A lot had happened since Artoria became friends with Lefiya, and to sum it up in a few words it was one weird occurrence after another. The elf was an absolute joy to be around, if a bit lacking in self confidence, and she had spent the day showing the spearwoman around Orario. One of those places was a pub and inn named the "Hostess of Fertility," which Artoria kept in mind for later that evening. As the day came to a close Artoria walked the elf back to her Familia's home; a massive stone structure called the Twilight Manor. A beautiful green haired elf met them at the gate, and after an enthusiastic introduction from Lefiya, Artoria learned that she was an executive of the Loki Familia, Riveria Ljos Alf. Promptly making a fool of herself from the shock of meeting someone incredibly important, she said her farewells and began retracing her steps back to the Hostess. At the gate, however, she remained blissfully unaware of Riveria's gaze boring into her back, or rather the item fastened there.
Lefiya tilted her head in confusion as her mentor's intense stare. "Is… something the matter, Miss Riveria?"
The older elf blinked, shaken from her thoughts. "No, it's just… Her spear, did she say anything about it?"
Lefiya searched back through her recent memories but, "no, I don't think she did. Though I also didn't ask about it either."
"I see," Riveria hummed, looking back at the faint figure of Artoria. "Interesting…"
It took… an embarrassingly long time to make it back to the Hostess of Fertility, and by the time Artoria made it there it was packed. That was fine though, she wasn't particularly hungry and all she needed was a room for the night. As soon as she opened the door she was greeted by roaring laughter and the sight of a melting pot of people. Humans, dwarves, cat people, amazons, and others she didn't know the name of. For a moment she was taken aback but she shook it off and squeezed past the patrons until she was able to take a seat at the bar. She let the noise and clamor wash over her, silently observing the people surrounding her. She wasn't worried, mind you, but her track record with pubs and taverns lately wasn't… stellar…
"Sorry 'bout the wait, what can I get ya?" Artoria twisted around and took in the person speaking to her. It was a large brown-haired woman about a head taller than her wearing a blue dress with a white apron, she had her hair tied back in a ponytail.
"I… don't actually know. I'll take a half portion of the special tonight? I'm not really that hungry right now… Would you happen to be the owner of this pub?" She leaned forward slightly against the bar, smiling.
"Yeah, I am. The name's Mia Grande, but you can call me Mamma Mia or Miss Grande, call me by my first name and you'll regret it," the woman threatened, though with the smile she had it obviously lacked any heat.
Artoria's smile widened, "alright Mamma Mia, I've also heard that the hostess acts as an inn, would you have any rooms available by chance?"
"We do, it's 1,000 Valis a night, will you be staying for a few days or just the night?" Internally Artoria winced, she would only be able to stay here for a few days maximum before she went broke. On the plus side she tended to work well under pressure, and the sudden timetable would put some fire under her feet to find a Familia. She didn't come all this way just to fail.
"Just for the night, though depending on tomorrow I may be staying here for a few. Not really sure yet."
Mia nodded, "I'll have the evening's special out for you in a few, and the key to your room as well. Anything to drink?"
"Just water, not too keen on drinking if I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow," she said, tapping her fingers against the bar.
"Smart, if a bit boring." And with that Mia left her on her own, tending to the other patrons at the bar and yelling out orders to the waitresses.
The tapping of her fingers stopped and she stared at the hardened wood, mapping out each individual scratch and dent. She really didn't come in with a plan, and though she didn't regret it she wasted most of her first day with Lefiya. She definitely learned some helpful things, but she wasn't able to check in at the Guild, she had no idea about the different Familias other than Loki, and she had no way of earning money right now. She made a mental map of where she needed to go, the key place being the Guild and maybe a library. Suddenly her spear thrummed against her back, almost humming aloud. She frowned, trying to focus on it. Yes; the spear was her father's, but it had been over a decade since she had been near it. Honestly she didn't know much about it, other than what she remembered from her father. She saw her reflection in one of the bottles, and it might've been a trick of the light but her spear looked like it was glowing. The humming grew incessant, drowning everything else out, and for a moment, a single spark of lightning arced off of the blade.
