Chapter 10-
The King
Minato found himself sitting under a tree in the Loki Familia's backyard.
It was a pretty hot day, so the shade that the large tree behind him provided was a welcome sight. Normally, he would have been in the Dungeon by now, but with Loki forbidding him from going until the expedition, he found himself with the simple problem of having nothing to do. He had already taken the time and spoken with the other members of the Familia that were participating in the expedition. They had given him some strange looks when he asked them about their fighting styles and what their roles were in the upcoming expedition, but he still got the information he needed.
Aside from Gareth and Bete, most of Loki's first-class adventurers were away on a quest, so he'd still have to check-in with them when they returned. He had already spoken with the dwarf and there was no point in talking with Bete since he was already familiar with the werewolf's fighting style, so he soon found himself at a loss for what to do.
"You know, when I said that I wanted you to get familiar with everyone, I didn't mean it from a strategist's perspective."
Minato opened his eyes and found himself staring into the blood-red irises of Loki.
The red-haired goddess squatted down in front of him and sighed. "Why is it that the interesting ones are always so socially inept?"
He narrowed his eyes at that.
"I didn't join you to make friends, Loki."
"That's true." The goddess haphazardly agreed. "But you can't just keep to yourself the whole time either. Don't you ever get lonely?"
He definitely did, more so than the red-head could ever know. He missed everyone in SEES and the pain that he felt from being separated from his friends hurt more than any physical blow ever could. That pain was probably why he was so hesitant with getting closer to the other members of the Loki Familia more than anything. What was the point? When he was going to have to leave in the end anyway?
"I just… want to go home." He eventually said, more to himself than the goddess in question.
Loki didn't respond to that and just rubbed the back of her head, a troubled look in her eyes. "You want to go back into the Dungeon then?"
It was a pointless question, one that Loki asked just to fill up the silence more than anything. Of course, he wanted to go back into the Dungeon, she was the one that dangled the answer to his problems in front of him after all.
"Clear the Dungeon under my banner and I'll send you back myself."
He was going to use her to get what he wanted, and vice-versa. So why was it now that the red-haired goddess wanted to complicate things? Why did she have to care so much about his well-being? All it did was make everything more difficult than it had to be. All it was going to do was cause more pain for everyone involved in the end.
"How about a compromise then?" Loki suggested, shaking him out of his thoughts. "I'll let you go back into the Dungeon, but you have to take someone with you." She put a hand under her chin and closed her eyes. "Mmm… Bete's been moping around a lot lately too. I think that he's sulking because Ais-chan and everyone left without him. Why don't you take him with you?"
Minato stared at the goddess and she just grinned back at him.
He just closed his eyes and sighed. There was no point in thinking about all of that extra stuff now. He just needed to stay focused on his goal. If Loki was willing to let him go back into the Dungeon, albeit with a condition, he was willing to do it.
"Great! Oh, but don't tell Bete that I asked you to bring him along. He'd just get mad and be all like, "I don't need you idiots to worry about me!", or say some other tsundere crap like that." The goddess explained with a rather crude imitation of the werewolf in question. "Oh, and don't go beyond the mid-tier floors, alright?"
Minato just nodded in response.
He didn't have a problem with those conditions. When the day of the expedition arrived, he'd have his chance at making it into the lower floors. He had worked with the werewolf before in the sewers as well, so he didn't see any problems with working with him again. People might have had a problem with the werewolf's personality, but he didn't think that it was any different from working with someone like Shinjiro.
Bete Loga took a long drink from his mug.
The Wasp Liquor at the Flaming Wasp pub was a house special. He could feel the alcohol burning down his throat as he downed the rest of it. The Wasp was one of his favorite pubs, but he didn't normally drink in the middle of the afternoon. Normally, he'd hit the Dungeon first, before showing up at the Wasp with Raul or whoever else that wanted to tag along.
He wasn't really in the mood for it today though.
