Disclaimer: I don't own Danmachi in any way shape or form, only My OC Ren Cruz. This story may also contain some minor crossovers with other animes and mangas. Please be gentle, this is my first story here and this may be cringeworthy. Constructive criticism will be helpful while flames will be ignored. This is also inspired by My Trans-Dimensional, Overpowered Protagonist, Harem Comedy is Wrong! by sage of eyes (I recommend their story as it is good).
Also, some events may stray for canon as this will take part five years before canon and may involve bashing some characters. You have been warned.
A 17-year-old young man smiled pleasantly while drinking a cup of coffee. Looking closer, he could be seen wearing a white shirt, black pants, and dark brown boots. To top it all off, he had a pair of gloves on and a small mask that hid his lower face from view with some goggles.
"Ah, the sight of shame and suffering, it sustains me," Ren let out quietly as he looked at the newest recruit of his home for a month.
"That's not nice, Cruz-san," Anya said, putting down some sweets sugar cubes for him.
"Anya, do you hear that?" Ren asked playfully as he looked at her, finishing his cup of coffee, ignoring the angry elf standing behind him, a hand raised to hit his head.
"Your impending doom, nya?" Anya asked, looking at her friend and fellow tenant in the hostess.
"No, it's the sound of victory, freedom, and blackmail my friend," Ren said with a smile, glancing behind him, eyes glowing in mirth. Angry blue glared on dark as an elf, around 16, stopped herself from killing him.
"Here, sir, your coffee," Ryuu said, a strained smile, a growl escaping her throat. She fought herself from throwing the cup of coffee at the young man that was one of her housemates. And she was barely holding on.
"Ah, thank you, Lion," Ren said with a blissful smile, "I trust that this has a teaspoon of creamer and two of sugar in it,"
"Yes, sir," Ryuu said, her smile twitched at the blissful expression of the young man in front of her. The human got on her nerves, and only if she could, she would have had taught him a lesson.
"Ah, good, thank you Ryuu," Ren said with a smile, taking the coffee with and a sip. "Oh my, this is too sweet, Ryuu,"
"Oh, dear," Ryuu said, looking at Ren coldly, "Apologies, I was hoping that that drink will somehow lose some of your bitterness," Ryuu said, a poker face on.
"Oh, thank you for being worried so much for me, Lion," Ren said with a smile. "I can feel your dedication towards me from this cup," He replied without missing a beat, enjoying the way the elf twitched.
The only member of the Astraea familia scowled and glared at the masked young man. She was this close to just jumping and trying to kill him, reputation and debt be damned. As if the young man sensed her dilemma, he drank all of the coffee in one gup and stood up. Paying for the meal and cups of coffee, he smiled at Anya under his mask.
"I'll be back around 8," Ren told the cat girl, tipping them both before taking his sword, a black kopis made for hacking and slashing, and a circular shield with several runes carved on it and some knives hidden, putting it on his back.
"Have a safe trip nya," Anya said with a smile before she went back to the kitchen.
"What? No wishes for my safe returns Lion?" Ren asked, a playful smile on his eyes as she looked at her.
"No... it would be more of a blessing for me if you somehow return unable to talk," She said, turning around, coldly passing by him, elves.
"Well, Beggars can't be choosers," Ren said with a smile, taking out a small pouch filled with stones carved with some kinds of letters. "I'm heading out," Ren said with a smile, as he went out of the door and into the crowds of Orario.
Ren smiled, removing his mask and goggles to reveal his current hairstyle, a rattail that reached his shoulders
He is now on the 15th floor of the dungeon, hacking and slashing through hordes of monsters similar to the way a falcon dove through the air to its prey.
Ren then slammed his spear on a charging Minotaur's foot, flipping it over just in time for him to up and smash its head with his foot, killing it instantly.
"That's 25 today," Ren said with a smile, stretching a bit as he sheathed his shield on his back before putting in some gloves to dissect and take the magic stones
"Hello, Ren," A familiar voice called out, turning his head slightly, Ren came face to face with a 17-year-old Asfi al Andromeda
"Asfi, a pleasant surprise," The young man said, looking at his friend from Hermes Familia with a smile. "How have you been?"
"I'm quite alright, need a hand?" The blue-haired girl asked as she looked at the amount of minotaur and other corpses in the area.
"No, I'm Good," Ren said with a smile as he quickly dismantled it. Asfi, looking at her friend just shook her head, took a bag, and held it out for him.
"Here you go," She said with a smile as the two level two comfortably harvested Ren's farming.