"Hiya!" It all stopped, and the cacophony of the pub returned. Artoria blinked in surprise and looked to her left, leaning backwards at the suddenly very close silver haired waitress. "I have a half order of tonight's special, a glass of water, and a key for room twenty!" The waitress was wearing the same uniform as Mia Grande, though her dress was green and she had a white headband. She looked at Artoria with silver eyes, completely unaware or uncaring of the redhead's wariness.
Artoria chuckled nervously, "sorry, you caught me off guard. That's my order, yeah."
"Great!" The waitress set the plate of what looked like spaghetti and meatballs down before gasping, "I forgot to introduce myself, how silly of me! I'm Syr Flova!"
"Artoria, it's nice to meet you," the redhead greeted back. She looked down at her meal, it smelled absolutely divine. She twisted her fork around some noodles before taking a bite, eyes going wide as an embarrassing noise left her mouth. It was incredible! The food she had eaten back home was never bad, but this was unlike anything she had ever had!
Syr giggled at her reaction, "yeah that's pretty much been the reaction the whole night. It's supposed to be a special but I think Mama Mia's gonna add it to the full menu."
She nodded, "I can see why, this is one of the best meals I've ever had."
"I'll let Anya know that you liked it! By the way, are you new to Orario? I don't think I've seen you around before."
Artoria nodded, swallowing her mouthful before speaking, "I arrived earlier today. I'm hoping to join a Familia and become an Adventurer, but I'm going to do some research beforehand."
"Well I'm glad you decided to stop by! If there's anything you need please don't hesitate to call one of us over." For a moment Syr fixed her with a weirdly penetrating look, but as soon as it came it disappeared, "I'd stay and chat more but it's pretty busy tonight!" And before Artoria could get another word in, the silver haired waitress was already off tending to the other customers. Rather than continuing to people watch, the redhead eagerly went back to her meal. In no time at all her plate was sadly empty, and while she was tempted to order another she wasn't hungry enough for it. Paying for her meal she made her way to the second floor, relishing in the sudden quietness.
Down the hall she saw another waitress leave a room, this time it was another green haired elf with sky blue eyes. Their eyes met and she regarded Artoria with a polite if neutral look.
"Are you staying in room twenty?" She asked. At the redhead's nod she gestured to the room she had just stepped out of, "I just finished tending to it, please enjoy your stay.
Artoria nodded with a small smile as the elf walked past her, "I will, thank you." Unlocking the room she stepped inside. It was a modest room with a double bed, a dresser, chair, nightstand, and a window revealing the alley outside. It was more than enough and without any preamble she shrugged off her backpack onto the chair and sat on the bed. She ran through the events of the day and leaned until her back hit the bed, sighing tiredly. "What a day, I'm exhausted and I didn't even do anything…" Without realizing she closed her eyes, falling asleep before she even realized.
She woke up as soon as the sun rose above the horizon, which meant that she technically slept in by her mother's standards. After getting ready and taming the absolute mess that was her mane of red hair she grabbed her things and made her way down to the main pub. What she didn't expect was there to already be visitors there talking with Mia.
"Actually Braver, if you want to talk with her, she's right there." Mia nodded in the redhead's direction, causing her to blink.
Talking with Mia about her, no less…
Looking at the two she instantly recognized one. "Miss Riveria," she said in shock. "I wasn't expecting to see you again… well, at all if you'll forgive my bluntness."
Riveria dismissed her assumption. "No need for apologies, under normal circumstances I can see why you'd think that." Artoria turned to the elf's diminutive companion. He was a Prum with messy blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a yellow vest over a long sleeve purple shirt.
"I'm sorry, but it seems that you have me at a disadvantage if you've come here looking for me."