Not when Ais and everyone had ditched him to go on a quest together. Bete wasn't an idiot, he knew that he didn't have the best reputation among everyone in the Familia, but they still could've at least asked him. But did they? No, they didn't, so he'd been stuck as Loki's errand boy in the meantime.
And people wondered why he drank.
Bete waved the waitress over for another order of Wasp Liquor. The fresh mug arrived not too long after, and he was prepared to down it all in one go before he saw a familiar face walk through the double doors of the pub. It was the new recruit that Loki always hung around with, and to his surprise, the blue-haired guy decided to take a seat right at his table.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was told that you like to frequent this pub." Minato dryly replied. "Loki said that you'd probably be here."
"You were looking for me?" Bete asked as his brow furrowed. "The fuck you looking for me for?"
"Do you want to go into the Dungeon with me?"
Bete just stared incredulously at him. "And why the hell would I want to do that?"
"Do you have anything else to do?"
Bete had to admit, the guy had a point there.
He wasn't doing shit anyway, besides getting drunk in the afternoon, so why not. He had been bored as hell since Ais and the rest of them had snuck off on that quest without him and from what he saw in the sewers, the new guy wasn't too much of a pain in the ass to work with either. For one thing, the guy didn't annoy the shit out of him like those stupid Amazons usually do.
"Fuck it, why not?" Bete eventually grumbled out before he downed the rest of his mug. "Why me though?"
"Besides Gareth, you're the only one in the expedition team still in town right now, and he's busy."
Bete just laughed at that.
The guy was about as blunt as Ais was. He could respect that, it was better to work with people that weren't afraid to say what was on their mind anyway. If you were too much of a coward to even speak your mind, how the hell were you going to muster up the courage to fight monsters in the Dungeon?
"You got anything specifically planned?" Bete asked as he dropped a bag of coins on the table to pay for his drink. "Or we just going in to kill some monsters indiscriminately?"
Not that he had a problem with that.
"I was thinking about accepting a quest to help pay for my new sword." The boy replied, gesturing towards the blade at his side.
Bete's eyes trailed over towards the weapon in question.
He recognized a Durandal forged weapon when he saw it. That was going to be pricey, probably in the six figures range if he had to take a wild guess. One quest wasn't going to cut it unless they went for a high-level one, and even then, they'd have to grind it out a bit for monster crystals along the way. He didn't have a problem with that though, and he doubted that the new guy did either. From what he had heard about him and seen in the sewers, Loki's newest recruit could take care of himself.
Screw Ais and the rest of them, if they didn't want to include him he'd go on his own damn adventure.
In the end, Minato had decided on a quest to retrieve a rare monster drop.
According to what Tiona had said last time, he had pretty good luck when it came to monster drops, so it seemed like a good quest to choose. The reward was quite substantial, even after calculating how much he would get from splitting it with his new partner. The werewolf didn't seem to care all too much about it either way. From what he had gathered so far about Bete, the guy probably just wanted to get into a good fight more than anything.
Unlike working with Tiona or Lefiya, Bete didn't talk much as they made their way into the Dungeon. Minato was completely fine with that though, he wasn't much of a conversationalist anyway, so he appreciated the quiet atmosphere for what it was. Bete seemed to at least share the same sentiment as they made their way deeper into the Dungeon in silence.
The werewolf took care of most of the monsters that tried to attack them. Minato chipped in to help out every now and then with a couple of ice spells, but for the most part, Bete had it under control. He was a high-level adventurer after all, so upper floor monsters like minotaurs weren't going to stand much of a chance. While Tiona was more of a strength-based fighter, Bete seemed to rely more on his agility. They were a stark contrast to one another, but either way, they both made for good vanguards since he was able to cast his spells freely without a single monster getting close to him.
It took a good deal of walking, but they eventually made their way into Rivira before stopping for a quick break. He couldn't help but notice that the town inside of the Dungeon looked remarkably different from the last time he was here. If it was in pretty bad shape before, the place was in complete shambles now. From what he could see, adventurers were moving about, working on fixing up remnants of buildings here and there.
