I do not own Warframe or Danmachi, but I strongly recommend you check out the original works because they are both fun and interesting.
Those of you on my discord server may notice the fact that the updates I give for chapter progress have been pretty bare recently (By recently I mean for the last 2 or 3 days) and I have an explanation. I'm still adjusting to my new routine of School-Work-Home-collapsing on my bed. I come home drained and tired even though I have 6 hours left to do whatever I want.
So, apologies for not having a chapter in my backlog, I should be able to write more on Monday though, so… yeah…
PREVIOUSLY:I stare at her, dumbfounded as she smirks at me, her eye glittering with curiosity and humor
"So, what do you want to buy?"
(Log 6: Raid)
In the end Hephaestus, thankfully, had just about what I expected. She had everything that was obtainable by normal people except resin which, by my expectations, I would be able to gather from the dungeon as well.
And if not? Well, at least I'll still have a fabricator, I think that that will allow me to get resin easily, if not reliably.
Nevertheless, the price of the materials surprised me, everything that I needed was pretty cheap all told, costing way less than I thought it would, all of it amounting to about 89,000 Valis which, considering the fact I didn't know anything about a metals price per kilo back on earth, seemed like a decent price.
Still, Hephaestus and her materials definitely nabbed a large portion of my money which, while somewhat concerning on whether or not I'll be able to afford Loki's expedition, was something I considered as a fair price.
Nevertheless, I sigh as I shake my head, exiting my spiraling thoughts and instead focusing on the large mansion before me.
I admit, I was dreading meeting her somewhat, after all, I haven't heard the most… flattering things about her from Rose. Though, to be honest, they could all be false and Rose was either projecting or exaggerating.
Still, it would be best to be cautious. My track record with deities so far has been… fairly good, what with only 2 of 3 gods being at least neutral.
Though, to be far from the race, Freyja seems like an outlier.
Wait, I'm getting lost in thought, I can't just stand around here like an idiot. I roll my shoulders, stepping forward as I approach the gate and guards, their attention focused on me as I approached, it seemed they recognized me by the fact that they tensed.
Though, their recognition- and caution - were a bit disheartening, I soldiered on, stepping forward to meet them in spite of their tensed and wary forms.
"Halt! State your business quickly, else you shall be struck from where you stand!" The one on the left cried. Quite the dramatic one, isn't he?
"Sure" I replied, halting my approach as I continued to speak. "I just wanted to see if I could join the next expedition into the dungeon with her familia. I can pay with coin if needed."
The one on the left stared at me, his eyes narrowing as I stared back, my form thankfully unable to convey the boredom I was feeling at the moment.
I glance around, ignoring the way the one on the left frowns and beckons the one on the right over. Instead, I focus on the rather beautiful weather around me. It was hot, though with where Orario was situated it wasn't a surprise, and it was beautiful.
A wide expanse of emerald and jade fill my attention as I enjoy my surroundings, the rolling tides of hills and the burning blue of the sky filling me with serenity as I wait. Loki chose quite an out of the way spot, didn't she?
"Alright, you can head in. We will, however, follow you. Along with a few other guards just in case. Understood?" The one on the right spoke, his tone hard and full of steel as he stared at me.
I shrugged my shoulders, turning my attention back to the guards before me "Sure" I commented, watching as the one on the left drew his sword hesitantly and the one on the right grasped what I assumed to be a staff.
I ignored them, instead stepping in as they opened the gate, ignoring the crunching of their steps hitting the grass as I moved onwards, intent on meeting this goddess of chaos.
I hum as I stare down at the pouting woman before me, and believe me she was a woman. Despite the lack of a… chest… She held very feminine and attractive features, as expected of a goddess.
Though, that wasn't the matter at hand, no, rather it was the fact that I hadn't enough money to pay her.
"A million huh? I don't have enough for that, anything else I can give you to go though?" I ask, watching as the smug smile on her face grew wider as she leaned back, her red hair flowing through the air as she snorted in humor.
"I mean, other than maybe sharing some of the materials you get and a favor, no, not really" She comments, a lazy and wry grin on her face as I still.