"Indeed! Allow me to rectify that." The Prum stood a little straighter, putting his hand over his chest and bending over in a small bow. "My name is Finn Deimne, member and captain of the Loki Familia. I believe we have a few things to discuss." The captain had an easy smile on his face that belied his true intentions and thoughts. Not being able to help it, the young dragonslayer's eyes went wide in shock.
Picking up her jaw from the floor she weakly let out an "ah." Collecting herself she gestured to the closest table, as this early in the morning the three of them were the only ones awake other than Mia Grande herself. "Please, uh, have a seat?" As the three of them sat down she discreetly wrung her hands together. "If I may be so blunt, I'm honestly not sure what we really have to discuss?"
Finn folded his hands over the table, "A few things. First of all I'd like to thank you for keeping our Lefiya company yesterday. She's a hardworking and kind girl, but she has issues with her confidence." Momentarily he turned to Mia, "Miss Grande, could we have three orders of the morning's special?"
"Coming right up."
Artoria began to protest, "I can pay for myself, you don't need to…"
The captain held up a hand, "please, I insist. Think of it as thanks for yesterday." His face became slightly more serious, "but even though you seem like an honest person I still feel the need to make something clear. I really hope you don't have any bad intentions for her, as the name suggests the Loki Familia is a family, a slight against one of us is a slight against us all."
Artoria paled, "no! Of course not! I…" She calmed herself, "Lefiya's the first person who reached out a hand to me here. I'd be a few thousand Valis short if it weren't for her, and even if we just met I already consider her a fast friend. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, you have my word!"
The two executives regarded her for a moment as Artoria internally panicked. Riveria was stoic as ever, but after a few seconds of silence Finn sighed, "I don't need to be a deity to tell you're being honest with me. Besides I can always verify that later," not giving the redhead the time to question whatever that meant, he turned to his vice-captain. "Now, I believe you had something to ask as well?"
"Indeed," the high elf nodded, turning to Artoria she fixed the girl with a penetrating stare. "Your spear. It was once the weapon of the Dragonslayer, wasn't it?" All at once the atmosphere became more tense, as if the very mention of the man exuded a pressure. It was ironic then, at that point, that their food arrived. To her credit, the owner of the Hostess didn't comment on the suddenly tense atmosphere.
It looked like some kind of omelet with a shining golden sauce drizzled over the top of it. Artoria took a single bite. Like the night before the food was a thing of absolute divinity, however it felt like ash in her mouth. Sighing, she decided to rip the bandage off before it could fester any longer. "Yes… This is the Spear of the Dragonslayer, the weapon that blinded the Black Dragon in one of its eyes. How were you able to recognize it?"
Collected as she was, even Riveria's eyes shone at the reveal. "A long time ago the Dragonslayer came to the Alf's Royal Forest. Like all outsiders he was attacked, but he was able to dispatch our greatest warriors with ease. It was only very tense negotiations that saved their lives. I managed to catch a glimpse of him, and other than his golden lion-like armor that spear was the most memorable. How did you come by it?" Finn had remained quiet while they talked, but his eyes shone with curiosity. A little known fact was that a version of the Legend of the Dragonslayer was one of the things that inspired him to follow what he believed to be his purpose. The Dragonslayer; someone that would stand up for anyone no matter their background, Finn would be the same image for his people. Even if it wasn't confirmed, he trusted his vice captain's word. If she believed that Artoria's spear was the weapon of legend, then he'd put his faith in that fact. To see it in person was… something truly special.
