Chapter 52: Return
Asuna:
"Evade! Don't try to block it, evade!" Screaming, Asuna's voice barely carried over the din that clogged the large chamber.
She was standing on a raised boulder a few meters high near the back of the final room of the seventeenth floor. To her left were the passages back to the surface, to her right, the eighteenth floor. More important than either was the floor boss stomping and howling near the far wall almost forty meters away.
"Do you want me to try again?"
The beautiful feminine voice was Lefiya. The true elf was born and raised in this world unlike Asuna. After surviving a number of difficult scenarios together, Asuna was proud to call the elf her friend. Lefiya was one of the worlds few level-four adventurers, capable of wielding magic power beyond most people's wildest imaginations.
"No." Asuna shook her head. "No one can block the boulders."
In exchange for her awesome power, Lefiya's defensive stats were nil. A stolid level two dwarf likely boasted higher endurance than the frail mage. Asuna would not risk her in this situation where they had no one who could completely guard Lefiya.
"This is getting messy though," Astrid said. Her cat tail flicked with irritation. As one of Loki familia's leaders, Astrid should have been the one ordering the fight. Before she could though, Asuna had started yelling at people and it was too hard to change now.
"How did this happen?" Asuna sighed at her companions. They had simply been heading into the dungeon for a girl's day out. A little excursion to kill some monsters and make money. Instead, they had walked face-first into a battle against the monster rex of the seventeenth floor, Goliath. Not just any goliath either, one with a propensity for throwing rocks.
"HROOOAW!" With an ululating, throaty cry, the monster staggered away from the nearby adventurers, blood dripping down its injured legs and grabbed another rock. Within its large hands, the boulder shattered into pebbles and stones. The largest would still be bigger than Asuna's head.
"Shield's up!" Asuna ordered. It was probably unnecessary, but it gave the semblance of order and control to the fight. Two things that were desperately lacking.
With a great twist of its upper body. The goliath let the stones fly. The sloppy motion had fragments falling to the ground lightly. Most of it though, had been accelerated to the speed of an elite pitcher's fastball and thundered against the metal armor and weapons.
That was the third time Asuna had seen the floor boss break the stones into smaller pieces to attack the adventurers trying to swarm its legs. As with the last two times, more adventurers lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Worse still, was that one was a tank. The highly armored dwarves were the only ones that could stand up to the stone barrage directly. Without them, everyone else became targets in a one-sided game of dodgeball.
"HiYooo!"
"More monsters." Astrid warned, looking at the corridors leading back to the seventeenth.
Asuna nodded. This was expected. The monster rex was the boss of the floor. Of course the other monsters ran over to protect it. That forced the vanguard to abandon healing. With no one else there, they had to stand-up and fight again.
Asuna's eyes lingered on the Goliath. It did not join in the rush. It staggered to the wall and leaned against it. The monster was finally tiring. If this strategy was repeated another time or two the fight would end with their victory.
Except for those that won't get to celebrate…
Asuna's eyes looked over to the shapes on the eighteenth-floor side. Groaning figures and silent ones. Most adventurers here were only level two. With that level of ability, it would be almost impossible to dodge the Goliath's throws. The floor boss had homed in on archers and mages using the rocks to crush them. It was why Asuna did not let Lefiya try, nor attempt casting herself.
The goliath had to stomp and punch melee attackers. Until it ran away and used its grapeshot move. Even that was preferable though. The small rocks inflicted less damage than the massive half ton stones.
"Astrid, let's go before it recovers. Lefiya, I want a barrage on its head the second it falls."
"Got it!" Both girls answered.
Leaping off the rock, Asuna ran, rapier out. Bent low, Asuna could feel her blue cloak streaming out behind her like the tail of a comet. Her speed caused her vision to blur as the peripheries became indistinct shapes. It took only a few seconds to cover the intervening distance. Her speed took her past adventurer and monster alike.
Zeroing in on the floor boss, Asuna lunged. Her rapier dug against the hard grayish skin, the blade flexing a little before cutting.
With a trail of blood following her, Asuna skidded a stop and turned around, her face rising to gaze at the floor boss. It was a monster of a goliath, standing nearly eight meters. That made it nearly five times her height. Hardly a fair competition.
Roaring at her, the beast drew back a fist the size of a boulder to slam her against the rock. Asuna did not flinch and instead waited patiently for the fist. Just as it started careening toward her, the goliath stumbled and had to stop the punch.
Astrid's blade had cut into the back of the beast's left leg.
"We keep at it!" Asuna commanded as the beast remained standing.
From the other side of the room, Asuna heard the faint notes of a beautiful melody begin. "Proud warrior, snipers of the forest…"
The magic got an instant reaction from the goliath. Completely ignoring the two girls that had interrupted its rest, it turned to gaze out across the plain and locate the magic user. Lefiya was not hard to find. She had taken Asuna's position on top of the boulder and was staring down the floor boss with a haughty, determined gaze. Magic energy cackled around her like sparks of orange lightning, streaming her golden hair out.
"HYAO!" The goliath howled, reaching for a rock.
Asuna was not nice enough to let it succeed. Darting forward, she struck at the center of the heel and shoved. The blade battled against skin, but as before, the winner was pre-determined. With extreme effort, Asuna thrust her rapier inch by inch deeper into the Achilles of the floor boss.
"Above!" Astrid called. Leaping off Asuna's shoulder, the level four adventurer rotated with deadly speed to cut a clean line across the back of the goliath's knee. All of the damage inflicted unto the same left leg got a visceral reaction from the floor boss.
Screaming, its support went out, the right knee hit rock as the left leg went limp.
Asuna smirked at the sight. She had done it. Now she needed to retreat and Lefiya's magic would… Face paling, Asuna had no time to react. The floor boss had not just laid down to die like a good boy. Instead, it was throwing a tantrum. Fingers digging into the stone floor extracted shards of rock. Its hand whipped back discharging the contents directly at her.
Throwing her hands in front of her face, Asuna received a myriad of blows knocking her backwards. Vision blurry, she groaned from the pain. Her whole body was numb and unresponsive. Raising a hand to her head, Asuna moaned as her finger spiked with pain.
Blinking, she cleared her vision to look at her left hand and wished she hadn't. Her middle and ring finger twisted ninety degrees halfway up the second joint.
"Asuna! Asuna! Hang in there. We have to move you before—"
"Fusillade Fallarica!"
Asuna gasped from another wave of pain as her body was lifted and carried. Her still blurry vision was filled with streaks of fire. Lines of orange light falling and burning everything in their path.
