Hey everybody New chapter is up and it didn't take a full year! Celebration time. Regardless, let me know what you think of the story so far and the direction it is heading.

P.S. I will have a question for people at the end of the story.

Word Count: 4829

Chapter 6 Solo

I sat in the courtyard for hours confused, but determined to discover why I had reacted in such a manner. But as the moon was high in the sky illuminating the surroundings, I sighed knowing I knew the answer already. It was difficult for me to admit, but I had fallen for the human adventurer known as Bell.

I sighed standing, "I should try to get at least an hour of sleep." To my surprise I wasn't completely exhausted, it was more like a slight drowsiness that clouded my mind.

Shaking my head, the mental fog cleared a little as I placed my hand on the door. Opening was simple but it felt like a colossal task, but I managed to do so without making a sound. My bed felt heavenly as I collapsed onto it. 'Must've been more tired than I expected.' I managed to think before my eyes closed and my mind fell into the world of dreams.

"Watch and learn!" Bell's voice echoed through the dungeon as dozens of monsters fell to his sword. I felt myself breathe easier at the pure display of power and technique.

A short and simple chant echoed from his lips as several electric spheres appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the elf we had followed deeper than I had ever been. She had short hair, not dissimilar to the one I had called captain in the past.

But there were several differences, the main being the vibrant red hair. But that could've been faked, but I knew it wasn't her. I saw her death with my own eyes and felt the body turn cold as I stood useless.

"Sylesa, I know what you've done, I…" My voice echoed just as loud as Bell's. I couldn't finish the sentence, I didn't want to finish it. The memories to fresh, to high risk of infecting my heart.

Bell charged as the grin of someone who didn't care about their own death showed on Sylesa's face. I raised a hand to stop the white haired human but it was too late.

The electric spheres from his spell collapsed onto the red haired elf and an explosion filled the area with the crackling static that only showed before a true bolt of lightning struck. Bell arrived within a millisecond of the explosion clearing.

But the elf was gone, her murderer had escaped. I clenched my fists and stared up towards the roof of the floor. But no sound escaped my lips, only a single name bubbled out my mouth. "Ryu."

A gentle bang stirred me from my dreams, "What was that?" I felt a lingering frustration from the dream.

Another louder thump on the other side of the wall right next to me. 'That's Ryu's room.' Another one followed within a few seconds, my worry grew as something like sobbing could barely be heard from the wall.

Without thinking I stood and flew to the door next to mine. Opening without hesitation, I saw the figure of a Ryu hunched over hands over her chest and eyes wide.

"Ryu…" I started to say, but I was cut off by a dagger flying towards me. I flinched as pain radiates from my cheek as it cut just under my cheekbone.

With a quiet groan, I leaned forward and clutched at the wound. "Riv… Riveria, I'm… sorry let me… heal you quickly."

Ryu's voice rang out as she started to cast her magic, "Noa Heal." With that I could feel the muscle and skin stitching back together, a second later even the pain was gone.

It took a second for me to stand up straight, "Ryu…"

"Why? Why did you enter my room?" Her voice was low as to try not to wake everyone else up. I doubted it would work.

"I was worried, I heard you through the wall." I gasped, seeing the sharp sky blue eyes. But that didn't really concern me, what did was the small trickle of blood coming from the corner of her mouth.

She shuttered, sighed and collapsed backwards onto her bed. "Sorry… I just am not doing well tonight."

"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked, holding out a bloody hand. Realizing that I shifted to holding out my other hand.

"No… I'll be alright… I just need to try to rest again." Her voice sounded hollow, exhausted but stubborn.

"At least let me get you some water." I started to turn, to do just that.

"No!" She said a little more firmly. "Just don't. Go back to sleep."

That outburst seemed to take the majority of the energy she had left, she just collapsed like a doll that had their strings cut. I couldn't do anything to help, Ryu had been firm with her wish of not having me help. I could feel my ears droop just a little as I left, returning to my room. I didn't go to bed, instead I sat at the desk against the opposite wall and let my mind wander.

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I noticed the sun peeking its way through the mildly overcast sky. I didn't expect it to rain, "What can I do?" My mind instantly snapped back to Ryu.

"Truth be told, I doubt I can do much regardless right now." I quietly whispered to no one in particular.

It was only when the smell of cooking food invaded my senses that I got around to moving, I probably got a total of 2 hours of sleep. I was in no shape to dungeon delve for an extended period. Despite that I wasn't nearly as tired as I knew I should be. 'Probably an effect of having a falna.'