Artoria pursed her lips and drummed her fingers against the table. She had no idea how much information she should reveal. Keeping things close to her chest was a good idea no matter the situation, but could she afford to keep secrets or even lie to people this powerful? She wasn't the most well informed about the inner workings of Orario but she wasn't so stupid to ignore the signs in front of her. The gate guard's reaction to Lefiya's name drop, the glances she had received walking around the city. The size of their Familia's Home. These two came here with a purpose, and for some reason that purpose was making contact with her. Her spear started thrumming again, not to the intensity of last night but it was noticeable. Was it doing that in a reaction to her stress? There were so many things she just didn't know…
Eventually she decided to just lay out all her cards on the table and go all in. It may be brash, but that was something she was used to. "I've spent the past five years tracking down not only the spear, but every piece of armor as well. They're all in my bag," she nudged the said bag with her foot. "As for why? They're mine by birthright." She had their attention, she could see it in the way they both froze. "The Legend of the Dragonslayer says that at one point he vanished completely… That's because he settled down and started a family. I am the result of that union." For a single moment her irises turned to molten gold. "The Dragonslayer's name was Ornstein, and he was my father." After her declaration her eyes went back to green
Finn was the first to recover. "That is… certainly a bold claim, but regardless of its accuracy or whether or not I believe it, I will withhold my judgment. We have a way to verify if you're telling the truth or not. And that segways into my last point of discussion." Braver stood up, causing Riveria to look despondently at her half-eaten omelet. "I have a proposal, and potentially an offer. Both of which would be better suited for a discussion outside… Miss Grande, the garden you had planned on renovating; it's still empty, correct?"
The owner of the pub narrowed her eyes at the Prum. "Aye…"
Finn put on one of his practiced smiles, "you wouldn't mind if the three of us borrowed it, would you?"
Mia stared at them before sighing, "…any damage to the buildings and you foot the bill."
"Damages?" The redhead asked, confused. It went ignored.
"I wouldn't dream of it. Artoria, would you join us outside?" Finn gestured to the side door before he and his vice captain left. Artoria stared at the forgotten omelets. It was never meant to actually feed them, by paying for her food he put her in a position where she felt like she had to listen to them… Finn Deimne was cunning… After another moment… and another quick bite… she followed the members of the Loki Familia into the garden. The large area was barren other than some wildflowers and weeds, and a section in the middle was paved as if it would've been a walkway. She stopped a few feet away from her visitors.
"Now, it may seem forward but I propose a friendly match between us."
Artoria balked, eyes going wide. "That's not a friendly match, that's not even a fight! I'll lose, no question!" She may not know his level, but again, the Loki Familia were one the Three most powerful Familias. This was their captain!
Finn didn't seem phased by her outburst, but then again he had no reason to be. "You're right, but this isn't about seeing who's stronger. I think both of us know the answer to that, obviously no offense intended. This is more about me gauging your skills. Mostly it's just to satisfy some curiosity on my part, but at the same time I don't usually get to spar against other spear wielders so this is a somewhat rare opportunity for me." In reality he was gauging everything he could about her. Her personality, her skills, her story. Just from his and Riveria's experience they could tell she was a cut above the average adventurer. Maybe not in raw power, she was unblessed after all, but he could see it in her eyes. She had been fighting for a long time, he saw how she analyzed both of them the second she laid eyes on them. And during their conversation; she thought carefully about her responses, showing a level of critical thinking most rookie adventurers lacked. Her possession of the Dragonslayer's Spear on top of that? She would be a boon to any Familia, and if they put off this meeting someone else would grab her. Gods forbid Freya or Thor got wind of her before he did. All of that was before her potential lineage, because if she was telling the truth her presence could potentially tip the carefully managed scales of power between the Top Three. At this point the spar was a basic formality, they couldn't let someone else get to her. If everything went well she'd have Loki's Falna by the night's end.
Artoria bit her lip. Finn was up to something, he'd displayed a level of forward thinking and intelligence that was stunning. Everything he did seemed to have an underlying reason or purpose. She… had a guess, but she wouldn't put all of her eggs in one basket. She could be reading way too far into this as well, she just didn't know. What she did know was that she'd deal with this the way she usually did.