That was… not Ideal. If they had the materials I got then they might find weaknesses in either me or my armor or, hell, construct a device to shut me off forever. That'll lead to my enslavement.
Wait… that could also mean they could just upgrade me and my armor easier. Ahhhh, fuck, I'm an idiot.
I sigh as I rub my forehead, ignoring the protruding horn as I speak "Yeah, sure. Does 30% of the materials sound fine?" I ask, focusing my attention back on the woman as she raises an eyebrow.
"We'll be basically doing 80% of the work, I want at least 50" She haggles, making me want to grimace.
I always hated haggling, not only because I was bad as shit at it but also because it made me actually talk to people I didn't know in a friendly manner. "No, that's too much. I'm the special formula here, I'm the main reason that we're getting the drops. At most I can do 35%" I tell her, ignoring her grimace.
"Really now? So you want to be left to fend for yourself? No, we'll be protecting your ass, so it'll be a handicap. 45" She demands, making me groan internally as the cycle of haggling begins.
Why wouldn't she just be satisfied?!
I stare at the path leading home blankly, my shoulders sagging in defeat as I trudge along the well beaten path.
I honestly still couldn't believe she managed to achieve that stunt, how had she managed to convince me to willingly part with 55% of the materials?
Honestly, I'm starting to get worried that I won't have enough materials to build the fabricator and mod station.
I sigh, ignoring the thought as I instead enter my delightfully silent clearing and drop my sword into the soil, its sharp blade worming its way into the dirt as I sigh, kneeling down as I check the level of both my warframe and my Skana.
21 and 13 respectively, of course.
Nevertheless, Loki told me I had 3 days until they set off at dawn, meaning that I would dungeon dive for tomorrow and the day after, resting on the third to make sure I'm ready for what is, no doubt, going to be a long expedition.
I sigh heavily, ignoring the way that my body slumps as I consider my surroundings.
My initial anger at my situation was fading, sure, but the thing replacing it might have been worse.
I was growing weary and exhausted, sure I knew I was technically still a machine now, but my mind and personality was that of a human. I was unused to this boundless, yet restrained, energy. I was not used to being unable to tire or fatigue. I was not used to being able to constantly adventure.
And that made it all the worse when I did just that.
Every action I make is to accomplish some sort of goal, be it dungeon diving or even talking to people. I wasn't even sure if I considered Rose a friend and that…
That was a bit disconcerting.
I sigh once more, my sensors flashing for all of a moment as I slowly allow myself to power down, simulating what falling asleep would be like as I continued to think.
I was weary now, I rarely did anything other than fight, talk for connections or materials, or "sleep".
I needed to relax, I know, but I just didn't know how.
I stared at the grass before me wearily. Sometimes, not all the time, I just wished I could stop thinking-1.
It was tiring, having millions of thoughts move through my head all simultaneously, it was tiring having the constant influx of senses and information hidden behind a wall that would tap in whenever it wanted to. It was tiring to be a machine.
I slump, my kneeled position relaxing as I allow myself to finally fall into the abyss of "sleep", ignoring the thoughts and analysis racing through my head faster than light itself.
1-Most of the time, however, I just wished to be who I once was again.
I stare tiredly at the ogre before me, my hand gripping my Skana loosely as I stalk forward.
Something had changed in me. I wasn't sure what, but it just… had.
Perhaps it was a sign of things to come, perhaps not. None of that mattered, however, as while this more relaxed, introspective and calm version of me was more useful.
That was all that mattered at the moment- usefulness and efficiency. That was most of the reason I came down here alone today. I didn't need nor want to pick up the monster stones today, I just needed practice and some materials, if they dropped.
I slump out of the way of a telegraphed swipe, my arm flicking up quickly as blue energies circled me, my skill, "Dash", activating at the behest of my will as I lurch forward, a blue trail following me before I lop the Ogres head off in a swipe of my hand.
Tough these creatures may be, but nothing truly ever survives having its consciousness ripped from its body.
Not even me.
I flick my wrist, divorcing my Skana of the blood upon its blade as I continue onwards. Today, I would try my best to strike the beasts down here as little as I could while killing them.
For most on floor 11, they died to around 2 or 3 swipes, some took more, though. It was quite annoying honestly.
