Author's note:
With this, I guess I managed two chapters for this story in October. My time is just split between a bunch of different things right now.
I think the chapter is pretty fun. Pretty low key and more set-up for the next chapter which should probably be a little more intense.
Later,
-asdf
PS. Y'all should read Freya Chronicles.
Chapter 33: The Colossal Tree Labyrinth
Eina:
"I'm surprised you're here. Aren't you going on the expedition with the rest of your familia?"
"Yes…"
Bell's vague answer did little for Eina. Watching him closely, Eina didn't understand the boy's passion. Ever since Kirito had brought him along a few days ago, the boy had buried his nose in books. Ignoring material for the upper floors, Bell had concerned himself with the thirteenth down.
Despite Eina's best efforts to close the distance, Bell had been largely unresponsive to her advances. Even her best big sister impersonation had only got her a slight blush and an aversion of his eyes. Even Kirito hadn't held out for so long! It was only because of Kirito's words that Eina was trying to teach him anyway.
We don't get along very well… So if you could… You know.
Those had been Kirito's exact words. At first, Eina tried to approach Bell of them. Now she did it because she was curious. What could drive such a young boy to become an adventurer? More than that, to study this intensely? Eina had to know.
If she only knew what the boy wanted, she was sure that she would be able to advise him better. But he stubbornly repeated the same line every time. I want to know how to kill monsters. To support that, he seemed to focus on one specific part. Monster weaknesses. To the exclusion of everything else. Eina knew it was important, but it was only a portion of adventuring.
"Are you really sure you have time for this?" Eina asked one more time. She knew how she sounded, but she had to know. "Do you honestly think you'll be fighting… Minotaurs?" Eina queried, pulling the monster name from the book in front of Bell.
"No…" The boy admitted, lowering his head even further. "This information probably won't help me today… Especially travelling with people who already know this and more… But!"
Eina took half a step back as Bell raised his rubellite eyes to meet her emerald ones.
"I can't forgive myself!"
"Forgive yourself? W-What are you talking about?" Eina muttered, confused by this rapid change. The determined and distant veneer had vanished. Now his face was warped with self-loathing.
"I had so much time to learn this… Now, everyone's lives are in danger… And it's all because I was so lazy. Self-indulged. Willing to allow others to take care of me. Even when people my age were fighting with everything they had…"
"Umm…" Eina had no idea what to say. The speech had come from nowhere. She couldn't make out the meaning behind anything that he had said. It didn't line up with the background that she had received from Kirito about the boy.
However, for just a moment there, she had seen something she did know. A boundless passion for something that was currently beyond his reach. It reminded her of Kirito. How the boy strove to protect those around him.
"Hey, Bell?"
"Yes?" The boy responded weakly.
"Let me prepare a regiment for you. Like I do for Kirito. All you have to do for now is go on the expedition. I'll it ready when you return. Alive. Got it?"
"R-Really? You'd do that for me?" Bell asked, his face lighting up. Eina couldn't tell if the emphasis on alive had been lost on him or not though.
"Of course! I'm an advisor after all!"
"Thank you so much Miss Eina!" Bolting out of his chair, Bell bowed deeply. His face had taken on yet again another new expression. One of pure, unbridled joy. "I'm going to go get ready for the expedition now. Bye!"
"Bye…" Eina answered weakly, her words washing over the now empty archive. Despite that, she had a smile on her face. Seeing someone striving so hard for their goal always made her happy and reminded her of why she became a guild employee in the first place. She knew that adventurers had a bad reputation. Drinking, gambling, swearing, whoring. They indulged in countless luxuries and made no apologies for it. Yet sometimes, the rare ones shone through that murk. Like a bright light illuminating the way forward for the rest of them.
Put in a better mood, Eina went to put away the book Bell had been reading. "Weaknesses, stone isn't that deep in their chest. Not much to go on, is it?" Laughing to herself, Eina quickly shut the cover, covering the illustration of the bull man that looked far too lifelike for her tastes.
Argo:
Standing on the top of a two-story building, Argo kept her cloak wrapped around her against the crisp morning air. The wind was blowing form the north again. Out of the corner of her eye, she stared at the deity standing beside her. "So, did you achieve your objective yesterday?"
"As a matter of fact, I did." Hermes replied, sounding quite pleased. "Things are progressing according to plan."
"You're disgusting," Argo tsked, clicking her tongue. Taking a moment, she stared at the street below and the group that was assembling there. In particular, a black-haired boy that stood at the center of the conglomeration. Argo had no trouble imagining the goofy smile that he was probably trying to hide. Aside from him, the rest of the group was composed solely of women. A sight that sent a flash of jealousy roaring through Argo. In the beginning it had been just him and her. His offer to help her map and record the upper floors and distribute the information connecting them for a brief period of time.
A naïve dream to lessen the hate toward beta testers that Argo was afraid would develop. Thankfully, or maybe not, that never came about. In large part due to the familia structure. Being subject to a god's orders as well as being under the command of the more senior adventurers left little time for hating a random group of people you didn't know.
"Ah, it seems like little Bell slept in today."
Following her god's glance, Argo found the white-haired boy from yesterday sprinting to catch up to the group. He looked ready to fall over, a large backpack perched on his shoulders. The sight drew a brief smile from Argo.
In moments though her face fell again. This could be the last time she saw any of them. Going to a floor for the first time was by far the most dangerous. They weren't just going to a new floor for the first time, but a new section. An area rife with status ailments and traps. With no members that had been there prior to show them the ropes.
"You look worried."
"I am." Argo agreed softly. "What if this the last time I see them?" See him.
"It's possible." Hermes agreed with his usual candor. "However… Do you really think that someone like that will lose to the whims of the dungeon?"
"…You're right." Argo agreed, nodding strongly. "I believe in him." Argo changed from plural to singular, matching her god's intuition about who she really cared about.
"I do as well." Hermes smiled, as he stroked the brim of his hat. "And just in case this is too easy for them… Well, I have many challenges lined up."
"You know…"
"What?" Hermes asked, turning to look at Argo.
Shooting her god a nasty smile, Argo replied, "when they finally beat your games, I'm going to laugh at you."
"Haha! I look forward to that day as well." Hermes agreed with a laugh.
"God Hermes," a third voice interrupted. Sensing the newcomer as they landed, Argo didn't bother to turn and look. It was the elf from yesterday. Lis something or other. He was snotty and Argo didn't care for him. "Apollo familia has decided to offer Hermes familia the contract after all."
"Oh my! What a surprise! Apollo sounded so unsure yesterday, I couldn't help but wonder if my services were unnecessary after all."
Yeah right.
Argo was glad she didn't turn to watch the conversation. Snorting at the adventurer would only serve to create hostilities. Still she struggled to comprehend how Hermes managed to predict exactly what each person would do. It filled Argo with a sense of awe at his divine prowess. For all of five seconds before he went and did something stupid and immature anyway.
"We will pay half in advance of the amount agreed upon yesterday. Is that satisfactory?"
"Of course!" Hermes replied, his arms spread wide. Argo could easily imagine the easy smile that was no doubt on the deity's face. The charming expression putting the reticent elf at ease. "The contract is absolute. You pay, we deliver."
"Good. Apollo was wary that you would be unwilling to move against Hestia."
Hermes shrugged casually in response. Giving away nothing the process. "Like I said, we follow the will of the client."
"Good," the elf replied stiffly before leaving as swiftly as he came. Once Argo's senses told her he was definitely gone, she risked opening her mouth.
