MP stands for Milk Points 3 (Danmachi / Seikon no Qwaser)

Leaping off the outstretched arm of the Silverback, I sent myself hurtling right at its head, the air knocked it's free arm down just enough for me to be out of reach.

My black blade cleaved its head right off its body.

There was no time to rest.

A horde of Bad Bats (the Zubats of this world) co-ordinated a sonic attack on me with a small mob of deceptively strong Imps attempting to tear me apart when I hit the ground.

Of course, I had anticipated such a move as I could "see" all the monsters in my vicinity and had already prepared a pressurized air barrier around me, blocking the sonic attack.

I snapped my fingers and the pressurized barrier exploded outwards, crushing the nearby Imps and Bad Bats. Immediately after, I created an air platform for me to jump off towards the rest of the flying monsters.

When I slaughtered them, I landed somewhere close to the Hard Armored monster mob that I had outrun earlier, apparently, they weren't very happy about being left out of the party.

Unfortunately for them… "This party's over."

The armadillo monster has a hard shell which granted them the highest defensive power on the upper floors, but their insides were terribly weak.

It only took a few mini-pressure balls shot into their mouths in order to kill them.

As their death was caused by internal wounds, they were one of the monster breeds that didn't bleed over this large room's floor.

Feeling the oxygen molecules vibrating faster from a corridor, I quickly jumped back up into the air, dodging the flame breath of an Infant Dragon. When it realized I still lived, it hurried out of the corridor in order to crush me with its body, only to find me out of its reach.

A bit of oxygen into its lungs and fire-breathing sacs gifted the dungeon with an explosion that would make Michael Bay proud.

I landed back on the ground after the rest of the monsters got turned into crispy fried chicken.

"Another happy landing."

Despite surviving all that I couldn't say I felt particularly happy, honestly, I think my occasional habit of quoting movie characters is turning out to be a coping mechanism for all the violence I'm engaging in.

Figures that my seemingly smooth adaptation to this world's "culture" wasn't all that it seemed.

Sitting down for a quick rest, I took a deep breath and calmed my breathing, searching deep within for the power that dwelled inside me.

About 45% left.

My reserves should have been lower than this even if I took into account my personal strides in improving efficiencies and carefully rationing of my power until I reached the 12th floor.

"Guess those magic rank increases and the Soma quality factor turned out more useful than I thought it would. Damn, I have gotta stop talking to myself."

It would be a damn long time before I can make it further, much less fight at this level for prolonged periods of time. If I had a party I could count on, or at least a couple of milk tanks with me, I would be able to handle this floor in a much less tiring manner.

Until then, I would have to subsist on a high-risk, group the mob's type strategy and kill them all in one short burst.

"Hrrruaaa!" A multitude of cries rang forth from yet another corridor into this large room that I've chosen as my arena.

"Oh my, it's Mr. Gorilla's family." I got up and moved to the other side of the arena, after ensuring that I wouldn't be ambushed from the back with my elemental sense, I placed my sword at my left side.

The howling winds under my command gathered to my side, twisting and curling around my product of Alchemy.

The original Qwaser of Oxygen could group up to other molecules in the atmosphere for her attacks, yet couldn't change the concentration of oxygen in the area, which led to a limitation in her attack potency.

My black blade was a temporary fix for that issue. More than a simple weapon, it was a ritualistic knife that played a part in my own alchemic processes, using it as an alchemic tool allows me to perform some small transmutations to make elemental concentration adjustments.

And in this case, it allowed me to transform part of the gathered air into more Oxygen molecules, and those molecules, I could use to better effect.

The gang of Silverbacks charged forth to face me, I maneuvered myself around the room, dodging their attacks until I could get them all within my line of sight.

And my attack area.

I swung my sword, releasing the blade of compressed Oxygen in a single strike, cleaving all my enemies in half. A terrible screeching noise lingered for a few seconds as the invisible blade of air held its form after slaying the targets and continued to carve a deep gash into the dungeon walls.

Note to self, don't use it on sentient targets unless I want them dead.

"Well shit, I forgot to yell Getsuga Tenshou, or should it have been Invisible Air?"

At any rate, I gathered up all the magic stones, pack my things and left for the surface.

