Author's Note
Welcome. This is the first fanfiction story I am writing. I wanted to go back to Orario and search for some more of the mysteries in the Dungeon, so here we are. Expect a story about the Dungeon and its secrets. How the Mc learns to best different monsters, how he writes a journal about them and even finds secrets and traps that others never noticed. He will begin as a renard but quickly get traits and even change his race from renard to kitsune.
The story will be about Sly's journey as a member of the Takemikazuchi familia. Starting 3 years before Bell Cranel even enters Orario. The focus is mainly on the Takemikazuchi familia at the beginning and by the time Bell joins Hestia the Takemikazuchi familia will probably have some level 3 members, as they entered Orario far earlier than in canon. After the Takemikazuchi familia is set up the focus will shift to the Xenos. From there the story will be mainly around the dungeon and Sly with his party consisting of both humans and Xenos exploring the dungeon. Probably also some village building in the dungeon and cultural development for the Xenos.
I do my best to keep the characters true to their original personality, but they will change as a result of Sly joining the Takemikazuchi familia. I will also take some creative liberties and expand upon their personality and backstory to create more interesting conflicts.
As a new writer, I hope you will give me feedback should there be any big problems so that I can correct them early on. English isn't my native language, so please excuse it if I switch between British and American styles. Spelling should hopefully not be a problem as I write in Grammarly, but it won't prevent me from overcomplicating sentences, most of all in the first few chapters. Also as I learnt mostly formal English, so most characters will primarily be speaking in formal tones, but with character development, I will try to improve upon it and use more casual tones. If you have any advice, please send them via a PM and I will try to include them if they are interesting additions to this story.
Chapters will usually release every fortnight, as I am studying and only write as a hobby. I hope you all enjoy my first overly ambitious story about Sleipnir in the Danmachi universe.
Summary: Sleipnir is a young Kitsune mage in the Takemikazuchi familia. He arrives in Orario three years before Bell. At first, he believes that he is a normal Renard with a high talent for magic, until one day he learns about his true race, which disappeared in the age of heroes. He will also meet the Xenos far earlier than in the main story, which will forever change his view of Orario. He will work alongside them to improve their living conditions and help them find a place for themselves.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danmachi or anything created by the author Fujino Omori; all rights go to him. I only own my original character Sleipnir and Ikuchi (Xenos OC).
Warning: This story is rated 'MA', for mature audiences. It will contain explicit language and adult themes. Among these are gore, as well as the possibility of death. The first chapters are a little lighter on the difficulty but it will ramp up over time and there will be a lot of injuries. There will also be no lemon scenes.
"This way, a normal conversation is held."
'This is a thought from the current perspective.'
"This is a spell or spell-like ability."
"Screaming."
Chapter 1 Takemikazuchi familia enters Orario
In front of the Labyrinth City, Orario
The gates of Orario loomed before them. They could see the walls surrounding the city, which had a height of around 100 metres. Even more imposing was the giant tower of Babel, which stands in the centre of Orario and is at least ten times bigger than the outer walls.
Oraio stands in the middle of the fields of Demeter that go on for multiple miles in every direction. The city has a diameter of around 50 miles and is tightly packed with buildings of many different styles. Most buildings are built out of sturdy stone bricks, sometimes reaching up to three stories tall.
Sleipnir is a member of the Takemikazuchi familia. For the last two months, he has been travelling alongside his god Takemikazuchi and his familia captain Ouka. Sly was a member of their younger adventurers like Mikoto, Chigusa, and Asuka.
His familia mostly refers to him by his nickname, Sly. He earned the nickname by being the only one in the familia interested in the more shady techniques of Takemikazuchi that are most often used by shinobi. A common point of conflict between Sly and Mikoto's honour.
Sly is part of the Renard race. In other words, a fox demi-human. He is 15 years old and has silvery light blue fur, resulting in him having light blue fox ears and a foxtail with a length of only a little less than 60 cm. He has short, spiky hair the same colour as his ears and emerald green eyes. With his ears, he barely reaches 165 cm (5'7 feet) in height, without them, he stands at about 160 cm (5'3 feet).
Sly wears a white travelling cloak with blue square adornments at the bottom. Below his cloak, he wears a light-blue Far Eastern kimono alongside blue pants. Last, he carries a 1.5-metre-long naginata as his weapon of choice. His backup weapons are two daggers he hides below his robe.
While walking along the streets and looking around Sly glances at their group and is lost in thought. 'Orario the city of adventurers. The city where everything is possible. Finally, a place where I can stay and finally learn more about magic. And if I'm lucky I may even find some mysteries here.' ('Sly's thoughts')
Leading the familia is their god Takemikazuchi, he is a god of war and martial arts. He wears the white garb of a traditional eastern monk. Additionally, he has black eyes and shoulder-length hair with two additional buns on both sides of his face.
He is one of the gods that descended from Tenkai (heaven) to live like mortals. Most gods only care about themselves and ignore the consequences of their actions so long as their curiosity is satisfied.
Takemikazuchi is an exception to that rule and tries to actively help people. His goals are twosome. He wishes to teach those affected by war how to defend themselves and also to better himself until he masters every fighting style on Genkai (mortal world).
'Takemikazuchi. My saviour and only parental figure I have left. He is trying. He has trouble understanding mortal emotions and is sometimes awkward, but what really matters is that he has been there for me since he found me. I want to ... no need to prove to him that I do not depend on him as a father figure and one day stand beside him like Ouka.'
Takemikazuchi is respected by the entire familia, but most of them call him Take, but only when they are not in public. They would never wish to disrespect him or tarnish his reputation by using an informal nickname for their god. 'At least all but our captain. Ouka-san truly has no sense of formality. He even calls him Take in public.'
Alongside Take is the familia captain. Ouka is a 140-cm-tall, lightly tanned male dwarf with a sturdy build. As the captain he looks after all the younger members and is usually very open, giving his best to teach with Take when possible. He has black hair and eyes and is wearing a lavender, red, gold, and black kamishimo top, along with brown pants tucked underneath long white bandages in black boots.
Ouka is the oldest in the familia at 65. His armour consists simply of matching-coloured lower arm guards. His weapon of choice is either a double-handed axe or a spear, but his most prominent piece of equipment is his big tower shield.
'Ouka our captain. He travelled around the world for years before he joined Takemikazuchi as his first familia member. They even decided to help orphans like me together. All I know about him is that he likes to enjoy himself and has been trying to teach me how to live. At least he helped me ... to improve my illusions.'
Next up would be Mikoto, who has bluish-purple eyes and long black hair tied into a ponytail. She is a little older than Sly and Chigusa at 17 years and holds herself to a high standard of honour. Mikoto wears a purple kimono with a satoshi underneath, along with a dark red sash and thigh-length boots. She also wears a red shoulder guard on her non-weapon arm, arm guards, and keeps her katana in the sash at her waist.
Sly's ears twitch slightly in agitation when looking at Mikoto. 'Mikoto. I do not understand her ... at all. She likes to argue with me about almost anything. But it always returns to her definition of honour and the worst is that most of the time she doesn't even listen to my arguments. It is infuriating. For her honour is all about open conflict between skilled opponents. It is honourable to be counted among the mighty.