"I am going to give you something to sleep, okay?"
Astrid's voice was far away. Words spoken on the other side of a curtain of pain. However, Asuna understood. Astrid wanted Asuna out of the way.
I… Screwed up. I underestimated it.
Anger slowly drove back the pain. Lifting her left hand again so that she could see it, Asuna focused on the middle finger.
"Asuna?"
The words did not matter. Using her right rand, she grabbed the broken appendage and rotated it back with a quick twist.
Blackness crowded in the edged of her vision. Heels thrashing against hard stone, Asuna's senses had fled and left her with only agony.
"Idiot! What are you doing!?"
Before Astrid could stop her, Asuna grabbed her ring finger and repeated the process. This time the immediate wave was not as bad. Kind of like the difference between a boxer punching you in the face and a strongman. Both sucked.
"This girl. Everytime I think she has gone and grown up…"
Still not able to comprehend Astrid's words, Asuna placed her good hand against the ground and began the process of standing up. Her vision had mostly normalized. Her high status would not simply let her die or be rendered unconscious. She could survive this.
"Asuna!" A new, higher voice said.
With thinking beginning to return, she turned to face Lefiya. The mage's face was pale. "You were late."
"M-Me!?" I didn't think that counted as down until it hit you. I… I'm sorry you…"
Asuna raised a hand cutting Lefiya off. "Is the goliath dead? If not, we cannot allow it to—"
"HROA!"
Cursing at the sound of the howl, Asuna staggered forward. Grasping at her waist, Asuna tried to avoid using her delicate fingers that were leaking blood as she pulled out a high potion. Downing it in one gulp, she reached the edge of the raid group.
"Don't let it rise!"
"We can't stop it!" one of them yelled back. "Its motions are erratic but deadly, we can't get close!"
"Fine," Asuna bit angrily, talking to no one. "I'll do it myself."
"A-Asuna!?" Lefiya and Astrid asked with alarm.
Ignoring them, Asuna dashed along the nearby wall. The goliath had been near one when Lefiya's magic hit. With how strong the magic was, it was now further away from the wall. That meant it was surrounded by the rubble of what used to be a wall. Rubble that was essentially toy blocks for the overgrown toddler that was busy throwing them at people.
Reaching the wall, Asuna jumped and rotated her body, her right boot slamming against the uneven surface. With superhuman power, she pushed off and continued running along the wall. Spiraling upwards, she kicked off almost ten meters in the air.
Soaring above the Goliath, Asuna locked it in her sights. The monster was mostly dead. The skin and muscles of its back had been burnt away completely. Its lame left leg had been completely shorn off.
Laying on its stomach it used its powerful arms to toss rocks at everyone and everything. They were right that approaching was extremely dangerous.
"Die." With no shout to announce her presence, Asuna plunged down at increasing speeds and prepped her strike.
Thud!
"HYAA—" The monster's scream cut off mid-cry.
Asuna was left crouched on its ashen back, her rapier sunk up to its hilt straight between two vertebrae. Taking a moment, she forced down the pain and exhaustion. With all the flourish she had learnt from a certain swordsman in black, Asuna stood and whipped her blade out, turning to face the crowd.
"Hurry and begin first aid. Line them up from most injured to least. Lefiya and I will begin treating you, please stay patient. Those who can still fight guard the tunnels so no monsters enter this chamber. I want a fast runner to go to Rivera and organize the collection of stretchers to carry the injured adventurers."
Silence reigned for a moment more.
"Well? Move!"
They moved.
Bell:
"Urgh…" Groaning, Bell raised an arm to cover his face. At least he tried to. The effort of lifting it was greater than the discomfort the soft light was causing. So, with a sigh, he let it flop back down to his side.
"Bell!"
"Master Bell! You are awake!?"
"Hmm?" Was his reply to the barrage of sound. "What… What happened?" For some reason, Bell could not find the strength to pull himself up from the ground. It was clear even in his fuzzy state that something was wrong with him.
"You killed a massive minotaur and then we dragged you back here—" Overlapped with Haru's explanation of, "I'm so sorry Bell! If only I was stronger, you would not have been kidnapped in the first place!"
"…" To that confusing and unclear explanation of which Bell understood maybe one word, he replied in the most elegant fashion he knew, "Urgh."
"M-Maybe we should let him sleep a little longer…"
Bell heard about half of that before darkness swallowed him again. When he next awakened, his eyes snapped open. With his consciousness, pain came as well. Nothing was sharp, but there was a lot of aching. Also, was something wrong with his left leg? There was a suspicious lack of feeling from the appendage.
Deciding to investigate it, Bell put his elbows under him and forced his upper body up. At first glance, there was nothing wrong. Just two limbs under a blanket. Hesitantly, Bell moved to pull the blanket off himself.
"You should just rest for now."
Bell started at the foreign feminine voice. Lifting his head, he finally noticed a shadowed figure in the corner of the room. "Who are you?"
As they strode forward into the light of the magic lantern, Bell gaped. "T-Thousand elf!?"
She winced. "I would think after fighting that bull monster together you could call me by name, Bell. Or do you want me to call you Vesta's light?"
This time it was Bell's turn to wince. "P-Please just call me Bell, Miss Viridis."
"Miss Viridis? Oh well."
She looked about to say something, but Bell raised a hand into the air. Waiting until she gave him a confused look, Bell asked his question. "Umm… Why are you here?"
He left the parts out that he cared the most about. In my room. Alone.
"I was healing you. I may not have Asuna's talent for it, but Lady Riveria's magic does have restorative properties."
The explanation made Bell gape a little. "T-Thank you for your aid. Umm, why did you help?" He still struggled to believe that he was having a casual conversation with this girl. Her skill had taken Orario by storm when she became an adventurer. The name Thousand elf was on every tongue as a person to look out for in the next six to ten years.
"You were injured… Honestly though, it was more like your party stumbled into town while we had a triage set-up."
A triage? Going cold, Bell had to ask. "Why did you need to set one up?"
"You are full of questions." The elf grumbled. "If I answer yours, will you answer one of mine?"
Bell nodded without thinking. He was pretty sure that he had killed the minotaur. A scene of his light cleaving through its horn was burnt into his mind after all. So it should not have been the minotaur ripping through everyone. That meant…
"It was the floor boss." Lefiya began in a monotone. "Somehow, the beast learned how to throw rocks. Using magic was practically impossible. Eventually we killed it, but the raid group sustained many injuries."
"I knew it…" Bell cursed, his fist clenching. "I should have fought it. People keep dying because I'm too weak."
