Adventurer (Viole)
Revenge is a fool's errand. Revenge will never fill the void. And eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. Et cetera, et cetera. There are so many quotes and stories about how revenge doesn't truly fix anything or is a self destructive venture. I personally believe that the people who said those things were fucking idiots. Maybe they're right. Yes, getting revenge will never bring back those lost or heal those untenable wounds deep within our souls. But that doesn't matter to me. What matters is seeing that bastard dead before my feet.
Those were the thoughts that ran through my mind as I walked into Orario, the labyrinth city. It'd been a long, arduous journey to get here. Yet it was nothing more than a useless footnote in my life, to be honest. Because this is where my life actually starts. "..." As I walked into the city streets, I looked up at the tower that seemed to reach the sky. The gigantic building that sat in the middle of Orario, the tower of Babel, and the dungeon it held. That dungeon was the main reason I had come to this city, for it was the fastest way for someone to gain power. "...can't go yet. Don't want to die immediately."
Walking through the busy streets of Orario, I pulled my scarf a bit further up my face. Most of my clothes were in bad shape and in need of a good cleaning, one of the many drawbacks of traveling alone. Hell, even my normally black hair was covered in dust. The short white jacket that I was wearing was covered in dirt and grim, along with my gray pants and shirt. The only part of my outfit that was even close to clean was the blue scarf I wore around my neck. The ends of the scarf were burnt off and it wasn't really needed for me, given the warm weather, not to mention it clashed with the rest of my outfit. But... It's too important for me not to wear. Someone very important gave it to me. Not to mention that it usually sat comfortably over my mouth. I don't like attention after all.
After a few moments of walking and keeping my head down, I was about to reach my first stop. The guild. A large building near the center of town. It was a brown building of bricks and looked more like a town center of any other village that you'd see. But, instead of normal civilians, inside this building were powerful adventurers and guild employee's that support them. Though, I don't see myself coming here often for nothing more than exchanging monster stones.
Just as I was about to walk into the building, a kid with white hair, who was about a year or two younger than me, ran out of it with a big smile on his face. Must have hit the jackpot or something. Not giving him another thought, I walked into the guild and immediately made eye contact with an employee sitting behind the guild desk. She seemed to be a half elf with short brown hair and was admittedly an attractive woman. "Hello, how may I help you?" She asked me with a practiced smile.
Pulling my scarf over my nose, I nodded at the young woman. "Yes... I'd like to register as an adventurer please." Nodding her head, the guild employee grabs a few papers from behind her desk and motioned for me to follow her. She took me upstairs and into a private room that had two small couches facing each other and a small table between them.
"Have a seat!" With an excited voice, she instructed me to get comfortable and did so herself. I took the seat opposite of her and let out a small sigh as I did so. Been a while since I sat on something so comfortable. "My name is Eina Tulle, and I'm an advisor here at the guild. Now, in order for you to become an adventurer, I'll need to ask you a few questions. Please be as honest as you can, alright?" Nodding at her question, she flashed me another business smile and looked down at the papers she had in her hand. "Now then, how old are you?"
"...I'm sixteen years old and I'll be seventeen soon. About eight months from now." Jotting down my words, she went to the next question.
"Have you ever been to the dungeon before?"
"No. I've seen and killed a few monsters, however only on the surface." Not that it matters anyway. Monsters on the surface are far weaker than those within the dungeon. Well, with the exception of that dragon.
A relieved sigh came from the half-elf. "That's a relief. Every now and then we get a few overly cocky adventurers and they run into danger without even registering or joining a familia." Not surprised. Dad told me a few stories about stopping idiots from getting themselves killed in there. "Oh, but it's most definitely impressive that you have defeated any at all, even if they were weak. Well... back to twenty questions. Are you part of a Familia?"
"No, I am not." A strange tightness filled my chest as I thought about the words I was about to say. "However, I do have an idea of which I would like to join. My da- My Father was a part of the Loki familia."
"L-Loki?! You're the son of a Loki Veteran?! That's amazing! Well, she can be quite picky when it comes to who she accepts into her familia, but I'm sure Goddess Loki will gladly take you in!" Pulling out a blank piece of paper, she began to draw a rudimentary map. "Here, use this to get to the Twilight Manor after... this final question!" With a smile, she seemed actually excited for this last question. "Now then. Why do you want to be an adventurer?"