"Place looks like even more of a shithole than before." Bete eventually muttered as they walked through the town, or what remained of it. "Bunch of weaklings can't even protect their own turf properly."
It was the first thing Bete had said since the brief conversation they had at the Wasp, and he couldn't help but think that the werewolf had a good point about the town being in bad shape. Minato had been planning on stopping by the bar that he had visited last time for a quick meal, but from what he could see, there wasn't even a building left standing in the area. There didn't seem to be much of a point in remaining at Rivira any longer, and they could always just eat something from their supplies, even if it wouldn't taste as good.
"Do you just want to keep going then, Loga-san?" Minato asked.
Bete just scoffed in response. "Knock it off with that formal crap. It's just Bete." The werewolf stuffed his hands into his pockets and stalked off. "And yeah, let's leave."
A couple of people gave them strange looks as they walked by, but one glare from the werewolf and they quickly averted their eyes. It seemed that Bete had a bit of a reputation among the other adventurers. It didn't exactly come as surprise to him, from what he had seen of the werewolf's personality so far. It honestly reminded him of Shinjiro, and how the other students at school gave him a wide berth.
"Eh?! Is that Blue-kun and Bete?!" A familiar voice shouted.
Minato turned his attention towards the source of the voice and was greeted with the sight of Tiona Hiryute staring at him with a shocked expression on her face. Her twin sister stood next to her, as well as Finn and Lefiya a little further behind.
"No way! Why would Blue-kun want to hang out with Bete of all people?" Tiona questioned as she walked over towards him. "Did Bete threaten you into tagging along or something Blue-kun?"
"Hah?! What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Bete growled back. "He was the one that asked me to help him with a quest."
"What?! No way! Blue-kun you asked Bete to go on a quest with you but not me?!"
"Maybe he'd ask you if you weren't so damn annoying all the time, you flat-chested Amazon!"
"What was that, you stupid werewolf?!"
Minato didn't even have a chance to get a word in as the two adventurers continued to bicker back and forth. It was almost like watching Junpei and Yukari go at it if they both happened to be in a fantasy setting. Finn walked over towards him with a wry smile on his face.
"Don't worry about them, this happens all the time." The Pallum casually explained. "So, what's this about a quest?"
"We're on a quest to find a rare monster drop."
"I see, but still, I'm surprised that you asked Bete to go with you." Finn pointed out, his eyes still watching the two adventurers bicker with one another. "Isn't this the first time that you asked someone else to form a party with you?"
"Loki wanted me to bring him along."
Minato didn't see a point in lying to the Pallum. Loki didn't want him to tell Bete because of his personality, but there was no reason to not tell their Familia captain. Finn seemed to have a good idea as to why he had brought Bete along anyway, the Pallum was someone that was always reading into other people's character.
"That makes a lot more sense. I wish you and Bete good luck with your quest then." Finn replied with a smile as walked over towards the two bickering adventurers. "Come on Tiona, let's get going, we still need to report back to the Guild."
The Amazon in question looked a little peeved at not being able to get in the last word against Bete, but she still reluctantly followed Finn's command.
"Blue-kun, after we get back, we're going to go on our own quest together, alright?" Tiona whispered to him as she walked by. "If you went with Bete, you have to go with me too!"
Minato just sighed in response, but the Amazon seemed to only take that as confirmation as she slapped him on the back with a laugh.
It wasn't like he was going to deny her request anyway. Knowing Tiona, she would have probably found a way to drag him along either way. He supposed that at the very least, he was fulfilling Loki's requirements for him in order to go on the expedition.
Finn simply gave a brief nod to him and Bete before he began to make his way back towards the town's exit. Tiona waved at him, ignoring the werewolf entirely, while her twin sister settled on a brief nod of acknowledgment like her Familia captain. Minato caught Lefiya's eye as she walked by and she gave a small smile before following after the rest of her party as they made their way back towards the surface.