She doesn't get that honour is something personal that only you yourself are accountable for. For me the most important principle is loyalty. First and foremost to those I consider family, then familia, and lastly comrades or party members. I won't break the trust others have in me, but as everything is there is a balance. If a random merchant extorts his customers and broke their trust, I just might break my side of it by taking more than he bargained for.'
Followed by the quiet Chigusa. At 14 years old, she is the youngest member that came with Takemikazuchi. She is almost a head smaller than Sly at less than 150 cm in height and joined Take about a month before Sly. Since Sly joined has spent a lot of her free time working on her archery when Sly trains his magic.
Chigusa has black medium-length hair that usually covers her face when parted, and she has dark green eyes. She wears bandages around her neck and left upper leg, as well as a lavender kimono with red cloth wrapped around her waist. Her only piece of armour would be a red thigh piece on her left leg.
'Chigusa-chan. She is very shy and lacks confidence in her own abilities. Nonetheless, she has the drive to train and improve herself and become the best archer she can. And if you ask me she makes bowmanship almost look like an art form.'
Last, there is Asuka. She is 19 years, which is rather young as she is a half-elf they mature a little slower than the more short-lived races. She acts as their primary supporter and alchemist. Her weapon of choice is a bow similar to Chigusa, but she is just as skilled with a blade. Her outfit would make even amazons proud and can only be described as a yellow cloth. On her head, she wears a white desert scarf. On her back, she carries a large backpack, weighing very little thanks to a skill of hers.
Sly tries his best to avoid directly looking at Asuka. 'Asuka is still as unabashed as always. We ought to get her more climate-friendly clothes now that we are in Orario. At least if we can drag the objective and efficient woman from her alchemy set for long enough.'
Takemikazuchi only took the oldest orphans of his familia to Orario. They had to at least have high stats for level 1 adventurers and the drive to push towards level 2. He wanted to not only earn valis (local currency) to send back to his orphanage in the Far East but also to gather enough strength within his familia to possibly resolve the conflicts back home.
Sly is the newest of the high-level 1 members of the familia, as he only joined Take a little over a year ago when he was still 14 years old. Before Take saved him, he was forced to survive alone in the wild. Sly then spent the rest of the year hunting the monsters in the far east, while always staying out of sight and hiding within the familia. Stealth was his highest priority during his training, and he also spent a considerable time teaching the younger orphans in their familia how to hide their tracks and surprise monsters.
Right now all that was missing for the highest familia members to reach level two was to experience an adventure. If what Takemikazuchi explained to them about adventures is true, then it has to be something challenging, where even the gods would see the development or hardship a mortal has overcome. Because there are few strong monsters outside of Orario, Take told his strongest students to accompany him on a journey to Orario and have their adventure.
Streets of Orario
They entered through the main gates of Orario after the guards from Ganesha familia checked their identification papers. They then followed the main road towards the city plaza.
It is a wide open space where adventurers can gather before dungeon delving, and at the edge of the main square are most of the important buildings.
The most important building would be the guild hall, where the entire administration of Orario takes place, including adventurer and commercial administrative work. The building was a nice-looking stone building with a second wooden floor adorned with many banners from different familia. There was a banner for Ganesha, Hephaestus, Freya, Loki, Demeter, Goibniu, and many more minor familia.
There were also many different shops and even a few blacksmiths from the Hephaestus familia selling their goods. Otherwise, there were a few different inns, a stoneworker from Goibniu familia, and even a runner from Hermes familia passing messages to a recipient.
In front of the guildhall, Take then turned towards his familia and looked into the eyes of every member of his familia with his common serious demeanour.
"This is the guild building. We will now have to fill out the proper paperwork for all of you. Afterwards, you will be allowed to enter the dungeon. I will also officially create our familia in Orario. Be on your best behaviour and do not needlessly antagonise local adventurers. Understood?" He looked at Sly in particular during his last word.
"Take don't be too harsh on the Sly-kun. He isn't stupid enough to play tricks on adventurers that could defeat him with a single finger. Right, Sly-kun?" Ouka replied with a grin.
Sly's ears stand high as he indignantly replies. "Why should I. The people here have done me no wrong. I will use this chance to learn as much as I can and reach level two."
Mikoto frowns at his words. "I do not trust your word Sleipnir. I will keep an eye on you before you do something dishonerable. You know we shouldn't tarnish Takemikazuchi-sama's honour by even implying such actions. You'd better follow your words Sleipnir."
"Please don't be too hard on Sly." Whispers Chigusa, while quietly standing beside Sly in support.
Sly pats Chigusas head and brushes her hand with his tail. "Thank you Chigusa-chan."
Asuka watches the discussion with a disinterested look. "You speak as if Sleipnir-kun didn't have the ability to escape from weaker level two adventurers. He did it often enough in the east and was never personally implicated."
Take coughs. "Anyway. I think that finishes that particular discussion. We should register our familia."
The group then entered the mostly empty guild hall. The inside had many desks with advisors behind them. They all went to the one free human advisor, who had pink shoulder-length hair and eyes.
"Welcome to the guild. I am Misha Flott, an advisor for adventurers. With what may you require assistance?"
Takemikazuchi responded, "I would like to sign up my familia and finish the necessary adventurer identifications for them."
"Ah. A new familia. From your clothing style, I assume you are a deity originally from the Far East, correct?"
"Correct. My name is Takemikazuchi. You might remember Amaterasu. She is a close friend of mine and lived with her familia inside this city 15 years ago."
"I'm sorry, I wasn't even a guild employee 15 years ago, but it's nice to know. I will bring you all the necessary paperwork. Please wait a moment." Misha then retreated and, with the aid of a half-elven woman, brought them all the necessary papers.
After receiving the form, Ouka assisted Take in filling out the familia papers. Sly began filling out his papers, but when he saw the name section, he let out a deep sigh and both his ears dropped slightly before entering his name.
Chigusa, who sat next to him, noticed that something was wrong and whispered. "What has made you so sad Sly?" She then looked at his papers and, with a grimace, continued, "At least you will not see your family in Orario. They are all back in the Far East. As far as I have seen, there aren't even any renards in Orario."
"I know. It's just very painful to be constantly reminded of them," Sly whispered back before finishing his form. Keeping the family name section empty.
Once they returned their forms to advisor Misha, they received a starter bag. In there, Sly found three minor health potions and even a minor mind potion. His tail even began to sway in contentment at the sight of the last one.
'I have never before held a real mind potion, and here they just give them to us. The closest I ever had to one were Asuka's plant based potions that restored a tiny bit of mana. In the far east, even the weakest mind potions are considered luxury goods, and here they just give us one to begin with. Comes to show just how wealthy Orario truly is.'
They also had the option of getting some starter gear, but they already had equipment that would suffice for their current level. After finishing their first objective, Misha turned to the adventurer part of the familia.
"Very well, now that you all have identified yourselves, you could, in theory, enter the dungeon, but you all still need to learn the dungeon basics first before I can, in good conscience, allow you to enter the dungeon.