A horrid memory flashed in my mind along with the color red. A memory that I wished I could suppress but also one that I forced myself to remember. My one and only reason for living. Messing with my scarf, I pushed it closer to my face. "I want to get stronger."
F-Rank
Looking at the map in my hand, I began to wonder if Eina even knew how to draw. The drawing she had given me was impossible to decipher. It was simply a line with a few blocks drawn around it and an X marking where I would presume the Manor she had mentioned was located. No matter how many times I tried to follow it, I never ended up anywhere that I would presume was a manor. Groaning to myself, I adjusted my scarf once more and crumpled up the piece of paper. I'd been lost for hours now and the sky was now dark. I'm going to have to go to an Inn aren't I? What a waste of time. I should have known it was a mistake to try and rely on a guild member.
While I was busy reprimanding myself, I walked by a seemingly busy diner. For the second time today, someone slammed the door open to the building I was in front of. But unlike the kid from before, it was a small group of adventures and one of them drunkenly bumped into me. It was a red haired woman wearing a blue crop top, dark shorts and stockings who bumped into me. Not wanting to cause a scene, I moved away from her and attempted to apologize. "Sorry bout tha-"
"HUUUUUUH? W-Wash where your walking bu-uddy!" A white haired wolf man in fancy armor walked up to me. A noticeable slur in his voice and he was having a hard time staying on his feet. "Apppppoloisse to her!" He reeks of alcohol.
Covering my mouth and nose, I wondered how much the bastard drank for me to still smell him so strongly even through the cloth. "Loga, haven't you had enough of antagonizing people today?" A green haired elf shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder.
A hand that he shrugged off as he got closer to me. "NAAAAAH! Apoligissssse or Imma kick ur butt!" The wolf man shoved his finger into my chest, an act that hurt much more than I thought it would. A high level's strength...
Brushing his hand away from me, I turned my head away from the annoyance and sighed. "I already apologized before you interrupted me, but I'll do so again. I'm sorry for being in the way. Now, I will be going." I noticed that the red haired woman was writhing around on the ground dramatically, giving me another reason to inwardly groan. They're going to try and get money out of me, aren't they?
"Great, now cough-" I knew it.
Before her friend could continue his scheme however, a blond haired girl in a white dress slapped him across the head. "Bete. Shut up." Now that I think about it, she had been staring at me for a while now. Is she sizing me up? "I'm sorry... Can we get your name please?" Not to mention that her voice was strangely monotone.
While I'd like to not announce myself I knew it was better to do so because I hoped learning it would stop this scam, I answered her. "My name is Viole." She continued to stare at me, her amber eyes felt like they were staring through me. Whatever. Not like adding my family name will hide me any better. "Viole Keres. Now, can I leave? I have things to do." Her eyes widened for some reason before she closed them and stared at me once more. That emotionless expression back on her face.
"Keres?!" The writhing woman jumped up from the ground, her eyes wide and bored into me. If the blond girl was staring through me, this woman was looking into my soul. "Viole... I see." Suddenly, she shut her eyes and a small creepy smile appeared on her face. "Well, now you gotta join my familia!" Huh? "Hey, it's me! Loki!" This... Now a lot of dad's complaints make sense.
E-Rank
The drunk goddess almost immediately sobered up and dragged me along with her group back to her home. "Welcome to my humble abode, Viole!" Striking a pose, the eccentric goddess pointed to her large manor. Course it's this one. I had actually walked past this borderline castle a few times as I tried to follow Eina's map. If only she could have given me accurate directions.
I didn't bother saying anything as the goddess dragged me into the manor, the two of us going into a completely different direction as the rest of her familia. As expected, I suppose. As I walked with Loki, I noticed that the creepy girl from before was still staring at me, even as she walked away. She's weird. "Where are we going, Lady Loki?"
"Just Loki is fine! I hate all that formal crap." Grinning from ear to ear, the trickster god marched through the first floor of the manor, leading me into a specious office and gesturing me to sit down. "But, we gotta getcha registered. So, when'd you get to Orario?"
"This morning." Sitting on the sofa, I was surprised by the fact that it was actually much more comfortable and softer than the one in the guild. "I spent the whole day looking for you in fact. Thank you for allowing me to join your familia." I spoke to her as she moved around her messy desk.