I wouldn't risk turning in these higher ranked magic stones to anyone but Misha for now, and with so many here… hmm, I'll just keep a portion of it for my experiments and sell the rest. All of the drop items will have to be used for improving my gear or Alchemic processes. Hmm, I'm sure I could make a nice coat with what I have.

I arrived at the surface just an hour before most adventurers would be exiting the dungeon. As I entered the Guild, I could see that Misha was handling some advertisements on the Guild Notice Board, Eina (who was Misha's BFF) was at the reception managing some difficult customers.

"And now to put these ones… eeeh, a bit more…"

I stole the leaflet from her hand and stuck it at the top of the notice board. For a girl that was older than most of the new adventurers, she didn't have the height to show for it. By my estimations, she would be about… 4 foot, nine.

It's weird how I use Imperial units for height but the Metric systems for practically everything else. Bah, I blame American television.

"Need help?"

"Nick? Hey, I could have reached that."

"Of course you could. The stool is on the other side of the office, by the way."

"Hey! What's with the height joke?! You can get into trouble with Pallum's if you don't watch that mouth!"

"Is this a cultural norm that I'm supposed to get?"

"Geez, for someone that looked so educated, you sure don't know a lot. Anyways, nah, height jokes are a thing. It's like how everyone calls an Elf stuck-up and-"

Misha quickly turned around to check if her half-elf co-worker was still busy or not. Eina clearly didn't hear our conversation, but she still swiped her thumb across her neck to give Misha a clear message anyways.

"Hiiiii!"

Woman's intuition in an anime world is a scary thing indeed.

Eventually, I managed to schedule an impromptu "advice" session with Misha.

"Woah! How did you get to such a low floor?! Wait, wait, nevermind that. Why did you even go down there?"

"To test my limits. Meh, I got a specific skill that's good for killing monsters, that's it."

"I guess that makes sense… wouldn't be the first time at all. Hey, hey, what is it?"

"I could tell you… but then I'll have to tickle you until you promise to never tell anyone."

"Heeeh? Now you're making me even more curious…"

She had the Chitanda "I'm Curious" look on her face.

"Sooo… can I get you to exchange these?"

"I could, but it isn't really my job to do it and hmm…"

"Are you bad at maths?"

"What! No, psh… nothing like that. I'm just as brilliant as any other member of the Guild that had to go through a lot of strict tests just to get a job here. But well, it's not like I have to remember how to evaluate magic stones right?"

"Won't an organization like this have a SOP, Standard of Procedure, or some guidebook on how to do it?"

"... I wonder, aha...haha…"

"Did you lose yours or are you just too lazy to do it?"

Her hands were making some weird wave pattern that reminded me of an animal's recorded audio clip.

"Yes?"

"... If you get someone that can do it discreetly then it's going into the dinner budget, as in, the free food and drinks I'll be getting you."

Misha quickly became motivated and bugged Eina to do it for her.

"All done. You better make sure to feed the Misha tomorrow, fuhahaha!"

This is going to be one of those cases where she can fit a lot more food into that small frame in a manner that should be impossible, isn't it?

Tomorrow huh? Guess I should do some shopping for a gift as well.

"Nick, what are you doing?"

"Taking a break for the day."

"Nick, why are you wearing your suit?"

"... I don't have any other non-combat clothes?"

Naaza's chin dropped to the store counter, "Please get some other clothes. I know that we are poor and all, but it's bad for business if we look poor all the time."

"What's wrong with these clothes?"

"You look like a Guild worker."

"I totally heard that one before."

"If you want to really relax, then get clothes that make you look less like an adventurer… or chemist, or anyone that doesn't look like that get out much."

"Yes, boss." It's not like I haven't heard that from my old boss that had always "encouraged" me to go out with the rest of my colleagues before. "Want me to get anything for you?"

"Ye- uh, no, I think I will be fine."

"I don't consider it a waste, come on, let me get you something for all the support you've been giving me."

No doubt she's trying to refuse on the grounds of "it's all my fault" or some other guilt-laden excuse. I won't have that.

"I'm not sure if I want you to elaborate on what exactly you're referring to…"

Well, when I put it that way, I guess it could have sounded like I was referring to her role as a domestic cow.