Artoria set her backpack down and slid her father's spear off of her back, holding it in one hand close to the crossguard. "All right, let's have a 'friendly match.'" As soon as Finn had his spear in his hand she leapt forward, relishing in the fact that his eyes went wide. She had, probably for the only time this fight, taken the Prum by surprise. He dodged her leaping thrust and swung with his own spear, causing her to grab hers with both hands and lock the two weapons together. His Fortia slid until it locked itself against her crossguard. Her left hand grabbed the shaft just below her blade and she pushed, obviously not even budging the captain.
"That was certainly aggressive, is this usually the way you fight?" He still had that damn smile on his face too.
Artoria on the other hand was gritting her teeth, arms rattling from blocking his swing, "depends on the opponent! If I can take my time I will, but against you I need every advantage I can get." She twisted her spear and shoved the half towards him, causing Finn to leap away. He held his spear in one hand, planted against the stone. Changing tactics, Artoria slid her right hand further down the shaft of her spear, her left hand resting against the crossguard, angling the weapon towards him.
"A defensive stance? Very well." Finn spun his spear and thrusted it forward, tucked in the crook of his arm. Artoria barely had enough time to deflect it before trying to create some distance by sending a wide swing towards him. The Prum, however, ducked under her swing, bending his body to the point where it was almost inhuman and using his small stature to his advantage, sweeping her legs out from under her. She twisted her body, landing almost in a pushup position and throwing herself to her knees, spear raised. Her eyes went wide as she saw Finn sending a blindingly quick thrust towards her face, barely giving her time to bat his spear away. Locking his Fortia Spear under her crossguard she counter-thrusted, using the brief window to get her feet back under her. Rather than dodge her attack though, Finn grabbed her spear just before its blade, pulling her forward and off balance. Artoria let out a yelp. Keeping her grip she landed on her front, rolling to avoid a swipe before sitting up on her backside. She held her spear horizontally and ready to block but in a blur the tip of Finn's weapon was at her throat.
The captain didn't even look out of breath, but the smile on his face was just a little bit wider. Artoria on the other hand was heaving for air, and covered in dirt and dust from the paved stones. Despite that though she let out a brief laugh, "predictable result, don't you think?"
"That was a given," Finn said before flipping his spear until its shaft was planted against the ground. He held his free hand out to her, and taking it he pulled her to her feet. He turned to his vice captain, "what do you think, Riveria?"
Riveria cupped her chin. "You have good instincts, and from what I've seen you're no amateur with a spear. Is that the only weapon you're proficient with?"
"Erm, yes. I spent most of my life on a farm, so I already have the arm strength and fortitude for using one. And… Even though it was over a decade ago I watched my father keep his skills sharp. I've memorized every single move he used as well as his fighting style, and I have some experience fighting as well." Her most recent visit to find her father's spear came to mind. "The previous holders of my father's things… didn't always part with them willingly. If you'd count it, I guess I'm also a decent fist fighter as well." What were these two playing at?
Riveria nodded, "You have a solid foundation, and if you're to believe it's built from skill, knowledge, and experience. Have you made your decision, Finn?"
The captain of the Loki Familia shrugged, "I was thinking the same. She's already a step above most rookie adventurers. If given the chance I'd say she'd become a First Class Adventurer in no time, relatively speaking. And I have made my decision."
Artoria was… more than a little confused. "What… "Decision," "Given a chance?" What are you… talking about?"
"Hm. Artoria, my decision is that I'm offering you a chance to join the Loki Familia and become an adventurer. Ultimately our patron goddess Loki will have the last word, but I believe that she'll welcome you with open arms."
The Captain of the Loki Familia; well, her captain now, had been mostly correct. Though the other executives of the Familia were currently absent Loki had been present. Much to everyone's surprise Loki confirmed that Artoria was in fact the daughter of Ornstein the Dragonslayer, and very shortly later she was welcomed into the Familia. She uses the term mostly correct, because in Loki's own words Artoria's "rack was big enough and being a redhead like herself made it even better." Even without her lineage, apparently that would've been enough to get her in. Finn and Riveria's reactions gave her the suspicion that this was… normal. It all went without a hitch, except for one outlier before she received Loki's blessing. Her spear had been humming again… This time, however, she wasn't the only one to notice it.