"Then I guess that's something we share." Walking over, Lefiya pointed a finger straight into Bell's face. From this distance, it finally struck Bell that they were almost the same age. "Huh? Why is your face red? Did you catch a fever?"
N-No, it's nothing!" Frantic to escape, Bell wriggled backwards. Bending his right leg, he went to drag his left leg behind him. As he did, something shifted in his left leg. A sharp bolt of pain from near the kneecap lanced up his leg and made Bell abandon his movements. Flat on his back, Bell gasped and panted as the pain retracted.
"Please don't aggravate it further." Lefiya scolded him. "You're like Asuna, her fingers are going to take twice as long to heal after her stunt…"
"Asuna is here as well?" Bell asked. Lefiya had said it before, but he only clued in now.
"Yes, she is now… No more questions from you!" Lefiya stamped her foot in annoyance. "You will answer my question!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Bell replied reflexively. It was a trait he had learned from Kirito. No matter how silly the boy was, he did have several good defense mechanisms when dealing with women.
Lefiya nodded happily. "Good. Now… Err, I'm not sure how to phrase this…"
"Just… say it outright?" Bell proposed.
"Yes, but!" The elf growled petulantly. Bell was starting to wonder what happened to the ferocious warrior that had saved them all with her magic during the war game.
"Miss Viridis?"
"And that name! Just call me Lefiya. Urgh… How am I supposed to ask? I've dreamed that sound every day for almost two years and then I stumble across it randomly!?"
"Huh?" Bell could not follow the rapid-fire words. The once graceful elf was now pacing back and forth with a petulant pout plastered on her lips. Bell had to struggle to restrain his laughter.
"Ah, fine!" Stopping suddenly, she turned on Bell. "I want to hear about that magic of yours!"
"…What?"
"The one that makes the white light and the ringing of church bells."
"T-That isn't magic." Bell found himself replying. He should not be saying anything, but Lefiya's eyes were piercing him with a desperate need. A desire and hope so raw that he could not stop his tongue from flapping. "It is a skill."
"A… skill? But how?"
"It charges things." Bell explained. "So when you saw me use it I charged it in my hands to amplify the power of my magic."
"You… You can, no. That is not why I am asking." Lefiya knelt down so that they were once more only a foot apart. From that distance, Bell found himself drowning in the Forests of Wishe. "Do you know anyone who was capable of wielding similar abilities? Like magic that made the exact same sound that your skill produces?"
"Made?" The past tense was odd to Bell but he was too busy staring at the elf's face. Bell had a zero percent chance of coming up with an answer that Lefiya wanted.
"…Well!?"
"Elves are pretty…"
Both of them blinked in that moment. Then, like mirror images their cheeks heated from calm to volcanic in a second. Lefiya was the first to go supernova as she let out a shriek.
Covering her face with her left hand, she slapped Bell with her right. Retreating back to the corner, she panted, glaring at him through her spread fingers.
"Urgh…" Bell said for not the first time. His ears were ringing with the force of a level four slap. As the room continued to spin, Bell came no closer to rising again.
"What happened!" Lili shouted, barging into the room.
"Are you alright Lefiya!?" Asuna asked running on Lili's heels. Arriving into the room, they skidded to a stop finding nothing particularly noteworthy.
"T-This boy of yours is consumed by his base instincts!" Lefiya yelled at Lili.
Just like that, Bell now had three pairs of eyes glaring at him. "I didn't touch her!" Bell defended himself. "She just got really close and I…"
Lili sighed heavily. She had the look of an overworked nanny. Facing Asuna and Lefiya, she bowed as well. "He is recovering from a lot of trauma, please forgive his words."
"Well, we seems to have come off the worst in this…" Asuna said diplomatically. Lefiya did not look merciful as she continued to glare. "Since I am here, I should look at his leg and try to heal it. Without more work it could be a week until he can stand."
A week… Bell blanched. "S-Seriously!?"
"Huh!?" Lili's exclamation was even more strangled. "We don't have the financial capacity to rent a room in Rivera for a week!"
"So that's what you were worried about…" Asuna sighed as she leaned over Bell.
Bell secretly agreed with Asuna. Nodding rapidly in his mind, Bell sent Lili a pouting glare. He was disrupted from doing so physically as sensation briefly returned to his leg. Gritting his teeth, Bell's leg began spasming as the lancing pain returned. Just as quickly as it did, it faded as Asuna laid something back into position with a sigh.
"You are completely dependent upon the pain repressing pad currently. I will try my healing magic, but you need to message your familia to bring you an elixir."
Bell had no reply to that. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling while Asuna chanted. It seemed so… stupid. So indescribably banal that an injury could leave him in such a vulnerable, weak state. Adventurers were supposed to be tough, infallible.
And I know exactly how untrue that is… Bell could almost imagine his goal flowing further away. The ideal drifting further across the chasm of impossibility. Was that because Bell had closed the distance to the chasm and could see it better, or his own determination had flagged? He did not know.
"Ahh!" A river of sensation broke Bell perfectly from his thoughts. Looking down at his leg in wonder, Bell began to flex it. The joint working perfectly as it felt like liquid light surged through his veins, repairing him.
"So much… damage…" Speaking softly, Asuna wobbled once then toppled sideways to the matted floor of the hotel room without another word.
"Asuna!" Instantly, Lefiya was there, grabbing and lifting the girl. Before she left the room, Lefiya spared another look for Bell. "Looks like we will be here a while longer. If you can move by that time, we can help you back to the surface."
"T-Thank you." Bell said to the elf's back. "Both of you."
"Just think on what I asked you." Lefiya said before departing with Asuna.
When they were gone, the room somehow seemed to dim and grow smaller and smaller. The feeling of health was also quickly departing Bell's leg, so he lowered it and let it straighten as the numb sensation returned. Bell took that to mean the pad had more pain to block. It was far from a perfect fix.
Turning to Lili, Bell spoke. "What time is it? Also, do we really need to write to Kirito?"
"Haha, about the second, I sent a letter to Hestia already. I don't know who will come. As for the time… should be just before dawn. Letter should arrive in the next few hours.
Bell absorbed the reply with only a few winces. "You know he will come personally."
"Probably." Lili agreed. "Definitely if I had mentioned Asuna."
Bell smiled at that. "The two of them don't understand how much they may change just by being themselves…"
"They really don't." Lili agreed with a sigh. Then, She walked to Bell's side and sat down with almost no room between them.
"L-Lili!?" Bell squeaked.