"Fine, keep your secrets. I'll get you something anyway."

"You shouldn't-"

I scurried out of the store before she got the chance to dissuade me.

… Eh? I'm on break now? I'm taking an off-day? I'm not training?

I feel so lost. And not in the literal sense. I pretty much mapped out the main areas of Orario pertaining to my memories during my "recycling" activities disguised as community service.

"Since when was the last time that I explored this city just for the sake of it?"

Well, the answer was "never". It's about time I changed that.

I went to the Entertainment District, seeing as such a place would be… significantly less seedy and dangerous in bright daylight, it would be a good time as any to explore what Orario had to offer. Of course, I still kept my Elemental sense active, just in case I needed to react to any sudden attacks.

"The Sword Princess's Trials… what the fuck, Loki trademarked her own Adventurers so others could play them? And action figures too?" I was currently standing outside a big theatre where a Loki Familia approved play was about to start, and yes, the merchandising was being sold on the way in.

I'm pretty sure there was a good amount of tourists coming all the way just to see Orario's productions. That said, there's no way I'm lining the pockets of rich Familias like theirs!

I support local businesses! Like my own Familia's business! Hell yeah!

Who am I kidding? Our products totally suck considering our current resources...

I need to, like, come up with a cosmetic line of potions or something to keep us alive.

Yeah, why don't I do just that? Tomorrow, that is.

"Kyaa!"

Hmm? Items within my arm's length are currently making their way towards the floor.

With my ability to sense where the objects were heading towards based on the displacement of the air molecules I quickly reached out to retrieve them before they touched the ground.

Oh, joy. I saved the potato croquettes. If Hestia was here, she would be so proud of me.

"Oh my, thank you so much. My children would be terribly upset if I dropped their favorite snack again."

A goddess, the aura gave it away immediately.

She wasn't one that I recognized.

Mein gott, I swear, that green skirt has got to be semi-transparent.

"I'm happy that I could help then, milady." I smiled and hoped that my display of faster than normal reflexes wouldn't be notable enough for her to remark upon.

"Ufufu, are you an adventurer by any chance?"

Eh, while the easy answer would be to say yes, my situation was a bit more complicated and I really wouldn't want to get on any gods or goddesses bad side by getting caught out in a lie.

"That depends on the definition. Do I define myself as an over glorified miner for minerals in a dangerous location? Then the answer would be "No". Am I someone that likes to explore the unknown and have a real adventurer? I'm finding that out right now, I'd like to think that adrenaline and some weird personality quirks are currently messing up my journey of self-discovery."

She looked at me with her mouth wide open for about two seconds before she covered her mouth with one of her hands, giggling for a bit. "Ahaha, I haven't heard that answer before. I am called Dia, and yourself?"

Dia? That didn't sound like the name of a Goddess I would… oh wait. If I recall the Greek mythology that I obsessively studied in my teenage years after reading the Percy Jackson series (what? I used to be a child too!) … wasn't Dia another way to say Daughter of Zeus for the Goddess Hebe?

"Nick, I'm from Miach's Familia."

"Oh my, from Miach? Is he well? Last I heard there has been a terrible accident… oh, nevermind. I should just go pay him a visit and ask him myself. Then again, I'm sure that you could tell the story with a rather unique spin on it." Her voice sounded really gentle, hiding her amusement really well.

"I would certainly like to, unfortunately, I don't think Naaza and Miach may approve of my version."

"With what I've heard from hearsay? Yes, he would likely admonish you for including some… unkind words, to those that have departed."

Well, if anything, those girls that left won't have such a great reputation if the word has gotten around this much.

"I will be on my way then, I would rather not take up too much of your time. Take care of yourself, make sure to eat well, stay safe and enjoy the rest of your day."

She seemed nice. Let's hope that sticks.

I walked about Orario until I ended up at a handicraft store that seemed to be pretty well established at the shopping district. Unlike the other stores, this one didn't seem to include overpriced fancy stuff that was so obviously a rip-off, I mean uh… luxury goods for the rich crowd.

I smelled the flowers immediately after taking a step into the shop.

I have got to get out more if I'm missing out on this much of life.

"Welcome to Ramirez's House of Trinkets!"

