up and you use your spells for support. You'll take care of the normal monsters and Frog Shooters, right?"
"Right," I said, jerking my head down a stone corridor, "Come on, kid. The Sixth Floor ain't gonna know what hit them."
.
.
At this moment, I have never felt more satisfied.
"Earth Spikes."
MP: 93
A Purple Moth became little more than meaty chunks under the flying Earth Spikes. It fell to the earth in a dusty plume. In that same moment, I lifted my warhammer high over my head with gritted teeth and swung it down in a vicious arc. I felt rather than saw the cracks on the Dungeon floor when it impacted the Killer Ant's head, splattering its brains on the floor.
HP: 54
"Earth Spikes," I said again in a low growl as I snapped my gaze to the Needle Rabbits launching themselves at us like some sort of darkly comical version of a bullet. Another one tried to gore my side and I knew I wouldn't be quick enough to swing my warhammer around to splatter it on the Dungeon walls.
Letting go of my warhammer, both of my hands flashed out and I managed to grab the little shit before its pointed horn could stab me. It wrestled like crazy in my hands, biting and clawing like a rabid animal.
It was a lot easier compared to last time when I crashed its puny head in between my gauntlets, its skull caving in and cracking like a sparrow's egg that ran red through my fingers. Letting it drop, I looked over to see a bunch of the little rabbit shits dead or dying from my previous spell.
These things sucked to fight against the first time. Now, I could barely even hit them without the use of Earth Spikes.
I glanced over to Bell to find him slicing off the head of a Needle Rabbit before it could pierce his greaves, dual-wielding his cinquedea and knife, his expression wrought in fiery determination. He nimbly dodged the Killer Ants that bit and harrowed his every step. Just up ahead, I could see more of the damned bugs skittering towards us.
"Bell, switch!" I shouted out as another of the little rabbits tried to stab me in the chest before I barely managed to dodge out of the way.
"Right!" He shouted back and he split away from the oncoming group of Killer Ants to cover our backs against the stupid rabbits. In that same moment, I lent down to pick up my fallen warhammer and we passed each other, blood and adrenaline thick in the air.
And through it all, I was still grinning.
"Earth Spikes."
MP: 88
The four jagged spikes tore themselves from the stone walls and launched towards the Killer Ants, punching through their exoskeletons and pinning them to the ground like morbid trophies. Those that remained crawled over their bodies like it was nothing.
Yeah, no. I raised an open palm towards the red human-sized ants.
"Fireball."
MP: 28
A rolling ball of scorching flame appeared in my bloody gauntlet and I could feel the blood on it bubble before the boiling heat. It seemed angrier, more forceful as it launched from my hand and onto the incoming horde of over-sized bugs.
The powerful spell exploded and the hot winds whipped around my face. The walls became scorched black and the screeching of the Killer Ants filled the air as their exoskeletons became ovens.
And even then, they weren't all dead. They still charged, hell-bound on killing me and Bell.
They couldn't do it yesterday. They sure as hell can't do it now.
"Earth Spikes," I readied my warhammer as the walls of the Dungeon cracked and broke, forming into sharp rocks that flung themselves at the remaining Killer Ants, peppering one of them into a corpse.
As the Earth Spikes flew, so did my warhammer as its hooked and pointed end messily broke through the thorax of a Killer Ant, pinning the squirming and dying insect to the ground. Moving my hand to the upper part of the shaft, I shifted my eyes to the last Killer Ant that had reared up on its legs, on the verge of falling on top of me.
I remember this from yesterday. These bastards would stand up and use their weight to push me over with them on top, trying to bite my goddamn head off or try and claw my neck open.
Almost worked the first couple of times as well.
On instinct and muscle memory, I raked the stone ground as I moved my warhammer in a wide arc, tearing the still impaled Killer Ant in two bloody bits, strings of sticky blood and gore painting the ground in a crescent shape.
The last Killer Ant fell to the ground in a wriggling heap on its back. Not willing to lose momentum, I lifted the bloodied warhammer halfway to the ceiling, letting the upper half of the dead Killer Ant come off with a sickening wet sound and brought it down on the thorax of the giant bug.
I could hear its exoskeleton crack under the heavy blow, but it wasn't enough to kill it. It thrashed and wriggled like nothing else, but it didn't matter as I used Earth Spikes once more and became a man-sized pincushion.
I stood there for a moment, taking in a deep breath or two before looking behind me to see Bell removing his knife from one of the tens of dead Needle Rabbits that surrounded us. Both of us were drenched in the blood of the monsters and I could see by the look on his face that Bell was starting to get tired.
"Kid? You alright?" I asked Bell glanced at me, giving me a tired smile that really didn't fit the fact that his usual snow-white hair was dyed a sticky red.
"I'm fine. Good thing that we got this armour though," Bell said with a sigh as I noticed a small dent in his chest plate, no doubt from a Needle Rabbit.
"Bah, that'll buff right out," I said with a shrug, placing my warhammer down and unsheathing my knife, "Now let's do this quickly before any more of these things come knocking."
"On it."
Bell and I didn't waste any time on small talk as we got to work on harvesting our loot. As we did so, I decided to check out some things.
"Traits," I whispered to myself as the sound of cracking open a Killer Ant's thorax drowned out my words.
Major Traits:
[Outsider: You, who came from nothing and will return to nothing, are emancipated. The Gods hold no sway over you. Their words, empty. Their powers, meaningless. Their appearances, worthless.]
.
Minor Traits:
[Macemanship (Tier I): Swords dull. Spears break. You realised this fairly early on and decided that the mace was your weapon of choice; unbreakable and brutal. Increased minor effectiveness with mace-like weapons and decrease the STR requirement of mace-like weapons by 2.]
[12%]
[Thick Skin (Tier I): You have weathered blows that would fell lesser men and come out stronger for it. Your skin is tougher than leather and thicker than a bull's hide. Increased minor resistance to physical attacks.]