"I'm tired." Lili said, her voice betraying no hints of tiredness. "Haruhime is sleeping in the Loki familia room after passing out trying to watch over you."
"O-Oh, maybe they will let you—" Bell could not finish under that piercing stare.
"Lili will perform any functions you need, so just lay down and let your body heal."
Bell wanted to protest the obvious manipulation, but he found that his eyes were closing again. He may have slept most of the night, but his body had been pushed to its limit and beyond. So, without any further prompting, Bell laid his head down and passed out.
Giving one satisfied nod, Lili laid with her head on Bell's shoulder, his arm loosely around her body. The warmth of human contact proved too great for Lili to bask in for she quickly followed Bell into the world of dreams.
Silica:
"A-Amazing…" Moving at a jog, Silica found herself relegated to full supporter for the first time in recent memory.
Her job today was to stay out of Kirito's way and try to pick up enough valuable things to slightly offset the costs associated with buying a true elixir. The difference between these ultra-high-quality potions and the regular restorative potions was immense. A single vial of an elixir often cost upwards of a million valis. A substantial price for a fragile, one-time use object.
Silica could not think about that though as she quickly extracted a few larger magic stones and broke the rest from what had been a horde of al-miraj. By the time she was done, Silica had to sprint for a moment to catch up to Kirito.
"Thank you for coming Silica. You were right, you are helpful."
"O-Oh, it is nothing!" Silica tried to say, but her voice stuttered horribly as her face exploded with colour. In her mind, she apologized to the other girls that would be pacing around their familia home gnashing their teeth.
Silica had not been chosen for her skills or senses. It had come down to sheer luck. Silica had just happened to be up when the guild messenger brought the letter to their familia home.
Kirito, at that point, had explained briefly to Silica while collecting his gear and preparing to set out. She had barred his way from leaving and frantically argued for her inclusion. Things like more storage capacity and the journey being safer. She realized now exactly how moot the second argument was. At level four, Kirito shredded the monsters. There was nothing here that could stop a stroke of his blade.
The God-Killing blade.
The fateful name rang through Silica's mind. As someone who was not a resident of this world, it was hard for Silica to truly comprehend what these gods were. Even still, that aura of dark energy had curdled her stomach.
"Are you… scared of me?"
"Eep!" Silica stared wide-eyed at Kirito, noticing he had stopped. Did he read her mind? Thankfully, she did not say that out loud. "No, not you… It was just a really bad day…"
That was an understatement. She had been taken in by Ishtar's charm easily and succumbed to the goddess' will. Maybe that was what truly turned her stomach when she thought about that moment. The instant she had been freed from Ishtar's grasp. For it was not lust for Ishtar that the goddess used to control her like the goddess used for men, it had been Silica's insecurities; what she could stand to gain from following the goddess.
Kirito seemed to pick up on some of this and turned around to face her. His black eyes were warmer now, bright and reflective. He reached out a hand and ruffled Silica's head as a brother may. Then, his hand slipped down to her cheek and cupped it in a very unbrotherly way.
"Kirito…?"
"I will never not be in awe of how lucky I am."
Silica's cheeks darkened to a maroon. She stood frozen by his gaze until he turned away and resumed his march further through the middle levels. Poleaxed by the comment, Kirito was almost out of sight by the time she shook out of her reverie and pursued.
As usual, the middle floors from thirteen to seventeen were rocky, cave-like places where footing was uncertain, and the floor would occasionally give out entirely sending you down a floor or two. It was, however, the first time Silica had descended the floors fast enough to appreciate the depreciation in light as she moved through the floors. As her higher-level senses, improved by her cat-person attributes, kicked in, the floors were not dark to her. Even so, Silica was able to get a bearing for the amount of light present in each of the different sections. Further, she noted that the width of the tunnels grew slightly on each floor. On the thirteenth, fighting side-by-side with Kirito would be challenging without one of them changing their technique. On the sixteenth however, the feat would have been easy.
"Watch out," Kirito called, "the seventeenth is just ahead."
Silica nodded. When she realized Kirito could not see her, she flushed and called out an affirmative. Not wanting to call any monsters upon them, they ran on in silence, an eerie absence of sound from their booted feet.
For herself, Silica was barely aware of the minute adjustments her body naturally made to land silently. As for Kirito, Silica guessed it was a mixture of level and experience. Hundreds of hours in the dungeon optimizing something as mundane as running. With neither of them making sounds, it gave Silica an unprecedented opportunity to listen to the dungeon. She was shocked by how alive everything was. Not just the scraping of claws and monstrous howls, but more animalistic noises. Grunts and snorts: communication.
Pulling up almost beside Kirito, Silica whispered to Kirito. "Umm, Kirito, if I remember correctly, monsters can breed, yes?"
"Huh? Ahh, yeah. Outside the dungeon." Just as Silica was going to thank him and move backwards, Kirito cocked his head to the side. Eyes widening, he stumbled, creating a loud noise as he kicked a rock into a nearby wall. "S-Silica, you aren't thinking of becoming a monster breeder, are you!?"
"B-Breeder!?" Silica squeaked, forgetting to keep her voice low. "W-What is this all of a sudden!?"
"A lot of games with tamable monsters let you breed them." Kirito explained. "I guess in this world you would only get weaker offspring unfortunately."
"O-Oh…" Silica ducked her head and fell back a few steps. Her heart raced. Kirito had not been implying anything talking about breeding all of a sudden. Silica was not interested in that subject. Definitely not.
While making this assertation to herself, Silica's path began taking her lower. Once it got below a certain point, she looked up, mind going into battle mode. It was not a simple curve; this was the seventeenth floor. The final obstacle. The only one where even Kirito had to show respect.
Pure silence consumed the two of them once more. It had been more than twenty minutes since the last fight. They had crossed the entirety of the sixteenth floor without encountering a single monster. It was insane how fast one could get to the eighteenth floor by running. It was a journey that could take most of a day, or a few hours at their pace.
Cat ears flicking, Silica caught odd sounds. "Hey, Kirito…"
"I feel it as well." The boy responded with a voice like ice. His right hand reaching up to grab the hilt hanging over his shoulder.
Silica's right hand also drifted to her waist. She fingered the hilt poking up from her belt. It was a custom-made item from Lisbeth. The hilt was short, accommodating one of her hands and no more. However, the blade was longer than throwing knives, almost a short sword made from Bug Bear claw hardened steel the length of her forearm. The blade curved slightly in an S-shape. First one way then the other in an asymmetrical pattern. This created a long slashing edge on the distal half of the weapon. That left an off-center tip which was poor at stabbing, the technique most useful for daggers.