I found Goddess Dia cooking this time, sitting I placed my head in between my hands and waited. It only took five more minutes before she exited the kitchen to set a few plates that I noticed.

"You alright? Looks like you didn't sleep much." Goddess glanced around before a teasing smile broke out on her face. "Thoughts of a white haired human keep you up?"

"Not for the full night." I silently groaned as the smile spread further. "It was Ryu for the rest of the night. Last night she seemed to have some sort of nightmare or something of the like."

Looking up, I noticed the smile falter. "You're not entirely wrong, did you notice anything else?"

The tonal shift made me think more about what happened, "I heard moaning through the wall, so I went to check and saw her clutching her chest. Then she seemed to panic and threw a dagger at me, fortunately causing only a small cut." I traced a small invisible line on my cheek.

Goddess remained silent so I continued, "After realizing that it was me, she quickly healed the cut I received. But it seemed to have a greater cost on her then just mind usage, as a small trickle of blood leaked from my mouth." Goddess sighed, but waved for me to continue. "After that I offered to help, whether it be getting a cup or water or something else… she refused and basically kicked me out."

There was silence for a minute, "I understand what happened, I'll talk to Ryu later. Are you doing alright?"

I chuckled, "Tired mostly, but as I said earlier I spent the majority of the night thinking about that encounter. But I cannot think of what would've caused it."

"She has a curse on her." Goddess rubbed her chest for a second before continuing, "That's all I can really say, not my place to give that sort of secret out. It's up to Ryu"

She filled the empty plate in front of me. "Please eat, I know it won't be easy but you need to. I'll get Bell down here and go talk to Ryu."

With that she left me alone for the moment. 'I need a distraction, something to distract myself when I get thinking too much.' I thought to myself, but I knew knowing and doing are two very different things.

I sighed, looking out towards the main hall leading out of the dining area. 'When did I start sighing so much?' I let the thought fade into the sound of a set of steps heading down the stairs.

"Morning Riveria, you sleep alright?" Bell smiled a gentle smile. A knowing smile, of course he is level three it would be nearly impossible to have not heard what had happened through the walls.

"Not especially, I was lost in thought for much of the night then was woken up." I resisted the urge to sigh again.

He was silent for a moment, sitting a plate down with a small bit of food on it. "I know, with Ryu it can be hard sometimes. But I ask that you be patient with her." He stated before shifting his hand and taking a small bite.

"I know…." I paused for a second before deciding to change the subject. "What's your plan for the day?"

"I'm planning on heading deeper into the dungeon, as unfortunate as it is the familia needs to keep making progress in the dungeon." He must have noticed the slight twinkle in my eye. "No, I cannot have you follow me to the depths I am planning on going to. I am planning on going to floor 20. For a couple reasons, one I need to make sure the guild doesn't get impatient, it's unlikely they would due to our history but still. Second, despite our efforts on the upper floors we cannot make a good amount of money. Not that it's not valuable."

I could feel my ear twitch slightly, I knew something like this would have to happen eventually but… as much as I don't want to admit it I was hoping it would be a little longer. At least until I could confidently explore floor 12 to 15. I could see him wanting to say something else but he was grappling with the right words.

After a moment of hesitation he spoke again, "Don't take this the wrong way, but I doubt I could protect you at that level. Honestly, despite the valuable experience you would definitely get from exploring that low. I doubt I could protect you on floor 14 or so currently. The monsters grow so much smarter that they would purposely try to attack you if my concentration wavered for even a second."

The words hurt a little, I knew it was true and that he didn't really want to speak these words but had to push through regardless. "I understand and I know that is true." I manage to speak with a level voice despite that slight feeling of uselessness. "Alright, well all I can ask is that you stay safe down there."

Maybe he caught a bit of what I had been feeling, "I will, you should continue to explore some of the levels that we already explored together. It shouldn't hurt." He stood and rolled his shoulders to loosen them.

"I'll be back in three or four days. Let goddess know I have a couple quests from the last time we were in the guild. So that should help some as well." With that the adventurer known as Bell left to get his armor and weapons, a large pack and a few potions. I watched quietly as he left.

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An hour passed since Bell left, I finished cleaning and was in the process of putting my own armor on. Just as I finished slipping my body through the chest piece, I was interrupted by a knocking on my door with the gentle voice of Goddess Dia, "Riveria you in there?"

I waited a second, "Yes, the door should be unlocked."