"So, how's being the vice-captain treating you?" Breaking the comfortable silence, Ren sat down as he finished looking around.
"It's a bit tiring, especially if you have a whimsical god-like Hermes-Sama," Asfi said, sighing as she leaned on him.
"I get you," Ren said, smiling as he let her lean on him. To think that they had just met two months ago. "I sometimes wonder, why are we here, just to suffer?"
"Seriously?" Asfi said, looking at the young man she was leaning on, her cape wrapped around her to ward off the cool air of the dungeon.
"Yeah," Damn it, memes don't exist here. Fs in the comment section. "My patron is rather quirky,"
"I've noticed," Asfi said, a smile on her face while fixing her glasses. Ren did the same with his goggles after removing his mask.
"Trust me, I can count the times we got in trouble and I was used as a scapegoat," Ren said, smiling at the memory of him running away from a mob of angry women. "Honestly, I feel like a scapegoat,"
"A goat? You're more like a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing," Asfi said with a smile, making the young man laugh.
"I know, but seriously? I get the feeling that only Anya does not tease me and my awesome way," Ren said as he looked at his circular shield.
"Awesome? You mean pragmatically deadly," Asfi countered as the two chuckled. Standing up, Ren removed his gloves, threw them away, and offered his hand to the blue-haired adventurer.
"What a gentleman," Asfi said, a teasing glint on her eyes, taking his hand.
Helping her up, Ren just shook his head. "You're lucky I'm your friend," Ren said with a smirk.
"I know. Wanna test out my items again?" Asfi asked. Now, she got his attention. She could make great magic items and he would be damned to not get the chance to try one.
"Sure. As your primary source of ideas due to my sheer awesomeness, I must test them," Ren said with a nod.
"How eager," Asfi said before standing back to back with the young man, their weapons were drawn.
"As long as I please you milady," Ren said drawing a knife with his left hand, Kopis on the right.
This made the young lady laugh as they both slaughtered their way through monsters, Ren hacking and slashing brutally and effectively while Asfi efficiently took out those near her. They were watching out for each one's opening.
"Hey," Ren called out, cutting off a hellhound's head. "How about a helmet of Invisibility?" Ren offered while punching a Lygerfang away and breaking its neck with a kick, killing it.
"That sounds great!" Asfi shouted, using her dagger to kill a hellhound, ducking as she made an opening for Ren to smack a poor Minotaur's punch heading her way, deflecting it and giving her time to stab it on the head.
"Oh shit," Ren whispered as he looked at the number of hellhounds approaching them.
"What do you mean by- Oh shit, indeed," Asfi said as she looked at the number of hellhounds coming in their way.
"Yeah," Ren said, clicking his tongue. "We'll be here for a bit longer," Ren said, looking at Asfi while putting his shield in front of him.
"I know," She said, the two bumped their fists together as Ren brandished his shield and still held on to his dagger.
"I should have brought my spear," Ren said, enjoying the hungry guilt from his stygian Iron Kopis. "Would've made this easier," Ren said with a sigh before going into a spartan Phalanx stance.
Behind him, Asfi took out a bottle of her own creation, burst oils. "Heads up!" She shouted, throwing the glass bottle causing an explosion.
Ren, seeing the explosion, shielded himself with his circular shield, tanking the explosion with a whistle.
Asfi just smirked as she hid behind Ren and his shield.
"Not bad right?" She asked, looking over his shoulder to see that only a few remained.
"Not bad at all," Ren said as he intercepted several hellhounds and Lygerfangs, preventing them from getting close to Asfi. Each time one got closed, he bashed it with his shield or cut it with his sword, similar to what a Phalanx did to the Persians during the battle of Thermopylae.
A few minutes of their murder spree, Ren and Asfi stood back to back, sweat pouring down their heads Ren was covered mostly in blood while Asfi's cloak had some easy to remove stains.
"If you make a pun, I'm kicking you away," Asfi said, making the young man pout.
The young duo of level 2 adventurers smiled as they went to the conversion area of the guild, Ren carried their bags as most of the items were his after all.
"I'm telling you. Flying and invisibility would be great to evade monsters in the dungeon," Ren told Asfi who huffed and looked at him.
"And help you commit your perverted desires? No way," Asfi countered looking at her friend.
"If you're worried that this would make Hermes'... activities wilder," This made the young woman twitch, glaring at Ren, "Just make a new item that can locate it," Ren offered to her as the two went to their trays, filling it up with the monster cores. Ren filled three trays and another one in half.