"They trust you, you realize that, right?"
"I know." Hermes answered turning around again to stare at the party as they disappeared through Babel's main door. "And really, I'm on their side! I want nothing less for them to succeed at every obstacle I throw in their way!"
Argo grimaced, holding a hand to head. She wasn't sure if she an idiot for helping her god with this, but Argo agreed. She wanted nothing more than for Kirito to break through these multiple challenges that Hermes had designed. "Stay safe…"
Kirito:
"We really got everyone…" Muttering to himself, Kirito struggled to contain his grin. For some reason, the knowing smirk of a certain fox girl ran through his mind. Entering the stairs of Babel, heading down to the first floor, Kirito ran through the list of people who came on this raid in his mind.
Hestia familia: Himself, Leafa, Silica, Strea, Yui, Lili, and Bell. Miach familia: Rain and Philia. Takemikazuchi familia: Mikoto and Sachi. Finally, the surprise to Kirito was Lisbeth, from Hephaestus familia. Seven members from the familia leading it and five from outside familias. That fit nicely within the guild guidelines and gave them three full-time supports in Lili, Bell, and Yui. Kirito was still unsure exactly what role Liz would be assuming. She brought along the tools to repair weapons, but whether she would want to fight as well was still up in the air.
With the entirety of Hestia familia gone, they had gotten the rest of the junior Take members to take turns watching their house. Kirito shuddered to think about what mischief those five would manage to get up to in their absence. While Miach had offered his own familia, the three remaining members would struggle to maintain a schedule for the four days.
Entering the dungeon, Kirito found himself in the second line of their formation. Strea and Leafa took the front, with Kirito following behind them. Behind him were Philia and Rain, one to each side. After that came the three supporters in the center of the formation with Lisbeth trailing them, looking all too much like a fourth supporter. That left Sachi and Mikoto guarding the rear with Silica between them.
Overall, Kirito was happy with the formation. His main gripe was with their front line. Neither Leafa nor Strea had shields. Both members were susceptible to getting bowled over by charges from large category monsters. That, in turn, put the supporters in danger. However, if the tale of Yui's skill was to be believed, it potentially didn't matter.
Glancing behind him, Kirito stared momentarily at the young girl. She walked through the typically horrifying dungeon with a wide smile on her face. In her hands she carried Kirito's old shield. It had been a gift paid for by many people, but Kirito rarely used it anymore. If it could be better utilized in Yui's small hands, then he was fine with it.
Looking back to the front, Kirito struggled once again with the smile that threatened to show itself. This is why I logged in that day. Surroundings by friends, taking on obstacles and challenges. Exploring new areas, conquering them through teamwork. In a sense, adventuring. The thrill of it consumed Kirito. Only one thing held him back from completely basking in it. He led this party. His decisions could doom them all to death. Every single person agreed to this expedition knowing that he was leading it. They trusted him. He had to make sure he was worthy of that trust.
"Whatcha brooding over?"
"L-Liz?" Kirito screeched, the high-pitched sound extremely unmasculine. "I-I thought you were behind the supporters."
"Yeah, well I wanted to talk to you, so I moved."
"Er…" Kirito could feel Rain and Philia's looks on him. Neither one was saying anything, but he understood their meaning. "It's important that we stick to the formation while adventuring."
"Yeah, yeah," Liz agreed with a nod of her head, her happy smile indicated that she heard, but didn't care. "This is like, floor two. Any one of us could solo it. You don't seriously expect us to march like this for hours on end? Silently?"
"Er, I guess not…" Scratching his head, Kirito realized that Liz did have a point. They were realistically in more danger walking through the streets of Orario than in the upper floors. It wasn't until the thirteenth where any monster spawned that could threaten them.
Monsters aren't the only problem though.
Face hardening, Kirito remembered Lili's story. How Evilus had been attacking different factories in the city. Rumours had now come through that they were also the ones waylaying metal shipments into the city. If that wasn't bad enough, there were other adventurers like Ishtar familia that could attack on sight as well.
"See?" Liz smirked smugly.
"…Until floor five, feel free to break formation. There are so many people on the main path we will probably need to walk single file until that point anyway." Kirito decided as a compromise.
"Hehe, always the leader." Liz teased.
"So… why did you come?" Kirito asked. Many of the preparations had been dealt with by other members of the familia while he was training. He hadn't even been told Liz was coming until she showed up at the meeting place, multiple weapons in tow. One of which she had given to him.
The blade had been a lot longer than his current one, so put it over his shoulder, keeping his trusty longsword on his hip. So far, the trek had been useful for breaking in the additional weight. Especially with the third weapon, positioned the other way so he could draw it with his left hand. That was the gorgeous yellow magic sword that Liz had presented to him awhile ago.
"Why? I wanted to see my weapons in action of course."
"Is that all?" Kirito questioned suspiciously. That seemed too innocuous a reason to be the whole truth.
Liz snorted and rolled her eyes. As Kirito stared at her, he thought he saw a slight hint of red creep into her cheeks. "Why do you doubt me? If they need repairs, who is going to do it? You?"
"Er, well… I guess we'd head back to Rivera…"
"And get ripped off!" Liz finished for him.
"L-Look, I'm not saying you are unwelcome, I just…" Ending his sentence, there, Kirito couldn't talk past the sullen pout he was receiving. Even more than that were the stares he could feel from the surrounding members. Every single person able to hear the entire conversation. Rubbing his head, Kirito asked the most important question. "Do you plan on fighting?"
"Of course. I need to reach higher levels to improve forge. That will in turn let me make stronger weapons."
"Very well. Not that we should need them… But did you make any more magic weapons?" Kirito asked on the off chance. He knew better than to rely on the things, but as a get out of jail free card, there was nothing better.
"Hehe, get this! Two of the bad boys right here!"
From beneath her blacksmith jerkin, Liz withdrew two items from her belt. One was a short-handled hammer that instantly reminded Kirito of the depictions of Mjolnir. However, its head glowed with a fiery red light suggesting that the elemental affinity had been changed. In her other hand, Liz held a dagger. The blade itself only about 8 centimetres long, even shorter than the Hestia knife. Although Kirito supposed it would be celches, not centimetres. All the measurements had been changed slightly form the real-world terminology that he was used to. The short blade shone a with a whiteish-blue glow. Ice, Kirito decided inherently.
"How do you choose what affinity to give each weapon?" Kirito asked. The question had been bugging him for awhile. He knew that the materials required were the same every time. So how they came out so differently confused him.
"Your prying into my secret smithing techniques?" Liz glared harshly.
"N-No, I didn't…"
"I'm kidding!" Liz shoved him slightly. "To answer that, the smith needs to focus on how they want the weapon to turn out before they start."
"Before they start… So… the blade's power is only limited by the blacksmith's intuition?"
"Er…"
"I mean," Kirito began rambling, all the anime he'd watched flashing before his mind, "couldn't you theoretically imbue any type of magic into the blade, not just attacking ones?"
"W-What did you have in mind?"
"Like a healing one for example," Kirito gave from the top of his head. "You wave it at someone, and it releases magic in a wave that treats their ailments."
"…"
"Maybe not the most necessary with potions existing, but what about types of magic I've never seen before? Like darkness that blinds the targets."
"…I can't say." Liz's answer was subdued.
With the lack of energy form the blacksmith, Kirito dropped his questioning. Still, he wondered if that was an untapped resource of rare powers.