[9%]
Thought so. From what I could tell, the key to upgrading to higher tiers on my Minor Traits was simply using what those traits relate to. Luckily my warhammer counted as a mace and for Thick Skin, all I had to do was just tank some hits.
I guess they're a bit like Developmental Abilities in that sense? But I have no doubt there is some hidden bullshit with these things that I have to uncover. Maybe when they reach the final tier, I could turn them into something else. Interesting to think about but not a whole lot I can do about it now.
Still though, it should be easy enough to level them up, if a bit tedious. I just wished I knew how many tiers there were and if it was possible to make them into Major Traits. There must be a way, but whatever that was, I had no idea.
In the end, all I could do was keep moving forward.
"Stats."
Alias: John
Level: 1
HP: 75
MP: 155
STR: 34
END: 33
AGI: 30*
WIS: 49
Excellia: 53
Really? Just 53? After all of that?
Well, I never really went below 20 HP today and I was conservative with my MP today in case of an emergency, but my fears were unfounded. All in all, me and Bell were almost untouchable until we reached the Seventh Floor.
That little bugger, whether he'll admit it or not, has been the MVP of today. He killed more monsters than me and he was able to deal with stuff like War Shadows and Needle Rabbits. I still find it silly that he has higher Strength and Endurance than me, but I don't really care all that much; as far as I'm concerned, the stronger we are, the better we'll fare off. No room for envy in this line of work.
Something fell to the ground with a faint 'clunk' noise and I blinked as a red carapace remained as one of the Killer Ants turned to black ash in front of me after extracting its magic stone. Reaching down to pick it up, I smirked at my good luck.
And then I frowned.
"Inventory."
Valis: 11,043
Magic Stones: 112
Weight: 243/266 (+200)
Besides those words, a screen full of boxes popped up in front of me, almost all of them filled with varying drop items. Goblin Fangs, Kobold Nails, Frog Shooter Eyes, even some Needle Rabbit Horns and Purple Moth Wings.
I swear, Bell is like my own personal lucky clover. A clover that is incredibly deadly with a knife.
I place the carapace into the bag and I see the weight go up to 246. Knowing Bell's luck, he probably nabbed some drop items from the fight just now which means the bag and my inventory as a whole are almost filled.
That means we're probably done, right? Like, there's no point in going deeper unless we just want to farm more excellia and I want to get my stats and traits up some more. But I don't think Bell wanted to do that and honestly, neither did I.
We promised Hestia we would take it easy today and while we haven't really taken it 'easy', we hadn't really gone hard either.
Well, to me at least. Don't know how Bell sees it.
My arms move in a somewhat mechanical and stilted fashion as my thoughts flash to the Tenth Floor. Its silvery grey mists pierced by barren needle-thin trees.
My heart felt like someone had gripped it tightly, squeezing and squeezing until it felt like it was fit to burst.
I hated this feeling. It was the same feeling I had yesterday when I decided to push onward. It was the same feeling that came with the same insidious thought in my mind:
Is that really it? Is that all you can do?
God, what a shit feeling.
"Huh, another one?" I heard Bell say to himself. Glancing over my shoulder, I see him as he picks up what looked like the chipped horn of a Needle Rabbit, a silly grin on his face.
That feeling isn't ever really going to go away. I fully admit that and I don't think it'll ever grow quieter.
But I'm done letting it almost ruin me time and time again.
"I'm done over here. What about you kid?" I said to Bell as I finished up the last monster, my hands dripping with strings of red blood.
"Yep, all done!" Bell said all chirpy as he stood up, stretching. He placed the horn he just got in a small pile of the bloody things along with a pair of Purple Moth Wings. By them were the faintly glowing purple crystals that were our bread and butter.
"Lucky as always, huh kid?" I said to a sheepish Bell as I patted him on the back, "Come on, help me get this stuff in the bag. After that, I think we're just about done for today."
"Huh? Are you sure?" Bell asked me with such surprise that it almost kinda hurt a little bit. I knew I was bad, but I wasn't that bad, right?
"Yeah, I am. The bag is close to bursting and we've done quite a bit of fighting today," I said to Bell with a shrug until a thought struck me.
"Unless you want to stay and farm some excellia for our status'?" I said to Bell who blinked at my offer, "I don't really mind if you do. The closer we get to D rank in one of our basic abilities, the quicker we can get to Level 2 after all."
Bell seemed to think over it for a bit before shaking his head, "No, we promised Goddess that we wouldn't push ourselves today."
"Ah, look at you, being the dutiful one," I said with a coy grin but Bell just gave me a smile in return, "Right then. If we're quick, we should be able to get out of here without too much trouble."
"Right," Bell said to me as we started putting the magic stones and drop items in our bag. As we did so, I noticed Bell glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.
"What's up, kid?"
"W-Well, it's just what you said about us getting to Level 2. You...don't sound like you're joking? Like you usually do?"
"Well, I'm somewhat serious about it but I don't see the big deal," I said to Bell as I noticed a notification pop up about my Inventory reaching 256 after putting all of our loot inside, "I mean, we're eventually gonna have to Level up, aren't we? Isn't Aiz like, I don't know. 3? 4?"
"She's Level Five" Bell told me and of course he would know, his face blushing as he carried on, "B-But most Adventurers never go beyond Level 1, you know? Do you really think we can do it?"
"Here's the thing, kid; They ain't us and we're sure as hell not them. I don't know about you, but I plan to hit Level 2 before the year ends," I tell Bell flippantly before I think about it some more.
Yeah. Yeah, that can work. Instead of a Floor a day, how about a Level per year? That sounds a hell of a lot more doable.
"Y-You're really serious about that, aren't you?" Bell asked me with wide shocked eyes and I let out a low hum.
"Well, maybe. I kinda want to get all my stats to A rank before that happens," I waved my hand flippantly, "But you know, one thing at a time."