"Well duh. Sorry for not recognizing you immediately. Kinda hard to tell you're your dad's son with that scarf in the way. But once I heard that name, I knew it instantly." Adjusting my scarf, I actually pulled it down to reveal the rest of my face. "There's that ugly mug! You really do look like daddy dearest, huh? So, how's he doing?"
"..." I wouldn't say I was surprised by the question. In fact, I expected it to come up sooner. But, that didn't make thinking about the answer any harder. For every time I thought about it, I was forced to relive that day for a microsecond. "He... my family is..."
"Stop." Slamming a book onto her desk, Loki interrupted me and walked over to me, taking a seat next to me. "I had a feeling..." Her face contorted into a strange emotion I couldn't pinpoint before she returned to her carefree expression. But, it wasn't as convincing as it was before. "Anyway, let's move past that. For now, show me that body you have hiding under your clothes! And by that, I mean show me your back."
"Of course, for the falna." Standing up from the couch, I carefully unwrapped the scarf from my neck and gently placed it onto the desk in front of me. Making sure to fold the burnt ends on top, to not touch the table. After doing that, I took off my jacket and shirt and sat back down. The falna, the status of an adventurer and the blessing of a god. It's what allows a normal person to gain the strength they need to fight in the dungeon and its strong inhabitants.
"Okay, this is going to feel weird, so be patient!" With my back turned, I couldn't see what Loki was doing. However, coinciding with my back strangely, a bright light started to emit in the room. "Wha-?!" Gasping for a moment, the trickster let out a sigh. "... fucking bastard..." Saying that in such a hushed tone that I could barely hear what she said. Bastard? I heard a paper rustle behind me before being placed on my back. Then, the light disappeared. "Alllllrighty then Viole-chan! Here ya go." Putting my shirt back on, I took the sheet of paper that she handed me. I didn't know why she wanted to show it to me, considering it should be the same as every other adventure's starting stats. All 0-
Viole Keres
Level: 1*
Str: I 58
En: H 167
Dex: H 179
Agi: I 99
Mag: C 706
Skill: Nightmare Rage
Magic: Force Eater
"...huh?'' There were a lot of strange things about this stat sheet. From what I had heard, every adventurer starts off with zero stats, no matter their past or how strong they were at the moment they became a member of a Familia. Yet, here I had stats, and a high one in magic. What the fuck? My grip on the piece of paper was tightening and it began to wrinkle. "Loki... correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't my stats supposed to be at zero?"
"H-Huh? Weird, isn't it? Maybe it's cuz of your dad! HAhahaha!" She definitely knows what it's about. I expected the trickster goddess to be a better liar, but honestly... I didn't care. The skill was strange, but I recognized Force Eater. It was the spell that I had been using for the past year as I traveled here. Whatever. Doesn't matter to me if my stats are boosted or not. It just gives me a bit of a head start towards my goal.
"Alright, thank you. " Standing from the sofa once more, I grabbed my jacket and scarf. "If it's alright, can I start tomorrow?"
Surprised that I bought her excuse, Loki jumped off her rump and gave me a slap on the back. "Sure! I'll have Aiz give you the rundown and keep an eye on you. Don't want cha to kick the bucket on your first day, no? So, what's your weapon of choice?"
"My magic and my fists." Don't need anything else.
My answer earned a sigh from my goddess. "Yeah, she's definitely going with you."
D-Rank
"Good Morning." Were the first words I heard from another person after I woke up. I didn't exactly like that it was the creepy blond girl from last night, and she was standing right outside of my room. She was even wearing a similar white dress as last night, and was even staring at me with the same blank stare. "Do you need any assistance?"
"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Closing the door behind me, I tried to be as nice in my rejection as I could be. Walking towards the bathroom, I expected her to leave me be, but the stranger kept following me. Ignoring her, I went into the shared bathroom and went along with my business. I wasn't exactly surprised when my stalker was waiting for me to come out. "Is there something I can help you with, Ma'am?" I reached for my scarf to hide my face behind, but I had left it in my room. Dammit.