The door cracked open revealing Dia, "You planning on heading to the dungeon?"

I glanced down towards the armor pieces on my bed and across my torso. "I am, no point in wasting the day when I could be getting stronger."

Dia just stared directly into my eyes for a second before glancing away, "Understandable, wait here for a second."

A few minutes passed as I slipped the rest of my armor on, I noticed the weight had started to feel more comfortable as if the burden of wearing eased with each day that passed.

I heard the door crack open again, with Dia. "Since you seem to be persistent, take this…" she held out a small pouch that clacked softly. "Go get an extra potion from Miach's first, just to be safe. Promise me this, that you'll be careful without anybody with you."

I could only give a gentle smile taking the money, "I will goddess. I… I just need to clear my mind." With that I gave a small bow and made my way out.

I left always made sure to keep an eye on the surroundings. After what had happened shortly after I joined, it was hard not to be cautious. Regardless I made my way towards the small shop of the Miach Familia, now that I think about it Bell was always the person to enter the shop and make the purchases. "I wonder why that is."

The building could almost be mistaken as an abandoned one if not for the fresh potted flowers on the window seals, and the fresh sign swinging in the gentle breeze. The sign on the door said open, so after a soft knock I opened the door to see a handful of shelves, a staircase leading towards a second floor to my right.

As the door opened a bell jingled alerting the owners to my presence. A man with long dark blue hair worked his way around the corner.

I immediately knew who I was dealing with, "Hello Lord Miach." I give a soft bow and smile while approaching the counter.

"Well, hello. How may I help you?" Miach returned my smile with one of his own.

"Right, my goddess demanded that I get a potion or two before heading into the dungeon myself." I sighed, and took a look around the counters looking at the various potions and their prices. Many were far more expensive than I would've thought.

"Very well, might I ask who your goddess is?" The soft smile never left his face as he spoke.

'Does it matter who my Goddess is? I do believe Bell comes here often for his potions so maybe that would be an advantage.' I could feel my mind shift through many thoughts, I nodded "Goddess Dia." I reached up towards a bottle rack and received two potions that just fit within what was given to me.

As I turned I noticed the smile had faltered slightly, but quickly returned back to the normal one that had been there since I walked in. "Right, so these two? Will that be all?"

I thought for a second before nodding, "Yes I do believe so." I moved the small pouch of coins. After he accepted the money, "Well thank you, I should be heading to the dungeon. It's already later than normal." It was getting close to 11 am so that wasn't a lie.

"Before you go, here take this as a bonus." He held out a small vial with an orange liquid. "It's a new potion, truth be told we haven't tested much. But from everything we have learned from our tests it works fine."

I hesitantly took the orange liquid, "What is it?"

"A starter version of a dual potion, it is less effective than individual potions but can recover both mind and body. If we had better ingredients…" he trailed off whispering that last part to himself.

"Are you sure, surely this is an expensive potion?" I held the vial gingerly.

This seemed to snap his mind back to the conversation, "Yes, it's fine. Like I said it's an early version. Due to that we cannot really sell it. We know it works, but… we also need someone to test it in a more strenuous environment."

'So I am basically a guinea pig?' I couldn't help but think, I shifted my head trying to clear that thought away. "If you insist, thank you very much." I gave a quick bow then made my way out the building.

I heard him say as I opened the door, "Give our regards to Dia and Bell will you." With an affirmative I began making my way to the dungeon. The dual potion tucked in a separate pouch, I would hate to waste it early.

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The giant tower in the center of the city loomed over me as I approached, a feeling of hesitation washed over me. I knew why and I hated that part of me. It was my first time descending into the dungeon by myself, I knew the monsters and the layout well enough, but even so not having Bell to make sure nothing happened simply felt…. off, to speak simply. I did my best to ignore that feeling as I peered up towards the peak.

The sun was blazing bright in the sky, but was just behind the tip of the tower. Nearly blinding as the light bent around the circular shape. I sighed softly and started to look back towards the entrance, as my eyes left the highest point, I thought I could feel something watching me. I shifted around subtly not noticing anything. I ignored the feeling and passed through the gate, and proceeded down the stairs,

It only took a minute to get down to the last step, "I remember the first time I descended my legs felt like collapsing." I whispered, landing on the flat surface of the first floor.

It only took five more minutes to descend down to the second floor, I only dispatched a monster that actually attacked me, destroying the magic stone for a quick kill. They were not very valuable, so I continued. "All and all, about 30 minutes to got to floor six." I nodded, and looked around.