I ignore the feeling, however, instead focusing on continuing down onto the next floor and, honestly? I was starting to appreciate just how much of a boon Rose was.
Sure, she may not actually fight the monsters, but she supports me. She distracts monsters and ruins their pace, she gives openings that I ruthlessly use to crush these monsters.
Without her, the dungeon was a bit too quiet, and a bit harder to deal with.
Man, how sad is it that my only friend was one who made me become her friend?
I sigh, ignoring the dripping of the water and the density of the fog as I relax against one of the lone trees in the floor-types generation.
I was taking a break for a bit.
My heart wasn't really… in it, if I was being honest. Nevertheless, the call of Ares must be answered. And so, I stand, drawing my skana to my palm once more as I stalk into the fog, readying myself for more combat.
Even if it was starting to get a bit more grindy, and less fun.
I stare down the relic in my hand in slight disbelief, the circles on it glowing as it hisses, its copper form twisting and churning as space around it bends before, in a poof, it disappears.
Instead, in my hand I hold a familiar looking form, its gold and black form obscured slightly by the fog around me, gleaming beneath the cavern's dim lighting as I stared at the screen before me in slight disbelief.
"300/300 kills, opening Relic… Guandao Prime Handle" It read, my shock slowly fading as I stowed the part away in my bag, ignoring the roars in the distance as I came to terms with my disbelief.
"Huh" I mutter to myself, at a loss for words as I consider the situation, eventually just giving up before I turn away, continuing to make my merry way through the thirteenth floor.
I sighed as I stared at the groove in my little grove, my own oasis. I had sat there for so long that an indentation of my very knees and calves had formed in the ground which was… not really all that shocking honestly.
Shrugging, I shuck my backpack and my skana off of my back before kneeling into the groove once more, hoping to restore my weary mind to its natural state before the raid in the morning.
I sigh contentedly as I experience the tranquil forest around me, allowing the dulled scents and sounds and feeling of the midnight wind against my metallic skin to drift me into my low power mode.
As everything falls away, and I enter a dream once more, I can't help but slightly startle as a voice makes itself known.
"Pathetic" it spoke, its deep baritone echoing in the passing vestiges of my consciousness as I slipped away, its voice following me to haunt my dreams.
" This is what she chose? A young, weak, and cowardly child? Of course, her and her bleeding heart for entertainment" It spoke, malice and disgust dripping from its voice as it filled my aching head.
"Know this, Thing , you are not a Tenno. You are not a Warframe, you are barely even a thing. The only reason your insult to my kind has stood so far is because of Her influence. You are not safe, nor will you ever be. Live in fear of the fact that should you anger me, you shall become a smear on the wall. Your insult has not been taken lightly, thing, and so, should your fortitude fail as it has countless times before, and as it will countless times more, you shall become less than a snack for me and mine to consume.
Live in fear, for you should, as I shall always be watching, always be waiting. And at the first sign of weakness, I shall consume your ego" It continued, malice dripping from the maw of its sickness as it spat and reveled in my fear, basking in it as though it were a pool of ambrosia.
Unbidden, shivers of terror assaulted my body, waking me sooner than I thought I should have and bringing me into the world as though a newborn.
Both fortunately and unfortunately, the dream fades from my mind as though a leaf in the breeze.
I kneel in place, staring up at the coloring sky, shivers wracking my body as intense fear freezes my veins ice cold, my mind seizing at a threat unknown before I begin to slowly relax, my form drooping beneath its own weight.
Death didn't seem so daunting and scary all of a sudden.
I simply wished that I would live long enough to die on my own terms, and not at the behest of a beast.
(AIS WALLENSTEIN)
The Steel devil was… peculiar to Ais.
The automaton clearly had power, but was so very clearly different to her that she wasn't sure if she could learn anything from the new player in Orarios landscape.
But, once more, as the sword in the Steel Devil's hand flashed, cutting another minotaur down as it dashed 'round the small arena carved into the 15th floor, Ais couldn't help but feel as though she was missing something from watching it.