"You know, because of what you said, I will not make those items," Asfi said, making the young man shrink and sulk slightly.
"Please?" He pitifully asked, trying to look like a kicked puppy.
"No," The simple and calm rejection from his blue-haired friend made him sigh.
"Fine," Ren said, looking around, it was quite strange to not see any of Asfi's familia members.
"Here you go, 5, 069, 420 Valis," The converter guy said as he gave Ren the amount of money that filled his wallet.
"Nice," Ren has been blessed by the power of the holy numbers. The meme sings to him!
"Your creepiness is showing," Asfi said, elbowing his side lightly. This made the young man snap out of his stupor and rub the back of his head nervously.
"I'm not creepy," Ren defended himself as he took his wallet, and stored it somewhere. "Wanna go on a drink?" Ren asked Asfi, looking at the sky, it was around 5 PM or something.
"I suppose a drink or two can be good," Asfi said with a smile, the duo nodded at each other and went to the nearest bar after Ren changed to a pair of clean clothes.
The duo is now in a bar, with Ren playing with a glass of alcohol on the rocks.
"So, you guys are leaving again huh?" Ren asked as he downed the alcohol in one go, putting it face down on the counter.
"Yes, Hermes-sama had some business to do outside the city," Asfi said, looking at her glass of wine, gently taking a sip.
"It's gonna be a bit too spacious for me here without my badass combo partner," Re said, smiling gently as he removed his mask.
"Don't be like a rabbit, it doesn't suit you," Asfi said with a smile as she finished her glass, the duo ordered for a refill.
"I know, I'm more of a badass wolf," Ren said, poking her cheek. this made Asfi smack him on the side. Yet, if you looked closely, a small smile could be seen on her face. Their drinks refilled, the duo kept their silence as they drank comfortably.
"So, you heading back to your master's place soon?" Asfi asked, looking at ren, leaning her head on his shoulder. Resting, the young blue-haired vice-captain looked at her glass.
"In a few months maybe," Ren answered, shifting slightly to make her more comfortable. Eyeing his alcoholic drink, he smiled at the memory of his mentor. "I'll be gone in Orario for a week or two by then,"
"If we get back here before you go visit him, I might ask Hermes-sama to accompany you," She said with a smile. "Or at the very least, have you some kind of free access to Orario,"
"That would be useful," Ren said with a smile before his lips turned straight. "I wonder how should I travel around?" Ren asked as he looked at his alcoholic beverage.
"How about Altena?" Asfi offered him, finishing her glass of wine, a smile on her face. "They have many mages there. With your fascination with magic items, you will love that lace," She said, sitting properly.
"Altena? The magic country? I'll go there," Ren agreed with her suggestion before smiling and poked her cheek.
"Come on, I'll take you home," Ren said, standing up and waited for the blue-haired girl to stand up. Putting on his mask, he helped the slightly red young lady up.
"Thanks, Ren," Asfi said with a smile, The masked young man helped the vice-captain back to her familia's inn.
Knocking the other door, it opened to reveal a weretiger.
"Oh, Ren," Falgar said, surprise in his voice at seeing one of his Familia's members supported by the young man.
"Hey, Falgar," Ren said before nodding at him and to Asfi. Getting the message, The weretiger helped his vice-captain with to the couch.
"Thanks for taking care of Asfi, Ren," Falgar said with a smile towards the young man.
"No sweat, she's my combo partner. It's up to us to watch each other's backs," Ren said, the young man stretching a bit. "Well, I should go now, I still have to help out at the hostess," Ren said, nodding at the weretiger and headed towards the inn he called home.
"I wonder if I would ever get back home?" Ren asked himself, looking at the stars above the city of Orario. Arriving at the hostess, he swung the door open gently and looked around. Tonight's service was less busy than usual.
"Oh welcome back, nya!" The voice of his good friend, Anya, called out to him.
"I'm back," Ren said as he walked towards his usual spot and tripped on a rag, the catgirl had dropped. Reacting on instincts, he was able to catch himself by grabbing something.
Squeeze
It was soft,
Wait, why did it hurt?!
Looking up, Ren saw the angry look from a familiar elf, her blue eyes burning with anger.
"... Anya, if I die, destroy my books and delete my browser history," Ren called out to his friend before paling. "Please be gentle, Lion," Ren said
"I have no mercy for degenerates like you," Ryuu said, cracking her knuckles, making the poor masked young man gulp.
Poor Ren. Please follow me in Wattpad as I have other Danmachi and even Genshin impact fanfics there.