So I will be keeping all of you for another hour at least." Turning to Take, she quickly bows before continuing, "Takemikazuchi-sama, you may already leave for your lodging. Or should you still require accommodation for tonight? Then I can only recommend the Hostess of Fertility. Best of luck with your stay in Orario."
"That sounds adequate." Take replies, "Very well, I shall leave my familia in your care, Flott-san. I will be awaiting you all at the Hostess of Fertility after looking around the main square."
Ouka replied. "We will learn all we can before catching up to you. Take. I will make certain all of us pay attention and learn what we can from advisor Misha."
Take then left the guild hall at a steady pace in search of the Hostess of Fertility. Meanwhile, Misha dragged all of them into a private room. The room looks like a study room inside a library, with countless bookcases symmetrically positioned around the room.
'There is even a monster compendium. I will have to read all of it. After all, knowledge is power, and knowing how to approach monsters I have never seen before will be invaluable.'
Misha then takes out two books that have seen a lot of use. She opens by describing the first twelve floors of the dungeon, the so-called upper floors. She also opens the monster compendium for the appropriate floors.
"Before I begin with the lecture, I want all of you to understand that the guild is here to support new adventurers. If you have any questions, you can come to one of our advisors, and we will help you as much as we can.
This library is also open to any citizen of Orario. As long as you keep to the ground floor, there are no restrictions on the books you may look into. The only rules are that you return the books undamaged and that you do not leave the building with them.
So now let's begin. First of all, you should know that the dungeon is always unpredictable. You should never feel safe, even when you are over-levelled for the upper floors, because the dungeon is always plotting how to get rid of you.
The dungeon will kill you if you give it the chance. You shouldn't be overconfident, even with your stronger stats compared to most adventurers. You can be slain by a goblin just as easily as by a monster rex, all it ever takes is a moment of carelessness."
'If that's the case, the reverse should also apply. When I know their weaknesses and abuse them with a surprise attack with my illusions, I should, in theory, be capable of defeating stronger monsters.'
"The first twelve floors of the dungeon are the beginner floors. They are ideal for level-one adventurers. The deeper you go, the higher your stats should be. I would recommend that you take a few days to slowly progress down these floors and get accustomed to the atmosphere of the dungeon. Afterwards, you can use a map to find the fastest and least dangerous route for each floor.
Below the upper floors would be the middle floors. They are recommended for level-two parties and are far more dangerous than the upper floors. They should never be entered alone because the enemies there appear in far greater numbers and can easily overwhelm a single opponent. There are also very strong monsters like the minotaur on the lower middle floors, which can even defeat low-level 2 adventurers."
'Should not be entered solo? Hmm, I'm not so certain about that. With a high enough level, it should be possible, or, in my case, if the opponents can't even see me, then numerical advantages are obsolete. But they might also sense me with their other senses, I will need to experiment.'
"There are also sometimes unusual monsters called irregulars that are unusually strong or that have travelled to another floor. In these cases, I would advise you to avoid them if at all possible.
Lastly, I would advise you against entering floor 18. There is the first monster rex. He is considered a level 4 monster and should only be challenged by specific raid parties. For now, you should not go any farther than the tenth floor at the maximum."
Misha then continues her session to look into the monsters they will face on the first twelve floors. She tells them about their abilities and what to expect. Before their farewell, she then reminds them that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer when it comes to adventurers.
'It was surprising that she did not know anything substantial about the weaknesses of these monsters. I mean she mentioned the obvious weak spots anything has, but nothing more substantial. I can't believe that this is all the guild knows about monsters. They must hide some knowledge, but for what reason? It might be a good choice to make my own notes detailing the monsters we encounter.'
Thinking about it, he asks Misha. "Advisor Flott-san, is there a way to borrow one of the monster manuals for the upper floors? And are these the only books about monsters?"
"I am very sorry, Sleipnir-san, but our books may not leave the guild, as I mentioned before. In the past, we sometimes gave them to new adventurers, but they always took them into the dungeon, and many past versions were lost. Nowadays, it is forbidden to take these books outside of the guild because it is very time-consuming to replace them. If you want to read them, you can always do so at the guild.
As for your second question, Indeed, we have some more in-depth books about monsters, but most of them are for the lower to deeper floors. On the upper floors, most adventurers spend comparatively little time, as the monsters are very weak to the more experienced adventurers."
"Thank you for the help, Flott-san. I will do so once I have the time." 'I will also start my own notes. I won't always have access to the guild notes and it's a bad habit to underestimate opponents because you haven't prepared enough.'
Misha coughs lightly. "Ahem. One more thing. I would recommend that you return here before entering the middle floors and individually with your status sheet without skills, once any of you get a level up. With that, I only have to thank all of you for your attention and wish you the best of luck in the dungeon," Eisha said while waving goodbye.
When leaving the guild building, the group noticed that there were noticeably more adventurers going around. It would appear that most adventurers return from their daily escapades in the evening at around 7 PM.
Back on the streets, Mikoto looked at all the different vendors. Most were already packing up, but some were still showing off their wares. She spent the most time looking at a wonderfully crafted katana from a young smith. Unfortunately, she lacked the funds to buy it for the time being.
Meanwhile, Ouka guided the rest back towards the inns they saw before entering the guild hall. After looking around for a few minutes, they found the Hostess of Fertility.
The Hostess of Fertility is one of Orario's most popular inns. The front is a simple wooden building with a balcony overlooking the central plaza. The inside is a simple bar with many tables for smaller parties and room for at least 50 adventurers.
Once inside, they look around until they spot Take, who has taken a few seats at a table next to the bar. He was currently speaking to Mia Grand, the owner of the Hostess of Fertility.
Mia Grand is an ex-first-class adventurer. Mia is a dwarf, but her size has more in common with that of a giant because she has a height of 180 cm, which is almost unheard of for dwarfs. She has brown eyes and long brown hair made into a bun with two strands of hair on both sides of her face.
All employees wear the same uniform. All of them wear green above-the-knee dresses, but Mia Grand wears blue. Everyone also wears an apron, a small orange bow under the collar, black leggings, and brown ankle boots. The waitresses also wear white headbands.
Once Mia saw them, she guided Take's gaze in our direction, whereupon he waved them over and introduced them to Mia Grande, who then gave them the menu and called Ryuu, who was to be their waitress. Ryuu is an elven woman with blond hair and light blue eyes.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility. I see that you are new here, so let me introduce myself. I am your waitress, Ryuu Lion. What do you wish to order? Ryuu introduced herself with a calm tone."
Take was the first to order. "I would like to try the roasted chicken, Lion-san. With a little bit of sake if you have some."
"Of course, but we do not have too much sake because it has to be imported from the east and most customers prefer the wine from the Soma familia."
"Of course. Then I think it would be best to just order one flask of sake for our group," finished Take.
"I will take the dwarfen special. The spaghetti," Ouka added.
Sly then continued. "I would like the roasted rice with vegetables. With some tea. What kinds of tea would you recommend Lion-san?"
"I forest tea is my favourite of the common ones. Our forest tea uses a mint from the forests ouside of Orario, or there are also a few special dungeon herbs that cen be used for tea, but they are rather expensive. There are a few more, I can bring you our tea menu if you'd like."