A beautiful bubbly young brunette welcomed me as a visitor.

I nodded to the young girl who was clearly helping her parents run the store, then stopped, replaying her words in my head.

"Um, pardon me for asking, but do you always welcome your customers like that?"

"I-I mean, um, yes? Did I say something wrong?"

"Oh no, certainly not. I was just concerned, that's all. You see, that's not the best way to greet a customer coming into a store. Unless you're an automated replying magical device than you shouldn't be telling people the store name that they can read off the sign."

"Um…"

"One of the best money making greetings is, "Hi, have you been here before?" or "Can I help you?" I've seen some stores increase sales by 16% just by implementing this little switch. For first time customers, this gives you a great excuse to show them around, identify needs and point out specials. For repeat customers, this greeting reminds the customer that they've been at your business before, so it's a familiar place. Familiar means safe. Safe means trust. And trust means buy."

"F-fweh!"

Oh, whoops. I must be scaring her with my… passion.

Hmm, someone's walking to the store… here's my chance.

"I think a customer is coming, try it out, I believe in you." I start walking back to one corner of the store and shot her a double thumbs up.

"Eh!?"

The door opened and a lady in her thirties or something walked-in.

"H-hi, have you been here before? Can I help you?"

"Oh! Yes! You see, my sister visited this store a week ago and bought this hairclip, and it was absolutely lovely! I want to another two for my daughters. But I don't see them around here…"

"Ah, we just reshuffled our stocks but I think I saw these somewhere at the back. Let me get those for you!"

She managed to close the sale and upsell a few more items after I used my "subliminal messaging" (whispering really obviously) to tell her to ask about who and why the lady was buying things for.

"It worked!"

"To be fair, she seemed totally willing to spend anyways, so that may not be the best example."

"No, no, I didn't really know what to say to customers in the first place. It's the second time my parents are letting me take care of the store by myself so I've been feeling rather lost on how to go about it."

"Ah, I know what you mean. My boss once left me alone to talk with a client in the first week of my job where I had no clue what to do."

"Are you a merchant?"

"Part-time, I guess. I spent most of my days diving into the dungeon."

"Really? Hey, tell me more!"

The girl seemed really interested in the dungeon for some reason. We ended up talking for a long time, with a couple of breaks here and there for her to manage the customers, and ultimately, she managed to wring out quite a bit of my dungeon experience.

"One day I'm going to open a clothes store myself, do you think I can do it? My family doesn't really sell clothes and there are so many clothing stores that have closed down…"

"Well, first of all, you need to identify or even create a "need" for the clothes you are trying to sell, identify the market segment and targeted demographics-"

Soon I will have a new (sales) apprentice. One far younger, and more beautiful.

Well, first of all, I had to figure out what the clothing industry is like in Orario. The girl likes making her own clothes and getting her friends to try them, so I guess her circle of friends and their network should be the first target.

Wait a minute! I'm supposed to be buying stuff!

"Oh dear, look at the time! Sorry for taking up so much of your time Mr. Nick!"

"It's no trouble at all, besides, I'm the one that kick-started this talk anyways. It was a pleasure speaking with you Ms. Lucia."

"Just Lucia is fine. Hmm, what are you looking for anyway?"

"A present for a work colleague, an acquaintance of mine, that I hope to be friends with soon. She has pink hair and is rather short, what do you recommend?"

"Is that all?"

"Well, it was the most striking features of hers."

Misha seemed like the type that would prefer looking more mature, as a result of her current height making people guess her age wrongly, so in the end, I chose a reasonably priced pendant necklace as a gift. It was small enough to be in the right proportion to Misha's stature so she should look a bit taller this way.

Oh hey, I'm learning about fashion now! Yippee!

On the way back home, I went ahead and bought Naaza a dress. And a pretty single sleeve that matched the dress that would cover up her silver arm.

"Wha-what are you thinking? Buying me this?"

"This is so that you can seduce Miach."

"Are you serious? Oh, you're serious. Well… thank you. I, um… appreciate it."

"I know, and you know what the best way to show it is? It's to let the buyer know what a great help the gift was! So go change, sneak into Miach's bed and wait for him."

"I-I still think that's too soon."

She wasn't completely against the idea. Progress!