!?
Reacting to a sensation, Kirito identified it as a gaze staring at him. A penetrating, judging gaze. Trying to map the space around him in his head, Kirito quickly pinpointed the source without turning around, Bell. The boy's gaze wasn't angry, just… intense? Deciding to leave it be, Kirito kept walking.
Bell:
I never would have thought of that.
Staring at the familia captain from behind, Bell felt a mixture of emotions run through him. Chief among them was a sense of inadequacy. The concept of magic swords was deeply familiar to him. He'd grown up with them. Yet, what Kirito had just said was a thought he'd never heard, and admitted to himself, one he would never have thought of on his own.
I plan on taking that position from you someday.
That's what he had said. For now though, that seemed more like a daydream than something with a real chance of happening. Here he was carrying a large backpack while Kirito attempted to revolutionize magic swords. A clear disparity between them that combat would make even clearer.
Bell was the twelfth member of this expedition. The least important. Behind Lili, who was the head supporter and actually in charge of Yui and himself. Yui apparently had a strong ability that could used in an emergency. Everyone else was at least level two. That left Bell with no role to play except picking up magic stones and drop items. The pack mule to increase their familia's earnings on this expedition.
"Is something wrong, Master Bell?" Lili whispered, catching on to Bell's misery.
"O-Oh, nothing…" The unconvincing lie falling from his mouth.
"Lili is unsure how to say this but… Master Bell is a terrible liar."
"Haha…" Laughing nervously, Bell didn't know how to reply to that. Lili always seemed to be able to see right through him. On that note, so could Hestia. As well as Eina today… Bell was forced to admit that maybe he was just easy to read.
"So?" Lili pushed again; her voice pitched low enough to avoid detection by the others.
"I'm just… Feeling a bit useless." Bell admitted. "I'm not strong enough to be here yet…"
"Isn't this what the larger familias do though?" Lili replied, her large prum eyes looking up at him. "The weaker members accompany the stronger ones as supporters to learn about the deeper floors and more advanced fighting techniques."
Bell winced. Weaker members. The logical side of him told him to just be patient. He'd been an adventurer for less than a month at this point. Already he was growing at a rate unheard of until the people from the other world arrived. Yet, there was so much he wanted to achieve.
Faster.
He needed to be faster.
To grow faster. To improve faster. To catch up to the people he had looked up to. To achieve the ideal he'd sworn to Hestia. To fulfill the promise he had given to Kirito.
"Hey Bell."
"Ah, K-Kirito?"
"We aren't really in a rush with the extra day, so why don't you fight some monsters on the way down?"
"M-Me?" The boy questioned, eyes wide.
"Who else?"
"But with this bag…"
"Just give it here and go." Kirito rolled his eyes.
"…Yes!" Jumping at the chance, Bell swiftly let the enlarged pack fall off his shoulders and dashed ahead. Breaking between the two girls leading the party, Bell slowed down. They were still on the fifth floor. An area that he was now too strong for.
However, that did nothing to dampen his excitement. This would be first chance to fight enemies below the seventh where Lili and Bell had spent this last week. His first chance to test his limits in a situation where he had back-up. That was always the fear when it was just him and Lili, that one mistake would lead to both of their deaths. Now, he had a massive safety net to play with.
"Oh, someone's eager!" Strea commented. "This will be our first time fighting together!"
"Haha…" Laughing quietly, Bell struggled to look at the girl. Wielding her giant blade easily, Strea wore a happy smile. The combination was more than a little terrifying.
"Don't worry about her." Leafa assured him with a gentle smile. "She'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
"I-I wasn't…" Stuttering, Bell wanted to sink into the ground. His weak response made them think he was too scared to fight.
"Aww, doesn't he look just like a little bunny when he blushes like that!?"
"Haha, I see what you mean…"
"P-Please stop…" Bell stuttered out. Having the two girls poking fun at him was too much. He couldn't handle the small smiles and twinkling eyes.
"Are we making you uncomfortable?" Leafa asked, a hint of regret shining in her face.
"Hehe, you better not say yes! We only just started our trek together."
"Urgh…" Reminded by Strea, Bell let out an ugly noise. He didn't know what to say, the truth wouldn't work. He could never admit that to the day that he died.
They were too pretty.
Working in close proximity with them made Bell wonder whether Kirito and his old god were right. Maybe a harem really was a man's romance. Could it possibly be!?
No, it's not possible. A harem is nothing but trouble.
Running through the arguments in his brain, Bell began to feel his head overheat. The proximity, the indecision. It was a breath of fresh air when a growl finally permeating the air.
On the sixth floor, their first monster of the expedition finally intercepted them. A Wall shadow.
Drawing the Hestia knife from its sheath on his waist, Bell darted toward the monster. True to its moniker of novice killer, the Wall shadow didn't wait for his advance. It leapt forward to meet Bell, sharp claws slicing the air.
Too slow!
Crowing mentally, Bell's body contorted as he planted his right leg, shifting his trajectory. The change too fast for the wall shadow to adapt to. Feeling the claws pass harmless by, Bell brought his knife up in a quick arc, decapitating the creature.
"Fast…"
"Surprisingly so…"
"Er…" Bell wasn't sure how to reply to the not quite praise. This would be the first time most of them had seen him fight. Since they were all more experienced, he didn't think he would blow them away. That made their surprise perhaps even more rewarding.
"C? No, that has to be at least B…"
"Already?"
"Err…" Once again, the whispered words weren't questions directed at him. Nonetheless, Bell could feel the shift from complacency to interest in the surrounding members.
Continuing forward, Bell led them through the main route down to the seventh floor. Despite his expectation of fighting monsters, none appeared. Due to many logistical issues, their departure hadn't been super early. Therefore, quite a few parties had passed this way before them, clearing the main route.
The eighth.
The ninth.
Both passed without a single monster attempting to attack them. That lone wall shadow was the only highlight of the trek so far, as the first hour of walking came to a close. Descending the stairwell to the tenth, Bell waited anxiously for Kirito's order to switch back. Halfway through the open area however, it still didn't come.
Deciding to go with it, two options came to Bell. Either Kirito believed in him enough from that one fight to allow him to continue fighting or this could be a test. Seeing whether or not Bell would admit his limits so as to not hamper the others.
Either way…
I'll show him my strength!
Determination coursing through him, Bell entered the mist covered rooms of the tenth floor for the first time ever. The tendrils licked at his legs, swirling around the burnished greaves. The shoddy guild commissioned armour was riddled with scratches and nicks: evidence of the work he'd put in. His most expensive armour was the small chest protector that Lili had forced him to spend a bit more on. The higher quality metal holding up exceptionally well to the monsters on the upper floors.
The monsters here were different. Bell felt a bolt of adrenaline rush through him at the realization of something very important. The tenth floor is where large monsters show up for the first time.
Orcs.
The large brutes showed up in a variety of stories. Big, ugly, stupid. The perfect target for a hero to save a damsel from. And now, Bell was about to contend with their might himself for the first time.
No sooner did the thought cross Bell's mind did the two girls flanking him perk up. Their eyes more alert, their hands resting a little more firmly upon their weapons' hilts.
Thud.
The impact reached Bell a few seconds later. Something was out there. In no time, the source of the tremors revealed itself. The mist parting before it, as if showing the monster the way to its prey.
"GRAGH!"
"Huh, a big one." Strea commented casually, the terrifying roar not shaking her in the slightest.