Silica and Liz had come up with the design together. The weapon would simply be inefficient in the hands of any other user. The blade did not stab well and did not have the weight to slash effectively. Silica's magic, Fade edge gave the knife the ability to bypass armour, making speed the most important attribute for her weapon.
That faint sound quickly transformed into a horde of shaking. There was a large group of monsters on the move. What was odd was the absence of all other sounds. Monsters did not walk silently. They were not people, they got into fights over territory and ego. They howled and stomped and boasted.
"Kirito…" Silica warned.
"I know." Drawing his blade, Kirito burst down a small incline and up the other side to enter a small chamber that they had not been able to see earlier.
Silica's heart caught in her throat. She could only gape at what she saw. It was a platoon of minotaurs. There was no other way to describe it. They all had nature weapons and marched in a block three monsters wide and ten deep. Those thirty minotaurs were led by a large brute that wielded two of the nature clubs, one in each massive hand. The group was marching down a path perpendicular to the main path.
"What the hell is this?" Kirito grumbled. But even as the minotaurs noticed them and before they could fully adapt, Kirito vanished.
Silica blinked as her ears updated her before her eyes. Kirito had not turned invisible. His speed of acceleration had simply been too fast for her to track. With one strike, he had cleanly killed one of the toughest level two monsters.
"GROAHHH!" The howling was chaotic and overwhelming. It echoed again and again in the small rocky chamber deafening and threatening. It also signaled the end to the orderly rank of monsters. The remaining twenty-nine rushed Kirito. Clubs forgotten they grabbed, bit, and gored Kirito.
Rather than backing up, Kirito dove into their midst and began whirling. His blade cutting off arms, legs, and heads. He was untouchable…
Silica realized belatedly that she was not. Some of the minotaurs had broken off in search of easier prey. Enraged by the slaughter of their platoon members, they howled and stamped as they approached.
Don't panic! Silica ordered herself. She was level three now. These monsters were push-overs. She just needed to keep her head. Easier said than done in the face of half a dozen massive monsters.
Staring them down, Silica held her blade out like a long sword to her side. From that position, she cast her magic. "Bless my blade, keeper of sword skills! Fade Edge!"
The blade glowed with a deep blue light. Just deeper than the colour of Pina's feathers. A perfect match for the fallen feathery dragon's azure eyes. Silica did not let the fact distract her, but instead allowed Pina's sacrifice to propel Silica forward.
Faster than the reaching hands, Silica passed by weapons and struck at the leathery side of a minotaur. She barely felt resistance as her dagger cut deep into one of them. Pivoting hard, Silica rushed for a second. Keeping low, she thrust her weapon into the beast's knee. The monstrous appendage audibly snapped as Silica ripped her weapon free and rolled away.
When she came to her feet, there was a sea of confusion in the monsters. They had stumbled upon what should have been prey and found only death. They gnashed their teeth in frustration and anger. Even stronger was how they howled in fear. They were only moments from breaking.
Kirito was looking at Silica, making sure she was safe. That did not prevent him from continuing to cut down the monsters that dared to oppose them.
Silica readied herself but did not rush forward again. With the rate Kirito was killing them, almost half their number had been slaughtered. Silica did not see a reason to interfere.
"GROAH!" One loud piercing howl split the air that did not have any fear in it. As one minotaur died near Kirito, its corpse was flung to the side and a larger, looming figure, gave no warning before its powerful strike.
Kirito's blade of course rose to match. His arm flexed, absorbing the powerful hit and then… He was flung into the air. His body becoming a black streak that slammed into a nearby wall.
"Kirito!" Silica screamed. Her mind demanded her to turn and look after him. Her instincts saved her by keeping her in place.
"I'm fine." He answered, his voice a mixture of boredom and amusement. "It is easy to forget that even as my strength goes up, my weight stays the same."
"Ahaha…" Silica laughed weakly, feeling better. That lasted for all of half a second until the leader of the crew that sent Kirito flying rounded on her. It came swinging with both clubs.
First right from the top, then the left around the side. Silica sidestepped the first, then ducked the second. The assault was ferocious and hard to get inside of. Silica was certain that this beast was far beyond level two.
Combined with its squad, it created an obstacle that would easily wipe out almost all parties that tried to hunt these floors.
"Umm, Kirito? Help?" Silica pled, stepping backwards from another attacker. The leader was growing clearly frustrated that its attacks were continuing to miss.
"Huh? But you are doing so well…"
"Kirito!" Silica demanded more sharply as other minotaurs overcame their fear and began to approach from the sides, boxing her in.
"Fine!" With a loud cracking sound of breaking rock, Kirito freed himself. Silica had not realized how far into the wall he had ended up.
"How strong is it?" Silica asked.
"Stronger than you. Stronger than Strea or Rain. But weaker than Aisha and me. Not sure who is a good comparison."
Silica shivered but was not surprised. It was the range that she had expected. "I'll cripple it. You finish everything."
"Deal." Kirito smiled widely. He was enjoying this! The blasted man was…
"Here I go!" With her magic still active, Silica rushed forward with a broad smile on her face. The minotaur's first swing passed over her head. With that, Silica was through. The leader was not giving up and responded by spinning its other club the other direction along the ground. A normal attack performed that way would be weak and ineffective. With its strength, it still could break rock.
Silica switched her dagger to her left hand and grabbed unto the club with her right, letting it jerk her in that direction. As she passed by its leg, she swiped out, scoring a deep gash. Not anywhere important but deep enough to get a howl of pain.
The minotaur whirled to follow Silica as two other minotaurs rushed her. She was certainly dead. So, Silica sat down.
Heart thumping loudly, Silica kept her head lowered and waited for her fate. It arrived a moment later with the sound of breaking air. Followed a few seconds later by the sound of three upper bodies hitting the ground, severed from their lower counterpart.
"Good job."
Silica opened her eyes and raised her head. Greeting her was Kirito with a smile and extended hand. Taking it happily, Silica let him pull her to her feet. Stumbling forward, she ended up right in front of him. Head cocked up; Silica stared into his eyes from only a short distance away.
"Uhh, Silica? We are in a dungeon right—"
Silica did not let him finish. Adrenaline coursing through her she raised herself on tiptoes and planted her lips on his and kept them there as the sound of dripping blood counted the time.
When she was finished, Silica lowered herself and turned without a word to begin collecting their spoils. The magic stones of the smaller minotaurs were worthless. Each one was cracked and would barely bring any money. Despite that, she received a number of drop items and a large, pristine stone from the leader.