Sly nods and focuses his ears on Ryuu. "That won't be neccessary. For today I will take the forest mint tea. The next time I will order another flavour."
Ryu nods and notes down his order before looking at Mikoto.
Mikoto smirked at Sly and commented with a sparkle in her eyes. "You still are a glutton for rice, aren't you Sleipnir? But for today, I will also take the same."
'And Mikoto is still criticising me. I should really be angry at her constant teasing, but at least this time it isn't about honour. Sometimes her constant nagging really brings me down. At least this time I can counter her argument.' Sly thought before smirking and swishing his tail at her face. "You know I prefer less intensive smells because of my sensitive nose. And I am surprised you didn't follow up on Takemikazuchi-sama's order?"
Mikoto just glares at Sly as an answer, while whispering back. "You know as well as me that Takemikazuchi-sama has a very bad sense of taste. He still thinks his cooking is good. Fortunately for us, Asuka took it upon herself to help him whenever it was his turn to cook."
Sly counters. "So you are implying that his order is bad. What bad manners to speak so badly about a dish without trying it Mikoto-san."
Chigusa chuckles at her comment, and Ouka laughs. Take, as always gives nothing away with his expression. Chigusa quickly glances at Ryuu before quietly adding before the argument can continue. "I would also like the roasted rice."
Lastly, Asuka looks at the menu. "I'm going to try the forest salad."
"Very well, your orders should arrive shortly," Ryuu says before leaving for the next customer.
After finishing their meal, they praise the cook May, for the great meal. Then retire for the night. Take joined Sly and Ouka in a room, while the girls took another room for 5000 valis per room, excluding the meals, for one week.
Hostess of Fertility, Sly's guest room - Morning
The night passed quickly. Take was the first to wake up at around 6 am and then shortly decided to go downstairs. Sly awoke because of Take's footsteps, but upon noticing how dark it was, he went right back to sleep. Afterwards, Ouka and Sly awoke at around 7 AM and both prepared for their day.
While they were preparing to leave, Ouka decided to start a conversation.
"Sly-kun, how are you feeling now that we've reached Orario? I wish to learn more about you now that I am no longer in charge of all the orphans. I spent very little time with you as Take took you as his personal charge."
"You know, I'm not certain how I should feel. Ouka-san and Mikoto-san have it easy. Both are so direct and very distinct in what you want to achieve. I just want to learn more about magic, now that I do not have to hide. "
"You are right about me, Sly-kun, but you must understand that I have been working towards finally improving the east for many years. Even before the other orphans even entered the familia, I was already at Take's side as his captain.
You spent barely one year with us. In this short period, you broke all our expectations with your fast progress. You even managed to get Take to teach you the way of the ninja. And he generally dislikes the cunning use of traps and manipulation, when he can just use his perfected fighting styles. It isn't surprising that you haven't found your goal yet, but starting with magic isn't a bad idea. After all, you already helped me and Chigusa-chan with our magic training. Now let's go and eat a healthy breakfast." Ouka finished the subject before looking back at Sly. "Are you coming?"
Sly's tail twitched while listening before he took a wooden brush to brush it. "Yes, let's go,"
'Ouka. I am uncertain how to interact with you. We are barely comrades at arms even after a year, we mostly saw each other during training. I do not see why you try to get closer to me. It would be wonderful if he truly meant his words, but they could also just be him appealing to my ego and getting on my good side. At least he can fight, but I can't really predict his intentions outside of a battle.'
Hostess of Fertility
They all went downstairs and drank some tea while ordering breakfast. This time, they were served by Syr Flora. She has bluish-grey hair that she keeps tied in a small knot in a ponytail style. Her eyes are the same colour as her hair, and she has light, peachy-coloured, smooth skin. Her clothing is the standard Hostess of Fertility garment.
After Syr removed our dishes, she remarked. "I hope you will have a safe first dungeon run."
Syr then smiled teasingly at Sly. "When you return without harm, I might even reward you Sleipnir-kun." She then turned around while giggling, while Sly's tail stood straight from the unexpected remark. 'Why did Flora-san have to joke with me. Couldn't she have teased Ouka.'
Ouka then clapped Sly on the back while quietly smiling at his flustered expression. Chigusa, on the other hand, tried to imitate the face of a fierce kitten.
While the others were still smiling at Sly's expense, Take took the word. "Well, the Hostess of Fertility certainly honours its reputation. The food was exquisite, and they even served tea and sake.
As I mentioned yesterday, I will go back to the guild and inquire about the dojo Amaterasu-san used fifteen years ago. For the rest of you, today will be your first day in the dungeon. I can only advise all of you to take your time and be on full alert once you enter the dungeon."
"We will do our best to return Takemikazuchi-sama/Take." The familia and one captain replied.
"As long as you all return at the end of the day, I consider it a success.
I can only pray that my lessons are enough to let you all return. I will take my leave, and I hope you will once again make me proud." With that, Takemikazuchi paid our bill and left for the guild.
Once Takemikazuchi left, the familia began their preparation. Ouka looked at all of them before using his deep familia captain voice. "Well, now that Take has left, it's time for us to prepare. It is currently half past seven, so I will get my gear ready and meet you in front of Babel in 30 minutes."
Sly then went upstairs and put on his chain mail below his robe, took his backpack, and hid his twin daggers before taking his naginata into his hands.
'I really need to figure out how to strap this somewhere without always having to carry it. I could also use some more armour. After all, the dungeon is far more dangerous than surface monsters. I will have to look into that once I have a free day. For today, I can at least use the reach of my naginata to engage in close combat.'
Sly then left the Hostess of Fertility to buy more equipment on the plaza. While looking around, he calculated how much he could prepare with his remaining 5000 valis.
'Let's see. I currently have three health potions and one mind potion. I also still have 30 metres of rope and a first aid set.
I still need some throwing knives or kunai, and although they will probably do negligible damage, they should work as distractions without wasting too much mind.
When I'm already on my limited resources, I will need at least one stamina potion, as I currently have none of them. I could also use some explosives, but they should be on the very expensive side, so I will need higher funds to get them. Flash bombs fall under the same category, and I will probably have to ask around where to even get them. Perhaps Asuka could prepare some.'
While looking around, he found throwing knives that had a similar weight distribution to kunai from one of the blacksmith shops, with the signature of a novice blacksmith. Three of them were available and cost 3000 valis together.
"May I test how these throwing knives behave when thrown before buying them?" Sly asked the vendor. "Ah, yes, of course, just throw one of them at the target dummy, and if you damage them, you will have to buy them."
Sly tried throwing them at different angles. 'They seem to have a good sense of balance. They are also sturdy enough to not immediately break and, lastly, to fly in the correct direction. They should suffice until I can find somebody to craft me actual kunai.'
Sly then bought them before searching for an alchemist. He then spots the Blue Pharmacy, which looks like an ideal candidate.
The Blue Pharmacy is a small building at the edge of the plaza that seems to have gone through a rough time, as the building looked like it hadn't been renovated for years.