"Yeah… I think we should take this one…"
"It's mine." Cutting off Leafa's offer, Bell stepped forward, ripping the Hestia knife from its sheath. As he did, a small moment of hesitation hit. His weapon was less than a tenth the size of his opponent's. Also, his foe stood around three and a half metres. That was almost exactly double his height. That also meant this Orc was close to half a metre above the species average. Was it an enhanced species?
Wondering whether he was being an idiot, Bell felt a pair of eyes on his back, analyzing him. Wondering what he would do. Would he retreat?
As Bell's right foot hovered just above the ground, he forced it forward. Once he had made the first step, Bell had no issue exploding forward toward the giant monster.
The green skin. The gaping jaws. The powerful fists.
Every bit of this creature screamed monster. Every bit designed to kill people like him. From within, Bell felt those black flames spark to life. Telling him to eliminate this monstrosity. No, forcing him to.
All traces of fear or hesitation burned away, Bell threw himself forward at full speed. The distance between them closing in the blink of an eye. Bell could see the Orc's eyes widen with surprise as his quarry ran towards it. However, that surprise soon vanished into raw bloodlust.
Raising its nature weapon club above its head, the Orc brought it down to the ground with a giant swing. Its large stature giving the attack devastating momentum.
"Yah!" Giving a small cry, Bell darted to the side, the same move that he used against the wall shadow. Smirking, Bell knew that his dodge had been perfect.
As he touched the ground again, his posture slipped. The ground was quaking from the impact, the surface in upheaval. Staggering, Bell recovered quickly. It was barely a second, but it was enough.
The Orc regained control of its club and sent it toward Bell for a second time with a horizontal sweep. Not as powerful as the vertical attack, the horizontal attack was far more dangerous. Covering a vast swath of area, it was far harder to dodge, and was also harder to counterattack into.
Throwing himself to the ground, Bell felt the wind on his neck that acted as a portent of death. A little bit longer and his head would have exploded under the contact.
Rolling to his feet, the battle entered a temporary standstill. The Orc panting from the exertion of attacks, and Bell from his scrape with death. Still though, that fire burned within Bell, pushing him back into the melee.
Darting back in, Bell closed the gap before the Orc could move its club into an attacking position. Launching straight forward, Bell's knife wavered as he searched for a spot to strike. Bring large monsters to the ground. The meaty thighs were consuming almost his entire view. Deciding that was good enough, Bell brought the knife forward in an attack. If he cut a muscle, that should take the beast down.
"Urf!" Grunting, Bell's shoulder spasmed in pain as his right arm was suddenly stopped in its trajectory. Unable to control it, Bell's eyes widened with horror as he felt his body leave the ground.
The Orc's other hand!
Bell had been so focused on the club in its right, that he had completely ignored the other limb. Now, his right arm was grasped in its left as he was hauled to eye level.
Giving him a nasty smile, the Orc brought its right arm back. The club glistening in the pale light as fragments of mist broke around it.
"Not… Yet!" Reaching down his left hand, Bell found the extracting knife for getting magic stones in his leg holster. Ripping it free, he slammed the improvised weapon into the Orc's wrist joint.
"GRAGH!" Howling with pain, the Orc dropped Bell, its left fingers no longer obeying the monster's commands.
"Ha… Ha…" Panting, Bell eyed his adversary with new respect. Understanding that he had let himself get goaded too far. Just as Lili always tried to prevent.
"Should we take it from here?" Leafa offered once again. Her eyes wide with concern for Bell.
"…No…. This one… This one is mine." The fight had become personal. No way was Bell going to step aside now and allow an upper-class adventurer to finish it. This was his adventure. Theirs would come later.
"GRAGHHH!"
"Hiyahhh!"
Not to be outdone, Bell matched the Orc's cry with his own. Their eyes focused only on each other, they exploded toward each other. The Orc already prepped for another devastating horizontal attack.
Matching the Orc's speed, Bell kept both of the knives gripped in his hands. The twin style feeling oddly comfortable to him. Tracking the momentum of the club, Bell launched himself at the last moment.
Flipping from the Orc's speed to his maximum in the blink of an eye, Bell propelled himself over the trajectory of the club.
Smiling, Bell approached the Orc's face. "HYAH!" Letting out one final cry, Bell brought both blades behind his head. Daggers poised for the final attack, Bell's whole body was tensed. Exploding forward, Bell jabbed both blades down from above his head. The dual strike landing on the beast's face. Each blade penetrating an eye socket.
"GRAGH! Gra- G…" Quickly, the Orc's howls of pain subsided. With one final totter, the beast crashed to the ground. Bell still perched its head like an animal. The impact sent the mist swirling around the combatants as dust plumed up in clouds. On top of the corpse, Bell removed the daggers and slowly stood. Tilting his head back, Bell found the distant cavern roof, hard to make out through the mist and the dim lighting.
Slowly, an expression of contentment stretched his lips. He'd done it. He surpassed another barrier. He didn't know how many there would be between him and his goal, but that didn't matter. For now, there was only victory.
Lili:
Staring up a tree on the eighteenth floor, Lili waited impatiently at the base for Kirito to get back down. After a quick stop in Rivira, they had found their own secluded hollow on the eighteenth floor. A place where they could come and sleep rather than pay the outrageous fees that the inns posted. Doing so with such a large party would take most of their projected profit for the expedition.
That situation made Lili loathe to let them stay there. Thankfully, Kirito as well was on board with the idea of camping in the woods. After he had joined in, any dissent had simply vanished.
Currently, Lili was waiting for Kirito to stow the sleeping rolls that had been attached to Bell's backpack in a tree. Without that weight and having sold everything they found down to the eighteenth, the bags were feeling empty. After an early supper, Kirito wanted to embark on their first trip down to the nineteenth. It would only be a couple hours, and Lili agreed that it may be a good idea. Rather than planning on going deep, they could do a quick sweep, never going deep enough to be in extreme danger.
The impatience came from the fact that the others were talking to Bell. The moment he had risen from killing that Orc had been burned into Lili's mind. She had barely been conscious when he killed the beast that had attacked his village. Now though, she had gotten to watch him conquer the beast firsthand, with gleaming eyes.
It had been incredibly stupid, an unnecessary trial. Yet… Lili had been moved. Her heart fluttered when she thought about his white hair drifting around his head in waves. Something told her it was also a declaration. A call out to the rest of the familia that Bell wouldn't forever be relegated to the roll of supporter.
That's probably why everyone was crowded around Bell even now, on the eighteenth floor during the break. Pestering him about the fight. That left Lili to supervise Kirito stowing their articles.
"I-I think I'm good…"
The boy's hesitant voice rang down from higher up the tree. A location where none of the ground-based monsters would be able to reach. Combined with a camouflage cloak, everything should be safe. Adventurers were probably the biggest risk.
"Well, then what are you waiting for?" Lili snapped back, tapping her foot.
"Er… The blanket or whatever, right?"
"Oh," Blushing Lili quickly moved to rectify her mistake. Grabbing the previously freed camouflage device, Lili did her best to chuck the blanket up into the lower branches. Even with her small frame, her level one status was enough to hoist it into the lower branches, over three mels above the forest floor.
"Thanks." Following the word, a single hand snatched out of the canopy and pulled the blanket inside with it. As always, Lili could do little more than purse her lips at the sheer difference between their physical capabilities. If she was being honest, she had hoped that her status would be a lot higher than it was. Despite the over half a year without updates while at Soma familia, it had improved only moderately when she converted. Somehow, Bell had already surpassed her.