"W-What the…"
Silica, ignoring Kirito's stunned comment held up two of the minotaur's stones. "Do you know what is wrong with the monsters?"
"Huh? What? Why?"
"Please focus." Silica said, somewhat sharply. The stones were concerning. More pressing was the fading adrenaline was getting steadily replaced with embarrassment. That was the kind of action that Rain and Philia reserved for themselves. Not that they said the others weren't allowed to but…
"These cracks aren't from stress…" Kirito's voice bringing Silica back to the matter at hand. "It is like they did not form properly. Kind of like ice with multiple nucleation points."
Ice? Silica did not ask. "What does it mean though? If the stones become worthless, adventurers will stop coming in here. It just is not worth it."
Kirito shook his head. "This group was clearly different. The minotaurs seemed stupider and were a little weaker. Only the leader was a problem."
Silica could agree with that. Against normal minotaurs, she would have struggled mightily against half a dozen of the brutes. The ones they had downed had been weaker.
"We will report it to the guild." Kirito declared, pocketing the stones. "Let us go help Bell."
"Yes!" Agreeing happily, Silica fell into step behind Kirito.
Kirito:
"Oh… Yo."
"Hi."
"…"
"…"
Kirito shuffled under Asuna's impervious sky-blue gaze. She had a regal, dignified air in her azure robes. With a high-quality rapier and staff, she truly was a high-tier adventurer in every sense of the word.
It baffled Kirito that this queenly elven woman had defied traditions and threatened to leave her familia so that she could be with him. It was almost just as baffling that this woman had arisen from the cloaked girl using an ornamental rapier to fight kobolds and goblins.
"Shouldn't you get the elixir to Bell?"
"I gave it to Silica."
"I see."
Silence again. Kirito scratched his head and tried to restrain his blush. He failed. The only help was that Asuna seemed to be having the same troubles.
"Asuna."
"Kirito."
Their voices overlapped perfectly as they tried to speak. Cutting off, Kirito tried to tell her to go ahead only to have his words once again interfere with similar ones from Asuna.
"By the ancient spirits, if the two of you don't go on a date somewhere I'll knock you both out!"
Kirito flinched away from the sharp voice. It had come from a cat woman with glossy black hair and an intimidating glare. That would be Astrid Autumn, level four co-captain of Loki familia. "Yes ma'am!"
"A-Astrid!" Asuna stuttered more in control, in a whiny voice. "It's just…"
"GO!"
Kirito went. He probably had a similar status to the woman, but status did not matter at times like these. He grabbed Asuna's hand and pulled her to the door of the inn. Door was a generous term of course. Like most of Rivira it was two sheets of cloth suspended across the entranceway of a natural cave.
Asuna did not try to pull away, her hand conformed to his and tightened around his grip. Kirito almost sighed, the way it fit just felt so right. His heart clamed and the troubles that had sprung up felt less urgent.
"You know," Asuna said, her voice pitched low to avoid eavesdropping, "For being your girlfriend now, I don't get to see you a lot."
"I'm sure they all say that," Kirito quipped.
"Yes, I am sure they do."
The literal tone in Asuna's voice made Kirito wince. "There is only one of me." He defended, but knew the excuse was not good enough. Somehow, someway, he needed to find more time.
"I know," Asuna sighed. "Sometimes I think I should have locked you up in the first weeks and never let go. …I wonder if Argo regrets not doing that."
"Argo?" Kirito let out a forced laugh. "She would punch me and sell the information to other people."
"Still blind…" Asuna muttered. Kirito was not sure if she simply did not know how good his hearing was or if he was meant to hear.
"You may be right about her." Asuna admitted grudgingly after a minute. "Still, she is your oldest friend."
Kirito rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. He could not respond as they walked through Rivira's main street with most of the vendors. It was packed with people but there was a dark cast to many of their eyes. Those were the loudest, shouting boisterously about their great victory.
"Argo has helped me a lot, and I have helped her." Kirito answered when they were passed. "I don't know what could have happened between us… but it is too late for our relationship to change now."
Asuna only nodded. "Right person, wrong time, huh? I sometimes feel that way myself. I get dreams occasionally of a world where it was just the two of us."
Kirito smiled warmly, feeling an odd rush of nostalgia. "Yes, a world where we were swordsmen, fighting and travelling together to new lands."
"Eh?"
It took Kirito a moment to notice that Asuna had stopped and was staring at him with a dumbfounded expression. Frowning, he returned and grabbed her hand again, giving it a squeeze.
"Ahh…"
The soft gasp of pain froze Kirito as he gently released her hand. "Are you injured?"
"Never mind that," Asuna spoke sharply, "Do you remember anything else from those dreams?"
"C-Come on Asuna," Kirito stuttered still more concerned about her hand. "I've had all sorts of dreams. Leafa says it is my male-oriented imagination."
"Male-oriented? Explain."
Under Asuna's hard gaze, Kirito blushed and shifted.
"Oh, so you make love to your girlfriends in your dreams. I guess they aren't the same."
"N-No, that isn't it!" Kirito pled awkwardly. How was Asuna so calm!? "I just meant that there are different women with me… Sometimes even ones I don't know."
"…All in that same world where we adventure together?" Asuna asked suspiciously.
"Hmm…" Kirito considered the question as if his life depended on it. The problem was that he rarely remembered much of his dreams. That was made worse by the fact that he usually woke up to someone else in his bed which jolted him awake. "I… sometimes… I think."
"Ugh, never mind, I should have known this was meaningless. Trying to find meaning in dreams. Next, I'll be trying to determine star signs. Let's go."
Kirito allowed himself to be tugged along, looking down at Asuna's hand with concern. "So are you injured?"
"I was." She admitted. "That golem shattered a few fingers, but I healed them of course."
Then why did you wince? Kirito left her alone, however. Asuna could take care of herself. She did not need him butting in anymore.
In short order they arrived at the edge of Rivira and exited onto the seventeenth floor proper. The town was built onto rocky cliffs that gave it natural protection from monsters. So, the town loomed over their heads to the back while a pristine lake sparkled to their right. In front of them and a little to the right a massive tree loomed over the floor. The entrance to the colossal tree labyrinth.
"This floor is beautiful…" Asuna whispered.
"Yeah… It really is." Half of Kirito's vision was obstructed by Asuna. Her face and sparkling eyes perfectly at ease as she gazed lovingly at the scenery. Gazing at Asuna, a strong desire to protect her welled up within Kirito. Caressing the back of her hand with his thumb, he stepped up beside her.