Once he enters, he spots a chienthrope (a dog demi-human) with long brown hair and purple eyes. She wears a skirt from which her tail sticks out and a peculiar shirt with asymmetric sleeves, with the left short and the right long enough to cover her entire arm, in addition to a glove on her right hand.
She is currently stirring a potion while slowly adding condensed droplets of mana from a shrinking magic stone inside. Sly also senses that she is compressing the potion with magic pressure into the cauldron to stabilise the potion. Behind her are many dried herbs, a few monster drops, and a frighteningly complex-looking glass distiller.
The glow from her pot slowly starts glowing dark blue, and then she adds another ingredient before the potion begins to oscillate between a red and blue glow. She adds a few more ingredients, but the potion keeps oscillating faster and faster, and the chienthrope keeps stirring faster and compressing it further with her magic until the potion just caves in upon itself.
"Sigh. Why can't I just succeed in creating a stable dual potion?" The chienthrope mumbles to herself, crestfallen, when she notices the young Renard. His tail is swaying in interest while he is looking at her failed potion. "What may I do for you, Renard?" I am Naaza Erisuis of the Miach familia."
"Am I correct in the assumption that you are a member of an alchemist familia? Wait, that is a redundant question, seeing as you were just brewing a potion."
Naaza, after laughing, quietly replies in a sleepy and slightly depressed tone. "Yes, I am. Do you wish to buy some potions? We have all the basic ones. Our current rate is 1000 valis for health, 5000 for mind, and 2000 for a stamina potion. Unfortunately, we currently don't have the capacity to mass produce higher-tier potions."
"2000 valis—isn't that a little high for a single stamina potion?" Sly asks with a grimace. "Can't you give me a small discount? I will even give you a hint of what you could lack with that dual potion of yours."
"Hmm, that depends on what advice you can give me." She responds with a focused sparkle in her eyes.
'I don't know why, but since I saw her mixing that potion, I have had a headache. I probably just inhaled some of the fumes. Anyway, telling her might prove valuable in the future. Also the information isn't really valuable to me as it was an idea I got from a book during one of my nightly library excursions. Thus, I have no reason to withhold my idea.'
Sly thinks while answering. "As far as I could see, the mana you extracted from the magic stone was able to stably bind to the potion at first, but once you added the ingredient that induced the colour change, it became unstable, and even your magical pressure couldn't force it to merge Erisuis-san.
I guess that the second ingredient was the main ingredient used for health potions, and previously you had the basis for a mind potion." Naaza nods at his assumption.
"I think you could potentially stabilise the base potion by adding a grounding agent before it grows too unstable. There should be an herb that doesn't act aggressively with either ingredient that you can use as a bridge between them to balance the violent clash between the magical energies. Or perhaps slowly fuse two completel potions with a grounding agent."
Naaza begins to contemplate after hearing Sly's words. 'So that was the missing piece, but I will still need to research a possible stabiliser. He must be a mage to have such an acute magic sense.'
"That could actually work. Okay, how about we go with 1000 valis this time because you helped me with a new idea for my dual potion?"
"Deal. By the way, I am Sleipnir from the Takemikazuchi familia. I would also ask if you could potentially create flash bombs or explosives.
"Well, I could, but it would just endanger our business. I am the only member of the Miach familia and have very limited time. So unless you make Miach-sama a good proposal, I will have to pass."
"I see. I will probably return once I need more potions. A member of my familia has an interest in alchemy and might even help you out. If your god is available, I'd like to hear his opinion towards my idea the next time. Until then good luck with the dual potion Erisuis-san." Sly replies with a slight smile and a slight ear twitch.
Naaza smiles and says with a waving tail while handing him the potion. "You will be a welcome guest. If possible, I will introduce you to my god the next time. He will be pleased to meet a fellow potioneer."
Now that Sly has all he needs, he went towards Babel to meet up with his team members. 'I still need a good belt to strap all my tools to. For now, I will have to use my pack.'
Orario in front of Babel
Ouka was already waiting in front of Babel. He didn't carry a backpack but instead brought two pouches that were fastened to his belt. On his back, he carried a heavy tower shield that was at least 150 cm in height and managed to reach barely above his head. He also carried a 180-cm-long, greataxe on his shoulder. Last, there was his trusty spear, which he strapped to his back.
Mikoto joined Ouka 5 minutes ahead of their planned time and brought her standard equipment with a small pack to not lower her agility. As usual, she carried her katana inside her scabbard. Like all melee fighters, she only carried one health potion for emergencies.
After a short greeting, they were joined by Asuka, who had the biggest backpack and would act as the team's supporter. Whenever possible, she would also use her bow to shoot down opponents with Chigusa. She also carried half the healing potions because of their fragile nature. In melee battles, it would be far more likely for them to be broken. She also had a few hidden concoctions from her alchemy work.
The other half went to Chigusa, who was the ranged specialist of the party and always fought with her surprisingly heavyweight metal war bow that required about 240 pounds (100 kg) to draw. She also carried a bigger backpack with the second half of the potions.
After the others waited a moment longer, Sly also joined up with them with his pack, new knives, naginata, and one health and stamina potion alongside three mind potions. Considering he is the main mage of the party,
Ouka then signalled for them to finish their conversations. "Well, it's showtime. We will take up our standard formation. I will lead the charge in the vanguard position, with Mikoto right behind me. Then in the middle, Sly will use his magic or tricks as he sees fit, and in the rear, we will have the archers and our support.
We will take it slowly and let every one of us get accustomed to the new dungeon monsters while exploring the floors, one after another. If anyone needs a break, speak up, and we will search for a defensive position to rest."
With that, they entered the dungeon. The entrance was controlled by guild members stationed at the quest board and before the door to the dungeon. For today, they ignored the quest board and immediately went inside the dungeon. The entrance was a big spiral staircase leading about 100 metres down to a hole that led to the first floor.
While going down, Sly looked at some of the groups that also went down and the few that were returning. 'Some of the returning parties have been severely wounded. From their gear, it looks like they are beginners. I wonder what did this to them.'
Dungeon floor 1
The first few floors of the dungeon have a cave-like interior. The walls are light blue and there is a big straight path through the first floor with many smaller side passages with split paths. Small fluorescent crystals inside the ceiling and walls light the floors.
Their course was towards one of the side passages, where most monsters spawn.
Goblins on the first floor appear in smaller groups of two to three and have a green humanoid appearance with a height of barely half a meter. They rarely carried stone daggers and only wore rugs.
Goblins were the weakest monsters and a single slash from Mikoto was enough to sever their limbs without too much difficulty. Ouka, who used his heavy greataxe, had an even easier time, sometimes even bisecting an entire group with a single swiping swing.
Sly focused on those that survived first contact with Mikoto and Ouka. He also observed them exploit any opening to slash at them. When Asuka spotted monsters behind them, Sly would also use his high speed to help them as needed.
While the vanguard fought mostly goblins, Chigusa focused on the kobolds before they could join the melee fighters. Kobolds were slightly stronger dog-headed humanoid monsters. They appeared individually and had sharp claws and greater speed when running on all fours.