Not that she was jealous of the boy…
It was just an extremely daunting and bleak future. She was surrounded by people that could improve and change at a staggering rate. How long would it be before they went too deep for her to follow? Already in the colossal tree labyrinth she was likely to be more of a deterrent than an aid.
"You alright?"
"Ah! Don't sneak up on Lili like that!" Scolding the black-haired boy, Lili's heart beat erratically from the shock of him suddenly talking beside her.
"Er, my bad. I guess I landed more quietly than I thought. Do you want to talk about it?"
Glancing between the group and Kirito, Lili realized with may be her only chance for the next four days to have a private conversation. Something she had never done with Kirito.
"Why did you bring Lili along on this expedition?"
"Because you wanted to come."
"…Is that the only reason why?" She asked again. Staring at Bell in the distance, Lili wasn't sure why she asked.
"I mean… I wouldn't have forced you to come, however…"
"However?"
"Bell says you're smart."
Turning her gaze from the boy in question, Lili examined Kirito who was standing beside her, giving her an awkward look. He looked less like a leader than an embarrassed boy about to admit a secret.
"I was hoping to bring it up with you tonight but… I sometimes lose myself in combat. I get too caught up with what I'm doing. I'm worried that doing that within a large battle with have dire consequences. What if we need to reposition the party? I can't give that order if I'm currently having fun dueling a monster."
"You can't possibly mean…" Breath exhaling, Lili stared, eyes bulging, at her embarrassed familia leader. "You want Lili to command the party's movements during combat?"
"W-Well… No."
"Oh…" Breath hitching, Lili was caught off guard by the denial.
"At first!" Kirito clarified. "Obviously, I wanted to do it on a bit more of a er, what's the word…"
"A trial basis?"
"That's it!" Kirito agreed, snapping his fingers. Soon after, his face fell. "You weren't there… But I really screwed up during the goliath fight. I spent all of my energy into containing the movements of the boss monster. I had no idea how the fights against the other monsters were proceeding. Without Asuna there to…"
Lili didn't need to be there to imagine. She had heard the story from the familia at least a dozen times. Only now did she truly appreciate the complicated expression Kirito wore when it was told.
"So, you want Lili to inform you of changing circumstances? But won't the others do that?"
Kirito's eyes looked a little guilty as he looked over the people in question. The girls that were smiling and laughing as they set up a small pot for an early supper. "They are all really strong… And I trust them with my life… But each one of them are trying to improve. I think them, and I, will struggle to admit our limits.
"I mean, you saw Bell's fight today. As impressive as he was… He shouldn't have done it. We can't afford to take those risks down here."
"Lili understands." Finally, the conversation clicked for her. She was the pragmatist. The one who always reminded them of the potential downfalls they were walking into. The one that had to constantly rein in Hestia's expensive ideas. Now, Kirito was counting on her to do something far harder, rein in adventurers' egos.
Kirito:
Kirito struggled to keep his eyes on the path in front of him and for monsters that may be laying in wait. He knew from his studies with Eina, that this area of the dungeon contained an abundance of trap monsters. Animated plant monsters that could mimic the surrounding flora. It was exactly that flora that currently captured Kirito's attention.
After exiting the spiral staircase that ran under the eighteenth floor's giant tree's roots, the party had emerged into a giant spacious area. The nineteenth-floor layout was unlike anything the party had ever seen before. Large overlapping walkways of stone, surrounding by plant life. Giant mushrooms, exotic vines covered the surfaces. Walls were few and far between, yet visibility was still limited by the jungle they found themselves in.
Everything was just as Kirito had imagined it to be from the pencil drawings in the books he studied. The visceral reality of the place filled him with a sense of wonder. It was what not just MMO designers, but games in general had been trying to capture since time immemorial. This was a dungeon.
"Amazing…" Kirito's word slipped out louder than he had meant it to. The word carrying just far enough for his party to hear despite the constant ambient noise. Squawks, chirps, buzzing, roars, and even screams permeated the air to varying degrees. Some rising then fading, others staying at a constant drone.
"You aren't wrong," Rain commented casually, joining him in surveying their surroundings. "To be honest though… Never really been a fan of forests myself."
"How can you say that?" Leafa shot back, turning around from where she had been watching the front of the party. "Isn't it gorgeous?" She sighed dreamily, looking around.
"Calm down, Sugu," Kirito berated her with a gentle smile. He enjoyed seeing this side of his sister. All too often recently, she had been stuck in battle mode. Her eyes gleaming with an inhuman determination. Strangely, it seemed like the trip into the dungeon was actually helping her unwind. "We need you looking out for danger."
"Ah, sorry Onii-chan!" Leafa said with a happy smile as she whirled back to the front.
"Urgh… So unfair."
Kirito's level three ears perked up at the vibrations. Tilting his head, he tracked the soft words back to Silica leading the rear. Flashing her a smile past the supporters, Kirito took his own advice and faced the front as well.
"Take a right here," Lili called from the middle of the group.
Not trusting himself to navigate this floor yet, Kirito had left the map and responsibility with Lili in the middle. He had faith the shrewd Prum would navigate them to their destination. Somehow, he felt that if he had the map… he'd somehow end up breaking it. It was times like this where he really missed having a HUD.
"Wow…" Following Lili's guidance led them out of the jungle they had been in. Beneath an archway of vines, the whole sensation of the floor changed. They had entered a tunnel that was more similar to the previous dungeon floors. Even in here though, there was greenery. The lack of light reducing it to mosses and fungi for the most part.
"Oh, lamp moss!" Rushing over to the wall, Lili began scraping at the substance that was growing there.
Opening his mouth to ask what she was doing, Kirito hesitated as her words touched something in his mind. Something to do with lamp moss… "Is that one of the items we need?"
"Sure is!" The small Prum girl replied excitedly. "Quite good quality as well. Should easily sell for 10,000 valis a small bag!"
"Oh…" walking over beside her, Kirito watched as she ferociously dug into the wall with her extracting knife, trying to remove every bit of the fairly ordinary looking green plant. "So… How many small bags did you get?"
"Hmm, three, probably," Lili answered after a moment of thinking. Bouncing the singular pouch in the palm of her hand, Lili retied it to her side and sheathed the extraction knife. "Although Lili can not be exactly sure without a scale. If we mix in some normal moss after the quality inspection, Lili is sure we could raise that number to four!"
"Lili!" Bell scolded her with a disappointed look.
"…Not that Lili would do that anymore… of course." The Prum girl replied, her face wearing the charming smile of a young, innocent girl. Somehow, Kirito thought she looked ten times scarier like that.
"Of course…" Reassuming his position, Kirito motioned for Leafa and Strea to begin walking again. Over five minutes on the nineteenth and not a single encounter. Kirito wondered if something was wrong, or if he was just being paranoid.
He didn't have the knowledge of this floor to be able to tell. On any of the higher floors, he would be able to tell perfectly if the spawn and enemy rates were irregular. Here… He had no idea. Kirito knew that there was a book in the archive filled with math and statistics, but he never understood any of it. Based on how Eina never brought it up either, he suspected that she didn't either. Supposedly it was observations on monster rates and the math on respawn rates and respawn locations. All Kirito knew was that the strange symbols made his eyes blur over.
Soon, however, to Kirito's rising anxiety and delight, a growl interrupted them from the tunnel hallway. In the distance, one pair of red eyes appeared. Too high to be human, this monster stood over two metres. Then a second and third appeared next to them.