Her eyes tracked its form silently, ignoring the chattering of her familia as she watched the Steel Devil work, its form perfect, practiced, and very clearly trained though, there was something very clearly missing from it.
Each strike of its blade carried intent, and precision, yet none of them truly contained the power that Ais knew the Steel Devil possessed.
She frowned, gripping her rapier as the sudden urge to test her own skill against it filled her. She contained the urge, patiently and precisely locking the urge away with all other unneeded emotions.
For now, Ais Wallenstein would observe in wait. The Raid into the dungeon would provide many an opportunity for her to dissect and learn from the Steel Devils willpower.
She would learn, be it through violence or patience, she would learn. Her pride and her goal demanded she did so. Because, for as long as she's existed, Ais Wallenstein has been a prodigy.
And a prodigy she would remain.
(Tiona Hiryute)
The Steel Devil was a fairly interesting person when it came down to the brass tacks.
Even as Tiona HIryute grinned and cackled as she watched the automaton carve through wave after wave of enemies, some enemies with more difficulty than others, she couldn't help the thought.
For, the automaton was clearly improving with every moment that he fought, his every opening dimming in its size, and his every movement becoming more fluid and sure.
Sure, Tiona may not have been a prodigy like Ais, but she was still somewhat talented, she had to be if she was a level 6!
She grinned as she grasped her Urga, the pleasant and reassuring weight of the double-bladed greatsword making her grin stretch wider as she pulled the blade off its place, resting on her shoulder as it was, and sliced the minotaur that was stalking up behind her, bisecting it with nary a thought before resting her greatsword on her shoulder once more.
She huffed a laugh as the Steel Devil, and wasn't that nickname just kickass? Her first name given by the gods had been washboard, something she was still angry about today.
Dammit, if she could kick the ass of the god that named her washboard of all things she would hunt them down like a hound of hell. But, unfortunately, she tragically couldn't.
Not only because of the fact she was on a raid-
"Oh shut up Bete, we know you're boner for the Steel Devil is big, no need to prove it to us every moment you exist." Tiona rolled her eyes as she interrupted her thoughts, dodging the werewolves retaliatory strike in amusement as she continued to watch the automaton work.
Where was she? Oh, yeah!
She hoped the Steel Devil survived until he was strong, strong enough to challenge her and Tione, because then they could sharpen their skills on a whetstone.
From Betes accusatory shouts and twitching left eye, she guessed she was grinning a little too widely again.
Bah! What a pansy!
She burst out into hysterics as the Steel Devil slipped on some blood, flipping over and using the momentum to slice the shins of an approaching minotaur.
She hoped she didn't have to wait long for the newbie to get up to snuff, she really wanted a new whetstone.
Her last toy broke, and she's been pretty bored ever since!
She ignored Betes' rambling as she continued to watch, noting Ais' interest as well. At least someone wasn't as stuck up as her sister!
She ignored the incessant little imitation of her sister's voice in the back of her skull as she cackled at the Steel Devils misfortune once more.
(Nikolai Chekhov)
The Loki Familias states were honestly starting to get a bit much for me, I'm not going to lie. They were constantly watching me kill monsters in various levels of amusement and interest.
And yes, I am calling my error of judgment in the pool of blood a new move, no, Tiona, I'm not just a fresh faced newbie.
I huff a sigh as I watch the cart once more, picking off the few strays that were starting to gather 'round it and continue my silent vigil-
Ugh, I think my soul just shuddered from the sheer cringe I felt at that thought.
I shake my head, swiping my Skana through the head of some poor weak monster before it could get remotely close to the cart, finding myself watching the familia I was raiding with silently.
I will admit, watching them be so jolly with each other, trusting each other so wholly that they could cordone off a platoon of monsters for me to kill, some of them doing it in curiosity of my limits no doubt. Well, it filled me with a sense of… sadness, I guess? I've always been shit at trying to understand my emotions so I just kinda give up mid way through cause they dont matter that much.
I wish I could frown, because If I could, I would be doing so right now. I swipe my Skana at an approaching Ligerfang, making it cry out in pain as I Dash at it and cut it once more, starting a combo that ends 2 moves later, my sword having beheaded it in the scant few moments before I begin to back away once more.