Bell shook his head ruefully at me, looking at me again in a way that I couldn't quite decide was good or bad, "One thing at a time, huh?"
"Yep," I said with a nod and we both stood up, having finally put away the rest of our loot. Stretching, I walked over to my warhammer and picked it back up, placing its long handle across my right shoulder and letting my arm rest across while its gore-soaked head dripped behind me.
"Let's go and get paid. We're probably gonna need it for tonight."
"Ehehe," Bell chuckled nervously though his smile was anything but. With our Dungeon crawling done for today, we made our way back to the surface.
.
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We entered the Guild at around three, maybe four in the afternoon. Far earlier than I expected and going by the other Adventurers in here, we were just about at the time when the smaller parties are starting to call it for today. Me and Bell were clean and healthy, courtesy of Soothing Waters.
I still had my warhammer laying on my shoulder, tilted upwards to the ceiling. Seeing the double-takes and hearing the whispers of disbelief as I carried this monstrous weapon through the doors of the Guild pretty much made my day.
Me and Bell joined one of the queues for the exchanges as Adventurers of all kinds turned in their magic stones and drop items from today's Dungeon diving. It felt funny to me, in a certain way. We were just not an hour ago in the Dungeon, killing monsters by the dozens and carving them up like a butcher for the juicy magic stone.
And now we're waiting in line like some sort of office worker waiting at the cafeteria. The whole dichotomy of it never really failed to amuse me.
And standing in queues never failed to really fucking bore me either. It felt like we were moving through sludge as the Adventurers in front of us ever so slowly handed in their own loot.
Finally it was our turn after what felt like a year and a half. Behind us, a line had been built and I glanced back to find some of them eyeing me and Bell for whatever reason. And then a thought struck me.
This is a rather public area. The amount of valis is always told to the person exchanging the goods so anyone close by could hear it and get some rather...unsavoury thoughts. It would have to be a lot though to risk anything.
Am I just being paranoid though? I guess, but this was a rough business. If you get stuck in a rut, it's the matter between life and death. No one would dare try anything now, but what if they tail us back home?
Letting the pommel of my warhammer hit the floor with a heavy 'thunk', I let the full weight of it be felt to anyone behind me. The floor wasn't cracked surprisingly enough but I wonder if that spoke more about the masonry of this building rather than the weight of my weapon.
"Now time for the best part of the job," I said more to myself as I managed to wrangle the bag off of my back. Placing my warhammer against the wall of the exchange, I undo the flaps of the back. A quick check told me that nothing was stolen and with that, I upturned the bag onto the open tray of the exchange.
Behind the bars of the exchange window, I kept stone-cold eye contact with the Guild employee as drop items and magic crystals poured out in a small heap onto the try. I saw Bell's eyes bulge as he watched me shake the bag free of anything else in it.
"Please wait a moment."
That was all the guy behind the bars said before he pulled the tray inward and he walked to somewhere unseen. I let out a sigh, crossing my arms with an annoyed frown, "He could've waited at least until I told him the count."
"Eh?" Bell looked up at me, blinking, "What do you mean?"
Shit. I didn't mean to say that out loud.
"Well, you know. How many magic stones and item drops there were," I said to Bell, scratching at my neck, "It would've made everything go smoother. Plus, it's good to keep count of what you get and try and make sense of how much valis you'll end up with."
I knew what I was saying and I hated how I couldn't explain how my Inventory made such a thing really trivial. I was even told the quality of the loot drop.
"Don't look at me like that kid," I grumbled out when I saw Bell staring up at me once again, "It's just something I learnt to do and then I started doing it every day. It gets pretty annoying at times, let me tell you."
Being an accountant had its perks after all. You learned to keep your books in order or you get shafted.
"Still though…" Bell said, but not willing to go on. He looked around for a brief moment, his red eyes landing on the receptionist area.
"Looking for Eina?" I asked him and he gave me a slow nod, still looking.
"I was just thinking about telling her about today, but I don't see her anywhere. Though I think she'll get mad…"
"Well, she is your advisor. Probably best to keep her on the up and up," I said with a shrug before my face scrunched up, "Good luck with the lecture though."
"Ehehe...I forgot, she was your advisor as well."
"Was," I repeated with a sigh, "Before that whole you know what thing came about. Even so, I was kinda hoping to talk to her about something."
"What did you want to ask her?" Bell asked me curiously and the answer came more naturally than I thought.
"Well, I got to tell someone at the Guild about my basic abilities, right? That's one of the things that we have to do isn't it?" I asked Bell who confirmed my question with a quick little nod.
Bell taught me the little things we Adventurers have to do with the Guild, the foremost among them was Ability Reviews.
It wasn't as insidious as it sounded. Magic, Skills and Developmental Abilities weren't recorded at all. They were kept inside the Familia so Eina and the Guild as a whole don't know about my spells or Geōmanteia. But our basic abilities were kept on private record. I don't quite understand why but if I had to guess, it's to keep tabs on a rough guideline on just how strong an Adventurer is and how their advisors can help them best.
My line of thought was suddenly broken when the employee returned, the sound of the metal tray slamming back to us accompanied by the noise of jiggling coin purses was ever so sweet to my ears. Looking down on the tray, we saw two bags filled to the brim with valis.
"Your amount comes to 28,300, sirs," The Guild Employee told us neutrally and I felt my lips split into a wide grin as I took the hefty bags from the tray. Giving the kid an aside glance, I saw him doing his best expression of a fish with bulging eyes and a gaping mouth.
With the valis I'm holding onto right now, that's about 39,343. Make it 39 for a nice even split between me and Bell for about 9,750 valis in our pockets while Hestia gets a fat 19,500.
I have many feelings about being an Adventurer and not all of them positive. But I can't deny that it is a very lucrative way to make a lot of money. Just wish it wasn't such a bloody hazard all the time, but I suppose the danger is its own appeal in a way.
"And that's all she wrote," I said with a grin, grabbing both of the bags and handing one to Bell who took it numbly, still staring at it.