As a countermeasure, they all had their chain mail equipped. Sly noted that the few kobolds that hit them could still break through and cause light injuries. Those injuries would be far more severe if they had lower endurance stats, but they all had high stats and only received small gashes through their mail. It also made them a priority target for Chigusa to reduce the damage their equipment took. She often even hit the monsters in the head or into their hearts, which instantly killed them. Her accuracy was scary as always.
Asuka used her carving knife to cut open the monsters to find their magic stones to let their bodies disappear. Which took a while when the goblins only had a magic stone the size of a fingertip.
Sly also used continuous battles to test out where the magic stones of the monsters were located. He observed them until they left him an opening before slashing at their chests where their magic stones lay.
His first few tries didn't defeat the goblins and kobolds with a single strike, but because of his A in agility, he could easily dodge most counterstrikes. After the fifth one, he figured out where their magic stones were located and consistently hit them within a few swipes, thus reducing the monster into black particles. Of course, it was only this easy, because all of them could slash into the flesh of the monsters with every strike.
'Interesting, it actually works. On the surface, monsters are weaker and can't be slain by hitting the magic stone or some even have none, but here the monsters are stronger with the addition of a magic stone. This is a big weak point that can instantly cause the monster to lose its integrity and collapse into black particles.
Most monsters guard their stones, like the kobolds that always cover them with their claws. These monsters are easy, but I will read their movements and prepare counters for their movements. Although all the monsters I have seen up to this point have had no discernible technique, other than lunging straight at me.'
After Sly finished the monsters and only their magic stones remained, Asuka collected them all and even found a few drop items. Although they were mostly goblin teeth.
They continued clearing the floors at a fast pace while testing their opponents for weaknesses to exploit. Which lead them to go through the entire first floor in less than an hour. Lower floors will probably take progressively more time because the floors grow larger and more dangerous the deeper they go.
On the second floor, they were attacked by a bigger group of four goblins, one kobold and a single dungeon lizard, which was just breaking through the dungeon wall.
Dungeon lizards are brown quadrupedal lizard monsters with sucker discs on their feet. Sly rushed towards the emerging dungeon lizard and hit him on the head with his naginata.
But the dungeon lizard didn't die with his slash, which surprised Sly and broke through the wall, trying to bite Sly. He instinctually dodged just before being bitten and jumped back.
'That lizard has durable scales that make slashing it difficult. They also camouflage the lizard on the ceiling. The only weakness I see is the eyes. Let's see if I am fast enough to pierce the eye before it can dodge.'
Sly then focused his next attack towards the eye of the lizard. With his focus, it almost seemed to him as if the lizard began slowing down. Meanwhile, the fully emerged lizard climbed the dungeon wall to jump at them from above. Sly didn't allow that to happen, brandishing his naginata while jumping towards the lizard at his far greater speed. He then stabbed its eye with the spiked side of his naginata. It then cried out before falling to the ground, where Sly finished it with a strike to the throat.
Back on the ground, Sly turned towards his party and saw that they had finished as well. 'These climbing lizards could surprise us if they stay on the shady parts of the ceiling that aren't illuminated by crystals. It's also difficult to reach them if they are on the 5-meter-high ceiling, because we can't dodge in midair.'
"I think it would be best if use my foxfire to illuminate the floors with dungeon lizards to protect us from unexpected lizards." Saying so, Sly then raises his tail and uses his racial magic skill. "Foxfire."
From his tail appears a single small blue fireball that constantly consumes a little mana. But as compensation, Sly can use pyrokinesis to command the fireball. He then guides it over their heads, thus illuminating the walls and roof around their party.
While clearing the floor, Sly spots a strange, dark corridor. Closer inspection and his foxfire reveal that in the darkness was a hidden pit. with stalactites after a 7-meter-long fall. 'This is an obvious trap. Although it's good to know that there are traps in the dungeon. Should we ever have to retreat into an unknown corridor, we must pay extra attention to not run into one.'
After continuing for a few minutes, Mikoto asked the party. "What do you think should we take the main path towards the fifth floor? Because I think we are far too strong for the top of the upper floors."
"As far as I can tell, we are more than ready, seeing as all of us have fought far greater numbers than these tiny groups of monsters before and stronger ones at that. It would also save my mana for more dire situations," replied Sly while glancing at the floating ball of fire.
'Unfortunately, I only mapped the first floor. Well, we have the guild maps for the first ten floors, although they aren't as detailed as the map I drew. I might have to take my time when I am alone and finish the other floors then.'
Looking towards the others, they all nodded along and then followed the main path into the depths of the dungeon.
Guild Hall
Still, early in the morning, Take made his way towards the guild. It's around 8 AM and the streets are very busy with many adventurers shuffling around.
Entering the busy guild, Take has to wait in line for 10 minutes until he once again meets their advisor Misha. "Good morning, Flott-san. I have returned to inquire about a compound that should still be in the possession of Amaterasu. She gave me a permit to use it for my familia."
"A property form. I will have to inform the head advisor about this. Takemikazuchi-sama could you please lend me the paper. I will need a few minutes to find the correct residence papers. Takemikazuchi-sama, if you have any more questions you may ask my colleague Eina Tulle."
Misha gets the papers while calling a half-elven woman with brown hair and green eyes over to help Take, before leaving while muttering. 'Why can't I ever have some free time? Even Eina has more free time than me and she loves her job. I should never have accepted the promotion to an advisor.'
Eina and Takemikazuchi then continue the conversation about the rates of different residences and the costs he would have to expect for Amaterasu's dojo. Eina also spoke about her anxiety over the adventurers that recklessly entered the dungeon, she hopes to get a nice and calm one when she gets promoted to an advisor.
After Misha returns, she hands Take the papers. "The dojo your familia wish to use is still reserved for Amaterasu-same, but as she has given you the permission to settle there, you will only need to buy the land from the guild. The cost for such a plot of land is currently set at 100'000 valis."
"Hmm, I certainly do not have such money with me. Flott-san, it will take my familia a few days to gather such funds. Until then, I will have to wait before finalising our business."
"There is no problem Takemikazuchi-same. There is only a minor question I still have about one of your familia members if there is no problem in asking." Misha replied with a friendly smile.
Take looked at her for a moment, as if judging her intentions before returning. "As long as it's nothing too personal, I should be able to anser any of your questions."
"In that case, why did Sleipnir-san leave out his family name in his form? All others in your care are also orphans, but he was the only one without a family name."
Take narrows his eyes slightly before answering in a serious tone. "Flott-san, I would advise ..."
Dungeon floor 5
Sly's Dungeon Study
Upper Floor: 1-4
Structure: Cavelike interior with one well-discernible main path on the first floor and smaller side passages with multiple paths at the edge. From floor 2 onwards, there is no main path. Instead, there are many passages with many paths and dead ends.
Monsters:
Goblin: Small agile green monster, that uses group tactics to sneak attack from behind unprepared adventurers.
Weak points: Eyes, chest where a human heart would be
Kobold: Human-sized wolfman. Has sharp claws that can cut deeply into unprotected flesh and a very fast running speed on all fours.