The floor felt empty as I walked around watching around every corner for the tricky war shadows and the frog shooters but nothing. I listened intently as I walked around, the soft souls of my boots made almost no sound to distract me.

The floor down to the seventh floor was exactly like the previous ones. It felt like something was off, but I couldn't exactly describe what besides the eerie silence. I descended down with my rapier drawn. My mind was doing calculations as the floor approached, 'Killer ants have an extremely durable exoskeleton. I'll need to be careful with my rapier. Also cannot let them call out for allies.'

I watched and listened, the light green walls seemed to glimmer in the ambient light that seemed to be present. I heard it in short order, the sound of several hardened legs clacking along the floor. I lowered my center of mass with the rapier held at waist height. The instant it came around the corner I thrust, the extremely sharp tip collided with the hardened exoskeleton right between the antennae.

The resistance surprised me as the thin blade flexed dangerously, but with a slight chip it pierced digging deep into its brain. Shifting the blade around before pulling it out. It dropped instantly, clattering to the floor like a marionette with cut strings.

I wasted no time, not hearing any more approaching, pulling out the small knife I held in my boot and dug it into the softer joints between the plates. After a few seconds of digging the crystal popped out as the body turned to ash.

Examining the tip my rapier I couldn't help but grimacing, "The tip snapped just great. Still usable but severely weakened." I mutter, picking up the magic stone and placing it in a basically empty pouch on my hip.

A red gleam caught my eye, "A drop item?" I questioned as I looked at the pile of dust.

"Hmmm, a section of plating." Interesting, I placed the fist sized chunk into the backpack I had strapped to my back. 'Might be worth something.' My thoughts returning to the dungeon. My laps in concentration allowed the dungeon to strike, a trio of ants came running around the corner.

"I call upon the frosted winter of the north." I started to cast my spell as the first ant did a charging leap towards me, managing to shift its weight towards the wall behind me. "The unforgiving wind of the tundra snow."

As the second ant jutted his pincers towards me, I rolled out of the death hug. A sharp pain numed my left leg. The pincer managed to cut my leg with the tip leaving a puncture in my thigh. Standing with a wince I could feel the spell slipping away gritting, I forced my mind to continue the chant. "Freeze my opposition so I might survive another winter."

The third ant shifted around with the first one on each side of me, the first ant grew impatient and charged towards me. I strained my body to shift tilting forward, managing to stick my rapier into the spine of the first one, giving me leverage to roll over the back snapping the blade, as soon as I landed towards the opposite end of the ant, "For my name is Alf." The wave of ice and wind erupted out, in the narrow corridors of the upper floors they were all clustered, nearly touching, three monsters froze.

I felt the sharp drain on my mind, along with a twinge of pain from both my head and leg. After a second the three shattered into small chunks. With the crystals plopping softly to the ground.

I grabbed the dual potion and took a quick drink, it was rather viscous but the flavor was pleasant. With half the potion gone I could feel a small portion of my mind return, with the puncture in my leg starting to close a little.

With the potion taking its effect I picked up the three magic stones, "Cannot continue with my rapier like this." I sighed turning back towards the stairs, I clenched the hilt of the broken sword.

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I climbed the last stair underneath the tower, dim light flooded my sensitive eyes. The light was blinding for a second, but it quickly returned back to normal.

Turning in the many stones, while climbing back up I used the broken blade and my magic to eliminate any monster that attacked me and collected the stones. A small pile, I reached for the chunk of ant carapace but decided not to trade that in. After a few seconds, the exchange opened up containing a pouch with a surprising amount of Valis. "Thank you."

I was about to move towards the exit when I noticed a set of emerald eyes looking towards me. Eina was staring directly at me. With a wave of exhaustion I moved towards her.

"Hello Eina, how are you doing today?" I try to ask politely, knowing it had been a couple days since I checked in

Her smile was near blinding with its brilliance, "I'm doing alright. Glad to see you are around." Despite the smile, the tone of her voice sent a small shiver down my spine.

"Yes, sorry about that." I mentally debated my words as I opened my mouth to speak again. "Do you have time today? It would be nice to simply talk, and I do believe I owe you a few answers."

I could see the smile falter just a bit before regaining its enthusiasm. 'She must have practiced that quite a bit.' I thought, "Sure, but it would have to be off hours. Could you meet me back here in three hours?"