I'm fairly certain Finn notices my kill and signals for a collector to come around during one of their patrols around the killing field as I retreat back to the caravan, watching with keen interest as the Loki familia jest and joke as they play around with the monsters of this floor.
It still amazes me something fierce that they were strong enough to do so. To be honest, I'm fairly certain that I'm around high level 2, low level 3 rank in terms of strength right now.
Which was, considering the fact that I hadn't upgraded my warframes base stats at all, pretty fucking impressive.
Nevertheless, I watch on passively, idly defending the caravan whenever it needed defending before the loki familia falls back and sends me forth as though a hound of hell.
I think they're doing this on purpose, making me fight while they drink and feast behind me, which I'm still very jealous of, thank you very much.
Though, in the end, even as I grimace and cut through the swathes of enemies, my sword blurring with effort as I focus on killing what's to be killed, I can't be too mad.
The strong prosper while the weak struggle, after all. The only thing I can do at the moment is become strong enough as to where I'll be able to stand alongside them with ease.
I tense, the sound of heavy footfall snapping me out of my narrow-minded and laser focused path of destruction as I dive out of the way, avoiding a strike meant for my back as I spring back into action, and finally decide to invoke the one ability I haven't used at all.
I stare at it and the swathe of enemies before me in intensity before I inhale deeply, then exhale. Backing up a step as I sheathe my Skana and raise my right hand "Exalted Blade" I demand reality to obey my will as that strange energy fills my palm, forming a blade of pure, chaotic, and gluttonous energy.
I stare at it, the pulsing of its power making me snap out of my slight daze before I Dash into the crowd once more, my sword of immaterial energy burning through the swathes of monsters as though wheat.
Though, I note that I won't be able to hold the blade for long, my current capacity limiting me at around a minute and a half of usage.
I strangle displeasures vice grip around my neck as I continue my onslaught, dropping my exalted blade as I draw my Skana not a minute later, its familiar weight proving to help cement realities weight once more as I continue to cut at the tide of enemies, paying no mind to the interested mass of adventurers at my back until I finish.
My untiring body finishes its dance of death not 3 minutes later before I rejoin the caravan, watching a small group of collectors exit our caravan with an adventurer before they begin to quickly grab all the loot they can and return to us.
"Hiya! You're the steel devil right!?" A feminine voice asks me, startling me slightly as I turn to meet the woman at my side, her tanned skin and green eyes dim beneath the low light of the dungeon as I nod slowly.
"Yes" I answer, watching her grin stretch wider as she bids me to wait in my spot, racing off for… someone.
This familia was weirdly friendly when it wanted to be, which only made me more confused, considering the fact that it was a rather new sight to behold.
I, thankfully, didn't have to wait long, as the likely amazonian woman returned not moments later, dragging a very similar woman with a grin on her face before, standing before me, she pushed the similar looking woman into me.
"C'mon! Ask your question Tione!" The woman called cheerfully, grinning up at me with twinkling eyes that reminded me of her goddess.
This Tione scowled at her likely-sister, glaring for all of a moment before she sighed, straightening and straightening out her hair, staring up at me with a curious expression of blankness.
"You should stop focusing so much on a single area, it may help you in the short term, in that it's easier to do, but you should really start training yourself to be aware of everything around you." She told me, her voice stern as she stared into my face-plate.
I stared back down at her, baffled as I watched the woman cross her arms, an eyebrow raising as though she were waiting for something-
Oh right, I need to respond. "Uh, thanks?" I ask more than say, watching as she nods imperiously, turning to walk away in a slow gait that quickens at something her sister calls out at her in playfulness.
I turn my attention to her sister, watching her as she turns to me with a grin that, frankly, terrifies me. Her eyes sparkling as she bounds up to me with her teeth sparkling beneath the dim lighting, grabbing my hand as she opens her mouth pausing to stare down at my bio-metal form in shock.
"Holy-! How much do you weigh?!" She yells, pure awe coloring her tone as she stares at my arm as though it were a whole 'nother appendage.