"RAGHH!" The tripled roar echoed down the tunnel toward them. The terrifying roar caused the hairs on Kirito's neck to stand up. A sound that signals imminent death. If you start running now, you're too late.
Kirito's answer was simple: he smiled. Excitement pulsing through him, he waited eagerly for combat to start. Reaching for his normal longsword, Kirito stopped and adjusted his hand's path. Finding the longer broadsword that he had put on his back; Kirito withdrew the lengthy blade.
As he did so, he fully appreciated why it wasn't recommended to do so. Awkward, slow, and challenging. That was Kirito's summary of the process. It was a good two to three times slower than drawing a blade from the hip.
And yet, the sensation was extraordinarily pleasing. It fulfilled a dream he had had since he was a young boy, watching anime for the first time. The protagonist drawing their massive blade from its sheath and cutting down his foes with ruthless efficiency.
Holding the great sword easily in his right hand, Kirito advanced. He formed a three-man line with Leafa and Strea at the front. "Let's go."
As if the words were a signal, the monsters charged. As they came closer, their forms resolved into one that Kirito had seen only once before in person. From a distance on the eighteenth floor: a bugbear. It was nothing like the goblinoid version he was used to. This one was far more bear-like. Only its body was designed to stand upright. It kept the creature's animalistic strength and speed while giving it the ability to better utilize the sharp claws on each paw. The head contained sharp teeth in a wide mouth. The visage gave it the look of an aberrant beast. Kirito had no doubts that it could easily tear off his limbs with one bite or swipe.
Still, his smile didn't fade as he rushed the center monster. Raising the great blade above his head, he unleashed a vertical swing. With a sharp whistling, the blade cut the air. Not to be outdone, the Bugbear swung its massive paw. With the sharp cling of metal on metal, sword met claw.
Smirking at the angry monster, Kirito pushed on his sword. Slowly but surely, the emotion in the bugbear's eyes began to change. In place of the rage and bloodlust was an emotion the short-lived monster hadn't experienced before, fear.
"Kuh?" The short sound of confusion was abruptly cut off by an explosion of noise. The claws snapped under the force of Kirito's blade. Half a moment later, the monster itself followed.
"About as strong as a minotaur… Faster though." Kirito analyzed coldly. Jumping back, he left the disintegrating monster behind. "Be careful." Warning the girls, Kirito battled disappointment and relief. While he most likely wouldn't get a fight that required his upmost, the level twos should be safe in one-on-one fights. Even two-on-ones.
""Don't worry about me!"" The girls yelled, dashing in to fight the other two.
Leaving the combat to them, Kirito took the moment to examine the blade. It was still in perfect condition. Liz had done well with this one. Its quality was a significant improvement over his old blade.
"So, how was it?" Liz asked eagerly.
"Fantastic," Kirito answered sincerely, relaying his thoughts to her.
"Ah, that's great!" Liz's voice held a note of relief in it. "I just hope Leafa's and Silica's perform as well."
"Oh, so you're the one responsible for those?" Kirito smirked, turning his eyes from his blade.
"You bet!" Liz nodded with a proud look. "Made them as payment for helping me get the ore."
"You're getting soft." Kirito accused her. "Where is the tough blacksmith girl that only wanted a contract with me in the hopes that I'd bring fame to your weapons?"
"Shut up." Lisbeth blushed.
Giving her a teasing smile, Kirito turned his gaze back to the fight that was coming to its predicted end. Bugbears didn't have the defense required to survive long against the onslaught. Leafa's katana spun a web of steel around one whereas Strea used an approach similar to Kirito.
A moment later there were only the two corpses and a pile of ash between them. Walking past them, Kirito surveyed the tunnel ahead for further enemies that may be approaching, not that he expected something, especially after having just taken out three large category monsters.
Buzz.
Ears twitching, Kirito stared in disbelief further into the tunnel. Were there seriously more monsters here?
"Monsters from the back!" Silica's shrill voice reached him from the back.
"Ha… So, its started, has it?" Mumbling to himself, Kirito rolled his eyes at the dungeon's shenanigans. "Everyone, prepare for battle!"
Stepping back into line with Leafa and Strea, the three of them filled the width of the tunnel. All too soon, the buzzing resolved itself into a swarm of monsters. All of them insectoid.
Mad Beetles charging in on two legs. Each one was human-sized and covered in a hard, green carapace. They waved their front legs around like arms, each one curved to a deadly tip for impaling adventurers. But their main weapon was the mandibles on their head. Like Killer ants, these things had enormous strength in those pincers.
Behind them, and causing the buzzing were Gun Libellulas. Each one was less than a metre long and shaped like a dragon fly. The difference, as Kirito's studies told him, were their ability to shoot projectiles from its abdomen.
"KREEE!" With loud overlapping screeching, the Mad beetles crashed into them.
Kirito didn't have the time or ability to worry about the other two, he could only hope they were keeping up. Assuming a powerful stance, with the blade lofted above his head, Kirito transitioned into a simple downward slash. By contracting his muscles and putting the entire force of his outrageous level three strength behind it, the blade gained an ephemeral quality. The entire slash lasted for less than a tenth of a second.
The speed of the blade transcended the Beetle's armour. Without a sound, the creature crashed to his feet in two pieces.
Even with the resounding victory, there was no time to rest. Already, a second one was there and leaping at him. Its agility surpassing every monster from the cave labyrinth above.
Still, it wasn't nearly fast enough to surprise Kirito. Even Mikoto and Sachi were faster than this overgrown bug. Contemptuously, Kirito flexed his muscles and reversed the momentum of his sword. Bringing it from low to high, the scene was a mirror of the kill moments earlier. Once again, a mad beetle was rent completely in two.
"Ha, don't think I'll let you have all the fun!" Laughing, Strea tried to meet the gauntlet that Kirito had thrown by easily dispatching the monsters. Her body tensed in a ready position, the blade held to her side, tip almost scratching the ground. Despite the tension, her face still wore an easy, fearless smile.
Stepping hard on her left foot, Strea transferred the energy through her body and into the monstrous blade. Its heavy body rent the air as it accelerated with deadly intent toward the approaching monster.
The speed of the attack was a tier lower than Kirito's had been. That let the mad beetle meet the attack with one of its one. Using its sharp foreleg to block the attack. By doing so, Strea would be open to an attack from its mandibles.
Staring down a gruesome fate, Strea's smile widened. Suddenly, an ominous creaking noise rang out.
"Kree?"
Releasing one final questioning noise, the mad beetle's surprise only lasted a moment. For right after, its foreleg shattered under Strea's blade with its head following shortly after.
At the same time, Leafa engaged her opponent. Wielding her new katana, its metal blade shimmered with the polish of new steel. It was far lighter than either Kirito's or Strea's weapons. However, it was no less deadly.
Raising her blade above her head, Kirito recognized it as a traditional kendo stance. In predictable fashion, Leafa stepped forward as she swung her blade down at the beetle approaching her.
With deadly precision and speed, Leafa's sword tore through the joint of the beetle's front right leg. Twirling out of its path, Leafa was already poised for a second attack when the Beetle crashed to the ground. Like a guillotine, her blade ended the life of the Beetle in the same manner.
"Uh oh," Mumbling to himself, Kirito ripped his attention off the girls' fights and jumped back. Where he had been standing before now had three sharp spikes dug into the ground. The Gun Libellulas not allowing them to have a moment to recover. It was coordination and exploitation of openings far greater than anything the higher floors had to offer. Even the pack work of Al-mirajs was a step behind.