"What's up with your spear" Loki tilted her head, frowning slightly. "It's makin' a racket."
Finn furrowed his brow, "I don't hear anything." And by the similar look of confusion on Riveria's face she didn't either, which was the scary part. Being an elf, she easily had the best hearing out of the four of them.
"Ya'll don't hear it? It's loud as shit," Loki muttered, eyes opening slightly when she saw Artoria's lack of confusion. "Scratch that, you two don't hear it? Because she does." Both the Captain and Vice-Captain gave their negatives.
Artoria slowly removed her spear and held it horizontally, frowning. It was practically vibrating in her hand. "It was doing this at the Hostess last night, and a bit this morning. I'm… not sure what it means or why it's doing it."
Loki hummed before getting up from her chair and approaching Artoria. "I think I may have an idea. It's giving off a similar… energy to a few things I'm familiar with. Mind if I touch it?" Loki asked, holding out a hand.
"Not at all–" As soon as Loki's hand came into contact with the titanite her world exploded.
A World of Stone
Disparity
A World of Dragons
Life
A Great War
Death
A New Age
Light
A Golden City
Dark
And Age of Fire
Flashes and images followed the concepts, but she could barely comprehend them. Slowly her world came back into focus and the ringing in her ears began fading away.
"–y, you ok?" Loki was talking to her, eyes fully open. She lacked her usual carefree and mischievous demeanor, focusing entirely on Artoria. The spearwoman felt something dribble down to her lip, and wetting her lips on instinct brought a coppery taste.
She wiped her nose and looked at her hand, finding it bloody. Other than that though, "I'm fine, I think…"
Loki turned to her confused and concerned executives, "did you guys see anything?"
Finn shook his head, "no, as soon as you touched the spear both of you just jolted, like you had been shocked by something.
Riveria cupped her chin, "I felt something, but it only lasted for a second. Whatever happened, you two were its only witnesses."
"Huh," Loki breathed. "Well other than that I was right, it's a Divine Artifact." The two executives' jaws almost hit the floor.
"I'm… lost," Artoria muttered after looking between the three.
"Not too surprising," Loki shrugged, "Back when everything, and by that I mean Genkai, was new a few gods and goddesses decided to give themselves an advantage. They blessed things like weapons, armor, rings, you name it. It didn't last long, and after some time the practice was banned. Basically, your spear has been, at some point, been blessed by a god. A really, really powerful god." A smirk crossed the goddess' face, "If Phae-Phae ever gets wind of this she's gonna be pissed."
"Should we be worried?" Finn asked, crossing his arms.
"Hm? Nah, only a god'll be able to tell, and even then they'd have to touch it in order to be sure. Just don't go telling everyone that you have a cooler looking Mjolnir." Loki waved her hand at Finn, "Now shoo! I'm gonna give her my blessing and it's girls only!" Finn just let out an amused sigh and left the room. "Mama, you can stay or leave, it's up to you. Now! off with your shirt, and sit down on this stool."
"Mama?" Artoria muttered, doing as she was told, face tinting red.
Ignoring her, Riveria fixed Loki with a look. "I'll stay, if only to prevent you from doing anything untoward. She's not used to… you, yet."
"You're no fun!" Loki grumbled before pricking her finger. The trickster dragged the bloody digit down her spine, and moments later Artoria gasped. Something she couldn't describe filled her very being, like a missing piece to a puzzle she didn't even know existed. Behind her Loki took in the runes; there was nothing out of the ordinary, except for… "Well that's certainly something." Taking a piece of paper Loki copied the falna onto it, watching as it faded into Artoria's skin.
Artoria covered her chest with her arm and turned while Riveria approached as well, the three of them staring down at the status sheet. It was the symbol of a jester with a hat above its head. It really was unremarkable, except for one detail at the bottom.