Realizing my confusion, the girl gave me a formal bow. "I'm sorry. My name is Aiz Wallenstein. Loki asked me to look after you today so... that's what I'm going to do." She's THE Aiz? Even as someone who's lived outside of Orario for all my life, I've heard rumors about the Sword Princess. One of the strongest adventurers in all of Orario and rumored to be Loki's favorite. Didn't expect her to be so weird. "I hope we get along..." After her introduction, she whispered something unintelligible but I simply let it go as another one of her quirks.
"I see. Thank you, but I don't need a babysitter. I-"
"I won't let you go in alone." For a moment, her monotone voice cracked with some emotion that I couldn't understand. "It's... an order after all." Whatever. She's the Sword princess. She'll be busy soon enough anyway. I can do whatever I want soon enough.
"Very well. Thank you, Lady Aiz."
"Aiz, just Aiz please." I see no one in the Loki Familia likes formality. Nodding to show that I took in her lesson, I walked away from her and went back to my room. As I did, I noticed a few things. One, Aiz was still following me for some reason. Is she actually a stalker? Or does she just take Loki's orders that seriously? While that was just a minor annoyance, the second thing I noticed was much more of one. Every one of my fellow Loki familia stared at the young woman following me and then glared at me. I knew that Aiz Wallenstein was a celebrity, but did I really deserve these glares? Whatever. Once again, I tried to hide my face, only to grab air. Dammit. I hate living here already.
Once I was changed and ready, I was actually surprised to see that Aiz wasn't waiting for me in front of my room. Instead, I ran into her just as I was about to leave the Manor. Like before, she was wearing that white dress, however she wore a white chest plate and had a rapier on her waist."Okay, are you ready?" She asked in that monotone voice.
"Sure." With that, she led me to the center of town, where the gigantic Tower of Babel stood. Holding the Dungeon below it at bay. No one truly knows how deep the dungeon goes, that is one of the goals for Humanity's quests after all. Whether the dungeon held a hundred or a thousand floors, that didn't matter to me. My main goal was to make money by farming monster crystals, and gaining strength. "...do you have any tips?" I asked more out of an obligation than a desire for her advice.
As we entered the first floor of the dungeon, she turned to me and shook her head. Slowly she answered, "Not really. Someone told me... that every adventurer does their own thing differently. Just don't die, I suppose." How obvious. Just what I'd expect from an arrogant high leveled adventurer. Taking my spot in front of her, I studied the dungeon. It was exactly as Dad told me. The early floor of the dungeon, around floors one to nine, were all the same. Long claustrophobic caves of purple walls and floors, with the occasional split path. "Are you ready? You just came into town yesterday."
"I'll be fine. Let me just put on the finishing touches." Finnlay setting my feet into the dungeon, I cracked my knuckles and let out a silent chant. "Give me the strength to devour my enemies, Force Eater." Black mist began to cover my hands and upper arms until suddenly they became covered in dark matter. The magic covering my hands made my fingers look more like claws. Walking deeper in, I witnessed two goblin monsters spawn in, literally materialing from the floors and walls of the dungeon. A shame that they have to die so soon.
Not letting the monsters realize what was happening, I rushed towards the monsters Grabbing the closest one to me by its head, I threw it at its- twin. Crashing and falling into the floor, the monsters cried out in pain. Their cries of pain almost made me feel guilty, but pushing the feeling down, I continued my assault. Now waiting for them to recover, I shaped my hand like a blade and stabbed it through the two writing monsters. After a moment, their cries died out and they began to slowly dissipate into a cloud of black dust, and the only thing left that even hinted at the monsters ever existing were two tiny monster crystals. That... wasn't satisfying enough. "Wow..." Aiz's voice brought me out of my focus. Turning back to her, she gave me a satisfied nod. "That was some very impressive technique for a beginner. Were you trained by anyone?"
Letting go of the fact that she said 'beginner', I answered her question. "Not to fight like this. This style of fighting is self taught." Pulling up the scarf further onto my face, I made sure to be careful not to damage the precious piece of clothing. "Let's continue." Diving deeper into the first floor, it seemed like every monster was just a simple goblin. I'd fought a couple on the surface, and I anticipated them to be much stronger in the dungeon. But they were still just as easy to kill as before. After dungeon crawling for about two hours, we reached the stairs that lead deeping into the dungeon. To the second floor. Was right in front of me, more opportunities to gain strength right below me. Yet, right when I was about head further in, Aiz placed a hand on my shoulder.