With one of my hands full, I looked at my warhammer still leaning against the wall, my brow contorted in thought. The smart thing to do would be to make Bell hold both bags while I place my warhammer back on my shoulders.
But I just kinda wanted to go home already. Reaching up for the upper part of the shaft, I grunted as I lifted it up with one hand and let it drop against my bare shoulder with enough weight that I'm pretty sure it would've bruised me at the least or fractured my shoulder.
Obviously that didn't happen but it worked.
"Right," I glanced down at Bell who was still staring numbly at the bag of valis in his hand, "Ready to go back home?"
Bell looked back up at me and a childishly silly smile spread across his face. Despite myself, I felt myself smiling back.
Not a bad day of Dungeon crawling. Not bad at all.
.
.
"And that is 9,750 for you and 9,750 for me," I said with no short amount of relish as I handed Bell his share of valis. The both of us were back home under the church and I got to work as soon as I could on dividing up the dividends and as I thought, it was split between us pretty evenly.
I had already put Hestia's share in the kitchen, under one of the cupboards along with the rest of our savings.
"I don't think I've ever held onto this much money before," Bell said as he weighed the pouch I gave him, the gold coins jingling inside, "Feels kinda...weird? Good but weird."
"Well, we'll probably earn about..." I stopped for a minute, thinking over the numbers in my head, "7,000 tomorrow? Somewhere in that ballpark at least."
Counting our savings or the Familia's budget as it were, we have about 27,000 stored up.
It wasn't really enough in my opinion. I don't know how much the average Adventurer party earns but I want to reach a point where me and Bell earn 10,000 valis a day. That would require us to earn 40,000 at the very least.
The problem was that we were limited by our numbers. If we had just one more person, we could earn way more valis if they were able to carry another load full of stuff. With just me and Bell, we were limited to me carrying all of the stuff with one, albeit very useful and magical backpack.
I think there was a word for a person like that. A Supporter or something? I usually saw people with outrageously massive backpacks that were twice or even three times bigger than they were when we were walking to the Dungeon.
Problem was, they were all of a different Familia. And like fuck I was going to trust random strangers with our magic stones and drop items.
"Hey John," Bell caught my attention as I noticed him eyeing the half-eaten cake we had left behind before tearing his gaze away and caught me looking with a cocked brow, "When do you want to leave for the Hostess?"
"Someone's peckish," I said lightly and Bell chuckled sheepishly. I took a look at the clock we had on the wall and saw it was about half-past four in the afternoon.
"Well, they're open for Adventurers in the evening so let's say about an hour and a half? That sounds pretty fair to me," Bell nodded at my suggestion and gave an aside glance to the no doubt slightly stale cake as well.
Come to think of it, did Bell eat anything in the Dungeon today? We went pretty hard at it but I don't remember a time where we ate anything in the Dungeon.
Shit. Spent all that money on weapons and armour but still forgot something basic like food and water.
"Gah, I can't wait until then," Bell bemoaned as he stood up and went to our crappy little kitchen, "Do you want anything, John?"
"No thanks," I said back as I leant on the sofa, stretching my arms with a satisfied groan, "I'm starving myself for the Hostess. Syr is probably hoping for a big payout from me as well so I might as well make some room."
"Yeah, you're not wrong about that," Bell told me from the kitchen and I found myself staring up at the ceiling, my forehead wrinkled in a frown.
What was I going to do for an hour and a half? With that single thought. I glanced at the warhammer by the entrance and our armour piled neatly on a dresser.
It was a bit awkward getting my warhammer downstairs as it kept hitting the ceiling on the stairs but we eventually managed to wrangle it indoors, propping it up on the wall.
I would still be in the Dungeon at this time. I never really expected to have plans. At least plans that involved social obligations like going to dinner with a friend.
Or a Familia member. Either one works honestly.
As I stared at the dresser and my weapon, something caught my eye, just out of view. I turned my head to see a rickety wooden bookcase. It didn't hold any books but rather just general stuff like pillowcases and folded blankets.
Books huh? When was the last time I read something?
Well whatever. I'll find something to do later that isn't Dungeon crawling. Book reading sounds good but I'm gonna want something more than that. Maybe wood carving?
...Oh screw it.
"I'm gonna go out for a bit," I declared rather to myself, but I noticed Bell peeking at me as he sliced himself some of the cake, plate in hand. For a moment, I can just replace him with an image of Hestia at the banquet, stuffing her little cheeks.
"I'm just gonna go and meet someone. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes at most, but I'll be back before six."
"Ahlr-" Bell began to say while his mouth was full and a snort escaped from me before he managed to swallow, a bashful look on his face, "Alright. Who are you gonna meet? I-If you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, do you remember my staff? From yesterday?."
Bell looked confused for a minute before realization dawned in his eyes and he gave a quick nod, "Yeah, I do! It looked really cool, but uh…"
"But I broke it," I said with a sigh, running my hand through my hair, "Cost me a lot as well, even though I got it at half price. So I just want to see how much it'll cost to repair or if it'll be better to just sell what I can and save up for something else."
"I'm kinda scared to ask how much it cost…"
"About 100,000."
"...Eh?"
With that, I stood up from the couch and made my way to the stairs, looking back at Bell who blinked numbly at me. I smiled back, waving my hand, "I'll be back soon, kid. Hopefully richer rather than poorer."
It struck me how laid back today was, at that moment. There were no frantic battles, no rushing to reach the next Floor. No unexpected twists or turns. Me and Bell went to the Dungeon, fought, got paid and we'll be having our dinner soon enough.
It was almost normal.
I suppose days like this ain't so bad, once in a while.
.
.
"I pegged you as a dense one when I saw you. But it seems I underestimated just how thick your skull really is, boy."
"You really have no idea."
The old witch in front of me, Leona, chuckled with a dry throat as she placed the broken staff head back on the table after inspecting it for a while. She looked back at me, a glint in her old eyes that was way too sharp for my liking.