"A skill already?" The elf exclaimed.
"You sure are full of surprises, aren't ya? I feel like you're definitely gonna make a mark for yourself here, welcome to the Familia!" Loki smiled.
Artoria just stared down at the piece of paper in awe, completely fixated on the little line underneath the jester's mouth.
Ancient Lineage: 'Hereditary abilities lost to an age will spring anew.' Over time you will inherit the abilities of your ancestors, as long as your own drive and determination match those who came before.
Artoria, daughter of Ornstein
Race: Human
Level: 1
STR: I-0
END: I-0
DEX: I-0
AGI: I-0
MAG: I-0
SKILLS:
Ancient Lineage: 'Hereditary abilities lost to an age will spring anew.' Over time you will inherit the abilities of your ancestors, as long as your own drive and determination match those who came before.
MAGIC: NONE
I cannot get this series out of my head, and it's messing up the schedule of my other stories. Anyways this chapter was rewritten a time or two, and I think I finally got it to where I like it. There's a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter, so if you see a particular detail about the top Familias that doesn't make sense, it's there for a reason. Believe me when I say that if there's something a bit odd, I'm most likely aware and it has a purpose~ That being said I could also be blind as a bat, so if that makes you feel like you need to not point something out, do it anyway.
The only real section I was iffy about was the spar between Finn and Artoria. She was going to lose, no question about it. Like I said it was more of a way for Finn to gauge her skill, and if it feels a bit short that's why. Still though, it just felt… odd.
Also about her skill, this is not something that will make her all powerful or guarantee skills after each update. She will have to work her ass off just like everyone else. This just means that she's gonna get some familiar abilities down the line, as well as set things up for her fighting style. I already have skills planned that are not tied with Ancient Lineage so don't worry!
Last thing, updates are obviously still broken, so from now on I will be posting every chapter update for every story on my twitter. I don't really care if you follow it or not, but I do care that you guys are aware when I update as soon as possible. I also cross-post on Archive of Our Own (AO3) under the same name so you can find me there as well.
For updates you can find me on Twitter/'X'
Abyssal_Writer
The Abyssal Writer, same name and profile picture
Now to respond to the reviews!
Guest: I'm glad you like it so far! As of right now I have no plans for a pairing, yuri or otherwise. This is subject to change but for now there is nothing planned. Her and Lefiya's friendship will remain as it is, and it will grow over time, but never to love.
Marquitoboss: I'm glad you're enjoying it! And I won't berate you for not playing Dark Souls, if you haven't already you can just watch YouTube videos about Ornstein. Or you can play it! It's definitely a fun game, if a bit dated.
EdoShadow: As I said before, there is no pairing planned as of yet for this story, and if I do plan it it will not be with Bell. Besides, he may be the protagonist of Danmachi, but he's not the protagonist of this story. In regards to your hatred of Bell, I can't say much without spoiling my plans but there will be things that I change, and things that will not be changed.
Your-other-uncle: Please reference the response above about Bell. I'm glad you like the premise! And yes, while the naming of Artoria is blunt, I think that Ornstein absolutely would've named his child after one of his best friends, especially one that died. Naming her Ciaran would've been even blunter than Smough's Hammer!
Guest 2: I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! I hope I can incorporate her as well, and I have lots of character development planned already.
DarkAres12: I agree, though those stories usually take place after the main story of whatever they're written about. I have plans to make Artoria her own person, she's not going to become a Lord of Cinder or anything.
Anyways, thanks for reviewing as always, as it helps me become a better writer! If you haven't yet, please check out my other works. If you're here specifically for Danmachi, then I have good and bad news! There is another Danmachi story in the works, but I'm juggling 5 stories as it is. As soon as one of them is finished, or as soon as I take a break from one, you'll get more Danmachi. I'll even tease the name: Hidden Blades
Next Story in the Rotation: Mariana, The Abyssal Hero!
Thanks for reading and I'll see you all soon!~