The real reason he was concerned though was that not all of them had fired toward him.
Cling!
Swinging his sword in an arc, Kirito cut down another three projectiles that were aimed for the supporters in the middle of the group. The most vulnerable members.
Where are Rain and Philia?
Ranting silently, Kirito had put them in exactly this spot for this reason. Both of them had tools to fight close up and at range. Although in Rain's case, her ranged tool was her magic. Magic that would be very effective in clearing out these monsters.
"They left to aid the rear," Lili told him, somehow reading Kirito's thoughts. "Apparently, something large is coming."
"Something large?" Kirito mumbled, even as he did, he cut down another two spikes. "Tch, we didn't arrange the formation like this so that all of our ranged fighters would attack the same direction!" Kirito ranted.
"May I?" Bell asked.
"Go for it." Kirito had no idea what Bell was talking about, but anything was better than waiting for him to miss a block. Strea and Leafa were handling themselves well, but already they were slowly being pushed on the defensive. One slip-up and the Mad beetles would make quick work of them.
"Don't worry Papa! I can protect us from the shots!" Yui informed him confidently.
Turning his eyes off the dragonfly monsters for a moment, Kirito stared hard into her eyes. Tying to convey the seriousness of the situation, Kirito spoke quickly. "Are you sure Yui? These are your lives at stake."
"I am!"
"Then Bell, Yui good luck. Lili, let me know if the others need help."
"""Got it!""" The three voices rang out in slight harmony.
Leaving it there, Kirito dashed back into the fray. The rocky ground broke from the force of the acceleration. As fast as he ran though, there was one thing faster.
"Firebolt!"
The magic Kirito had never witnessed before danced before his eyes. The jagged lightning bolt wreathed in flames that licked at him. As if taunting him with their superior speed.
"Kree?"
One of the Gun Libellulas cried out in surprise as the lightning-fire attack pounded into it. As if to display the difference in its level two status against the level one magic, the monster stubbornly clung unto life. A jagged burn covering most of its undersection.
Keying unto the slowed target, Kirito leapt into the air, easily gaining the three or so metres needed to attack the monster. Still far lower than the seven-metre tunnel roof.
"Rah!" With a short grunt, Kirito destroyed the insectoid beast and landed just in front of a beleaguered Leafa and Strea. Both of their faces were tight with concentration. The fight was currently taking their entire concentration and skill to keep the enemies at bay.
Not because the monsters were insanely strong. Not in the slightest, these beetles were far weaker than minotaurs and other monsters in the top seventeen floors. However, what they were was new. Monsters with new attack patterns and ways of fighting. The way they swarmed was different, the way they worked together was different.
None of the differences were major. But by summing them up, neither of the girls were able to fully utilize the difference in potential that they possessed to kill the foes in front of them in short order. The pile of bodies was increasing, but too slowly to guarantee victory.
Above them, the circling Gun Libellulas were exacerbating that problem. While the majority were, for some reason, focused on Kirito, every now and then they would take a pot shot at one of the girls. Kirito tried not to flinch when a spike went back toward the supporters.
"Bell, aim for the wings!"
Calling out a, frankly, impossible demand, Kirito went to work on thinning out the numbers in the swarm. There had been easily more than a dozen of the beetles at the start of the encounter. Having each brought down one before the Gun Libellulas got involved had helped, but only four more had been downed since.
Kirito's next slash brought that number to six. His blade cutting through the defenses stymieing the others. Unable to maintain his precarious position, Kirito jumped back out again. He didn't want to see how long his level three defense would hold up against these things.
"Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt! Firebolt!"
In quick successive, the blazing bolt illuminated the rocky tunnel. The quick magic casts cutting into the flying monsters. Their surprised screams cutting through the air. Three had struck different targets, one had missed entirely.
That's so broken.
If this had been a video game, Kirito probably would have lodged a complain with the company. Each individual cast may be weak, but the absolute spammablilty of the magic drove its usefulness and adaptability through the roof. Also, Magic had to be used for the stat to grow. These repeated casts were sure to send Bell's magic stat through the roof, thereby increasing the power of each shot.
Seeing as it wasn't a video game, all Kirito felt upon seeing the attacks confound the monsters was gratitude and elation. He hadn't been made aware of it before the expedition but having such a tool would immensely beneficial.
"Good job! Conserve some mind and drink a potion if you have to!" Calling back orders, Kirito glanced at the nearby wall of the tunnel. One of the Gun Libellulas had gone down from a shot to the wing. The other two that were hit were still flying precariously, messing up the others' patterns.
Foot colliding with the rocky wall, Kirito's body obeyed his instructions. Despite never having done something similar, his status allowed him to figure it out as he went. Absorbing the impact, his foot dug into the rocky surface covered with moss and other undesirable plant growth. All of which were blasted away as he pushed off.
Angled upward, Kirito shot toward the swarm of dragonflies. Unable to be picky with his locked in momentum, Kirito settled for rotating his entire body. Dragging the massive blade along as he went, Kirito carved a giant swathe through the middle.
"KREEE!"
Screaming with pain and panic, the swarm broke. Many of the monsters were left to die on the ground. Only Bell's distraction with his magic had created an opening for Kirito to do this without turning into a pincushion in the process.
"Hyah!" Perhaps not to be outdone, Strea and Leafa leapt at the remaining Mad Beetles with increased ferocity. In an instant, the flow of battle had changed from a stalemate to a resounding victory. In the middle of the enemy lines, Kirito watched amused as the increased intelligence in the monster's eyes backfired.
If they had simply mindlessly attacked, Kirito would be in far more danger. However, each one hesitated. Wondering if they should attack him, if doing so would leave them open to the others.
Kirito wasn't kind enough to let the hesitation fade. Wading through the confused monsters, Kirito slaughtered the final two Beetles as they tried to flee. It was rare that monsters would run, but maybe on the lower floors, their self-preservation instinct was higher. Or…
Thud!
The soft tremors ringing though his ears, Kirito glared at the end of the tunnel. In short order, more silhouettes appeared. "More bugbears? No…" They were slightly too short to be bugbears. More than that though, it was the glimmer of mature weapons in their hands. "Battle boars…"
Stating the name of the monster, Kirito tensed as he prepared for another fight. From what he had read, these things shouldn't be too bad. They were bigger than lizardmen, but not as good with their nature weapons.
The most noticeable feature that distinguished them from other bipedal large category monsters were the tusks. One on each side of the beast's snout, the shining ivory curved to a deadly point. Each one slightly over 15 centimetres long. This gave the monster the ability to add a third attack. One apparently even more deadly than the slashes with the mature hand axe it had found.
"Gruumph!" With a strange snorting noise, the battle boars rushed them. There were five altogether. Each one containing bright yellow eyes. A monstrous instinct lurking there.
Raising his blade once more, Kirito felt the beginnings of exhaustion touch his body. It had been a short sleep after the party followed by a day of walking with some minor fights. He was nowhere near his limits, but the thought of a five-minute break was entrancing. It was also something the dungeon seemed intent not to grant them.
Stepping into the first attack, Kirito's eyes widened with surprise as a jolt went up his arm. His attack had been blocked. The one he had aimed for raised its shield while a second reached in its axe to provide the necessary defense.