"Umm, so about our return to the surface…"
"We should travel together," Kirito said without pause. "Silica and I encountered odd monsters on our way down."
"As well?" Asuna asked. "Yes, us too. I heard that story quite a bit in the time before your arrival."
Passing into the forest, the town faded from view. Kirito let Asuna lead him from the main path down a side path that had no destination. It was merely a walking path that people used to look around the floor.
"Hmm, it always seems like something is happening in the dungeon."
"Yes, it does…"
Conversation died, but it was not the awkward silence of before. Kirito's senses stood on high alert, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. His thumb was stroking Asuna's hand as she returned the gesture in kind.
It wasn't enough.
It was never enough with Asuna.
"Kirito…"
There was a longing in her voice that broke him. Tugging her to a stop, Kirito cupped her chin with his left hand. Pausing only momentarily, long enough to gaze into her eyes and examine her perfect features.
Without a hint of gentleness, Kirito unleashed his fervor and pinned Asuna against a tree, trying a taste every part of her.
Her staff hit the ground with a soft click a moment before her hand was in his hair, tugging on it, pulling him tighter.
For over a minute, only moans and soft gasps were produced. Locked in her arms, Kirito felt his heart begin to settle once more. Tranquility returning, he released his hold on her face and moved his head onto her shoulder.
"Haha…" Asuna chuckled weakly, panting slightly from the exertion. "I suppose this is what occupies most of your time at home?"
"A-Asuna…" Kirito did not have an answer. 'Sort of' sounded really bad.
"I am not blaming you." Asuna chuckled. "This is enough, having you like this. But one day, when we return to our world… I want to live with you."
Kirito hesitated momentarily. "You…" Want to wait that long? Kirito had not given up on getting back. It just did not seem like a possibility that would happen anytime soon. Kirito was positive that this world was beyond Kayaba's control. Who could even say that the returning condition still existed?
"Is that… No good?" Asuna's voice had a note of expectancy to it. "It really is to much to ask for. Sorry for the demand."
Kirito leaned back and shot a bemused expression at Asuna. She actually looked worried. "I will always do my best to provide for you, Asuna." It was not the promise he wanted to make, but it was all Kirito could say.
"That's nice to hear."
Her radiant smile made Kirito's knees go weak.
"Then can you provide one more thing for me?"
"Of course." Kirito said.
"Kiss me again like last time."
That request was all too easy to oblige.
Lefiya:
The Goliath's chamber was already clean of blood. Taking a few glances, it was hard to believe that this place was the same one where adventurers had died in her arms only one day ago.
Lefiya had thought that nothing again would ever shake her. That she had been broken as an adventurer. Her failure, the destruction of her familia. But the two girls near the front of their expanded group had proven her wrong.
As much as Lefiya owed them a debt for their aid, her gaze kept being drawn back to a mop of white hair. Bell was situated near the back of the group, his supporters by his side as he limped along. Even an elixir could not restore all the lost strength to the once mangled limb. The rest of Bell's party walked ahead of him. A blacksmith and a katana-user. Men with red hair, one of which was talking to Kirito in a very friendly fashion.
That left the last girl from Kirito's group to walk beside the boy in a solitary fashion, only taking glimpses of Kirito that looked partly left-out and partly curious at the conversation.
After only that brief confirmation that nothing had changed, Lefiya continued her perusal of Bell. As the rear guard, it was her job to make sure no monsters flanked them. At level four, Lefiya was strong enough to whack all the monsters on the seventeenth and up to death with her staff if the need arose.
What is your secret? Lefiya thought. Are you the one she called to as she died?
"Urgh!" Bell stumbled suddenly. The prum and renart at his sides dashed in, stabilizing him. The noise drew the attention of Astrid and Asuna who halted the column. "S-Sorry."
Lefiya did not miss the glance back that he took at her. Meeting those ruby red eyes, Lefiya could only wonder. Her ears had not betrayed her, had they? What did it mean? Was this boy the new future they had to depend on?
"Umm, if you want, I could carry you." Lefiya offered.
The supporters' faces paled. No one said a word. Lefiya was beginning to feel self-conscious when Bell finally spoke. "T-There is no need for that! I am fine, really."
"Yes, Bell is in our familia. We will take care of him!" The prum practically began dragging the boy who began to whimper from pain.
"W-Wait…" Lefiya's path was soundly blocked by the renart smiling softly. Her hair really is the same shade as Ais'…
"Umm, Ms. Lefiya?" The Renart asked politely. "Are you… interested in Master Bell?"
"Yes…" Still distracted by the boy and the girl's hair, Lefiya answered honestly.
The Renart blew out loudly. "He really is too popular as well… Kirito is a bad influence I think."
"Hmm? W-Wait, what are you talking about!?" Lefiya stammered, her attention finally on the conversation.
"Your attraction to Bell." The fox-girl answered matter-of-factly. "Come. They will worry if we are not behind them."
Stumbling to a walk, Lefiya had to jog slightly to catch the group that had begun to move. The prum had Bell's arm over her shoulder and was sending the odd glare back at her.
"Y-You have it wrong." Lefiya insisted. "I meant as an adventurer."
"Hehe, I used to work at a brothel for Ishtar familia. I know the face of a girl in love."
That got Lefiya's attention. Reassessing the girl, Lefiya pointed a finger at her. "Then it was because of you. The fighting in the city, the war game, it was because of you!"
The Renart blushed furiously. "Master Bell and Kirito are too kind. I told them to leave my sullied soul alone, but they insisted on saving me."
"That's… quite the story…" Lefiya murmured. "Are you… in love with Bell?"
The Renart blush managed to deepen. It was an endearing expression of a maiden in love. Even as a woman it inspired Lefiya's desire to protect her. No wonder the men were helpless to deny her. "One such as I do not deserve the love of Master Bell. I merely perform the duties that he desires. If one day that includes being his mistress… I would not be opposed."
This time it was Lefiya's turn to blush. Adventurers were hardly a snobby group. Going from prim elven culture to the brashness of adventurers had caused her to faint on more than one occasion. Still, to hear the Renart's feelings so directly was hard.
"As such, from the day Bell rescued me I declared that I, Sanjouno Haruhime would follow him anywhere he goes."
"Uh huh…" Lefiya was glad to finally learn the girl's name. She was not certain, but she suspected that this Haruhime possessed a strong magic. A golden light that appeared near the end of their fight against the bull.
"So… Ms. Lefiya, are you pursuing Bell?"
"Huh? N-No, I am not… I just want information on him." Curious, Lefiya glanced at Haruhime and asked a question. "Would you stop me if I was?"