I watch quietly as she shakes her head, turning up to me with that damnable grin, her eyes twinkling beneath the light as she begins to speak once more "Anyways, Hiya! My name is Tiona Hiryute! Sorry 'bout my sister, she's got a stick so far up her ass it could probably carve out her brain!" She grins, waiting for something as she inspects my hand in fascination.
I only realized a moment later that she was waiting for me to introduce myself. "I'm.. uh… I'm Nikolai Chekhov. Nice to meet you?" I hate talking to people, I'd much rather be curled up in my room reading books.
Her growing grin only solidifies the fact that talking to people was harder than I initially thought and damn Rose for being so easy to talk to.
I've never been so intimidated by social skills when I was talking to her. Unlike this… Tiona.
"I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you just tell me that the entire fucking familia decided that I'm fighting the floor boss on my own?" I ask, dread coloring my soul as the hellion named Tiona smiled giddily, mistaking my dread and disbelief for excitement.
"I know! Isn't it great?!" She cheers, her grin likely a viral disease, considering other members of her familiar grinned at me as well.
I-...
I stared at them blankly, my shoulders slumped as I sigh, rubbing at where the bridge of my nose would be were I a human.
God damn it, I'm starting to hate just how charismatic this fucking familia is. I wanted to be angry at them, but their excitement and trust in that I could beat a fucking floor boss on my own only made me feel determined.
This was the power of some sort of shonen bullshit, that I know.
"I-,ugh, Fine." I sigh, ignoring the sound of cheering that was coming from on the wagon I was pulling.
And yes, they were using me as a pack mule, something about how since I didn't tire I was the best option. I mean, at least there were people around me to protect me when monsters attacked.
Apparently we would be starting the raid proper once we got to the lower floors.
I was a bit excited to view the lower floors, don't get me wrong, it's just that-
Well…
I was kinda dreading my fight against the fucking floor boss.
"Alright! Who thinks the newbie'll get 'im?! All bets in the hat, I reiterate, All bets in the hat!" I hear a boisterous voice call from the wagon, displeasure filling me as I sigh, shaking my head and sighing as I focus on the approaching boss room.
Despite my hesitance, and my logical mind warning me against being excited, well, I just can't help it. The phantom urge to grin in both fright and joy fills me as I stare up at the skyscraper sized wall keeping me from the floor boss, its shimmering, kaleidoscopic form filling me with no small amount of dread.
Battle lust fills the pit my dread creates, the cheering from the wagon inflaming it further as I press onwards, Tiona grinning as she cheers and jumps on my back, hitching a ride on my form as I slowly approach the wall.
Every step feels as though the sword of Damocles falls ever so slightly closer to my neck, each shift in weight and each slight twitch of my grip makes the bubbling, near acidic emotion in my chest grow ever so slightly stronger.
Eventually, I stand before the wall, my face-plate staring at it blankly as I glance from right, to left, to right, my muscles tense with a strength I didn't know I had.
The dull sound of the Loki familia staking its bets on me falls to the wayside as I grip the wagon I'm dragging firmly and step through.
The wall is like molasses, that's my first thought, my second is just how familiar it feels. The flashbang to my every sense being duller than the first time I experienced it, the kaleidoscope soon falling from my sensors to instead show me the great arena before me.
It was reminiscent of a gladiator's arena, the great, open expanse of flat terrain serving to allow me to maneuver around it, the great ceilings no doubt the way they are from countless centuries of the trapped sentinel scraping its head against it, and carving a comfortable prison away.
Tiona falls from my back, prancing back to her familia, happy as can be and carefree as I step out of the wagon's pulley, the gentle rumbling of the earth growing stronger as I step closer to the center of the arena.
A crack fills the air, the world tears.
And there, before me, a giant, gray hand reaches from the tear in the world and grasps the caves ground, its giant form tensing before a screech of pain fills the stagnant air,
Blood pools at the base of the hand as the goliath pulls itself out, flaying itself of skin as its bloody, twitching and muscled form leaps out of the hole it made, its wild eyes setting upon me with great fury.
Slowly, the soon-to-be carcass regenerates its hide, its blazing red eyes staring into my blank face-plate as it grins, its gray skin fully generated as it screeches, launching a hand at my form.
A battle begins.
Of goliaths, gods, and men.