"Of course, I need to get a status update. I'll see you in a little while." Giving a small smile, I turned and left making my way back home.

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"I'm back," My voice echoed through the halls. Taking off my shoes I turned towards my room.

"Welcome back!" Goddess's voice flowed out from the kitchen. "How'd it go today by yourself?"

"Good, let me get changed real quick and I'll tell you about it." My door slid open and I quickly removed my armor, picked an outfit and took a quick shower Goddess was just placing some food on the table as I entered the room. A few drops of moisture still clung to my emerald hair.

"Thank you," It was simple but nice. The food before me seemed to vanish as fast as it appeared, adventuring in the dungeon burned through my available energy quickly.

When the food was gone, "I'm gonna need a new weapon. Mine shattered today."

"Oh and how did you manage that?" She responded quietly, taking a sip of tea she produced at some point.

"I… Well I traveled down to the seventh floor and the ants armor was just a bit too strong." I spoke the truth, no point in trying to exaggerate the story. "Though I did notice the sixth floor was oddly quiet. I didn't find a single monster on that floor."

Dia was silent for a minute, "Strange, tomorrow you should head to the guild and let them know. There might be something abnormal on that floor."

"Actually, in an hour and a half I'm going to meet with my advisor. She is the child of the one who mainly raised me." My mind couldn't help but remember the bittersweet times with Aina. Though after she left it was mostly bitter.

"Very well, it's a good chance to let them know. Just be cautious with what you say if you speak of the familia. I doubt it would matter regardless but still." The tone of her voice left no room for argument.

I sighed softly, "I understand. It will probably be mostly a personal talk."

"Did you want to get an update today before you go?" She asked as she finished the final bits of tea in her cup.

"If you don't mind." Finishing my own tea, "I am curious on how it might change." I stood and placed my cup in the sink with a soft clack.

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Name: Riveria Ljos Alf

Race: High-Elf

Age: 74

Strength: H144‐H175 Dexterity: G239-G284 Agility: G299-F316 Endurance: G203-G236 Magic: F301-F367

Skills:

Dia's Blessing

Fairy Anthem

Magic:

Frost Nova

…

"Very nicely done. Looks like there was a lit of excitement." Goddess spoke softly as she placed a small cotton wad on her finger.

I glanced over my stat changes, "It seems my magic is still growing fast. Despite my Dexterity gaining a massive boost." I was trying to hide my excitement, seeing the visual representation of my efforts made me delighted.

I glanced over towards the clock that Goddess had in her room. It read 6:35, "I should be going. I need to be there by seven."

Readjusting my clothing I heard Dia speak again, "Very well, just be careful. It's getting dark outside. If it gets too late, see if you can just stay the night there."

"Right, I should be back. Hopefully it shouldn't be too late." I grasped the door knob and opened the door.

The face of a golden haired elf stood immediately outside the door, "Ah, hello Ryu." I tried to hide the surprise of nearly running straight into her.

"Hello Riveria, please excuse me." I shifted back a step and gave her space to enter. I was surprised by the exhausted look on her face. Bags were beginning to show under the elf's eyes and eyes seemed bloodshot.

"Is everything alright Ryu?" Goddess Dia asked with obvious worry in her voice.

"Yes and no, I just couldn't fall asleep again." She replied in a flat monotone.

"Well I'm off." I spoke quickly, not wanting to be rude and listen to their conversation. With a quick bow I closed the door behind me.

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I arrived five minutes before seven, staring up at the sky. I couldn't help but be disappointed. The night sky was hazed over due to all the lights in the city. Sure I could spot some of the stars, but nowhere near the amount back home or after I left them. I could feel my expression sink slightly. "Ah hello Riveria."

The voice of Eina caused my distracted thoughts to come into focus. "Hello Eina, well then should we be heading out?" I noticed that it was a few minutes after seven.

"Sure, are you alright? You look…. frustrated." It must have been obvious.

Doing my best to put a soft smile, "Yes, I was just remembering something that felt like ages ago. Despite it only being a couple months." I took a deep calming breath, "Right lets go." I took a few steps out already knowing it was going to be a long night.

Question: Would you all like smaller chapters that I might be able to upload more often? Key word is might. Also let me know what you think about the chapter.

Review Responses:
DamnVergil: That was a mistake on my stats document, I have since gone and fixed that for my notes.

pix25: Thanks.

vanhellsing9000: That is indeed that case. As for Liaris Freeze, its a little harder to answer that at this point.

Vadam: Glad you enjoyed it.