Weak points: Chest where it normally guards with its claws, neck if within reach
Dungeon Lizard: A quadrupedal lizard monster that can climb on walls and the roof with discs on its feet. Prefers ambushing from blind spots by jumping from walls. Bringing a light source is recommended.
Weak points: Mouth shortly before biting, feet to disable its climbing capacity, the belly has weaker scales
'That went surprisingly well. Even if I haven't mapped the floors yet, I already have very valuable data for future reference. Although pushing a dungeon lizard on its back was far harder than anticipated. I first had to attack its feet, otherwise, it would have just kept sticking to the wall forever.
I also found several uses for my knives. I wish I had more of them, but I can at least kill goblins if I throw them right and they allow me to conserve mana while taking pressure from both the front and backline.'
The party was stomping everything while passing through the first 4 floors. On the way, they passed a few smaller groups of level 1 adventurers that were fighting monsters. They didn't intervene in any battle, as that was frowned upon unless the situation got out of control.
Before entering the fifth floor, they maintained their equipment and removed all the grime their weapons collected and also checked their weapons for damages. They also had to fit a few holes in the chain mail the kobolds created with their claws.
When they descended the stairs down to the fifth floor, the dungeon walls changed from the previous blue to a light green colour. With them also increases the number of monster spawns and their respective strength.
Once they reached the end of the stairs, there was silence. They did not see any monsters. Sly even summoned his foxfire, but still, there was nothing.
Chigusa whispered to the other. "What should we do? This does not seem normal."
"Should I cast an illusion to hide us?"
Mikoto heatedly whispers back into the silence of the fifth floor. "We could also head forward in a defence formation where Ouka-san prepares his shield, while you guard him and I take the rearguard position, in case we are ambushed from behind. We can do this."
"Mikoto-san please let me at least send an illusionary clone through first. I don't trust this quiet."
"Okay, fine, send your clone Sleipnir, but we should still prepare our defence formation." Mikoto gives in with a tense look.
"Hero goes nothing. Hiding trickster, oh cunning fox spirit, refracting prism." Sly begins his magic chant, thereby saturating a sphere around himself with his mana and changing the perception of all who look upon it. Sly is the only one that can see both reality and illusion, but he also has to focus his mind on maintaining his illusion.
"By the father of the eight-legged horse, I command thee to affect the judgement of reality - Illusio." 5 meters in front of Ouka there appears a replica of Sly. At the same time, anyone looking directly at them would see nothing but an empty space in the dungeon with a few almost imperceptible symbols floating above the party.
'It's nice that we used this tactic enough, such that everyone knows where the others are located. Although the others can only see themselves, the symbols in the air are visible to all because I made them slightly above us and almost transparent. Only those that know of them can orient themselves in my mass invisibility spell.
All of us have different symbols. My symbol is a simple fox. Ouka has a shield, Asuka a pouch, Chigusa a bow and Mikoto a katana.'
"Wow, that's far more exhausting inside the dungeon than outside of it. I can at most do one or two more illusions of this calibre before I run out of mana," Sly reports while feeling lightheaded, before refocusing his concentration to move the unarmed clone of Ouka to the edge of his 5-meter illusion radius.
'The amount of mana required to cast an illusion depends on the volume it has to cover and a constant supply to keep it under control. It seems that it is more mana intensive to create illusions inside the dungeon. I would guess that because there is a lot of dungeon mana in the air, which I first have to overcome. At least once the illusion is prepared, I can maintain it with a far lower mana consumption, which is around the same as on the surface.
I still have to look out and dodge attacks without taking damage or risk Ignis Fatuus. Otherwise, the magic I am maintaining will break, and the leftover mana from the spell will implode within me causing an Ignis Fatuus. At least with my concentration intact, I can actively change the illusion inside the prepared area.
Unfortunately, I still need to keep the focus on all my illusions, which get progressively harder, the bigger the area and the more detailed the illusion is. For a quick change, I still need to simplify the overall illusion in case of a mass illusion spell like this.
I could also allow the illusion to hide the scent of the people inside and create false scents, but the mind usage of hiding more than one sense at a time is far too high for me to sustain. I would also need to chant a longer chant to include these effects, but it won't matter when I can't even maintain them.'
Thus, the see-through floating symbols followed after the illusory Ouka clone. They follow the first visible path carefully to reduce the sounds of the footsteps they produce as much as possible.
They continue for 10 agonisingly slow minutes, where nothing happens but the quiet rumbling or far-off sound of a monster breaking out of the wall. All the while, Sly's mana was slowly decreasing and he is already halfway to mind down.
Then they enter a big empty room that's far darker than the previous passage, with three more paths. Ouka whispers. "Which one should we take?" And at that moment, as if summoned by the sound, five shades materialise in front of the three passages. Two in front of the east and west paths. As well as one smaller one littered with scars in the black cloth, right behind the clone.
War shadows are monsters that can fly. Their body is like a black line cloth without much substance and only their heads, core and 10 cm long razor-sharp claws are corporal.
The small war shadow screams and strikes the clone from behind, passing right through its neck. It then looks back at the clone with a glint of curiosity in its eye, while the four others converge on the clone.
Sly observes how Chigusa jumps back a step in fear, while Asuka prepares to shoot the smaller war shadow. Meanwhile, Sly maintains his concentration while taking a few steps back until he reaches the limit of the illusion range. Ouka's clone acts as if it was dodging the attacks, but is still hit by the faster small war shadow.
Asuka observes the war shadows while waiting for an opportunity to attack. Then she notices that the smaller one seems to be striking at weak points while the 4 other shadows are attacking randomly. It is also faster than the others. Once she recognises the signs, she tells the others. "The small one must be an irregular."
Ouka, who seems far more serious after Asukas's words, takes his spear and strikes the closest one to the right while Mikoto rushes from behind Chigusa to the left shade.
The four normal war shadows are still confused about the immaterial foe, while the smaller one seems to have heard their voice and is now looking in their general direction.
Sly notices that the small shadow is ignoring his clone and tries to force its reaction by striking it with his clone, but it still does not react. Then the invisible Ouka and Mikote reach their target. Both manage to target the heads of their war shadows, and both shadows are defeated due to the surprise attack. This also leads to Ouka and Mikoto losing their invisibility, as Sly is unable to hide interactions with other creatures.
An arrow then flies next to Sly's head for the small war shadow, but it manages to block the projectile after it leaves Sly's illusion. It then rushes through the clone and strikes the now-revealed Mikoto at a speed that far surpasses their expectations for a monster on floor five.
Sly sees that Mikoto can't react in time to dodge the small shadow's attack and has to forcibly change his illusion in a fraction of a second. This breaks their invisibility but in turn, allows Sly to create a blinding light above Mikoto's head.
The shade is blinded and slows down just enough for Mikoto to move sideways and counter with her katana. Unfortunately, Mikoto still takes a deep slash wound on the left side of her torso that breaks through her chain mail, but at least she managed to counter and cut off a big piece of cloth from the irregular. Below the missing piece of cloth, they can barely see a midnight black ribcage with an unblemished magic stone in its centre.