Leona was the mage and shopkeeper of the magic shop I visited for my staff and she was the picture definition of an old witch; black hat and robe, hunched back, long hooked nose with bulbous warts. The whole package.
"So tell me, boy. What are you hoping for me to do with this exactly?" Leona asked me, waving her hand to the broken staff head, "Repair it?"
"...Should I not be? I can't pay right now but-"
"It is not a matter of payment, boy," Leona said to me and in that moment, the diminutive old woman seemed bigger than she really was, "Tell me. What transpired for this to occur?"
I stayed silent for a good couple of stressful seconds, thinking it over. It was just me and Leona in her little shop of mystical wonders, thankfully. I didn't really know why Leona cared but I had a hunch I should be at least somewhat upfront with her. She seemed far more serious than the last time I met her and she did sell it to me for a massive discount.
"Do you really want to know?"
"That depends on how much you would like this fixed," Leona flashed her crooked yellow teeth at me, waving at the bauble that was once my staff.
Fine. Fine then.
"I fucked up. That's what happened," I said bluntly to Leona without any hint of a joking tone and her old dark eyes stared through me, "I did something I shouldn't have yesterday and as a result, someone from my Familia got hurt. We almost escaped, but the Dungeon spawned some monsters right in front of us before the stairs. I didn't have any Ma-Mind left to cast spells and we didn't have any spare weapons on us. So I bashed a goblin's skull in with the staff and used the broken lower half as a spear. It worked, more or less."
Leona didn't say anything while I spoke and she didn't say anything after, at least straight away. I met her stare with my own, crossing my arms as I waited. With all of the subtlety of an angry bear that had just woken up from a hornet sting, I cleared out my throat and pointed down at the broken staff head.
"So? Can you fix it or not?"
Leona lets out a dry noise that could be a chuckle, a cackle or a horrid mixture of both, "Hehehe, even if it were in my ability to do so, I would not. Not for you, boy."
"Harsh," I said with a cocked brow, "Didn't realise I gave that bad of an impression."
"It is nothing like that, boy. But rather, I realise that I was wrong about you now."
I felt myself frown at that. Not because I was offended but because she said it as a simple matter of fact rather than a derisive insult.
"Many people dream of wielding magic. Of being a mage, to command powers that could slay dragons and fell giants," Leona started talking unbidden and even in her croaky old voice, there was something else in the undercurrent of her words, "But many do not see the burden it can become; the burden of relying upon others, the burden of knowing that the lives of your comrades are weighed by your ability."
"Would you like an example? Do you remember that adorable little elf?"
"I would like for you to make a point first. What are you getting at?"
"My point, boy, is that I believed you would make a splendid mage; cool, detached and willing to stay away from the fight," Leona said to me in not so much as a chiding tone but rather a lecturing one, "But now I see that instead, you are the opposite."
I frowned at that. I don't like people making assumptions about me at the best of times, especially from strangers. Even more so when they don't have the full picture.
"I got angry. Anyone else would've done the same," I told Leona but I had to admit, it was a pretty flimsy defence.
"Ah, but not just anyone can become a mage. It takes simply more than the ability to use magic to claim that little title," Leona's voice creaked wistfully, "Tell me, boy. If you weren't angry, would we still be having this conversation?"
Lecture more like.
But it wasn't something I had thought about and Leona, as much as I hated to admit it, did have somewhat of a valid point here. A mage isn't someone who fights on the front lines. And well, if I wasn't angry, would I still have used my 100,000 valis staff as a wooden club?
The answer, shockingly enough, didn't surprise me.
"Then I'll just get a staff made out of metal or something," I said with a shrug and Leona sighed, "Look, I get what you're trying to say. But this staff saved my life before I broke it."
"And I do not doubt that. But I don't think you are truly understanding yet. Tell me, boy. What is the difference between a swordsman who uses magic and a magic swordsman?"
What the fuck? Where did this come from?
"I don't know, one of them has a magic sword and the other one is eating shit?" I said somewhat caustically, getting annoyed at being pulled around by this wizened old woman. If she noticed anything about my growing annoyance, she didn't show it or she didn't care.
"The difference is, boy, that a magic swordsman not only has an abundance of magic but also knows Concurrent Chanting along with having the Mage ability on their Falna. A swordsman who uses magic is nothing but that; someone who knows one spell and doesn't delve into magic while brandishing their blade first and foremost."
"...Right," I gave a slow nod, "What's Concurrent Chanting?"
Leona simply gave me this sort of look that one would reserve for either children asking incredibly basic questions about life or simpletons who had just made a colossal idiot out of themselves because they said something they shouldn't have.
I wonder which category I fell into.
"Did your teacher tell you nothing, boy? Surely you can't be this ignorant."
"We don't get along very well," I said with a shrug to the old woman, "So just humour me."
"So be it," Leona said with a sigh, "Concurrent Chanting is the ability to recite the chant for your magic while on the move. Simple in principle but dangerous in practice for many mages. Those who are skilled enough can even recite while in the thick of battle."
Except I don't need to chant. I've never needed to chant. How long even are these chants that being able to cast it in the middle of a fight has a whole skill based around it?
But I'm beginning to see what Leona is starting to say. A magic swordsman kind of thing probably suits me far more than being a mage ever will.
"You know, you didn't have to lead me around the nose," I grossed out as Leona chuckled again, "You could've just told me that you think me being a magic swordsman is a better option than being a mage."
"I did tell you, quite upfront as well," Leona told me with a croaking dry voice, "You simply seemed to think that because you can use magic, you must be a mage. Ergo, you must have a staff."
Not...entirely wrong? I still kinda wanted a staff if simply to see the effects it'll have on my spells now that I'm stronger and if I can't fiddle around to see how much of a boost I'll get.
But magic swordsman, huh? Yeah. Yeah, that can work Except for one little detail.