"Ha…"
Laughing at them, Kirito watched out of his peripheries while another two flanked him, the four creatures preparing to disembowel him from all directions.
"As if!"
None of the monsters realized quickly enough that they had trapped themselves. Heads lowered to gore their defenseless prey; the boars were too slow to react. A flash of a black shadow before they crashed together. Yelling out in pain as their various attacks hit each other.
Descending back into the mess of flesh, Kirito's sword sung a deadly song. Four different vertical slashes, each one a kill. Kirito could almost imagine a square of light left behind from the path his blade had traced.
Quickly though, his gaze was taken off the thought by the appearance of a mysterious substance. "Spores? I must have slashed a mush…Ah!"
Inhaling them by accident Kirito bent double his back heaving. "Ah…"
"GRUU!" Enraged at the death of its companions, the final battle boar raised its weapon. A powerful attack that would certainly kill the defenseless Kirito if it landed.
"KIRITO!"
"Onii-chan!"
"Ah, Papa!"
"Kirito!"
Multiple feminine voices overlapped, sending an ear-splitting ringing through the tunnel of stone. Each one filled with desperation and worry.
In the moment of the battle boar's triumph, a plethora of weapons descended upon it. Strea's sword took its right arm, Leafa's its left.
At the same time, two ranged weapons took its eyes, a dagger thrown by Silica and a Sakuya from Sachi. Meanwhile, Rain used her twin swords to destroy the monster's left leg while Philia's shortsword dealt with its right. Liz slid to a halt in front of Kirito, her shield raised to block any potential attack.
The level one Yui too slow to aid, but still managing to arrive at Kirito's side at the same time. Meanwhile, the confused monster fell to the ground in pieces, barely registering the attacks that seemed to have come from nowhere.
What the hell was that!?
Finding a cold sweat on their backs, Bell, Lili, and Mikoto could only watch in wonder at the insane display. The level two girls pushing themselves past their limits to race to Kirito's side.
"Ah… Choo!"
Breaking all remaining tension, Kirito let out a massive sneeze.
"Haha man, that mushroom definitely gets stuck in the sinuses! …"
Freezing, Kirito realized perhaps a moment too late the situation around him. The worried faces and concerned eyes. Every one of them slowly morphing into anger and embarrassment.
"Er…"
"You idiot!"
"You're the worst Papa…"
"N-Not you too, Yui!" Receiving criticism from his biggest supporter turned out to be too much for Kirito as he fell to the ground. While his face looked slightly guilty, his eyes contained a self-righteous glint that this wasn't his fault. "I-I just had to sneeze!"
"You were in the middle of a fight when you suddenly doubled over!" Leafa continued, taking up the mantle from Yui. "Of course we would rush to your aid!"
"But…" Kirito tried to protest. He was aware of the boar the whole time.
"Jeez, even Sachi rushed to help out?" Liz complained, taking the other side. "We really are too helpless…"
"I-I just wanted to help a teammate in danger!" Sachi protested Liz' implications.
"Ah hmm," Clearing her throat, Lili stepped forward, drawing all gazes to her. Kirito wondered where she got the bravery for it. Some of the faces weren't exactly pleasant. "While I'll admit, Kirito was a bit dramatic in his sneezing, however, that does not give you all the right to abandon your positions! What if there were still monsters alive?"
"What if it was Bell in danger?" Rain shot back, not swayed by the prum's words. "Would you really leave it to him to figure out?"
"T-That's not the point!" Lili raged back, her cheeks flushing. "The point I'm talking about is that you all completely collapsed our formation for no reason! He was in no danger!"
This time, they got through a little better. In the back, Kirito caught Leafa and Strea giving each other subtle winks. The only two that should have been helping him out.
Deciding he should probably do something as leader of this group, Kirito clapped his hands and stood up. In doing so finally getting silence and a chance to talk.
"Well, no reason to push ourselves any harder on the first day. Let's gather up all the stones we got and return to the eighteenth floor."
"Kirito…" Lili warned him, her voice low.
"And then we can talk some more about how to work together better on these next few days!"
"…Fine."
No one looked overly happy by the tone of the ending but did as Kirito commanded, anyway. Also, he wasn't really surprised to see that most of them were trying to contain their embarrassment. They knew they had screwed up. Rain and Philia especially looked askance. As the veterans and people who had been with him the longest, it highlighted their mistake most deeply.
Into that tense group, Kirito flashed a beaming smile. An unreserved expression of his excitement and happiness. Something he never would have been able to do in the old world. He was in a dream right now, adventuring with people he cared about. Any minor issues like this were barely worth commenting on in the face of that.
"Let's go!" Heading back up to the eighteenth, Kirito looked forward to tomorrow and the challenged it would present. Onto the twentieth floor to find sword stag horns! Although he did wonder what this large thing was they fought…
Freya:
Reclining in a throne-like chair, Freya twirled a wine glass between her perfect fingers. The nearly transparent liquid inside refracted light with a dizzying clarity. Rather than the top floor of Babel, Freya resided in her familia's home, Folkvangr. Located in the south-west district of Orario, it was directly across from Belit babbity in the West. An irony that Freya was only now appreciating.
Glancing up, Freya's eyes passed over a dozen of her children. The sight of them almost making her sigh. So many of them were so dull that she doubted her sanity in choosing them. That brief moment of fear when she realized exactly how fast these children from the other world could grow. Still, staring into their dull souls that had yet to shine during the months they had been here was disappointing. It only served to highlight exactly how much she had lost when her beloved children were taken from her early last year.
If there was one exception…
"My lady…" Heathcliff asked from his position beside her.
Freya smiled a bit as she examined him. His soul was also gray. However, it wasn't the dull featureless blob that the others had. His was smooth and polished like granite. It demonstrated the iron will the man wielded. Will enough to resist tripping over himself upon seeing her beauty. It was a soul worthy of being included in her collection. However, it was by no means enough to make the man her Odr.
"Yes?"
"Where did Ulfric go?"
Short and to the point. Another reason Freya was fond of him. He didn't chatter pointlessly like so many others were like to do in front of her.
"Down, he's following Ishtar's girls as they complete their mandatory expedition." Freya's lips spread into a smile at the fact. She had enjoyed getting to shock Ishtar with that fact at the celebration of the gods last night.
In this day and age, the requirements for being considered an S rank adventuring familia were far lower. Upon being promoted, the guild would give a mandatory mission to see if you can reach the thirty-seventh floor. Fail and get demoted. Succeed and join the other S familias in sizing up the lord of that floor.
The unconquered Udeaus.
An obstacle none of the familias were confident enough to attempt to overcome.
That was another reason Freya had descended to observe her familia home. She wanted to see how much had changed. To see if her members were still striving for the top. She was considered mentioning it aloud. To push them to get stronger to show up the other factions in the city.
"Why is he following them?" Heathcliff pressed further.
In answer, Freya smiled into her wineglass. Her eyes sparking with the delight of a deity's sadism. "I imagine to find out whatever secret it is that Ishtar believes allows her to surpass me."
Heathcliff snorted. "Comparing the two of you is pointless. You will win the contest every time."
"I agree…" Freya murmured. "But still I wonder… What dragged Hestia's kids into this? Will he shine even brighter after? Can the other shatter the shell that keeps him contained? I want to see…"
Muttering to herself, Freya finally found some excitement again. No matter if some of her children were duller than she would like for now. She would rebuild until she was once again surrounded by children precious enough to serve her.
Until she found the only one she could consider her destined partner. Her Odr.