Sly observes all this while thinking of how to help with another illusion, while Mikoto, who is still bleeding extensively, retreats towards the backline. He then sees Ouka charge one of the other two blinded war shadows and he manages to strike its magic stone, before turning towards the still-blinded small shadow and shield, bashing it.
Then another war shadow storms at Sly before it is hit with an arrow. Sly then stops his illusion field and goes for the war shadows torso, where the core is located. After dodging a few swipes from the wounded monster, he ducks below its claws and strikes through its guard and cuts away the cloth hiding its magic stone.
Chigusa, who shot the arrow, then continues with her momentum and begins chanting a spell. "Twin birds hear my call, enchant my pull, guide my path - JIAN YAJIRUSHI."
She then draws her bow with an arrow, but at the end of her chant, two one-winged birds appear in place of it, before she releases the two connected birds. They then fly towards the last normal war shadow, but instead of flying straight, it is now homing in on the exposed magic stone.
The war shadow was still attacking Sly without pause with its claws. It even managed to give Sly multiple superficial cuts before the Jian arrow reached it. Before hitting the shadow Chigusa commands her arrow to split into twin birds where the first breaks the rib protecting the stone, while the second follows the gap and hits the stone directly.
At that time, Ouka was striking at the dazed irregular shadow nonstop, but he was very tough and Ouka could not pierce its ribs easily. After a few strikes, the shadow regained its bearings and screamed, causing the dungeon to shake before all around the room 6 frog shooters broke out of the walls. All of them were green amphibians with a height of about 1 meter.
The irregular was then once again bashed by Ouka and momentarily stunned, allowing Asuka to use one of her techniques on it. She has been charging her "Piasu Isshi" (Penetrating Arrow)since informing them about the irregular at the beginning of the battle.
Now finally ready after 12 seconds of charging, Asuka releases it. Nonetheless, the irregular manages to partially block it with one of its claws, but because of its strength, it breaks through the small shadow's defence and splits its claw.
Sly then sees the frog shooters come out of the walls and attack their party with their tongues. Sly is surprised by the speed of their tongues because they fly around 5 meters per second. Everyone besides Asuka reacted fast enough to dodge to the side, she on the other hand had to take the hit to protect the wounded Mikoto. She was then pulled off her feet towards the frog shooter.
Chigusa then fires at the one frog pulling Asuka and managed to hit it in the head, defeating it. Sly used one of his daggers to cut the tongue of the one attacking him, before burning it with foxfire.
Mikoto drinks her health potion before rushing another one. Ouka is now hard-pressed to defend against the small shadow and the three frog shooters in the front, while the others only dealt with single opponents.
Luckily, he was the smallest and most equipped of the party, but he was still cut multiple times by the small shadow's remaining claw while dodging the dangerous tongues that could pull him off balance. His armour was in shambles, and he was only barely able to continue moving from the strain on his muscles.
Now that the backline is free, Sly used his chance to deal with the small shadow. He cast his foxfire but gave the spell far more mana, about half of his remaining reserve, thus creating a 30 cm (diameter) fireball with an incredible velocity that lit the remaining cloth of the small shadow on fire. In the confusion, the irregular crashes to the ground, trying to quench the flames searing its cloth.
"Thanks, Sly-kun," Ouka calls back while finally taking his spear and heaving it straight at the burning irregular and hitting its core. The biggest magic stone they have ever seen drops to the ground alongside the remaining claw of the war shadow.
The rest finishes quickly now that both Asuka and Chigusa can once again fire at the remaining frog shooters. Sly also used his throwing knives to harm the ones trying to use their tongues and protect the injured Ouka. Mikoto, meanwhile, looks around to ensure no more reinforcements would appear.
While the others finished the battle, Ouka first drank one potion, then went towards Chigusa when he still had a deep laceration on his chest and let her pour a potion over it to heal it as well. Mikoto then drank one as well to heal her injury.
"If I'm not mistaken, we just fought our first irregular monster. That small shadow was far too tough and was as fast as me and I'm the second fastest in our group. I can barely believe that a monster with the strenght of a peak level 1 adventurer was on the fifth floor."
Mikoto turns to glare at him. "Of course it was fast, otherwise it wouldn't have managed to strike me at the beginning." Sly prepared to counter her argument. "But still, you should have been able to dodge it with your agility ..."
"How even you, the ever-cautious trickster, were surprised."
Chigusa then interrupted them both with a strong but quiet voice, ending their argument. "Of course Sly was surpised. I mean the monster was faster than me. I'm just happy its first strike went towards the illusion instead of us. That could have gone far worse. We need to be better prepared for something unexpected in the future. And both of you, stop arguing in the dungeon. We could be attacked at any time."
"Okay, now that I'm healed, I think it's high time we continue on the top 4 floors for today. If I'm not mistaken, all of us are tired and our stamina has dropped severely in that last fight. Not to mention that Sly-kun should be almost out of mana after that last stunt with the fireball. We need to be more " Ouka replied with a small laugh.
"That's true, I barely have 1/4 of my mana capacity left and am feeling quite lightheaded, which makes it difficult to concentrate. I can only manage another illusion or a few normal powered foxfires."
"In that case, let's return to the upper floors to collect some valis. While I don't think we should push further. I can still help you lasses train a bit on the upper floors."
They then turned around and ascended the floors while carefully avoiding big groups of monsters. After all, one adventure is enough for one day.
? Flooded Passage
"Are you happy now? You sneaked up here two weeks ago when you were barely even at rank two strength. But now you are too large to return." A high-pitched voice lectures her protege, while a rhythmic ticking sound came from a pocket watch she wore as a necklace.
"Of course I'm happy. I can finally hunt and grow stronger to reach the surface. The other Xenos can't order me to stay back or prohibit me from hunting here." A deeper but far more childish voice answers quickly before trying and failing to growl. "Grrr"
"And what of the men with the pointy sticks? Those who have neither scales nor fur and smell as bad as a dirty mad beetle. Have you at least followed my lessons concerning them?"
"Yes, Arles I know. I know when to trust my instincts. When I feel in danger I run before being seen, and by now I know to avoid the most dangerous paths. If I have to cross them I stick to the ceiling like you thought me. And the ones that I allow to find me are the weak ones. Most of them avoid me and only a few attacked me before falling into one of my traps."
Arles sighs quietly. "Good. Continue as such and the most dangerous situations can be avoided. As another precaution, you should change the floor you are staying on regularly. I will visit you again in a few weeks Ikuchi."
Author's Note
Well, that was the first chapter of the introduction to Orario.
First of all, I want to make it clear that I built upon the basic abilities we saw in the Anime, but I will also add my ideas to it. For example, both Ouka and Chigusa now have magic similar to how everyone in the Hestia familia has some unique magic. I also changed the race of both Ouka and Asuka, as I think it will give their personalities another facet to work with and fit them well.
Future chapters will also focus more on Sleipnir and less on the team effort, but for this first dungeon dive, I had to focus on the entire party as a whole. Stats for all the familia members will be in the next chapter.
Update 17.07.23: The last scene was a preview of characters that will be fully introduced in a few chapters but will be quite important later on and had to at least get a short scene in the first chapter. Also significantly reworked the character introductions in the beginning.