"So moving on," I ignored Leona's wet snort if only because it made my skin shiver, "I want to ask more about this whole magic swordsmen business. Because for one, I don't use swords."
"That does put a snag in the title, doesn't it?" Leona chortled, "As it usually is, most magic swordsmen are elves. Most races simply don't have the agility or skill needed to pull off what constitutes such an impressive blend of skill, both martial and magical. Indeed, even most elves won't even attempt a feat, devoting themselves to their magic alone. But no magic swordsmen has ever been called 'weak' for to even claim that title, you have to reach Level 2 and be qualified for the Developmental Ability, Mage. Most Adventurers will die long before then."
"Most Adventurers aren't like me," I told Leona and I couldn't quite tell if her grin was encouraging, mocking or condescending. Probably the latter two.
Even so, something stood out to me. She said "agility" as if that was a requirement. It was a strange word to use, at least to me.
"So if most magic swordsmen are elves," I asked carefully, "How do they fight?"
"Like how all elves fight; with inhumane grace. Like a careful cutting breeze, they floated across the battlefield, their wings of magic and their claws of steel," Leona said in a strange measured voice that I couldn't quite place down, "Truthfully it gets quite boring after you've seen it the first time."
"...I'll take your word for it," I said blandly and Leona's dry chortling was all she gave me.
"Well, if you can't fix this, what can I do with it?" I asked Leona who glanced down at the broken staff head before looking back up at me.
"Sell it, I suppose. I'll offer you 15,000 valis for it. Or keep it and use it when you need to."
"It's broken though. What do you mean use it?"
"The spell stones are still intact," Leona waved her hand to the staff head, directing my attention to the still clear and clean crystals still trapped in the head, "If you are willing to take the risk, they should still be able to empower one spell. But the backlash will be quite...severe."
Backlash huh? I can handle that.
"I'll risk it," I said simply, taking the staff head from the glass counter and Leona's crooked grin was ugly as sin but it was one I found myself returning, "So that's it then? You're not going to sell me anything?"
"You're free to waste your valis as you desire, boy and I will happily take them off your slippery palms," Leona said without a hint of shame, "But take an old woman's advice; do not try to be something that you are not."
"Thanks," I said sardonically, making my way to the shop's entrance and waving my hand at the old witch, "I'll be back when I'm Level 2 then."
"Don't take too long, John. These old bones can only last for so many centuries," Leona's cackling followed me out of the shop, even as I went outside and closed the door.
The afternoon's sun greeted me, dipping just below the towering buildings of Orario. Alone for now, I decided to check the time:
17:06
I still got an hour left to kill. And I didn't know how to spend it.
Do I go into the Dungeon for a bit? Buy a shitty mace from a blacksmith and just grind up my Traits? I'm tempted to, but for today at least, I feel like I shouldn't. It just felt...off to go back into the Dungeon by myself, at least right now.
Maybe later.
I started walking through the alleyways and small side streets of Orario, lost in my thoughts.
Magic swordsman. That really doesn't describe me though, does it? Ignoring the requirements of being Level 2, Mage and Concurrent Chanting, the way that magic swordsmen were described made them sound like glass cannons who couldn't take a hit.
Was I a glass cannon? I liked to think no, but it's not like I have anything to compare to besides my own experiences. At the start, War Shadows could easily bring me down from 60 HP to 3 HP in one good hit and make Earth Spikes seem like a bad joke.
Now they struggle to bring me down to 50 HP and it usually takes one good Earth Spikes to make mincemeat of them. But that didn't really tell me anything. I didn't have any other Adventurer to compare to besides Bell and his basic abilities are higher than mine.
But I still couldn't beat them in speed. I was still so slow.
And I didn't use a sword. That felt pretty important.
Well, whatever. I was overthinking it. I didn't need a label to help define how to fight, but it did help me open my eyes a tiny bit; a staff just isn't viable at this point in time and it seems like Leona can't fix it anyway. Considering I don't have enough valis to buy another, there's no point pressing the issue.
Maybe I'll get one when I have enough valis again. Maybe I'll get something else.
Who knows what the future holds? I certainly fucking don't.
I found myself walking down a familiar road as I became lost in my thoughts. The streets were beginning to thin out as stall owners and people began to return back home for the day. I was just about to do the same before I stopped and looked to the shop that I just so happened to pass by.
Thoth's Book Shop And Materials.
Books huh? Sure, might as well. The place was still open for now and I did just get a big payout today.
Opening the door, a small bell rang out just as I was hit by that smell of stored leather and books, old and new alike. That musty heavy scent that some people enjoy sniffing like they were some sort of drug addicts.
It wasn't all that bad.
I was greeted by stilted silence which was what everyone looked forward to. The store itself was larger than the front suggested and the books were lined immaculately on large shelves, alphabetized. They almost reached all the way to the ceiling which surprised me.
Looking around, I saw a woman manning the counter and currently surrounded by a pile of books, some open and some closed. She seemed familiar to me but I couldn't quite put my finger on why. She was totally absorbed in whatever she was reading, having not even twitched when I came into the store.
Ignoring her, I sauntered through the bookshelves, skimming over the titles of the books. I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, just something interesting to pass the time. I stopped when I saw something that fit the description:
A Sword Cursed By Love; A forbidden romance of Elf and Dwarf.
Oh my. Is that a trashy romance novel I spy? Without waiting a moment longer, I picked up the bright red book and read the first couple of pages as a little taster.
Her skin was as white as the falling snow and yet as pink as a freshly cut salmon. Her diamond-blue eyes drank deep of my entire being and her towering stature served to only elevate her godly-
Yeah, that's about what I thought. Checking the price for 250 valis, I decided the first book I was going to buy was a trashy romance, no doubt written by a sexually depraved individual.
Nice to see I won't have to change my hobbies too much.
With that done, I looked at the other books and see what else I could buy. In the end, I got four more; a book on blacksmithing techniques, a history book of Orario, the sequel to the current trashy romance novel I just bought which was sickeningly curious to me.