"Ais and the old hag weren't with them." Bete suddenly pointed out as he watched their Familia members leave the area.
"Should they have been?" Minato soon found himself asking out of curiosity more than anything.
"From what I heard, they went on the quest together." The werewolf begrudgingly explained with a scowl on his face. "Knowing Ais, she's probably still down there killing monsters. The old hag most likely stayed behind to make sure she doesn't overdo it."
"Why would Wallenstein-san want to stay behind? Aren't they finished with their quest?"
Bete just smirked in response. "To get stronger, obviously."
Strength. That was a term that seemed to come up often when it came to Ais Wallenstein. That had been the main topic of the conversation he had with the girl in question the last time they had spoken to each other privately as well. He probably shouldn't have been surprised that she elected to stay behind, Loki had mentioned that she had shared some similarities with himself, specifically with how much time she spent in the Dungeon.
He was rather curious about Bete's reaction to his question though. It almost seemed like the werewolf was happy about the Sword Princess's obsession with getting stronger in contrast with Loki. He had his doubts if the werewolf would answer if he asked though, Bete didn't seem like the type of person that liked to talk about himself.
Bete didn't seem to have anything more to say, so they continued their journey in silence.
As they continued their adventure deeper into the Dungeon, the monsters became a lot stronger and much more prevalent. They had already ventured much further than he had ever before, and the spike in difficulty was to be expected. His spells still proved to be quite effective, however, even as they approached the floors in the early thirties. Although, with a high-level adventurer like Bete acting as the vanguard, all he really had to do was provide support from a distance.
It wasn't too different from how he had normally fought in SEES, with Akihiko and Aigis acting as the vanguards.
He was quite surprised at all of the different environments the Dungeon seemed to have, there had even been a large waterfall that seemed to encompass most of the floor itself. Tartarus had its own different environments, but not to this extent. There were jungle areas, water areas, and even the stereotypical underground areas you would expect a dungeon to have. It honestly reminded him of the MMO that Junpei talked him into playing.
Eventually, they finally made it to the floor that contained the monsters that they were looking for. A group of skeleton soldiers each holding their own different weapon began to charge at them. They were different from the monsters that he had run into so far, in that they fought more as adventurers did than monsters.
Bete handled the brunt of them and he provided support in the form of party buffs like Tarukaja. The few skeleton soldiers that managed to get past the werewolf got to have a taste of his new Durandal weapon. The sword didn't feel as good as Aroundight did in his hands, but the weapon still handled its job.
He cast a couple of Bufu spells on the skeletons that he cut down for good measure, in case they happened to reanimate. He wasn't sure if they could, but from what he knew of undead creatures in video games, they typically did. The werewolf gave him a strange look, but he just shrugged in response, it was better to be safe than sorry and it wasn't like it cost him anything.
His magic didn't cost him any mind as it did for the mages in this world after all. He got a little tired from using them too much, but he wouldn't suffer from a mind down like the mages here would.
Although, chipping through the ice afterward to collect the monster crystal hidden inside proved to be a little bit troublesome. From what he had researched about the Dungeon, a couple more floors below their current location would be where the White Palace was. A floor boss spawned inside of that floor, but enough skeleton soldiers were spawning here that they didn't have a reason to go any further in.
It actually didn't take too long for him to find the monster drop that he needed. After his twentieth or so kill, one of the skeletons dropped an old rusted medallion. It seemed to match the description of the item from the quest, so he pocketed the drop and let Bete know.
"What the fuck? You found it already?" The werewolf questioned in disbelief. "What's with your luck?"
He simply shrugged in response. "Tiona said the same thing."
"Heh, whatever then. This was the easiest money I've made in a while." Bete replied as he kicked a skull across the floor. "You got enough to pay off that Durandal sword yet?"