"No. Loki instructed me not to allow you to delve further than the first floor. I'm sorry." At first I wanted to throw her hand off of me and ignore her. But, Dad's words of warning ran through my head.
Relaxing, I took a deep breath. "...you're right. My D- my Father did tell me about how many new adventurers died because they killed a couple goblins and let it go to their head." Allowing my magic to dissipate, I turned to the golden haired girl and made eye contact with her amber stare. But, for some reason, this time I became captivated by her eyes for a moment. They look- Shaking the thought away, I gave the girl a nod. "Thank you. I'll do my best not to be an idiot from now-" Then, an unexpected interruption. My stomach grumbled. I'm not the kind of guy to get embarrassed, but that's an impossibility right now. Dammit, I knew I should have eaten breakfast. Pulling my scarf up over my nose, I wanted to shove my entire face into the piece of cloth. "...sorry."
The strange girl covered her mouth for a moment, no doubt snickering at me. "No problem. You're a magic user, so it's expected. I'll treat you to my favorite." Leading me out of the dungeon, I noticed that her walk was a bit different from earlier. Is she that excited to eat?
C-Rank
What I had in my hand could only be described as a snack. A nice light snack that I'm sure normal people would eat as they went on shopping. I was thankful for the snack, sure, but I doubt that I'd get full off of this. Especially since Aiz had already eaten through a fourth of the basket in front of us. But... These potato croquettes do look good. Especially with the special sauce they came with. " This is your favorite food?" I expected more of a... heartier food from a high level adventurer.
"Mmm." With one croquette in each hand, she alternated between each croquette. Dipping each of them, one at a time and taking a bite in a rhythmic fashion. Looking back at the cart which we got the order from, I wondered just how often this girl gets this food. I mean, the cook didn't even look surprised when Aiz ordered fifty croquettes. I have a feeling she gets this amount normally. Deciding I've done enough judging, I took one of the snacks and dipped it into the special sauce.
"Holy-"
"How is it?"
"...it's good." Regretting that I couldn't both wear my scarf and eat, I ignored the heat coming over my cheeks. "I could see myself getting some of this after a dungeon run." The saltiness of the croquette and the sweetness of the sauce go well together. Definitely a nice thing to eat and relax.
With sparkling eyes, the adventurer placed her snacks down and nodded her head. "Finally, someone who understands. There is no better feeling than eating thirty croquettes after a long day." Thritry?!
"I suppose you're more of a Croquette Queen than a Sword Princess." I said it as a joke. One that I regretted as I remembered my mom's lessons on commenting on a woman's eating habits. Shit, sorry mother.
"Yes, I suppose." What I didn't expect was for a small yet beautiful smile to come across her face. The smile didn't last long, as she went back to eating almost immediately afterwards. But it stuck in my mind. I...
"Sorry Aiz."
"Hm?" She asked with a croquette still in her mouth.
"I... I was rude earlier and yesterday. Thank you for looking after me and I hope we get along." Giving her a small bow, I rewrote the image I had of the girl in my head. Sure she was weird, but she isn't the cocky image of a high level I had, and that the Loga guy reinforced. Aiz doesn't seem like that, or at least I got that feeling while I was with her. That smile just confirmed it.
"Hmm? Um... ok." Yeah, she's definitely strange though.
Is It Wrong to Seek Revenge in the Dungeon?
Arc 1: Beginning of an (Odyssey)
AN: Hello Everyone and welcome to my rewrite. In all honesty, there were a lot of things wrong with my first go through at this story. Weither it be my MC's chracterization, the lackluster explinations or even the writing itself. I'd always planned on rewriting this story, but only after I finished my QQ fic. However, I'm currently burnt out on that fic at the moment and taking a break. Seeing as I'm close to the end anyway, I decided to give the rewrite a shot. I like it so far, and the plot will be mostly the same, with minor differenes. The main change being that I plan on actually continuing it past chapter 13 this time.
This fic will update every other week for now. When I get back to ACQB, I'll rotated them out in a three week rotation. ACQB to Reborn to Revenge back to ACQB and so on. Thank you for giving this rewrite a chance and I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any feadback or comments, don't hesitate to comment please.