And less of a written book but more of a compilation of myths and legends. It was the biggest book I bought and the one I'm probably most interested in reading. I wonder if I can find the myths that Bell grew up on?
With my selection finally done, I decided to approach the counter. The woman was still reading her book, totally oblivious to me even when I was in arms length. I weighed the option of just letting my books slam on the countertop and scaring the shit out of her but I decided that was a bit mean.
"Excuse me," I spoke aloud and the woman snapped her head up to me, "But I'll like to buy these."
The dark-skinned woman seemed to peer at me and the books in my hands for a moment. It felt like I was under a microscope until she spoke, "Oh. Of course."
Why does she sound so surprised?
Clearing the counter, she let me place my pile of books down and once more, I found her staring at me quite intently for no reason at all. It kinda made me uncomfortable as well, even as she peered down at my books with the same intensity.
"...Curious selection," She muttered as she picked up the first one, "Novice Blacksmith Techniques, Tales Of Adventure, The Journey To Orario and…"
She looked back up at me for a moment, her expression blank. And then back down at the two last books. It was kinda funny, but I was on a time limit here.
"Are you with someone?" She asked me and I was almost tempted to say yes just to move on already.
"No, they're for me," And there is the dead blank expression I was looking for, making my lips twitch, "And I'm kinda in a hurry, so if you don't mind?"
"I...of course," The woman said finally, "That'll be 1,095 valis."
Ouch.
Going into my pouch, I pulled out a 1,100 and I placed it on the counter, "Keep the change."
With that, I took my bought books and placed them in an offered bag. With my business done, I left the bookstore and back onto the streets of Orario.
Well, I got what I wanted. But why the hell was that so strange? Or was it me that just felt strange? All I wanted was to buy some books, god damn.
Walking down the streets, I decided that it was about time to go back home and catch up on some reading.
Tales of Adventure seems like a good read.
.
.
"Honey, I'm home."
My incredibly funny joke was heard by absolutely no one due to the familiar uproarious and hearty atmosphere of the Hostess of Fertility. As usual, it was packed and the air was thick with the smell of roasting meats and poured ale. Walking through the front doors with Bell, I was once again hit by a wave of nostalgia. Especially when the one that greeted us was a certain elf.
"John, Mr Cranel. Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility," Ryu bowed with a large plate in hand, graceful as ever in this rowdy environment. Bell blushed while I let out a soft sigh at the memories.
So many days of me ignoring this and going straight to bed. And now I'm going to join it for the second time.
Well, this should be of a hell of a lot more bearable than the first time, that's for sure.
"Let me guide you to your tables," Ryu said ever so professional and she did just that, nimbly leading us through the rowdy Adventurers that attended this establishment. She led us to a familiar table that almost made me laugh. Instead, I let out a chuckle, eyeing the calm elf.
"Really?" I asked her and she simply gave me a cool look instead.
"It was the only table available. Please, seat down. Syr will be with you in a minute."
God help me.
Bell sat down, confused by our exchange no doubt going by the look he gave us and I followed suit, shaking my head ruefully.
It was the same exact table that Loki interrogated me at. Laid me bare for all to see and laughed at it.
Maybe that was a bit melodramatic. It would probably just be better to say that she was a nosy bitch that didn't leave me alone like I wanted and I got angry.
Oh well.
"Also John," Ryu's voice broke me out of my thoughts and I glanced up at her, "I'm sorry to say but Syr told me she wanted you to know that we are out of water this evening."
"What?" Bell blurted out, looking between me and Ryu with a perplexed look.
"Thanks for letting me know," I said with dripping sarcasm and Ryu gave us another graceful bow before leaving me and Bell alone.
"The whole water thing was a joke by the way," I told Bell with a shrug, leaning on the table, "Syr forced me to eat here one day and I pissed her off by only ordering water."
"Really?"
"Yep. I don't think she found the funny side of it because she told me it would cost me 1,000 valis," I said with a sardonic grin at Bell's blank look that quickly transformed into shock.
"W-What!? 1,000?!"
"Yep. But that's not what I ended up paying though."
Bell looked at me closely, pursuing his lips slowly, "Did...did you pay more?"
I cocked an eyebrow at that, the corners of my mouth lifting up in a smirk, "Yeah, I did actually. How'd you guess that?"
"Well...I can see you doing those kinds of things, I guess?" Bell told me slowly with a questioning look.
"Heh, you know me too well kid. Yeah, I ended up buying two mugs of water for 4,000 valis," I told Bell bluntly, his eyes bulging out at my answer, "I can be extraordinarily petty about these sorts of things, if you haven't noticed yet."
Bell let out a sigh as if to say he had noticed or something to that effect. I caught a flash of silver just out of the corner of my eye and I turned to see Syr all but running towards us, a goofy smile on her face.
"Speak of the devil," I said to Bell who turned to see Syr as well, a small blush colouring his cheeks as she approached us with a smile.
"John, Bell! You made it!" Syr said to us excitedly, pen and paper in hand.
"So for my drink, I'll have some wat-"
"Okay, two ales! Got it!"
"Two?" I said quickly before looking at the kid who seemed to shrink under my stare, "Absolutely fucking not. One ale for me and something else for the kid."
"Awwww, John! Bell's an Adventurer, you know! He should be allowed to drink after a hard day's work!"
"No shit I know, we go into the Dungeon together," I said with a sigh, shaking my head before looking at Bell, "Anyway, what you'll be having kid?"
"Uhm, I'll have what I had last time," Bell told Syr who gave a chirpy nod, writing down something, "Without the ale. Please?"
"Fine, fine," Syr shook her head, but I can see a playful grin on her face as she turned to me, "And you, John?"
"I'll have the same as Bell and some ale, thanks," I said to Syr who gave another nod before flashing us a wide smile.
"Alright, thank you for your patronage! Your food won't be long!" She told us before departing with a skip in her step. I shook my head as me and Bell were left alone finally.