Minato reached into his pouch and checked the monster crystals inside. It was going to be a more of a rough estimate if anything, but if he were to add up the monster crystals he had farmed so far with the quest reward, it'd cover up a good chunk of the bill he acquired with Goibniu.
As he was about to let Bete know, a pair of footsteps caught his attention.
A mountain of a man stood a good distance away from them. The footsteps sounded so light that Minato found it hard to believe that they could belong to such a giant of a person. A red-headband covered his forehead and a pair of ears stuck out from the top of his head. Although what really managed to catch his attention was the massive greatsword that the man held over his shoulder.
"Vanargand." The man said before his eyes locked with his own. "And Minato Arisato."
"Tch," Bete replied with a scoff. "You want something from us, Ottar?"
Ottar. That was a name that he had read about, he was the only level seven in all of Orario. And more importantly, he was a member of the Freya Familia. When the man hefted his greatsword over his shoulder and pointed it straight at him, Minato had a bad feeling about the direction the conversation was moving towards.
"I challenge you to a duel, Minato Arisato."
"Huh?" Bete asked as his brows furrowed. "What the fuck is this about?"
The werewolf looked over towards him, but he just shrugged in response. Minato had no idea why Freya and everyone in her Familia seemed to hold such ire towards him. Even then, he had never expected violence to emerge from that disdain, he was affiliated with the Loki Familia now after all.
An attack on him was an attack on the Loki Familia itself.
"Why?" He soon found himself asking.
"Does an adventurer need a reason to fight another adventurer in the Dungeon?" Ottar responded with a question of his own.
Minato didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything at all.
"Tch, so he was following us the whole time then," Bete growled out. "I guess that's the so-called King for you, sneaking around in the shadows like some kind of rat." Bete pulled out a dagger from his pouch and tapped it against his greaves. The dagger and his boots soon both lit up in flames. "I don't know what you did to piss him off Minato, but you better be ready to fight."
He didn't know either, but it wasn't like it mattered.
Ottar charged forward with a roar and Bete responded in kind. Ottar's greatsword collided with Bete's greaves and sent him flying into the wall. The level seven didn't seem too interested in going after the werewolf and instead continued to charge forward. Minato didn't think that he'd be able to block Ottar's swing if he was able to swat away Bete like that, so he cast a spell instead.
Tetrakarn.
A barrier formed around him and Ottar's blade struck it with enough force for cracks to appear. But even then, the barrier held strong and there was even a hint of surprise in the level seven's eyes.
"Aren't you forgetting about someone?!" Bete yelled out as his greaves collided against Ottar's forearm.
Even with the flames surrounding his greaves, the man simply known as the King barely seemed to notice and batted them away. To his credit, Bete managed to avoid the greatsword swing that followed suit. Still, it was pretty obvious to him that Bete was outclassed, but there were ways around that. SEES had always fought at a disadvantage against the Arcana Shadows, so fighting an uphill battle wasn't anything new for him.
He just wished he knew why everyone in the Freya Familia seemed to hold some kind of grudge against him, but it didn't seem like he was going to get any answers unless they managed to defeat Ottar.
Author's Notes- If people are wondering why Bete is being featured so much lately, it's mainly because he's the only one around right now at this point in the timeline. Well, aside from Gareth, but I'd assume he'd be pretty busy being the only executive at home right now. If you haven't read Sword Oratoria, Ais and everyone are out on their own adventure dealing with the whole Revis situation right now. Bete's a pretty interesting character anyway, and if you don't think so, you should check out Sword Oratoria 8. It's probably one of the better volumes of the spin-off imo.
For those of you wondering if the moved up expedition is going to change anything, well I've got a couple of things planned for the future. Now, how long that's going to take to write is another issue in itself... I'm sure people realize by now that I'm a pretty slow writer. I'll try to keep it going though.
Anyway, as usual, thank you for everyone's reviews. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the next one.