"No, I would not. As I said, I merely want Bell to be happy."
Lefiya smiled faintly. "You are too nice, Ms. Haruhime. So will you help me talk to Bell?"
"Hehe, it would be my pleasure." As she ran forward to approach Bell and Lili, Lefiya stuck out her hand and caught a few strands of the golden hair in her fingers. It was smooth and silky, just as Lefiya always imagined Ais' would feel.
She was still zoned out when unsteady footsteps feel into step beside her. A limping boy, that wore a nervous smile. Ahead of them was a prum almost walking backwards so that she could glare at Lefiya.
"Umm, Ms. Viridis?"
Lefiya glared at him. "Didn't I tell you to call me Lefiya? And you can barely walk." Closing the distance between them, Lefiya wrapped her arm around Bell's waist, supporting him. After a moment, he put his arm on her shoulders. In this fashion they could move with Bell barely using his bad leg.
"Thank you." Bell whispered.
"I think we will get yelled at later…" Lefiya warned him. The prum's eyes were bulging, fists flailing in the air. One of Haruhime's hands was across her mouth while the other dragged the prum along their path back to the surface.
"I'm surprised Haruhime is doing this…" Bell spoke quietly. "You must have made quite an impression on her."
"I-Is that right…" Tensing somewhat, Lefiya realized that she could feel his muscles through his shirt. The pressure on her shoulder also became more apparent. She never had the elven instinct to not touch members of other species but this suddenly seemed like a lot. She was intensely aware of every single contact between the two of them.
"I-Is something wrong?"
This boy is very astute…
"Umm, is that why you were staring at me earlier?"
How sensitive is he!? Panicking, Lefiya tried to laugh it off. It did not work. He had seemed like a bit of a joker, a goofy boy. Now he loomed over her with an intense expression.
"D-Don't be an idiot!" Lefiya drew on her past senpais' examples and scolded the boy. "I just never got answers to my questions earlier."
"A-And what questions were those?"
Lefiya narrowed her eyes. "Are you treating me like an idiot?"
"I have no idea what you mean."
"Why you… I swear I'll put you over my shoulder and spank you until you answer!"
"Y-You wouldn't…"
"Do you want to try me?"
Lefiya thought for a moment that the boy would actually tempt fate and try to run from her. Not that he would get far hopping on one leg. Eventually, he sighed and deflated somewhat.
He was much better like this. Lefiya got the odd urge to ruffle his hair. Like a little brother. No, a pet rabbit. Yes, that was more appropriate.
"An adventurer's status is their most important secret." Bell muttered.
"I don't care about your stats," Lefiya snapped. "I asked about that skill, its sound, the noise. Do you know someone who was able to produce a similar sound?"
Bell walked a few steps, his face a pained rictus. In his expression, Lefiya saw that day again. The heroes dying one after one. The pyrrhic victory. Her mentor, her idol disappearing leaving only their equipment behind.
"The gods have figured it out…" Bell muttered. "Your goddess should know. Yes, there was a woman in Hera familia that had sound-based magic. My skill produces the same noise."
Lefiya knew that much already. Pressing, she kept digging. "You have the same hair as her."
Bell flinched. "There is nothing more to know."
She was so close. Oh, so close to learning what she had wanted for almost two years now. "Stop being stubborn!"
"Urgh…"
"Tell me who you are! How are you related!?"
"Oh look, a minotaur!"
"Huh?" Lefiya caught herself too late. By the time she had looked for the obvious bait, the boy was gone. He exploded off his right leg and continued hopping and screaming, trying to catch up to his familia.
"Oh no you don't!" Dashing after the boy, Lefiya burned with anger. How dare her rabbit run from her!? He didn't even answer her perfectly reasonable questions!
"Ms. Lefiya please don't!"
"Yes, run Bell!"
Ignoring the supporters, Lefiya leapt over their heads to where Bell lay crumpled on the floor, fear in his eyes. Lefiya landed on either side him, one foot on either side of his head. The fear vanished from Bell's eyes, his cheeks reddening as he glanced between her and…
"You… You pervert!" Clutching her dress to her legs, Lefiya took a step back, hit his body, which in retrospect, Lefiya should have realized would be there, and fell. Her staff clattered to the rocks as she caught herself.
"A-Ahh!" Bell gargled again as Lefiya sat up.
Glancing at the angle, Lefiya went scarlet. "Again!? What are you!? Some kind of natural enemy to women!?"
Anger gone, Lefiya only desired to flee at this point. Rotating off his body, Lefiya tried to run. Boot catching on a rock, she tumbled face down again. Even as she caught herself, her forehead connected on a jutting rock. The death sentence came as a piece of fabric settled on her head: the bottom of her dress.
What did I do to deserve this!?
"This is the luckiest day of my life…" A masculine voice said.
"Stop looking at her!" Was Asuna's reply.
Belatedly, Lefiya realized she should move. Inside she wanted a horde of minotaurs to show up and end her. Death would be the only absolution from this torment.
"It can't be…" Bell said. "My luck skill?"
Lefiya rolled over and stopped listening. Her life was over.
Epilogue:
The wails of the untouched Thirty-Seventh floor echoed loudly. Monsters clashed occasionally but generally stuck to themselves. Wandering around the ominous labyrinth this no top in sight, they waited, confined, for prey.
Suddenly, a piece of that perfect wall cracked. An event that had not happened since the last Freya familia raid months ago. A new monster was spawning.
The others crowded around the odd event. A loose ring of Spartoi, Skull Sheep, and Loup Garou. All classified as level four monsters.
From within the wall, a single hand shot out. It was not the skeletal hand of a spartoi, nor the furry hand of a Loup garou. It was something the world had never seen before. A human hand.
The hand flexed and closed. It was massive and well-muscled. Jerking side-to-side, the wall began to crack further. Then, after one tense moment of nothing, it exploded into a shower of fragments.
From the rubble emerged a solitary figure. Cracking their neck, the adventurer was a tall, muscular boaz. Completely naked, he stood in the ring of stunned level four monsters and did not show a flicker of fear.
"Gaaah!" With a shout, the most ambitious spartoi rushed forward. A bone sword held aloft in its right hand. The devastating blow would have split any normal person in half before they could blink.
The boaz calmly raised a hand and caught the spartoi's hand. Squeezing, the bone hand exploded in his grip leaving him with the sword.
Examining it, he finally opened his mouth. "I… am coming, my goddess." Determination already alit despite having just been born again, the adventurer began to slaughter all monsters in his path.