"She's excited. Wonder what's the special occasion?"
"Maybe she's just happy to see you?" Bell said to me, but I shook my head at the prospect.
"More like happy to get some money off of me. If it's anyone she's happy to see, it's you. Seems like to me she's kinda into you," I said with a smirk as Bell's cheeks flared up and he wriggled in his seat.
"I-It's not like that," Bell said rather flimsy and I simply chuckled at the embarrassed kid.
"H-Hey John," Bell spoke up all of a sudden as our conversation joined and became lost amongst the many others in here, "You were reading Tales of Adventure, right? I was really surprised when you brought it back."
That's one word for it. Bell all but gushed over the book, saying it was the same book his Grandpa used to read to him as a kid. And I'll admit, he could've grown up on worse literature. All in all, they were pretty good stories that were filled with that romantic fantasy that always stays with you as a kid. It was nice to read something like that again.
"What, you weren't surprised at the romance novels?" I asked Bell who laughed awkwardly at my question.
"W-Well, I think Hestia might enjoy those?"
I sure fucking hope not.
"But, uhm...are you enjoying it? Tales of Adventure, I mean."
Bell, you are simply adorable.
"Yeah, I am," I said honestly with a smile that Bell returned warmly, "I can see why your Grandpa told you them when you were younger. I haven't finished it all yet but I've probably enjoyed David's story the most."
"Oh! The hero that stood alone against the army?" Bell asked me, easily guessing who I was talking about. Should've figured.
"Yeah, I suppose I have a soft spot for those kinds of things; one man against the world kind of things. Reminds me of some legends back home," I told Bell who seemed to hook in on that. I was about to tell him a small bit before I noticed a familiar figure making their way to us again.
"That was quick," I said to a beaming Anya, her ears flicking and her tail swinging behind her as she placed two plates before me and Bell along with our drinks. The plates were packed to the brim with piping hot pasta with a healthy heaping of bright red tomato sauce on top of a pile of steaming spaghetti. Three massive meat balls nestled in the sauce, each crowned with a healthy green herb.
I don't know what I was expecting. Something foreign, something unknown atleast. Why wouldn't I? I was in a different world after all.
Instead I was given a plate of spaghetti bolognese. There was nothing beyond that, it was simply a well cooked plate of spaghetti bolognese. No tricks, no magic. No nothing.
And it was probably one of the harder things I had to look at.
"Nya, that's because we have the best chefs in the world!" Anya's cheerful voice broke me out of my stupor before anyone noticed, and she puffed out her washboard chest with a smug look, "Nyow eat up you two! We're expecting a lot from you!"
"I'll try not to disappoint," I rolled my eyes as Anya stuck her tongue at me before scampering off. Bell looked at the bounty before him with wide, hungry eyes and I couldn't blame him. It smelled fucking fantastic.
"Well kid," I brought my mug up with a lopsided smirk as Bell smiled widely at me, "Cheers."
He brought his own mug against mine, clinking it with a definite 'thud', "Cheers!"
Without waiting anymore, Bell and I dove into our meal with far more gusto than I had realised I was still capable of.
This might have been the first time I ever wanted to eat something since I came here. It was a nice feeling to have.
I swallowed a forkful of wet pasta and cut meat, the familiar taste of fresh tomato and basil flooding my senses. It was good, really good. And I had been missing out on this for months.
"Hey John," Bell broke me out of my thoughts and I glanced at him as I took a swig of dark bitter ale, the froth staining my lip before I licked it off, "Your home had a lot of weird legends, right?"
"Depends on what you mean by 'weird' but yes, I'm pretty sure I know some myths that even you don't know," I told Bell, coughing slightly into my hand when I put the mug down.
Jesus, that was bitter. Not bad, but it had an acquired taste, that was for sure.
"Well...do you know any about Hestia?"
"Actually, we don't have a lot about Hestia," I told Bell who didn't seem to know whether to be relieved or confused, "Rather than what she did, we know her by who she is, if that makes any sense."
"Now, if you want something juicy," I said with a grin, leaning in slightly, "How about I tell you something about Loki, eh?"
"...Is it anything weird?" Bell asked me hesitatingly, twirling some pasta around his fork.
"Yes, incredibly so," I said without a hint of shame whatsoever as Bell ate some of his meal, "But you know what, let's save that for later. Do you want to hear...I suppose it wouldn't be out of place to call it a hero's tale. Like in the book."
"R-Really?" Bell asked me with starry eyes and I couldn't resist the small smile that crossed my face as I gave a nod.
"It's called David And Goliath and it is personally my favourite…"
And that's how I spent my night. Not crawling around in the bowels of the Dungeon or throwing myself at it over and over again. Nor did I spend it asleep, only to wake up and repeat it all over again.
I spent it telling my Familia member stories that I knew of my world and it was good.
I hope Hestia is having a good time. If she doesn't, well. We'll make it up to her somehow.
.
.
See, I can update on a reasonable time scale.
So this chapter was kind of a breather after the last one and also not as nearly as long as the last chapter and with that, comes a longer A/N because the last one was incredibly brief. I just kinda wanted to get the 20k word chapter out by that point and not inflate the word count even more.
So I just want to say, holy shit has it been a while and a lot of stuff for Danmachi come out. Rhapsodia, Memoria Freese, Arrow of Orion and of course Volume 16 which is to say, yes I know about that thing.
Now, I'm gonna start off saying, I probably will add elements of those in this fic. There's no reason not to and I feel it'll make things more interesting. That's not to say the core thing of this fic will change, but it's always good to try and shake things up a bit. Plus, there's a certain character that I think will work well here.
Though I'm not going to act like this is a new thing. I haven't read any other Danmachi fic, but I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one to do this.
Moving on, the next chapter will be shorter than this one as it'll be Hestia's PoV during the banquet so that shouldn't take too long to come out.
Have a good one guys.